Cursed by a delicate constitution…

*Last 4 days worth of posts can be found below. We've been staying in some pretty old fashion gastofs and internet connection is hit and miss.*

Well, last night was unfortunate. We stayed at our gastof for dinner and it was a huge mistake – craving some protein, I ordered a sirloin filet. When I dug into it, I was unable to decide if it had been boiled then thrown on a flat-top, or just deep fried. It had been tenderized to the point of beating, so it definitely wasn’t a sirloin. The consequence? I was up most of the night with extreme nausea. So, little sleep and a queasy stomach were the start to my day, neither of which are ever promising. (Dad must have a lead lined stomach – as far as I was concerned, his dinner was worse than mine: a pork cutlet topped with pineapple, honey dew melon, plantains and merichino cherries, smothered in a creamy curry sauce. It makes me ralph a little bit just thinking of it.)

So, a long night and an early start. I skipped breakfast, but dad and I headed over to the salt mines in Berchtesgaden shortly after 9. The saltworks have been in constant work since the 16th century. After donning a jump suit (no, there are no pictures of me in it), we got on this little train that headed into the mountain. Along for the ride was a German school group (PS. No matter what Dad sais, German kids are douchier than Canadian ones – I got jostled 3 times by 3 different kids trying to get to the front of whatever imaginary line they though was there. Ass holes. I’ll admit, I might not have been in the best of mind sets this morning either.) We got to slide down wooden slides, cross a lake (that’s how they mine the salt in the stone – flood a pocket and drain the water every 2 years, then refine the saline solution), and walk through some mine shafts. I now know all I’ll ever need (or want) to know about salt.

From Berchtesgaden, we headed for the Austrian border and Salzburg. We found a classy little hotel only seconds from the main Motzart-Plaz and checked in. Dad then took pity on me and let me relax a little bit while he went out for a late lunch. Around 3 we headed into the old city for some pictures. We wandered through the cathedral here in town, saw the Neptune fountain, picked up some knick knacks, saw Motzart’s birthplace and wandered the shopping district. There were lots of people out and about until 5pm – then it seemed like all the tours pulled out of town.

I think I’ll let Dad do his own thing for dinner tonight and stay in to nurse this stomach ache. I think the whole ‘go-go-go’ atmosphere of the trip so far has run me down, so I’ll relax tonight and hope for a fresh start in the morning. We’ve booked a hotel for the next two nights in Munich, and we’ll be headed out there early in the morning.