This is my first chance to sit down at a computer in the past few days-- so there are many more updates to share than just the few I will be able to post now.
Since Tuesday, I have been in four cities: Munich, Salzberg, Rattenkirchen, and currently Vienna.
I landed in Munich on Tuesday evening-- and caught the train with my cousin Benjamin to his uncle and aunt's home in a very nice, central Munich neighborhood.
On the way, I had my first surreal German experience. We sat down on the train, and immediately noticed that the couple in the seats adjacent to us were speaking Hebrew (and I could understand, yay UJ!) and then we looked out the window to see that the train coming in opposite direction was headed to Dachau. This sort of thing kept happening.
We spent Shavuot in Munich-- wandering around the city and sticking our heads into various churches and other sites. On the first night of the holiday, we went to synagogue and then back to the home of the Rabbi and his wife for late night food and, since it was Chabad, booze.
Thursday evening we went o Salzberg, and met Benjamin's half-brother and his family there. We took at late dinner on the street watching the people walk by and Ben's enthusiastic, young nieces doing cartwheels and other gymnastic tricks.
In the morning we explored Salzberg-- which looks amazingly like it fell right out of a fairie tale. It has colorful domes and spires and a real-live castle up on the hill. I kept looking around for a booth selling Mickey-Mouse ears.
We got into Rattenkirchen an hour or two before Shabbat. Rattenkirchen is a small, Bavarian village about an hour from Munich, where Benjamin's grandfather and his wife live. The house was very beautiful and we had the most relaxed Shabbat that I can remember for a long time.
I got into Vienna about an hour ago, and just checked into the hostel. Zak arrives from Israel in a few hours. I am counting on him being pretty mopey the first couple of days-- he has just finished his year in Israel, and I doubt that even these adventures will compare with that. However, I am really looking forward to seeing him and exploring together.
That's all for now-- hopefully, I will have the chance to write again soon.
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1 comment:
Hi Adam! Total agreement on Salzberg, like Disneyland where Mozart is a bigger draw than Mickey Mouse...truly a parallel universe. If you get antsy on your last day in Vienna, my favorite Austrian town is Graz, about 2 hours southwest of Vienna by car (maybe even quicker by train?). It blanked on me to recommend it before you left. Maybe it was the effect of RUNNING INTO YOUR PARENTS in NorCal wine country that knocked some sense into me. The blog is fantastic; I'll continue to veraciously read updates! Happy travels! XOX
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