Note: more pictures are coming!

It’s been over a month since I last wrote anything. That was when I had returned from Vienna and was back to enjoying Salzburg. Recently I found myself sitting in Heathrow waiting to find out which gate my BA flight departed from from while I sat across from where I sat exactly 6 weeks before. Pulling from my memory, I see a girl so desperately ready to get on a plane to Munich so she can get to her summer home, Salzburg, just a bus ride away from Germany. She loved her weekend in London, the coolest city she has ever been to (so cool that she could move there without second thoughts), and she even wore her new fab sequined parrot shirt wit
 h the cool sleeves she bought in Camden Town her last night in England. She is sitting amongst new friends, many whose names she can’t remember but only because she has been so busy and the whole group isn’t even together yet. She is tired. She slept 7 hours in 3 nights, but is ready to hit the ground running in Austria.
 

With that said, that version of Laura no longer exists. Yes, she still looks the same, although the wardrobe is slightly different after shopping sprees across Europe and a new collection of scarves, shirts, skinny jeans, and accessories, but her thoughts and views of the world and its people are gone and replaced by new ones.

The first three weeks in Europe you have already heard of. But that was only the first half of the journey. If you are wondering why I have not written about the last three, that’s because I couldn’t bring myself to do put my thoughts down. I love to write, but despite the fun I’ve had, I was a bit down knowing that I only had a week left with my study abroad friends. Once they left, I was too tired. And once I was awake, I was busy travelling to Italy.

So, my last week of school was my last week with some of my friends. It was a short four day week since we had just returned from Vienna on that Monday. And unfortunately, it was a busy week. A busy week of two tests, two presentations, yet so much cold rain that we didn’t do much except sit inside and complain about the weather, wondering if the river would flood…because the Salzach was looking a bit scary that week. I think it only rained though because Salzburg was sad to see the girls leave. The bad thing about me not writing in so long, I have forgotten the details about what happened that week, even the funny stories. So, if anyone remembers any, please do let me know.

My last week, I had two presentations over the Sound of Music and Red Bull. These are a few of my favorite things…was that a Sound of Music reference? I think so. What is more appropriate than presenting over these two things that help make Austria so special? I can tell you plenty of fun facts about the Sound of Music. Like the child actors got along so well that they would play tricks on other guests at their hotel in Salzburg such as throwing toilet paper roles at pedestrians in the street and stealing the guests shoes. This inspired my friends and I to do the same. Really…

Want to know about Red Bull? I learned so much about it that week, with the help of Eric (thank goodness for having a Red Bull relative…not just because of the free drinks), that my teacher thought I worked for the company. Maybe it was because of my awesome powerpoint that I spent an entire day on or the fact that I took an entire backpack full of Red Bull products to class and carefully displayed them on the table. You’re welcome Meggie, my fellow lover of Red Bull J
In addition to free Red Bull for the class, Cortney brought beer because she did her presentation on Stiegl. Thank you Cortney! How nice is it to sit in class drinking a beer? Not just any beer though. A Stiegl. We definitely cannot do that at home. Even now, I long for a Stiegl. I did, however, bring a few back with me. Two Radlers that I am saving for a hot summer day.

After class, it was NOT raining. So, with a Radler in hand, we walked through Old Towne, across the river, to Linzergasse for the Linzergassefest. That was the biggest crowd I had seen in Salzburg so far, and surprisingly, I ran into Matias in that huge crowd, and we chatted for awhile. He noted that I looked like a tailgater with the beer and backback. You know…I’m a professional. So, after catching up with my friends at St. Sebastian, we headed to Stiegl Keller…for the last time. The last time to see Doreen, the greatest waitress ever, and the last time to watch Janet put away three liters…until we have a reunion of course. Since it is next door, Eric dropped by to say hi and said he was going home, and Doreen asked one of the best questions I’ve ever heard… “Does that belong to you?” Hahahaha…oh Doreen.

I decided to call it a night after Stiegl. We were the last ones to leave and I walked next door listening to my friends carry on down in the street. Saturday morning, I met Madison and Sara for a trip to Hangar 7. It took about an hour to get there, after taking a bus to the airport, being dropped off at the rental car place, and trying to figure out just how to get to Hangar 7, but the easiest way seemed to just walk across the runway. Nevermind that planes were taking off. We decided against this, however, and went via the busy road through the tunnel, taking a right, walking down another road, and arriving on the other side of the runway at Hangar 7, one of the coolest places in Salzburg.
In case you were wondering, Hangar 7 is where Mr. Mateschitz (Red Bull owner) keeps his “toys”….you know, some planes, cars, Formula 1 race cars, helicopters (one of them is 1 of 4 in the world that can do backflips and Eric got to ride in it that week…so jealous), etc. Just normal toys…In addition to the cool things inside, Hangar 7, like the Red Bull Headquarters in Fuschl, is an architectural masterpiece. And, they have EXCELLENT food. Inside are a few bars, a nice restaurant, and Carpe Diem, the Red Bull fingerfood restaurant. We had one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten, a delicious waffle topped with sour cherries and blueberries and an assortment of breads and spreads.

After the Hangar, we went on one of the Red Bull helicopters over the Alps…ok, I’m kidding. Considering the group was leaving a day later, I went with them to get the “Oh no, I need to take something back to my family and I don’t have anything yet” gifts. Aka Mozartkugel (originals of course…blue and silver wrapping) and other treats. Eric called and invited his dear sister to a house warming party at Richard’s and Line’s and of course I decided to join.

That night was the best night in Europe. By the way, Richard and Line, we all envy you because your new place is awesome. I’m moving in…

Arriving at their place, we always remove our shoes. It’s just what you do. Remove your shoes before going inside someone’s house. I’m implementing that rule at home. After greeting everyone (I was so accustomed to giving and receiving a kiss on each cheek over there that it seems weird not to do it at home), the night began…with wine.

Standing on their balcony, I felt as if I were standing amongst people I had known for years. It’s what I miss the most…the people. Like Kellie, from Australia, who I met on my second day and felt as if we had been friends forever. Or Nate, the fellow American, who, over a glass of wine, gives you a high five and treats you like a best friend. And Richard, Line, Kristen, Christian, Martin, Anja, Heike, Susie, Christian Sturmayr, all of whom are some of the nicest people I have ever met. All that was missing were Stef, Toby, and Matias.

So, the place that Richard and Line live at was on a street with yet another small festival going on outside. There is always something going on in the streets here. This time, one of the nice restaurants, Magazine, had set up tents and tables outside so we just went out there and ate. Thanks to Nate, we got noodles with our schnitzel which was probably the first time those two things have been put together on a plate. In addition to the food, we had more wine and prosecco. And since there wasn’t much room to eat on the crowded street, we just carried the plates and wine glasses (40 glasses total at the end of the night) back to the house. Yes, that constitutes as stealing the dishes, but we were totally going to return them…maybe.

After eating, it was back to the street to go hang out with the rest of the people. That’s when Eric and I were approached by one of his friends who he introduced me to James, from Ireland. James and I spent most of the night talking.


Two hours, ten glasses of wine and prosecco later, it was 230 in the morning, and Eric, James, and I took a taxi to Half Moon. Thank you, Eric for being so important that we can actually get in the door there. In Half Moon, I met Phillip, Arnold, and some people whose names I can’t remember…forgive me, it was 230 am. I also saw Joe, the bartender, again. Basically, for two hours, I enjoyed Half Moon, enjoyed the company (no comments Eric), and we left there at 430 am. At 430 am in Salzburg, the sun is out.

Sunday morning, after 4 hours of sleep, I hopped…I would say hopped right out of bed but that isn’t accurate…right off the couch and ventured across the river so I could spend the day with the girls on their last day. The weather matched my mood which was depressed and starting to feel a bit…sick. It was a long day of waiting, watching packing, talking about the last 4 weeks, laughing, texting, etc. We missed Emily and Lauren, who had left early that morning for Switzerland, and we hated seeing new people move into their room. I spent the whole day there and even the night, not counting my dinner with James, and later returned to my friends. We stayed up as long as we could. Around 230, Madison, Sara, Heather, and Danielle were picked up by the shuttle, and that’s when we all realized that it really was over.

