Sunrise in Salzburg

 My trip started with a tour of Munich with a couchsurfer named Baran. He knew every nook and cranny of the city, and the history and stories of so many buildings and statues.  Munich is such a beautiful place and I was so lucky to have such a great tour guide. From here the trip took quite an adventurous turn.  Jakub, a rowing friend living in Germany, and I headed down to Lech Zurs in Austria to do some skiing.  We hit the slopes with vengeance...and Jakub ended up with 2 cracked ribs, a ruptured spleen, 2 fractured vertebrae, a concussion and a broken humerus. So, I began my trek from Zurs to the Feldkirch ICU. This created a few adventures of my own, not the least of which was getting there in a pair of hotel slippers because my shoes were locked in the car.  The car, a tiny stick shift Renault, also had to be driven back to Feldkirch so Jakub could take care of it later, so I stepped up to the plate the next day. First time driving stick on my own, through the Alps w/ some heavy snow passing through...quite the drive. Luckily I had Bruce Springsteen to keep me company on the local radio station.



I returned to Rosenheim, got my stuff, and headed to Salzburg the next day.  The trip really began there.  Another couchsurfer, Michelle, texted me as I arrived in Salzburg saying there was a parade in Ebensee, a small town in the Salzkammergut.  So, I hopped on another train and headed out. Am I ever glad I did.  We experienced Fetzenmontag, rag Monday, a ridiculous parade where Austrian children came around and hit you with large wooden sticks, girls were carried off in wheelbarrows to bars and the whole town comes together for a party. After the parade we were invited to a party, but not quite the usual fare that I am involved in.  This party was in a tiny cedar boathouse, on the edge of Trawnsee, a small mountain lake, with Trawnschtein, a monster of a peak overlooking it.  There was white sausage and beer abound and with everyone still dressed in their costumes it was quite the time. We partied the night away with the Austrians and on Sunday went to another parade in Bad Aussee. On the train there and back we were serenaded by a group singing traditional Austrian festival songs, what an atmosphere. I will post this now because I feel as though an update is necessary, but I will come back and finish it later when I am not about to fall asleep....goodnight everyone!