SALZBURG: THE NEW RAINFOREST!



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The train to Salzburg, Austria is two hours, two hours of luxury for me. I have a whole compartment to myself. I feel myself relaxing as I stretch my feet on the opposite seat. Through the window I see the Austrian Alps with the heavy white clouds filling the sky.
The earth is lush in every way. There’s been so much rain. The evergreens with their deep,deep green handsome weighted branches which cover the forest like protective blankets. It comes to me that this is the European style Amazon forests. Only chilly and not yet having the abundance of animal life so visible at many levels of the forest growth.
I think, what if some day, the Alps become the Amazon forests of Europe?

My luxury train ride crosses the bridge over the river in Salzburg where I can see the dramatic steep cliffs with magical castles and golden topped spires in the old city below.
And at the train station Rosemarie is at the ticket booth, meeting me for the first time.

As with Pia, Rosemarie is with robust energy and enthusiasm. And as we walk to the car, I receive an introduction to the ways of Salzburg. She actually lives just around the cut-away little mountain from the center of culture in Salzburg, and we go through a grand ancient tunnel to reach the other side, just minutes away. At night we go to the fest spiele, where on an outdoor screen next to the Dome cathedral we see La Traviata. The rain pours as soon as it starts. Ahhhhhh, how auspicious..all of this rain, I say to myself…I love it, as I try to cover myself enough with my jacket and poncho to sit through the entire show. Close to the end, I walk back in the night, Salzburg lit up and showered with steady rain. Rosie, left earlier, to warm herself in the bath.

The next morning, I wake up in my usual not so positive frame of mind. It has nothing to do with anything. It’s just an automatic habit of the past. I quickly switch it off, and exclaim my gratitude for my blessings, and do my morning chant. I declare the day to be full of miracles and magic. Rosie and I step out into the heavy rain, sharing an umbrella between us, until I can buy one at the Museum. We trek up the little mountain on cobbled paths, through arches (in Salzburg there are arches and passageways to everything!) I tell her how happy I am, it is raining. I say, “ I get to be in the European Rainforest!” Rosie says few people are out today compared to the hundreds that would normallyvisit the Museum at the top of the mountain, and I feel fortunate to be in the stillness of the falling rain upon the magic of the rainforest leaves and rich earth. The clouds dip even further and we are in fog.

At the museum at the top, is a chance to dry out. I spy a pink parasol turn-of the century umbrella…just perfect for me. Later we descend the path and stop to see the illustrations of birds that inhabit. She tells a Celtic tale of the large eagle who bragged he could soar higher than any bird, and kept up his competition with other species, until a little sparrow challenged him, and secretly mounted the back of the eagle, as he soared to the highest heights.

It rains all day, and the river is now filled with silt and climbing in heighth, and I wonder like I would wonder in Houston, will it overflow its banks this time?

With Rosemarie, I get to experience all of the favorite spots,,,the Tea Shop, where many Austrians favor on a Sunday afternoon. My green tea is served on a little silver platter, one little dish for the lemon slices, a little glass of cold water, a teapot , my teacup set, and a spoon. My omelette is served on a platter with a miniature salt/pepper,napkin, utensils. A dainty young woman comes with a pastry tray and plates to sell cakes, torts separately. People all around us sit in lively chatter and laughter. Rosemarie and I speak of how different cultures receive guests. I’m noticing how in Austria, I am served with everything I would need and want. Rosie recalls in southern Brazil, when she visited a family in the hot summer, not even a glass of cool water was offered after she arrived.
We notice the contrasts of people living in lack and people living with plenty to share.
She says since I am her guest, she provides and pays for my meals and she is totally delighted. We walk off to her favorite chocolate shop and there she surprises me with a sampling of many different Mozart chocolates, all that are so fresh and so good, that they can’t be exported, because they’ll spoil in a matter of weeks. As I pop a ball of Mozart into my mouth, my body shivers with delight.