Welcome to my blog. Before arriving in Salzburg, Austria I spent a weekend in London with other AIFS students. We then flew over to Munich and took a bus to Salzburg...
“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” -Oprah
“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” -Oprah
Infront of the British Museum #jetlegstatus really though
Our weekend in London was exhausting, but we really made the most of it! We walked around most of the day on Friday then on Saturday we had a city bus tour. After it ended my group walked over to the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, The Buckingham Palace, etc.
2.10.14
5 a.m. wake up call for our flight to Munich! All went well until some of us found out our luggage was left behind on the next plane. At least it was on its way..
Before we even entered the city I felt exhausted and hungry.. but we we're almost there! Southern Germany looked quite eerie, there was a layer of clouds and the sun behind the clouds lit up the Alps. I'll never forget the foul smell of the cheese on the ham sandwiches they gave us on the bus.
And we finally arrived in Salzburg !
when I first got to the dorm with my new roomie Isabel, we realized that there weren't any elevators in the buliding, so we hauled our luggage to the 4th floor.
pics from when I first arrived at my dorm..
Andreas, our official tour guide of the semester gave us a short city tour our first night in the city.
I decided to go with a traditional Austrian sausages for my first meal in the city. A much more popular item on the menu than hamburgers. I quickly learned that water isn't free, unfortunately. It costs about 2 euros for one bottle. Tap water is usually cheaper, so I've been bringing water bottles with me everywhere.
14.2.2014
15.2.2014 Sleigh Ride through the Alps
Our group of 40 headed south to a small town, Filzmoos. We took the bus to a small barn where horses were ready to pull us up the mountain on sleighs. Before we arrived at the cabin we saw magnificent views of the Limestone Alps. We also lucked out with the weather, it was the warmest day of the year so far!
My friend Jenna all bundled up on the sleigh!
Once we got to the cabin we had a traditional Austrian "Goulash Soup" which I would describe as a spicy beef stew served with bread- delicious!
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2.16.2014
Andreas took us on a nice walk through the "new" city. The "Old City" is on the other side of the river where the fortress is seen.
This picture doesn't do this place justice.
pics taken during the week of 2.17.2014 to 2.21.2014
Isabel and Christine just hangin out in the sun after finishing our Deutsch final!!
And we went out to lunch on this gorgeous day! I tried Schnitzel and it was satisfying but apparently it isn't as good as Schnitzel in Germany..
It was nice getting a snap pic from Lindsey back in Plym!
Christine, Isabel, and I at O'Malley's on Friday night :-)
Anastasia, Erin, and Christine all super stoked that we were done with our Deutsch intensive course! wooohoooo
2.17.2014
Lake Kongissee - southeast Berchtesgadener Land district
2.22.2014 MUNICH!
Munich was soo beautiful it's hard for me to describe it. I DEFINITELY plan on returning before heading back to the states. We took the 9 a.m. train in and unfortunately missed the city tour so Andreas showed us around a bit then we were on our own.
Our first mission was to find dirndls.. 10 of us ended up spending an hour and a half in one of the stores trying them on. The cheapest ones we could find we're about $80. I am no fan of dressing up and dancing around a meadow with a dirndl on, but I'm glad that the girls who wanted them we're able to get them for a decent price. The store also made out very well that day from just our obnoxious group!
selfie and double chin with the lion in the background.. they are everywhere
Next Stop:
!
So this is the real deal... very satisfying Schnitzel! However, since this place is a beer hall, they will rip you off if you order lunch! $18 for this Schnitzel and German potatoes. But it was great. I suppose it would be difficult to find a restaurant in this city that has decent prices.. Next time we go we're all getting pints!
A glimpse of Munich's oldest Church, the Frauenkirche - Cathedral of our blessed lady. It can hold up to 20,000 people.
Top pic is a view from the Olympia Park.. after leaving the Hofbrauhaus Isabel and I decided to take on the city ourselves and went to the BMW museum and the Olympiapark. It was HUGE, we only saw a small part of it but we found the indoor swimming pool and a nice view as the sun was going down.
BMW Headquarters
Inside the show room. When people decide to purchase a car they are taken up to this platform where a salesman gives them the appropriate information on the purchase then they drive it down the ramp.
2.23.2014
First time snowshoeing! and there was some SNOW
Warm day for snowshoeing but I'm so glad there was actually snow on the ground! Took us about an hour and a half to get up to the cabin where a few other families we're celebrating someones birthday. Took our group 45 min to head down.. a few mishaps occured when some of us tried running down the mountain/walking backwards.. it was very entertaining haha
I'm officially a student at the University of Salzburg!
fun fact:
I'm beginning to realize that it costs about 3 euros to use washing machines to do laundry.. not including a 15 euro deposit to get the card. So it looks like I'll be hand washing a lot of clothing items to save money.. woah!
2.28.2014
I'm sitting in the common area on my floor today. The first week of classes went well, and I love my schedule. This semester is very different from what I'm used to. The classes I'm taking are: Music: In the Age of Mozart, Fascism, WWII, Elementary German II, and Austrian Folk Art and Folk Customs. We will be going on many field trips in my Music and Folk class. We even might learn how to make cheese in folk art..exciting!
One perk to studying with AIFS is we automatically have Fridays off from classes to travel. Most of my classes take place Monday through Thursday afternoon.. This week my friends and I are making final decisions about our spring break plans and it is sooo exciting! We want to travel to Venice, Switzerland (where Anya's family lives) possibly Paris, Dublin, and Amsterdam. There is a huge concert venue in Munich the last weekend of spring break so we might even stop there on the way back.
So check out my kitchen! This has made me appreciate all of the kitchens I have ever used before this one! No oven or microwave, just stove top. I'll have to get more creative than just veggies and pasta, but for now that'll do.
On Tuesday, the 25th our Folk Art teacher took us for a walk through town. In this picture is the origional gate to the city. The river used to be much higher.
24.2.2014
(In Austria they put the day, month, then year)
Walked around with Christine until our Fascism class started at 5.
Mozartsteg Bridge on the right side, named after Mozart. Origionally built in 1903 as a toll bridge.
View looking south down the Salzach. To get to my dorm from here I could walk, (or run) about 4 miles south following the river, then walk two minutes west to my dorm. There are several trails and running/biking routes to take just south of the city. It sounds like we're located in a bird sanctuary every morning.
This kaffee shop not only gave us free water with our lattes, but also let us use their blankets!
27.2.2014
A result of the Salzburg vs Ajax Europa league game tonight.. All the fans from Amsterdam came to Salzburg and made a mess. Never thought I'd see a riot in this city!
The girls who live in St. Sebastian have such a nice view.
Tomorrow, Friday the 29th, me, Katie, Kristen, and other girls from St. Sebastian will be heading to Bad Gastein!!! I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT! I figured that now is the time to go skiing before the snow really begins to melt in the next couple of weeks..
