Week 2, Holland...

Hi Ya'll,


If you haven't already, you may want to begin reading my first week before starting this one, it will make more sense!! Hope you enjoy! I know it is a lot of reading, it was a lot of typing!

In Groningen, I met Annika on my platform!! It was so great to see her!! We quickly headed to the buses and found our way to her place. She has a really nice apartment where she has a roommate and a nice place to live. We had some sandwiches and I put some clothes into the washer and we just sat around having cappuccino and talking. We then went to her college where she had a meeting and I just used the Internet. Then, we took bikes into the city center. My bike was a little too big, and at one intersection, I kind of fell. But, I was safe and nothing happened, so don’t worry about me!!

In the city center I saw the main town hall and there was a market going on. We bought scarves and found a really cheap store which we looked around in and dreamed of all the things we could buy for so little. We also had some sweets which were really good. Before heading home, we bought groceries for the night to make lasagna.

We made it home and made the lasagna. It was super good. After a week of eating out of a loaf of bread and a jar of jam, lasagna was spectacular! We then watched some TV and I learned how to do JUMP STYLE, a way of dancing. It was so fun. Annika’s friend came over and then we all went into the city center to find some night life. We later found out Fridays are not the night to go out in Groningen. We had fun though dancing in some bars and hanging out, but then we made it back to Annika’s and we went to sleep.

Saturday morning, we woke up and took showers and then headed to Annika’s hometown, Papenburg, Germany. She only lives about an hour away from her family in Germany. I met her mom and her brother. Annika heard about my planned trip to Egypt and she got really interested in going. So, we looked up flight fares, and she decided to come too. Now we have a group of four going to Egypt in December, I am so excited!

Annika took me into her town to do some shopping and see some cool old ships and the city center. Outside of the town hall was a bunch of people. I was really curious as to what was going on. Every day I am amazed at the random traditions Germans and Austrians have…most of them revolving around a reason to drink beer. Annika said the people in front of the town hall were celebrating the birthday of a guy who turned 30 and is unmarried. So, they party and drink beer and collect money and then the guy has to sweep up the front of the town hall.

There was a big pile on the steps when we walked by!! Then, the money that they gather, they stand around and wait for a girl who is a virgin to kiss the birthday guy on the cheek or lips and then give her the money. We saw two girls about 11 years old kiss the guy and get the money. It was so interesting.

Back to Annika’s we went. We ate some really good supper of chicken and other good things. Then, we got ready and went to Annika’s friends house and I got to meet them. As they all speak German, and not all English, I got to try to listen to the conversations as best as I could and try to catch onto some. It was a really good chance for me to work on my German. After hanging around for a bit, we all headed out to the dance club. It was so fun here. I got to dance with Annika and her friends and just have a good time. We also got to try out our JUMP STYLE! That was super.

The night was late, so we headed back home then. Sunday morning, Annika and I met up with her friends again for brunch. We went to this café place with a real brunch buffet. It was so good. But, as I don’t speak very good German, one lady was a little over helpful in telling me what things were in English. She obviously didn’t know how much I knew or didn’t know, but she was definitely VERY helpful. It was just a little funny. Oh well. The way Germans eat though is they get a plate and eat it and then sit around and talk. Then they get another plate and eat, then sit and talk. They get food, eat, sit, talk and repeat for about 2 to 3 hours. It was just so crazy. Definitely not how we do buffets in the States.

After the buffet, Annika took me to the windmill in her town that used to be used to make bread. It was really neat to see how it would have worked at one time and to go to the top and see her town. We then went and got tickets to go to the Cruise Ship Manufacturing Facility.

It was so neat; I got to go to the exact place where those huge fancy cruise liner ships are made. I had no idea they were made in this little town in Northern Germany! The tour was in German, but I was able to understand most of it, and Annika was a great translator when I needed her to be. I hope to go back again to the tour when my German is even better, I will probably learn even more! The main thing I picked up was the fact that American cruise ships always have to be the biggest and the brightest and the most elaborate. The tour guide made many jokes about Americans. It is pretty neat though how this company used to make those old big wooden ships until a son came home one day and told his father they needed to use steel. The rest is history. As I understood it, the company has been in the same family since it was born.

After the tour, Annika and I went back to her place and had some supper. We then went to the movie rental place and got “Save the Last Dance 2.” We went back home and watched that in English. It is a good movie!! We then were off to bed.

Monday morning, we went into town and did some more shopping. Things are so much cheaper up north than here in Salzburg. I didn’t buy too many things, but I did find a coat for only EURO 60. I couldn’t pass up that deal; it was a 2 layer jacket that was waterproof and a really pretty teal blue. Annika also had to find herself some devil horns for her Halloween costume.

Back to her home, we made some awesome pizza and I figured out how I was getting to Dronten, Netherlands and where I was meeting up with Craig. Annika’s mom took us to the train station and we got into Groningen around 4:00. I said good-bye to Annika and then was off to Dronten. I had to stop in Zwolle and take a bus to Dronten, but I finally made it there around 5:00 Monday evening.

I had a map of how to get to Craig’s, but it was a little tricky to figure out at first. After my first attempt failed, I found the right way and made it to Craig’s place on the CAH (Christelijke Agrarische Hogeschool) campus. He goes to an International Agriculture College. There are 130 or so international students and many more Dutch students all studying livestock management, food science, and rural development. Shortly after I met up with Craig, I met some of the other Americans from UW-Platteville who were also studying at this college.

