Friday morning at the crack of dawn (okay so it was like 730, but on 4 hours of sleep that's early) we boarded the bus and took off for Salzburg, Austria. After a couple hour drive we arrived, got off the bus and marched in our bumbling herd of Americans over to the Franciscan church where we had mass with the auxiliary bishop of Salzburg (he tried really hard, but him saying a mass in English was pretty entertaining). After that, we had lunch in Salzburg followed by a walking tour (cold, foggy, and with everything covered up for winter are great conditions for tours). Then, we spent some free time in the city, followed by dinner at the Kebap shop next to our hostel (delicious!) and headed to the Augustiner. There, we enjoyed the best beer any of us has found yet (and, from what I've been told, will find), and had a great night.
Saturday morning we woke up and once again boarded the bus, this time headed for Munich. We had mass there at the cathedral where Pope Benedict XVI was bishop for five years, which was awesome. We then had a short tour of Munich, followed by some free time. We began the free time by having some sausage from a street vendor in Munich, and then proceeded to walk around the city checking out different stores and buildings. Finally, we made our way to the Hofbrahaus and enjoyed some German beer at the most authentic of German beer halls. Here, we each purchased steins to bring home with us, one of my friends deciding to buy the ceramic instead of the glass. He asked in German how much it cost because he read a phrase book. The problem with that? When they respond in German, and you can only count to ten, it doesn't make sense when the tell you it costs 22 euro for a mug. Then, when all you have a is a 100 euro bill anyways, it doesn't matter what they said when you go to pay. Needless to say, he was less than thrilled.
Sunday we were back in Salzburg where we attended mass (in German) at the cathedral. This mass was beautiful because it was Mozart mass, where all of the music was played on a major organ, and was composed by Mozart himself to be played on that organ with the acoustics of the cathedral. Beautiful. After that, we had lunch and then enjoyed (some more than others) a trip to the Church where the von Trapps got married in the Sound of Music, and then returned to Gaming.
So far, Salzburg is the best city. We'll see what can top it. Prague next weekend, update you after!
Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=191006&id=570370259&l=6bff48303e
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