[EUROBOUT CONTINENTAL CAROUSEL - 1984] DAY 7

Travel Notes
August 17, 1984 - Day 17
AUSTRIA - GERMANY - AUSTRIA

Innsbruck - Austro/German border - Salzburg

Today, Bart worked a “scam“ on the border guards.  The situation was that most of us had single-entry visas for Austria.  However, the optimal bus route from Innsbruck to Salzburg had to cross Germany.  Basically, we had to exit Austria - enter Germany - exit Germany - and re-enter Austria.  On single-entry visas.

Getting out of Austria and into Germany was the easy part. Getting out of Germany and into Austria had us holding our breaths for several moments, and looking out the windows on the side of the bus opposite the border crossing!  Only Bart went down, and behind the cover of his tinted glasses, declared - with what I presume was a poker face - that all the bus passengers were Dutch (!!!!!)

As it happened, we didn't need to have our passports inspected, the border guards nodded and waved us through.  Loud were the sighs of relief when Bart returned to the bus, but as we were pulling out, Bart reminded Earl to warn us to keep our eyes front and center and not to look back.

The moment were were out of earshot, Earl explained the whole thing.  It was interesting to see Carmen have a blonde moment and be bit slow to catch on...when she did, I had to smother a snort. Pity she rubs me up the wrong way.

It was no surprise that “Chicken Dance“ (official group theme song) was played over the speakers as our victory hymn, and humor was the order of the day for the rest of our time on the road!

Salzburg, Austria

This ties with Liechtenstein as the shortest visit ever - only thirty minutes!  The problem was that there was no place to park the bus, so  Earl took us on a brisk walk down the main square and into little alleys with everyone sticking close to each other.

We did get to see the castle from a (fairly great) distance.  Mr. Silveira (Joe) provided the trivia information that “The Sound of Music“ wasn't wholly filmed in Salzburg, contrary to the press releases.

Vienna, Austria - Hotel Academia

What with the “forced march“ through Salzburg, we pulled into Salzburg early in the evening.  I was singing to myself when I looked through the rear window and screeched off key in the middle of a song.  Framed perfectly in the window was my first sight of Schonbrunn Palace - which fact was duly announced in a breathless squawk.

Earl glanced up from studying street map to smile, “Now we all know where we are, eh?“ Oh, YES.

While the hotel itself was easily found, actually disembarking from the bus was not.   The detours because of street diggings were as familiar as driving through Manila on a bad day, and delayed our arrival by a quarter hour!