Change of plans

Today I woke up around 6:30am, showered, packed and got on the bus to head to Salzburg... although I didn't quite make it there. We stopped first in Gruenau, Austria as busabout had added a stop this year. I fell in love on the way in. I could see the snow topped mountains in the distance slowly getting closer and decided if that was where we were going I was going to figure out how to stay there. The hostel is called the treehouse and they cook home cooked meals for breakfast and dinner. For busabout they cooked us hungry travelers a yummy lunch of chicken, pasta and veggies for 5 euros. I asked Charlie the bus guide for the day about staying here and she said it would be no problem to change my schedule if they had room, and they did! Only 7 of us are staying here so it's a nice change to a busy, crowded hostel.

Tomorrow we're going horse back riding which I'm excited about. It's only 11 euros for a few hours so it's totally worth it. The sun is starting to come out now so I think I might go walk around in the woods and explore after getting a little bit of work in. There is a stream that runs out back and all of the windows and doors are open right now and there is this lovely breeze coming in. The water is crystal clear and it's seriously so peaceful here. Even though I've been on my own a bit the past week or so it's different when you're in a city vs in a really nice tiny town (of like 1200 people or less). The hostel is about 3 km out of the town so we're pretty much in the middle of nowhere :)

I'll be going to Salzburg next. I got lucky and got the last bed for Friday and Saturday. I do have to switch rooms but that's okay. After that I'll be in Munich for only 1 night. I'll be missing Neuschwainstein but after seeing so many castles and churches it's okay. I can go back some other time and I'd rather spend my last week in nice places feeling a bit more well rested before I come back to Portland than rushed. So Sunday and Monday will be a bit hectic as I'm traveling for 5 hours Sunday to Munich then too many to think about (12 at least) to Paris. I'll be there for 2 nights and 2 full days and then Wednesday night I take a train back to Frankfurt, spend the night in the airport and fly back home the following morning. My days are numbered!

Time to relax a bit more and check out Gruenau. Here is a picture I found online since I haven't had a chance to take any yet.



I'm sure you can see why I stayed!