It was dark when I woke up. That's the only constant which doesn't change. The first thing I noticed when I looked out the window were the neon orbs glowing in the darkness outside the cemetery . I had not noticed them before. It looked a little less creepy this morning. I could get used to this, I thought as I turned away from the window to pick up some leftover cherries. After crashing onto the bed yesterday and sleeping the day away, I was feeling considerably better. The coughing spasms had begun but my head was no longer heavy. We were checking out after breakfast today so a little bit of packing was in order. After that, we whipped out our tablets to tap the time away.
The wooden staircase started creaking at about 8 am. Someone is about. We descended to the dining room which was again laden with large croissants (delicious!), assorted ham and cheeses but no buns. Herbert discovered how much we liked the croissants so he had the buns replaced with croissants, lots and lots of them. We tucked them all in, nice and proper and washed 'em down with strong brews of coffee and tea.
Then came the sixty-four dollar question.
"How do you want your eggs this morning?" Herbert asked.
Mr Nice-Guy once again requested for hard-boiled eggs. The rest with the exception of me, settled for half-boiled eggs.
"Soft-boiled or liquid eggs?" Herbert wanted to know.
"What's the difference?" my husband asked.
"Well, liquid eggs are more fluid compared to soft-boiled."
"In that case, I want liquid eggs", my husband said. As it turned out, so did the rest, except me. (It wasn't egg etiquette which concerned me. I just wasn't in the mood for eggs.)
The dining room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The French couple occupied the same table next to ours. By the window sat the older woman who seemed only interested in her food. The young lady by the door was busy tapping away at her laptop.
Once again, the eggs arrived at our table on the egg-cup. The French couple fixed their attention on us. Ms Walk-Faster who was oblivious to the spectacle she made of herself yesterday attended her eggs in the same manner. The French couple on the table behind her stiffled their chortles while I wondered if anyone could laugh at the same joke twice.
Herbert emerged from the kitchen, curious to learn from my husband if the liquid eggs were what we had in mind.
"Are the eggs OK?"
"Not really," my husband replied. "It's overdone."
"It's 7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs and 5 minutes for liquid eggs."
"Probably 3 minutes then, for our version."
Herbert emerged from the kitchen, curious to learn from my husband if the liquid eggs were what we had in mind.
"Are the eggs OK?"
"Not really," my husband replied. "It's overdone."
"It's 7 minutes for soft-boiled eggs and 5 minutes for liquid eggs."
"Probably 3 minutes then, for our version."
Herbert was mortified. Civility intervened. Good manners prevailed.
It was time to check out. While the guys were popping the luggage into the back of the vehicle, Ms Walk-Faster came to me with another earth-shattering revelation.
"Did you notice the cemetery nearby? The bathroom floor is always wet," she whispered in my ears. Not knowing what to make of that, and not wishing to know, I held my tongue with a I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it smile.
 |
| Palace Museum Tickets: EUR10.50 |
This was once the summer palace of the Archbishop of Salzburg. The palace was not as grand as Schonbrunn Palace but the fountains were a lot more interesting. The trick fountains were activated only at certain hour.
|
|
 |  |
|
|
 |  |
 |
| Don't be fooled by the tranquility of this scene. |
Part of the palace ground where interesting fountains hid between the shrubbery. Water jets shot from unseen fountain heads hidden behind low bushes. Be prepared to get wet.
|  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
|
|
 |
| Entrance to man-made cave (pictures above) |
When we first walked down this passage into what looked like a man-made cave, the ground was dry. we did not notice the water outlets hidden cleverly among the stones.
|
|
Children playing with water, their faces beaming with delight is not something you see every day. I went down on my knees (the good one) intending to capture the perfect shot. This was no easy feat on a five foot path crowded with tourists. Unable to proceed, I had to settle for candid shots instead.
Suddenly, without a warning, more jets of water shot out from behind us. It was a case of "Water, water, everywhere!" All of us were taken by surprise. The children yelled. Ms Walk-Faster squealed in delight, her voice a pitch higher only because the children were further away. It was a pleasant surprise, a fitting tribute from the Trick Fountains that we were about to leave behind. We strolled to the Exit and noticed a large crowd waiting to enter.
 |
| A parting shot. |
"This place is not worth the trip," lamented Mr Seventeen.
With Mr Nice-Guy behind the wheels, we left Salzburg. It was 2 pm when we reached Vienna. I was famished but the vehicle had to be sent to the car dealer before 3 pm and,with a full tank. Those were the terms and condition.
From there, we lugged our luggage to the U1 subway for Hauptbahnhof and lunched on McDonald's fish fillet and beef burger after checking into The Star Inn Hotel. As always, the junk food from Mc Donald's were mediocre. That is another constant which doesn't change.
We gathered at the lobby at 4.45 pm . Belvedere Palace was next.
No comments:
Post a Comment