Inglourious Romance

Salzburg

When they got to Cafe Bazar, Amaya was really amazed at how upscale it was. Every place that Christoph had taken her seemed opulent by her simple standards. She had already observed that Christoph seemed to have somewhat high class tastes — or at least high class to her. Maybe the definition of high class, she surmised, was different in Europe than it was in America. She smiled as Christoph requested a table outside, for the weather had proven to be much warmer than in the original forecast. The host led them to a nice little table where the Salzach River was in perfect view. She received her lunch menu, and again she had no idea what she wanted. But there were pictures, and that helped.

She looked up from her menu to look at Christoph. “This is a really nice place,” she remarked as she tried to decide what she wanted. She supposed she should look at the coffee menu first. She was in dire need of it since she had to wake up so early, and there was much to do and see that she wanted to be awake for. “There aren’t many places like this back in the States.”

Christoph chuckled as he opened his menu. He hoped that Amaya would enjoy the environment and especially the view of the Salzach River just in front of them. The strip they were in was completely busy with people, and it was as busy as any city. Music played from the street side, people walked with bags, with friends, with family. Many others sat at the tables among them eating good food and drinking delicious coffee. It had been a long while since he had been here himself, and he rather missed the atmosphere of one of the most beautiful cities of his homeland.

"Cafe Bazar is known as Das Café der Künstler, Dichter und Denker in der Festspielstadt Salzburg," Christoph explained. "To translate, it is the cafe of artists, poets, and thinkers in the Festival City Salzburg," said Christoph before

He looked down at the lunch specials for the day. He knew, as well, that he wanted a cup of coffee. They’d have a long day, yes, but it was also a sin to go to a cafe in Salzburg and not order a coffee. His eyes flickered back up to Amaya who seemed to be content with simply taking in the sights around her. It made him so happy to be able to show her yet another place she had not visited.

"Well, I think it definitely suits you," Amaya said, finally turning to him, a smile playing upon her lips. He was an intellect and a thinker so it was perfect and unsurprising that he would choose such a place to take her.

Amaya was genuinely interested in what Christoph had to say about the city; his personal knowledge of it spoke volumes of his keen intellect. She enjoyed the view, the coffee — Christoph had recommended Einspänner, a traditional Austrian coffee drink — and her lunch was currywurst and strudel for dessert.

After lunch and a conversation about what they would be doing, Christoph paid the bill, ever insistent that Amaya pay not one Euro for anything. They went to Mozart’s childhood home, and Amaya made sure to get pictures for her grandmother as well as pick up a souvenir for her. The most notable souvenir Amaya had bought for her was a small package of Mozartkugen. Her grandma was a fan of classical music, having been a piano teacher, and Amaya knew she would have loved to see this. She already promised herself that she would send it back to her as soon as she got back to the States.

Hellbrunn Palace and its trick fountains were next to see. The palace was beautiful, and Amaya couldn’t believe that Salzburg had so many palaces in one place plus a fortress. Truly it was a remarkable place. The rooms of Hellbrunn Palace were amazing, and Amaya took photographs of the artwork painted in the rooms. She really liked the Rococo style of art, perhaps because of the vibrant detail, the rich textures, and the realistic portrayal of the human body.

After the tour of the palace, they went out to explore the ‘trick fountains’ with its jets of water that shot up from the ground to make people think they were about to get soaked. Amaya sat on a bench with Christoph and admired everything around her, including him when he wasn’t looking. He looked absolutely adorable against the background of fountains spraying up jets of water that glimmered in the sun.