We didn’t have much in the way of groceries since everything had been closed on Sunday, so we ate the leftover pizza from dinner, yogurt, and fruit from the previous day and called it good for breakfast.
Our plan was to spend part of the day in Salzburg checking out the city. It took us an hour to find parking with a few missteps along the way. We missed the parking entrance in to the side of the mountain twice and the drive around each time was about twenty minutes to circle back. We walked around the city center, the girls more than willing to buy a pretzel/donut. It was delicious.
After thirteen years of refusing to even try a raspberry, Kristen decided to try one in Salzburg, Austria of all places. And...she liked them. Probably a good thing she didn't eat them when Amy was around. They would have had to fight each other for them!
Lunch was at the busy Burgerista restaurant. It got busier with young people as we sat there, so it must have been a popular lunch spot. No one complained about their food, I even had a vegetarian burger but not like a veggie burger that I would get at home. It was simply grilled veggies and cheese. Still, it was good.
We took a little time to enjoy the view while Chris purchased tickets for a tour of the Hohensalzburg Castle. Our first funicular ride of the vacation to reach the castle sitting atop the Festungsberg, a small hill in Salzburg.
You might think when I post pictures of Chris and he is looking at his phone that he is bored, but he is usually checking directions, figuring out transportation, confirming schedules, or buying tickets. He's handy to travel with. The rest of us would get lost for sure.
A torture tower. Yikes!
It was a hot day and the castle tour was interesting and a welcome respite from the sunshine. The nobility certainly lived a far nicer life than the common man.
Later in the evening we arranged to meet up with one of Chris’ coworkers, Stig, and his family for dinner in Munich after driving back to Germany for a late flight to Venice, Italy. Chris was leaving some luggage with Stig. Chris had to stay in Europe to work for ten days after our vacation while the girls and I would head home. It seemed easier than having Chris make the long trip home on a Friday and then back again to Europe on Monday morning.
Chris drove on the Autobahn on the way back to Germany, but the section that we drove only had a few small moments of being able to drive really fast. Most sections were regulated. Chris pushed that minivan to 162 km/hr.
Stig and his wife, Tammy, would join us for dinner along with their two-year old son Luca. Tammy was nine months pregnant and scheduled to have a c-section on the following Wednesday.
We drove a short distance from Stig and Tammy’s house for dinner at a traditional German Biergarten called Michaeligarten. The food was so so. I found a dish of veggies and some salad. I’m not big into meat, unfamiliar meat even less so.
We drove to the airport after dinner, dropping off the rental car. If you rent a car in Europe and take it from one country to another, be advised that you will likely be charged a fee. If we had known that we would have removed the toll sticker that had been required for driving in Austria. Our flight was delayed about a half an hour, but with a short 45-minute flight, we were soon landing in Venice, Italy.
I think my suitcase must have some sort of hex. All other bags had arrived and mine was a no-show. Chris was getting in line to file a complaint when my luggage landed on the baggage carousel. Whew. At least it arrived. Four other guys were waiting for their luggage to appear as well.
It was late in the evening or early in the morning as we caught a taxi to our hotel in Mestre, about 15 minutes from Venice. When you are using points for hotel stays, you just go where the points are most reasonable. We booked a suite (two hotel rooms with a connecting door) at the Four Seasons in Mestre for maybe 45,000 points per room per night. A Hilton property in Venice was about 240,000 points per room per night. Most rooms only accommodated two people.
Turned out our suite at the Four Seasons had no linens for the second room and no housekeeping staff around after midnight. The hotel staff moved Kristen and Misha to a separate room for the night. This was our first night without taking any Unisom, feeling mostly acclimated. It was so difficult to wake up in the morning though.