Dublin

We left London the next morning and took the train back out to the airport. The lines were much longer than I had anticipated and we ended up speed walking/almost jogging through the airport. We arrived just in time and still got a seat next to each other. We flew Ryan Air the whole trip and they have first come first serve seating. We landed in Dublin and took a bus to our hostel. It was called the Four Courts and I think they guy at the front desk was a leprechaun. Lunch was the first order of business and we went to the oldest pub in the city The Brazen Head founded in the end of the 10^th century. Our first stop after lunch was Jameson Irish Whiskey Museum. It was a pretty good tour and they had a taste test at the end so you could compare the differences of whiskeys through out the world. The unique feature of Jameson Whiskey is that it is triple distilled. It is suppose to give it a smoother taste. I’m not a fan of whiskey, but you could tell a difference between it Jack Daniels and a Scottish Whiskey they had. They Scottish one had a smokey taste. You’ll learn why later. Then we headed to Guinness. This tour/museum had to much information and after seeing the Stiegel Brewery and the Whiskey and then Guinness they all start to sound the same. But Guinness did have a really good section on their marketing through the last few decades. At the very top of the brewery is the Gravity Bar and it is all glass and lets you have a great view of the city. We saw the city all lit up at night. We went down town and walked around and got our tourist shopping done and then got groceries from the Spar for dinner. I really like cooking in the hostels, because you meet all kinds of people and you get the opportunity to talk to people from all over. We made nachos and rice. Our room was all girls and has the capacity to hold 16, but there were only 4 other girls in there besides us.

            To give our legs a rest we did a Hop On Hop Off bus tour. This was nice, because the bus driver told you things while he drove around the city and he would stop occasionally and point out special places of interest and if you wanted to you could get off the bus and explore more on your own. A bus came about every 15 to each of the stops. It worked out nicely, but wasn’t as informant as the walking tours are. A main place rebellion actions took place in Dublin is the central Post Office. In some of the statues near it you can still see bullet wholes. Ireland only gained its independence in 1922. Next to it is a shopping strip with booths very similar to Hong Kong, but a lot more expensive and not quit as close together. Trinity College is the oldest university in Ireland and holds one of the oldest intact copies of the Gospels. It dates back to the 800s. It is beautifully written with calligraphy and pictures all over it. This was another place you could take pictures. There is also a library on the campus that houses some of the oldest books in Ireland and is full of old books from everywhere. We ate lunch in a restaurant called the Alamo. I found it a little bit ironic, but their Mexican really wasn’t to far off. Dublin Castle is located right in the middle of town. It also is right next door to the police station and a library. They don’t really let you see it without paying, but we did get some good pictures in the garden and next to the Cathedral. Our next stop was probably the most exciting in Dublin. Kilmainham Goal is a prison located outside of town. It was the most innovated of its time and has killed quite a few people. The people of Dublin feel it closely correlates with British control. The prison was built in 1798 and the British gained control in 1800. The last person to be executed was in 1924 and the British left in 1922. The original Italian Job has a few scenes from the prison. Dublin also has a park near the prison that is over 1000 acres and is called Phoenix Park. The inspiration for the book Dracula came from St. Michan, but we could never figure out how to get in. Dinner was sandwiches and more rice. I talked to a guy from Germany for a while, then me and Amy went looking for traditional music and dancing. There wasn’t a lot going on since it wasn’t tourist season, but we did get to hear so music and the people who danced were good and lived up to our expectations. They music was still a little too modern, but nice to listen too.

            Overall, Dublin is not anything special. I think the country side and smaller towns in Ireland have more to offer. I could be wrong, but Dublin wasn’t impressive at all and everything can be seen in 2 days.

London

Me and Amy left for our week after trip on Friday morning, the 11th. Sabine took us to the airport and said good-bye to us then. I was doing alright holding back the tears and then she hugged me and I saw the tears in her eyes and I lost it. I bawled from then until we landed in London and then it took a lot of effort to hold back the tears then. I’m fighting it right now. She was an amazing host mom and I’m really going to miss her. She said that I need to come back and visit her someday. Hopefully, I can do that.

            When we arrived at the airport it was a little ways out of town and we had to take a train in. The woman at the ticket desk was really nice and told us to make sure and show our student cards everywhere, because you never know who will give you a discount. She even did 25% off. It was the beginning of a lot of discounts.

            We checked into our hotel and began exploring. The first afternoon we walked around and explored the Tower of London. The first part of it was built in the 9^th century. It was really cool and a great place to just explore and look around, we even got to see the royal jewels. NO pictures, please, though. We were then in a perfect location to walk over the London Bridge and then down the Queen’s Walk. We also went into the reconstructed version of the Globe Theatre. Go when it’s warm outside, because it is an open air theatre. The next stop on the list was Kings Cross Rail Station. It was probably the most disappointing part of the whole trip. In Harry Potter they have to go in between platforms 9 and 10 onto platform 9 ¾. There is no platform in between the train tracks of 9 and 10. The trains are right next to each other. I have a picture of where they could potentially “get on the train,” but even that is a little iffy. Dinner was enjoyable though. We went to Hoops and Grapes and I had fish and chips. The place had a pet cat and it snuggled up next to Amy and fell asleep. The hostel we stayed at is next to a bar, but the actual hostel is behind a locked door. Our room had 20 other people, but surprisingly we were able to get a decent night’s sleep. Everyone else in our room wanted to sleep as well and the lights were off by midnight. The craziest part of the night is I’m talking to Amy and I crawl into my bed and the girl next to me asks where I’m from. I told her Oklahoma and she gives me this look and goes “No way me too!” It turns out she went to Union and graduated the same year as Jessica. It is truly a small world.

