Raindrops on Roses

Even though we had our first day of gloomy weather, our second day in Austria was excellent! Katie and Julia were very sleepy this morning so we enjoyed the comforts of the hostel for the free breakfast for the morning. We headed out across town along the Salzach river, walking between the bright blue glacial water and the Alps themselves. We admired mansions and castles then crossed the river into town to admire shops and cafes. It was a very warm morning and after picking up a few trinkets and band-aids for some weary feet we stopped by a bakery for pretzel-bread sandwiches. For just over 6 euro we packed the lunch and strolled back to our hostel - we had to get back in time to catch our bus for the Sound of Music Tour!!

We took off in a big, touristy coach bus with a big, touristy guide named Bernie. We enjoyed the afternoon a great deal, but mixed in with the beautiful vistas of the Alps, Castles, the lake and gazebo from the movie were an awful lot of weird sing-alongs with Bernie in his Liederhösen and the uncomfortable foreign bus-riders. Katie and Julia and I sang along for quite a while and it was really funny, but after 5 hours and getting caught in the rain we were ready to get back to our hostel. It was worth the ride just to see as much of the surrounding city as we did. My favorite part, in addition to the funny pictures and gorgeous views, was the stop at Moon Lake town for a visit to the church where Maria gets married in the movie. It was absolutely beautiful and we lit a candle for our grandma Terry. She would have loved it. We also asked our tour guide about the tourist sites when our mom visited - we grew up hearing stories of how she snuck into all the good spots, and we were curious how she could have done that. Bernie may have called Marie's bluff! We think she may have been pulling our leg. Mom, we'll confirm in about 10 days :)

Tonight we're drying off and heading back into town for a cheap, local dinner of Austrian food and then heading to a bar built into the mountain 200 years ago. Having a blast and taking sooo many funny pictures. Laughing constantly, eating lots of European chocolate and gummies. We are 3 lucky girls!