I'm Home!

Sadly, the hills are no longer alive with me, only in spirit! However, I did make it back safely! The plane ride was really long, but I had a window seat, so I could look out and see the Atlantic! On Sunday, I went to Athens to go to rush after little sleep. Now, I am trying to recuperate and get ready to go back to school. Classes start on Thursday.

Thank you so much to everyone who read my blog. I really appreciate it and all of the comments, especially Uncle Chris! Hope ya'll enjoyed it!

Week 6

Here is my last post from Austria!

On Monday, I finished my project for English. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent studying for my finals. Luckily, I had both of my finals on Thursday, so I got them over with and could relax on Thursday when everyone else was still studying!

Thursday afternoon, I went summer bobsledding with Hannah and Patti. It was awesome! It only lasted for a couple minutes and did bang my head back and forth, but it was worth it! Last night, I went out to a nice dinner with some friends to celebrate our last days in Innsbruck. There was a festival going on to commemorate Maximilian's jousting tournaments, so we watched that for a little bit. It rained every day this week, which cools everything off, but it is still so weird for me to see people wearing pants and sweaters when it is August.

Friday morning, while everyone was taking their last finals, I went to St. Jacob's, Innsbruck's cathedral and Schloss Ambras, the castle in Innsbruck as seen in the picture. Now, I have done everything that I wanted to do!

Tonight we have our closing ceremonies and then tomorrow the buses leave at 4:30am for the Munich airport. Everyone plans on staying out all night, so that will make for a fun bus ride! I will get into Atlanta at 2:30pm or so, but then I have to be in Athens at 7am on Sunday for rush. Yikes! I am actually looking forward to it because I can go home, see my family, get a good meal and some sleep, and then I will see my friends the next day, and then come back home to get ready for school.

This trip has been wonderful and an incredible experience, but I can't wait to see everyone back home!

Füssen and Zürich

On Friday morning, Elisabeth and I took the earliest train to Munich. There, we switched to Fussen, which is a city in southern Germany, actually right near Austria. It only takes an hour and half by car, by it took us nearly four hours by train because of having to transfer. This small town is a big tourist hub because it is the sight of the Neuschwanstein Castle! It was incredible! (If you haven't read my previous post, this castle was Walt Disney's inspiration for the Cinderella Castle and the sight for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) I hadn't really heard of this castle before, but my Aunts Cathy and Bonita came here twenty years ago when they came to Germany when Matt and I were born, so my mom really thought I would like to see it. Luckily, I reserved our tickets ahead of time, which saved us, so we could hike around the castle and take pictures! We decided to splurge and pay the five euro to take a carriage ride up the hill to the castle. I figured- how can I turn down a carriage ride to the Cinderella Castle?! The tour inside wasn't that great because the woman had a thick accent and it was very short. We felt like cattle being herded quikly from room to room. However, the rain started once we finihed taking our pictures outside and then stopped right before we had to hed back to the train station. Even though we weren't there for very long, I am really glad I went! It was a beautiful sight! Good thinking Mama! :)

From Fussen, we switched trains in a small town in Germany and then headed to Zurich. It was really neat to be in three different countries in one day- Austria, Germany, and Switzerland! We checked ourselves into the hotel and then went straight to bed! The hotel was not very nice- right above a bar and shared bathrooms, but it was right in the center of town and being students, we can sleep through anything!

Saturday, I used our family friend, Christy McConnell's recommendations! We strolled down the Banhofstrasse, which is like Paris' Champs-Elysees or Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, filled with tons of shopping. There were even seven H&Ms! We also went into Hiematwerk, which is a neat store where everything is hand-made in Switzerland, but of course with a price tag! Overall, Switzerland is really expensive. First, everthing seems more expensive because of the dollar to swiss franc but then it is just a pricey country! We went into this one church that is known for it's stained glass, but most of the churches had weddings going on so we couldn't go in. Elisabeth felt bad not going to museums and such, but I personally cannot look at anymore art. It is all blending together!

