Austria

So here I am in Austria. It's snowing, it's cold, but ok it's really beautiful too. I spent the last day and a half in Salzburg...famed for being the birthplace of Mozart. It was pretty small, i think I saw pretty much everything i wanted to see in the time i was there. I also had fried bratwurst...mmmm...i didn't think you could make it any fattier. But yes, let's fry it. And then put some potatoes and saurkraut with it because that's the way they do it.

As I pulled away from the Lyon train station I suddenly realized I had not brought an extra set of cantacts and my glasses suffered the same fate of the camera so they weren't with me either. Ah, whatever I tried to think nothing of it. And then I woke up this morning only to realize I had a large rip in my right contact. I momentarily freaked out, because I didn't know what else to do. And then I thought long and hard about going back to france because I was not about to make it 7 more days with no contacts. Then I envisioned what David would say if I showed up 14 hours later, entirely too early to have finished my trip. After much intellectual contemplation I concluded that Austrains must wear contacts too and I journeyed out of my hostel on a quest to figure out where I might find these elusive contacts. About one minute down the street I found an Optik! A nice Austrian girl checked my eyes and gave me a contact for 6 euros. Now I can see and I'm in Vienna.

Vienna is the Paris of Austria. Not my favorite so far, but I'm finding I usually prefer the small towns...like Salzburg, to the large ones. I went to two art museums today. One had a extensive Picasso exhibit going for the fall so that was interesting. I have never seen so much Picasso in my life. The other one was mostly artists like Klimt with more of a modern flare also which is quite a nice change from the stuff I've been seeing.

And now I'm off to Slovenia! I bought my ticket today and somehow it was special deal day and I got 50% off. I love Slovenia already :) Apparently I probably still have some family there but I can't get any specific details. Everyone and their mother has my last name there, so that doesn't help much either.

Well that about does it, I'm going to see the Vienna Imperial Orchestra tonight. Some nice man in a get-up selling tickets last night convinced me to go...well convinced me to buy tickets from him anyway :) I figure I am in Vienna. Mozart here I come.