These Are a few of My Favorite Things

At least while traveling. . .  It was another stormy day, so I chose an alternative activity.  First I went to the grocery store because tomorrow is Sunday and things will be closed up tight in pious Austria.  A trip to the grocery store is in fact one of my favorite things.  I just love looking around.

But after dumping my take and taking out the trash it was time for a further field.  I decided to go to the big mall Europark because I could get some walking and snooting around in a covered area.  I discovered a ticket machine much closer than the one I was using and found a bus stop. Yes.  I grew bold and was ready to brave yet another bus feeling that success would breed success!  Possible hubris.

I was confident because my stop was the end of the line.

The bus set out in a direction I had not been, and I enjoyed seeing a part of Salzburg that I had not seen before.  We passed through a swank neighborhood of grand Victorians that had not been made into hotels or flats.  How could the be kept up without a staff, I wondered.  Anyway it was a longish pleasant ride though the rain, and we arrived just fine.

Europark is a typical mall.  Americans would recognize some of the chains as they are European in origin.  McDonalds is there and so is Starbucks.  Both are also present and constantly busy on Getreidegasse.  Because of my many trips to Europe I am familiar with most of the rest of the chains.  I also came across some specialty shops that were fun to poke around.

When I was done I thought it might be fun to go back on the S Bahn, which I figured would take me to the Haupbahnhof, and then I could get a bus home, but the S Bahn doesn't run very often, so I went back to the bus.  I had a ticket from the machine, but the driver told me it was no good.

What?  It was the same kind of ticket I'm come out on.  Had I cheated inadvertently?  A kindly English speaking passenger helped me sort things out, and I paid a supplement because we would be leaving the city limits.  Now that statement should have bothered me more than it did at that instant.

But I soon became concerned.  This was the bus I'd come out on, and Europark was the end of the line, wasn't it?  But we set out for territories and indeed leave the fare limit for city, which I had not done previously.  At one point the bus wound its way though an industrial area, and I had no idea where we were or where we were going.  I had an anxious ten minutes before we returned to the more familiar route, and I got dropped off near home.

Since it wasn't raining at the time, I decided to stroll around.  I attended a tiny cheese shop.  I had to wait, too, because it was so small there was room only for one customer at a time.  I got some yummy goat cheese, but I'll save it for another day.  I also noticed that the market was a lot livelier, but still touristy, on Saturday afternoon, so I took a stroll through and bought some Marillen Likor--or apricot schnapps from one of the stands.  The apricot is the national fruit of Austria.  Shall we have a taste? It does taste fruity like apricots and is sweet, and fortunately the alcohol doesn't burn.  But this is best taken in small doses.

For dinner I have Kasenudeln an Austrian version of ravioli and stuffed with cheese and herbs.  It's ok--not my favorite because I don't like the herbs that much.  But the smooth--and cheap--Austrian Reisling from the Burgenland makes a nice accompaniment.