One month and this is what I know...

- “Ich komme aus Kalifornian” gets you more attention than you want

- curbs just jump out at you, thus always watch where you’re walking

- I have a new found love for soups

- Cobble stone is all too common, ergo heels just don’t work. I live in my black flats!

- an unhealthy amount of German vocab words. We keep on getting new lists, we keep on memorizing new words, and I am still in awe that there is room in my brain for more. Sometimes (well, often) German words just come out subconsciously and 9 out of 10 times used in the wrong context

- German grocery stores are stressful and you have to buy your own plastic bags to carry everything in it and the cashiers look at you funny

- the men who hang out in Irish pub Murphy’s Law are sehr gut! I am never disappointed J

- Chocolate here is amazing. Well treats in general are really. Mozart balls. Milka. Swiss. Chocolate dipped fruit on sticks. Ice cream. Pretzels. Can I take all of you home with me??

- Edelweiss beer is amazing (and it is the first beer I actually have ever craved in my life!!)

- Ab workouts are vital

- There is a reason why no one wears flip flops here

- I believe in the buddy system

- EU class topics (I actually am interested in and understand!): Immigration is still a pressing issue for Europe, fertility rates are at an all time low, and the Treaty of Lisbon is trying to get passed in October; a clause that will help unify the 27 countries and create a President that would work better to create a stronger voice internationally

- I have so far won the clutz award. Hands down.

- Holly and LJ get more attention because their blonde

- Not having TV or accessible internet is good for the soul

- PUREL IS A MUST (this one’s for you, Jenna) / Bye Bye Germ spray (thanks, mom)

- Always have your student ID card wherever you go. Otherwise you can’t close.

- I have a postcard problem.

- The Monchsberg is a WORKOUT. Oh let me tell you! And 4 weeks later and it hasn’t gotten any easier

- Holly can scream

- Mom, I’m running low on Luna’s, a new shipment soon?

- Pizza at Il Sole. That’s what God created on the seventh day.

- Here, it really is about quality of life over what you can buy. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or a long stay) to see how genuinely happy and content people are with their lives. They live for the small things. I hope I can carry that with me.

**** so I was sitting here, about to wrap up my post when I realized I have three amazing girls who are living this exact experience right along side me. This was actually a great idea because we had the funniest conversation of my LIFE. I love these three!

LJ’s LIST:

- Don’t go to chain & whip themed clubs, eat chocolate everyday, try everything, wear a drendal to Oktoberfest! And no seat at Oktoberfest = no beer = no fun, you really do walk everywhere, SS is nicht sehr gut, Remember when?, don’t sleep with your windows open, meal stipends only make it one night, run from men who pull your hair, hide your Werther’s, don’t steal full-length mirrors, Wasser is hard to come by, buy a watch!, the Oktoberfest cookies are for decoration only, “you know you’re drunk when you said you’ve been to the moon.”

ABBIE’S LIST:

- Make friends with the bar tenders, you can get internet and beer at McDonalds, don’t be late for ANYTHING, don’t speak German in Irish pubs, always lock your door, be the first one in line for eggs, ALL AMERICAN BEER SUCK!, laziness and obesity is only a problem in the US, always put the cat in the boys room, only take as much as you can eat, happy hour is the best hour of the day, beware of WODKA & men that growl, Austrians don’t care about the Sound of Music, Sweaty Jim = early class dismissal, you have to pay for everything! even the bathroom!, Drunken durams = delish, and fires can start when converters smoke.

HOLLY’s LIST:

- don’t buy an elevator pass, eat pancakes on steroids at that one restaurant, coming home before midnight is unacceptable, go Cannoning in Switzerland, a flask could be a good investment: take this to art gallery’s, soccer games, bars, concerts, tell people you are in “movies” in Hollywood, don’t listen to anyone who said don’t bring a lot of stuff… I have one pair of shorts, bring your small camera or you will never take pictures, the washing machines are not my friends, 6E Wodka haunts you in morning (LJ knows) eat Eva’s soup, study German in the morning before class, put Eva on your ipod so you can listen to her everywhere; like the train station and at bars, don’t loose your sunglasses at McD trying to sneak under the child line to avoid the 50cent bathroom fee, wear your drendal out of the store, puke in Switzerland, and have people tell stories about it, beware of exchange rates, bring flats!

♥

Countdown to Greece: 2 days.

Vienna!!!

