Drita and Mano took me into town for lunch. I told Drita I wanted to order the most traditional Austrian meal on the menu, so she went ahead and ordered for me. It was sooo delicious... Frittata soup, then knödel (kind of like bread dumplings) with fresh mushrooms and mushroom cream sauce super tasty!
After lunch Drita and Mano took me on a walk around the lake, pointing out the sights and telling me about the area. It was so cool to be with localsand learn about their home, something I hadn't really experienced yet while traveling. And it's such a beautiful place. I don't know how many times on my trip I've said to myself "wow, I want to live here" or "get married here" or "bring my family here," probably too many times to count, but this was definitely another one of those times.
We walked for awhile, then drove Mano home, then went back into town to meet Babs, another friend I'd met the night before, for coffee. Mattsee isn't a huge town, I think they said only about 3,000 people, so kind of like New Hampton, Iowa, where I grew up. And just like my hometown, everyone knows everyone else and stops to say hello and chat. It's funny how even on the other side of the world, people really are pretty much the same :)
I had a great time chatting with Drita and Babs over coffee... well, they had coffee. I had ice cream. Not much of a coffee girl, but absolutely an ice cream girl.
Drita showed me the inside of the little coffee place, which also sold fresh bread and lots of treats, including the Mozart chocolate balls that are famous in Salzburg. So of course I had to try one- I guess they've got marzipan and more chocolate inside. Unique taste, but I don't see what all the fuss is about! Seriously there are entire stores in Salzburg that sell nothing BUT these chocolates. I mean, they're good, but... Entire STORES? for just one kind of chocolate? Maybe I'm missing something...
Drita drove me and Mano back into the city, but first we stopped at a really pretty overlook where Drita said all the photos for Mattsee postcards are taken. I can see why!
When I got back to Salzburg I hung out at my hostel for a little while and talked to a new roommate, then realized that I hadn't yet picked up a Salzburg souvenir. I'm trying to collect a small souvenir from every city I visit so that when I get home, I can have a Europe Trip Shelf. I'm kind of making it a point to get really classic items- a replica of the Eiffel Tower from Paris, a beer mug from Munich... but Salzburg was kinda tougher, plus almost every single souvenir shop was closed by the time I went out (at 7 pm!). So, I settled on a little wooden Mozart doll. Kinda goofy, but it's the best I could do! Then I headed to the southeast area of the city, through the old part of the city, to get dinner at a place my hostel recommended. I passed some really great things on the way, which made me wish I had more time in Salzburg for exploring... I'd spent all my time out of the city!
Despite a long walk and getting a little bit lost once or twice, I made it to St. Paul's Stub'n. They had an awesome beer garden, delicious beer, cool people... And terrible food. Seriously terrible spätzle... And I like to think of myself as somewhat of a connoisseur by now. Pretty sure it was burnt and they tried to cover it up by adding more fried onions on top. I couldn't be too upset though, because I went a LONG time without having a bad meal in Europe!
After my disappointing meal (which was kind of cancelled out by how amazing lunch was), I took the long walk home and said goodbye to Salzburg... Cuz I had an 8 am train to catch the next morning. Italy, here I come!
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