I met Liz, Noah, Chris, Jodi, and also Jenni. They asked me how long I was going to be in Dronten and I told them I didn’t have any plans till the next Monday. They said I was welcome to stay with them in Dronten and then travel with them to Dortmund, Germany that weekend. I was totally thrilled and so happy!! Needless to say, I spent the last week there in the Netherlands with everyone.

I had a great time. Monday night I got to help all the Americans carve pumpkins for their party on Halloween night and then go to their campus pub 6- (six minus). I got to meet people from all over there; from Poland, France, Turkey, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain and other places I don’t remember. I also learned how they hand out beer in a very unique way. They have things long boards that are a meter long and they have holders for 13 beers. So, someone would go up and get a meter of beer for EURO 10 and everyone would drink up that meter before a new person went and got a new one. It was a really new way of distributing beer.

Craig was nice enough to go stay with other friends, and he lent me his bed for the entire week. It was super. He even made me a great egg, ham, and cheese sandwich for breakfast Tuesday morning. I just chilled around at the apartments Tuesday. I also then went into town with the guys to get some things to grill out. So, Tuesday night we made a BBQ out of a little charcoal grill and made brats and hamburgers. It was the best meat I have had since I got to Europe…just a good ole real hamburger on the grill!! After standing around the grill all night, we finally made it inside and watched the great movie, EuroTrip. I had never seen this movie and now I realize some of the great misconceptions people have about Europe and traveling.

Wednesday was a great day to sleep in. When I woke up, I went into town with the guys and they got some great Halloween costumes for the rest of the parties that week. We chilled all afternoon and then I went to Dutch lessons with Liz and Noah that evening. It is so neat how similar Dutch and German are. I don’t know any Dutch, but I was helping Liz out! Pronouncing words is just half of it, and that is so close between the two languages. But, I did learn some Dutch words like how to say Thank You and Please and I don’t know.

Everyone was eventually dressed and we were off to 6- again. Craig was a Pirate, Noah was an Indian, Chris was a Referee, Liz was Daisy Duke, and I wore shorts under a big shirt of Craig’s. I let everyone come up with their own ideas as to what I was. We all had a great time dancing the night away! I met some more of the people from the college and had a good time with Liz dancing all over the place! At the end of the night, I even met some Dutch guys. They were really fun and Liz and I had a super time dancing and chilling with them. After 6- closed, we headed out and hung out with the Dutch guys for awhile at Liz’s place. It is amazing to me just how many typicality’s there are for Dutch guys and Dutch people in general. They are all their own breed! That night I was locked out of Craig’s house, so I crashed on a mattress on Liz’s floor. The next morning I got up and went on my way to Amsterdam.

I was able to explore Amsterdam for a few hours by myself and see many different sites. It was a really crisp, breezy, fall day; but it was nice out. I had no idea, but Amsterdam is such a nice city. It is literally a city on the water; a Venice up north. There are canals everywhere and ‘love’ bridges and nice places just to stroll by at. I just walked around seeing the old buildings and boats and harbors. I also checked out a big street market where any tourist can find their heart’s desire of typical Holland and Netherlands apparel and souvenirs. I also was near where Rembrandt lived and then sat around in the famous and busy Damrak square.

Around 3:00 I was able to go on another free walking tour of the great city of Amsterdam. I had to meet Liz and Craig and Noah at the train station around 5, so I didn’t get to hear the full tour, but I still learned a lot. They tour began by going through the old town. Surprisingly, the old town consists of the Red Light District. This Red Light District has been a part of the city since the very beginning when sailors needed someone or something to pleasure them.

The Red Light District is full of women who are just running a business like any store keeper or business person. There are a lot of rules that go along with this business and it is highly regulated. There is the minimum age of 18 and Pimps are Illegal. However, there is no maximum age, and the oldest lady is 73. She is said to be very experienced! Besides that, the Red Light District really is not the place one should specifically go to see when they go to Amsterdam.

After meeting up with the others, we all just walked around and I bought some really good fresh fries and they bought some souvenirs. We were able to go see where Anne Frank lived and her family’s secret hideout, The Annex. It was almost closing time and we all didn’t want to pay for the tour, so we just got a pamphlet and saw the outside. It was still pretty amazing to see. We walked around some more then headed back to Dronten for a good night of sleep.

Friday came before I knew it! I was so tired; I slept in through most of the morning. After I got myself going, I went into town to do some shopping. There are a lot of cheap stores in Dronten, and I found some really good deals on things I needed that they didn’t have in Salzburg, or were super expensive. I also picked up some food for goulash that night.

Later in the afternoon, I was able to go to the discount store again for their once a month sale. The first Friday of every month, they have an hour where everything in a back building of this discount store for free. So, instead of paying for souvenirs; I got some children’s books in Dutch and some Dutch music. I also got a little wooden shoe! It was super that I didn’t have to pay for any of it!