When part of the group is gone, it’s not the same anymore, and Saturday had been the last day our whole group was there. Around 4, I went to sleep in Meggie’s room for about two hours, and we woke up and I said bye to Michelle and Janet, who were leaving around 7. I didn’t have it in me to stay another hour to say bye to everyone else, so I just did it then, and followed their shuttle and headed back home trying not to cry. I thought Eric might be at home, but he had just left for work, so I just went to sleep. When I woke up that afternoon I was really depressed. Sorry to sound so dramatic, but I really was sad. I didn’t go outside that day, and it was Eric’s busiest week out of the year at work, so I just sat alone and read.

Tuesday was basically the same day. But, I did leave the flat! I walked to the train station and got tickets to Munich and back so I could pick up my mum and bring her back to Salzburg on Thursday. I also went to H&M, caved, and bought more clothes. That night, I went on a run and timed it, and didn’t stop until I had run an hour. I will tell you the truth though…I got a bit lost on my mountain. It was the same run I always did except I wanted to make it longer so instead of heading back down the mountain like I usually do, I kept going because I knew where it would lead me, I just didn’t realize it would be so hard. I wasn’t expecting 3 different ways to turn every 50 kilometers. All I knew was head towards the river. That night I stopped running once. And it was because of the view. With my Ipod in, and Rufus Wainwright playing, I just had to stop and take everything in. The Alps are surrounding me, how does it get better than this? It doesn’t. And can you believe that I could run that much? I never could before I got there. However, about 30 minutes after running I thought I was going to die, but I did clean up and hang out with James, and we drove up the Gaisberg. That is a seriously cool view at night.

Wednesday night, I met Line and Kristen at Lemonchilli for dinner. They rode up on their bikes, and I wished that I had mine! We had a good dinner and good conversation, and 3.5 and 4 margaritas each later, we decided to join some of the Red Bull people at a place on the river. How did we get there? Well, the bikes of course. I rode on the back of Kristen’s and switched to Line’s halfway. There is nothing better than riding on the back of a bike, at midnight, across the river in Salzburg with great people. Eric called me while I was on the back and I told him I was on Line’s bike and we were going to the Red Bull gathering and he acted like this was unusual…because he was at home. Oh well, I can just go hang out with his friends. So when we get to the place with everyone…Red Bull people from all over the world were in town…and I met many people and saw many that I already knew. “Oh you’re Eric’s sister? Cool. Where is Eric?” “Well, he’s at home. Asleep.” Hahahaha.

At 2, Richard gave me a ride home. Line’s bike wouldn’t fit in the back of the car so she rode it home. At 330 am, I walked 30 minutes to the train station alone (the taxi drivers don’t speak English and hung up on Eric when he called to ask for a taxi for me). Only in Salzburg can you walk that far, alone, at night, and feel completely safe. The train station was dead at 4 am, and I won’t deny that it was a bit sketchy…I hopped on my train that was already sitting there, and to my dismay, it was a sleeper car. The weird thing about sleeper cars is getting on it when everyone is…you guessed it…asleep. There is that awkward moment of trying to decide which lucky door to open and which passengers to disturb. After ten minutes of playing the guessing game, I picked one and luckily there were two girls in there about my age who were awake. But unfortunately, they did not speak any English. An hour later…wasn’t the train supposed to leave 30 minutes ago? Great. 30 minutes later….really, why are we still here? I specifically picked the 4.28 am train so I would not have to switch trains, and at that moment, I wasn’t even mad. This was probably because I had not slept and stayed out until 2. So around 530, the train leaves, and I just chill on the way to Munich with one of my many new books.

2 hours later…thank the Lord, I am in Munich. At the Hauptbanhof, I switch to the S1 and head to the Flughof (airport) to get my mum. I was very excited about her being here! When we got on the subway and arrived at our stop, we began to exit, but as soon as I stepped out, the doors shut, would NOT open back up, and I watched her ride away on the subway with the “oh scheisse” look on her face. I yelled out a loud word, people stared, but thankfully her phone worked and I found out she had exited at the next stop, so I followed. We got all that sorted out, and made it back to Salzburg in one piece…I had my doubts before…but we made it. We walked from the train station to the flat with the suitcase, and I originally thought this was a great idea until we discovered that it was sweltering outside.

That day was a day of doing our favorite thing…shopping. The day would have been perfect, but I should mention that there is no air conditioning in Salzburg. This is normally fine, until you are in a packed store that is having a sale, and you find yourself not being able to breathe, so you have to leave. Which is probably for the best because I was about to slap down a lot of money for a Swavorski crystal necklace. Oh well…Christmas present! Yes, that was a not so subtle hint to my brother.

I introduced my mum to all my favorite local places…aka Ray’s sausage stand, Schotz café, Mirabell Gardens, and any and every place in Old Towne. So Thursday came to a close after a visit to the fortress, and Friday we slept in until I think 11. Friday dinner was at M32, a really nice place on top of the Monchsberg which gives a beautiful view of the whole city. Walking around after dinner on one of the footbridges was really great because I love Salzburg at night. It sits right in the Alps so looking up at the fortress against the mountains above Old Towne from the other side of the Salzach is truly amazing, and it feels like home. After walking a bit, we made our way to a place along the river where some of Eric’s friends were and sat around talking to Matias and Phillip until the torrential rainfall began. But who was surprised? Not me. Being right on the river at that moment, I’m surprised we didn’t all drown.

Saturday was an early day, as my mum and I woke up to go on…the Sound of Music tour. Oh yes. The tour was great fun, and we saw many places such as the outside shots of the von Trapp house, the church in Mondsee where the wedding scene was filmed, and part of the lakes region. Other places in town that we had already seen were Nonnberg Abbey which is up a hill by the flat, the gazebo from Sixteen Going on Seventeen which is located at Hellbrunn Palace, and Mirabell Gardens where Do-Re-Mi was shot. Although touristy, it was really fun to drive through the area with the soundtrack playing on the bus. And when the tour guide asked a bit of trivia, I got it correct and won a free drink. Woo!! But perhaps one of the best parts of the entire day was when the bus driver backed into a car that must have been a little too excited to see the von Trapp house. How do you not see a bus about to back over you? Hahahaha I will never forget the sound when that poor car got crushed. No injuries though which was good.

Saturday afternoon, Eric drove us back out to Fuschl so my mum could see the Red Bull Office. Eric works in the big volcano. These buildings are so amazing. Although on the way to the bathroom I ran into a glass wall because the whole thing is…glass. So, give me a break! I loaded up at the office…brand new Red Bull energy shots!! Get yours in the store today! After the office, we went across the road to Edenbergers to have a drink with Toby, Stef, and my little love Ollie. Ollie danced for us, and I was glad to see the three of them once more before I left. I love them. They are my favorite family other than my own :) From Fuschl we drove up the Gaisberg and watched some of the hanggliders. I wish one of them had been me!!! I LOVE the Gaisberg. It is the greatest.

So, that brings us to Sunday. The dreaded Sunday, when I knew that in a weeks time, I would be landing in Dallas and that would be the end to the most amazing summer of all time. It wasn’t TOO bad though, because we went to ITALY! In four days, I experienced the city of Trieste on the Adriatric Sea, walked the canals of Venice, stood at the base of Michaelangelo's David in Florence, relaxed and enjoyed the wine at a winery in Tuscany, fixed the leaning problem at the tower in Pisa, and drove up the coast of Western Italy and saw the Sea from Cinqueterre and Riomaggiore. It began with a wonderful drive through the Alps as me, my mum, and brother made our way to Trieste with Motown playing. Trieste is on the Sea on the Eastern side of Italy, and it was a great introduction to the country. Since we arrived in the afternoon, everything was closed because this is typical of the culture. Huge lunch and a long afternoon nap while your shop is closed up for a few hours…now why don’t we do that at home? We walked around some of the docks and looked at the beautiful Adriatic Sea found a hotel. At this point, we were just winging it. We ended up staying at a very nice place, the Exelsior right on the coast, and had a huge balcony. I took my book out and read with my feet propped up, and every few pages I stopped myself to say…wow, you are in Italy. That night, we found a typical Italian hole in the wall and awesome restaurant for dinner where I ate prosciutto and gnocchi (in honor of Janet…Miss you!)

