MONDAY, 9/7:
On one side of the border you can discover new
treasures. On the other, fond memories,
sadly, prove to be just that.
Greetings from Zell-Am-See , Austria
But we’re in Austria . We got to visit a Spar grocery store. And we just finished a five-course gourmet
dinner. So I’ll shut up about it!
The day started with visits to a few Olympic sites in GaPa,
where we stayed last night.
Garmish-Partenkirchen hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics (giving Adolf
Hitler the double play that year, because Berlin hosted the Summer Games, the
ones where Jessie Owens embarrassed the crap out of him), and a few of the
places constructed for the Games are still there, including the stadium hosting
the opening and closing ceremonies and the ski jumping—
The ski jump, by the way, was built in 2007 to host a World
Cup event. Otherwise, everything is
pretty much the way it was almost 80 years ago...Also renovated but still
used? The ice arena—
It’s home to GaPa’s hockey team, SC Riessersee Eishockey
(“We Are True Blue!”, a promotional slogan written in English), which plays in
Germany’s pro league, as well as serving as a training center for figure
skaters and for curling teams (and, just as an aside, what do you call people
who curl. Curlers? I wanna know!). The hockey team has a mascot, and wouldn’t
you know it? That mascot is a cow!
Those of you who’ve followed along on these trips know of my
fondness for taking pictures of the animals. And since this is a vacation, as opposed to a
research trip where we’re often near farm fields containing the animals, the
Eishockey cow may be the only chance I get to take a picture of one.
More about that in a bit.
Before leaving GaPa for Austria ,
Tony the Tour Guide mentioned that he knows a place where we could get a good
view of the city. And if Tony the Tour
Guide says he knows a place where you can get a good view of the city...you’d
better believe he knows what he’s talking about—
You didn’t only get good views of the city, but the ones of
the surrounding mountains weren’t too shabby, either---
All in all, GaPa was a very cool place, one that we might
like to visit again one day. We then
drove the three hours to Zell-Am-See, where, I must admit, we were greeted by
at least one happy Austrian—
By the way, have I ever shared the story about Mozart
Balls? They’re this yummy chocolate ball
with a marzipan center that’s popular around here. They’re made by two companies, one in Germany
and one in Austria . The “real” Mozart balls, it is claimed, are made by a company in Bad Reichenhall, Germany ,
a place we’ll be visiting in a few days.
The other balls are made near Salzburg , Austria Germany ,
they come from the company in Bad Reichenhall.
Every place we’ve seen Mozart Balls here in Austria ? From the company in Salzburg .
Forget the Hatfields and the McCoys, or Ford & Chevy, or
the Packers & the Lions. All of
those are child’s play compared to the Great Mozart Ball Feud!
Finally, one more thing about cows. When we were out walking around GaPa last
night, we happened to see a calendar in a store window, and Loraine thought it
might be a nice way to get around my not being able to take any cow pictures
this trip. So world, here’s my new 2016
calendar--
Hey—if I can’t go to the cows, at least the cows can come to
me!
Tomorrow, we head back into Germany
for two nights in a place I know will not disappoint, if only because we’ve
been there three times already. Berchtesgaden ,
watch out. We’re coming!
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