9-24 Hotel Post in Vienna

"Vienna!! After a full day of traveling we are (finally) cozied in our hotel room in our pj’s. We left Salz at nine this morning, drove until noon where we stopped off at this monastery—Melk. At this point I was so done with being on the bus and wasn’t properly informed that we weren’t getting lunch until 2pm, I wasn’t in the best of moods. So instead of carrying around my sweater, camera, and bag I left it all on the bus—my personal form of boycott. While everyone was wide-eyed and taking pictures on the tour I was hungry, CRANKY, tired, and all the above.

Anyways, Melk was very pretty. The outside was all painted yellow, for some reason having to do with a King’s favorite color, and the murals on the inside were stunning. The world’s oldest book (dated back to the 9^th Century) was in the library there and we got to see it, very cool!

With food finally in our stomachs we were ready to board the bus and continue the two more hours to Vienna. But oh wait… engine issues. Neat. Our driver said in broken English that “sometimes this happens.” Sometimes this happens??? What does that even mean? Sometime the bus doesn’t turn on? Holy moly, let’s just say that Mario the bus driver was not on my list of favorite people. We ended up getting to the city close to 5pm, got to our Hotel Post (Abbie and I shared a very spacious double with a shower head that had amazing pressure J) and we were let loose to explore for the rest of the night.

We unpacked a little and then headed out to do a little sightseeing. Now I can sympathize with Hilary and Liz, being put in an unfamiliar city and just told to “go” see things is easier said than done! We walked along the Danube River for a little while and bought a few postcards, then made out way to this really cool Gothic Church, which actually had a mass going on. Lots of candles were lit with prayers and you could heard the pastor giving his sermon. Outside the church we ran into a group of break dancers who were performing in the middle of the main square, it was a great opportunity to people watch J

We stumbled upon this yummy Asian place for dinner. Then we went a got ice cream at this very big, very crowded (always a good sign!) homemade icecream place. OMG so good!!! I got mint chocolate chip (which they call pefermintz here) and coffee (Kaffee). Totally hit the spot. We are back in the hotel now, a lot of people went out looking for a fun discoteca, but with an 8am wakeup call tomorrow morning I’m thinking sleep over booze might be the best idea."

9-27 Back in Salzburg!

Didn’t have time to journal the days in their entirety because unlike trains, buses make me nauseas! SO I’m going to fashion a list of all the things that stuck out.

- the opera, Die Fleirermaus!

- Underground bar called Flek… very yummy drinks J

- The Art History museum… I walked around by myself, very peaceful, got 1 ½ to just roam around, found the portrait of Jane Seymour… from The Other Bolyen Girl! Wanted to take a picture but the stupid security lady was watching me like a hawk

- The open flee market… I got this super cool elephant bag and a stud for my ear piercing! Oh and some presents, very neat. Reminded me a little of Pick Place, substituting German confusion for anything as simple as buying a bracelet.

- The beautiful weather! Jim says he hasn’t been to Vienna with any group that had better weather than we had!

- Oh… minor bummer. I am SUCH a clutz. In Munich I fell down stairs in a Starbucks and hurt my knee. In Vienna I decided to fall flat on my face off a curb I did not properly acknowledge and bloody up my other knee… a chunk of skin is definitely missing (cute, huh?) These injuries on top of my stress fracture makes me a walking emergency case.

"For the first time since I’ve been here, when the bus pulled into our little nook I got off the bus and it felt like home. Next Friday will be the ONE MONTH marker for my stay so far in Europe. It has really flown. In a way, I want to push back the clock and make time pause since everything here is so different, exotic, and intoxicating. We have really taken to the Austrian way of life and tried our hardest to understand and appreciate everything that goes along with that responsibility. I love it here, I do, but on the other hand, thoughts of home come so often its becoming tiring to constantly have to keep them at a healthy distance. It has only been a month. September. I can’t even get up enough courage to look at a calendar and physically see all of the days that are between me and December 19^th. Too many. To say I missed home would be accurate. But more than that I miss faces, voices, and the people that make me, me."

Salzburger SchloBkonzert

Concert Review: Salzburger SchloBkonzert

After every concert we have to write a Concert Review to talk about what we liked or didn't like and basically what we found interesting during the performance. I thought I'd post it instead of reiterating what I already wrote. On Friday in Vienna we're seeing an opera!

