Vienna Waits For You

Ruhig Weiter Traumen.

2011-12-01T12:03:00.001-08:00

It means "keep dreaming big", and this was kind of the theme of our whole study abroad trip, created by the one and only Brother Minert.

Bittersweet.

I wasn't excited to leave...

BUT am excited to be home. :)

Oma and Opa at the Thanksgiving Dinner

He kills me.

Brother and Sister Minert are so funny. We were interviewing them about when they dated. Best ever!

Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" is in Vienna and this piece is printed on everything!

Kasekrainer. YUM

At one of the many Christmas markets!

Sebastian Beer, our German teacher!

On Sunday night we had a last meeting where we were all able to say what we learned on the trip, what dreams of ours came true, and whatever else we wanted. It was an emotional night alright! We have all become so close and there is not one person I don't want to hang out with at BYU! Brother Minert's remarks were really touching. He referred to the movie Casablanca and the line "We will always have Paris". Except he changed it up and explained that although we will all be going our separate ways and going down different paths in life, we can stay close because we will always have Vienna.

We will always have Vienna...

I Hate That There's No Vowels In The Name "Ischgl"

2011-11-28T05:50:00.001-08:00

This last weekend I snowboarded in Ischgl, Austria. AKA The Alps. One more thing to check off my bucket list! :)

We went by train on Friday morning to St. Anton (near Innsbruck, Austria). We were sitting by a random guy, and I noticed he had a cast on his arm, so I askedwhat happened, and he told me it was from snowboarding. We all talked a bitmore and found out he was from Switzerland heading to all these crazy places.Then the arm came up again, and I asked if he snowboards a lot. His words were:“Well…yeah I mean...I snowboard for a living.” WHAT?! Ok. First we meet the Napal SoccerTeam on a train then a professional snowboarder? Awesome. Meet Martin Seiler yall.

We got there in the late afternoon. It was a hike up to our hotel which meant the view of the Alps was amazing! Very picturesque. :)

My friend Robert from Vienna lent me his board, boots, and snow clothes. What a gem! Cool snowboard right? The front said "McDrivin". Baha! I'm lovin' it. :)

Amanda, Kendal, Elysse, Lyndsi, Ashley, Becca and I! Party!

Just going around town.

The Ski Resort (Ischgl) was half in Austria and half in SWITZERLAND! Make that 9 countries I've been to in the past 3 months. :)

Tired snowboard bum=

Although pretty icey and mostly artificial snow (bad snow year here), we had a blast! Nothing beat my first run of the season-happy to be on a board again and what better place than on the Alps?! :D

We got to the train station to find out that our train was an hour late. Then to find out that it was in fact, cancelled. Um...what?

Sooner or later we got home at 4 AM and woke up for church the next day. What an adwenture as the Austrians would say!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! :)

2011-11-24T00:36:00.001-08:00

This is my first Thanksgiving away from home and it didn't really hit me until this morning when I woke up without my family to watch the Thanksgiving Parade with, no smell of a turkey already starting to cook, and not one ad for Black Friday sitting on the counter. Well shoot! I will miss this all including watching football, taking a long snooze after eating, and being with my favorite people in the world.

I'm thankful for this opportunity to be in Vienna and travel Europe. I have learned much.

I'm thankful for Christ, for the knowledge I have that he is always there no matter what.

I'm thankful for my family, because without them I would be a sad little girl I know they will always love me no matter what.

I'm thankful for two feet and a healthy body that both allow me to do what I could never imagine not doing-dance.

I'm thankful for the people I have met here in Austria. They are all amazing, and I know my relationships with them will last.

I'm thankful that I have a roof to live under, clothes to wear, and food to eat while so many unfortunately do not.

I'm thankful for education. Knowledge is the one thing no one can ever take away from you.

I'm thankful for my best friends Louisa Matthews and Brittany Carson,

for letting me be the crazy person I am and still loving me like a sister.

I'm thankful for all my other friends who have made a difference in my life and helped me along.

This is maybe the first time that my excitement of getting home to Oregon has outweighed my distress of leaving Vienna. One month at home during the holidays to spend time with family and friends-it will be great!

Tonight the Austro-American Institute is having a Thanksgiving dinner for us at a restaurant somewhere in town. We are all wearing our dirndls so that should be fun! :)

We dressed up like an Indian and Pilgrim and handed out hand turkeys to everyone! Haha :)

Parlez-vous Anglais?

2011-11-21T13:30:00.001-08:00

PARIS, FRANCE:

BEAUTIFUL, FUN, ROMANTIC, EXPENSIVE, AMAZING, AND ONE MORE THING TO CHECK OFF MY BUCKET LIST.

I'M USING CAPS BECAUSE PARIS...WAS GREAT. :)

Despite the fact that:

Ashley got food poisoning on the very first night and threw up near or in 3 world wide famous landmarks, and we got hussled by some stupid guy on the subway. Don't even want to talk about it. :/ You live and you learn right??

Uh...yeah.

