Link to PHOTO ALBUM:
This is a long post, with a bunch of pictures and multiple subjects. Don't get lost.
So, today was a mixed bag. I made a plan last night. I was going to Salzburg, Austria to see the castle there. Maybe I would stay two nights and check out the old town and other historicish things.
Then this morning I changed my mind after looking into the castle and the weather. The weather was going to be HOT. The castle was one of the two most visited tourist traps in the country. That means lots of people. I also saw the photos of the tour. Not my kind of castle. So I made another plan. I did not follow this plan either.
As I was leaving the the hotel, the guy that checked me in told me of a great road to take heading to Salzburg. Not really the direction I was heading, but it looked interesting. He also told me about two other stops that I HAD to make. They were close enough to my route that I decided to change my plans and head that way. This also meant changing the rest of the day. I chose to visit the Eagles Nest. So I went from seeing a castle in a city where some composer was born to a place where a paperhanger who was afraid of heights hatched many of his evil plans.
Oh, and this is the area that the Sound of Music was filmed. Salzburg was also where the Von Trapp family lived, you know, before leaving to live in Vermont. Somehow I don't think they would have liked that New York Politition much. You know, the one that moved to Vermont and ran for president. I could be wrong.
The route I was sent on was pretty good, not much traffic and lots of curves and scenery. Here is the first stop the guy recomended.
The next stop was the Red Bull museum and hanger. Can you see a pattern here? Can you tell that the guy giving me recomendations was a kid? Still, both sites were worth the minor detours.
I have been told that if I am in the general area or Salzburg I should visit the Eagles Nest. The Eagles Nest was a very high resort / tea house that an evil paper hanger once hatched evil plans for the world with his henchmen. I don't want to put his name here, as it just might affect my searches / google ads or whatever. Frankly, it was a waste of time and money. There is a narrow curvy road going up to the elevator that goes up to a restaurant way up on the mountain. Unfortunately you cannot drive up there. But then, there were so many people going up there, even if it was open it would be just one long traffic jam. There is a parking lot with buses that are especially designed to be able to make it up the very steep hills with ease. The views from the top, and from the bus ride are nice, but there are better views that don't cost so much and require being near so many people. They have it well organized, so it runs smooth and is not a cluster F, but still, not my kind of thing. As far as the Eagles Nest, there is almost nothing really there that is historic. There is a tunnel leading to a brass lined elevator. Not much really else there. Near the bus station there is a museum with a bunker that you can go into. The bunker is closed until at least September for repairs. The Museum that is open has lots of pictures and words speaking to the evils of Socialism. It is cheap, but I did not want to spend my time today reading words (possibly only in German) and looking at photos that I can see elsewhere. There are tours, and other things that could make a visit here worth it even for me, but I did not have time to research them.
There is a toll road that starts here that is pretty awesome and lets you see some great views, in some ways better than what you can see at the top of the Nest, as you have better perspective and more vantage points.
It's funny, they say first impressions are important.
So far I have not found a bad hotel. I paid a bit more than I should have for a few, a lot less than they were worth for others. Often, my first impression of any hotel is "Eh, it's OK" Usually my second impression is "hey, I kinda like this place"
Sometimes though, it takes a few impressions. Take this place. I was looking at hotels in booking.com, and thought there were a bunch of cheap ones in this town. When I got to the area to look around, it was a tourist town and not a lot of good options. I hate tourist towns, but chose to stay because I was hot and grouchy and did not want to go hunting for a place to stay. The cheapest place in bookings was right next to where I was sitting on the bike looking at bookings. Looked OK.
I asked, the price was pretty darned good, under $60. There were cheaper places not all that far away on booking that looked good, but what the hell. I looked at the room and said OK. First impression, clientele were cheap, and the locals hang out in the bar outside. Could be a good or a bad sign. I did get the evil eye from one guy at one table. Later I noticed he looked at everyone the same way.
Five minutes after I brought my stuff up to the room it sounded like bad Karaoke started up right outside my room, and loud. NOT a good sign. Second impression BAD.
I got a pretty decent meal for a decent price at another place, and came back. It did not sound like Karaoke anymore. It was a mix of traditional songs, sing along, modern songs done in a, err more traditional song style. Yes, there was an accordion for some songs.. Everyone was having a good time, they brought a table out just for me, and all was good. There is a pretty German girl singing songs with an American Southern accent. Third impression, GOOD.
Fourth Impression -> For at least 4 hours straight without rest the guy was singing, playing the guitar, accordian, keyboard, trumpet, dancing, and just plain entertaining with a wide variety of song types. He's good.
Fifth impression will be how well I sleep.