I wish I do - I wish I don't

Every trip has little compartments that house "I wish I had done that" or "I wish I had done that differently" articles. But mainly I have "I'm glad I did that" memories and occasionally a "wow, did I really do that?" shout. Usually I wait until I am home again to sort this all out and categorize it, but I had a few thoughts on the subject early this morning and wanted to write them down before I forget them again.
The "I wish I had done that" excursion for Salzburg will be a day-long trip to the Berchtesgarden Saltmines and the Lake District. I grew up in a small salt-mining town in the Black Forest and remember the above-ground operation fondly. To be able to slide down into a mine, ride a boat on a subterranean salt lake, and hear actual miners talk about the production of table salt would have been great. But it is raining on my last day in Salzburg and my energy level matches the grey sky.
www.salzzeitreisen.de
An "I wish I had done that differently" event relates to my timing. I knew when I divided my trip into segments, that I would not be able to see a marionette theatre performance at the Salzburger Marionetten Theater, because they take a break at the end of April. Some of the performers will be in New York in May, I was told by the lady at the Kassa (cash register) where I bought a DVD of Mozart's Magic Flute. I know that Salzburg has the best puppeteers in the world; they perform in countries all over the world, and it would have been the highlight of my stay here to attend a performance. I didn't really know how much I regret my miscalculation until I had a long talk with this lady. Unfortunately it is too expensive for them to get the rights to make a DVD of their The Sound of Music production, but I bought their book about all the pieces they perform and I saw a photograph of a puppet manipulating a puppet (Maria with the little goat herd)
www.marionetten.at
My "I am glad I did that" drawer already has two items. Both are spontaneous purchases that add to my ease of mind. The first is a pair of black straight leg trousers. It seems everybody is wearing black stove pipe pants here, the tighter the better; very young women just wear black tights, young women black jeans, older women black polyester. I spent an hour yesterday watching pants walk by while I had coffee and a little strawberry tart. (I have to lay off the tarts if I want tight pants, for now this old furnace must do with a somewhat wider pipe.)




(This lady is about my age, but much more slender than I)
And I, generally not paying attention to fashion - at home I wear jeans most of the time - I bought a pair of black cotton pants at a the department store C&A, after looking through at least five racks of black pants, and I am glad I did that. The second item item I purchased is a happy umbrella with black violins and musical notes on a white background. I am ready for the rain now.




Yesterday I also bought something I address as "did I really do that?" without the "wow." I bought ten stamps for ten postcards to the US. I paid €17.00 (that is $22.44) at the post office. So, if you are one of the lucky ones who receives a lame greeting (what does one say on a post card?) it is quite possible that this will be the only card you will get from me.
One more category comes to mind: "I'll never do that again!"
But so far there are no incidents bearing my stamp of disapproval.
Now I need to sample the local Apfelstrudel. No Schlag (whip cream). Remembering the black tights.




Yes, I do approve of the Imlauer Restaurant ambience and their desserts.