The beginning of my adventure

So lets start with Sunday...

Sunday I woke up at about 7, ate breakfast and left for the train station. I had a very fun conversation with the guy at the tickets counter...it went something like this:

Me: Sprechen Sie Englisch (do you speak English?)
him: Sprechen Sie Deutsch (Do you speak German?)
Me: Ein Bisschen (a little)
him: Dann sprechen wir Deutsch (Then we'll speak German)

So I proceded to speak to him in Denglish as I don't know a lot of words that have to do with train travel and ticket validation. Then he proceeded to repeated say my name and he told me that is was German (which I already knew) and went on and on about how it has a nice ring to it. I might also mention that it was a lovely day, sunny and low 70s.

So I boarded my train and started the longest 2.5 hr trip of my life. The train is not too exciting when you are alone. So something happened along the way and our train had to just sit on the tracks for 25 mins. So I was supposed to have an hour in Innsbruck, just long enough to go outside and see something, but due to this delay I only had 20 mins before my next train. So I just hung out in the station. My next train was equally boring but cooler. It was a harry potter train. Like I sat in a compartment with 5 other seats but only 1 other person and it had it's own little sliding door. It was so exciting.

Ok So I arrived in Feldkirch 2 hrs later to the pouring rain and cold temperatures, about 60. I missed the first bus to Vaduz (figures) so I just hung around for 30 mins till the next one. So I hopped on a bus to Schaan (a few km north of Vaduz) and then caught another but to Vaduz. It was pouring the entire time but overall it was a nice experience. I am glad I got to spend an hour there cause now I can say I've been to Liechtenstein. So then I caught another bus back to Feldkirch. I walked around a little and saw a few interesting buildings but I didn't make it to the altstadt due to the crazy sunday bus schedule. So I just hung around for about 1.5 hrs and then caught my train to Zurich. I made a quick switch to the next train and ended up in Zug, Switzerland just after 9.

So I met my host, Lindsay, and we talked for a little over an hr and then we went to bed. She is very nice, from canada. She gave me some of her books about the area and told me some cool places to go.

So today I went to Zurich but it was pouring and Zurich is boring. The only museum I really had interest in going to is closed on Mondays. So I went to a few churches and took a few pictures and then I was bored so I got on a train and went to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. There I saw some cool buildings, a very nice gothic church, and I went to the Alps museum. Overall it was fun. I also climbed up hundreds of spiral steps to the top of the cathedral.

Then I had to catch a train to Luzern and then another train to Zug. I got back home around 6:30. Then Lindsay made me an awesome dinner and then we went out to meet some friends for drinks. Now I will soon be going to bed.

I haven't decided what I am doing tomorrow yet but check back later and you can find out what I did.

New pictures up...leave comments.

Sarah

The end of Salzburg

So...Thursday was class...so unfortunate. Then I ran around the city for a little while and then I went on the Thursday afternoon excursion. We were supposed to go to the Salzburg Museum but instead we went to the Stiegel Brauwelt. That is the factory where Stiegel beer is made. It was pretty unexciting and the museum was really hot so I didn't particularly enjoy it. However, the 3 Italian I don't girls did teach me to sing Head Shoulders Knees and Toes in Italian and Sara taught me to sing it in Hungarian. The french canadian people helped me remember it in French too. Now I can sing it in 7 different languages.

So I left the museum early and went to meet Sarah and Jenn at Europark, a big mall. We walked around for a while and then we went home. I don't actually remember what we did that night, obviously nothing too insteresting.

So yesterday was the last day of class, yay! After class I met Sarah and Jenn and we went to get lunch at the market. Then we walked back to our dorm. It takes about 30 mins to walk. When we got back I had to pack so I kinda started that. At 6:30 we went to see the Mozart Requiem in the Salzburg Dom (Cathedral). It was fun because Salzburg is Mozart's city and the Dom is where Mozart was baptized and where he peformed many times.

So after that we went home and ate dinner. Everyone else went out to a beer garden but I stayed home to pack. I got lots of packing done which is good...they didn't get home until after 2 am.

So this morning I woke up at 10 and finished packing. I walked to down to the post office to send Julie her sweatshirt that she left in our room and I went to the store. Then I went home.

