I headed on to Linz at the recommendation of Romana and Jurgen, friends of Flo and Verena’s whom I met at the wedding. Linz is not typically one of the stops along the tourist circuit. An old industrial city, it is trying to remake itself into something a little more... In 2010 it was named Europe’s cultural city. It felt a bit like throwing the dog a bone. The designation provided the city with an incentive to really make a statement... or at least begin the reshaping effort... and it’s working to an extent. There is no denying it’s industrial past, but nice to see the effort looking forward. You just can’t compare Linz to a place like Salzburg. You can’t... Linz is an actual working city, and I kind of appreciated that. Not that Salzburg isn’t, but Salzburg is just too perfect. The prefect blend of scenery, commerce, outdoors and culture. You think of Salzburg and you think of quaint cobblestone streets and the birthplace of Mozart. You think of Linz and you think of smokestacks, pollution and the birthplace of Hitler. Salzburg is a place that makes people visit, Linz is a place that makes Austria work.

After an extra day recuperating in Weisenkirchen, I set out for Linz on Monday afternoon. It was a quick 2 hour trip down the road... back to Krems, south the St. Polten, and the west to Linz. There was some tennis tournament going on, but I was able to secure a room at a pension/ hostel in the town center, but only for one night, so my stay would be limited. I went for a ramble around town and headed back to the pension, happy to take it easy for the evening, teaching my mom and dad how to g-chat, and looking forward to visiting the two world class museums that Linz has to offer the following day, the ARS Electronica Center Museum and the Lentos Kuntsmuseum (the museum of modern art).

Rookie mistake! Why do I always try to go to museums in Europe on Tuesdays? I should know by now that they are not going to be open. Luckily the ARS Museum is not your typical museum, and caters to school children (perfect for me!), so I was able to have a visit there. For better or worse... there was a 3D Imax show, a bit like the Eames’ ‘Power of Ten’ movie, showing our place in the universe with a few other things thrown in... The movie concluded with a skiers perspective of a Super G race, where you could feel all the turns, rises and dips. I took the long route back by way of the Schlossmuseum (the castle museum), not in, but around the grounds. The Historical Commission of Los Altos (and I imagine a lot of other jurisdictions) could use a trip to Europe to learn a bit about what the word ‘historic’ means. Just because a building is old, does not mean it can’t be enhanced in a modern way without losing character. I didn’t think the modern addition was beautiful, but I did find it tasteful and respectful, even if it was different.

With the flu fast approaching, I was feeling not so great... I retrieved my bag from the pension and made a move to the train station. On to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic.