Springtime and Kaffeehaus Kultur

I am currently sitting at Cappomio, my favorite Austrian-Italian Cafe, enjoying their free wireless internet and one of the best paninis I've ever had. Shireen's eating a delicious-looking prosciutto pizza and we're both drinking iced coffees (well, the closest thing you can get in a country that doesn't seem to have ice cubes.) I wish there were more cafes like this in the States. It has sweet jazz music, postmodern-ish art, and even a TV on the wall that's playing Viva. I love Kaffeehaus Kultur, and plan to spend the better part of an afternoon in a Vienna cafe this weekend, since Vienna is even more famous for coffeehouses than Salzburg.

Yesterday Melissa's friend was visiting from Heidenheim, Germany, and he offered to drive us to our weekly class in Itzling on the north side of town. It was so refreshing to ride in a car again, and avoid the constant stops on the bus. Even though I think public transportation is extremely practical and convenient, I still think I miss driving more. Around here, there isn't really much of a speed limit and the drivers are insane. But it was still a good time. I thought it was interesting: I remarked to my Austrian friend that we're all a fan of the foreign smart cars that almost completely dominate the road over here, and he told me that many of the people he knows admire and wish to own American cars. To me, that's hard to believe. I'd take a BMW over a Ford any day. I guess it all depends on perspective. Everybody wants what they can't have.

Last night we all met up for our weekly Stammtisch at Stieglkeller, an authentic Salzburg beer garden that overlooks the Altstadt. Stiegl, of course, is Salzburg's own premier beer, and is sold everywhere, including in the vending machines at Europa Kolleg. The view at sunset was absolutely gorgeous, and luckily, we took lots of pictures. Although the food is a little pricey, I definitely think I will be going back there before I leave Salzburg. But I'm not going to talk about that terrible thing called leaving just yet.

This really has been a fantastic week so far. The weather (for the most part) has been sunny, and it's clear that spring/summer has finally found our valley town. Last week, when the fog that had settled over the mountains for several days cleared up, we could see that all the trees on the warmer side of the Alps had bloomed. Now, the mountains look more like they did in "The Sound of Music."

Tomorrow we leave at 8 a.m. to travel by bus to Vienna. By now we've learned a lot about the city, and I'm really looking forward to experiencing another Austrian metropolis. Even though I'll miss my Salzburg friends, it's sure to be a good time.