We looked at France in our rear view mirrors today as we took off fairly early for Salzburg. We were ready to move on.
We enjoyed France, and think it is a beautiful country with wonderful food. But we are also enjoying the distinct difference between the French and the Germans and Austrians. Frankly, the most noticeable difference is that the people here seem to actually be happy we are visiting. I promise you, I really don’t expect that the French had any obligation to speak English. After all, I was a guest in their country and it’s my own darn fault that I don’t speak French. But I tried, I really tried. And they just seemed annoyed with me. No, that’s not right. Not annoyed, just indifferent to my helplessness.
In contrast, the Germans and Austrians are delighted to have us as guests in their country. The very second that they hear us speak English, they speak to us in perfect English. In fact, yesterday I used my rudimentary German (I studied it for four years in high school and one semester in college a LONG time ago) to ask the waitress about the bathroom, and she seemed confused. She finally figured out what it was I was looking for, and told me in English where it was located. I laughed as I walked down the stairs, figuring that she was at that moment asking my husband why I was trying to speak in really awful German when she spoke perfectly good English.
Perhaps I enjoy the Germans and Austrians because they, and their language, seem so familiar to me. My grandparents were Swiss, and they always spoke German to each other and to their friends. Well, they spoke Swiss German which, as I understand it (and my father will correct me if I’m wrong) is a dialect of German. If is not exactly the same, it is very similar. So the sounds and the sights and the foods and the way the people look and act are all very familiar to me and make me happy.
We drove very hard today so that we could get into Salzburg kind of early. We only stopped a couple of times to get gas (at 50 Euros a pop) and once to have some breakfast. We needed to use the bathroom in the restaurant and saw that there was a 50 Euro cent charge. Bill didn’t have the right change, and wondered aloud if there would be a person by the bathroom taking the money so that he could get change. I told him to go check, knowing full well that the system would be entirely automated because hiring a human to take the money would be too inefficient for the Germans. Of course, I was right. However, the machine gave him change as well as a ticket. He suggested I take the ticket and see if I could use it to also get in on the same 50 cents. Of course, I knew that wouldn’t work because they would have that figured out as well, which was true. But the funniest part was that when you flushed the toilet, the toilet seat was automated to go around and be washed, rinsed, and dried after each use. The bathroom, needless to say, was spotless! So very different from bathrooms in France, and I haven’t even gotten yet to Italy where I am liable to run into many bathrooms that don’t have anything more than a hole in the ground.
The hotel we will be staying in for the next four nights is absolutely lovely – a real splurge on our part. We have been staying in hotels that are perfectly satisfactory, but far from lovely.
Our room is big, our beds are soft, and we have a bathtub! Best of all, the view from our 12th floor window is absolutely astounding, as you can see from this photo. We are looking at the Alps, with the beautiful buildings of Salzburg nestled at the bottom and crawling up the sides of the hills.
Salzburg is beautiful, and dedicated to all things Mozart. I’m talking Mozart candy, Mozart statues, Mozart birthplace, Mozart music, Mozart coffee cups, Mozart postcards. You get the picture. The architecture is as pretty as anything I’ve seen thus far in my travels to Europe. It’s just a pretty, pretty town. The buildings are
pastel and have intricate statuary and curlycues and the gardens are green and full of color.
We are both tired and didn’t do a lot of exploring tonight. We will do that tomorrow. We just walked into the city center and had dinner at a beer garden. I even had a beer, and I don’t drink beer. But when in Rome…… We also plan on going back, perhaps by train, to Munich to sightsee a bit. It’s about an hour and a half back. Bill is tired of driving.
While the Germany highways are fun, they are also stressful, with constantly watching in your rearview mirror to make sure you aren’t going to be holding anyone up. I’m telling you, some of those folks fly.
Tomorrow we are taking the Sound of Music tour. Go ahead. Laugh. I can’t wait.
We enjoyed France, and think it is a beautiful country with wonderful food. But we are also enjoying the distinct difference between the French and the Germans and Austrians. Frankly, the most noticeable difference is that the people here seem to actually be happy we are visiting. I promise you, I really don’t expect that the French had any obligation to speak English. After all, I was a guest in their country and it’s my own darn fault that I don’t speak French. But I tried, I really tried. And they just seemed annoyed with me. No, that’s not right. Not annoyed, just indifferent to my helplessness.
In contrast, the Germans and Austrians are delighted to have us as guests in their country. The very second that they hear us speak English, they speak to us in perfect English. In fact, yesterday I used my rudimentary German (I studied it for four years in high school and one semester in college a LONG time ago) to ask the waitress about the bathroom, and she seemed confused. She finally figured out what it was I was looking for, and told me in English where it was located. I laughed as I walked down the stairs, figuring that she was at that moment asking my husband why I was trying to speak in really awful German when she spoke perfectly good English.
Perhaps I enjoy the Germans and Austrians because they, and their language, seem so familiar to me. My grandparents were Swiss, and they always spoke German to each other and to their friends. Well, they spoke Swiss German which, as I understand it (and my father will correct me if I’m wrong) is a dialect of German. If is not exactly the same, it is very similar. So the sounds and the sights and the foods and the way the people look and act are all very familiar to me and make me happy.
We drove very hard today so that we could get into Salzburg kind of early. We only stopped a couple of times to get gas (at 50 Euros a pop) and once to have some breakfast. We needed to use the bathroom in the restaurant and saw that there was a 50 Euro cent charge. Bill didn’t have the right change, and wondered aloud if there would be a person by the bathroom taking the money so that he could get change. I told him to go check, knowing full well that the system would be entirely automated because hiring a human to take the money would be too inefficient for the Germans. Of course, I was right. However, the machine gave him change as well as a ticket. He suggested I take the ticket and see if I could use it to also get in on the same 50 cents. Of course, I knew that wouldn’t work because they would have that figured out as well, which was true. But the funniest part was that when you flushed the toilet, the toilet seat was automated to go around and be washed, rinsed, and dried after each use. The bathroom, needless to say, was spotless! So very different from bathrooms in France, and I haven’t even gotten yet to Italy where I am liable to run into many bathrooms that don’t have anything more than a hole in the ground.
The hotel we will be staying in for the next four nights is absolutely lovely – a real splurge on our part. We have been staying in hotels that are perfectly satisfactory, but far from lovely.
Our room is big, our beds are soft, and we have a bathtub! Best of all, the view from our 12th floor window is absolutely astounding, as you can see from this photo. We are looking at the Alps, with the beautiful buildings of Salzburg nestled at the bottom and crawling up the sides of the hills.Salzburg is beautiful, and dedicated to all things Mozart. I’m talking Mozart candy, Mozart statues, Mozart birthplace, Mozart music, Mozart coffee cups, Mozart postcards. You get the picture. The architecture is as pretty as anything I’ve seen thus far in my travels to Europe. It’s just a pretty, pretty town. The buildings are
pastel and have intricate statuary and curlycues and the gardens are green and full of color.We are both tired and didn’t do a lot of exploring tonight. We will do that tomorrow. We just walked into the city center and had dinner at a beer garden. I even had a beer, and I don’t drink beer. But when in Rome…… We also plan on going back, perhaps by train, to Munich to sightsee a bit. It’s about an hour and a half back. Bill is tired of driving.
While the Germany highways are fun, they are also stressful, with constantly watching in your rearview mirror to make sure you aren’t going to be holding anyone up. I’m telling you, some of those folks fly.Tomorrow we are taking the Sound of Music tour. Go ahead. Laugh. I can’t wait.
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