This first day, Ash was brave and sucked it up enough to go to the Sacre Coeur, Moulon Rouge, and Musee d'Orsay where she finally had enough and had to get back to the hotel. And THANK GOODNESS we had a hotel...or this trip might have been hell (pardon my french...haha get it?!) for Ashley. Plus...they had really great breakfast which included chocolate croissants. That Museum was absolutely phenomenal...dozens of Monet, Degas, Manet, Van Gogh, and many other famous artist's pieces.

Sacre Coeur

Moulin Rouge!

HAHA. Ok I'm sorry, but this picture cracks me up. Ashley is so sad. I just love her.

And thus began my obsession with impressionism art.

So we're in the hotel at 4 PM on Friday, Ashley is pretty much bed ridden. We only have Saturday left, and I know how stupid it is to go around Paris alone...at night.

MOM: SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH.

....BUT REALLY

So I did the one thing everyone told me not to do...but Paris was calling my name! I caught the bus right outside our hotel which took me straight to the Eiffel Tower and the famous Champs-Elysee shopping street. Christmas booths were set up, so I just had some me time. :) And quite honestly, it was great! A little pathetic as I was taking selfy pictures to record the beauty of the night...but I realize that I notice people so much more when I'm by myself. Haha, I just had a great time! :)

The next day Ashley thankfully felt better. It was a bright, sunny, beautiful day with blue skies and we went up the Eiffel Tower in the morning. Absolutely took my breath away. Gone. Afterwards, we went to a nearby bakery and I bought a baguette and some gouda cheese with cumin in it. I was the happiest girl ever eating that in front of the Eiffel tower while wearing a barrett. :D Baha! We went to The Louvre where we spent hours but could have spent two days. It was HUGE and spectacular. We definitely got lost in that place. After The Louvre we went up the street to Champs-Elysee, The Arc de Triomph (SO COOL), and the Eiffel Tower so Ash could also see it at night. We ate yummy crepes, french onion soup, and the best chocolate croissant I have ever tasted. Just say it, Europe has transformed Ali Steck into a fatty. Its ok, I know it. Hahah.

This is all I wanted. I felt so cool.

DAD: Although all the crepes (notice how I say ALL) were delicious, I have to admit that your crepes are STILL my favorite!!!

In front of The Louvre. It's dark so you can't see it very well!

In the elevator up to the top of Eiffel Tower!

On the Eiffel Tower. Still blows my mind that I was there!

The next morning we caught our flight and I was sad to leave. It was a short trip, but I saw what I wanted to! I definitely want to go back there someday! Back home, to Vienna.

METHOD WE USED TO VEER OFF CREEPY MEN: It totally worked ok? I have no shame, no shame whatsoever.

Oh and...I really have never seen more couples making out in public in my life. WHAT justifies this?! Have mercy. It made me laugh.

No Shave Nowember: I'm in Europe...Why Not?

2011-11-15T15:09:00.000-08:00

I realized today that as far as blogging is concerned, I’m almost getting too caught up in recording my travels to other countries on the weekends that I am failing to talk about how spectacular Vienna itself is! And I feel like my blog is boring with nothing but pictures.

Johann Strauss in Stadtpark

First of all, I love this place. There is SO much to do…and so little time. I made a Vienna to-do list with only 3 weeks left here..man I need to get crackin!!! Some things on my list are: Ice Skate in front of the Rathaus (City Hall), go to a mass at one of the beautiful churches here, eat chestnuts roasting on an open fire, go to all the Christmas Markets (there’s a TON), learn to make the best schnitzel ever, and go to about 10 more museums. And trust me that’s probably a third of my list.

The Christmas Markets are starting to open. Let me just say…that I was probably the happiest girl EVER when I went to the first one last night. It was UN. REAL. Lights everywhere, yummy hot “Punsch”, and I hear the other Christmas Markets just make it better and better…

I LOVE everyone I have met here in Austria. This includes: one, everyone on the study abroad trip. It’s a blessing that I came here before going to BYU because I have made friends that I know will be some of my best friends during the rest of my college career. And two, everyone at Institute! Sometimes we’ll be hanging out with them or they’ll be showing us another cool thing about Vienna and I just think… “Am I really hanging out with these attractive European men right now?” Heck yeah I am. And the girls, they are all so sweet. LOVE THEM ALL! I often think about how sad it will be leaving all of them...I will definitely have to be better at keeping in touch than I am right now!

One of our classes is called Experiencing Vienna. This has been fun because for class we just go out and find an adventure in the city. Then, we write about it. And bam! That’s it. It’s just great. We’ve gone on bike rides, gone on paddle boats, climbed the church towers to see beautiful views, and much more! J

With 3 weeks left I realize how much I have learned (and am still learning) here. I think I have finally grasped the concept that I can learn…just for the sake of learning. Not because I have to, but because I want to! Learning is great. J I have a long list of things I want to learn when I get home. Oh boy.

Learning German is…

A kick.

A doosey.

Frusterating.

Gratifying.

& FUN!

I really love learning it. I was doing pretty well at understanding and communicating until we went over the rest of the cases this week in class. Have mercy.