There were 4 of us leaving this weekend. Julie left on Thursday, Liz left on Friday, and Shireen left reall early this morning. Dr Howes (professor from BG) asked if I could collect all the linens and dishes so he would only have to make 1 trip over here. I told Shirenn just to leave her room unlocked today and I would grab everything when I woke up. Well at 12:15 pm today I went into their room to get their things. Their room was a mess. None of the linens were folded, there was trash everywhere, and they hadn't swept at all. Lisa came up and cleaned their room cause I didn't have time. While we were cleaning Dr Howes showed up. He couldn't believe the mess. I can't believe people can be so irresponsible.

Ugh...so anyway. I am now staying the night in a hostel in the middle of Salzburg. It is nice, but kinda lonely. Today I am going to figure out what I want to do in all the cities I am going to this week. Then I am going to bed...hopefully around 9. Tomorrow morning I have to get up at like 6:30 to eat breakfast and make my way to the train station. Then I start my craziness.

Tomorrow I am leaving from Salzburg just before 9 and taking a train to Innsbruck. 1 hour later I am taking a train from Innsbruck to Feldkirch. Then I will be taking a bus into Liechtenstein and going to Vaduz. It is a 30 minute bus ride, I'll probably spend about an hour there and then take the bus back to Feldkirch. Around 6:30 I will be catching the train from Feldkirch to Zurich. In Zurich I will just be switching to a smaller train and taking a 30 minute ride to Zug. An awful lot for 1 day, huh? I should be pretty tired. After that my trip gets easier though.

Maybe I will update tomorrow but maybe not till Monday. We'll see. Comments please!

Sarah

Craziness...

So I haven't updated in like 3 days...that means there should be a lot to tell you...let's see...

Monday I didn't do much. I was pretty sick so I didn't even go to class. We have 40 classes total and we're allowed to miss 8 and those were my only 2 so it's perfectly fine. So Monday was Liz's 21st birthday so she wanted to celebrate. We went to this little restaurant called Indigo. It was just me, Liz, Shireen, Julie, and Lisa. Then we went into the city and went to the Hotel Stein again. There were like 15 of us...it was crazy. Jenn and I left when they started getting crazy...around 11.

So Tuesday I was still kinda sick but I still got up and went to class. It was boring as usual. Then we had an excursion like we always do on Tuesdays. It is amusing..the first excursion there were about 40 people. On this one we started with 7 and by the end there were 3 of us. We went to St Sebastian, the cemetery where Mozart's family is buried (not Mozart though) and where Prinz Archbishop Wolfgang Dietrich von Reitenau is buried. It is pretty. Then we went to Schloss Mirabell and the gardens. They are also pretty. There were multiple sound of music scenes filmed there. Then I sat in the gardens with Sara, my hungarian friend. We spend quite a bit of time together which is good because she speaks very little English so we always have to speak in German. She told me yesterday she's glad I'm here cause the other Americans don't speak much German. Almost all of them are in the A levels. So after a little while we walked back to Residenz Platz (where our classes are) and met out friends. Our professor invited us to his house for dinner. Sara was meeting the other Hungarian students and I was meeting my Slovakian friends and my Bosnian friend. Then we all too the bus to Herr Soriat's house. We had a lot of fun. We had Leberkaesen (which I did not eat) and potato salad, and egg salad, and rolls. We also had chocolate cake and this bavarian cream or something like that.

I sat with the 3 Slovakian girls, the Bosnian girl, the guy from Argentina, the girl from Spain, and 2 Hungarian students. They taught me how to say Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia where I am going next week). Then they made me say it every 5 minutes just to make sure I could. Everytime they would laugh. Then Maria #1 taught me to speak Slovakian. Now I can sing head shoulders knees and toes in Slovakian. Then they were all asking about my trip and Herr Soriat asked where I am going and I said Ljubljana and they all erupted in laughter. It was fun.

I found out that Maria #1 is going to be in Innsbruck at the same time as me and Maria #2 wants me to call her when I get to Bratislava so she can give us a tour.

Oh, so the word for mouth in Slovakian is oosta which is the same in Polish and is in the Veggie Tales song "I love my lips." So tomorrow I am playing that for Maria #1. I sang it for her yesterday and she wants to learn it.

So today I got on the bus and the Slovakian girls were on the same one but in a different section. They saw me and did the head shoulders knees and toes motions...They wanted to check if I remembered my words. When I got to class Alejandro (from Argentina) wanted me to say Ljubljana.

I wish we had this dinner earlier because we all got so close at that and now we have no more time. It is sad. We all exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses though so we will definitely stay in touch.

