Stau

The sign above the autobahn says "Stau"-as if we did not
already know!

I am typing this as we are parked on the autobahn in Austria.  A group of people have decided to protest pollution-by stopping, literally stopping, at least 10 kilometers of autobahn.  Something isn’t quite right about this!  At first I felt absolutely frantic.  So Smitty decided to back up the on ramp, following at least twenty other cars.  Of course, just as we were about to make our escape, the police came and blocked the ramp.  That was an hour and a half ago.  I wanted to both laugh and cry at that point!

Since the initial halt to our trip we have enjoyed watching the unfolding of a party atmosphere here on the autobahn.  Every five minutes or so we move about 10-20 yards closer to the off ramp the police are allowing this parking lot of cars to access.  Folks are standing outside their cars chatting, walking, smoking, and just doing anything to keep from going crazy.  The trucks have all been forced to move to the shoulder for reasons we don’t know.  As I type, the trucker next to us is barbequing his dinner, and dinner for several other truck drivers.

Our 90 minutes waiting have give us time to consider our alternatives.  We attempted to call our friends who are awaiting our arrival, but there is no cell service where we are.  Even if we could have placed a call, we don’t have their number; we would have called a friend in Kandern who could have sent them an email. 

  

The traffic jam continues!

Our friends have tickets for the four of us to see the marionette show in Salzburg tonight.  Oh, wait, our GPS just told us we needed to continue another 82 kilometers.  I guess we forgot to tell her about the Stau! Anyway, I am hoping that our friends don’t miss the show awaiting our arrival.  At the rate we are moving, we won’t be there until tomorrow night.  

Gorgeous weather and surroundings

The positive side, we realize the weather or surroundings are amazing.  The sun is shining, the temp warm, and with breathtaking Tyrolian views.  Could not have found a  lovelier parking place.  We also thought about the ten kilometer tunnel we drove through earlier in the day.  Parking in a tunnel would have been awful.  While we would not choose this for our outing, we can not complain too much right now.

No music from these hills today!

So, all in all, if you are reading this, we did finally reach our destination.  Of course, if you are not, perhaps you might want to try rewriting the Kingston Trios' "The Man Who Never Returned" with the saga of the Smiths who were caught on the Austrian autobahn-the couple who never returned!