The next day brought new adventures for me. I went in to the town armed with a new resolve. I was so excited to wake up and look out the window and see something completely different from the mundane alley outside my Temple City door. This window, swung out to the freshest air! Though I was greeted with the view of other dorms to my left, to my right I saw a path that was green and lush. Salzburgians were walking and biking as if the train of life was continuing. I wanted to hop on that train but first I need to eat and shop for groceries! Being the early riser, I leaped out of bed and jumped into action. I had the whole day to myself so it was time to get it started. I washed up and got dressed. As it turned out I did not have a connector for my devices from this century! The one that I had was not going to fit into the walls. All my devices were slowing bleeding battery life. What an opportunity to go to the stores down the street! There was a market, Merkur; Ihr Markt , it was the grocery store, it didn’t open until 7am. There was mini mall down the street also opening later. Most importantly, there was a gas station that sold coffee! I went there first! When I say gas station, what comes to mind is our Am/PM market where you can get 32 ounces of sugary soda and coffee to go. Right? Well in Salzburg a gas station is not like at all! Upon entering the similarities are initially there! Deeper inside, you see the quaint café station! Then the pastry station! Most importantly, the service of the hottie behind the counter! Yes! I said Hottie! He was a tall man, very slender with round brown eyes, a genuine smile and a clean shaven head. Peeking behind the door was his adorable boxer, equally slender and friendly! I sat down at the kidney bean shaped counter and ordered some coffee. They sold a brand called “Afro” coffee “Strong for the men, smooth for the ladies” was its motto! Sporting my own TWA I felt at ease with the graphic on the tray. The coffee was just a step below the Julius Meinl coffee but still really good!

The gentleman and I got into a nice conversation about Salzburg weather, gas prices, and the differences in gas stations in America! He served my coffee on a tray, with a one of those cute bottles of water, and ginger bread like cookie along with my croissant. Another gentleman came in and he was equally polite. It felt good. I felt very comfortable. At first I felt as if I should rush out but I remembered that most places in Europe, it’s okay to sit a while and linger over your Afro coffee! Once 7 am rolled around, I got myself together and paid my bill. The handsome attendant pointed me in the direction of the hardware store in the mini mall and I was off! I crossed the street and set my sights to the stationary store. I hadn’t brought a lot of writing materials so I picked up some pens and pencils and a shopping basket. I remembered that you have to pay for shopping sacks in European markets. I bought a black zippered shopping basket that in America is commonly mistaken for a picnic basket. Then I went to the hardware store. Picked up my plugs and was off to the Grocery store. As I mentioned before, my favorite part of getting adjusted to any new place is going to the super market. When I walked into the market, I have to admit I was confused! The door to the left was the check out location and the door to the right was the produce area. Okay what’s confusing about that? One cannot not simply walk into the door to the left; you have to walk to the right! Okay fine! So the door slid open and the bouquet of fresh everything comes at you! The café area is cooking up some good meats to the far right, Mozart apples abundantly calling out to you, greens freshly washed and displayed and the buzz of carts being wheeled around you by eager staff. Since I had rested and my mind wasn’t so foggy, I was able to get my mind into German mode! Reading all the labels helped and being totally confused by the layout also helped. First I walked around the store, taking in the sights of the market. It had been 4 years since being in Germany; I had totally forgotten the time span of bread! Therefore, seeing the bakery staff trashing bread like there was a virus on it startled me. I remembered everything is so fresh here that it goes bad and has to be tossed. As I walked towards the meat section I was in awe of the selection of Sausages!!!!!! There was actually a wall of wurst! It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! I am a sausage girl! So this was, well, exciting in the most visceral sense! I went immediately for the little Nuremberg sausages eight in the pack. I knew I was going to be back for more so it was no problem. Then I got a couple of Kaiser Rolls and dense bread. The coffee aisle was extensive and overwhelming! I wanted to stock up on bags of coffee to take home though I was unable to because of my low funds. Since I didn’t have a coffee maker at home (yes I was calling it home) I couldn’t get the regular stuff so I bought the little instant packets. I thought yuck instant coffee how terrible! It was actually damn good! I bought two packs and had enough to bring home, to California. By the end of the market trip, I bought bread, sausage, water, pasta, butter, Goats milk and other toiletries. I was set for a while. I paid the cashier who was very cool! She reminded me of my friend Jackie back home. She and engaged in an all German conversation. I was so through the roof that I retained my high school, college and cd-rom German! After I put my groceries away, I took the bus back to the old town and spent the entire day walking around and seeing what I couldn’t comprehend the day before! This time the sun was out and the whole town glistened in a taupe and rustic green patina. The river continued to roar and the tourist converged in the city buzzing with the same happy energy I had. I didn’t care that I was by myself I walked around and spoke to anyone, took pictures when asked and got a beautiful shot of myself on the bridge with the Hohen Salzburg Fortress behind me. When I kept walking, I spied cute shops and cafes filled with regulars, the locals riding bicycles tolerating tourist, and then as I rounded another corner, there he was, Mozart. Everyone taking his picture as his eternal statue stood gracefully. He was never so graceful in real life, I bet. I stood there and just stared at it. The longer I stared the more I felt this is real. Then I was asked by two adorable Japanese girls to take their picture. I said as long as you take mine! We agreed!