warming up in Austria

Well, I have been away for nearly a week and still have not got over jetlag yet. I get up punctually at 4am everyday, and am tired out by 7pm! I must say that I´ve been tiring myself out everday with walking,though.
The first day in Germany, I used my Eurail pass to visit alpine towns of Garmisch Partenkirchen(ski town), Mittenwald (famed for violinmaker Klotz), and Seefeld, a ski town in Austria. When I got to Salzburg at the end of the day, I was shocked to see that they have guttered the inside of the station and it is all in a mess. I´ve used this station a lot in my travels and it used to be my "welcome home" to Salzburg. Never mind, the hotel owner recognised me and did in fact say "welcome home", so I felt good! Its a little family hotel near the station and the same family has run it for 100 years!
It was dinner time when I arrived, and I walked almost 20 mins towards the old town to look for food. In the end I had to settle for a hole-in-the-wall creperie. As nobody was in the cafe, I had attentive and fast service!
I had a lot of changed plans on my first day in Salzburg. I planned to go up to the fortress, but got distracted by a bus going to the Castle outside town, near where my dorm was, when I was studying here 37 years ago (Oh dear, it has been so long!). So I had a good walk in the Castle´s park and also a good bus ride outside town with views of fields and mountains.
After lunch I finally finished the walk on Monchsberg, where the fortress is. Looking at the map, I can see there is still a little bit that I have yet to do.
On Sunday (Pentecost Sunday), before church, I walked through the quiet streets of Salzburg, free from the noisy tourists. I also get a shiver when I walk in an empty Salzburg. I wonder if I will bump into Mozart coming round the corner!! I went to the Franziskanerkirche, my favorite church here: good music, good sermons. I later took the bus to St Gilgen, where Mozart´s mother was born, and where his sister Nannerl lived after she got married. Her very large house on the lakeside is preserved for visitors. I have not done any "sightseeing" in town yet, as I have been busy on the walks.
I rushed off to take the cog steam railway as soon as I arrived, but I could not get a return trip, so was not allowed to go up. I had to be content with the very crowded boat ride from St Gilgen to St Wolfgang and back. The holiday crowds were out in force with (screaming and frisky)children, (harrassed)parents and (doting)grandparents all out to enjoy the first warm days of summer.
Yesterday I also rushed out for my first walk, and of all things, forgot my walking sticks. I walked by the lakeside for about an hour and then attempted the slope up to the St Wolfgang plgrimage church. I gave up after 10 mins, also gave up more of the lakeside part because it was too slippery. I took a boat to a small called Ried and walked about 20 to 30mins from there to the cog railway station. Again, I could not catch the first train, and had to wait for an hour to catch the next one. One would have thought this was Singapore, as people were lining up 45 mins before the next train arrived!! All depends a lot on the weather, and I really was not expecting much at the top of the mountain. But...wow!... though it was a bit hazy, we could see so many snow-covered mountain tops and a 360 degree view of all the nearby lakes. That really made my day. After that I had to ride back to St Gilgen with an even bigger crush of holiday makers. Here they even have a "Whitmonday" holiday.
Today, I had breakfast a little later. They only serve from 8am!! I rushed out again, but it started to rain...anyway, I had planned to take the bus to the town at the opposite end of the lake and then take walks from there. By the time I got there, all was dry again. have to be ready for hot or cold, rain or shine, all in one day!
I enjoyed the flat walk by the lakeside near Strobl, around a kind of marsh. Then I walked into the small town. All seemed quiet and ghostly, very different from yesterday! I walked round a small little hill jutting out on the lake, and then took about an hour to walk to St Wolfgang again. I sure know this town well by now! I was in time to catch the boat home...yes, I know the boats well too...
I hope to go to Mondsee tomorrow to look at the church where "Maria" got married to "Von trapp". I´ll try to upload some pictures tomorrow when I can get connected from my laptop.
I´ll be back to Salzburg on Friday, and then on to the first walking tour in Lake Garda (Italy) on Saturday. The train,bus,taxi connections are always an adventure!