Monday we woke up very early and drove a few hours to Venice. Such a cool city! And a big one! In three hours time of wandering and getting lost in the canals, we only saw a ¼ of it all. I’m really depressed that the city is sinking. I knew it was, but it didn’t really make sense until I saw it. It’s hard to imagine a city that is literally sinking. I’m pretty sure Venice loved me just as much as I loved it because I discovered an awesome store of masks and bought one, and we also bought some popular Italian glass.

That same day, which started in Trieste, we drove to Florence after leaving Venice. I was exhausted because it was so hot in Italy, and not just because of the men =) Since it was late, we just went to dinner at another great little local place. The next morning, we took a bus into the city center, and I just couldn’t believe I was there in the same place the Renaissance began. Not going to lie though, Florence was so crowded I was stressed most of the day. But seeing The David was worth the ridiculous amount of people. Going into the Academia Gallery, rounding a corner, there it is at the end of the corridor. It’s quiet in there, no pictures are allowed, and people just sit, stand, and stare. Time doesn’t really exist when you are looking at it. That is the most amazing piece of art that I have ever seen. I took an illegal picture of it, just like most people in there were. If I paid 15 euro, I want a picture. So I got one. The rest of the day we walked around, looked at some churches, and later I bought some limoncello because its not really a trip to Italia without some.

BTW, driving in Italy is an absolute nightmare. I repeat, NIGHTMARE. I think we were all bracing for dear life, I know I was. In Italy, they don't believe in lanes so it's just one big mess. I don't know how to describe it, and I wish I had recorded some of it. Eric was stressed, and I'm sure it exhausted him. I sat in the middle of the backseat to avoid the doors just in case we got hit. Ya, its that ridiculous.

Later, we hopped back into the car and rode to Siena. Siena was so cool. It was only an hour from Montepulciano which I really wanted to go to, but there wasn’t enough time. But the two looked exactly the same....the only reason I know this is because I've done a lot of research on Montepulciano (possibly because of a certain actor who may or may not be Robert Pattinson was filming NEW MOON there this summer!!!!!). Siena is so old and has a huge piazza in the middle where they have horse races every year. I felt like I was walking through a movie going through streets that were a millennium old. On the way back, we visited a winery that Machiavelli used to go to during his holidays. Kind of surreal. Thank goodness for GPS because these places are hard to find! We stocked up some and didn’t even care how much that would weigh down our suitcase…but all in all, it was a typical day, hanging out the winery. In Tuscany. No big deal.

Driving through the hills of Tuscany, I saw so many sunflowers. Just like my movie, Under the Tuscan Sun =) That night we watched the Michael Jackson memorial service from the hotel. Now when I’m older, I can tell my kids I watched it in Florence, Italy. Crazy.
The next day, we packed up to return to Salzburg but on the way, we stopped in Pisa. I fixed the leaning problem…yea I’ve been working out. After Pisa, we drove 10 hours and stopped in Riomaggiore on the Western coast of Italy. GPS definitely gave us the scenic route though. We ended up driving a one lane road with drop offs on either side, and I didn’t even think the road was even big enough to be considered one lane. It was even a dirt road. We drove through some old towns hoping the GPS would lead us to the Autostrada soon. A few hours later…oh yay civilization! Ten hours later, we were in Innsbruck, Austria where the Olympics were held twice. Later we realized that we needed gas, so we pulled into a gas station but it had closed 20 minutes before. Eric tried to bribe the non English speaking worker inside by pulling out money and motioning that the guy could keep it if he let us get gas....that was interesting. He didn't let us get gas, so on fumes from our empty tank, we made it to the next station. And finally…home.

The next day, we woke up early in Salzburg so we could finish everything we wanted to…like shopping! I tried not to think about it being our last day. I bought a ridiculous amount of scarves and clothes and chocolate and other things…there was no sense in returning with euros in my wallet…at least that’s what my excuse was =)

Dinner was at St. Paul Stubn which is awesome because of 1. The food and 2. No tourists. I came to hate tourists about a week into Austria. My kasknocken mit speck dish was so good my stomach is still asking for it. After St Paul, we went on top of Hotel Stein to meet James and Kellie for drinks. The weather was nice on my last night, so on top of Stein, we had a beautiful view of the fortress. After my prosecco, James and I walked the streets of Old Towne after midnight. No one was out. It was the best way to end my last night there. Good company and good memories.

That brings us to Friday when we went to Munich. Once again, for my third visit, it was FREEZING. I will always think of Munich as the city with the worst weather I’ve ever experienced. During summer, it was about 50 degrees and raining. So we warmed up at the Hofbrauhaus each with a liter of beer and sausage and good music and lots of drunk people despite the early time of day.

This brings me to the end of my trip. The next day was just an airport day. A long, sad day. Even now, I can’t believe how much my summer has changed. Two weeks ago I was walking the centuries old cobble stoned streets of Europe, and now I am in Arkansas. I had the time of my life and learned more about myself in 7 weeks than I did in 21 years. It felt like home, and I felt more comfortable there than I do here most of the time. The people are so open and inviting that you can’t help but love a place like Austria.

So, what do I miss about Salzburg? I miss walking through the streets of Old Towne late at night when no tourists are out. I miss the sounds of the bells that ring ALL of the time. I miss walking up to Ray and making conversation while he fixed my kasekrainer without me even having to ask for it. I miss drying my clothes on the windowsill. I miss sleeping with the windows open and waking up to hear the conversations of people in the street. I miss Andreas, our sweet cultural leader. I miss seeing little kids in lederhosen and dirndls. I miss passing the same artists in the Kapitelplatz and Residenzplatz everyday. I miss standing at the footbridge over the Salzach and looking at the fortress and putting myself back into the year 1000 when it was being built. I miss walking up to a pretzel stand and trying to choose between 10 different kinds. I miss walking past the Mozart statue in Mozartplatz every single day. I miss running by Nonnberg Abbey and seeing nuns walk around. I miss going into Schotz and trying something new every single time but always with a cup of hot chocolate. I miss going into Billa and buying milk, Musli, Cola Light, bread, and Nutella. I miss walking through the market and enjoying the fresh fruits. I miss Friday nights at Stiegl Keller with my friends. I miss the Alps and seeing them everywhere I turn. I miss walking into St. Sebastian like I lived there and automatically going to room 309. I miss people speaking to me in German and me pretending like I understood them. I miss the wonder that is Half Moon. I miss my morning teacher Brigit. I miss getting ein kugel cookies ice cream for 0.80 euro. I miss that morning pastry and Red Bull in class knowing that I would walk it off on the way home. I miss Brigit saying “but I don’t make you responsible for this.” I miss the fountains at the beginning of Linzergasse that were colored at night. I miss Red Bull. I miss Radlers. I miss the Gaisberg. But most of all I miss the people. My study abroad friends, I thank you for giving me the memories of a lifetime. We grew closer than most people do in years. To all of Eric’s friends, I thank you for being so welcoming, and I am glad that I can now call you my friends. I can’t wait to see you all when I come back!
I’m returning to Salzburg for spring break and again in the summer (even if Eric doesn't live there anymore, his friends are my friends =P ), when I might tackle England (again), Ireland, and Scotland. Spring break will be a quick ski trip. I’ll let you know how that turns out!

Until then, Auf Wiedersehen!

3 Euro Extasy

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Hallo! It's been awhile since I last updated, but to be honest, last week was fairly uneventful, unless you consider a weekly stop at my favorite sausage stand a newsworthy event. Although, I must say, this sausage stand, run by Ray, might just change your life. I like to go once a week, order a kasekrainer hot dog with ketchup while I sip on a Cola Light from a glass bottle. It's true, I don’t even have to tell Ray what I want to eat that day…he already knows. Perhaps this is because I could be considered a regular, who doesn't branch out and try new things, but give me a break, this thing is too delicious NOT to order it every time. Or perhaps it's because they know I am Eric's sister, because he was a regular far before I was, and thankfully, my wonderful brother introduced me to the delightful world of Austrian fast food, particularly this one stand, the first day I arrived.

