A beautiful day today in Salzburg, perhaps the last one this week if you go by the continually gloomy weather reports. I took advantage of the weather and visited the Salzburg Zoo, took a cable car to the tippy top of Untersberg and then toured Schloss  Hellbrunn.

The zoo was tucked up against the backside (or front, how does one tell with mountains?) of a random mountain (random to me that is). Very nicely done, I must say. The whole effect was rather cute. It was not a good day for animal viewing. (Those of you who know me well will know how much it pains me to write that the tiger did not show himself (or herself) during my visit.) Unfortunately, I did see lots of kids and their parents. Expected, you say? Not necessarily, I say – the Warsaw Zoo was not overrun with them the day I was there. Anyway, there were also a lot of pet dogs there – always nice to see.

The cable car ride to the top of Untersberg was worth every Euro – although I didn’t actually have to pay with Euros, as I was smartly (in that I remembered) utilizing the Salzburg card provided by my travel agent (more on the Salzburg card below). The price board listed the price for hunde as 4 euros – made me giggle – only in Europe… The views from the top were simply stunning, beyond words or the capability of a camera to capture. (I did post an iPhone panoramic on FB but it really doesn’t do justice.) It was chilly but I loved that, and only slightly windy.

Funny story about the human language – the universal human language, often unspoken. On the way down, the cable car was typically crowded. The gentlemen standing in front of me was being pushed from behind as someone tried to get a better spot by the window. He turned to see who it was (I could see the whole thing and knew who it was.) When he saw her, he turned back towards me and his facial expression indicated that, now that he saw who it was, a woman of a particular ethnicity (which I will not name), it made total sense that he was being pushed. We exchanged grins and then he proceeded to tell his wife. It was the funniest thing, and I have no doubt I am totally correct in my interpretation of his look. Feel free to make your own guess about the woman’s ethnicity.

Now, about the Salzburg card – it appears to operate completely on the honor system! There are 24, 48 and 72 hour cards that you purchase for use all around town – transportation, entry into the attractions, etc. When I asked how to activate the card, I was told to just write the date and time from my first use and then discard it when the allotted time was up. Obviously, a system that can be easily manipulated. I’m not sure if its naïveté, or just a good opinion of mankind, but I found it refreshing to see such apparent faith in humankind’s general good nature. Call me cynical, but I can’t picture an American city using such a system without a more rigid way to confirm the cards are being used properly. What do you think?

Lastly, I stopped to tour Hellbrunn on the way back to town. Halfway through my visit, it began to rain – perhaps I’ll post a pic later. For now, I’m going to watch Sound of Music – I’m signed up for the tour tomorrow a.m.!