Almost Aufwiedersehen

Tonight we walked down to the park just a few minutes away from our hotel to hang out and watch the guys in our group play basketball. This has become a fairly regular occurrence for us, to the point that we’ve even befriended some Austrians with whom the boys often play basketball. As we sat in the park today, I suddenly got the urge to swing. In order to clarify this urge a little bit, allow me to explain—an Austrian swing is not just any old swing. Swinging on an Austrian swing is a particularly satisfying experience. I still have yet to quite understand what makes this experience so delightful. Perhaps it is the way in which the swings are built—the seats are made out of a hard piece of plastic rather than the floppy rubbery substance characteristic of American swings, and for some reason the chains move back and forth smoothly so that when the swing reaches the top of its arc, the swingee is not thrown back with that little bit of whiplash one typically experiences in an American swing. Perhaps it was the comfort of the park, which is always busy around evening with the same people—kids playing on the playground, men playing soccer on the field next to it, and people of all ages going for their evening walks/bike rides. Or perhaps it was the beautiful view of the large mountain not too far from the park that is always covered by clouds a little bit at the top. Whatever the case, we must have swung for at least an hour—and I could not have been happier. Sitting on that swing, it was amazing for me to think about how quickly Salzburg has become like home. Although I look forward to our time in Innsbruck, there are a lot of things I’m going to miss about Salzburg—going to Mass at St. Peter’s in the Altstadt, walking by games of street chess, the quiet peacefulness of the town—broken only by the literal symphony of bells that occurs when all five churches in the area announce the hour at the same time. I’m going to miss the daily rhythm of life here in the Heffterhoff Hotel—watching other groups come and go for various conferences, and seeing the familiar faces of the staff members every day. This city is so peaceful that there is really no description I can give that would do it justice or accurately portray its essence. At best, the most I can say is this—this city feels like eternity.