Also last week, I found a bookstore…oh no. This can never be good. If you know my love of books, you know that I can't resist buying a book or two when I go into a bookstore. So…I bought 3. And an Austrian cookbook in English. I can't wait to cook my favorite dishes when I get back. I also went to the Fortress, above where I live. The view was amazing. Thursday night was Taco Night, and several of the girls made tacos for all of us to have. Yes, Mexican food in Austria. =) It doesn’t beat La Huerta though!Rain, rain go away, come again…never. Maybe I could have told you about the weather here, but usually that isn’t even worth mentioning…until Friday that is. Friday began what seems like a monsoon. Of course, the rain gods hate us here, and decided to let it pour on the one day our group dressed up in nice clothes to go to the marionette theater…which reminds me, we went to see the Sound of Music, performed, not by actors, but puppets. Although slightly weird at first, it was really cool to see how well those things look and move like real people. But, back to the weather…running through Salzburg barefoot, shoes in hand, through the rain might seem like a fun idea…that is, if this is a light summer shower. But no, this is nothing but a downpour. Since then, it has rained each day, even in Vienna, although Sunday was a nice day until it began to rain late at night.

Speaking of Vienna, I should write about lovely Wein, as it is called here. Saturday, at an ungodly hour, 745 am, we got on a bus to begin our 3.5 hour drive to the other side of Austria, from Salzburg province to Wein province. It was raining…are you surprised? Our quaint hotel was situated on a Buchfeldstrasse, but the strange thing was that our group was split up into two hotels on the road. 4 of us were in one hotel, the others down and across the road in another. Madison and I roomed together again, and I was reminded of rooming together in London which was so fun. Madison, you are a great roommate! Janet and Sarah were next door, so this made a perfect grouping. Although, I do wish our friends down the road were there too. So Saturday in Vienna, we began a walking tour of the center of the city…in the rain.

As much as I would like to say that I enjoyed it, I had trouble finding fun in the tour because it was so cold and rainy. This was exactly what happened in Munich. Don't get me wrong, I love rain, but it's just so…cold. Sitting inside reading and watching movies laying on the couch, rain is good. Exploring Europe in cold rain when your umbrella is so small you still get wet, that is not fun at all. But, nevertheless, we walked around and saw the Imperial Palace, the Spanish Riding School horse stables, the Stephansdom, etc. After 1.5 hours, we had the rest of the day free. I along with Emily, Lauren, Madison, Michelle, Kristen, Janet, Sarah, Katie, Sylvia, Danielle, and Meggie walked down the shopping area of Vienna, past some of the most expensive stores, to the Naschmarkt. I loved it there. Stand after stand of fresh food, fruits, fish, candies, breads, exotic foods, and cool scarves, bags, jewelry, clothes, etc. The Naschmarkt is where Eastern Europeans come in and sell things. Of course I bought things...such as scarves. Love scarves. I loved the Naschmarkt.

From there, we walked to the Sacher Café. What is the Sacher Café you ask? I would love to call it a hidden treasure of Vienna, but it isn’t hidden at all. There is a line extending out the door to get into this famous café. It's fame comes from the original sachertorte, a delicious chocolate cake with flavored jam in between the two chocolate layers. Millions of cakes are made here each year and hundreds of thousands are shipped overseas. This cake is delicious, and the prices at the Sacher Café match its level of taste. The inside is so beautiful, situated with tables of two or three seats. We had to split up of course, so Emily, Lauren, and I (hey, the Arkansas girls!) sat at one table with Katie and Madison at the next. We each ordered a piece of the original sachertorte with whipped cream and hot chocolate. The ten Euros was completely worth it as the food was delicious, and the café is so famous. After the Sacher Café, we went…shopping.

After an hour or two of shopping, we had all split up, except for me and Madison. Let's take the Underground back to our hotel…ok, that should be easy. We did it all the time in London and got the hang of that easily, so this should be no different…Wrong. It's not that we didn't understand how to take the Vienna Underground. We knew exactly where to get off…at Rathaus, the city's town hall persay. Ok, Rathaus, we're here. Super. So, where do we go now? Madison and I seriously had no idea where our hotel was, much less the street it was on. So, somehow we miraculously find out the street and address. That makes this easier, right? No. We pull out the Vienna map. We are standing in the 1st district and our hotel is in the…8th? This map was the most intimidating thing I've ever looked at, and after standing with the map completely unfolded for 30 minutes (the map was huge…biggest piece of paper I've ever seen), Madison on one side, me on the other…a nice girl stopped and asked if we needed help. Thank God. We were standing on the busiest street in Vienna looking stupid, but this girl was an angel and told us where to go.

At the hotel, we rested for a bit, read our books (bookworms…only a bookworm reads in their hotel room in Vienna), and got dressed for dinner. Ok, we are ready for dinner, so how do we get in touch with everyone else? We have no phone numbers, no phones, we aren't even all at the same hotel. So we laid on the beds with open windows and finally heard Janet in the road so we ran to the window and yelled down at them. Through a conversation from three stories high to our friends in the street (the Austrians probably hate us), we made dinner plans. At 815, we walked two blocks away to a restaurant that was suggested to us.

On the outside, this looks like a normal restaurant. Walking inside, there is a grand, red carpeted staircase leading down. Ok, this is nice. Getting downstairs we are led through a hall and realize that this restaurant is so cool and nice. Obviously, it is really old, and all the tables are candlelit and it was really romantic. Being led through a hallway, we started to walk past hats. Not just any hats. Huge hats with feathers and flowers. We want to wear one! The host tells us to all pick out a hat and follow him. Super! I chose a pink one with huge feathers and flowers. I felt like Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. Come to find out, we are in the hat museum, and we are wearing hats that cost around 1000 Euros each…scheisse. The tour takes place in the wine cellar, and we are all thinking that this is so cool. And it really was. We had a wine tasting and then were led to our PRIVATE dining room in our hats. We find out that this hat museum and restaurant are very famous and recently, celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Charles Hapsburg have eaten in that very same room. Charles Hapsburg…wow. Charles Hapsburg is a descendent from, you guessed it…the Hapsburgs. THE Hapsburgs. The ones that ruled over the Austrian empire for centuries. How cool is that? Our food was delicious and it was definitely a night to remember. And we just thought we were walking in to a simple dinner…

The second day in Vienna occurred on the first day of summer, and guess what? The sun was shining =) We had a tour of the art museum, with a name so long that I can't pronounce so I won't even try to spell it. It was really good. They say it is comparable to the Louvre, but I have never been to the Louvre (I consider this a great tragedy). I saw works of Rembrandt and Raphael and Valasquez. Wow. After the tour, I walked around with Janet, Sarah, Michelle, Kristen, and Sylvia. Since the day before was horrible weather, we went and saw everything we had seen the previous day. Michelle discovered some toy that guys were selling that consisted of a tennis ball attached to a string and a thing that sits on the ground so that you can hit the tennis ball and it will bounce back to you. She grabs a racket and starts playing with it and the ball whacks a kid in the head. I thought I would die from lack of oxygen from laughing so hard. Walking around, we saw the imperial crown jewels, went shopping, ate at an Italian pizzeria, and got gelato. On the side street where the pizzeria was, there was a group of 6 kids, maybe 5 years old, playing hide and seek in the street, and I realized…how great would it be to grow up here? These kids were adorable, carefree, playing in the streets of Vienna. They are so lucky, and they probably don't even realize it. I know that America is the best place in the world for education and working opportunities, we have so much freedom and peace at home, but despite this, I can't help but wish I could have grown up in a place with so much history. Europe has an exciting history, and it is a place filled with beautiful art and architecture and numerous cultures whereas the United States does not have this kind of history. After all, our ancestors came from Europe. Did you know that the place I live right now is older than our country? Yep. I wish I could live in a place that had the best of both worlds…the opportunities that the United States has to offer and the history, culture, and art of Europe. I think growing up here makes people more mature. I've seen teenagers who don't act like teenagers, more like people in their young twenties.