Today I had more class (I'm so tired of class). Afterward I met Sarah and Jenn and we ate lunch together and then got ice cream. Then I went to the store to get some cheese for dinner tonight and then to the train station to make a reservation for one of of my trains. Then I came home.

So I guess that wasn't all that much. Julie, my roommate, is leaving tomorrow so she is packing and trying to finish memorizing her music for the next program she is in. Later I am eating with Jenn and Sarah and Lisa and then I have no plans.

I guess that's about it. I'll be posting new pictures soon. You should all look at them...they are awesome!

Sarah

Welcome to the last week

I should probably be sleeping but oh well.

Today is the first day of my last week in Salzburg. It's a little sad, but when this program ends I have 3 weeks of amazing adventures through other parts of Europe...so it's not like I'll be bored. Plus it's really easy to leave somewhere when you know you'll be back a week later, even if just for a few days.

So last night was the celebration for Liz's 21st birthday. I didn't go though...I was soooo sick. I just went to bed. So they all stayed out and up till crazy hours of the night. So when I got up this morning after 10 hours of sleep, I was quite well rested while the rest of the were dragging. Unfortunate for them as today was a crazy day.

So we met Dr Howes at the bus stop at 11:15 and we took a nice little ride over the German-Austrian border to Berechtesgaden, which used to be under US Military control. It is a cute little town with a lot of mean hills to walk up. We went to lunch at a beer garden which Bowling Green paid for. I got these cheese dumpling things (which smelled bad but weren't actually all that bad tasting) with a salad and fries. Then we had to run to catch our bus up to the Eagle's nest which we missed anyway.

In the process of hurrying to catch our bus, we lost Dylan, who is like the one person here who doesn't have a cell phone. We while the rest of us went to the Information center to find out what else we could do in this town, Sarah and Jenn went to the main bus station to see if Dylan went there. Of course he did not. So while at the Information Center we learned that there was actually another bus we could catch, but it was in 15 minutes and we would have to hurry if we were going to catch it. So we called Sarah and Jenn and told them to wait for us at the bus station. We decided Dylan could find his own way home. While basically running towards the bus station, we found Dylan sitting on a bench by the cemetery we ran through. So he came along too. We just barely made the bus and we headed up the steep mountain roads to the Documentary center. Well we ran into a problem. One of the busses was off schedule and we met with them just in the narrowist and windiest parts of the road. So we had to direct all the traffic behind us around us and then back up down this really steep road...it was scary...so the bus went around us (just like 4 inches from us) and then we continued the ride up the mountain. When we got there, we explored the Documentary center and the underground bunkers that Hitler had built. Then I took lots of pictures of the amazing mountains we were surround by, and then we headed home. We got back around 6. I ate dinner and then uploaded more photos.

Then we headed into the city. Yesterday was the start of the festspiel-the big festival in Salzburg that includes hundreds of events such as orchestras and operas over a month long period. Every night at 9:15 there is an event on the big screen in the Kapitel Platz. They show highlights form past years. Tonight was last year's Romeo and Juliet opera performance. We went to watch it. It was really cool but also chilly so we left after intermission.

So that was my day. Tomorrow is another dreaded day of class and then we are celebrating Liz's actual birthday. We are going out to dinner all together to a local beer garden and then going back to Hotel Stein for drinks. Should be interesting.

Well that's all for now

Lots more pictures are up...

Sarah

The end of week 2

So Thursday I had class and then we had an excursion. We went to the house where Mozart lived after he was 16 but only till he was about 21. It was interesting. Then I went to the grocery store and went home. I can't remember the rest of Thursday.

Friday I woke up and found that I had a cold, so not fun. So I went to class and after class, Dylan and I went with the Irish kids to an Italian restaurant. That was fun. Then we came home. Yesterday was the Irish kid's last day (they leave today) so they wanted us to go out with them...

They came over to our dorm around 8 and joined the other Americans in some strange drinking game. I wasn't feeling well and they were all yelling and smoking and what not so I stayed for all of 5 mins and then came back up to my room.

Around 9:30, Sarah, Jenn, Niall, and Sara (a 16 yr old hungarian girl) went to the Augustiner, the beer garden we were at a few nights ago. The other 5 Irish kids stayed here. At 11, Augustiner closed and we were kicked out. We went to the Hotel Stein, which has a terrace on the roof with a bar. I had a hot chocolate after walking through the rain to get there. A little after midnight the Irish girls came and met us. We stayed till a little after 1 and then we came home to the "real excitement."

