10.19 On Saturday Katie and I ventured to the neighboring town of Berchtesgaden. After a gorgeous 30 minute bus-ride through the country side, we found ourselves in the quaint alpine village. We had to wait at the bus station for 20 minutes before catching another bus half-way up the Kehlstein (a mountain) where we had to board yet another bus for the final stretch of the journey: 30 minutes up switch-back 1-lane windy mountain roads. We got out of the bus and we were amazed by the view overlooking our hometown of Salzburg! It was gorgeous!
We then had to walk down a tunnel to get to the elevator that would transport us to the very top of the Kehlstein to the Kehlsteinhaus, or Eagle's Nest. DasKehlsteinhaus was a second home of Hitler which he received for his 50th birthday. He was said to have visited less than 10 times. Ironically, he was also claustrophobic and afraid ofheights. We enjoyed it, because he didn't.
This week has been filled with studying for midterms and preparing for our semester break next week. After our group excursion to Nuernberg this coming weekend, I will be traveling to Greece for the remainder of the week with two other girls from the group. I am excited to see the things we've discussed in Art History, not to mention a week of relaxation!
10.8 On Wednesday, my German class was canceled, so I was done for the day at 12:30. Once again, the sun was shining, so I decided to take the cable car up to the top of the Untersberg with 3 other girls from my group. Simply getting out to the Untersberg was an adventure on its own as we had to take one of the bus lines that goes out into the country side. This part proved to be quite easy, and we got to our destination in about half an hour. We had to wait about 20 minutes for the cable car, and then we were on our way. The ride up alone, was amazing, so I couldn't wait for the views from the top!
SIMPLY BREATH-TAKING! We could see for miles, and the sky was about as clear as you could with for! We even found our apartments -- I guess there is an advantage to living in a bright green building! After a few hours of wandering around the top of the Untersberg, we caught the cable-car back down, and headed back home.
10.9 Today's adventure: Leopoldskron. This is the location used as the back of the vonTrapp house/lake in "The Sound of Music." Of course, I wasn't allowed in, but with another gorgeous day, a walk along the lake shore was perfect! On the way back, I took a stroll through the Kommunalfriedhof (municipal cemetery). I felt kind of weird taking pictures in a cemetery, but it was gorgeous! I have never seen such a well-kept cemetery. The gravestones were very detailed, and there were flowers everywhere!
you can see the Festung from pretty much everywhere!
Leopoldskron
10.11 My goal today was to complete the 'unofficial' "Sound of Music" tour. As you may know, Salzburg is primarily know for "the Sound of Music" and as such it is a largely tourist town. There are a few different companies offering the "Original Sound of Music Tour" at E37 for a 3 hour tour. Considering the nearby location, and the fact that most of these sights are FREE, there is no way I was going to fork over what would be equivalent to about $60.
So, Katie (who has gone on the Sound of Music tour twice) and I caught a bus out to Mondsee, a suburb of Salzburg, to find the church in which Maria and Captain vonTrapp get married. After we saw the interior of the church, we wandered down to the lake and enjoyed another great afternoon.
Thanks to the great weather this week, I have completed my goal of visiting all of the 'Sound of Music' sights without breaking the bank. To recap:
Gazebo @ SchlossHellbrunn
Front of the house @ SchlossFrohnbrunn
Back of the house @ Leopoldskron
wedding church @ Mondsee
Mirabel Gardens
Nonnberg Abbey
Untersberg (this is supposedly the mountain Maria was singing on during the opening credits...I don't believe it.)
10.3 I was looking forward to Friday this week more than ever! We had our first essay due in Senior Seminar, plus an essay that had to be written in German, a German quiz, and generally more homework than usual. Needless to say, we were all counting down the minutes until 12:00 on Friday when we would be let out of class for the weekend. It was just at that time that our professor asked us if we wouldn't mind sticking around an extra 10 minutes or so. We didn't want to, but of course we obliged. He proceeds to give a little spiel about how well our first-month in Salzburg had gone and that Friday marked our 'one-month anniversary' since orientation began. He said he had a little something for us from program funds, and he pulls out a shot glass for everyone. Then, he whips off his bow tie and says this next part is from personal funds and pulls out two bottles of schnapps! So, I had my first shot ever with my program director! It was honestly the best part of my week, even though the schnapps was, in my opinion, quite disgusting!
10.4 One word: OKTOBERFEST! We decided to take the 6 am train, meaning I had to get up by a little after 4 (fortunately all my early mornings at Subway prepped me for functioning on a lack of sleep!). Luckily, with the purchase of a Bayern Ticket, 5 people can ride all day long for E27, so it only cost me E 5.5 to get to Germany and back! Without a doubt, the best deal of the day! The train ride into Munich was a little over two hours, and was interesting to say the least. Lederhosen and Dirndln and lots of 'pre-gaming' at 6 in the morning, I think our group was the only one NOT drinking on the way there!
we made it!