"I wasn’t sure what to expect going into our first concert. I do not have a huge Classical music background but I knew that hopefully after this semester I would feel more confident in identifying it and having a more in-depth grasp on the culture that surrounds it.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the Salzburger SchloBkonzert. It was nothing what I expected but in a good way. One of the things we were told to focus on was how we felt during the performance and what details we noticed or picked up on. One of my most overriding feelings had to be alertness. I didn’t want to miss anything. I didn’t want to turn my head and not hear the piano come softly into the piece or hear the plucking of the viola. When the music started I was surprised by how pretty it sounded; like a light, it literally lit up the whole room. I think the room itself helped. The intimate setting really made the audience feel more connected to the musicians and feel as if they too were apart of the performance. The first movement really set the tone for the rest of the concert. It was upbeat, but not in an obvious way. Both musicians were focused and serious, but at the same time you could instantly see how much passion they had for their respect art forms. The woman on the viola often looked extremely concentrated, but I caught her a few times looking at the music like it was her world. They may come off of as dramatic, but being apart of the audience in a setting when we were in such close proximity to the performers, it felt that much more personal.

I know this “personal” feeling will not be the same for all of the concerts we see because some of them will be in huge halls or auditoriums, but I think this setting for my first Classical concert was ideal. Along with this feeling, I felt oddly included in the music. Instead of a situation where you are watching a movie or watching a performance from afar, I didn’t feel excluded or out of place for not knowing a lot about the art. I feel as though I could appreciate it even without an extensive musical background and I think that is essentially what it is all about. I will never be a musician but at the same time never want to feel as though I cannot appreciate someone else’s talent. We live in a world, where, with all the differences people exude, we strive to find a small place in us for it all. I hope to find a small place for this culture in myself and at the same time take the effort to absorb the history that goes with it."

OkToBeRFesT, MUNICH

9-17 On the train to Munich.

"Officially our first travel weekend! I have only been on a train one other time in my life and that was in Oregon, Europe is quite different, ha! I almost don’t want to be writing right now because of how pretty the countryside is. Sometimes we will go for ten minutes without seeing one house or road and then we’ll come across the coziest looking home tucked in a hill with cows in their yard. There are 12 of us girls traveling to Munich this weekend. 12 girls and 2 hotel rooms. Hmmmm the adventures of college traveling! There will definitely be plenty of stories.

Tonight is going to be low key I think, maybe a little walking around and then bed. We all went out last night and are exhausted, most of them are sleeping as I’m writing this (power naps are really vital to successful traveling I have quickly found.) Tomorrow is dedicated to a full day of sightseeing, out on the town tomorrow night, and then OKTOBERFEST all day Saturday!!

Love the girls I am traveling with. Such a diverse, fun, LOUD, adventurous group. Ready for some German hotties!!"

9-18 In the hotel in Munich.

"First day in Munich and I can honestly say it was one of the best days I’ve had in a while. With no set plan we headed out of our hotel, grabbed a quick 2E breakfast and were immediately dragged (by Holly of course) to a used drendel (traditional German dresses) store because she was determined to buy one to wear for Oktoberfest. To make a long story short, six out seven of us girls walked out with 40E or less drendels. (myself included). Omg, it was hilarious. I don’t really know how I ended up in a dressing room trying to zip the zipper that runs from your bikini line to your bust, but it happened nonetheless. Mine is peach/coral with a light blue apron & white sleeves. We plan on wearing them tomorrow, to German class on Monday, and pretty much to every costume party I attend from now on. Ha!!

After that glorious purchase we boarded the S-bahn to the heart♥ of Munich where I was instantly overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of everything. Since opening day of the festival is tomorrow, the city was swarming with thousands more people than normal any other time of year.

I don’t know how it happened, but one second we were stepping off the S-bahn, the next we were on the sidewalk taking pictures of this huge old church/town hall place across the street, and the next we were following these two (slightly older than college aged) tour guides who give free tours around the city. They rely completely on tips and our guy, Ricky, was amazing! He took us on a two-hour tour of all the little historical spots in Munich; the city Senegal, St.Peter’s Church, the Mirabelle Gardens, and so many things we would have just breezed by. He told us his whole life story, how he’s from Canada and was planning on just visiting the city for a month, and the month quickly turned into two years and counting. How cool?! After the tour he took us to get a beer and then, finding out that we were planning on conquering the chaos of opening day, he took us on the S-bahn and showed us the 3k walk all the locals take to the festival grounds (in order to avoid the thousands of people who will take buses and trains.) He took us through the actual grounds and showed us all the tents, the good ones to go to, and where certain things were. He was literally God sent!

