Traverslogue

We stopped at a Vienna pub on a Thursday and started talking to a man who asked if we had seen the Austrian mountains. "No," we said. "We don't have a car."

"You can't know Austria unless you see our mountains," he said. "You should take my car for the weekend."

And so it was that this total stranger gave us his car for the weekend. To avoid the expense of inner-city parking, he had parked on the outskirts, so he drew a map and instructions (a train, a bus, and a walk) to get to his car. Then he gave us his keys and said, "See you here on Monday night!"

We had a wonderful tour of Austria - visiting Hallstatt, Salzburg and places in between - and returned his car on Monday night with a full tank and a week's worth of parking passes!

Hallstatt, Austria. A lovely tourist area on the drive to Salzburg.

Salzburg, Austria markets itself as the home of "The Sound of Music" - which Austrians really haven't seen - and the home of Mozart, selling everywhere little round chocolates, humorously called "Mozart balls". Despite the kitschy touristy marketing, Salzburg is undeniably beautiful.