It will get easier…someday Ali, someday! Fluency will be achieved…you watch!

At Zentralfriedhof Cemetery. Beethoven!

Roommate LOVE baby!

Reading Mormonism in Germany on the subway...could I look any more conspicuous?

Ride A Gondola: CHECK! Get Kissed By An Italian Man: CHECK! When in Venedig.

2011-11-14T16:11:00.000-08:00

Thursday night seven of us left on a night train to VENICE, ITALY! :)

We literally were in a dream the whole weekend.

When I think Italy, I think of this.

I rode a GONDOLA! With 6 of us girls it wasn't too expensive. So worth it! Seeing the city from the canals was awesome. And in contrast from the Jolly old Italian Waiter who cornered me and kissed me, our Gondola driver was a catch.

On the Island of Murano. That is...Murano glass. The glass blowing demonstrations were amazing, and the shops here and beautiful dishes and glass trinkets of all kinds.

These next few pictures are onthe island of Burano. I don't think I even need to explain why I loved this place.

This is a view from the Campanile di San Marco. Gorgeous view of Venice. This is St. Marks Square where the St. Marks Church, the bell tower, and Doge's Palace are. Very famous place! The Cathedral was stunning inside and out.

The famous Rialto Bridge!

It was a very fun weekend filled with delicious Italian food and a lot of pretty places! Not to mention great company. We came home on a night train and we all slept like rocks. I woke up to a pretty view of the sun rising in the winter foggy morning. :)

Firenze!

2011-11-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

So...Cinque Terre, Italy was our original weekend plans. It's a series of 5 beautiful cities on the coast and we were so excited! However the day before we were leaving, we found out that the city was flooded due to hurricanes. Sad! However, we were going to switch trains in Florence anyway, so we decided to keep the tickets and just stay in Florence. SWEET! I have a friend from high school that is studying abroad there now, so she gave us the inside scoop and told us the best places to go. Perfect!

Ponte Vecchio Bridge! Beautiful.

We left on a night train on Thursday night at 7. There were crazy Italian men in our train car who were...very forward and Italian. Haha. We arrived at 6 AM, slept in the train station for a bit then...got ready in a McDonalds. You read that correctly.

We then found our hostel, then went to The Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo's DAVID! Let me just say...it really is an amazing sight! That museum was way cool and so worth the money and time! Oh and...I have never seen more Vespas in my life. It was great!

After the museum we found a place to eat lunch. I ATE REALLY ITALIAN FOOD! Dream come true...Dream. Come. True. And i'm not kidding when I say I have never had better gelato in my life! After lunch it was off to the leather market. Florence is known for their leather...and now I understand why! That market was amazing and there was a lot of beautiful things!

That night we all slept like babies. On Saturday morning we woke up and went to Uffizi Art Museum. Also a really cool museum and this is where The Birth of Venus by Botticelli is!

Next stop....SURPRISE!

Yep, an hour train ride to PISA!! The leaning tower was leaning a lot more than I thought...dang! SO COOL! The cathedral next to it is also really cool. There isn't a ton to do in Pisa, so we stayed long enough to see the tower and get the best panini I have ever tasted. Back to Florence!

When we got back we went to the square where the second David stands and to Michelangelo's hill where the third statue of David stands. We went when it was dark and the view of Florence was impeccable! Our night train left at 10 that night. I woke up on Sunday early morning to a beautiful view of the Alps with the trees in full fall colors. Took my breath away!

Loved this.

Look at that stud! Must love Stephen.

Michelangelo's Hill

YES

Slovakia For the Day, No Big Deal.

2011-11-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

Bratislava, Slovakia is only a couple hours away from Vienna by train, so a bunch of us went on a day trip. :)

When we got to Bratislava, it was fun just exploring. We didn't even have a map so we jumped on a train and hoped it would get us to the city center and it did! :) We went up to the castle where the view was gorgeous as well. It was a bit foggy but that made it pretty! We also went to a place called Devin's Castle where a castle was literally carved out of the rocks on a mountain in 500 BC. There were pretty leaves up there so we played in em. :)

Our 10 Day Trip- FINALLY!

2011-11-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I know I'm super behind on everything...I'll start with our 10 day trip (October 14-24)!

First stop: Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic!

This small town was very beautiful. Like a lot of other cities we've been to, it of course had a castle and other than that we walked around and went exploring. We even found a bowling alley and we all went bowling. :)

Our awkward family photo.

Our next stop was Prague, Czech Republic.

It was a Saturday so it was extremely crowded but nonetheless it was also a beautiful city. We went on a "haunted tour" of the city because supposedly it's the most haunted city in the world. We were getting in the mood for Halloween! We saw the famous Charles Bridge, the Lennon Wall, the Prague Castle, the Jewish Quarter, the main square, and all the little shops in between! Fun :)

Czech me out! Bahahah...

We then headed to Dresden, GERMANY!

I love Germany. Dresden was a cool place to visit because it was a an innocent city that got completely destroyed during WWII and was built back up from nothing. The Frauenkirche (church) is famous for it's it's revival just recently.