            There is a company called New Europe that gives tours of major European towns. They use hostels to solicit their tours. I went on one in Berlin and it was excellent. They give you the basic facts of the major historical places, but they also tell you side stories that aren’t always in normal tours. They keep them funny and entertaining, because they work off of a tips basis. So I drug Amy along with me for the tour of London. We started off in Hyde Park and the Wellington Arch. It was made to rival the French Arc de Triumph, but the British version lacks a little. We then headed to Buckingham Palace and our guide Ed told us a few funny stories about people breaking into the palace. In the 80’s a group of Germans intending to camp out in Hyde Park actually ended up sleeping in the Queens private garden! They were as surprised as the guard who they asked directions from the next morning. We then saw where Prince Charles and William and Harry live. They have those guards with the funny hats outside of their house even when they are not home. Then a few more random places. It actually started sprinkling on us about half way through. It was one of those rains that you can see the sun shining a few feet away, but you are getting wet from a random rain cloud. We saw Big Ben and learned that that is not the name of the tower, but the bell inside the tower. The tower is just called The Clock Tower. Westminster Abbey and Parliament are both beautiful. The architecture is so different and intricate. We didn’t go in either, because of our time restraint. Oxford the largest shopping street in London and it is packed with people. What was nice was about half way down it there was a Christmas Market that they had tried to make look like a German Market. It was cute and little, but it was like being back in Austria for a few minutes. The London Eye is the world’s largest ferries wheel and looks nice with all its lights on at night. Big Ben also is worth seeing at night. Amy and I also went Ice Skating that evening right next to the Tower of London. So we skated while looking at a castle. Only in Europe! They only let you skate an hour at a time and the session had already started when we got there so we asked the guys working there a good place to eat that was close and good so that we could come back for the next session and both of them suggested Wagamama’s. It was an Asian noodle restaurant and the name means naughty child. The food was good and the name is fun to say. Our last mission of the night was to get pictures in a phone booth after that was completed we went back to the hostel and crashed. It had been a really busy day and we had accomplished a lot in London in 2 days. It is possible to see everything you need to in two days, I wouldn’t recommend it, but it is possible, just walk fast.

Packing

I'm beginning to pack and I'm not sure where everything came from!! There is so much stuff that I still haven't packed, where did it come from? I'm about to have to weed out some unwanted clothes and things... I'll be home in 9 days and the countdown begins.
I'm not 100% ready to leave. I feel like 3 months was just enough to finally get settled in. I know my way around and I'm getting comfortable and learning more and more German. I'm bound and determined to come back for a long stay some how in the future. Still working those details out... The last few days and this evening have been really sad : ( We have all been saying bye to each other and promising facebook every now and then. It is weird to think I won't see any of them probably ever again. We have spent the last 3 1/2 months together and now we are going our separate ways.
I leave for London in the morning!

Christkindlmarkt

So for the last few days me and Anne have been trying to go to as many Christkindlmarkts as we can. So far I've been to two in Vienna and one in Innsbruck that count, but not for the actual number of Markts in Salzburg. So the count so far is:
The main Altstadt, Mirabell Platz, Sternbraeu, Goessl, Groedig, Hellbrunn, Stiegl Brauwelt and hopefully one more tomorrow. With a final count of 8 Christmas Markets in one city. Cross your fingers and I'll let you know if we make it to the castle for the final Christmas Market!

24hrs later.... Didn't make the last Christmas Market at the castle : (
Instead I sat for 4 hrs through 24 presentations. It's been a long day

Making Cookies

For the last few days my host mom and me have been making cookies. Overall we've probably made at least 250 of all varieties. Lebkuchen (gingerbread), Gefuehl Lebkuchen (gingerbread with a fruit cake filling and a chocolate cover), Vanillakipferl (sugar/almond cookies in the shape of moons), and Kokokugeln (chocolate coconut no bake cookies).

Tonight was Lebkuchen for ornaments and to eat. We decorated them with traditional candied cherries, green hard candy and almonds. My favorite so far are the Kokokugeln. I think when I get home I may try and make a few of them.

Random Facts

I only have a week left in Salzburg and in two weeks I'll be home. I've got a London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Amsterdam tour planned for the last week. But we have been talking about things we are ready to get back to and things we are not ready to leave, so here is my list so far.

Ready to get back to:

- google.com not google.at where everything is in German it is fun when you are not trying to write a paper

- sliced bread and peanut butter

- my car, for town

- old friends

- not as much homework and O’Colly crossword puzzles

-hamburgers

-free water at restaurants

Not ready to leave:

-the mountains, I have the best view out my bedroom window

-traveling every weekend, in a few hours you are in a different country

- new friends

- rolls and Nutella

- cappuccino

- the pace of life

more to come....

Snowboarding the Alps

Last weekend I snowboarded the Alps!!! Me, Anne and Kara went to Innsbruck Friday evening and walked around the Christkindlmarkt and spent the night in a hostel. The next morning we woke up and caught a bus that took us to Stubai Glacier. It was about an hour out of town. The bus ride was cool, because everyone was going to the mountain and they had all their equipment on the bus. When we made it to the resort we then took a Gondola to the main section. Once at the main section we rented our equipment. I had a Burton Lux 147. It was a fantastic rental and I put more scratches on the bottom of it than it had when I first got it. Kara and Anned skied, but the three of us were all at about the same level, so it made the day easy. When you are getting on the lift, though, it was a little more difficult. The main lifts were 4 and 6 seaters and there is no queue. There is a mass of people and you just shove your way to the front and once you get there, then you divide into 6's. The snow was more ice and rocks, than snow, but the fact that I was on the Alps made that irrelevant. I only had a few falls and walked away with the usual black and blue knees and rear end. The craziest part of the day was the t-bar lift. I rode with Anne and I pretty much just hugged her the entire way up. They wouldn't let me strap all the way in while riding it up, so I had to go up the hill being dragged by a pole with only one foot in bindings and the other on my stomp pad. If you are a skier the pole sits on your hind quarters/thighs and it pulls you up in a sitting position. If you are a skier that pole that the skiers sit on, you straddle. It was an experience and me and Anne laughed so hard we were crying by the time we made it to the top!!! Not something I want to do every time I snowboard, but I got the hang of it. A little bit of a side note. Instead of having lift tickets that you get scanned they have plastic key cards and when you walk past the gate it picks up the card and you can just walk through, so you leave it in your jacket pocket for the day and you are good to go. It was really cool. If you wanted to go another day you could just recharge your card instead of buying a whole new lift ticket.

On the way home we rode the bus back down and ended up meeting two other Americans studying in Salzburg and a guy from Notre Dame studying in Innsbruck. It was such a random meeting and it made the bus ride home great and not nearly as long.

When we made it back to Innsbruck we caught the train home and were back in Salzburg in 2 hrs. So we arrive in Innsbruck after it was dark, left the city to ski while it was dark and returned from skiing when it was getting dark, but the city is still beautiful at night especially with Christmas lights. In the morning we did get a glimpse of the Olympic stuff as the sun was just peaking over the mountains.

Thanksgiving '09

We had a Thanksgiving Day feast fit for America! It was great, Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans and gravy. For desert apple and pumpkin pie. Our cook Brigitte out did herself this time, it was almost like being home.

