Salzburg and Munich

hello.
i'm updating from an internet cafe in munich, germany. its called coffee fellows. quite a cool place, like the cups of munich. anyway, today has been so wonderful. it's crazy to sit at the end of the day and think of everything i've done. the days are always so busy, they are beginning to run together.
we woke up this morning at 7:30, ate breakfast at the lasserhof (our hotel), and set out to see the rest of salzburg. since yesterday was so productive (even in the rain), we had a rough schedule of things left to see. yesterday, we saw the castle, the st. peter's church, and mozart's house. today was the miraball gardens. we walked to the train station to put our backpacks in lockers. sidenote: always a good idea for backpackers, it's usually just 2-3 euros, and you don't have to lug around heavy packs. just a tip. so we did that then walked to the miraball gardens where scenes from the sound of music were filmed. the stairway, the arbor, and the fountain from "do re mi". it was fun, we took silly pictures. it was nice to frolic for a little bit. then we went to old town to find some last minute souvenirs. i've been wanting a kuckoo clock since i came to austria in 10th grade. i think they are neat, some people (cough, cough---seth) find them annoying. i don't understand why. so i've been saving my pennies to get one. after several souvenir stores, no luck. then i went into the basement of one and found a room of kuckoo clocks. and i found the perfect one. it was in my price range, didn't have a huge bird on the top, and didn't have any obnoxious clay animals on it. yes, kuckoo clocks can be slightly tacky. this one was perfect. i asked the lady for it, and she said it was the last one. so she gave me a deal--50 euros off. i'll take that, thank you. the only problem is i couldn't ship it. i had to take it with me. so now i have a huge box and nowhere to put it. what a pickle. i've got major repacking to do when i get back to paris.
after my happy purchase, we had a light lunch at a bakery with little sandwiches and some h2o. then we walked back to the train station. we got our bags out of the lockers and found our train platform. our train was late, which is rare but seems to happen to me a lot. we found our seats in a car with a little red-haired man/guy (college kid). he started talking to us in german, and i couldn't help but think, "oh dear, not again." then he looked at us and said, "you must speak english". and he was american. such a poser. well he was kinda american, born in boston but lived in germany since he was a baby. but he is a native english speaker. he seemed grateful for the opportunity to speak in english and we talked the whole way to germany. we made fun of the french, public healthcare, and harry potter. it was fun. laughter is always a good release. we never asked his name, but kelly and i refer to him as randle, a professor of mine he reminded me of. it was pleasant way to leave beautiful austria.
we got to munich at 3:45. we found our hotel---the easy palace. yes, it sounds sketchy. yes, it kinda is. but it's only for a few hours. we leave at 6 in the morning for paris. so early.
after checking in, we went walking. we wandered into the main square, took pictures of the glockenspiel, and tried to find food. i don't why, but italian food is my new comfort food. maybe because fried chicken and mashed potatoes are impossible to find. so i had pizza for dinner. and it was tasty. we had sprite with lemon, a new favorite. and chocolate souffle and tiramisu for dessert.
then i came here. it's been a fun day.
i'm realizing this is almost it. in 48 hours i will be well on my home to america. it's hard to believe. i love it here, i've loved this adventure. it's a good way to go out. we have been to so many cool places, seen things i've only read about or seen in pictures, met some fun people, and eaten some great food. i'm so thankful for this experience.
can't wait to go home. it's going to be an adjustment i'm beginning to realize. but i'm ready. i'm use to planning my day and rushing around to see everything. it'll be good for me to have a break, relax, and take a breath. and see my sweet family. i miss them. 7 weeks is a long time. longer than i realized.
see you soon!!!