There was a sweet graffiti alley!

Naomi and I found this building that plays "music" when it rains!

It was an English & American store. Peanut Butter was $8!

We stayed in the temple hostel which was a cool experience. The next morning we went to the temple and although it's a little guy it is a beautiful temple and I it was a really great experience being able to go to a Temple in Germany!

With the Lovely Minerts! :)

SUCH a great experience!!!

TO BERLIN!

Berlin was amazing. It's a huge city but it was awesome! First thing we went to was the remains of the Berlin Wall and The Checkpoint Charlie Museum. Oh my heck...it was incredible!! It all fascinates me. We also went to an air raid bunker, Museuminsel (museum island) that had multiple museums, & The Jewish Museum.

Currywurst is SO great!!

At Checkpoint Charlie. LOVE this sign. So cool!

The Fernsehturm!

The place where Helmuth Hubener, an LDS boy who wrote Anti-Hitler literature was given the guillotine during WWII. Very touching stuff!

On top of the Victory Tower!

Brandenburg Gate- Where President Ronald Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Part of the wall. My favorite picture ever! A soldier jumping over from East Germany.

The famous Berlin Bears!

And finally we are headed back to Vienna. On the wat, we make pit stops in random towns to stay the night. We ever crossed the border into POLAND and SLOVAKIA! :) So that makes...5 countries in 10 days. Sweet, ill take it. ;)

One foot in Austria, one in Slovakia!

Poland!

We stopped in a tiny town that was shocked to see so many people come through for the night. We all split up and went to different bread and breakfasts. It was the best. We also stopped in Grölitz, Germany where President Monson made a promise to the Germans in 1969 while visiting. We went through the building they met for church in, and the podium he spoke at! he promised the members that they would soon enjoy the blessings that people all over the world were enjoying at the time. It was a huge deal because at the time, that was nearly impossible. However a church was build shortly after, then came the Freiburg temple! :)

Grolitz! The church where President Monson went.

On our trip, we took a detour to where we figured out our bus driver's family was from (we got WILLY again! The one from our trip to Salzburg i previously talked about). We were all nervous because he could have taken it really bad are really well. He took it really well and was really grateful. Him and his wife even invited us to dinner at his home town on our way home! That was a really cool experience.

I probably have a million typos and probably left out a ton. Overall the trip was just SO great. We did so much and it completely wiped all of us out. Loved it. :)

Willy!

Tonight 7 of us are hopping on a train to Florence, Italy!!!!! We were originally supposed to go to Cinque Terre, Italy but a hurricane hit and the town is destroyed. So...here we come Florence!

Happy Hallo WIEN!!

2011-11-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

Get it?! Baha. That's what people will say here to be funny.

People in Vienna (and all of Europe for that matter) don't really celebrate Halloween. And if they do, very few people dress up and just go out partying. If they dress up, it's always something terrifying and never something goofy or creative like people will do in America...

And this explains why we got the strangest looks in the world.

TOURISTS!! Technically we are residents here...so it works right?! :)

On Halloween night we went to the institute and carved pumpkins and had pumpkin soup, then went over to Kiersten and Lindsay's host family's house for a Halloween party!

Blogging has unfortunately been neglected on my to-do list for the past couple of weeks...pictures from Germany and Czech Republic coming soon!!! :)

Hallstatt: A MUST SEE.

2011-10-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hallstatt, Austria is close to Salzburg-about 3 hours train ride from Vienna. We left yesterday morning and got back Saturday night. Oh-and make this train #2 that I have had to chase...Ashley and I made it on the train to Hallstatt with literally 10 seconds to spare. Lets just say we are both not so good with keeping track of time!

Every city we have traveled to so far is unique in their own ways, so I have loved every single one. But Hallstatt...Hallstatt is out of this WORLD! Its a tiny city build next to and around a lake that young people here in Vienna have never even heard of. It's 700 years old and is famous for it's salt mine.

Here it is: A lake up in the very green mountains with the most picturesque homes I have ever seen surrounding it, clouds so low that you can barely see the top of the mountains, and pouring down rain. Now...some didn't enjoy this weather for obvious reasons. However I LOVED IT! It's the Oregonian in me. Walking around with my bright yellow umbrella in the cold made me so happy. Even the people who didn't enjoy the rain will admit that it was a beautiful town.

We got there in the afternoon and from the train hopped on a boat that took us the the main part of town. I loved the rain hitting lake and the fog and EVERYTHING! :) We got into town, split up into groups of 5 or 6 and were on our own to find our houses we were staying in and figure out what to do for the rest of the day. A lot of people who live in Hallstatt rent out their upper floors as bed and breakfasts since people travel there quite a bit (asians LOVE it there for some reason). The house we stayed in was just adorable. The older couple who lived there were gems and made us a yummy breakfast. Spoke zero English so it was fun. :)

There's a very limited amount of activities in Hallstatt. We went to the Catholic church Cemetery and Charnel House. Because of limited space, they started digging up the bones in the 1700's, cleaned and put them in a Charnel House. It was a small room with stacks of painted skulls with names on them as well as bones. It was actually pretty cool!

