The back to back conferences begin tomorrow so I figured today was the day to explore what I could of Salzburg on foot. I decided to head toward Getreidegasse, a quaint area of shops and restaurants that I had read about. It had rained all night and the air was chilly ... all the excuse I needed to buy a green scarf along the way. About a half a mile down the street I walked through a market of crafts, textiles, fresh baked good, cheeses and cured meats. People seemed relaxed visiting with venders, buying their goods, talking with each other and eating lunch. The pace felt much less hurried than home. I saw continuous buildings of 'flats' as I crossed the Salzach river over to Getreidegasse. The cobblestone streets, historic buildings, adorned storefronts and spired hillsides reminded me of Carcassonne - a midieval city in the south of France that sits inside a fortress. The vast history and beauty was awesome!
I attended a big Election 
Party at Hotel Sacher in Salzburg with a colleague, Nancy. The election fell during the Salzburg Jazz Festival - so on this historic night the entertainment featured Freddie Cole - Nate King Cole's brother and his band. They were incredible!! Nancy and I were both interviewed (the token Americans) three times over the course of the night 
by an Austrian TV News crew (I was able to send the news link home after it aired lat
e the next day).
Salzburg is 9 hours ahead - so Ohio did not come in for Barak until 3:45am ... but who could sleep anyway!! It was clear by the end of the evening that hope in America had been restored.
Here are a few pictures of how the conference discussions continued well into the wee hours ... over fabulous food and spirits
! There were avg 22 people at each conference from avg 13 countries. You've got to love the collective wisdom of the countries shared over Austrian beer!!
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