No one was in sight, except a young girl clad in a theatrical version of the local dirndl, standing in front of her souvenir cart, her grizzled mountain dog dozing next to her. Freud impatiently paced the platform, searching for a cab, while Minna wandered over to the young girl and looked at postcards featuring soaring glaciers and close-ups of edelweiss and trout. They had apparently just missed a party of officers from the local garrison, who had commandeered all the hansom cabs for an arriving member of the imperial family and his entourage. The stationmaster told her that the royals were staying at the same hotel, the Hotel Schweizerhaus, and when she looked surprised, he informed her that they always came this time of year for “our fresh air and the restorative waters of the mountain springs.” Other transportation, he said, would be available in a few minutes. Minna settled herself on a crudely fashioned wooden bench and breathed in the crisp, clean air floating off the mountains, the husky aroma of pine mixed with wildflowers.