We went up to the famous Salt mine in Hallstatt (Salzwelten). We rode a trolly up a very steep railroad track (when I looked at it I thought it was a giant roller coaster and got really excited...). We had to put suits on to not get our clothes dirty and because inside there are wooden slides. ;) I don't know why they gave me the shortest suit available...I looked like I was preparing for a flood. Greaattt!

Going through the mine was SO worth the money we paid! Plus, when will I ever have the opportunity to do that again? It was cool learning about how all the mining works (ancient and modern day).

This weekend I lived off of hot chocolate because it was freezing. Get this! They drink 3.5% milk in Europe so you can probably guess the deliciousness of the cocoa. :) Other than the church and salt mine we all just walked through town to enjoy the view and cute houses and shopped around the little shops. Two days was the perfect amount of time to spend there and the Minerts are so awesome for taking us!

I'm Running Out of Words to Describe Beauty.

2011-10-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

This week was yet another one filled with adventures and fun. We were blessed with beautiful weather every day!

On Monday our whole group went paddle boating on the Alte Donou (Old Donube River) here in Vienna. It turned out to be such a nice day and it was a blast!! J

Tuesday we went to the Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts for Art History. Our professor was a student there back in the day! There is some pretty amazing stuff in there. During our break Ashley, Naomi and I went to the Catacombs underneath St. Stephens Gothic Cathedral. It was really interesting! A bit freaky but cool to learn about the history. That night Ashley and I had dinner with our host family. It was fun like always, but remind me to never eat liver dumpling soup EVER again.

Wednesday Ashley and I got tickets to go watch the Spanisch Hofreitschule (Spanish Riding School) practice in the morning. It was SO cool! It’s amazing how well trained the horses are and the style of riding is beautiful. That afternoon we had Mormonism in Germany at the Minert’s apartment. That class always makes me happy! A few of us went to the Shonnbrunn Gardens that afternoon. The castle is gorgeous and the gardens are even better! Great place to run-you can run to the top where the restaurant is and have a view of the castle with the city around it. Yet another beautiful view here in Vienna! While waiting for institute to start, we went to the Opera House and watched the opera outside on the big screen. They do this every night for the opening month of opera season (September).

Thursday our History class went to the Military Museum. I must be growing up because I don’t think I could have handled this many historical museums a couple years ago-haha! I also don’t think I would have appreciated the architecture as much as I do now. There’s a right time for everything!

Friday was go go go. Our group rented bikes to ride along the Donou river. It was wonderful! We rode through orchards in Krem (lower Austria) and it was a bright sunny day. J It was quite the adventure getting home. Some of us needed to get back to Vienna to make the Balanchine and Robbins Ballet. That is…George Balanchine and Jerome Robins. AKA amazing. We all split up and had no idea where to put our bikes at the end. We ended up rushing and still got to the ballet a little late but seeing Balanchine and Robins blew my mind. BLEW my mind. So good! It made me miss dancing that much more. I need to get on finding a good place to dance here! I’ve looked, but so far they are either schools or studios for just beginners that I could dance at for a limited amount of time. After the ballet some of us went SALSA DANCING! Haha, it was great! Having Austrian friends who know the city well and the fun things to do is definitely beneficial.

Inside the Opera House at the Ballet!

Saturday- We woke up and went to the Minert’s to watch Dresden, a war movie. We are going there in a couple weeks and he wanted us to be informed on what happened there during the war. REALLY good movie! We went to a market then went to a church building to watch the Saturday morning general conference session. It was weird watching conference at night rather than in the morning! All the talks were so great and inspiring. I’m so glad we are able to hear the words of the prophets twice a year and get that enlightenment! It made me happy when Germany was mentioned TWICE! Woop!

Ashley and I decided to make a to-do list of things here just in Vienna. So we hit out DK Vienna book and scouted out everything to do here! This is the Hundertwasserhaus. The artist wanted to strike a blow against all the modern architecture so he came up with this very colorful and slanted looking apartment building. Way cool!

I love waking up and remembering that I’m in Vienna. There is still so much to do! J

Something About A Man In Lederhosen...

2011-10-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Salzburg, Haag, and Munich for 5 days total. We took a bus, and did SO much. Such a fun time!!! Here are some pictures a brief descriptions!

Our very first stop was Mathausen Concentration Camp. I really like learning about World War II and find it really interesting, so I was pretty excited. However I was still kind of shocked at the feeling I got while touring the camp. It was nothing but cold and dark and you just can't help but feel so many things for the prisoners that suffered there. Nonetheless it was good as it made me more fully understand the Holocaust the horrible things that took place at that time. I'm sure grateful that I live in the world that I do live in today!

The Minert's-aren't they adorable?! We love em. On a more unfortunate note, this is the stair case that prisons at the camp were forced to carry 50 pound slabs of granite down. This was a humbling and sobering experience that I won't forget.