After that excursion, Jodi, Liz and Noah took me out to the campus farm so I could see some animals! It was so nice. I got to see their milking parlor that is a double 8 herring bone that has been altered to have a different angle for the cows to stand at, so more can fit. It is such a tiny area for 8 cows. But, animals here are just not as big as those in the states. I also saw their sheep and calves and the milking cows. I believe they milk around 70 to 90 cows, I can’t remember very well right now! It was just way great to see the cows! I wished I could have seen them milking and even done some myself, but we had to get back to make some goulash and get ready for another Halloween party.

We made a huge pot of goulash and Jodi had made some delicious cheesecake. I was so stuffed. Everyone was read again, so we headed over to a campus building where the party was to be held. I didn’t dress up this night; I just wore some clothes I had yet to wear on the trip! It wasn’t a huge party, but it was still fun. We stood around and talked and watched the crazy Spaniards be crazy. They really go wild when they party…and they really can not hold their alcohol.

Three Dutch guys had shown up at some time and they were dressed as Dutch Farmers. It was great. They all 3 wore wooden shoes, blue coveralls (it’s a Dutch thing), and then a red handkerchief around their necks. They were superbly dressed! We all just got talking with them and it was so nice! I got to talk about cows and agriculture and those things rather than Mozart and German and History. They were all really nice guys and super to talk to. I think some of them are going to go to the states someday, too.

So, the night was over and we all went home to go to sleep in order to get up and ready to leave in the morning. We all were ready to go and got on our train and made our way to Dortmund, Germany. We were so lucky when we got there that a city festival was going on. We walked around for a really long time and saw amazing food and lots of little handiworks. There were pretzels, brats, potato pancakes, more brats, fresh fries, steaks, and wine and beer. There were tents of people with wooden bowls, potpourri, hand-made baskets, and pens everywhere with calves, goats, chickens, or donkeys. We all ate way too much because it was all so darn good and you just walked around smelling these amazing smells and no one could resist.

We didn’t have much else to do Saturday night, so we went shopping for other things to do. Earlier this week I had asked about prices to get my hair done with color. It was going to cost me an arm and a leg for half of what I wanted to get done. So, I needed my hair done because of my awful roots, and we had nothing else better to do, Liz, Noah, and I bought hair dyeing stuff. Back at our amazing hotel rooms, we went to work!! I did Noah’s full head with blond, Jodi did Liz’s hair in blond highlights, and if you look at the pictures, you will find I now have short, RED hair!

It is something totally new and exciting and I really like this adventure! Oh, and it will come out in 2 months of washings.

So, that was our excitement for the night. We were all dead tired, so we went to bed. Sunday morning, because we were in Germany, there was nothing to do. We walked around the town and then found the festival again. It was starting to open when we got there. So, we walked around again and I bought some really good bread spread and the most amazing Butter Streusel. I was hoping for some French fries, but they hadn’t opened when it was time to leave.

A little before 12, I said good-bye to Craig, Liz, Noah, Jodi, and Chris. They were back to the Netherlands to begin classes again in Dronten then next morning. And I found a train and its connections to Salzburg only a half hour after they left. It was a long ride, but I finally made it home to Salzburg around 9:30 Sunday night the 4th of November.

I had an amazing trip through Northern Europe. I hope to visit Eva again and see the rest of Berlin. I can’t wait to go to Egypt with Annika and then party at the Prom in Dronten in January. I learned so much and I feel like a true traveling champion! I am back at classes here in Salzburg and it is going to be super hard to stay focused for the last 5 weeks of class. I have 3 more days left on my rail pass that I have to use this weekend, so I have another adventure lurking behind the corner! Also, with my college, I will be heading to Vienna in less than 2 weeks, too. I can’t believe I have been over her for over 2 months and time is flying faster and faster as the semester goes on! It is crazy to think, but before I know it, I am going to be flying back home to the States. Wow, I don’t want to think that far ahead…time shouldn’t fly THAT FAST!!

Well, I hope everyone is good and ya’ll enjoy my descriptions of my adventures through Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Holland. I had an unforgettable time and I can’t wait to go traveling again sometime!! I have so many places I need to see yet!

I hope all of you are safe and happy and enjoying whatever you may be doing!

Tschuss!

Dana


Annika and I outside of the City Hall in Groningen!


Wooden shoes everywhere!! Truly a trademark of Holland!
Me on the steps of the city hall in Groningen!

Manning an old wooden ship in Papenburg. I would make the cutest captain...don't you think?

At the place where they make these amazing cruise ships. It was so interesting and our tour guide was so funny!

More wooden shoes. Don't they look good on me? I think so!

House of Anne Frank and where her family's hideout, The Secret Annex, was! Liz and I posing!
More wooden shoes, it is just amazing how they are everywhere!!

The Double-8 herring-bone like parlor at the campus farm of CAH.

Me, wearing boots finally, and chilling with the calves!! I totally didn't realize how much I missed cows and animals!! They also had sheep at the farm and pigs and chickens which I didn't see.
A meter of beer. A unique way of selling beer at Bar 6- in Dronten.

All dressed up for Halloween! We had a sheep, witch, Daisy Duke, and Pirate-Argh!!

In Dortmund, Germany. Just posing in this little car with Craig!

Partying with the Dutch guys, Mishel, Tom, and Douwe, and Jodi and Liz! We had so much fun!

Noah with blonde hair, me with RED hair, and Liz with blond highlights...we had a whole beauty parlor in our Hotel in Dortmund!

