It is now 8:35 am. I am on a train to Vienna. It will arrive there at 11:25 am.
I spent yesterday in Salzburg. The sights there were not impressive. I went to the castle up the hill but it was boring. Nor was I interested in Mozart's Birthplace (I did not even go in). I think I was kind of tired of museums. But generally speaking, Salzburg was beautiful. The narrow cobble-stone streets, the hills, the river and the houses. The place I liked most was the big chess grid at Kapitalgasse where local people really played chess there. I sat there several times to watch and rest.
I was much stronger yesterday. I could walk more and needed less rest. And I could eat much more.
When I strolled along Linzer Gazze, a beautiful old street where my hotel was located, I spotted this "Spaghetti Bolognaise" on a menu outside a cafe. Instantly I decided that I should have this as dinner. There was in fact an English menu in that cafe but I ordered the spaghetti anyway. The dish was so large that I could not finish it. And I remember that I had the very same food in Brugge as my one and only hot meal during my last trip in Europe. I hope this time I can have other hot meals, in London maybe. This meal was only AS 85, i.e. less than HKD 70.
After dinner, I went to see the move "Don Juan de Marco", which was of course in German. I found it a little bit boring because I had seen it before.
I did not sleep well last night, kept waking up in the middle of the night. The duvet was too warm and there were strange noises from outside the window or the bathroom, or the bathroom next door. I am not sure.
I have got quite sick of hotel breakfasts. They were all the same.
* * *
It is about 7 pm and I am in my room in Vienna. It is unfortunately located outside the heart of Vienna so I needed to spend almost two hours to find the way here from the Westbahnhof. It is not a hotel, but a pension with several rooms. Mine is on the top floor, with a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen-cum-bathroom and a toilet outside. The price is just AS 550 per night, unbelievably cheap. But then this is in a very quiet quarter about 10 minutes away from the nearest tram line. I have to walk up a sloped street to here. And it is very quiet even during the day.
It has been raining since about 2 pm and the rain is quite heavy. I just walked around the city centre and did nothing special. I was stopped on the street and persuaded to go to a concert of waltz held in the Stadtpark and was sold a student ticket at AS 300. The concert will begin at 8:30 pm but I wonder if I should go. It will end at around 10:30 pm, which means that I will have to walk all the way up back here alone at around 11:00 pm. I don't feel very comfortable about this. I should have thought about this when I bought the ticket.
I also bought a novel by Maeve Binchy from the British Bookshop. I was so happy in there when I saw all the books in a language that I understand. But the novel is a bit expensive at AS 150. In Hong Kong, it should cost less than HKD 100.
I don't understand why there was no light at all in the hall downstairs. And I have no idea where the light switch is.
* * *
I was back to the pension a little before 11 pm. The way up here almost scared the hell out of me. It was so quiet. Luckily, there were these heaven sent mother-and-children trio walking in front of me. This made me feel a bit easier. If I were a man or had a companion, I would not have to suffer this shit.
It is still raining.
The concert was held in the Kursalon-Stadtpark. It was not a modern concert hall, but a traditional hall that looked rather like a ballroom. There was no stage. The audience were seated around the orchestra. Amazingly, I could see no microphones or amplifiers. The orchestra consisted of only about 20 musicians. The conductor was a good-looking young man with heavy beard shadow who smiled all the way through. There were dance performances. The first surprise was that the male dancers in suits/tuxedos and leather shoes danced polka, waltz and even ballet (!). The second surprise was that at the middle of a piece the percussion man blew a horn several times. It was so loud that even the conductor covered his ears (but this was probably also part of the performance). The third surprise was that at the middle of a quick piece, the conductor and other male musicians shouted "ha ha ha" and "ho ho ho" with the music. The fourth was that at the encore score, the Blue Donau, the conductor danced first with a female dancer and then some lady audience. Then many couples went out to waltz. The last was that at the end, the conductor and many musicians and staff stood at the hallway and said goodbye to the audience.
The music was good and rich. And I think the performance was intended to be light and funny, not serious. The conductor even led the people to clap hands. I like this concert a lot.
I had never claimed to be a student. But the guy who sold me the ticket, judging from my appearance and probably my shabby clothes, said "Since you are a student" and then sold me the cheapest student ticket at AS 300. It was of course not expensive. And I guess I was probably the most "casually" dressed person at the concert.
Do I really look that young to the westerners? Back home I feel old in my office attire.
This pension is deadly quiet. I suspect I am the only one here apart from the owner. My imagination is running wild.
The rain has turned very heavy. There have also been some thunders. Will it be fine tomorrow? If it is fine tomorrow, I will visit the Schloss Schonbrunn. If not, museums.
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