Salzburg is a prett cool place. First of all it is absolutely breathtaking. Second of all, The Sound of Music was filmed there. SO naturally we went to most of the sites. YES! I'll be honest, I've only seen the movie twice but I do like it!

Mondsee Kirche. This is the church that Maria and Captain Von Trapp got married in during the movie!

Look familiar?! Clue: "You are 16 going on 17..."

"I have confidence in confidence alone!"

"Doe: a deer, a female deer!" -Mirabell Castle and gardens

The Hellbrunn Castle. Okay now THIS is my castle because it's yellow. Nevermind the one in Budapest. This castle is yellow everywhere and I love it! It was a summer home for the Prince. No big deal. Haha! This castle is also known as the "water castle" because the gardens behind it have little trinkets that are water powered and holes where water comes out randomly. So you get wet when you least expect it. Very creative and fun!!!

This was in Salzburg. Just so happened it was St. Ruprecht's day and they had a huge festival!

The largest Science and Technology Museum in the world! It was awesome! Being in there reminded me of my dad. It's funny how I used to get bored at airplane museums and such but I like going now-he's rubbing off on me!

The Rathaus (city hall) in Munich, Germany! At noon the Glockenspiel goes off and plays a fun show. This afternoon we had free time to shop for Dirndls (they have pretty cheap ones there) and i found a steal of a deal!

My yellow Dirndl :) :) :)

Munich. :) From the top of a church.

Going to Oktoberfest sure was an adventure!

The Herrenchiemsee Palace! King Ludwig I had it made for recognition to King Louis XIV. Inside there were rooms absolutely COVERED in gold making the most expensive rooms in all of Germany.

All of us at the Eagle's Nest. We're goofs and I love it. This tea house was given to Hitler for his 50th birthday. You ride up in specialized buses that can go very steep, go into the mountain in a tunnel, then ride up his private elevator. This place is insane. It's on the Appalachian Mountains and the view was exhilarating. I don't know how else to describe it, I could have sat up there for hours. I would highly recommend putting it on your bucket list!

We stayed in the cutest hotel the last night of our trip and went to this church building on Sunday morning. It was my first German speaking ward without translation. Very..interesting. Haha! I could pick out few words yet I felt the spirit so strongly there. The people were kind and loving and were so excited/surprised to see 23 new faces walk in those doors!

In Haag.

On this trip we were able to see some church history sites. In class we have been learning about the first Austrian member-Johann Huber. We went to the farm he lived at, visited his gravestone, and went to other places that have to do with the church history in Austria. I never thought I would be so interested in the subject but I love it!

Typical.

Having The Time Of My Life

2011-09-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Oma is the best cook ever (besides my own mother of course). :) Today she made Ashley and I vegetable soup which was PERFECT (I swear she read my mind) because I have been feeling sick these past couple of days. She also made us minced meat (sounds scary but it is AMAZING), cooked spinach and pureed potatoes.

Ashley is the best roommate ever! We sure do have fun. :)

It is finally getting cold here. Today, it was suddenly VERY cold. And rainy. Time to invest in some boots!

I now completely understand why Europeans rarely shower...or shave for that matter! Shower curtain? Naw. Shower head? Nawww. Just a hose baby! Bring it on.

The Sound of Music Soundtrack has been stuck in my head all day (see awesome video on my facebook). Salzburg and Munich hereeee we comeee!!!! I'll be back Sunday to tell all about it!

Hungry in HUNGARY!

2011-09-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend 12 of us went back packing in Budapest!

My absolute FAVORITE building!

Haha. This is cutie pie Maddie and I as we are Hungry in Hungary!!! Baha!

This. Trip. Was. AMAZING!

I can’t even describe how beautiful this city is. After Vienna I thought it couldn’t get any better! But I’m not kidding, it is so great. We all took the train early Friday morning, arrived in Hungary, ate yummy lunch, and explored the city. We took a pleasant yet unexpected hot and humid hike to the top of Gellert Hill that overlooks the city. There is a statue at the top representing the conversion to Christianity. The view? HOLY SMOKES! It overlooks the Danube river which splits up Buda and Pest (the two cities came together obviously) and for miles and miles beyond.

A few of us girls at the top of Gellert!

Later we went up the river over the Buda side where the incredible Buda Palace was, the Matthias Church, and many gorgeous buildings and monuments. My feet were pretty close to falling off, we were all delirious and laughing at the most ridiculous things. It’s unreal I’ve only known these people for a week.

Around 7 we finally found our Hostel. It was called “Home to Home Hostel” and the name actually fit very well! It was the first hostel I had ever stayed in, and believe it or not I had the most amazing experience. In fact, all of us did! Let me just tell youuu… J

We check in, and the guy at the front desk is telling us what we can do at night to have fun. He lays out 12 coupons on the counter, looks at us and says, “free beers!” with a grin on his face. That smile slowly went away when he saw that none of us were jumping for joy and when we told him that none of us drink beer. So later that night I hear Lyndsi talking to him about school and about Budapest, so I decide to go join. When I walk in he out of the blue just asks us what religion we are. We tell him and he continues asking questions. Before we know it, seven of us are in at the desk talking to him for an hour and a half. It was a really great experience hearing his story and things that he has and is struggling with. You can tell he is a really good person and I’m thankful we got the opportunity to tell him what makes us happy and what gets us through life! Oh and he totally asked us if we use facebook. Neue Freund!