So we got off the elevator where a guy greeted us to tell us "one of our group" threw-up in the hallway and we have to clean it...we were like umm....not our problem. So anyway, first we took an inventory of who was actually home. Julie, Liz, and Shireen were out somewhere but everyone else was passed-out. We found the 2 Irish boys who needed to go home but we couldn't wake up Micheal. I finally got him to wake-up but he was really barely concious and Niall said he would leave him in our dorm and we could just send him home "tomorrow". Well then we walked away for a second and Dylan (the American whose room it was) got up and locked the door. Well he locked his roommate out, cause Andrew's keys were in there. So we were banging on the door for almost an hour trying to get them to open the door so Andrew could get things to sleep in. They would not answer the door. So we decided to call their room a few times. So finally they wake up and we hung out in the kitchen for a little while. Once Micheal and Tony (Irish boys) were awake enough to go home, Niall called for a Taxi (it was like 3:30 am so no more busses). He ended up having to call 2 because the first time he forgot to tell them he'd need a taxi for 7. So once they had all left, I went to bed (around 4 am)...so much fun...

It was kind of a situation you'd expect...all the responsible people-which basically is all of us (minus 1) who are already 21-went out and got simple drinks. I just had a soda and a hot chocolate, some people got wine, 2 people got cocktails. The kids who are all under 21 stayed here and drank way too much.

So this morning I had to get up at 7:30 and meet my group in the city for our Excursion. We all showed up looking like Zombies and our tour guides (who are our age) were laughing at us. So we went to Hellbrunn, a castle with these crazy trick fountains everywhere. It was interesting. Then we went to see that palace and this big stone theater, and a museum. We basically went hiking through the mountains in pouring rain.

When we left to come home the rain finally stopped and there were actually traces of sun. We went to the bus stop and waited for 30 mins till finally a bus came (they are supposed to come every 10 minutes. By the time we got to our stop, not only was it pouring again, but there was some serious thunder and lightning. So in the 5 minutes it took to walk from the bus stop to our dorm, we were all completely drenched, even with umbrellas).

When we got back we all went to bed (around 3:30 pm). I slept till around 6 and that brings up up to now.

Tonight we are celebrating Liz's birthday by bar-hopping but I'm not sure I am going. I told her I would at least for a little while but they don't intend to go out until after 11. I need to sleep and I have to get up at 9:30 tomorrow for another excursion. She'll probably be mad at me for not going, but I am tired and sick and I need to sleep. She'll get over it.

Tomorrow we are going on an excursion with out Bowling Green director, Dr Howes. We are taking a bus to the Eagles Nest, just over the German border. We are stopping in a little town, Berecthtesgaden, to have lunch. It sounds like a good trip.

Well that is all for now. I am going to make dinner now.

More pictures should be up soon.

Sarah

Hump Day

So today is not only hump day as in Wednesday but also the half-way point for my program in Austria. I have been here for 10 days and I have 10 days to go. I feel like I should start packing, but I won't.

So lets see, what has happened since Monday? Well I had class. I absolutely love my listening and speaking class but the reading and writing class is awful. 1) It is at 9 AM, 2) it is really boring, and 3) the teacher is mean/rude.

So lets see, yesterday was interesting. I barely survived my first class. In my second class I gave a short presentation on US history. My teacher was impressed by the vocabulary I used but said I make things more complicated than they need to be. After that we played a game where the teacher would go through the alphabet in his head and an assigned person would say stop at some point. Whatever letter he was on was the letter we used. So he selected a country that started with that letter and for that country we had to write a city, river or mountain, important person, important date in history, and a specialty (food or drink) from that country. The winner got a real Mozart kugel (famous handmade Salzburg chocolate ball). It wasn't much motivation for me since I can't it them but it was fun anyway. The winner was the person with the most points...so basically the person who got an answer for all of those things first said stop and read their answers...they got 5 points for every answer they had that was correct. Then the rest of the class got 5 points for any answer they had that was correct and not the same as any of the original person's answers.

So today we played a variation of that. We only played with Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We didn't play for speed and we got 10 points for every answer we got that no one else had and 5 points for every answer someone else also had. I did really well. Out of a possible 180 points (which would be if you got every answer and you were the only one with every answer) I got 130 which was the second highest score, only beat by 135. So I did surprisingly well. But I was the only one that could name an actual Austrian composer. Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756 and died in 1791...Salzburg wasn't part of Austria until 1818 so technically he is not Austrian.

