O Europe, I Must Leave You (part 2)

Zurich International Airport 12 noon local time/6am EST on June 8, 2013

We checked out of our Viennese hotel on Wednesday morning, and proceeded to the Ludwig van Beethoven apartment, where, at least allegedly, he wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament, which is one of the most important letters in all music history.  We know that he spent that summer at Heiligenstadt, but we aren’t sure if Beethoven actually ever lived in that apartment.  The apartment consisted of only two rooms, so it was nothing especially cool, but it was very important and worth it. 

From there we drove a few hours to Salzburg, Austria and we checked into our hotel, a Snooze Inn.  There was one big bed in the middle of the room, and it was hard to get in and out of.  A couple of days earlier the shower nozzle got away from me, and that day’s dirty clothes got drenched.  We looked for a laundry, and went all over looking for one, but never found one that was open.  So while Dad took a walk around the town, I rinsed my mildewing T-shirt and underwear in the sink while watching Hogan’s Heroes. 

Thursday we went into downtown Old Town Salzburg by about noon, and ate (big surprise) at an Italian Restaurant.  It was really good, but really garlicky.  Our Sound of Music tour started at 2:00 pm, so we took our time eating, and then wandered around looking for where we were supposed to meet.  We ended up going to the Mirabel Gardens, where they filmed parts of the Do Re Mi song. 

We got on the bus by about 1:45, and had a really corny tour guide who told jokes like Grandpa or William Guthrie would.  We went all around Salzburg and enjoyed seeing all the sights.  We drove to a town called Mondsee, where they shot the interior of the wedding scene.  While there, we ate Apfelstrudel, and looked at cuckoo clocks in the gift shops.

During the tour, we were allowed to sing along with the soundtrack, and the lady sitting next to me kept saying that Dad and I sounded really good.  Dad was hitting all the high notes that Maria hits in the movie.

After the tour, we drove back to the hotel by way of a grocery store for more bread.  We watched a movie, then retired.

Friday morning we woke up and packed, and decided not to go to Berchtesgaden after all.  So we drove and drove and drove to Zurich.  We got to our hotel, and I started this entry.

Sabbath morning we got up and out fairly early.  We returned our rental car and checked in.  They thought that Dad and I were the same person, so we had to get that straightened out (so I didn’t have to sit on his lap).  During that ordeal, Dad realized that he didn’t have his phone, so he left me to check the bags and he ran to get his phone.

Right now we are waiting to board for Amsterdam!  See you soon!