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!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, August 6, 2007
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!
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! 
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!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
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!
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!
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