In which I find my target
I enjoy the train ride to Salzburg and take the opportunity to recharge my devices and get on the internet to research the area. I find out that Hallein has the oldest salt mine in the world that is open to visitors, some 7000 years old, and it sounds like an interesting tour, with slides down into the mine and a boat ride on an underground lake. It's not one of the salt mines that were used by the Nazis to store looted art, but I've been on alert since the waitress identified the general location of the house in the drawing. It doesn't seem coincidental that I've been put down in a part of the world so strongly identified with World War II--Berchtesgaden is close by--and Captain America.
When I get to Salzburg, I find a hotel and discuss the area with the concierge. Although it's not a large region, strictly speaking, it's huge when you're trying to find one particular small building. I go out for some sightseeing and to think. Salzburg is lovely and historical and there's a lot to do. I join a bus tour and hit some of the highlights. Americans always seem to be impressed by the sheer age of Europe; I think it's because we don't have the monuments and grand buildings. The native Americans left some impressive monuments behind, like Chaco Canyon, but they're remote, rightly protected, and there aren't very many of them. In Europe, history built on itself and people live with it every day. And it's often highly ornate and huge, impressive qualities in themselves. By the time the tour is over, I have a plan. I have my dinner, stroll around for awhile, and return to the hotel fairly early. Travel by Bifrost doesn't really agree with me and I'm exhausted.
The next morning, after breakfast, I find myself a real estate agent. The woman I've researched is happy to find that I've got a fondness for the area and a chunk of cash to spend on some property. I describe what I'm looking for: a small house, off by itself, with a good view of the mountains. There aren't that many, and off we go on a tour. The house in Heimdall's picture is the sixth of seven. It's been used mostly as a vacation cottage in the past but has been unoccupied for the past decade. It's been kept structurally sound, and when we go in, I see it has a main room, a kitchen that doesn't look all that trustworthy, a full bathroom, and three smaller rooms. It has some lovely Jugendstil details and windows that look out onto the property. It's actually up on the mountain, so there isn't much of a view of that, but the forest around it is lovely. The property is five acres and it's been fenced in over the years and posted as private property. It's fairly isolated and very quiet. I find out that it backs up directly to the salt mine. There are a couple of outbuildings on the property, which we glance at but I deliberately don't seem that interested in. This is the spot, no doubt about it, and I'm just grateful the building is in good shape and so pretty on a personal level. I take a deep breath of crisp mountain air and suppress a shiver; until very recently I was in a hot, humid rainforest and this air feels freezing to me even though we're firmly in a beautiful spring.
"I'll take it," I tell her, and although she's a little surprised by my snap decision, she doesn't argue. We head back to the office to get things in motion. After that, I open an account in an Austrian bank and arrange a transfer of funds from my American bank, set up appointments with some contractors to modernize the kitchen and bath and to make sure the house is insulated with good windows--if I'm going to live back in the world, I'm going to have a bathtub and a nice kitchen, darn it. Then I hit the stores and buy some warm clothing. The next day I go to find myself some transportation. I'm not quite sure what possesses me, but a good salesman convinces me that a Mercedes GLE SUV is just what I need, highlighting the all wheel drive, safety features, and low fuel consumption.
The next few days, the realtor is very helpful in getting me an Austrian drivers license and setting up an interview with the authorities to get a residency permit; I fill out the Niederlassungsbewilligung form and pay the fee. I suspect my realtor has had a chat with the official, because the interview goes well and smoothly, and he offers to expedite my application. It's all going well; the seller of the property hasn't has an offer for it in the past ten or eleven years and couldn't be more eager to sell. The realtor goes with me to discuss modifications and repairs with a highly-recommended renovation firm. Some electrical work is needed and the plaster is really iffy, so despite the historical tradition, it's determined that we might as well take down the walls, modernize the electrical, put up drywall. The floors are to be refinished, the chimneys repaired, new central heating installed. And that's just the structural. Fortunately, the plumbing is in great shape. Then we talk about new cabinets in the kitchen (there have been mice chewing on them) and I will need new appliances. The bathroom also has some damage, but one of the men says that they have a great idea for renovation and will draw up some plans.
They start work as soon as the sale of the property goes through. The bathroom is expanded outward with a kind of half-octagonal tower and conical roof. There are skylights and windows for a lot of light since there are no neighbors to look in and it's very well posted as private property besides the fence. Inside there is a Gothic vaulted ceiling, separate bathtub and shower, and a double sink, mostly for the eventual resale value. The shapes of the bathtub, sinks, and toilet are clean and modern, but the fixtures and accent tiles are in the Jungenstil style to tie in with the rest of the house. The master bedroom is also bumped out the back, allowing for a walk-in closet (kind of a waste since I don't have much in the way of clothing), skylights, and beautiful stained glass windows. The tower shape is echoed here as well and there's a luxurious window seat inside that. I get a new on-demand water heater, highly efficient washer/dryer, dishwasher, refrigerator, stove, and microwave. The work goes well and quickly, with few hiccups. It helps that I've got enough money invested to make my happiness a priority, and I added a bonus for on-time completion into the contract. While this is going on, I explore the property.
It's not until the renovations are almost complete that I find the reason Heimdall pointed me here. There's a metal door set into a rocky outcrop, pretty well concealed with weeds and climbing vines. There's a locking mechanism that's rusted shut, so I have to spend a few days setting it to rights, but finally I'm able to open the door and go inside the mountain.