Vienna Take 2

Two weekends ago my class went to Vienna on an extended field trip. We left Salzburg at 9am and our first stop was Mauthausen. It is a concentration camp just outside of Linz. I have been to Dachau where the main focus of the camp was extermination, but Mauthausen was a little different. The main purpose of the camp was to hold POWs and it was a labor camp. There are people who survived 7 years there. It was stilleerie, but it didn’t have quite the same feeling of sure horror as Dachau.

Upon arriving in Vienna we checked into a hotel. At first we were all really excited to be staying in a hotel versus a hostel, but after it was all said and done, I like the hostels better. The advantage of a hotel is you don’t have to bring your own towel and the maid makes your bed everyday. The things I like better in a hostel, even if you have to bring your own towel or rent one, is community kitchens, common areas, helpful staff. The kitchens are great, because you can save food or if you buy food you can always leave it in the kitchen with your name on it and you can cook a really cheap meal. You also never know who you are going to meet in the kitchen or in any of the common areas. It is awesome talking to people and seeing where they have traveled and what they liked and didn’t like about cities. We have gotten great advice from people on what to do in cities this way. The staff at hostels also knows of great place to go around town. I’m sure the lady at the desk in the hotel would have known, but she wasn’t as friendly as a hostel front desk staff. She treated her job more like a job and less like an enjoyment. We had an awesome evening just hanging out around town, but wished the next morning we had gone to bed a little earlier.

We started the morning off with a 3 hour bus tour, this was cool, because we got to see a lot more of Vienna than we would have on foot on our own. The funniest part of the bus tour, though, was the amount of people who fell back asleep, at least half of our class. They just missed out : )

For lunch they dropped us off at a market! You could buy pretty much anything you wanted to eat. Next to the food market was a flea market. Every Saturday it is set up, so we spent most of our lunch break looking at stuff from the flea market. I wish we’d had more time, but we had another tour of Vienna in the afternoon. This time it was a 3 hour walking tour. It was nice to get all the information about Vienna, but 6 hours of touring in one day is a little much. We decided it would have been better to have the bus tour the day before and the walking tour that morning. We didn’t have a lot of time afterwards to look around on our own before the sun went down at 4:30.

That night we got to experience our first Christkindlmarkt or Christmas Market. It was fun! There were a bunch of booths set up with different foods and Christmas style presents. We walked around and looked at everything while singing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

Sunday was a free day for us. We could choose what we wanted to do and see. I started the morning off by seeing the Lipizzaner Stallions. I didn’t actually see the performance, just the horses, but they were still cool. Next I got to see the “Beauty and the Beast” library reincarnate. It was incredible! It was two stories with beautiful balconies and it was filled with books. I was with a few other girls and we sang Disney songs and took tons of pictures. We all decided it had to be possible to bring the library home. In the afternoon Me, Ruby, Anne and Kara went to a coffee shop to just sit and observe. Coffee shops are very popular in Vienna and it is something that they are known for, so we used that as an excuse to go. We planned on it being an hour or so event, we ended up staying in the coffee shop for almost 4 hours, just talking and people watching!

Monday consisted of a few more field trips. We toured the Parliament building and the tour guide was by far one of the best we have had. She was direct and to the point and made everything very clear. This was one of the better tours we took. The boys had started this game to keep themselves entertained while on tours and it carried over to the rest of the group for the day. What you do is try and catch someone else while they are not paying attention and if they are walking you trip them up a little and if they are standing still you hit the back of their knee so that it gives out from underneath them. So the day was filled with laughter as we tried to “get” each other. It definitely helped pass the time when we were walking from one tour to the next. The next tour of the day was with a section of the government that helps immigrants integrate into the Viennese life a little better. They set up class to help them learn German and they help with loans and finding houses. It was really interesting information, but way to long. Our professor was even falling asleep. Then lunch and another tour. This one was over the resistance movements in Austria during World War II. Again very interesting information, but a little to long. After that last tour me, Kara and Chris went to look at the Royal Treasury or where they keep the expensive jewelry. Definitely a museum worth seeing!

That evening a few of went to an opera. It was called “Der Sauber Flöte” or “The Magic Flute.” It was one of Mozart’s operas, so it was all in German. Each person had there own screen to look at so you could pick what language you wanted your subtitles in. I picked English, because the woman in front of me had hers in German, so I could listen to the German and read the German and if I didn’t know a word I could then look at my screen for

the meaning. I enjoy hearing German even if I don’t catch it all. The opera in Vienna is student friendly. For 3 Euros you can buy a ticket, this is an excellent price, except you have to stand up through the whole thing, but overall it was worth 3 Euros. That evening everyone stayed in and we talk and ate a giant pizza!

Overall, Vienna is a cool town and a great place to visit. I like smaller towns a little better, but Vienna is a must see if you are ever in Europe.

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Salt Mines

Salzwelt-Salt Mines

The salt mines are in a little town called Hallein a few train stops away from Salzburg. Once in Hallein you have to catch a bus that will take you the remaining few kilometers up to the saltmines. Well when we got there and looked at the bus schedule we had just missed the 13:05 bus and the next bus didn’t come until 15:05. We found it odd that the bus ran every hour except the one we needed.

So instead of waiting two hours for the next bus to come we decided to walk. Once we made it out of town to the rode that was to lead us up the mountain we found a sign that said 4 km and at that point in time we had probably already walked 1. We began the trek up anyways, thinking this can’t be that bad. It wasn’t that bad, but we tried to hitch-hike t

he entire way up. Believe it or not no one wants to pick up a group of 6 college aged kids and take them a few kilometers. To our surprise the salt mines were only 3 km up not 4!

Before starting our tour they made

us dress in these silly outfits claiming it was so we didn’t get dirty while in the mines. I, however, believe it was just so the staff could have something to laugh at. We rode a train into the mountain, slid down slides to get to different levels of the mine, rode across an underground lake in a wooden raft (the whole scene could have been from Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter) and we traveled into Germany all in the course of two hours.

One of the coolest parts of the tour was our tour guide herself. She started the tour off in German and says, “Mein Englisch ist schleck. Ich werde in Deutsch sprechen.” My English is bad and I’m going to speak in German. And it was, the entire tour was in German. I think it made the experience more authentic. When I come back here I’m going to do everything in German even if I don’t understand a thing. It was awesome to hear the tour in the original language it was suppose to be spoken in. Overall, a great day. And if you were wondering we caught the bus back down, so we didn’t have to walk back down.