Week 1, Traveling with Esther

Esther and her friend, Eva!

The Hotel where Micheal Jackson held his child outside over the balcony. This is in Berlin!

Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. It shows all the differences in people, shapes and sizes. Also, if you were to walk through the blocks, you would eventually have them overpowering you and be walking on uneven ground. This was to show how Jews were just overtaken and the rode was always unpredictable. The Berlin wall.

Check-Point Charlie-a main checkpoint into Berlin from the West where people were stopped and checked for the right papers, passports, and visas.

Hello everyone,

I just finished my 2 week travel break. It was great fun and here are all the details about my adventures beginning with my first week traveling with Esther, my roomie!

No one really could have guessed it, but Esther and me traveling together causes unfortunate circumstances. It all began even before our trip started. Each one of us, Esther and I, bought a Eurail pass on the very same day. We knew our parents sent them to Austria on the very same day. Esther’s pass came one day, but mine didn’t. Two days before we were supposed to leave, my pass was still not here in Salzburg. The day before traveling…still not here. I talked to my host parents and my host mom was saying how she got a rail pass. I was told numerous times that I could not buy a rail pass here, nor could I have the company send one to me here. On the Friday before we left, I went to go check with the travel agent about tickets to get back to Salzburg in order to see if my pass would come on Monday. They were super expensive. Before I left the travel agency, however, I asked her about rail passes. They had them! And I could buy one…here!! It was so exciting…I bought my rail pass and our trip was back in order again!

Esther and I left Saturday morning around 6:00 am. It was a little bit of an early morning, but by the end of the day we would be in Gieβen, Germany with Esther’s friend Eva. Our trip was going super. We had four or five connections, but the day was moving by really fast. Then, while I was in the bathroom, Esther had a revelation. I came back to my seat to find her telling me that she had left HER rail pass at home in Salzburg. I started laughing. It was just hilarious that I had almost completely stopped most of our travels, and now the situation had switched. It was clear we would not be getting to go to Paris. This was the plan when I didn’t have mine too (skip Paris and hope my pass came before heading to Hamburg or Berlin). Both Esther and I decided that we were not supposed to go to Paris on our trip. Obviously God is trying to tell us something!!

We made it to Gieβen, Germany and we met up with Esther’s friend, Eva. We made it to her place and got settled in. We then had to decide how we were going to get Esther’s rail pass. I decided I would use my rail pass and go back to Salzburg and get her’s for her. So we looked up train connections and planned our next days after I got her pass. We decided we were off to Berlin after getting Esther’s pass. So, after being on the Internet all afternoon, Eva made a huge supper of really good spaghetti. It was super. Then we got ready and went out on the town for a few hours!! We went to a little place called HAARLEM. It is just a basement pub/dance club. We had a good time chilling and dancing until we were all too tired and then we went back to Eva’s to sleep till late Sunday morning.

Not much in open anywhere in Europe on Sundays. So, we decided to try practice our German skills and we went to Ratatouille! It was such a great and funny film. I didn’t understand all of it, but I could follow what was happening. I was really impressed with how well I actually followed though! After the movie, we hung out and chilled and then Eva made us some eggs and egg roll things for supper. After eating, it was time for me to pack up and head back to Salzburg. I took a train to Frankfurt, and then got on my night train to Salzburg. It was a long night, and I got in a little later than planned, but I eventually made it to my house in Salzburg. I literally found Esther’s pass, ate a little cake for breakfast, and then was out the door again to catch my next train back to Frankfurt.

Because we had a change in plans, we of course missed our train to Paris and our train from Paris to Hamburg. And then, in Frankfurt, I got in off my train, found Esther, but then we had to validate her rail pass before we could use it on the train to Berlin. So, we missed our first train to Berlin and finally validated Esther’s pass, we got on the next one! We made it into Berlin, and found our Hostel. We walked around a little before heading back to watch a movie with our roommate and then calling it a night.

The next morning, Tuesday, we slept in to refuel our bodies, and then we were out on the town to learn all the history and great things Berlin had to offer. We also found out they have free walking tours of the city that last 4 hours long. We headed to check those out.

The tour turned out to be the best thing we could have done in Berlin. We got to see all the cool buildings of parliament and embassies and the Brandenburg Gate. We learned that the first settlers of Berlin were fishermen and found this swamp area and made it their landing spot. This swamp turned into Berlin. The city’s name, Berlin, means ‘swamp’ in those first settlers native language! We also learned other cool facts like this and saw the Berlin wall, Check-point Charlie, Hitler’s Bunker, and the Holocaust Memorial. Berlin is FULL of history and things to see. I wish we had more time that one day to explore it all. After the tour we went back to the hostel and watched another little movie and met some other roomies from Holland. They totally made fun of our accents and how we said names of towns in the Netherlands.

And, I also…CUT MY HAIR!! Right down from our hostel was a place advertising EURO 15 hair cuts. I was so excited, it was the cheapest I had seen since getting to Europe, and I was in dire need of a hair cut. So, earlier that morning I had made an appointment, and that night I got my hair cut off. You can see in the photos how much of my hair was cut off. It was so much fun! It is especially fun now to come back to Salzburg and surprise everyone here, too.