Doing a Pub-Crawl tonight… (10E for drinks all night) thanks to Ricky and our amazingly random, lucky, productive day in Germany!!!"

9-20 In the hotel.

"Just finished breakfast. It feels SO nice to have a good 8-9 hours of sleep under our belts. Finally. These past three days have been so busy, crazy, exhausting; A BLAST. We had the best first day of sightseeing, found our A+ tour guide, Ricky, totally stumbled upon an all inclusive 10E Pub Crawl, Abbie and I met these two German guys, Christian and Daniel, at this hostel/bar called the Wombat, who chatted us up for two hours, bought us drinks, and told us all about the culture in Munich.

With two hours of sleep to go on, Abbie and I were quite the troopers waking up with everyone else at 5:30am to get our drendels on and for the biggest, most intense, beer festival in the world.

But before the fun could start we had to stand in a crowd of very loud Europeans from 6:30am-9am. I don’t really know how to properly describe these 2 ½ hours. At one point I wanted to reach up and clear hair from my face, but I could not move either one of my arms to do so. LJ, Kelsey, and I were to the point of tears. Everyone was taller than us, smoking cigarettes (at 7am) and blowing it directly into our bubbles of allotted oxygen. For a solid 5+ minutes (I would have timed it but I couldn’t move my arm to look at my watch) I had a very tall man’s elbow firmly lodged in my sternum. Towards the end I got so panicky that I was going to trip (from the intense shoving) and literally get trampled to death, I started laughing (gotta love those teetering emotions.) And could NOT stop. People were staring at me and if I was able to communicate with my two-weeks of German I would have told them to go to hell. But of course Ava and her sweet spirit didn’t teach us the word for ‘hell’. Special. I have never been so uncomfortable (and so unable to do anything about it) in my entire life. IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

They started serving beer at noon and luckily one of the guys in our groups mom reserved three tables outside so we could sit down. Once the beer started coming everyone got happy. The afternoon was wonderful after an exhausting morning, two liters did me well J All in all it was an amazing weekend, everything and more I wanted from Munich and our first official weekend trip. Next stop, Vienna!"

Some words to keep it interesting... Kebaps, vodka-redbull shots in alleys, laugh-crying, Ricky, STARBUCKS!, kiwi’s, Milka club…, Mein Name ist Gafar.

It's a cliché but I love it all the same, all we can do is live for the moment

After lunch, getting ready for EU class.

"In our lit class today we talked about the story of Oedipus and the overriding theme of fate and freedom of choice. Jim asked the class if we believe in fate and although I have been asked that question before, for some reason it really resided with me. The concept of choice. Conscious decisions one makes and accepts all results (and repercussions) those choices entail. How we have come to the moment that is now. What choices, the good and the bad, that have landed us here. Fate, the idea that something is destined to happen—therefore ones conscious decisions no longer bear the same significance they would if we lived in an ultimately random world. I believe that things happen for a reason, that good things will find their way to good people, and that there is someone out there for everyone. But fate? It seems the world is too complicated a place to fit such a small, four-lettered word. If fate was real, I think too many people would sit and wait for the good stuff to happen instead of going and living it. Appreciating the moment, that’s the best I can do."

—Just finished a traditional Hungarian lunch –the beef goulash was delicious!!

Just a few bumps in the road

Saturday night, in sick.

"It’s a Saturday night and I’m staying in because I have some sort of bug L. We think its something I ate and I thought I would feel better in the morning but it definitely stuck with me all today. Abbie and LJ left to go out on the town tonight and Holly’s in Switzerland for the weekend. I wish I could have gone with them! But I spent all of today on our tours of the Salt mines and Sound of Music nauseas and getting sick on the bus. Gross. So hopefully by just staying behind and watching a movie with two other girls who opted out of the bar scene I will feel better tomorrow.

This has been quite the weekend for our group! One girl sprained her ankle, some people’s things have gone missing, one other guy is sick and I got some sort of food poisoning. One week in and we’re falling apart! Ha! No, just kidding J I’m taking Airborne and drinking lots of fluids, just woke up from a 2 ½ hour nap that I desperately needed and by tomorrow I think things will be better.

On a happier note the tours today were amazing! The buses left at 8:45am and we didn’t get home until 6:30pm. A picture says a thousand words so I’ll share many, but it was quite the day!

Highlights—

*the fashionable jump suits we got to wear in the salt mines

*(our tour guide in general) HAHA he was dressed up as a solider? Or maybe a drill sergeant, anyways he was hilarioussssss

*OH! I de-boned my first trout this weekend…!! Um, yes so proud of myself. It came grilled whole on my plate and instead of panicking I dug in and it was delicious J

*got mom a birthday present!