Sunday night, we went to the Prater, an amusement park with a famous ferris wheel giving you a great view of Vienna. At the Prater, we ate and then decided to go on some rides. Madison, Danielle, and I ran into Cassie, Cortney, Amanda, and Carrie as they were about to get on Extasy…no, not that extasy, but a ride. This ride…oh my gosh. Sitting on it, a voice comes over the speaker telling us to spread our legs…what? I look down at my legs to see what they are talking about, and the bar that holds you in comes down and smacks me in the head…I was convinced I would have a concussion. Once the ride starts, music playing loud, smoke comes out of a fog machine…great. I can't breathe. This ride was insane. Spinning so fast, in darkness with strobe lights, and loud music, we were on it forever before it started to slow down. We all thought the ride was over. That is, until we are slowly lifted into the air, and turned upside down where we hung for about 30 seconds before spinning more and more. After getting off the ride, I could barely walk. Did you know that you can be on Extasy for 3 Euro? It's true. And it was totally worth it.

After Extasy, we rode the old ferris wheel, and afer the ferris wheel, we ran into everyone else. We immediately knew that half of them were sick. So…out of the 13 people from our group, 5 got sick after, and made lovely trips to bathrooms, trashcans, and behind trees. Yes, those of us who didn’t get sick felt bad for those that did, but you have to admit….it was really funny. The look on their faces was priceless. I'm still laughing from it.

Monday, back to rain and…cold? Despite this, we got on the bus at 745 am, once again, and drove to Schoenbrunn Palace, where Maria Theresa, former emporess of Austria once lived. This place is BEAUTIFUL. Franz Josef and his wife Elisabeth, who we like to call Sissy, and by we, I mean our group and all of Austria, also lived there. We had an audio tour guide, and I really loved going around the palace. I felt like I was walking through time into the grand gallery. All that was missing was a ball gown and an orchestra playing the Viennese waltz.

Returned to class yesterday. It's hard to believe that classes end on Friday and my new and wonderful friends will return to the United States on Monday. Some are going to other parts of Europe, but most are going home, and I am staying here. I love the people I've met here. Being in a foreign country, especially one with a different language, really brings people together in a way that isn't that same as making friends in your own country. We have all made discoveries together, learned about Austrian culture, managed to make it over here, all with the help of one another. I will miss my new friends, but we will be visiting one another soon I am sure. Today we had a guy from the US come to film us for a promotional video..that was interesting. Action. Take two. Cut. Take three. That was so weird, but fun. I was interviewed and he put the camera a foot away from my face. Lovely. I love thinking of things on the spot. Not. We’ll see how that turns out. I’ll give autographs upon my return home.

Well enough of this. I’m done for the day. But I wont be gone for long, just like the rain.

Auf Wiedersehen

Ja super Ja. Salzburg Part 3

Monday, June 15, 2009

Gruss Gott! It's been a busy few days! In the past week I've done some great things.

Wednesday night, Michelle and I went to Afro Cafe. We wanted to sit outside, but there were only two chairs left, and they happened to be at a table with two guys. Hmm...too bad.Oh wait, there's the waitress asking them if we can sit there, at their table....In Europe, this is normal. They oblige. Ok we're sitting with two random guys...right next to them, at a table for four. I hope people thought it was a date because if they did then that would give a good laugh because the two parties didn't exchange much conversation since the two guys had about a total of 2 seconds silence during their intense convo. We obviously had no idea what their deep conversation was about, but Michelle and I talked about how weird it was but not in those exact words. Just a lot of "Ummm..." "yea..." followed by laughter. But, at the end we talked to them a bit.

Thursday was a holiday which meant no class! But, our art class went with our teacher to an open air museum, Grossgmain. That was really fun. We've been learning about farmhouses from the 14th, 15th, and so on centuries and the furniture in them, the style of houses, etc (I've really enjoyed learning about it…and no, that is not sarcasm), and Grossgmain has actual farmhouses that have been moved there, set up with the old furniture and everything, including the Einhof and Paarhof and more style farmhouses. In one of them, I decided to walk into the basement and saw a massive black and yellow salamander, and naturally, I freaked out. Our teacher told us that they are very rare though, and seeing one would bring good luck. So it looks like I'm going to get some good luck soon…I shall let you know how that turns out. It sounds like it would be boring day, but it wasn’t. We had a really good time.

Friday, instead of having art class, we went to Hellbrunn. So fun. My absolute favorite part is the Wasserspiel…the trick water fountains. What are trick water fountains you ask? Well, whoever built this area of the grounds was a bit of a jokester, and placed hidden water fountains everywhere long ago. At the beginning of the water fountains, Andreas begins to take tickets for everyone wanting to go on the Wasserspeil tour. Come to find out, Andreas is a tour guide at Hellbrunn. Our group loves Andreas. In case I didn’t mention it before, Andreas is our cultural leader everytime we go on a trip or something. He is so awesome and so passionate and happy about Austria, being a native of Salzburg, and I love going around with him because he knows so much about Austria. And being such a happy person, he makes the rest of us happy too. When we first got here, Andreas basically trained us for all the walking we would do. Our first tour of Salzburg was 4 hours, all over town. And since then, I don’t run out of breath going up hills or walking long distances or anything…ok maybe today during the last 5 minutes of the hike, but that doesn’t count…less oxygen :)But back to Hellbrunn. The first part of the trick water fountains is a table outside in this beautiful garden area that has about ten seats around it. We knew that if we sat at it, we would get soaked. I joined Heather and Sylvia around it, and water starting coming out of our seats. My bottom got soaked, but good thing I was wearing black.It was like this everywhere in the trick water fountains. Standing in random places, water would all of a sudden start shooting everywhere. Naturally, this was because of Andreas, controlling the water fountains. He loved surprising our group, because knows the AIFS group so well, and did most of this on purpose. It was so fun! Hellbrunn has some of the prettiest grounds of anywhere I've seen here. The palace is beautiful. The grounds also include the Sound of Music pavilion. This is the one they used for the outside filming of it, when Leisel and Ralph run into it during the rain. Did I mention how much I love the Sound of Music? I watch it religiously. The Sound of Music tour is a top priority of mine this summer.

Friday night, Eric and I went out to Fuschl, after driving by Wolfgangsee which I loved, for dinner and drinks and hanging out with his friends. His friends are so fun. Its great sitting around a table with a mixture of nationalities….New Zealand, England, Germany, Austria, and the American brother and sister. How often can you say that you get to spend time with such a diverse and fun group? Im so lucky to be here, and lucky to have my wonderful brother living here :) (and no, Eric, I am not trying to suck up). The food was delicious! I had lamb for the first time….really really good. After that, we came back to Salzburg….after driving with the windows down listening to Viva La Vida, singing, and playing the violin and drums…..and went to Half Moon, where the first Vodka Red Bull, my favorite drink (yummmm Red Bull), was created over twenty years ago.

Saturday I conquered the Untersberg and declared myself a professional hiker. That's right, I hiked on the Untersberg. As much as I would like to say that I did the complete 3 hour climb up the tallest mountain in the area, I enjoyed the delightful ride on the cable car up that goes up the mountain. Today I went with Emily, Lauren, Michelle, Maggie, Tony, Danielle, and Sarah on bus 25 to the last stop, this really awesome mountain. I was totally pumped about riding this up, although it was kind of crazy to think that we were so high up, hanging on nothing but a cable. This mountain is seriously so high, you can see for miles and miles. So, we get to the top. Oh my gosh. That's all I said when I got off the car. I was so excited, I immediately started running around. Let's start our hike!! Why is everyone wearing winter gear? Oh yea, its freezing up here. It was probably 9 celsius, and I was wearing shorts and a t shirt. But I was representing the Hogs with my shirt, and I had the shoes and backpack so I was a legitimate hiker. This hike was actually really difficult and kind of scary. A lot of people die on the Untersberg, and I can see why. Climbing over rocks, a bit of snow and ice, with big drop offs everywhere…we're all thinking, "does everyone have their insurance cards?…." Getting to the very top of the Untersberg, after gasping for air, one because it's so beautiful and two because there is a serious low level of oxygen, I was literally in awe. Sitting on a bench, looking in one direction is Salzburg…oh hey, there's the fortress that I live below and it looks like a toy…and in the other is snow covered Alps. My pictures don’t do this justice. All I can do to describe being up there is that all you can do is sit there and thank the Lord for creating such a beautiful earth.

