I woke up earlier than I had planned but stayed still in bed
for a while enjoying the retreat and the fact that I didn’t had to get up in
order to discover another new city, busy running around all day. After a shower
and breakfast I packed my bags and got my camera ready. After all, I still had
a little bit of sightseeing to do. As I had already mentioned in earlier posts
one purpose of this trip was to go and see architectural works of the famous
Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, whose work I had been following for quite some
time. It was again a beautiful sunny day. Did I already mention how lucky I had
been with the weather during this entire trip? I went across the campus in
order to have a closer look at the Alvar Aalto library. I did first the
exterior shots, looking at the building from any accessible angle. Thereby I
also met the janitor of the building who had some interesting stories to share
about the building. After I had gotten enough pictures I went inside in order
to discover the interior. I have seen almost all libraries designed by Alvar
Aalto but this one was probably the most beautiful. I also had a little chat
with the librarian and was sharing the link to my blog with her. After I had
seen all the publically accessible rooms of the library and taken pictures I
went back to the guest house. I finished packing and changed the linen of the
bed, as it was requested by the house rules. I think this has been the first
time that I had changed the linen myself in a hotel. However, as the entire guest house was run on
a non-profit base and the accommodation rates were rather low, I didn’t mind.
After I had taken my used linen and towels to the collection point in the
hallway, I left the room. At least I didn’t had to clean the bathroom. I
deposited the keys in the lobby and left the guest house at 11 am. I ordered a
cap back to the railway station in Salem and I was promised that it will be at
the abbey in 15 minutes. I made my way down to the parking lot. I was waiting
and waiting but no cab showed up. After 45 minutes I called the taxi company
again and they apologized for the delay promising that the cab should only be
minutes away. After another 15 minutes finally a yellow cab showed up. Luckily
I wasn’t in a hurry. The driver was very nice and told me many interesting
details about Salem and the area around. The ride back to the station took
almost 45 minutes, as we had agreed on a flat rate of 40 dollars, the driver
didn’t had to go too fast which was nice because the conversation was really
nice. After I had arrived at the railway station I checked in my bag. The
station agent told me that the train was supposed to be on time which was
almost a surprise to me. Still I had about two hours time so I walked towards
the city center of Salem. I passed by the Willamette University and stopped by
at the Oregon State Capitol. I went further downtown in order to find a place
to eat. After lunch I walked back to the station. Salem is this kind of typical
American town which is often shown in the movies. Very nice and people are very
friendly. I got back to the station just in time to see the departure of train
14 the northbound Coast Starlight which was about two hours delayed. I got back
to the station about 30 minutes prior to departure. It seemed as if the
southbound Coast Starlight train 11 was still on time. However, once the train
was scheduled to arrive the announcement came that train 11 was expected about
30 minutes late, due to track congestion. The train approach the station a few
minutes after 4 pm. Boarding didn’t take long and I got, as usual, an aisle
seat assigned. I had asked for a window seat but that didn’t help. Not to
mention how happy this made me. The afternoon went by and while the train was
running through beautiful Oregon landscape we called at Albany, OR and
Eugene-Springfield, OR. From some distance the forest fires and the smoke could
be seen from which the cap driver had told me. It had been a very dry year and
there had been hardly any rain in Oregon. At some point I left the aisle seat behind
and switched to the launch car finally being able to enjoy the beautiful
landscape. The scenery was really amazing, passing by large lakes and forests
with the Cascades in the background while the sun was just setting. I also had
very nice company in the launch car, an educator from Portland. We had such an
interesting conversation about environmental issues, cultural differences and
the importance of education. It was really interesting to hear about her
experiences as a high school teacher. While we were talking I got some dinner
from the launch car. My new acquaintance had a 9 pm dinner reservation and
while she went to the dining car I returned to my seat. With about 1 hour delay
the Coast Starlight called at Chemult, OR. Some freight train was the reason
for our delay. I spent the evening with some writing before going to sleep on
my wonderful aisle seat.
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| Mount Angel Abbey Library designed by Alvar Aalto |
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| Salem station |
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| Coast Starlight approaching Salem |
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