I wish I could say that I spent my evenings in Salzburg dining in delightful little guest houses and strolling cobblestoned back streets, but I’d be lying. I spent the week working and when I was dull witted from sitting in the office, I went back to my hotel where I worked some more while watching MTV and the Simpsons in German. Okay, I did watch a documentary about badgers and two short films, one about street kids in India and the other about a girl in Cambodia who wants to be a dancer but loses a leg to a land mine.Talk about how media helps you gain perspective on your world. Good lord.
Thank god for those little films, though, because I was one unhappy guest at the hotel. Oh, the hotel was fine, a decent enough place with a rather nice breakfast buffet, even if the coffee was inadequate. But every night, every single night, I was busted out of my slumber by the busloads of students that arrived each evening around dinner time. The third night was the worst, the room across the hall to me seemed to be the temporary rumpus room for an unlimited number of 15 year old Italian boys. Last night was better, but I learned why from a coworker this morning. The boys had taken their activity to the floor below where they decided that the hall was a good place to play soccer at 1am.
You can imagine what I told the manager when she asked if I’d be coming back next week. I should have changed hotels after the second night, but I was too tired to think straight. Next time, next time. For now, I’m pretty content to be back in Aigen.