An Interesting Field Trip

Winklhof

Winklhof is a Fachschule or the Austrian equivalent of a specialized high school. Teens who are 14-17 years old go here to learn about proper farming techniques, horsemanship and a more extensive home ec. The school also prides itself on being all organic. There motto is “lernen durch tun” which literally translates to “learning through doing.” So basically they have a full farm on the school grounds as a way to give the students hands on experience. And the kids basically run the farm. One of the craziest things that happened while we were touring around was to watch a goose be de-feathered. They pretty much put it in a tumbler with spikes. I’ll leave the rest up to your own imagination from there. They then took us to the room where they make schnapps! Homemade schnapps anyone? The last part of the tour was to their market. On Fridays the students can sell their produce to the local public and a few other vendors come to sell organic produce, meat, cheeses and a guy even had herbs.

From Paris to Berlin

Paris was a very short trip, one day. I think it was enough for me though. I got to see the Eiffel Tower, stand in front of the Louvre, gaze at the gargoyles at Notre Dame and eat a chocolate filled crepe. The best part of the afternoon was a little park in front of Luxembourg Palace. The leaves were changing colors and the weather was mild. People were just hanging out in these chairs spread all over the park. They were metal and some were modeled in a reclining fashion, so to get our local experience we lazed around in reclining metal chairs and enjoyed the sunshine. It was a great way to relax and just enjoy being in Europe.

Berlin!!

I am so glad I decided to stay 4 days in Berlin! It was by far my favorite city and I can't wait to go back. I think the reason I enjoyed being in the city so much was because it brought everything I had learned in German class to life. I got to see and touch the Berlin Wall. I got to walk were Checkpoint Charlie was. When looking at buildings and the overall atmosphere of Berlin you could tell when you were in the east side or the west. We got to stand on Hitler's Bunker and see where he worked. I took pictures in front of the Brandenburg Tor.

Something that did take me by surprise was the lack of touristic attractions. There were the typical tourist shops with souvenirs, but only a few. Nothing compared to Barcelona, Rome or Paris. The city was not designed with the intention of drawing big crowds of tourists. Yes, tourists came, but not in the same numbers as other capital cities. It was great. There were more local people walking around and tons of German being spoken everywhere. Another shock was how much English was in the city. Most signs had English right next to the German. It was nice, but it didn't challenge my German skills quit like I thought it would. I definitely got to speak German (I purchased my train ticket home all in German), but most people knew English if I got into a problem.

Berlin was also a very inexpensive town. They have grocery stores called Netto. Greatest thing ever! except they don't have microwaveable popcorn Have you ever had a craving for something and you can't find it, microwaveable popcorn! My host family doesn't have a microwave, so when our hostel did, my first thought was, perfect lets have some popcorn tonight. This was a lot easier said then done. I may have to have my host mom show me how to make some on the stove top, because typing this is making me want some now. : )

The other great thing about Berlin are Backerei. The sell delicious pastries and breads and their coffee tastes as good as a local coffee shop, but half the price. I had a pastry the last day that resembled a pecan pie. It was great! Pie for breakfast! or a late night snack which ever you prefer.

One of the funniest things I saw, was will sitting inside one of the Backerei on the main Alexander Platz. (Alexander Platz is the main square on the east side of Berlin.) The WWF, World Wildlife Foundation, was trying to raise awareness by talking to people that walked by. But they were having a very hard time getting people to stop and talk to them. It reminded me a little bit of Chi-O clock at OSU. You avoid that place in between 11 and 2, because you don't want people to had you fliers. It was the same thing here. Well two of the guys got a little bit fed up with people ignoring them so they began tag-teaming people and ambushing them. When a person would walk by they would trap them, almost like in basketball when you try and trap your opponent. One of the guys would step directly in front of the person and the other guy would walk to the side they were trying to get around. This approach was almost worse than just talking to the people. I laughed so hard when they started ambushing people! That was truly one of the best people watching experiences.

Another great thing about Berlin is the wurst stands set up everywhere! All the wurst and sauerkraut you can handle!

The hostel we stayed at was excellent: U Inn Berlin. We had great beds and the showers stayed hot the whole time you were in them. I can't think of any new lessons I really learned in this one. Pretty much a compilation of past findings.

1) The people working the front desk have great tips for seeing the city.

To see all the major sights if you have a bus pass take 100 from Alexander Platz to the end of the line and then take 200 back. Take your map/travel guide with you and read about the sights you pass.

2) If there is a kitchen use it. They have pots and pans for everyone to use. A good lesson here is either make breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner and spend money on one nice meal a day. We had spaghetti one night. This is also a great way to meet other people in your hostel. Most of them are traveling Europe and have great tips on what to see in other cities or tips on what to see in the city they are from.

3) Talk to the people in your hostel. You never know when you will stumble across a great piece of traveling advice or just meet someone interesting.

4) If you are nice to the people at the front desk they will let you keep your bags there and still use the facilities even if you are not staying there one more night. This is great when you have to check-out at 11, but your train doesn't leave until 8 that evening.

Enough for now. I have to say I loved traveling and see all the different cities, but I almost wish I would have spend my entire 2 weeks in Berlin and done day trips away from the city the last few days. I know now though that Germany is the country I want to explore more and see what else it has to offer.

I was glad to be back in Salzburg, but not for classes to start back up. Ben your care package has been the highlight of my week!

The Day I Became a Statistic

Alright...Barcelona, Spain...