*saw VERY native Austrians walking around in the small town we stopped at to see the Church where the baron and Maria got married… lederhosen and all!

*we took a picture in front of the very gondola where Liesl and Frank sang “16 going on 17” SO PRETTY

*got Sound of Music stickers for my scrapbook!!

*had my first experience of throwing up ON A TOUR BUS, IN EUROPE, IN A (TOO-SMALL) PLASTIC BAG, IN PUBLIC, TRYING TO DO IT QUIETLY SO I DIDN’T GROSS PEOPLE OUT, wanting to legit sleep on the bus and miss seeing the hill where Julie Andrews frolicked. I won the trooper award (along with Jo who hobbled around on a sprained ankle) Hands down."

Sitting in the Republic right now, (turning into our new favorite place!) and was pleasantly surprised that Sunday mid-mornings have live music! Two guys on guitars are playing right now and just sang "Wonderwall" ... its so friendly here! Side note: I'm feeling lots better today... knock on wood, the nausea is gone :) Today is dedicated to playing some catch up on homework for tomorrow, aka German verbs and conjugations and EU reading. I read a lot this morning while the girls were still passed out from their eventful night, but the book is dense! We want to walk around a little today too, even though the past two days have been so packed with sightseeing and tours and bike riding. Oh! I forgot to write about our biking adventure!!! on Friday! It was amazing! My stress fracture is still healing so "low-impact" things like bikes are really good for it. After a frustrating beginning to the whole-- paying for the bikes at a machine that has an English option but might as well not because every other direction was German-- it honestly took us forever to pay BUT once we did we were off! We biked all along the river that runs parallel through Salzburg and into some more residential areas which were really pretty and had tons less traffic so we didn't have to stop as often to cross busy streets. I don't know what it is, but biking seriously puts me in the best mood. I probably sound so dorky, but we biked for at least 2 1/2 hours and it was the best time I've had here so far. The houses were so cozy, the people watching was so fun, and I felt like we really took the time to trek through the heart♥ of Salzburg; the place Ava wants us to soon feel comfortable enough to call home.

Pictures, pictures, pictures!!

the lake where Maria and the kids fell overboard!

I ♥ the Sound of Music... (the bus ride, not so much...)

"I am 16... going on 17" GONDOLA !!!

LJ and I with our tour guide! :D

on the train into the mine!

the gang in our sweet mining jumpsuits!

bikes! in front of the Sound of Music cow :)

how cute??!!

Tessa Rosa... best Bailey's hot cocoa everrrr!!

The hills are alive!

After dinner, before a run downtown.

"Just about to run out to get a hot tea down into town. Just finished the most amazing dinner Kelsey created, whole-wheat penne with chicken and vegetables we got at the open market today. Tomorrow we are going on the SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR!!! & touring the famous Salt mines in Salzburg. “Salz” actually means “salt” from way back when, so we were told it was something we should NOT miss. It is an 8-hour tour, all day tomorrow; we are going to be such tourists… I love it! Haha. Oh and don’t worry Nana… I’ll go again with you J Tonight is karaoke night at one of our favorite pubs but I think were forfeiting it to watch the Sound of Music movie tonight so we can be prepped and rested for a full day of walking and pictures!"

Errands that were on our to-do list today:

- buy tickets to do the Sound of Music tour

- drop off postcards (aka locating the post office)

- find the outdoor market to get produce for dinner

- find the silver&blue Mozart chocolates

- check e-mail

- buy “Austria” t-shirts… they look like Puma brand, so cute J

How errands actually went today:

- asked 5 different people where the post office was… 2 of which actually “Sprechen Sie Englisch”

- the internet connection at the café decided to be fickle so we almost bought tour tickets 6 times… woooo for “7^th times a charm!”

- Almost bought horse meat instead of chicken for our dinner… I really wish there were pictures along with way-too-long German words

- FOUND THE MOZART CHOCOLATES

- T-shirt shopping: ummmm it’s just too early on in the semester to be buying clothing, language barrier and all…

Side note: I have learned more German in this one week (four classes to be exact) then I could ever imagine. Although it is intense and we joke that it is more of an “immersion” program, I know it will be so helpful when getting around… and maybe soon shopping will become easier!

----these pictures are from St.Wolfgang, uploading finally worked! Enjoy!