Bertesgarten and Salzberg (Thursday)

Will's Report: Bertesgarten and Salzberg

The crew woke up and headed to school. What they did not expect was for the Oberstufe, or graduating class, to have pranked the entire school by putting classrooms outside, making messes in the hallways, and spraying students with water as they tried to enter. After briefly meeting in the classroom, the students made their way in a van and car to the train station, where they took a series of trains to the most south-east part of Bavaria: Austria.
Will quickly donned his American gear and as the crew was walking to the salt mine, they found an Audi hubcap, which they carried for the whole day, all while making plans for its uses. They got into the salt mine around 11:27, donned their jumpsuits, and hopped aboard a small train that would take them down to the deepest reaches of the mining operation. There they learned about the mining processes, saw a perfectly reflective underwater lake, and licked the walls and drank salt water. They emerged from the tunnels, took selfies, and removed the jumpsuits quickly in order to get to the next bus.
The bus arrived in Salzburg, Austria, where Mozart was born. The crew meandered through the town, across a lock-bridge, through several shopping areas, till they stopped at the Cathedral. After spending about 15 minutes touring the crypts and sections, the students were given freedom to wander as they wished, making sure they were back on the lock-bridge by 5:20. Cindy immediately went to explore the castle at the peak of the town, and Greg, Brett, and Will went shopping for souvineers, gifts, and food. Marla, Casey, and Collin gallavanted about, later running into Brett, Greg, and Will at the McDonalds.
Greg disappeared after that, and the five remaining at McDonalds were accosted by a man speaking German wielding newspapers. His questions were mainly directed at Will, who was going to buy a paper from him. Each time a new coin of higher value, the price of the paper would go up. Eventually we told him to leave, and he did, with one of Wills Euros and the newspaper Will had bought.
Discussion at McDonalds grew stale, and on realizing that there were 30 minutes of freedom left, the McDonalds Five quickly ran about to get some final gifts and Ice Cream. Collin and Casey spotted Red Bull World, and Collin proceeded to buy a very large shirt, which was worth 29 Euros. The crew made it to the bridge in time, and Cindy quickly emerged from the crowd. Marla had bought a lock, so she attached it to the bridge and threw away the keys.
  The gang then walked to the train station, and left for home. Upon nearing their destination, the group realized that their S-Bahn train would not be stopping at the pre-arranged station. Thus, there was another train transfer, and the group arrived home 40 minutes behind schedule. Our host families were all very understanding and we successfully completed another day in Deutschland.