At night a few of us went out to a main strip with a lot of restaurants for dinner. I was surprised at how alive Budapest was at night! Love eating outside. The “sexy saxophone man” was playing MJ so Lyndsi, Elysse, Naomi and I danced. Yeah, we danced and brought in a crowd with video camera and pictures. No big deal.

We woke up and went to the “Baths” which is natural effervescent spring water. SO fun. First of all I love water anytime, anywhere. Second of all it was in Hungary (still can’t really believe I’m in Europe…) and the baths were surrounded in Ottoman architecture and the set up was very unique! Afterwards we went to the Budapest market, went to the Parliament building. Seriously…majestic.

These boys are hilarious. Haha!

This man was so random and funny!

St. Stephens Kirche (church). Literally the most beautiful church I have ever been inside and seen so far. There was a wedding going on while we were in there and we got to see some of it. Cool!

Matthias Church. Beautiful...

Up on the Budapest Castle!

This is my Castle.

Shoes along the Danube River representing the Jews who were forced to jump off into the river after taking off their shoes and giving up their belongings.

On our way back to the train station, the Hungarian workers stopped us and told 4 of us we owed them 6000 Flornz (weird using different currencies everywhere) because we didn’t stamp our tickets right. HUGE language barrier, and we needed to catch our train. it was stressful and overwhelming, but you live and you learn and it made for a good laugh at the end! Other than these men, the Hungarians were EXREMELY nice people. We eventually got on the train and are back safe and sound!

This weekend was unreal and so worth my time. Being in Hungary has actually made me realize how much german I really do understand and how well I've gotten to know my way around Vienna. SO glad to be back in Vienna! J

Week Number One!

2011-09-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

Okay so I may have been slacking a little bit on this whole blog thing. So I’ll start with the past week then do another post about Budapest this past weekend!

Last Monday we started school. I love it because rather than just sitting in a classroom to learn about history we get to go out where the history actually took place! It means a lot more to me and makes it more fun to learn about. Both our history and art history teachers took us out through the town for a tour. I love hearing about the Holy Roman Empire and everything that took place back then! And German is really fun too-crazy how much faster you catch on when everyone speaks it around you!

Outside of the Intitute!

On Tuesday night, I went to a studio here in Wien and took a dance class in german. It was veryyy interesting! Haha! Very fun experience that was. On Wednesday, Herr Professor Minert took us to Prater Park-Vienna’s famous amusement park. We went on the ferris wheel which was, at the time, the largest one in the world. It was built in 1897. It took it’s tool with bombings and fires during war, but was renovated in 1947. It is HUGE! While eating pumpkin soup and goulash (DELICIOUS) with Oma and Opa we found out that Opa actually managed the wheel for a while because he is a mechanical engineer! J

However my favorite part was going on the 311 foot high swings. It was INSANE!! I love things like this but even I got way freaked out. Loved it!! Other than that my life consists of classes, dinner with the Institute or Oma and Opa, roaming and exploring Vienna and just finding other fun things to do.

:) :) :)

Everywhere. From the Spanish Riding School.

Just a pretty building!

I really love it here. Throughout the week I stopped a couple of times and thought about how I actually got here. One day I have this crazy idea that I really want to study abroad and travel, and the next thing I know I’m here in a foreign country with 22 other amazing people. It literally all happened so fast and the fact that I randomly chose Vienna and randomly chose to come this semester makes me think twice about why I’m here. I look at each and every one of the people I’m here with and notice how well we all click and get along and it stops me in my tracks knowing that I’m here for a reason. I wish I knew what that reason was but I guess I will find out sooner or later! Makes me happy that I have this opportunity to learn so much and find my place. I’m so excited for what is to come! J

Similar to that was when Professor Roger Minert and his wife Jeanie were talking to all of us on Sunday night. They constantly are thanking us for taking initiative to come on this study abroad, and always want to make sure we know that they wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for us. They are both so passionate about German/Austrian history and culture and I find that so great! I’ve noticed it’s rare today to find people that passionate about something and really make time to involve it in their lives. Good for them! Roger and Jeanie are so sweet to each other and to us and I love having them as our leaders on this trip.

Oma and Opa's House. :)

Oma and Opa's front door!

Our neighbors House. :) :) :)

Willkommen in Wien! :)

2011-09-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today was great! We went to a ward where young single adults came from all over Austria to spend the weekend with the Institute. Fun to talk to natives! :) It’s been extremely hot and humid here. Can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m so ready for colder weather!

Yesterday I:

1. Went to the Austro-Amerika Institut for the first time which is where we have class. One floor of a cute building and of course beautiful like everything else here! I’m excited to start classes.