After strolling around the city all day, we saved the best for last- the chocolate shop! I tasted chocolate from the two main chocolate shops in town and agree with Christy's choice, Teuscher Chocolate! Amazing truffles! That night we rode the big ferris wheel and saw Zurich all lit up!

Gotta love Swiss chocolate!

As my guide book says- the Swiss don't stand for anything other than themselves. They have Swiss flags everywhere!

The streets had tons of pretty flower shops like this one!

The largest clock face in Europe

Overlooking the river

Sunset on Lake Zurich

On Sunday, we went to mass at a Catholic Church. Turns out, those are hard to find because Zurich was really big into the Protestant Reformation- very different from Austria and Italy! The mass was in German of course, so we were pretty confused. Some things were different, but I thought well maybe it's just a Swiss thing. After the mass, we were invited to join them for coffee and biscuits. After talking with some people, we were then informed that it was a Catholic, not Roman Catholic Church. Whoops! This is where knowing German would come in handy! This church broke off after the first Vatican Council. They were really nice and wouldn't let us pay for our food!

Then, we did what every Zurichan does on Sunday- the lake! A river flows right throught the middle of Zurich and then meets with Lake Zurich. The water was really cold since it is glacier water, but the scenery was great! It was nice to just lay out and look at the mountains! I took my last train back last night- thank goodness because it was really hot and crowded!

The water was so clear and there were swans swimming all along the river!

Our great view on the lake!

The weekend was great! Everyone is Zurich was incredibly nice and the weather was perfect! Not too hot, not too cold- all we needed was a light jacket!

Week 5

I had such a great time this week! Last time I was kind of joking when I said I yodeled, but this time I'm serious!

On Monday, the Austria TA was giving a city tour, but no one else signed up to go, so Jackie and I got our own private tour! We went into a small churches that were out of the main town and thnen, we climbed the strairs in the City Tower to look out. We went to the Red Beans and Rice night with the program, and then I took her to the 360 Bar, where we got a great view of Innsbruck!

Jackie and I at the top of 360 Bar

Tuesday, I had an amazing time! Jackie toured the city during the day, and then when I got out of class, we went up to the cable car. This took us to the top of the mountiain, and then we hiked up even farther to the tip top ridge of the mountain! It was INCREDIBLE with amazing views looking out towards Innsbruck and then behind the mountains! It's why I love Innsbruck! I could really tell how Innsbruck would not exist without the flatness due to the river. It was windy and cold but so worth it! We even saw sheep and cattle up at the top!

Us at the very top of the mountain! It was windy!

I was really excited! The mountains were the reason I came to Innsbruck!

View of Innsbruck

I wanted to prove that I was at the very top

The other side of the mountains- beautiful!

We heard a bell, and it was sheep coming up the hill! Oh I felt like Heidi!

That night, we went on a lantern hike. The city of Innsbruck gives free hikes multiple times a day! We hiked up to a mountain house and saw the main ski slope for the Olympics along the way! Then, we were in for a treat! One man played the guitar while the other played the accordion and everyone yodeled and sang! There were people there from Austria, Germany, Italy, Ireland, England, Scotland, Australia, and of couse America! The main man took a liking to Jackie and me, so we were asked to be the main yodelers! He took us downstairs and asked us to play along with him- we had to act like we knew the main song from Innsbruck and mouth the words and then when the time came for yodeling, we had to yodel at the top of our lungs! It was hilarious! But first, he insisted that we drink some "yodeling water" aka schnapps. Later, we danced the Austrian wedding dance and sang even more. Afterwards, we walked with our lanterns down the mountain! It was probably my favorite day in Innsbruck!

Sunset on the hike!

Yodeling!

A guy from Spain picked me to be his partner for the Austrian wedding dance! We had to spin around and run across the room!

With our lanterns on the way down!