That night, we went back to Stiegl Keller. Love that place. Naturally, I got the Radler to drink (I'm going to miss having those when returning to America) and the goulash again. Doreen, our waitress from last time, who we loved because she was so sweet and cute, wasn’t out waitress this time which was really sad, but she brought our whole table free shots. We plan to make Stiegl Keller a Friday night ritual, and I support that decision completely because like I mentioned once before, this is a really nice restaurant, with a great view, sitting on the balcony outside looking out over Old Towne. Oh yea, its conveniently located right beside the flat, so very convenient for me :) After dinner, we went to Republic for a drink and then called it a night. The Untersberg wore us out. I went back to St. Sebastian with everyone and later walked back here. One great thing about Salzburg is that it is so safe. I can walk from St. Sebastian down Linzergasse across the Salzach River, through Old Towne, up to Festungsgasse any time of the day or night and feel safe. It’s a great city.

Sunday was lake day. I slept a bit late, but headed to St. Sebastian to meet the group around noon. From there we rushed...literally ran half the way...to the train station because the buses are there also. Walking normally takes 25 minutes. We made it in 15 so we could catch the bus....bus leaves at 12:54, yes its 12:50! A few minutes later....ummmmm the bus left at 12:15....scheissa. Next one isnt until 2:15.....ok.....McDonalds for lunch? Ya. Super.McDonalds in Europe is really pretty inside actually. Fresh flowers on these sheek tables, cool lamps. Food was really really good. Way better than at home. No ice in the drinks of course, but this is ok with me because I dont like ice in fountain drinks anyways. Finally, the the bus comes! We get to Fuschl, go to the beach on the lake which is so crowded because it was a beautiful day. I went kayaking with Sarah, Meggie, and Kristin. That was amazing...didnt tip over once :) We went pretty far out in the middle of the lake. I cant really describe how great it is to be in the middle of Fuschlsee in looking at mountains surrounding you. I wish I had my camera out there.

Finally, that brings us to Monday. It's a grocery store day. I went to Billa and got a random assortment of items, ranging from toilet paper, to Radlers, to warm boxed milk (yep...), to Nutella. And a PEZ dispenser that is just too cool. And instead of buying Goldfish as a snack, I got a snack size bag of cheesy kangaroos.....I forgot to bring my Billa bags so I had to buy new ones =(And I got the most delicious nectarines ever, which I am eating right now. Tonight in class we have to tell our teacher what we want to do our final presentation on...I chose Red Bull....are you surprised?Speaking of Red Bull....Ive had two today...that means Ive got wiiiings so I'm flyin away.Tschuss!





Salzburg and Munich

Monday, June 8, 2009

Servus!

The hills really are alive with the sound of music. This morning as I was sleeping on the couch, I woke up to the sound of bells, bells, bells, and what sounded like a marching band...right outside the window, just a few stories down, in the street. This weekend we journeyed to Munich. It started out a cold day in Salzburg, and I could only hope that Munich would have better weather. The train ride was very enjoyable. The first train was small, but I found myself sitting next to a really nice woman from California, and we talked, Maggie and Andreas sitting across from me, and Michelle next to me across the aisle, making it a fun first hour of the ride. After switching trains and getting on an awesome two tier train, I chose a seat up top, facing opposite the direction we were going. I really loved seeing the countryside zoom past.Munich....weather = not so good. Cold and raining....it reminded me of....Fayetteville. boo.After doing a 1.5 hour walking tour, we ended up at the Hoffbrauhaus. Tons of people inside warming up with liters of beer. From the Hoffbrauhaus, about 12 of us went to Dachau, a concentration camp about 30 minutes away. Very eye opening.Standing at the bus stop outside of Dachau in a circle of new friends, we finally boarded the bus, later switched to a train, and a few of us got off at the main train station while the others stayed on to go to a different one.

At the main train station, 5 of us met up with some more of our friends. We explored the Munich train station, which I must say is super nice. The transportation system over here is awesome.We were hungry. How can you not be when everywhere you turn you see pastries or warm pretzels the size of your face?Im serious about that....Everywhere Ive been around here, the pastries and pretzels are literally...the size of your face. But back to Munich....we boarded the train to Salzburg and somehow our group (consisting of me, Maggie, Katie, Michelle, Joey, Heather, Tony, Kristen, Danielle, and Sylvia) ended up in the first class luggage car in jump seats. A few other passengers were there too. One woman who seemed very happy to practice her English with us, and a guy who did not say one word although we knew he spoke English because it was obvious that he was listening in our conversation.About 30 minutes into the train ride, we all start asking each other...."so which stop do we get off at?" That started a fun night....if you were wondering the level of difficulty of traveling by train or bus in countries where you dont speak the language, on a scale of one to ten, ten being the hardest, I would rank it 10.....So we come to a stop that kind of sounds like the one we are to get off at, and remember the guy who was sitting by us that we knew spoke English but didnt? Yea, well he gets out of his seat to exit the train and I jump up after him and so did some of the others, to follow. So he turns around, and in English, tells us not to get off here. He proceeds to tell us where to get off at and how to get back to Salzburg....I told you he spoke English. I was sad to see him leave, he was nice. I go back to my seat, and in case I didnt mention it before...these were jump seats that automatically folded up when you werent sitting in them......I obviosuly forgot this part because in my sadness to see the nice guy leave, I proceeded to sit, not on the seat that wasnt there, but the floor. Im thinking....wow this seat is really low, and thats when I realize...hey, Laura, youre on the ground. Laughter.. Tons of laughter.

45 minutes later....havent we been on this train a long time? its been what...an hour and a half? A little bit of panic...kind of...maybe were on our way to Budapest, who knows? We dont speak German...although Katie and Joey know enough so that we dont end up in Hungary or Slovenia. Does everyone have their passports? were probably headed out of the Eurozone for all we know. We come to the stop that we know is ours.. we get off the train, run to a bus....we hope its the right bus...we were just following the crowd. So were standing on the bus that is supposedly a connection the next train...hence, like 3 minutes because its a connection. 20 minutes later......im pretty sure our group is the loudest most entertaining group on the bus...everyone on there probably hates Americans now, but at least we had fun. But standing for that long on what is supposed to be a connection, we start wondering again, where are we? Finally, the train station. The driver of the bus tells us that our train is ready to board. Ok cool...theres a train, it must be ours. Half the group is in front of me, the other half behind me, yet we are all spread out. Im a bit slow bc some guy obviously didnt like that I was basically sitting on his suitcase and he proceeded to yank it out from behind/underneath me and tripped me without saying he was sorry. Rude.

So im running to catch up with the first half of my friends who run past the sea of people, down the stairs, back up the stairs, over to a train on platform 8 that must be ours bc like the bus driver said...ours was ready to board....so we run onto the train and sit. Then we see the sign that says its headed to somewhere that I cant even spell or pronounce...."Hey, I dont think this is our train" is the look we are all giving one another. Great....the other half of our group is on platform 2 and every other person on platform 2 is staring at us....We run off the train, to the stairs, and at the base of the stairs we see the other half of our group running back and forth the stairs to different platforms....which one is ours? oh, its the one where everyone is standing...how embarassing. we go back to the platform we were at originally, looking stupid, and board the train.In salzburrg, we walk from the train station back home. For me it was a 30+ minute walk in the pouring down rain. The others stopped at Institut St. Sebastian where they are staying, and I stopped too to borrow the internet. Then I continued walking, over the river, in the rain, back home.After that train experience, I now know how important it is to actually speak the language of the country youre in, unless you want to end up in Taiwan.

