Austria.

Austria was fantastic. Relaxing to be in beautiful cities listening to Mozart in some of the places he would have played. I saw three live concerts in Baroque churches where the sound and the atmosphere really enveloped the audience. I decided to appreciate classical music more. I studied music for years (as a pianist and vocalist) and want to re-experience it.

Salzburg was cold, but that seemed right. (Well, except that every bar and restaurant had the heat hiked and it was incredibly warm indoors). There was a fantastic rainstorm the first night so I stood in the arches of the old city wall and watched the lightning flash over the valley. Then drank a bottle of Austrian wine in the bar trying to read literary theory in German. I studied German in school, and could read a bit of it, although most nouns were unknown to me making understanding the theory impossible. There were some wonderfully odd moments - the Bollywood film being filmed in the church square, the Brazilian boy and Chinese girl having a date in halting English in a sushi restaurant.

Back to work...thrown into a pitch...got through but also got the flu at the same time and am still feeling mightily out of sorts. More pictures soon. And will write something other than a travelogue soon.

Recommendation: Raddison SAS Style Hotel, Herrengasse, Vienna. Stunning boutique hotel.