I arrived in Reus, Spain, because Ryanair only flies to small airports, so after an 1 1/2hr bus ride into town. We made it to our hostel only to find out that the reception desk was a bar. We then understood why the name was Bar Hostel La Ramblas. The reception desk and bar had the same cash box and when I say cash box I mean they didn't even take credit cards. We stuck it out two nights in a disgusting room. We figured it was safe enough, but it fit every stereo type of what people describe hostels being like.
The next day it rained. Not just a little, but poured. We were told it would clear away by noon, so we went to the Picasso Museum. It was nice, but Picasso is a little weird for me. We went to an indoor market that had every kind of food imaginable. Then we ate at a little mom and pop shop. Lunch was excellent! A rice and seafood combination very similar to jumbo and Sangre (the local drink). Later we had a siesta. We found out about a little underground club that local people came and played Blues music open mic style. It was fantastic. Rebecca, some of the people that played the sax were incredible. I recorded one guy, don't let me forget to play it for you. We also met a local Spanish guy, his name was Victor. He had come to hear his brother play the guitar. He ended up showing us on a map some great places to go the next day. He literally gave us our own personal tour of Barcelona. It was fantastic! We got to see some of Gaudi's works, they are all hand crafted mosaics. Afterwords we headed to the beach...
Me and Christy set our bags, shoes and jackets in front of Ruby and Anne and went to take pictures by the beach. A man came up and Ruby and Anne bought coconuts from him. When we looked back my bag was gone. Now if you remember my description of our hostel, all my stuff was in that bag and when I say everything I mean everything. Thankfully we had switched hostels for the last night, because the new one had internet and Skype. I called home and began the process of figuring out what to do with no money and no form of ID in Barcelona. It was Friday evening and the embassy didn't open until Monday morning. So basically I was a refugee in Barcelona for 2 days. Dad was able to wire me some money, so that problem was solved and there wasn't anything I could do about my passport until the embassy opened back up. Lucky I had a friend/sorority sister studying in Barcelona for the semester and her host family was gracious enough to let me stay with them for 2 days until the embassy opened. So I had a place to stay, money and a game plan. The next step was filing a police report. After getting false directions and wandering the city for an hour me and Ruby found the police station at about 1am. I filled out the paper work and we were on our way with a report in about 30 min. I learned that being an American has its advantages. I was among 7 or 8 people that had also had things stolen and my files were recorded the fastest out of any ones. There was a man from the Netherlands that was there long before we arrived and was still waiting by the time we left.
A some what funny story: a woman was in there filing a report, because her cell phone had been taken out of her hand mid-conversation. We couldn't hear the whole story, but we saw the hand motions of her explaining talking on the phone then, poof, it was gone.
Staying the two extra days in Barcelona were nice, but really stressful not knowing for sure if I could get a temporary passport. I got to see what local life in Spain is like and see a few sites we had missed earlier. It would have been better if I had known the outcome of getting a new passport.
Monday morning I was at the embassy at 9am filed my paperwork with them and waited. I was there with at least 6 other people all getting new passports, because they had been stolen as well. Thinking about it now, its almost comical how many people are pick-pocketed in Barcelona. An insanely high number, truly sad...
I was able to get a passport! It looks fake and like a high schooler made it, but it has gotten me on 2 planes so far, so it is accepted.

Lessons in Barcelona:
1) Never have all forms of ID in one place.
2) Never have all credit cards/money in one place.
3) A copy of your passport is only good for 2 things:
a) When you need your passport number
b) The US embassy accepts it as a form of ID
*No one, let me repeat, NO ONE takes a copy of your id as a legal form of id. It is pointless except with the US embassy
4) When looking for a hostel make sure it has "security" lockers in the room. The Bar Hostel had lockers, they just didn't lock.
5) Never ever, ever set your bag down/let it out of your sight. Its crazy how careful we were being. I had even set it in front of my friends knowing they were watching it. I would have had to set it in Ruby's lap or had worn it into the ocean. I guess I should have risked getting my purse wet.
6) Sorority sisters are always there for you, no matter what
7) Know a few basic Spanish words before traveling to Spain.
8) I am not to cool for a money belt that I wear around my waist. I now have one!

This is a little hard to write and pushing the publish button is going to be harder, but I do feel like I have learned so much from this experience. I feel like this was almost a test. I keep saying I want to be a world traveler and this experience really tested that. A one point in time I was ready to call it quits and just give up, but now with this in hind sight I'm not sure I would change anything. I survived and I enjoyed the scenery on the detour. I feel like I can handle a lot more than before. I ended up doing a little more traveling by myself than I originally intended and I managed it all successfully.
One good thing that has come about is the change in my travel itinerary. I had originally planned to spend 2 days in Berlin and then 2 in Prague and then go back to Salzburg, however, with limited funds and my train ticket to Prague in the hands of someone else, that idea didn't work out. I'm now staying 4 days in Berlin and so far that is going to be a much better experience and I will go to Prague some other weekend. 4 days will not be long enough in Berlin.
Others need the computer at the hostel, so I will explain Paris and Berlin later.

Rome

Hello all!
I have a little bit of time to kill, so while I'm in Barcelona I'll tell you a little bit about Rome and once I'm out of Barcelona, I'll tell "the rest of the story"

Rome:
We (Kara, Jordan, Amy and me) left Salzburg, Austria at 8pm and went to Villach, Austria via train. In Villach we caught an overnight train to Rome, so when we woke up in the morning we were in Rome! or Roma in Italian. Once we found our hostel and but away our heavy bags we went exploring. We wondered around the town and stumbled into the biggest roundabout I have every seen. It's center was at least 75 feet across with a fountain in the middle. The next road we walked down ended with Roman ruins. A good acre or two of just old foundations and pillars and dwellings! As weird as it is, walking in the same place as the old Romans was awesome. To think that I walked in the exact same place they did takes your breath away for a second.
The first major monument we encountered was The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I wish I could put up a few pictures, when I'm back in Austria I will make a page with just pictures. This is a huge building that we climbed to the top of. From there we were able to catch our first glimpse of the Colleseum! It is by far one of the most inpressive structures I have ever seen. It is huge and to think it is still standing 2000 yrs later! Getting to actually touch it and go inside blew my mind. I did laugh a little as we were standing inside, thinking "Romans you may have persecuted Christians and brutally harmed them, but they only thing left to prove you still existed is a crumling building, but Jesus still lives and His followers are thriving more than ever!"
Another building that took me by suprise was the Pantheon. It is a circular building with a 9 meter whole in the top. It was built pre-AD and is an architectural wonder. The crazy part is its in the middle of a neighborhood. We walked down an alley with apartments and the next thing we knew there was a giant building! It was so out of place and didn't have near enough recognition. It was like the Roman citizens just ignored it was there and built the city around it.
The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are the largest remaining Roman ruins, supposedly built for the first time pre-AD. Some of the ruins are a little older, but most are before Christ. The Senate building is still standing for the most part and there is a church built a little later that is still fully intacted. Walking among the buildings and see where they lived, it can't be described, but it is shocking in a good way. It really makes you stop and think that you are small, but that you can make a difference. In a few years no one will know who I am personally, but it makes me think about what are the "ruins" in my life? The people that lived in those dwellings are not personally remembered, but there contribution to society is. The buildings that they created will live on forever and people will always remember that. So what am I "building" that will last longer than my lifetime?
Trevi Fountain: I didn't know what it was before I got to Rome, but it is a gorgeous fountain designed by DaVinci. The legend goes that if you toss 2 coins over your shoulder into the fountain you will return to Rome. I tossed some coins, so we will see if that comes true : )
We stubbled across the Spanish Steps on our first day, but didn't realize what they were until the third. They are huge and take your breath away when you climb them, literally, but the view really did take your breath away, because you could see the whole city and a few mountains in the distance. It was definitely worth the climb.
The Vatican City: I wanted to save this one for last, because I think this site had the most impact. Going into the Basilica was worth seeing and when we were there there was a church service going on and we got to hear it in Latin and some songs as well. The beauty of the church is everything that had been described and more, but the Sistine Chapel was exceedingly more breathtaking. Me, Jordan and Kara analyzed the paintings in the Sistine Chapel for almost an hour. To think of the passion that went into painting the ceiling is incredible. Michelangelo is talented. He created images that look 3D, but are not. They have a sense of being alive and real. It is amazing how much more I enjoyed being in there compared to being in the Basilica. Michelangelo portrayed God in a way I have never experienced before. I wish I could have stayed in there all day!
Lessons in Rome:
1) Walk to the sites and take the metro back. You want to see what the city has to offer, but once you have seen it you are a long ways away from your hostel and thank goodness for a metro pass.
2) Buy a Romapass. For 23 euros you get a metro pass for 3 days and free entry into 2 museums and discounted entry after that.
3) Everything is closed except restaurants on Monday. If you want to go to a museum go on any other day.
4) Eat Gelato, but find some place cheap. Tip: If it is served in metal bins and the banana flavor is gray and not yellow it is homemade. This makes a difference, because it tastes better.
5) Drink the wine. Its cheap and tastes good.
6) Eat the pizza. Nothing like it in America.
7) There are mafia men and they are easily spotted. We played can you pick out the mafia man...and yes you can. It was fun!