2. Went to the Naschmarkt for lunch. Amazing and it's there every day. Vendors, food, produce, so fun.

3. Ordered lunch for the first time in German. Ich mochte ein hühnerschnitzelsemmel bitte!

4. Attempted to barter in German-I’ve never felt so American. But hey, I’m trying!

5. Developed a new obsession: chocolate croissants.

6. Met my host family. Ashley Curtis is my roommate and she is just amazing! I love her and we get along great. Our hosts are in their 80’s and insist we call the Oma and Opa. Are you kidding? Could they be any cuter? They live on the first floor, have a daughter on the second, and we live on the 3^rd floor with the daughter’s host students. They are super nice! Another one of their daughters live next door. They have 4 grandsons. Heey! ;)

7. Unpacked, updated my blog and wrote in my journal. We are lucky to have wifi here. It is very rare that homes have wifi because it costs a lot per minute and electricity is expensive. I will take advantage of it but don’t want to waste time on it. We also have our own kitchen and bathroom to share with the other two girls. So. Nice.

Jetlag?

2011-09-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I can actually say this but...I live in Austria! :) Yes, I'm an official Viennese resident. Check it.

Kiersten and I are sitting in our hotel room (which is the cutest room EVER). We. Are. Dead. We arrived in Vienna around 9 AM this morning, which leaves my body thinking it's midnight. I slept on the plane a lot though so I've made it walking around town until now!

VIENNA IS AMAZING! The people are so friendly, the architecture is all so beautiful and everything is in german! Everything...is in german. Haha! Fun. :) Here's the view from our window! I'll definitely be putting more pictures up.

So I step out of the Vienna Airport and decide to be a typical American Tourist for a second and snap a picture at something random. Whelp, my camera lens wouldn't go back in! It broke. Of course. The instant i get there! Kiersten and I felt really cool when an Austrian gave us the address to a repair shop and were able to find it and manage to communicate with people that spoke nearly 10 words of english. Exploring the city of Vienna was a lot of fun.

I've eaten like 5 meals in the past 24 hours with the plane and the Minerts (program professors) feeding us. Ohhh heck. Big day tomorrow- the Austro-Amerika Institut Advisor is taking us the school for orientation stuff and taking us around town to show us where everything is. And we meet our host families tomorrow! :)

That was really supposed to be posted yesterday...but no internet. Another post coming soon!

Toronto!

2011-09-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

I’m in Toronto! AKA…I got my very first stamp in my passport! YES! :D The plane ride wasn’t bad. I read, slept a bit, and watched Midnight in Paris. Meh, wasn’t too impressed!

My mom drove me to the airport at 5 AM (woof…) and our plane didn’t leave until after 8-over an hour late! I met up with two people from my group-Kiersten and Stephen who are also from the Portland area. They are super nice and fun and I’m excited to meet the rest of the group and get to know everyone!

The plane to Vienna boards in the next few minutes. I’m going to try to sleep as if it’s a regular night even though I’m still on Portland time. So I’ll feel like its 3 PM but have to act like it’s midnight! This will be very interesting. I hope jetlag doesn’t hit me too hard!

Brother Minert claims he has a lot planned for us the moment we arrive in Vienna. Cool!! J

Maybe the stewardess will wear lederhosen and yodel down the aisles while serving us Weiner Schnitzel…

Baha!! Just kidding. That would be awesome...

Last week in America! ...What?!

2011-09-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well, this is it! T minus 7 days (proud of me, Dad?) until I leave for my big adventure. I will be in Vienna, Austria for 3 months studying abroad, and I decided to start a blog to update family and friends on what I’m doing! So here it is! I’ll try to write posts as much as I can keeping in mind classes and whatnot. :)

I decided to name my blog “Vienna Waits For You” based off of Billy Joel’s famous song…which I love! It’s catchy and I love the lyrics:

Slow down, you crazy child
you're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart, tell me
Why are you still so afraid?

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?
You'd better cool it off before you burn it out
You've got so much to do and
Only so many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told…
That you can get what you want or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even
Get halfway through
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you're doing fine
You can't be everything you want to be
Before your time
Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight

Too bad but it's the life you lead
you're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you're wrong, you know
You can't always see when you're right.

You've got your passion, you've got your pride
but don't you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Just say it, I'm cheesy! But I know that so it's okay. :)

This reminds me of the always forgotten advice that we just need to relax and enjoy where we are at this point and time in our lives. People are often so busy and caught up with daily life that they forget to sit back and think about what got them there and who helped them in that journey. To the younger people: slow down! I believe having goals and ambitions and being excited for everything to come is so great and a necessity! But the future isn’t going anywhere—don’t try to get there TOO fast. To those older folks: getting older is a gift…not a burden. Embrace it baby! ;)

I know, I’m so deep.

So I get thinking about how grateful I am for this opportunity to travel to such a beautiful city and experience all there is to experience in the next few months. It will be a good break from life and a chance for me to do some thinking of my own. It’s something I wanted to do while I still could, so I put my heart to it and went for it! I know I will learn a lot—academically, spiritually and personally. I want to enjoy every minute of it and I don’t doubt that I will! :)