October 5, 2005

The planning began months ago. We knew Reed would be deployed to Iraq in November or December and would have some block leave before leaving Germany. I got lucky and found a ticket to Frankfurt for $634. Unfortunately, Pam and Meredith were committed to their respective schools and could not join us.

It was snowing when Pam dropped me off at the airport and the plane's wings required de-icing before takeoff. The delay was enough to make it a challenge to catch my connecting flight in Minneapolis.  I did an "OJ" [running through the airport like he did in the Avis commercial, not the later homicide] and ended up getting bumped to first class for my next leg to Detroit.  An auspicious beginning to a two-week trip, I thought.

It was an eight-hour flight from Detroit to Frankfurt and I arrived at 8:45 a.m., local time.  Reed was there to greet me. We grabbed a couple of sweet rolls, bought two train tickets to Salzburg, and were on our way.

The train was a few minutes late, a rarity, Reed said. Trains run everywhere in Europe and are well-used by the public, much more so than in the U.S.  Of course, if you were paying $5 - $7 dollars per gallon of gas, you might be more inclined to use public transportation, too.

On this trip, Reed wanted to see Eagle's Nest [more on this later], Checkpoint Charlie [ditto], Auschwitz, and return to Croatia where my paternal grandfather was born.  Our vacation was built around these venues but we managed to see much more in the process.

The ride to Salzburg was quiet and fast, about 4.5 hours on the ICE [Inter City Express] train. It was one of the few times we traveled on a train during daylight hours.  The sky was overcast until we neared the Austrian border.  By the time we emerged from the Hauptbahnhof, the clouds had dissipated.  It was 64 degrees and gorgeous!

Salzburg, population 150,000, is divided in two by the Salzach River.  The community predates Jesus Christ and once drew its livelihood from nearby salt [German: "salz"] mines.  On the south side of the river is Altstadt [Old City].  We booked a room on the north side, in Neustadt [New City] at the Pension-St. Peter.  It was clean, cheap, centrally located, and like most pensions and hostels, provided a continental breakfast.

We unloaded our backpacks in the room and walked three blocks to the river, then across to Altstadt.  It was a fanciful mixture of new and old.  Many of the buildings were ancient by American standards, yet they housed fine shops and restaurants.

This "statue" on a street in Salzburg caught my eye.

He came to life.  Toward late afternoon, we took the tram [Festungbahn] to the castle [Festung] or fortress.

The fortress was built in 1077 by the Archduke Gebhard. Reed told me the plaque he was reading in this photo described how the Archduke was surrounded by enemy troops who threatened to starve the inhabitants of the Festung. To show the enemy that he had food aplenty, the Archduke paraded a cow outside the walls as if to say, "We have so much food here we do not panic at the thought of losing one insignificant cow."  In truth, it was the last bovine in the fortress. The Archduke brought the cow back inside, painted it a different color, and paraded it outside the walls the next day. The ruse worked and the enemy gave up hope of starving the Archduke and his band.

Looking west from the Festung

Looking north from the fortress

On our way back to the pension, we saw several men gathered in a square where a large chess board was painted on the ground. I asked if anyone was interested in a game.

Karl Hess accepted my challenge. We played a spirited game.  I bungled one move and Karl told me to "take it back."  I initially declined but he insisted.

After 30 minutes, we battled to a draw.  If you ask me, it was a case of Austrian courtesy, not great play on my part that led to the draw.

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