Side note: We saw an anti-racism protest. There was a parade with people marching and carrying signs that went through the city and ended up at a stage where they talked about ending racism. Part of the roads were blocked off, because the police wanted to control the flow of the parade. It was interesting to see police men in full out swat clothes to make sure a demenstration didn't get out of hand. It was interesting to see, because I've heard of such a thing, but never actually seen it.

I don't think I ever really want to go back, but Rome was worth the trip and I'm glad I got to see it. It was fun to hang out and see an old city!

Vienna

This is Shoenbrunn. It was the summer residence of the Habsburgs. I would consider it the Austrian version of Versailles in France. The palace was just as extravagant and beautiful inside and out. The gardens where my favorite part. There were flowers of every color and they were all in full bloom. The gardens where acres big. I walked around them for a solid hour and a half and didn't even get to see it all. If I get a chance to go back I would just walk in the gardens for hours.

I also got to see the winter house Hofburg and the Ringstrasse. It was designed by Franz Josef to be a ring of buildings to show the status of Vienna. Each of the buildings in designed by a different architect and have a different style.

I even stayed in a hostel by myself for the first time. I will begin a list of things you should know while staying in a hostel:

1) bring a lock, there are lockers in the room to leave your stuff in while you are gone

2) hostels have luggage rooms, so you can leave your heavy backpack in this room while you walk around Vienna all morning and then check in at 3 and put your bag in your room

3) claiming your bed means more than just putting the sheets on them, you must also put a personal belonging there as well, i.e. sweatshirt, book...

This is me and Ben with Herbert Mikisch of Vienna.

We are related...

Rachael-> Victor-> Freda-> Mary Mikisch-> Franz Josef Mikisch

Franz had 7 brothers and sisters one of those brothers (Josef) is Herbert's great grandfather.

Pretty cool!

Palfinger and die Hochzeit des Figaro

Check out the website (by clicking on the title)! We visited this company on Thursday and I got to control one of the cranes drive a remote control forklift and go 47 meters up in a crane. It was pretty much toys for big kids! That evening we went to die Hochzeit des Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). It was my first opera. It was performed in Italian with German subtitles. I loved it! I didn't always know what was going on, but I could read a lot of the blot and they acted out the rest.
I'm in Vienna right now on a German laptop and the keys are slightly different. The z and y are switched and some of the symbols are different, so it is taking me twice as long to type this, because I have to look at where some of the keys are. y and z are the worst. zou would think i'd get it bz now : )

Church and Bible Study

Sunday I went to Calvary Chapel. It is a tiny church on the raise and was an absolutely amazing experience! It was held in the basement of a hostel and there were about 20 of us. Everyone was so friendly and came up and said hi. We sang worship songs in English, but the sermon was in English and German. It was cool, because I heard the English sentence and then I knew what to expect in German and I could understand a lot of what was being said. Overall, a very good experience.

This evening I went to a Bible Study. Again really small, but the people were friendly and just so excited to meet someone new. God is definitely moving in Austria and it is cool to get to be a part of it even for just a few months. I can't wait to see what is to come!

Oktoberfest

I went to Oktoberfest over the weekend!

It was actually a lot of fun during the day. It was like a state fair times about 100. The main focus was definitely beer, but there were booths selling food and all kinds of rides. The beer "tents" were actually buildings that they construct specifically for Oktoberfest. You have to make a reservation well in advanced to get in one. Some of the guys we went with waited outside for over an hour to try and be one of the lucky ones that get in without a reservation, but they had no luck. For the rest of the people there were beer gardens outside with big tables. I went with Kara, Amy and Hannah and that is where we found ourselves for most of the morning. We arrive about noon and spent the afternoon talking with people from France, New Zealand, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. We were at the Lowenbrau "tent" or the Lions Brew. It was fun just talking with everyone. We got traditional Bratwurst and Sauerkraut for dinner and walked around for the rest of the evening and headed back to Salzburg.

The craziest part of the experience was wearing my dirndl. When I had it on no one believed I was from America. They were all convinced that I was German and people wanted to take pictures with us! I knew enough German and the conversation was short enough that I convinced a lady that I was Austrian.

My German has definitely improved enough that I can do basic things in German and no one reverts to English with me. It is nice. I feel like I'm fitting in more.