Then we went on to talk about Mozart, which also made me feel smart. I know all about his family and his life cause I just did a presentation on him last fall...worked out. Also, our professor asked about his operas and which ones he wrote...someone else said the magic flute "die Zauberfloete" and I said le nozze di figaro, which I was apparently supposed to translate to German (die Hochzeit des Figaro) but I didn't and the Italian people were excited that I said it in Italian. They are funny. They are older too but not obnoxious like Radomir, the middle-aged guy in my class who thinks he knows everything.

Ok. So after class we had an excursion. It was supposed to be to an art museum and the music school, Mozarteum, in Salzburg but I bailed 2 hours early. Our tour guide likes to talk to much and rather than going to see what we were supposed to see we stood outside in the 90 degree weather and sun for 30 mins. When she was done rambling for like 5 minutes she told one of the young Irish girls that she had to repeat everything she had said. I was like umm...I couldn't even do that I am am in a much more advanced level. These excursions are supposed to be fun and instead we all hate them. Then we went in the cathedral where she tried to the basin that Mozart was baptised is modern art. Mozart was baptized in 1756...I'm pretty sure that is not modern. So then I left and came back to my dorm.

I just hung out here the rest of the night, watched some shows, talked to my friends, took a nap, and ate dinner.

Today I had class and then I went to an art museum with Jenn and Sarah. It was nice. They decided to stay in the city and read for a little while but I was too hot so I decided to come home. I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some more pasta and sauce, and some oil and pudding. Now I am going to do some organizing and maybe study for a while.

We leave our windows open during the day cause otherwise it is horribly hot when we get home and today there is a strong breeze coming through the window so it blew stuff off our desks and all over our room.

So tomorrow is more class, including a test which is much better than sitting through an entire class with that man. then we have an excursion which will hopefully be better than the one yesterday. Tomorrow we are going to Mozart's birth-house and the house where he lived when he was older. We should be able to wander off and look around by ourselves so it won't be so bad.

Well that is all for now. I'll probably write again Friday or Saturday.

Sarah

Beginning of the 2nd week

There are times when I feel like the time is flying here and there are times when I feel like it is dragging. Today I feel like it is dragging. I've only been here for a week and a half. And I still have 3 weeks before the family comes. Somehow 3 weeks doesn't seem like much but the last week and half seems like it has been forever.

So Sunday I got up at went to church with Sarah. It was a nice church service and it was in English. Unfortunately our Iranian "friend" who is Muslim came with us (he has a thing for Sarah). He was obnoxious the entire way to church. He tried to tell us that the church we were going to was a satanic church and that they worship the devil there. Once at the church, he talked through the entire service, it was so rude.

When we got home I had a quick lunch and then I went to meet the Irish kids at the bus stop. We invited them over to play games with us. We played spoons and Mafia which was so much fun. Then they had to go home.

For dinner a bunch of us went to the Augustiner Brau. It is a big beer garden with several food options. I just had fries. I was frustrated with the group though because they all said they didn't know where it was so I spent 10 mins looking it up and then they all refused to go the way I planned. And then when we got there we found a table big enough for all of us and 4 of them decided they wanted to sit outside, so rather than finding a big table we could all fit at, they found a very small 4 person table and didn't even bother to tell us until we had to go looking for them.

After that we came home. Sarah, Jenn, and I went my way home so we got to walk through a lovely part of the city and we only had to take one bus which was good for Jenn since she doesn't have a bus pass. On the way she had to spend 4 Euros instead of 2 for the bus cause people went a dumb way. Then I went to bed.

Today was school as usual, incredibly boring. I barely stayed concious. Then I sat in the old city for a few hour. It was such a beautiful day so we just decided to spend the day outside people watching and what not. Then around 4:30 we walked up to Stift Nonnenburg (the convent in the sound of music) to hear the nuns sing. They sing everyday between 5 and 5:30.

Then we came home and had dinner. Now I am bored. My upstairs friends already went to bed (they're crazy) and my roommate is gone for the night. So now I have to entertain myself.

So I think I started this post like 2 hours ago, I am slow.

So tomorrow is another day of school. I have to present the 10 most important dates in US history to my class. Then we have an excursion to the Salzburg museum and the Salzburg University Music School, Mozarteum. Then I don't know what I will be doing the rest of the day, hopefully something more exciting than what I'm doing now.

So that's all for now. There are new pictures up picasaweb.blogspot.com

Leave me comments, I haven't gotten any in a while.

Sarah