Yesterday and today have entailed schoolwork, so I've been trying to find school supplies around Innsbruck, but it's tough when everything closes by 6!

Friday, I am going to the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is in Füssen, Germany. It is where Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was filmed and was also Walt Disney's inspiration for the Cinderella castle! Then, that night we are going to Zurich for the rest of the weekend! I plan on doing nothing but shopping, eating chocolate, and going to the lake for my last weekend! It will hopefully be relaxing because I am tired of traveling and planning hotels and making train reservations! I will be home in only 9 days!

Salzburg

The hills were really alive with me in Salzburg when I yodeled at the top of the mountain! Haha!

Friday was very nice and relaxing at the park. I felt like I was really a city European reading on a bench in a park as old men played chess on the giant chess pieces!

Saturday, I met Jackie in Salzburg. We went straight to the four hour long Sound of Music tour! It was great. We saw where they got married, the lake the kids fall into, the houses used, the gazebo! They played the music on the bus, and I definitely sang along the whole time! The tour was great, but being the Sound of Music junkie that I am, I didn't really learn any new trivia. We walked around the Mirabell gardens where the do-re-mi scenes were filmed afterwards and got some great pictures! For dinner, we went to a beer garden place so Jackie could see the typical Austrian dinner. We met some funny Swedish boys there who asked if I was studying skiing in Innsbruck! Turns out, it is the start of the Salzburg festival, so tons of people dressed in the authentic dresses and lederhosen. They rode around a statue in the city on horses cracking whips! Too bad we had no idea what they were saying because everything was in German!

Sunday, we got an early start. We went to mass, and the music there was incredible! Leave it to Salzburg for music! It made the mass an hour and a half, but it was really neat. In Venice, there were not many people at church and they all walked in late, but here, we had to stand it was so full. But then again, we were the few people there in our age group! Then we went to Mozart's birthplace, the famous Hohensalzburg castle, the abbey, and Mozart's other house. The best part was that we received audio guides in English along with our tours, so I actually felt like I was learning! (Mama, don't be so surprised!)

Last night, I gave Jackie a small tour of the city so she can get around while I am in class. I am so glad she is here because now I can do all of the tourist attractions in Innsbruck, plus we have lots of fun together!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I saw the Harry Potter movie last week, and I also finished the seventh book on the train! Yahoo!

Jackie and I imitating, "Stop. Don't stop!"

Who knew the headquarters of Red Bull are right outside of Salzburg? No wonder they drink it like Coke here!

Beautiful lake that is so clean you can drink out of it! Too bad the picture isn't great because it was starting to rain.

Church where Maria and the Captain were married

Salzburg's finest apple streudel with ice cream and hot vanilla sauce! Only 10 calories!

In Mirabell Gardens, singing Do-Re-Mi!

The garden was gorgeous filled with colorful flowers! (Note to Hale girls, they were begonias!)

Can you tell that we really like the Sound of Music? I'm not even adding every picture! We also took pictures at the abbey, the bridge, the Untersberg Mountain, and the ivy tunnel!

Mozart's birthplace

Salzburg at night! The castle is up on the hill and there are markets all along the river.

Part of the festival

View of Salzburg from the castle

This is the executioner's house- notice it's location. At least they have lush green grass!

Mozart's house later in life. This one was a better museum!

Fourth Week

This week basically entailed me recovering from Rome and working on stuff for school. I had to do a history presentation for English, which was difficult knowing that I had to find research in limited computer time. Luckily, everything went well! I am just worried because I have a project due in a week and a half that is worth 25% of my grade and I have to be creative! Hopefully that will go well with my limited art resources here! Everyone is freaking out that we only have two weeks left because we have so much we want to do in Innsbruck, let alone prepare for finals. These next two weeks are going to be very busy but really fun!

Hannah and I out Tuesday night!

Casey and I are both Sigma Kappas, except she goes to UNO. We are making our motto, one heart, one way!