After getting my hair cut, we chilled around the hostel and then we went exploring again. I was hoping to go up into this round globe thing that is on top of a congress building, but when we got there, it was closed. I thought I had heard the tour guide say it was open till midnight, but it was only open till 10 pm. That stunk, but Berlin was so pretty at night anyways. Back to the hostel, we grabbed some food at the local grocery store quickly, and then we went to bed.

Well, again, Esther and I together…equals disaster. We were going to wake up around 5:30 and take showers and get ready and be to our train by 6:55. We woke up at 6:40. My alarm never saved the time!!! So, I quickly jumped out of bed, got Esther up and we quickly through our stuff together, took off our bedding, checked out, and ran to the train station.

We had to take an inner-city tram to the main train station and quickly got on the first one we saw. We got to the main train station and I told Esther which track to go to and I said we had to run because we only had 1 minute. So, off the train I ran and quickly got down to the train and looked behind me…ESHTER WAS NOT THERE. I ran up the stairs again, looked down to see Esther at the far end where NOTHING was and I watched as our train to Copenhagen pulled away. It was so sad.

Somehow Esther didn’t remember the track I had just told her and she didn’t see where I had gone, so she didn’t get down to the train in time. We were so close.

So, we had to make brand new connections and wait around for another hour and then get on a longer train and finally after way too long of a train trip, we made it to Copenhagen. Now in Copenhagen, we had to find our hostel. The buses were messed up and the directions to the hostel were not very clear. So, we walked around a bit and finally asked a bus driver if he went to this one street. We had to pay FOUR DOLLARS for a ten minute ride on the bus. We got off and then walked the wrong way and after walking around FOREVER, we finally made it to our hostel which cost us WAY TOO MUCH MONEY. Both Esther and I were pretty much so frustrated and annoyed with traveling and money and we were drained.

Thankfully there was free Internet to use, so we used that for awhile and just hung around. I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I wanted to go out and see the city a little. Esther just wanted to go to bed. She went to be and I went out for a really nice walk around the streets of Copenhagen. It was a fresh night, a little chilly, but really nice. I found a little lake area and walked around that for awhile. I eventually went back to the hostel and wrote in my journal and then also headed to bed. Tomorrow was a new day, and I had hoped it would be a much better day.

Luckily, the next day was so much better. We woke up early and got showered, locked up our luggage, and headed to the train station. We were going to Malmo, Sweden!! We found a train and headed to a brand new country. We got to this small city and walked around all morning. It was so nice. We saw harbors with big boats and a Finnish cruise Ship, saw a big windmill, and the tallest building in Sweden. Lets just say the tall building was anything but impressive…it looked like one of our silos at home which you can see everywhere!! It was so tiny looking and not tall at all!!

We also so a real open air fish market. It was really little shanties that people were selling huge whole fresh fish at. Then, we walked into this garden area and took a lot of photos. We found a lot of good places for ‘senior pictures.’ It was a lot of fun chilling and enjoying the nice fall day. Malmo was so pretty. With nothing else to see, we headed back to the train station to go back to Copenhagen.

In Copenhagen, we wandered around the city of a million bikes and saw some cool statues, old buildings, twisted sculptures, lots of water and ships again, and then we made it to the Mermaid. We saw the infamous Mermaid that sits on a rock in one of the harbors. It really is interesting. It is nothing huge or really fancy, but it really is meaningful I believe for those of Denmark and Copenhagen. We had nothing else to see and got some ice cream then headed back to the hostel. We picked up our luggage and went towards the train station. We still had a lot of time to kill, so we just sat in this one area watching some musicians perform and talked till it was time to catch our trains.

We found our trains and I found my compartment. I had the entire compartment to myself and I was alone the whole night. I wrote in my journal and read my book and was able to have a full area to stretch out and sleep. I woke up in time to change trains and around 11:30 I made it into Groningen, Netherlands to start my second week!

It was a very exhausting and crazy week, but Esther and I had such a blast and saw many things and had a lot of fun.

I hope you enjoy all of my adventures, I know there is a lot to read though!

Later,

Dana

Memorial for the book burnings that were done in Berlin outside of the Humboldt University. Over 20,000 books were burned. The memorial here is a place below the street with enough shelves that would hold 20,000 books.

Brandenburg Gate at night, a symbol of Berlin.

The Turning Torso...the tallest building in Sweden!

The open air fish market in Malmo, Sweden.

The Mermaid at the Harbor in Copenhagen, Denmark.

BEFORE AFTER

Traveling

Hello everyone,

Right now I have just finished going to four different countries in 24 hours!! I was in Sweden yesterday morning, Denmark yesterday evening, in Germany all last night and this morning, and then I made it into the Netherlands this morning, too!! I never knew it was really possible!!

I am currently on my two week break from my college. I have been to GieSen, Germany to visit my roommate's friend, Eva, back to Salzburg to pick up Esther's rail pass she forgot (I know, I cant believe it either), stayed in Berlin for two nights, went to Copenhagen and toured this city and Malmo, Sweden, and I went back through Germany to meet up with Annika here in Groningen, Netherlands. I was unable to go to Paris as Esther needed her rail pass.

