Salzburg, Austria – Sept. 2-3, 2012

More pictures here!

One of our readers asked if we missed enjoying activities as a couple due to having The Noses with us, referring to visiting museums and the like.  On the few occasions when this has come up, it hasn’t been a hardship to separate for a few hours and enjoy some time alone.  Most commonly though, having The Noses with us broadens our experience of an area, often leading to spots with fewer tourists and more nature; our visit to Salzburg was no exception.

Although it was time for our stay in a hotel anyway, Salt's leaking roof made heading to Salzburg’s Wolf Dietrich hotel that much more appealing.  Yes, during the last rain storm in Austria, Salt sprung not one or two, but three leaks.  We were forced to go out into the deluge and string a bright blue tarp over her top (well, SP was forced . . . I was going to do it with or without him.)  As SP said, “We went from the upscale Americans with the fancy car and trailer to White Trash in 15 minutes.”  So with caulking supplies on order, we locked up Salt, gathered The Noses and treated Pepper to some fast driving up the A10 to Salzburg.

First of all, the drive from Dobriach to Salzburg is gorgeous, rivaling that of Canada’s Highway 1 through Banff.  It was a quick hour and half drive to our lovely hotel, The Wolf Deitrich, which I highly recommend:  It sits across the river from the touristy “Old Town” section of Salzburg amongst appealing local shops and restaurants. The staff was welcoming and the service is excellent; offering a well-stocked breakfast and a coffee/tea service each afternoon in their charming bar.  (Note that our room was not a typical room, they have more ordinarily decorated rooms as well.)

The “Old Town” is filled with new fashion stores and most of the tourists.  The small pedestrian-only streets are charming if you can get around the people and enjoy walking at a tourist pace; neither of which we tolerate very well.  To get above the crowd, we quickly jumped on a horse-drawn carriage (Noses included, of course!) and were heartedly entertained by our driver during our 20 minute tour. 

For our full day we headed up to the fortress eschewing the funicular and opting for exercise—and exercise it was!  The hike up the hill had us dripping in sweat by the time we were reading the “No Dogs Allowed” sign at the entrance gate. 

Having seen a lady coming around the outside walls with a Labrador we thought perhaps there was a trail around the fortress that we could enjoy.  It turns out that there are a myriad of trails running through the woods surrounding the fortress.  It was the highlight of our trip; the Noses running free and racing around the top of the hill as we paused every so often to enjoy some coffee, warm apple strudel, and the fantastic views back down over the city.

And so we got something out of Salzburg that we never would have had we arrived at those gates without The Noses.  Truth be told, we are not great museum or tourist attraction fans so it is not difficult to pass up most of the sites, particularly when they are so crowded.  I expect this to change when we reach Florence and Paris where we will need to alternate viewing days in order to enjoy David and the infamous Don't-You-Dare-Call-Me-Mona, Ms. Lisa. 

But as I mentioned above, after a year of living in 19’, a day alone isn’t so bad.

-K

Musings – On Our One Year Anniversary & US Return

What is it like to live in 19’ with the Love of Your Life and two terriers for a year?  Not as hard as you would imagine, certainly not as hard as I imagined.  The key for me was to surround myself with only items that bring me joy.

What I thought was going to be the biggest sacrifice, a severely limited wardrobe, turned out to be my greatest discovery:  When I open the clothes cupboard (of which there is only one, and it is small, and it is shared) I know that whatever I pull out I will love.  This is a huge change from my walk-in closet back in Laguna where, stocked with every piece of clothing or shoe that even momentarily caught my eye, I would stand for an eternity each morning thinking, “I should wear that, or I should wear this” only to put back on my personally cut ¾ length Levi’s.  Looking back, I now see the wasted time and money involved in what should just be a quick morning activity wielded solely as a pediment to more distinguished accomplishments.  I am just saying, Einstein and Coco stuck to plain black.

Thanks to modern technology and, especially here in Europe, almost constantly available WIFI, I can bring along all the people who bring me joy.  I am not a huge fan of Facebook, but it is difficult to imagine a year away and staying connected to my friends and family without it.  Sometimes it is the seemingly trivial postings that keep the connection most alive.

Of course two of my very favorite possessions are hairy, playful and love to roll around on the bed.  For this I am thankful that SP pushed us to bring along a small vacuum.  Speaking of SP and possessions, when loading up we had many arguments about what should be included, tools, pots, fasteners (“a vacuum?  Are you crazy?!”), I am afraid that SP’s list was much (much, much) longer than mine.  I have to admit, though, that his possessions have come in handy a number of times and undoubtedly have made this year a much smoother ride.

As for Don’t Dare Label Him A Possession SP, not only does he make me laugh in the most trying of times (of which there have been many) he may forever be the only person who understands how difficult Living the Dream can be.

Is it fitting to be lingering on thoughts of returning to the US while writing this?  We are planning on a mid-December return, earlier than originally anticipated.  Part of this is home-sickness (Facebook does not provide the ability to hold my new nephew), part is wanting to garden on land that we can call our own, but most of it is us having grown weary of the almost constant chore of dealing with what needs to come into and out of your body.  Not to mention our new understanding of Schengen (the treaty not the town.) 

As for me, some joyful thoughts on my first days back in the US:

-        The first thing I eat will be a toasted onion bagel dripping with butter;

-        The first thing I drink will be a Manhattan;

-        The first thing I buy will be a NY Times Sunday Edition or, if it is not Sunday, a Wall Street Journal.

With any luck all three items will happen on the same day.

-K

Dobriach, Austria Part 1 – Aug. 21-26, 2012

Busy season pictures here

Written upon arrival, August 21:  Despite being promised that the vacationers would be tailoring off, we are again surrounded by multitudes of people.  But this time we booked ahead and reserved the largest pitch they had; thankfully at the entrance to one of the campground's otherwise dead-end rows.  Rookie mistake:  We were so happy to be in a well-marked comfort pitch (water and drainage on-pitch although you share the drain) that we pulled in and parked Salt without any thought of having to hook her up and get out.  

Later, sitting outside enjoying our cocktails, we watched as the row across from us (and by “across from us” I mean, literally, six feet away) filled up (and up and up) and we slowly realized that not only might we never want to leave (mountains, lake, swimming, fishing, hiking, cool breeze, happy Austrians) but that we may never be able to leave.  As it stands right now, we cannot re-attach Salt and get her out of the pitch without asking someone else to move.  Hello Neighbor, nice to meet you, would you kindly hitch up your caravan and move it out of our way?  And we wonder where Europeans get the idea that Americans are pushy.

Update on August 26:  I have never been so happy to be woken up by the sound of a car!  This is the last Sunday of August and the people are flying out of the campground.  As I said to SP, we might get back to liking this way of living soon; perfect timing as we are about to celebrate one year full time in Salt. 

We continue to treat this stop like a vacation with lots of tennis, swimming and long, easy walks with the Noses around the lake.  The local Pretzel Bread has now replaced Pain au Raisin as my raison d'etre.

Austria was not on our original plan, but now we are glad it was thrown our way.  The people seem more outgoing and active than other Germanic countries we have encountered and our little spot in (the wonderful) Camping Brunner am See at the head of Millstatter See (Lake) is perfect:  The camp has its own beach, you can walk to groceries and a bakery, tennis is close at hand, two touristy towns within a short drive and a working town (my phrase for towns that work for the people with hardware stores, auto supplies, veterinarians, doctors, etc.) within a 30 minute, gorgeous drive around the lake.

With the people thinning out we may find ourselves here for quite some time.

-K

PS:  The thinning out has included many pitches in our immediate vicinity so moving, should we ever want to, should no longer be an issue.