"Down here at Cape Spartel is the celebrated cave of Hercules, where the hero took refuge when he was vanquished and driven out of the Tangier country. It is full of inscriptions in the dead languages, which fact makes me think Hercules could not have traveled much, else he would not have kept a journal."

-"The Innocents Abroad," Mark Twain

Thursday, January 12, 2012

This deserves a good title.

Today, I have no pictures for you. No out-of-this-world new experiences to speak of. I am currently on the bus in the dark, while a few women chatter next to me, writing by the light of my modern-day version music box. (By the time you read this, of course, it will no longer be so.)

Simply put, I had the best day I have had in a while. You could attribute it to the weather - in the city, there is no snow, the ground, for once, is dry, and the bright blue sky was barely interrupted by clouds. The sun shone brightly, adding to the abnormally warm (as I have repeatedly been told) weather. It felt to be the perfect fall day.

As it is a weekday, I went to school - but that in itself did not really contribute. Actually, I had thought today would be a rather awful one, as right before first period began, the knee of the right leg of my jeans inexplicably ripped. (Well, not inexplicably. They were fairly worn.) And I don't mean a little hole, I mean the entire stretch of fabric between the two side seams split. You can understand my dread to see what the rest of the day would hold. I went to German (with the 11 year olds), History (taught in English), French (with the twelve year olds), and German (again, but with the normal people). Then - school was finished for the day! Shortest day of the week, thankfully. I headed to my locker, put on my shoes and coat, picked up my viola, and was out the door. In a little over two hours, I would be having a lesson. In the meantime, I had a library book to return. How exciting!

However, as I walked to the bus stop, I decided to do something I had been wanting to try for several months now. If you have ever been to Salzburg, you know the general lay of the land. For simplicity's sake, I will assume that you have not. On the hills around the edges of the river, there are old paths that appear to be outlined with short stone walls, assumedly ensuring that the walker will not accidentally trip on a tree root and fall to his or her death. Periodically along these little stone paths are little stone towers. It was my wish to find a way to enter these paths - after all, there are houses built in some places around them. Today was going to be the day.

I found an area where it appeared there would possibly be an entrance and began to walk through what seemed to be a neighborhood of some sort, but it didn't take me long to realize two things. A) There were entrances to the paths through the side/backyards and B) there was not way I would be gaining entrance to them considering the huge gates around each home with quite expensive-looking intercom systems attached to them. Needless to say, I just kept walking as if I walk through this area every day on my way home with my book bag and viola.

I found my way back to the sidewalk by the main road soon enough and continued on my way. After about five minutes, I looked to my right in amazement - a path! Sure, it looked different than the others, but it might lead up to them, right? I went up, up, up, reaching the top rather quickly - sadly, this would not lead to my original destination, but the view! From where I was, I could see out over the river, the castle, and much of the old city. But that is all I will write to you of this little bit of outside in the middle of the city. The rest you have to see yourself.

Alright, so I was lying there. I have one more thing to say regarding this - on my way down, a neon yellow helicopter took off from the top of a building nearby! I have never seen one take off in real life before, so I guess that makes two lies. I'm doing really well today.

Once again on my way, I managed to return my library book and bought a new monthly bus pass to get me home from school. (Who knew so small a piece of paper could have so much value?) I went and played music. The day's beauty continued. After playing, I took a bus, as it was too far to walk, and finally bought a DVD player for my laptop! Now I am able to watch the European-formatted DVDs I have. (So, whoever gave me money for Christmas, feel free to call dibs for this - and thank you!) I ended my errand with bread - what else, in Austria? Last step of the day: orchestra rehearsal! Always a good ending :) The only bad thing was that by the time it was over, the sun had set.

If it was so lovely, why no pictures? I left my camera at home, one of the few times I have been without it since my arrival. Maybe I should leave it more often.

Wishing you sunshine,
Mary Beth

P.S. Deciphering bus-handwriting is always a good time...

1 comment:

  1. I am glad you got the sunshine I have been praying for the last two days :) Oh, and I must admit that I almost freaked out when you started a paragraph with "Alright, so I was lying there" and I thought you meant you slipped on the path and landed flat on your back...

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