A few things I loved about yesterday.....sitting around on trains with new friends, bonding over funny things like not knowing your way around.. We are all so different yet so alike, that we have so much fun. I also loved the fact that we were all shocked when ten year olds got on the train, and they were all smoking....whoa haha.

Lately in Salzburg, I have just been going to class, hanging out, and taking care of a few business things. Had to register with the authorities that I am staying here, and since I am not staying at the dorm with everyone else, I had to have Erics real estate people here sign this form. That required taking the bus (again, another confusing journey bc I dont speak German) to the other side of town, attempting to find this place, without a map. But I made it, and they did not speak German, but I held up this important document, pointed to a lady's name, and so forth, and finally got it signed by her.

Other than that, class has been interesting yet long. Every morning I have to have a red bull or hot chocolate...one, because its cold down in our basement classroom, and two, its just too early.I went shopping the other day...big surprise...and got some clothes so that I can fit in here....I love my new outfits. I must be fitting in somewhat, because I was walking down the street and heard an American group trying to figure out how to get somewhere. They stopped me and asked, in German, how to get somewhere, and I laughed and explained I was indeed from their own country and told them where to go. Last night walking home I also walked next to a group of American teenage girls who were having, lets just say, an interesting conversation, ending with the exclamation that they were happy that the people around them at the moment were German or Austrian. Hmmmm...wouldnt they love to know that I understood their conversation completely? Quite entertaining, although I would have rather not heard them telling one another their secrets. Haha

Friday night, we had a good night at dinner. First, it started off with me, Madison, Emily, Lauren, Janet, Michelle, Tony, Kristen, and Sarah walking to a place where there was supposed to be a concert...we walk in...no one is there. We have read the date wrong on the flyer....oops.We run outside laughing, and go to dinner at a place Eric and I went with his friends. It is conveniently located right above where we live and gives an excellent view of the town. At Stiegl Keller, we sit outside looking over Old Towne, all enjoying a Stiegl of some sorts. I personally enjoy the Steigl Radler, which is Stiegl beer mixed with lemon. Janet was ambitious and ordered 2 liters of Stiegl, making it a fun evening. I love the food there. I ordered beef goulash again and advised everyone to try the weiner shnitzel or my dish. Delicious.

I really do like the food here which is very surprising to me. I was scared to try it before, but now I really enjoy it. The walking we do is very important because the food is so good, the beer is good, and the pastries and pretzels are....the size of your face...so I try to stay away from those unless I'm about to pass out, which was almost everyday when we first arrived because of all the walking up hills, stairs, more hills, stairs, oh and mountains. It is important to exercise here, and not stuff yourself, so I try not to eat much, and really enjoy buying fresh fruit at stands as I walk through Old Towne.

The other evening, Eric and I went on a run, up many many hills. Its hard because of the oxygen level here, but it will put me in better shape for when I return home and work out! I also went on the same run again tonight, thankfully remembering my way. It is a pleasant run, down by Nonberg Abbey (sound of music), past the owner of Red Bull's house, down a quiet street, up a huge hill, another hill, and once arriving at the top, the view is completely worth running up all the inclines. Im drinking lots and lots of water, because it is delicious. I think I mentioned before that it comes straight from the mountains. Eric told me today that the water they use in their sodas is different from out water at home, making their cola light, fanta, coke, etc taste really really good.

Right now, im sitting in the flat, with the windows open, after a couple hours of being at the golf course with eric. That is perfect...a golf course in the Alps. With the windows open, I can hear birds outside, music, and people chatting as they stroll down Festungsgasse. Later, im going to walk around and go see friends across the Salzach river. Earlier when I was walking I saw a little boy in a leiderhosen which was cute. So many people here walk around with their dogs and they are all so obedient that they stick with their owners, behave inside of shops, and stay at stands if their owner works at one. I see the same cute dog everyday when I walk past it, petting it each time.Well, its much too pretty to be inside, so Im going outside to walk along the river before I cross it. Tschuss!



The Hills are Alive...Salzburg Part 1

Friday, June 5, 2009

Hallo!

The hills are alive with the sound of music!! No, literally...the birds are always singing, and bells are always ringing! Im in the rome of the north. and this is the prettiest place I have ever seen! Ive been in Salzburg for 5 days so far and time is already flying by!! And before i write this, i should clarify that the y and z on the keyboards are opposite here, so if i mess up a word, forgive me!I arrived on Sunday from the Munich airport, where i flew after I left London. We landed before 10 am! When I got here I was dropped off at Institut St. Sebastian where the whole group was staying, but despite my very heavy suitcases, I could not sit and rest because I chose to live with Eric while Im here.

Once we met each other (after dragging luggage thru a major street, Linzergasse...I definitely stood out and felt stupid), we drove around the town a bit and I moved my things into his flat...which has a beautiful view, right below the fortress, looking out over Old Towne! After driving around some more and meeting some of his friends, we drove up the Geisberg, an amazing mountain looking out over Salzburg. Ive never seen so many people riding bikes in my life...especially up a mountain!! Im going to join Eric next time he does this.....ha.

After the Gaisberg, we drove to Fuschl, a lake that is also the site of the Red Bull office...hand down the coolest office Ive ever been in. If I worked there, I would love work because they have a view of the Alps and an amazing lake...oh, and RED BULL! you know how much I love Red Bull....so I LOVE being here! But not just because of the Red bull...i swearWe had some drinks at a little place on the lake with some of Erics friends and that was really fun.I loved my first day here. I had my first experience with the kasekrainer, one of the best things Ive ever eaten....oh no, I like the food here!!!!Since then its been a blur as to what Ive done everyday other than class.

Morning time, I find myself waking up rather early and walking 20 minutes to the University where I have a 2.5 hour class on Austrian folk art and folk customs...very interesting!! In the evening, I have contemporary Austrian culture.One day, the group journeyed to Hallein, 20 minutes from Salzburg. This town, famous for its salt mines, was a stop on our way to the actual mines. To go into the mines, under the mountains, you have to wear some stupid looking white mining outifts...check out my pictures and you will understand what that is about. To get into the mines, you sit on a little train that takes you as far as it can go, and then you walk....1.5 km thru the mines. The cool thing about the mines is that you cross the border in them. We crossed into Germany and later back into Austria. the mines were fun....slides were involved. I wish I had pictures. However, it was very cold down there! Definitely worth the visit though. It was an experience!

Walking through Old Towne, the side of the river in which I am living, you see a variety of cultures. So many tourists as well, so I am determined to try my hardest to blend in as I live here for the summer! Along the streets of Old Towne, you can find Mozarts birthplace, the famous horse wash, and great pastry cafes. (I only know this because our program had a pastry tasting one morning =)...delicious) The hot chocolate here is to die for. But its almost a sugar overload...I know what you are thinking...how can Laura not like that much sugar (I would put a question mark here, but I can not find it on this keyboard....)One thing that is good about austria is that many people here speak English, although I do my best to order food in German. Im learning. Ive even lost some of my southern accent...at least thats what the girls told me when they compared it to how I talked when they first met me.

People here are very friendly, although we have been told that Austrians dont just say Hallo to strangers they pass on the street. I havent figured out why because everyone is really nice, but I better not just start talking because I dont want to be labeled as a crazy American girl =)My favorite part of Salzburg thus far is Mirabell gardens. there are no words to describe it other than perfection. It gives a clear shot of the fortress. It is also seen in the sound of music.The water here is delicious as it comes straight from the mountains. The cleanest water in Europe. I drink it all the time, when Im not drinking Red Bull or trying the Austrian version of things...i.e. Cola Light or Fanta). And because the altitude is so high here, it is essential to drink twice as much water as needed at home.