Quick update

Wed: I went exploring. There is a place called Media Markt that would be our equivalent to a Best Buy. It had all kinds of electronics and home appliances. I wandered around for a while and then tried to leave. Except the store didn't want me to leave with out purchasing something. It took me about 10 min to figure out how to get past the register without the lady thinking I was stealing something. It was quite the experience. Right next door was a store called Hofer. I would almost call it a Big Lots for food except about a fraction of the size. Everything was slightly discounted and I bought a bottle of wine for 2.50 euros and it wasn't even the cheapest one. I haven't tried it yet, but I will let you know if it is good!

Thurs: I wreck my bike! I was still able to ride it home, but both my knees are black and blue. In hind sight it was probably really funny to see, but at the time my pride was slightly damaged. I tried to go over a curb and the curb rejected my attempt. I've decided you have to hit them head on, you can't side swipe a curb and expect to go over it. : ) I will defeat the curb next time.

I've also started planning my two week break. Our last class on Friday is lunch : ) at 12. The first part of my break is still a little up in the air. I have the option to go around Austria or go to Rome. Both of which I would really like to do. Wed I fly out of Salzburg and end up in Barcelona for a few days, then to Paris, then Berlin, then Prague. I spend about 2 days in each. Not a lot of time, but I can't wait to see them!

Dirndls and Climbing

This is my Dirndl. It is the traditional outfit of the area. Liederhosen would be the guy equivalent. I'm fairly certain every family owns at least two or three pairs. People thought I was a local when I wore it. It was awesome. I've gotten to the point where almost everywhere I go the people initially speak to me in German and only when I falter do they speak in English. It is pretty cool!

Eiskogel is the name of the mountain we climbed this weekend. It was the highest yet.

We left Salzburg at about 10 in the morning on Saturday and started climbing around 11:30. We made it to a hut called Aton-Prosch Haus at about 4pm where we stayed the night. The evening was so much fun! There were some Germans in the "restaurant" area (it was the bottom floor with tables set up) and we talked with them for a good 2 hrs. One of them could speak decent English, but would humor us and speak some German with us. It was great to just sit around, us college kids talking with the generation above us. The man that spoke decent english also knew a few Zauber (magic) tricks and they kept us entertained. He was definitely a hit at the bars back in his day : )

The stars were spectacular that night as well. We stayed outside for about 30 just looking at them and admiring the fact that the mountains on the horizon were the Alps, but the stars we were seeing everyone back home could see as well. We were able to pick out the Milky Way and the Big and Little Dipper!

The ten of us in the class all slept in the same room. It had a giant bunk bed in it. We shared a mattress on the bottom and everyone shared a mattress on the top, 5 and 5. It was like a giant slumber party until we realized we had to get up at 7:30 the next morning and hike.

Sunday morning we began the trek up the mountain to the summit. It was steep and rough going for a solid 3 hours. This mountain was definitely the most physically demanding. However, the view from the top was by far the best. The clouds gave us a little bit of grace and we could see some of the distant mountains. It was the farthest we have ever been able to see.
There was a guest book at the top! Yes, Leonard, Oklahoma will forever and always be in the history books of Eiskogel!

Fussball and Festival

We went to a Professional Soccer game! The guy that owns Red Bull lives right outside of Salzburg and owns the Fussball (soccer) and Ice Hockey teams, so we rooted for the Salzburg Bulls. Their colors: red and white. The game was a blast! There was rowdy a section that was standing up and cheering in German the whole time. The opposing teams fans were sitting behind a net and we found out later that it was because at a previous game fireworks had been shot off by the opposing fans.

Today is St. Rupirts Day. It was a holiday for all of the kids and there is a big festival going on. It reminds me a little bit of the Green Corn Festival back in the day when there were a lot of rides and more than a few booths.

Leopoldskron

This is Leopoldskron, the place. Leopoldskronweiher is the lake/pond that is reflecting the house. In the background you can see the castle/fortress that is located in the main part of town. This incredible view is where I was trying to study yesterday. It is about 5 min from our house and I love just looking at it!

I am an official European, because I have a basket on my bicycle!

Zwoelferhorn

This hike was a total of 4 miles and a lot steeper than yesterday. It was more physically demanding, but it felt more rewarding making it to the top! It wasn't even as tall, just a lot harder to get up.This is the group within the big group that I hiked up with.

Kara, Jordan, me, Tim, Chris

We all walked at about the same pace. At the time of taking the picture we were in a cloud. It had been really hot climbing up, but when the cloud passed over it dropped a good 20 degrees instantly.

This isn't quite at the top, but is one of the best views I have. The cloud kind of made taking pictures a little difficult.

So far I've decided that I want to become a bum and summit every peak in the Alps. Ok, maybe not every one, but hiking up these mountains has been unreal. The view is spectacular not just from the top, but all of the trees and flowers and random stuff on the way up. To just be able to go climb on the peaks when every you feel like it. These people are so lucky! I can't wait until next weekend to see the next challenge.

An update on the bikes: They are awesome. It makes getting around a little easier, because we don't have to go by the bus schedule. I went to the Billa, local grocery store, and bought some chocolate and an apple juice spritzer, apple juice and mineral water, and then headed to the Leopoldkronesweiher. It is a pond near our house. The house that is on the pond is the one in the Sound of Music. As I sat there I considered taking up painting. The trees surrounding the house were being reflected in the water and the sun was hitting the house just right. It was so cool to just look at and admire. The mental image will be there forever. It made reading for class very difficult. I haven't figured out how people get anything done here. With the Alps and the beautiful scenery there are so many other things to do.

Eisriesen Welt

Today we hiked to the worlds largest ice cave! We started the morning off by meeting at the train station. The joke of the semester is how we just show up place and somehow we always wind up going some where. So your instructions were to meet in the main area of the train station at 7:50 in the morning. All ten of us are there by 7:30, but our instructor is not. It gets to be 7:45 and we are a little worried, but eventually he made it. It was then another hourish train ride. It was cool, b/c we got to go past part of the river we rafted on. When we got off the train it was another 30 min bus ride about half way up the mountain. From this point it took us 2 1/2 hrs to hike up to the path that lead to the ice caves. A total of close to 3 hrs to just get to the caves. However, the weather was amazing, the sun shone all day! And the view, I hope the pictures can show even half of what the Alps looked like. It literally took your breath away to see such a beautiful landscape! The ice caves themselves were just as amazing. We walked inside the mountain into darkness, thank goodness for the old school lamps that you could shine on the different parts of the ice walls and structures. The song that kept going through my head was "Shine your light and let the whole world see. Singin' for the glory of the Risen King! Jesus, shine your light!" Once we got out of the caves back into the sun light the song was, "Into marvelous light I'm running."