Yesterday, I went with a friend to the lake after class. The lake was pretty cold, so I didn't stay in very long, but it was an interesting sight. It is interesting that in town, everyone wears jeans and long sleeves with closed-toed shoes when it is hot outside, but at the lake, men wear speedos and many women are topless. Don't worry- I didn't take any pictures! There is a New Orleans festival all weekend long in Innsbruck, so we went to it last night. According to my friend who is from New Orleans, the food wasn't really Nawlans style, but it was fun to listen to the bands!

Today, I woke up and got breakfast at a little bakery! (I would feel horrible about everthing I have eaten here if I didn't walk everywhere!) I strolled around Innsbruck and did some souvenir shopping. It is just really nice to be in the city without everyone else and to enjoy it without going to class! This afternoon, I plan on reading Harry Potter (I'm borrowing it from a friend!) at the park!

Tomorrow morning I am leaving to go to Salzburg. I am meeting my big sister from Sigma Kappa, Jackie, there. She is finished with her study abroad program in Prague, so we will be in Salzburg for Saturday and Sunday and then she will stay with me in Innsbruck for two days! I am really excited to see her! I borrowed my friend's computer and dvd to watch the Sound of Music the other day, so I am uber excited about going on the Sound of Music tour! It is one of my top 5 movies!

The famous golden roof!

Here is the shirt I bought. It cracked me up!

Innsbruck has linen shops everyhwere!

These ornament eggs are popular too!

A garden I found on my walk

Roma

Rome

Rome was the city I wanted to see most and am SO glad I did! A total of six girls who went- Patti from Spring Hill, Elisabeth from University of Florida, Hannah from Trinity Univerity, Yvonne from University of New Orleans, and Carrie and I from UGA. Elisabeth was the planner, and I was the navigator!

Thursday, we left at 11:00 pm to take the overnight train. It was not the best experience because I was really paranoid about getting anything stolen, so I did not sleep that well. The train was an hour late getting into Rome, so we missed our tour at the Vatican. However, that was the end of the problems!

Friday, we dropped off our bags at the hotel and went straight to the Vatican. We toured the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, the tombs where the popes are buried, and we even climbed what felt like 2,000 narrow steps to the very top of St. Peter's. I loved the Vatican. It was really moving to see Pope John Paul II's tomb. A bunch of people were praying by it. That night we went and saw the Spanish steps and then the Trevi Fountain lit up!

Saturday, we used the Rick Steve's guide to Italy, and it was fantastic! On Friday, we bought a Roma pass, which was 20 euros and lets you use any public transportation as much as you want for three days and gets you into your first two museums for free and then at a discounted price after that. We used the Roma pass to bypass all the lines in the morning at the Colosseum. The Colossuem was so neat. It is crazy to think that it was built right after Jesus died. They even had artifacts in there that were from 400 b.c. Then, we walked around the Roman forum and saw where people still put flowers on Julius Caesar's grave. We saw where all of the emperors used to live and how much the columns have weathered over time. After walking through Capitoline Hill and Circus Maximus (where they held chariot races), we went to the Boca della Verita. This is what Audrey Hepburn does in Roman Holiday! The legend says that if you stick your hand in the mouth, it will be bitten off if you are a liar. Luckily, I still have two hands! From there, Rick recommended for students to eat at this restaurant near the Pantheon. It was fantastic! I had a great panini- mozarella, lettuce, tomato, and salami with probably the best fruit salad I've ever had! If you are a student or if you leave Rick Steve's book on the table, they will bring you out complimentary wine! Then, we went to the Pantheon, which was pretty interesting but not my favorite. It was really cool to see all of the marble and Raphael's tomb. Of course, by that time, I was definitely in need of gelato, so we found the best gelato place! For two euro, you get two whopping scoops. I went for mint and nutella! That evening, we followed Rick's night walking tour and saw lots of piazzas, the Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain again. It was cool to see The Column of Marcus Aurelius because of all of the carvings on it. I was also really excited to see the Four Rivers Founatin, but they are restoring it, so it had scaffolding around it.

