Last day in Salzburg :(

Already our last day in Salzburg. I wanted to take in as much of the city as I could, so I woke up early and went on a run with Kelsey out of the city towards der Hellbrunner Schloss. We got all the way out to the gate used in The Sound of Music where Julie Andrews sings "I Have Confidence". Needless to say I stopped and sang it there myself. I really am so glad that I found Kelsey to do these runs with--don't know if I'd be able to make myself wake up this early after staying up late at night to talk to people back home.

We met Heidi at Mirabel Garten for a walking tour of Salzburg, starting off by going through the garden. She pointed out a hedge I hadn't noticed before, which the children ran through while singing "Do Re Mi"! The tour's main highlight was Mozarts Geburthaus (the house where he was born) where we saw a piano recital played on a piano made in the samd year as his own piano (his piano was kept in the house he lived in, the Mozart Wohnhaus). It was actually really cool hearing Mozart's music on the actual instrument of his time, in a place where he himself had lived. The piano was pretty cool too, in that the white and black keys were reversed colors.

I also bought some delicious bread for just a euro from central Europe's oldest bakery!!! YUM.

I was excited to get a free afternoon before dinner--Hannah, Emily, Kelsey,  Juli and I went to check out a market we'd seen on our tour. I grabbed a Brunst for lunch, which seemed to be a thing around Salzburg, as I'd seen it advertised in multiple places, and it wad delicious!! I also successfully used my German skills to order my food; that's something I've really been having fun with. We also got ENORMOUS Brezels (pretzels) as a snack...yum. (Sidenote: I wouldn't be surprised if I gain ten pounds from all of the food I'm eating on this trip! Just waiting for Italy...)

 

We wandered around a bit after lunch and found another bookstore--I had fun skimming through Anne Frank, as it is the original version in German, whereas ours is translated.

Dinner was...interesting. We went to the oldest restaurant in Central Europe (since 803), so it was a pretty classy place. They didn't serve tap water, which got people kind of aggravated because we're not used to that in America. After spending €50 for water as a group (which gave each of us about three sips), the manager took pity on us and bent the restaurant's no tap water policy. The food was okay--turkey with some olive something cooked into it and potatoes with a soup and dessert. However, the highlight of the dinner came as the servers were clearing away our main entree dishes; they were moving quickly, trying to get us water while clearing our plates, and two servers ran into each other. One dropped and broke a plate. Immediately a handful of our group broke into laughter and applause at the spectacle. The server spun around, stared at the group (including at least one professor) and said, "Thank you, that's very nice." I can honestly say I was embarrassed to be American in that moment. That moment made me realize even more the fact that I am representing not only Millersville and the PASSHE, but the entire United States. Americans don't necessarily have the best reputation, and I don't want to reinforce that image. (End rant.)

A group of us hung out at a bar after, which was pretty fun. We went to a chill place and just sat and talked over drinks, a nice way to de-stress from what had become an increasingly stressful dinner before turning in for the night.

Really hope I get to come back to this city at some point in my life...counting my blessings for being able to be here now.

Until next time.