First, I must proudly tell you that my bags are unpacked and have been stowed back in the closet, only one week after my return. It usually takes me months to get my suitcases put away, so I feel rather happy to have them out of the way so soon!

Second, I’ve told you about several people I met on my trip. I haven’t mentioned the nice couple I met at the gate in Frankfurt on the return trip – they were from upstate New York and I chatted with the wife almost the entire time while waiting to board the flight. One of the topics of conversation was the food in Austria and Germany, where their vacation had been based, and we agreed that while it had been great we were both looking forward to a return to our normal diets. When I started listing the elements of my normal diet, “less meat, more whole grains, more fruits and vegetables, more fiber…” she told me that I was too young to be worried about those things. When I told her my age (43) she was flabbergasted, certain I was in my upper twenties! She cited my good genes and I had to agree with her. I’ll continue to take looking younger than my age any day of the week, even if there are times when it can be problematic. By the way, meeting so many nice people on a trip to Europe was, for me, rather unusual but very nice.

Third, those of you who’ve read my blog since I first left for Salzburg will remember my post about the Salzburg Card and my surprise at the apparent lack of card system monitoring. There is, naturally, more to the story.

The next interesting detail about the card came from the woman manning (wo-manning) the Hop On Hop Off ticket window in Salzburg. After helping some German tourists in front of me, she spoke to me in flawless, unaccented English. When I showed my Salzburg Card (to reduce the cost of my tour ticket), she proceeded to give me several tips about the use of the card. She provided me a pen with which to write my name and the date on the back of the card (it was my first usage of that card). She emphatically said, “Don’t write a time on the card – don’t ever write a time on the card unless someone makes you,” she said. “That way you’ll get the most use out of your card!” I was surprised, as here was a semi-official person in Salzburg apparently encouraging me to enhance the chances of my getting more time out of the card than was warranted! Naturally, then, I didn’t write the time on the card. This was Thursday and while I used the 48-hour card all day, on Friday I went to Munich thereby losing a significant part of the time in which my Salzburg card would be valid.

Saturday, however, was another day for me to spend in and around Salzburg. With it being the last day of my vacation, and given that available funds were running low, I determined to try and use the card as much as possible throughout the day. I ended up with only two opportunities – the first in purchasing my cruise ticket and the second  in paying for the Festival Hall tour. I was able to purchase the cruise ticket with no problem – at roughly 10:40 a.m. and very close to exactly 48 hours after my first use of the card. When I went to purchase the tour ticket for the Festival Hall, however, the card came back as “expired.” Thankfully I had the euros on hand to cover the cost.

You may say, based on this story, that it seems obvious that the card system is monitored despite what I had been told originally. The remaining question in my mind, however, comes because I don’t remember every place actually scanning my card as was done at the Festival Hall. So it’s possible there may be certain locations where the card can be used but is not scanned. The second question comes from the fact that on Saturday, for the first time, I kept the Salzburg Card in the same pocket as my cell phone. My cell phone had continually invalidated the magnetic stripe on my hotel key, so I thought it might be possible it had the same affect on the Salzburg Card.

My conclusion, however, is that it’s likely that the Card system IS monitored and that the date and time written on the card are meaningless. My remaining doubts (though very few) can only be conclusively erased with a return trip to Salzburg and a more thorough testing of the system. I am up definitely up for that – who’s in?

To end today’s post, I thought I’d include some more photo favorites from Tuesday. Enjoy!

One of my favorite panoramics of Salzburg, taken from the trails on top of Monchsberg

The less frequently seen backside of Hohensalzburg

A lovely scene as viewed from the parking lot of Schloss Hellbrunn

A view from along the Alt Stadt side of the Salzach River

Another view from along the Salzach, this one of Hohensalzburg and Alt Stadt

A closer, higher view of Hohensalzburg and Alt Stadt Salzburg

Another view that can be seen in The Sound of Music; the steps (atop Monchsberg and in front of the Modern Museum of Art) on which the Hollywood Von Trapp children frolicked with Maria