Salzburg

After having spent a few days in the Allgau Mountain Bavarain postcard land, Whitney and I took the long way through Austria en route to Salzburg. By way of Lindau, and Innsbruck, the road tucked itself beneath towering snowclad cliffs, all the while rolling through the inescapable bavarian pasture-scape. Normally quite an attentive, safe right lane driver, the views had me pointing at this cabin or that ruin, wouldn't that be a nice ski tour, wow look at that... swerving all havoc like and scaring the passenger.

Salzburg was where Wolfgang A. Mozart was born, and you won't forget it. His birth house is on main street in old town, the house he lived in his adolecence is right across the river, and his balls are for sale in every store in town. Mozart Chocolate Balls. Click on the link for this blog entry.

Apparently this is what happens to you if you become famous in Austria. They use your name to market chocoballs and then build a goat-legged, leprositic, too much lipstick wearin' statue of you. What will they do with the guy that invented Red Bull?

Old town is compact and beautiful, medieval and civilized all at once. Cliffs backdrop 700 year old buildings, spirous chuches ubiquitous as Starbucks, and a never-conquered castle looms atop the city. Castles are cool.

Our first night in Salzburg, we got tickets to see a string quartet in the castle above town. The main course of course was Mozart, including Ein kleine Nachtmusik, with a Vivaldi piece thrown in to mix things up. A far more intimate musical experience than a full orchestra, or say, a Springsteen concert, we both left feeling... whatever you would have said late 18th century in place of "groovy".

Bad Rain, Good Struedel

Whitney and I took our holiday together in the Allgaeu mountains. The Allgaeu is a region of southwestern Bavaria and includes a small chunk of Baden-Wurtemberg. The bucolic countryside with ever alpine backdrop is immediately welcoming.

The famous mountain cheese that originates here (Allgaeur Bergkaese) is wickedly sharp tasting, somehow unlike anything I had tried in the states. It smells very strong, so strong that one best wear gloves to slice or serve.

On our first day, we had sunshine and brisk winds and here Whitney is doing her best Maria Van Trapp impression. If you like to walk, the endless rolling hills and farms of the Allgau Alps and walking culture make it a dreamland. I must add again that the layout of small towns and cafes offer the hiker an infinitum of plumcake and coffee options.


I had visited my parents in the small spa town of Oberstaufen, which is known as a "Kurort", last September. Kurort directly translates to "cure town", but the Kur must be expanded upon. Folks needing some for of wacky alpine crash diet due to too much Bavaria consumption come to punish their bodies for several weeks.

From what I could tell, if you are doing the Kur, you wake up to a hot towel wrap, followed by an all day hike with nothing to eat but four carrots and six grams of stinkycow cheese. Then, upon return to the hotel, half starved, sunburnt and dehydrated, they are allowed only to drink red wine. Needless to say, we didn't sign up for the Kur, but rather enjoyed fabulous breakfasts and walks and tried not to plan the wedding.

Day One was sunny, the hills were alive with cowsmell and the music of spring birds returning from their Italian holiday. Day Two we had a foot of snow. The cowsmell was erased and the birdsongs confused.

Braving the snowstorm for a beer, westepped into a public house called "Bubi's Bar", which wasn't at all what I expected.

Our last day was sunny and beautiful. We walked through the woods and on the snow to a cafe called "Bad Rain", where we had Struedel and a Cherry-Nut Torte for lunch, both outstanding.

Portland Rain

As March opens spring, and my program in Germany nears completion, I realize that I have finally started to become comfortable here. I understand the language, the train system, how many half liter doppelbocks I can drink and still ride my bike the next day... About once a week, I go to a pub, introduce myself to a group of locals and share a couple pints with them. But there are so many wonderful things I look forward to returning to in the US.

I had heard of M Ward for some years before hearing a podcast. He recorded a song "Paul's Song" with Portland's Paul Brainerd playing pedal steel guitar.

You say how does it feel to be travelling,
How's it feel to live your life on the train,
And the aeroplane? Well I ain't gonna lie to you,
Every town is all the same, when you've left your heart in the Portland rain.

So cheers to everyone back home, I miss you and look forward to an excellent summer!