On Wednesday we journeyed to the Festung Hohensalzburg for our weekly Stadttour. The Festung is the fortress that's visible in almost any picture you'll see of Salzburg. It's scenic and very old; it dates back to 1077 ( 19 years before the First Crusade, to put it in perspective). The fortress wasn't just a castle; it served as a kind of protection for the whole town in times of war. Luckily, Salzburg didn't need the fortress much. The surrounding Alps gave Salzburg, which is in a valley, a very effective defense against invading troops. That is, until World War II, when fighter planes bombed the cathedral :( At any rate, the view from the Festung is breathtaking, and I'll put pictures up soon. Unfortunately about 7 of us missed the audio guided tour, so we'll definitely have to come back a few more times while we're here. That shouldn't be a problem!
Wednesday night Laura and I hosted Taco Wednesday for part of the group, including Bärbel. We all chipped in and brought ingredients, and it was a good time. It's so much easier to entertain when you have a kitchen!
Yesterday we took advantage of the nice weather after class and laid out by the Salzach River in the Neustadt. The river sort of divides the city in two, and during nice weather, there are lots of people walking dogs, reading, and getting some sun on the grassy shores. We also took a stroll through Mirabell Garten, a really pretty park-like area with lots of flowers and trimmed hedges. (It was featured in The Sound of Music.) I'm sure we'll see it in more detail on a Stadttour, but it was fun to walk down the paths and laugh at the awkward Spanish tourists wearing matching clothes. After a long time baking in the sun, we came back to Europa Kolleg and had a little Käsekrainer party. Käsekrainers are pretty much everybody's favorite around here: they're Austrian sausages filled with delicious cheese. Plus, they're not hard to make on the stove.
And, last night we ended up at an Irish pub. Well, kind of. The bartenders all speak German and they serve German beer. But O'Malley's is dressed up to be Irish-themed. It's a favorite with the Americans, Canadians, and anybody visiting from the UK. We girls even sang a few kareoke tunes. Tonight we're going out again to Cafe Republik, according to Shireen, it's the hot dance club in the Altstadt.
I like living on the south end of Salzburg because it's somewhat urban, but you can still tell it's a good part of town. I was trying to find the Europa Kolleg office this morning to retrieve my laundry key, and I passed a spacious park with lots of parents and kids playing. I love listening to little kids who speak German better than I do. It's cute and it kind of puts things in perspective.
More tomorrow. I'm sure I'll have lots to write about!
Dearest, Is it okay with you if I contact Frau Stamp and tell her about your blog?
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