I have seen so much and learned a lot too in Berlin about Germany's history. It is so great to be out traveling and seeing all this. I knew I wanted to travel, but until you really start going places, you dont realize just how much there is out there to see and do. I would not have guessed two years ago that I would be going all over the place in Europe and beyond! I just can't believe myself all that I am expereincing here!

Well, I just wanted to update everyone on my status here in Europe. I will be staying with Annika until Monday then I will be visiting another friend, Craig. I am not sure where I will end my two weeks, but I think I will check out Amsterdam and/or Brussels before heading back to Salzburg by November 5.

Hope all is well wherever you may be and I will tell you more about my adventures when I get back into Salzburg. I will also be posting pictures of everything I have seen!

Later,

Dana

Salzburg Fun!

Hello everyone!!

How are you all?? I hope still as good as ever!! I am doing super also!

Today was absolutely great!! This past week there was a sign in our college talking about a student welcome service at a local church that has English services. So, I planned to go. This morning Esther and I and Becca and Kristi headed over there. The German service was taking an extra long time, so we just sat outside by the river. A lady then came over and asked us if we were her students!! We introduced ourselves and then the paster came over and we were again introduced. Turns out, him and his wife are from Wisconsin and they both went to Madison. He was saying how the Badgers got a bad hit yesterday from Penn State (totally stinks!). I think he also said he did pastor work in Muscatine, IA.

Finally, around 11:30, half hour late, we were able to start our service. The chuch is called the Salzburg International Christian Church and it is a Lutheran service. The service was so nice and comfortable as there was a native speaker and it was just like a service we would have at home. Included was hymns in English and the Lord's Prayer with Forever and ever, Amen. Not just forever!! I noticed that right away! It made me smile. Also, we got to have those cool little white circle things for communion-I have always wanted to have them!!

After the service, the paster, Michael Spangler, had all the new students stand up and introduce ourselves. There were others from the States, but also some from Africa, Czech Republic, Finnland, and England. It was really amazing to me to see a lot of older people too. I don't really realize that their are people living here in Austria that have a native language not of German. There were families from Finland and others from Scotland.

We were also invited to a gift as we walked out the church and were welcomed to coffee hour. Our gifts were bags filled with fruit, chocolate, and popcorn. It was so nice!! Becca and Kristi and the others who came from Salzburg College left, but Esther and I stayed for the coffee hour. We were able to have goodies and coffee or tea. Esther and I met a girl from Hong Kong and another who is half English and half Finnish. We talked with them for about 2 hours!! We also met another girl from Maryland who is working on her Master's in German here and two girls form the Czech who are here for dance. Also, the guy who leads bible studies intruduced himself, and Esther and I are really looking forward to getting together with everyone again this weekend hopefully before we leave for our 2 week break.

We chatted for a while and then headed home. It was just so super to meet people outside of the Salzburg College circle. I am really looking forward to hanging out with them more and maybe meeting more people through them!!

Besides our church excitement, not much else is new. We were able to go horseback riding last weekend, that was exciting. We were out on a trail cantering, and all of a sudden, Esther's horse threw up his back legs and she flew over his head. She fell down hard and had to go to the hospital. She her face pretty hard. She is doing great though now and things will heal by themselves in the upcoming weeks. She is one tough cookie as some would say!!

Above are some pictures from the day we went riding. The little tractor I thought looked really cute and interesting. Also, the zuchini made me think of our big ones that we don't realize they are in the garden until they get to big!! The family with the horses had a lot of beautiful flowers too!! And the last photo is of my little host brother and sister playing in the hay...just like kids in the States!!

We have mid-terms this week and I have to start doing some more reading for most of my classes. I realy should be studying now! After all the tests are done though, Esther and I will be off to Paris, GieSen, Germany, Copenhagen, and I will head to the Netherlands while she goes to Italy. We are so excited for the break. It should be a lot of fun!

Well, I hope everyone is good and everyone should send me a message or email!! I love hearing from anyone!!

Hope all are good!!

Later,

Dana

Good times!

The hopping night club participating in 'Fat Man's School'



Traunsee!!

More of the lake in Traunsee.

Agriculture in Austria...actually this is some guy cutting the grass/pasture right behind my host dad's parents house!!

JAA!! My host family playing play war!!

Hello All!!

I have now been here a month...WOW! It is really crazy to think that just a little over a month ago I was packing all of my suitcases, going to the airport, having a huge delay, meeting Chris and traveling with him for about 24 hours to get to the big group, then going to museum to museum across Germany, then meeting a family I have been living with for the first time, then starting classes, going to Oktoberfest, continuing classes, and now already getting for my first break of the semester!!

In less than 2 weeks, my college is going to let all of us students loose to explore Europe for about 16 days. I am super excited. However, before I can go traveling, I have business to do here in Salzburg. I have to tell you all about what I have been up to!!

The last time I told all of you about the wonderful and interesting concerts I was able to attend. Since then I have attended one more. This one was a very phenomenal orchestra concert. There was a solo pianist who was absolutely amazing. She was so great to watch and I was watching the concert just waiting for more. It was so forceful and full of energy. I was so overwhelmed it was so amazing.

Besides concerts, I was able to travel with my host Dad and siblings and Esther to Traunsee. This is a little town in mountain and lake district where my host Dad's parents live. We had a very peaceful day hanging out in the beautiful town. We went over by the lake and played on some equipment. Esther and I also played with our host brother some badminton. Our hosts cooked a wonderful and FULL meal for all of us. We had about 4 different salads including potato and lettuce salads, rice, peas, and wiener schnitzel. We had our fill and it was so good.

