08/08/2010

Early morning train to Salzburg today, I managed to get the metro to the centre of Budapest and then change for the station at around 6am this morning- I am very proud of myself. Once on the train I had an odd experience with an illegal alien (he didn't seem to be seeking asylum anywhere so asylum seeker would be the wrong term), he told me at first he was from London and asked if he could next to me- what harm could company be on the train- then he told me he was from Tunisia, then told me he had spent 1 month in a Hungarian jail for crossing the border without the correct papers, his I.D. card was for Gaza and he had no visas and it turned out he was traversing Europe continuously from country to country. He freaked out every time I left my seat as he seemed to be trying to convince the guards we were travelling together, then tried to indoctrinate me into the Islamic faith and tell me I was going to hell for drinking beer and that all of Eastern Europe (clearly he hadn't been to Poland!?!) was going to hell for being atheist. I eventually (After about 1 and ½ hours) told him I did not want to talk about religion and that I respected everybody's choice to be of one faith, another or none and went to sleep. He left at Wien and the rest of the train ride was peaceful through Austria.

Met mum at the station and we walked to our hotel, about a 10 minute walk. There is a baaaath and a T.V.- these appliances seem strange to me now, but nonetheless they are great! Mum gave me a tour around the key sites of the Old Town, some of the Sound of Music sites, the Mirabell Gardens and we stopped for some nice Austrian ice cream/ cake in the square. I made mum climb up to the castle fortress, up the steep steps and we saw the Nonnberg abbey and then walked down to the graveyards also used as inspiration for the film. As we caught Mozart's birthplace it started to rain so we sheltered for coffee, before heading back. Salzburg is a very relaxing city, chilled, clam, serene- everywhere you look there are mountains, a stark contrast to the over-crowded, "trying to be Paris" Budapest- yuck! There seems to be the Salzburg festival on at the moment so everyone is tottering around in posh evening clothes, makes you feel underdressed when you are in cut offs and a t-shirt. A short, but relaxing day.