Today was truly a great day! I couldn't imagine spending it any other way. The people are fun, the scenery breath taking and hiking is just fun in general!

Pictures from Rafting

The story: Our guide thought it would be absolutely hilarious if all of would rush to the front of the raft. Us just enjoying the ride thought this was just a way to enjoy it even more. Little did we know that we were coming up on a giant wave. With all 5 of us in the front of the raft we hit the wave and it completely covered us (image 2). Our instructor was in the back of the raft just laughing, he thought it was so funny. After the initial shock of having freezing cold water soak us, we found it almost as funny : ) If you notice we aren't even visible in the second image. The wave completed consumed us!

A Bike!!!

I know have a bike!

Our host family found some bikes for us. They are old 1970s models and they have bells and lights. Both are required to ride a bike or you can get fined. The light is really cool, the power to make it turn on is from pedalling, so no batteries required. Our first adventure was going into town this evening. It was great! The evening temperature was perfect for a bike ride. And it made a 20 min bus ride a 15 min bike ride. The town has opened for me! I can't wait to start exploring the town even more on my bike.

I hope everyone is doing great back home!

Foehn

Funny story:

In Understanding Austria we actually discussed why today was so sunny and why the mountains were glowing. Our teacher used that exact term almost exactly how I described it. It is the actual term the book uses, believe it or not. It is called Foehn, there is no English translation, because it doesn't really happen in America. It is a fall wind that brings dry warm air across the Alps from southern Europe. It is suppose to have an actual physical affect on people and doctors refuse to perform surgery on these days!

The View

I woke up this morning with the sun shining through the windows only to look out and see it glowing on the mountains out my window. For the last 3 or 4 days it has been cloudy and gloomy outside. Still beautiful to look at, but the clouds were low enough you couldn't really see the mountains. So this morning it was a wonderful surprise to wake up and be able to see them. So I decided to share with you what I saw! : )

Random pictures

The first image is hiking and the second image is me with Leona. She is the daughter of my host family. We love legos!

This is my room : ) With a view of the Alps!

Rafting

Today: Sunday

We went rafting on the Salzach. This is the river that flows through Salzburg, but we went about 50 kilometers north. Our guides for the day were typical college age guys that enjoy extreme sports. Dreads and looking like they had been out all night. When we made it into the river they were amazing and really knew the river. It was a class 3, which means there were some rapids, but all were managable. It made it fun and a little more challenging than rafting down the Illinious. The atmosphere of the group was about the same though. We had splash wars and nicknamed one of the other rafts the pirates, because everytime they got close they tried to knock one of us off of the raft. At one point in time the guide on our raft had all of us rush to the front of the raft and lay out like we were looking out, so we did. At that exact moment we went down and this giant "wave" came crashing over the raft and all we can hear is him laughing. The whole purpose of us doing that was to get us completely and utterly soaked. It was hilarious!

There were ten of us from Salzburg College, we had two rafts and a group of Austrians that had another raft. The three rafts stayed together for the 2 hr trip. The outside air temperature was less than 20 celcius, so roughly 70 f. We wore wetsuits which definetly helped, but the water was still like ice when you got in. And get in we did, willingly and sometimes not : ) There was one place in the river that had a giant rock sticking out and we all took turns jumping off into the water. Cannonball!!!

The most unusual part of the day was when we got out of the water. They had us take all of our gear off, helmets, lifejackets, outerjacket and actual wetsuit and put them in an organized fashion in the rafts to be taken back to their storage area. It was a good thing we had swimsuits on, because that was all we had left on... We felt very European as we changed into dry clothes in the parking lot behind towels. Girls on one side and guys on the other. We somehow managed.

The view was spectacular. The river was in a valley with mountains all around. At times there was a fog over the river and it felt like we were in Lord of the Rings. So not only was the river fun to raft we had the most amazing view as well.

The most unusual day, aka Salzkammergut

The first image is from the Wolfgang See. It is the lake we visited and the second image is the Rauchenhaus or the smoke house.

All week long our main professor, headmistress if you will, Dr. K has been hyping up the field trip we will be taking on Saturday. She keeps telling us to wear good shoes and warm clothes and to have our host familes pack us a lunch, because we will be hiking in the Salzkammergut. This is a region in the Alps near Salzburg. So Sat morning comes and we all make it to the bus at 9am sharp like we are told expecting to go hiking arounds some mountains with lakes at the bottom. One of our other professors is there, she counts to make sure everyone is there and tells us to have a wonderful time and there will be someone to meet us at the first stop. So it is us 25 and our bus driver Eddie. Eddie is the most amazing bus driver ever. Mom he gives the guy we had on the tour with Frau a run for his money. He owns the rode and can drive a bus anywhere anyday. So we make it to the first town and are just hanging out on the bus debating whether we should take our lunch, how long we will be here and where in the world the hill we are hiking is. The woman who is to be our guide for the day turns out to be one of the German teachers at the school. She informs us we will only be at this stop for an hour and to just grab our jackets. We ended up going to a church that is in the Sound of Music and up to a house build ages ago. The cool thing about the house is that it has no chimney and when you light a fire the whole house fills up with smoke. Not sure how that works out for the people living in it though.

On the bus again. The second town we head to is right on a lake, our guide informs us not to eat at the Weissen Rosl, because it is a famous restaraunt and tourist trap and that we need to be back on the bus in 2 hours. By this time we have realized that this is not a hiking trip and that we have been highly missinformed. We are also beginning to wonder if we missed an assignment. None of us could remember hearing about one, but we felt there was something we were suppose to be doing besides just wandering around. The lake was beautiful and we wished we'd had time to take one of the ferries around the lake. The mountains all around were covered by clouds, but be could still see a few of the shorter closer ones.

The last stop of the day brought us to Bad Ischl. This was the summer home of the Emporer and his famous wife Sisi. Only later after talking with my host family did I find out he was a Habsburg. The Habsburg's before WWI were one of the most wealth and prominent families in the area. They owned most of what we know today as Austria, Hungry and the Slovania area. The famous Emperor ruled from the end of the 1800s up until he was defeated in WWI. Not very long ago for Austrian history. Most of the things we have seen have been hundreds of years old not just a few decades.

Overall, the day was nice and relaxing, we just never knew quit what was going on. Our tourguide expected us to have known things about the cities. We didn't know a thing so we just wandered. We were laughing later that we put a lot of trust in these people to just hop on a bus with Eddie.