The rest of the afternoon was lazy and relaxing. I fell asleep on my chair while watching my host dad and brothers play fighting with wooden swords and blocking things. Later we were all treated to cake, apple strudel and coffee. It was just a nice day out to sit around outside and do really nothing.

Besides chilling with the family, Esther, a couple friends, and me tried out the Austrian night life. It was totally interesting. Our host parents told us some spots to go to find some dancing and new people. So, we got to this place and after a few minutes found the clubs. We found this one club that was totally hopping with people. We went in. It was totally interesting all the night we were there. It was jam packed with people and there was music going for dancing, but rarely was anyone dancing. It was just sometimes you would see one or two people bust a move or two, but that was it.

Later, a big guy came out and he called himself FAT MAN. He was from New York and came to have 'Fat Man's School' for the Austrians at this club. All he did was start an American song and said who's song it was and then after about 30 seconds of the song, he would start another one. It was really annoying and still there was barely any dancing. Also, FAT MAN didn't know any German, and the little he did know, he tried to use, but just made himself look really silly. I am sure most everyone enjoyed him, or at least found him entertaining. It was really fun, cuz we made it fun, but it was still really interesting and not what we expected at all!

This past week I started taking a Salsa class that is offered through Salzburg University. I had my first class on Monday and it was interesting also. It is a mixture of old and young people. About half and half. Also, of course, the instruction is in German, so I just try to watch the instructor's feet and hope I am doing it right!! Luckily I have some sort of rhythm, cuz some people have none and really don't know how to dance. I would have big troubles trying to understand if I didn't know the basis of Salsa dancing.

This past week has not had too much happening. We went to the Hellbrunn castle where one Archbishop put in trick fountains to entertain his guests. Volunteers were able to sit at this one marble table to try out the trick fountains. Those who sat there were blasted with water from a nozzle right under their butt!! Of course, I had to volunteer and got a little bit of a wet butt!! It was fun though and the gardens were very pretty.

I also visited the Sony DADC company with my International Public Relations class. I learned quite a bit and we also got free beverages! I love public relations tours!!

Not much is happening. I am laying low this weekend again. I did get to go ice skating today with Esther and Becca, another friend. The big ice arena where the hockey games are and public ice skating is about a 15 minute bike ride from where I live. It was really nice to try something new and see more of Salzburg. We may have to try it again. Tomorrow I plan on going to church in the morning and we get to go horseback riding tomorrow afternoon. I am really excited to actually be around animals! I hope though that it isn't just a little trail ride we can go on and that we can go more exploring by ourselves!

Because I am going on my 2 week break really soon and for the first week I do not have any final destinations in mind. Esther and I just have rail passes that we are going to use to take us wherever we please! If anyone has any good ideas where we should visit outside of Italy, please just leave a comment, facebook me, or email me. I would totally appreciate it!!

Hope all is well and ya'll are having loads of fun!!

Keep in touch,

Dana

Music to my ears!

Hello!!

I am still alive everyone! I hope you all are too! If anyone comes to Salzburg, it is bound and determined that you WILL see some sort of musical performance while you are here. I, however, get many more chances to experience real Austrian and European musical performances than many!! I have already been to two concerts and they were definitely great to watch and listen to, but also a learning experience!!

I for one am taking a History of Music class here at Salzburg College, so I am required to go to at least five concerts and write reports on them. I have to say what pieces were featured, about the composers and their music and the history of the pieces, the differences between 'movements,' and my overall reaction and impression of the performance! This is definitely way more than I am used to knowing about music, especially classical music. I have been learning all about the history of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Debussy, Bach, Brahms, and many other guys that I may or may not have heard of!

So, the first concert. This was in the Schoss Mirabell, an old building that houses the mayor and offices of Salzburg government. I was expecting to go to a big concert hall with a stage and concert seats...nope. I walked into a rather large open room that had about nine rows of chairs on the floor with two or so chairs up front beside a piano! The room could probably hold a hundred people, but it seemed so much tinier than i was expecting.

This first concert featured W.A. Mozart, Claude Debussy, and L.V. Beethoven. There was a sonata with the piano and violin, one with the cello and piano, and a trio with all three instruments. The music was consider 'chamber music.' (any one reading this who knows about music and history has to understand that I do NOT know much about this kind of music and these are one of a kind experiences for me at this time of my life!) So, the piece was played, but you have to make sure you don't clap a pauses that seem like the end of the piece, cuz it is just the end of a 'movement.' Most pieces have 3 or 4 movements. If you clap, you both embarrass yourself like crazy and ruin the piece!! (I did not clap till the entire piece was done) Then, after the piece, the players get up and walk out while we clap, then they come back in and bow and we clap, they leave, come back and bow, we clap and finally when we stop clapping they stop coming back in and bowing. This concert was so nice to listen to, but it is just so different for me to listen to any kind of music with string instruments!!