Once we had arrived in Munich, we weren't really sure where to go, so we decided to just follow the large mass of people, which luckily worked out in our favor. I ended up in a group with 6 others, and we decided it might be a good idea to find the bathrooms before trying to enter one of the tents. By the time we got back to the tent, we were welcomed by having the doors slammed in our face. We had heard that most tents imposed a 3 hour limit, so we figured they'd probably let more people in every hour or so, and as we were now at the front of the line, we'd definitely get in. The hours passed, and we were getting pretty impatient. Once noon rolled around, we figured we'd definitely get in, however, that was not the case. The security guard at our door held up a sign that said "Sued 7" implying entrance would only be at door 7, and were standing at door 2. By this time it was starting to rain again, and we were getting frustrated, but we tried for door 7 anyway. Of course there was a line at that door too.
waiting, waiting, waiting
Eventually a table outdoors cleared out, so we decided we may as well just sit outside, in the rain! It was the best decision ever! We had our liters of beer within 5 minutes of sitting down. And let me tell you, these women are impressive. They can carry 8-10 liters of beer at one time! Needless to say, I was impressed! As most of you know, I'm not much of a drinker, but boy was that first sip satisfying! After waking up at 4am, traveling for three hours, and waiting in line for three hours, it was definitely worth the E 8.25! I didn't think I would be able to finish my whole liter, and not only did I, but I was the first of the girls to do so! We had a great time prost-ing (German equivalent of 'cheers'. There was madness every time the sun decided to shine!), chatting and quoting 'the Landlord' (for those of you who don't know it, watch it! I've added it below!) as two of the girls who each had a liter and a half realized that essentially equaled out to 4 cans, setting aside the fact that German beer (well, European beer in general) is much stronger than American (7-7.5% compared to 4.5%).
After our Oktoberfest beer, we made our way back to the bathrooms, and then decided to check out a little bit of Munich before we had to meet the rest of our group at the train station later that evening. We headed towards the Glockenspiel and waited around to hear its very out-of-tune song. After that we found a moderately priced restaurant to grab a bite to eat before we headed back 'home'.
All in all it was a GREAT day! I enjoyed myself a lot more than I thought I would, I guess a liter can have that effect!
10.5 After Saturday's festivities, I planned on hanging low today, and not doing a whole lot of anything. However, I was awoken at 9:30 by the SUN! It's the first nice and sunny day we've have in over a week. There is NO WAY I could waste a day like today indoors! So, after I had some breakfast, I packed a snack for later and my knitting, and I headed on my way to find the Sound of Music house (it turns out SchlossHellbrunn was simply the current location of the gazebo, and not the house like I had originally thought). The house was only a 10 minute walk from my dorm, and since the weather was so gorgeous I decided to keep going along the path and take in the wonderful views! I ended up walking around for nearly 2 hours! It was wonderful! I looped back around and found a nice park to sit in for a while and did some knitting...it's not perfect by any means, but I'm definitely getting better!
All in all, this weekend was definitely my favorite so far (well, possibly a tie with last weekend in Vienna!)If the weather holds out this week, I plan on taking a cable car up the Untersberg, and also taking a trip out to the Eagle's Nest, both of which offer amazing views of Salzburg, and even into Germany!
First of all, I have to apologize for 1) the lack of blog updates recently (can you believe they give us homework!?) and 2) the cheesy use of a Billy Joel song title. Other than the mundane school-work, which I have actually been enjoying quite a bit, the only recent excitement was our group excursion to Vienna this past weekend.
9.26 Our day started off a bit too early for my liking, as we had to be to the train station by 6:45, meaning we had to leave our dorm by 6 am. We had a 2.5 hour train ride ahead of us, and I used the time to attempt to master the art of knitting. I definitely failed at first, but after a few tries, I eventually got the hang of it. (I'm not too far yet, however, as knitting definitely didn't take priority in Vienna or this week, as I had two papers (one in German) and a test...maybe I'll pick it back up this weekend.)
We arrived in Vienna, and took the U-Bahn (subway) to our Hostel to drop of our bags. From there, we took the U-Bahn back into the city center, and got our first glimpse of 'our' capital city! We came up from the U-Bahn right in front of the Staatsoper (State Opera) which just so happens to be my favorite building in all of Vienna (at least from the small portion I saw in just a weekend). We then crossed the street to board a Street Trolley for a ride around the RingStrasse, a circular road surrounding the downtown area which replaced the city wall. Next up, the most ironic event of the weekend: Our director is an avid historian, especially in regards to Austria. And so, he literally FORCED us to get McDonald's, walk a block, and eat it in front of the Soviet Memorial. Nothing like rubbing in the American influence. After we had our fill of grease, we walked a bit further to view Karlskirche before being released to wander the city on our own.
Karlskirch
I headed off with 5 others from our group, and we wandered through the Burggarten, wander past the Hofburg, and walked past the Parliament building and Rathaus (city Hall) before Katie and I parted ways to go visit the Augustinerkirche.
Burggarten -- sweet treble cleft, oh, and Mozart!
Parliament
Our program director offered us 'cultural incentives' a.k.a. money if we successfully completed a series of tasks. Wanting to experience the most of the city, and get monetary reimbursement, Katie and I opted to go for all the options he gave us. So, we started off visiting the the Grufts (burial sites) of the Habsburgs. The Herzgruft (hearts) were located in the Augustinakirche, the Kaisergruft in the Kapuzinerkirche featured the sarcophagi, and the catacombs in St. Stephan's Cathedral featured urns containing the internal organs. Visiting all 3 sites completed the "Habsburg Hat Trick" and earned us a kitsch souvenir. I am now the proud owner of SchlossSchoenbrunn salt and pepper shakers!