Speaking of the altitude, that means there is less oxygen here. I constantly feel as if I am getting into excellent shape. So much walking, combining Salzburg and London so far. But I love it. It is definitely life changing, and I know when I return home, walking and jogging will be a major hobby of mine. Last night Eric and I went running through Salz. Lots of hills, but after I was done (well after I was done catching my breath...like I said, less oxygen) I felt revitalized. Great feeling. I cant wait to do it again.I love being outside here. I am constantly learning new things. Some very important to Austrian culture, and other random things...such as finally being able to tell the difference in the coins based on color and size. I also learned that in the grocery store here, you have to buy your own bags...and they dont wait for you to bag your food. They just start checking out the person behind, getting your things mixed with theirs.The bells are ringing, which means its time to go. I didnt get to write everything I wanted but I will finish this later!

Auf Wiedersehen!



Weekend in London

Monday, June 1, 2009

Greetings from a weekend in London!

It's been a journey so far! Thursday was the longest day of my life, which started out leaving El Dorado at 8 am. After leaving Dallas and sitting on the most boring flight ever (although I did get to watch Twilight and Bride Wars!), I was practically jumping out of my seat to get my first glance at London...but then I thought to myself, calm down Laura, you look like a tourist!! Half eight, 8.30 am in Heathrow airport...Hugh Grant why arent you waiting on me at the arrivals gate???....oh yea, this is not Love Actually, my life is not a movie.....(I feel it in my fingers, I feel it my toes........) That's ok though, I knew Robert Pattinson and Colin Firth would be waiting for me later.

Driving down the interstate, I noticed how much of a difference it makes when there are no SUV's and trucks (bc I do not like either one). The interstate looks so much nicer, and with the lanes being so narrow, I can see why they don't have them anyways. The Regency Hotel, where we are staying, is very quaint and charming, located on Queens Gate Road in South Kensington. Before I came here, I knew nothing about how London is laid out. But now, after much walking and exploring and figuring things out for myself, I have learned that Kensington is a wealthy district of London, where Princess Diana once lived. Harvey Nicks and Harrods and right down the road....

Let me tell you a bit about Harrod's. Owned by Mr. Fiad, Dodi's father, Harrod's is perhaps the most amazing store I've seen. Floor after floor of designer clothes, nothing but the finest chocolates and treats (yes they have their own room full of pastries, a beautiful and quite large room), and a room serving fish and champagne. Situated in the south side of the store is a statue commemorating Diana and Dodi. Harrod's is so large, they have their own tube station.

The Tube, also known as the Underground, was a mystery to me the first time I walked down the road from our hotel to South Kensington Station. One thing I've come to find just by using the Tube, is the slight difference in word usage here...needless to say, I prefer London's way, as it sounds polite. Instead of exit, signs say Way Out. Litter instead of Trash. Do not alight here, instead of do not exit here. Mind the gap please, mind the gap please, mind the gap please....how many times did I hear that? Too many to count. But there really IS a gap.The thing with the Tube is that I rode it so many times that in just two days time I, along with my friends, conquered it and learned all the stops on each individual line...The Picadilly line, well I can tell you all the stops on it. The Circle line, I can name those too. And also the Distict line. At one point, a tourist even asked us how to get somewhere, and we could tell her which line to go on, and which direction. For instance, if you take the west Circle line by accident, you will regret it after half an hour of making stops every 2 minutes and still not reaching your destination.The 5 pound 60 all day Zone 1 and 2 pass was wonderful.

Regardless of how much I rode the Tube, it is nothing compared to how much we walked, which was at least 15 miles. My feet are currently in pain, and I dont think that will go away until I return home.My new friends and I, Madison, Heather, Danielle, Rachel, and Amanda, started exploring London at 11 am, leaving SKensington and going to Westminster Station. Westminster Station leads you up stairs so that you are looking directly at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The City of Westminster is beautiful, located on the northern side of River Thames next to Covant Garden, which has an awesome market and piazza called the Camden Market, and south of St. James Park, the site of Buckingham Palace which is grand, and St. James Palace where Prince Charles lives! St. James Garden is the largest garden I've ever seen and it so beautiful.Downing Street..I did not see Gordan Brown, the Prime Minister. How disappointing.

Perhaps my favorite part of River Thames is the London Eye. After buying a 17 pound ticket to ride, the almost 34 American dollars it cost to ride was completely worth it. A 30 minute ride on the eye gives you a 360 panaroma view of London, spanning 25 miles, is breathtaking. It's the largest ferris wheel in the world, and stading atop it, all you can say is....wow. (and, I really hope this glass doesnt break, because I would hate to fall in the river).The London Eye is on the South side of the Thames. Lambeth, the birthplace of Michael Cane and the location of Florence Nightinggale's hospital, is on this side. Along the river, there is a 2.5 mile walking tour which we walked down. The Globe Theater is included in this 2.5 miles, and standing aside it took me back in time. It made me want to watch Shakespeare in Love again.For all Harry Potter fans (I love HP as well), if you've noticed the bridge in the new trailer for the HBP movie, you see a bridge getting all twisted and whatnot, no doubt caused by magic.

Well anyways, the Millenium Bridge, as it is called, was my favorite bridge crossing the river, besides the Tower Bridge. From the south, standing on Millenium Bridge, you have a clear view of St. Pauls Cathedral where Diana and Charles married and Winston Churchill had his funeral. Amazing place.Located on the North bank of the River in central London is The Tower Bridge , which is next to the Tower of London, Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, and it is even better...it has the crown jewels (no words, they are that amazing) and it is the site of many executions including Anne Boleyn and where King Henry XIII kept his wives.

Ive seen Robert Pattinson's former favorite hang out, before he was famous and could go with no one noticing him, Trafalgar Square, which is the site of the National Gallery. Wish I could have gone in but there was no time. It also wouldnt be a trip to London without visitng King's Cross and Platform 9 and 3/4. So of course I did that.If you love cars, then come here. I've never seen so many Aston Martins, Massaratis, Lambourghinis in my life. Love the Aston Martins. That reminds me of James Bond. I also saw MI6, international espionage, which is where James Bond would actually work if he were real. I did not get to visit Oxford Street, which is perhaps for the best, since I love to shop, and since Oxford Street has 300 shops of the finest clothes, maybe it was good I did not go. :)Picadilly Circus, which is like the Times Square of London, is a fun place. Ate at a 3 story pub with a tree growing in the middle, called Waxy O'Connors. Cool place.

More randon things that I have seen: The Ministry of Magic....or at least a red telephone booth that COULD lead to it :)......Temple Church, which is seen in the DaVinci Code.......Prince Albert Memorial.....Richard Harris's (the first Dumbeldore) local pub, which placed a plaque on his chair in memory of him...........Lobb's shoes, where Prince Charles buys his shoes for 2000 pounds....the places where the Queen buys her tea, books, and gifts.

I love London. I love the architecture and artistic quality of the city. And I love that it is busy. So many different cultures all located in one city, it is a true melting pot. It is also fun to see the places that are talked about in so many books that I love. For instance, the Confessions of a Shopaholic book series and all other books by that author, are set in London and I can now reread them and actually see in my head what is being talked about.

After just two days of being here, over 15 miles of walking, conquering the Tube, hanging out with Ruper Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson (totally true =P) and less than 48 hours, I saw so much of the city, and even more than what I wrote about. We also found ourselves saying a few words with a British accent without meaning to, but it's that easy to pick it up when surrounded by it. Another thing I like about London is how much light there is. It doesnt start getting dark here until 9 pm, by 10 pm it is dark, and at 330 am it is light. Only 6 hours of dark in the summer....well that sounds like a place I want to live! If I ever live here, I could never drive. Totally confusing, and it's not because it's on the left side of the road, which I think is cool, it's because of the amount of people. So many people and such narrow lanes...the average speed in the city is 11mph, and during high traffic it is 2. Their intersections and roundabouts consist not of 4 roads like we are accustomed to, but 3 and sometimes 5. Definitely could not drive here.

Waking up at 315 am for a flight to Munich, followed by a ride to Salz. Wont post this until I get to Salz and find the internet, but I wrote this anyways. I know I've probably forgotten many things that I wanted to say, but it's been so fast paced (I've only slept about 7 hours in 3 nights), that I've probably forgotten a few things that I saw. One more thing.......the food here is totally bland. And the prices are a killer....but that didnt stop me :)Harry and William told me to tell all my friends a nice hello from them. Nice guys =P

Cheers!