My second performance that I have been able to go to so far was a very big orchestra concert. This concert hall did meet my expectations. We were in the big Salzburg Festival Hall where world-wide people perform year-round (especially during the big festival in the summer) and the stage is supposedly one of the biggest opera stages in the world. The house can seat 2,300 people. This concert featured Joseph Haydn, Bela Bartok, and Johannes Brahms. There were two symphonies and one concert with solo viola and the orchestra. This concert was so much bigger and better than the first. Of course, as it was an orchestra performance, there were so many more instruments. It was so neat to hear all the different ones together. There was still 'movements' and a conductor who left and came back after the pieces until we stopped clapping.

It was mesmerizing to see all the bows of the violins, violas, and cellos flying in the exact same way at the exact same time. But the thing that I will remember the most, is all the clapping at the end of the performance!! The performance ended with a very romantic symphony from Brahms and then the clapping began and the bowing happened, and went on, and went on. I think after the fifth time of the conductor coming back in, he finally got back on his podium, told us in German they were gonna play some Number 10 piece and we heard more! Then, we clapped some more. Twice more he came out and then got back on his podium and played us something Number 3. It was pretty sweet to get an encore for real. Finally after bowing once after the second extra piece the conductor shaked a lot of the players hands and left and the players started to pack up, so we had to leave and stop clapping finally!! Our History of Music teacher also came to the show with us and said that was a lot of clapping. He kinda laughed and said that was nothing!!! I guess I will just have to practice my clapping and become better conditioned!!

So, musical performances are not on rare occasion here in Salzburg. I will have a very trained ear by the end of the semester and hopefully be much more educated about music, its history, and about performances!!

Besides concerts, classes and homework, I have not been doing anything too much else. It is really crazy to believe, but I only have 3 weeks till I leave on my first break for 2 weeks to anywhere in Europe I choose to go! Time flies by really fast!

I will be hanging around Salzburg this weekend. Esther and I may go horseback riding, swimming, or some other recreational activity to keep life interesting. Friday, us girls plan on having a night out and hopefully we will find some dance places and meet some new people. I am still loving every minute here. My host family is still as great as ever and I am feeling alive and well.

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying all that you are up to. Keep in touch and take care!

Miss you all,
Love ya tons,

Dana

Oktoberfest

Hello all,

I went to Oktoberfest! It was absolutely amazing. Believe it or not, people can go to Oktoberfest and have a good time without drinking loads of beer and getting drunk, cuz I did.

Oktoberfest is a drinking fest, but so much more than that. This festival originally started as a wedding. There was a wedding where all the breweries wanted to make an especially good beer for the celebration. When they did this, the wedding party lasted four days because the beer was so good. After each year the party getting bigger and bigger, they had to move the party outside. And because it gets colder in October, they had to move up the dates to start in September. So now Oktoberfest is a big festival (similar to a state fair) which goes on from around Sept. 20 to Oct. 5. There are over 20 different beer tents which people try to get into. The tents open around 9:30 everyday of the festival. If you have reservations, then you can go to your tables whenever, otherwise, people stand in HUGE crowds outside of the doors waiting for them to open and then it is a big push inside and rush to find a table. We were a little late, so we did not get to stay inside a tent, but we were right outside of one and it was still super.

You can only order food or non-alcoholic beverages before noon, and NO BEER. However, right at noon...the beer starts flowing. With servers carrying 4 to 6 of the liter mugs full of beer IN EACH HAND, eventually everyone is served. It is a sight to see the men and women carrying an enormous amount of mugs full of beer. It is just crazy!

I went to Oktoberfest with a group of eight. We did try to get into the beer tents, but were unsuccessful and managed to find an outside table of the Augustiner Brewery Tent. (Each tent generally is served by one brewery, therefore one kind of beer per tent) The tables we were at were near some Italians and lots of Germans. It was so spectacular to be able to communicate with people from all over the world in one place. I find this part of Oktoberfest the best and most amazing. I talked to a bunch of Bavarians, Italians, Spaniards, New Zealanders, Americans, Irish, and Britains. This one festival is an attraction literally world-wide. It isn't about the beer (well for me it isn't), it was about the community and social atmosphere that you can feel throughout the entire place.

From around 10 in the morning until 7 or so at night, we had a great time talking to people and seeing the place, and going on rides. Some people did get carried away with the beer, but that is expected at such a place. Also, because there are so many people at this festival, and so many people needing to use the toilet...loads of people just went behind vehicles or garbage cans. Otherwise, you had to stand in line for about 15 minutes just to go to the bathroom. Oktoberfest was an absolute great experience. It was a whole bunch of fun and I am not sure anything can compare to it. It is an experience worth being repeated.

Hope you enjoy my interpretation of Oktoberfest. Hope everyone is good and still having fun and staying alive and well!!

I may be off to Prague this weekend or laying low.

Keep in touch!


Dana





Yea for Oktoberfest!!





These are real signs that were on a ride ticket window!!

I am really holding FIVE LITERS OF BEER IN ONE HAND!! I could work at Oktoberfest one day!!

Mezzo-Mix!! This is Coke and Fanta mixed together-a European favorite!

Americans and Bavarians hanging out together as one!!

Prost!! In Bavaria, when one wants to toast to something, you say Prost!






Like Budweiser Horses, but for Paulaner Beer!

Oktoberfest from above!

Walking through!

Hans, our beer server carrying TEN LITERS OF BEER!!



End of Night, time to go home!!