St. Stephan's Cathedral
Friday evening's main event was "derFliegendeHoellander" ("the Flying Dutchman") at the Staatsoper. Like many on the trip, it was my first Opera. It is certainly a unique experience, and the production itself was amazing. However, I think I would have enjoyed a different opera better. All in all, however, I am glad I had the opportunity to experience my first opera at such a grand location.
Staatsoper
Teresa and I at the Opera
Post opera, part of the group headed out with our program director's wife to a nearby cafe for a piece of Sacher Torte, and conversation. I wrote up my thoughts on Vienna, completing the 'Kaffeeund Kuchen im Cafe' cultural incentive, earning 5 euro.
9.27 Our day began with a mini-tour of Vienna. Our program took us to the Memorial Against War and Fascism, Josefplatz, Michaelerplatz, through the Hofburg and on to KHM-Kunsthistorischemuseum (Art History Museum). We were allotted two hours in the museum, I headed to the top floor intending to work my way down, but I didn't get very far. Only three weeks of Art History class, and I'm already appreciating things more. We also got an audio guide, and I really took the time to look at each painting and listen to its history, before I knew it, my time was up.
That afternoon, Katie and I decided to head off on our own. It is a lot of fun to go off with a bigger group, but when you have to factor in everyone else's opinions, it can be hard to make a decision and actually accomplish things. Our first stop was the Nationalbibliothek, or library. Do you remember that scene in "Beauty and the Beast"? Well, I was there. I have never seen so many books! It was absolutely gorgeous!
Heaven?!
Our next stop was SchlossSchoenbrunn, the summer home of the Habsburg empire, built for Empress Maria Teresia and her 16 children. We went up to buy our tickets, and although I asked in German, the man rudely denied my in English saying that we would not have enough time. We were slightly off-put, but Katie and I decided we would return on Sunday, irregardless of the inconsiderate worker. We still had a decent amount of time on our hands before we had to meet up with the group for dinner, so we decided to head to the Karl-Marx-Hof, as social housing project from the 1930s. Taking a picture of ourselves along with the building, and as well as at St. Stephan's Dom earned us another 5 euro for completion of the "Wien: Schwartz und Rot" cultural incentive. More irony: conservative cathedral and socialist housing. Next up was a trip to Wigtenstein's house, a famous philosopher. Then we headed to Judenplatz, the location of the Holocaust Memorial, yet another check on the 'cultural incentives' list. This time, I'll be getting a free copy of a book we'll be reading later in the semester. With half an hour to spare, we headed back to Augustinerplatz to meet the group for dinner.
After dinner Katie and I headed to Prater with Maia and the three kids. I don't think we realized what we were getting ourselves into, heading to an amusement park with kids who loved to ride. I indulged Lena and Kaethe by joining them on the Sombrero (their favorite ride) which is kind of like the tilt-a-whirl, only WAY BETTER! They also give you your money's worth....I bet it was a solid 5 minutes...nothing like the pathetic rides they offer at the county fair! We met up with the rest of the group at another ride, and I spent most of the evening watching others ride, as fun as the rides might be, they don't come cheap! Watching Professor Schroeder on 'Extasy' is without a doubt a major highlight from the weekend. Priceless! I went on a final ride, 'Star Flyer' which was essentially your average swing ride, except we were about 150 feet in the air! Coming from someone who isn't particularly afraid of heights, it was kind of nerve-raking, and well worth the 4 euro. The views were amazing! When we got back to the hostel, a few of us decided to hang out in the lounge for a while.
9.28 Once we got checked out of the hostel, we headed to the train station to put our bags in lockers and then we were set free for the day. Katie and I trekked back to SchlossSchoenbrunn with a few others from the group, and what do you know, we encountered the same stand-offish cashier. This time he was angry that we wanted to pay with a 50 euro note; however at 14 euro for admission, you can't tell me he didn't have enough to make change. Aside from that, it was a great day. The sun was finally shining, and it was a much nicer day than Saturday! We started off with an audio tour of the Habsburg residence. It was very interesting, and I learned even more about the Habsburgs (We'd already read plenty about their reign in one of our books for senior seminar). After our tour, we took a stroll through the gardens, played in the maze and labyrinths and climbed the hill side up to the Gloriette for an amazing view of Vienna. It was a perfect ending to the weekend!
Maren, Myself and Katie
Gloriette
Amazing view of Vienna!
All in all, I'd have to say Vienna is one of my favorite cities in Europe. Maybe it's because I know the language (or at least I would like to think I do!), or simply because I had a greater understanding of its past. Then again, the 'cultural incentives' program was sure handy...I earned 25 euro, a salt & pepper shaker set and a book, plus we were given 15 euro spending money at the start, so I managed to only spend another 20 euro or so of my own, which is exciting to a poor college student, especially now that the exchange rate is worsening again.
