This is the day we made the journey from Basel to Salzburg by train! It was a beautiful ride. The route took us through southern Germany, which was abloom with flowering trees and green hills. We glimpsed German cities like Stuttgart and Munich from the train windows. We changed trains twice, and both times it was very easy. All in all, it was about 7 hours by train. The first two trains we were on had cafés, so we were able to get coffee! The last train we took, from Munich to Salzburg, became increasingly more beautiful as we got closer and closer to the Alps. We could see them from far away—glacier-topped peaks—and then, all of a sudden, when we arrived in Salzburg, we were right there beneath the towering mountains. I wrote in my Notes app on my phone, “When I'm in an alpine environment, something in me comes alive.”
We arrived just a few minutes too late to pick up our rental car (we had realized this would be the case already, so we weren't disappointed). We found the bus to St. Gilgen, and then the views continued to stun us as we went up over a mountain and then descended upon a gorgeous large alpine lake. Did I mention yet this is where parts of The Sound of Music were filmed? It's absolutely stunning.
We got off at the bus stop and realized we didn't have a way to get to the guesthouse we were staying in up the hill. It could be easily walked without luggage, which we later did. We asked at the nearest hotel to help us find a taxi, and we met the most charming Austrian man who told us about the slow ways of life here in the Austrian countryside. He kept referring to Salzburg as the "big city" and said that everyone knew each other here and took care of each other, and that Sundays are the day when everyone goes to visit the grandparents and eat together, so almost nothing is open. He waited for us to make sure there was someone to let us into our guesthouse.
I'm calling it a guesthouse because I don't know what else to call it! It's not a hotel—it's actually someone's family home, and they run a very, very small bed and breakfast here. We are getting a real, authentic experience. She doesn't speak English, but luckily Roel's German is pretty good—better than I ever knew, and I think he's even surprising himself.
After checking out our room, we walked across the road to the monastery where David Steindl-Rast lives. If you haven't watched his interview with Oprah or one of his talks, he's really incredible. He even lived at a monastery in Sonoma for many years, which we also have visited! We looked around the tiny, tiny town and around the grounds of the monastery. Then Roel quickly told me to come with him because he could tell a session was in service. We quietly entered the dimly lit room full of candles and a few pews, where the monks and visitors were meditating. The monks then began singing and chanting, and then they bowed and left the room—and we caught a glimpse of Brother David. At 98 years old, he is still living the life of a Benedictine monk. Our guesthouse owner had told Roel that morning, “When you meet Brother David, no words are necessary—he simply shines.”
We saw on the bulletin that there was another evening service at 9 p.m., and we agreed to return after dinner. Since we didn’t have to carry our luggage, we decided to walk down to the lake and the town of St. Gilgen. We were stunned with lake views and snow-capped mountains on our way down. Being Austria, of course there was a lovely sidewalk next to the road that carried fast cars, and it was all very walkable and easy.
We noticed that many of the lakeside homes looked empty. We thought we probably came here during the off-season—not skiing time, but not yet summer, when people would go swimming in the lake. It's the perfect time to be here—hardly touristy at all. We feel like we found a hidden gem!
We walked into the sleepy town and encountered two restaurants: one lakeside and one that looked super cozy inside and had the smell of a wood-burning stove. We chose the latter and entered a cozy pizza restaurant. I got arugula and parmesan pizza and tried a Stiegl, a traditional Salzburg beer. The waiter was a Hungarian man who spoke impeccable English. Roel got to talking to him—as he does—and he told us he loves living here, how safe and welcome he feels.
After dinner, we made the walk back up the hill to our guesthouse and the monastery. It was hard not to fall into bed and pull the warm covers up, but instead, we buttoned up our coats and walked to the monastery. We were the first ones there. We walked into the dark room. I spent time in front of a fountain I had seen earlier. It's a large boulder with a statue of Mary holding baby Jesus on top. On the boulder, water is slowly falling down—weeping, like tears—falling into a small pool of water where candles are floating, and the stone behind the pool is shimmering. It was one of the most mystical and beautiful experiences to witness.
Brother David was not among the monks at this late service—at 98, I’m guessing he was already in bed! The monks’ chanting and reciting of prayer in German really set a contemplative mood, in which I found myself drifting between meditation and the dream world. When the service ended and the candles were blown out, then we finally did get some real sleep!
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