Sunday, three of us went to mass at the Vatican. This was definitely my favorite thing in Rome because we got to have mass sitting down in St. Peter's! It was very touching seeing tons of altar boys, priests, seminarians, and cardinals! The only problem was that everthing was in Italian! I went with Patti who is Catholic and Hannah who is Methodist. I told Hannah to cross her arms and just receive a blessing, but then she saw me take the communion and so she put her hands out too. Turns out the priest gave her communion, and I turned around and told her it was better for her to eat it if she wasn't Catholic than to not eat it at all. I was a little worried the priest would pick up on it, and I didn't want a Vatican priest the priest to get mad at us! Anyways, I was a little jealous that she got to have her first communion at St. Peter's. Then, at the end of mass, the pope will sometimes give a blessing at noon. I went up to one of the guards and said "pope... blessing... noon?" To which he replied, "The pope is in South Tirol" (which is a part of Austria near Innsbruck). So I dumbly said with my Ammerican accent, "Oh man, That's where I'm from!" It was a day full of laughs! After that, we walked around Rome and stopped by markets and of course had more gelato! After rushing from ancient ruin to monument, it was nice to just relax and enjoy the city!

Last night, we got to the train station, and they came on and said that there were some strikes so we should check the status of our train. I found the platform and time where we were supposed to be, except the destination said Monaco. Now, I know my Grace Kelly, and I was sure that this was a country near France, not Innsbruck. Luckily, I found a worker who informed me that Monaco is Italin for Munich- who knew! Our night train back was much better- this time with two locks on the doors and better air conditioning! Even though it got in an hour late (never trust Italian trains- German ones are right on time but not those Italians), we still made it to class on time!

I LOVED Rome, but I am definitely to be back in Innsbruck. I am so tired from walking and sweating so much and also from constantly worrying about being pickpocketed. Even though I looked like a dork with my purse over my head, I did not care because I did not have anything stolen! What a relief! Thank you for all your prayers- they helped!

Tomorrow I'm doing laundry for the first time (isn't that amazing!) and hopefully I will have time to upload pictures! Sorry this one is so long- props to you if you read all of it! Missing everyone!

Also...

PLEASE do not tell me what happens in the seventh Harry Potter! I am pretty sure that I will be picking up an English copy here, and I doubt ya'll would tell me, but in case I don't get to it for awhile, I don't want to ruin it!

Third week

On Monday night, the school had a party for us at the Hofgarten, the outdoor beer garden. They fed us soup, potatoes, and of course schnitzel. Schnitzel is what is Austria is known for. Basically, it is just any type of meat breaded and fried. It is like Bubba's take on shrimp.

After being really sick of eating meat and potatoes or pasta everyday, I went with some friends to the grocery Tuesday night and just got yogurt and some snacks and ate by the river!

Wednesday, I went tobagoning- summer bobsledding! We went up ski lifts and then went down this mountain on what look like box cars. It was about a 10 minute ride the whole way down. The first time I was a little hesitant trusting how this little metal strip could keep my car from turning over, but by the second time, I never used the brake! We had an amazing time!

Other than that, this week had been annoying because we had midterms today. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights memorizing for art history and preparing for essay writing in English. I'm glad they are over!

I am really excited about going to Rome this weekend! However, I am also really nervous about getting something stolen or lost. Then, on top of that, I find out that there is a train strike in Italy! Ah! Luckily, we are taking an overnight train tonight (Thursday night) to Rome and one back Sunday night. The strike was supposed to end an hour before our train left to come home, but they just cancelled it! Now, that isn't to say that they won't decide to strike again. Please pray for me to be safe and let everything work out! If all else fails, maybe I will get to stay an extra day in Rome! What a rough life...

Pictures of Venice!