Time With My Friends!

Miriam at her Birthday party at Afro Cafe with her most Delicious Birthday Cake!! What a beautiful face!
Joyce and I partying with everyone at the Republic Cafe after ripping it up on the dance floor!
Barney and I! Isn't he cute? I think so! Everyone waiting to enjoy our wonderful Austrian Meal at Veronika's
TANZABEND! Here we are all trying to learn some Scottish Dances! It was such a great time!
Joyce, Miriam, Joanna, Lisa, Jana, and everyone busting a move at the Tanzabend. The group at Bible Study! Joyce, Brooke, Cameron, Me, Miriam, Johannes, and Andy!

Guten Tag!

Well, I have just finally completed my post from my two week break, but I don't want to get too far behind again. So, I thought I would get onto the next one right away. I have been super busy, but I also have really enjoyed all the time that I have been able to spend with my friends here in Salzburg.

After my two week break I had Easter Sunday and Easter Brunch with my church and friends, and then we also had Easter Monday off from school. It was great to recuperate on Monday before going back into craziness with school. However, eventually I had to go back...and was it crazy or what.

In the two weeks after our break I had to write a twenty page paper about Doing Business in Europe, a four page Marketing field trip report, write up and memorize a seven or so minute conversation presentation in GERMAN, and also try to get some sleep and stay sane. I was lucky that I got right to work on all of my papers and somehow managed to finish them all in time last week.

During the process of completing typed masterpieces, I was also going to a Hip Hop class, church, bible study, and watching some movies with friends. I was able to find JUNO in English and just had to see it. I really enjoyed it if anyone is interested in seeing it, you should!

Well, after two pretty busy and crazy weeks, I finally received a break. Last semester I went with the college on the trip to Vienna. I could have gone on the trip again this semester but opted out and stayed home in Salzburg for the five days the rest of the college was gone. That meant I had a total of Five days to do whatever I pleased! Because all of my homework was due BEFORE Vienna, I didn't even have homework to do.

So, last Thursday 3, April, I was able to go to Afro Cafe, a really groovy cafe as Miriam would say, for Miriam's 23rd Birthday celebration. There were many friends there and we had a great time hanging out till we closed up the place at midnight. Joyce had even brought some cake for Miriam, and I sweet-talked the waiter into letting us eat the cake there in the cafe!! He was so nice that he brought us out plates, forks, and a knife. The cake was pretty amazing too, might I add! Well, Salzburg is not a very happening place during the weekdays, so we called it a night.

Friday, early in the morning, I walked with Caitlin, Rachel, and Brooke to their Bus before heading back to sleep my self. I did wake up though again and headed over to Cameron's to make my famous and most delicious Caramel Apple Coffee Cake. I really miss baking and the taste of that cake is to die for!

My cake was finished and so Miriam, Joyce, Cameron, Joo-Hyeon, and others headed to a nearby town on the train for a movie night with church friends. We watched the English film, Atonement, and ate a lot of pizza. We also had some more cake in honor of Miriam's birthday.

The movie was over, but the night wasn't. Us younger folks headed back into Salzburg to continue the party. We headed to the Republic Cafe to chill for awhile and wait for some dancing to begin. We were so lucky, because we didn't have to wait long before the dance floor was full and we were able to go have some more fun. I absolutely love dancing and had such a great time tearing it up with the greatest friends ever! Needless to say, we didn't stop dancing until the early hours when we finally headed home to crash.

Saturday was a great revival day and one which I slept in very late! After finally really moving in the afternoon, I went to meet up with everyone again at Cameron's house for coffee cake and tea. I was not going to be able to finish my cake myself, so we had planned to share it all together. It was so good tasting...I can't wait to make another this week!

When our cake was gone, we were ready again to party some more and headed on the train to Kuchl. Our friend, Veronika, lives there in the small little mountain town and had invited us out for an authentic Austrian night. We got to go to her house and make Wiener Schnitzel, Apfel Strudel, and Potato Salad...the usual! She also has a really cute dog that I was able to take out for an evening walk. His name is Barney and I think he really liked me!!

We enjoyed the evening of good food and company. Most everyone then had to leave and go back into town, but Miriam, Joyce, and I stayed back to spend the night. Miriam was so excited, Veronika has a sauna and she was totally able to utilize it. Miriam is half Finnish and if there is one thing she loves about her heritage is saunas and the ice swimming!! We also then settled in to watch a movie and eventually headed to sleep.

Sunday morning after getting ready to go, we headed back into Salzburg with the train in order to go to church. Crazy enough, a girl came on the train and sat in the seats beside us. Her and her friend were speaking in English and happened to say something about going to the International Church. So, of course, we checked to see if she was heading to the same place as us, and she was. So, we have made another great friend, Joanna.

We went to church, enjoyed coffee hour, then made our separate ways home to do what we needed before meeting back up for the big Rock 'n Roll TANZABEND!! Or, otherwise called, Dance Night! I, of course, was super tired and took a nap.

I couldn't sleep too long, as I eventually go up and got ready to shake it at the church dance. There is a couple from the church that sings together and does special events. They were our live entertainment and played everything from the 1920's to the 1970's. It was great to dance the waltz, polka, box waltz, shake, traditional Scottish dances, and much more. We had some food and beverages and I think everyone enjoyed the evening.

Again, us girls couldn't imagine ending the party and headed to Miriam's to watch a movie.

The weekend was super fun! I haven't danced in such a long time and enjoyed each night.

Monday I slept in a little before heading over to Miriam's for an afternoon of pancakes and conversation. It was a bit chilly outside, but the sun was shining. So, when Joyce had finished with her classes, we all went out for a nice long walk to Helbrunn. We spent the rest of the night eating some bread and cheese and watching the musical, RENT.

As much as I enjoy every minute that I spend with my friends, I knew I had to get some work done. Therefore, Tuesday, my last day off, I cleaned up my room, washed some clothes, finished my blog, wrote in my journal, did some small assignments, and went to the library to research my final paper for my Economics of the EU class.

I had accomplished quite a bit and in the evening Brooke had arrived back from Vienna. Neither of us were up for anything too strenuous and went out for a really nice evening walk around town.

Tuesday night came to an end and my eyes came to a close!

Today is Wednesday and I am again back at the humble abode of Salzburg College. I must get back into the groove of papers and homework while attempting to cram in everything I want to do yet before I leave.

I wish everyone a great rest of the week and I hope everyone is enjoying some nice weather finally.

Until next time,

Dana

Finally, My Two Week Break

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM:

Taking in the view of Brussels from atop a car garage with Brooke, Kendra, and Jennifer! We also started to sing the Spice Girls up there!

The Acromium...built for the world fair in the 1950's. Really neat to see at night.
Yeah...I am so strong!

PARIS, FRANCE:

I was pretty excited when I saw the Louvre! This is the museum where the orginal Mona Lisa is...supposedly it is much smaller than one expects.
The EIFFEL TOWER! Kris, Brooke, and I in the middle of this world-wide known structure.
The world's biggest roundabout with 9 lanes...and this big gate structure that I don't know the name of!
The Eiffel Tower...at night. It is really beautiful at night, escpecially when it sparkles.
Us girls at Notre Dame. It really is magnificent and the windows inside are beautiful.
I can fly! I can fly...with the pigeons.
BARCELONA, SPAIN:

The coolest teeter-totter ever!
A really neat tree that we all pretended to be monkeys in!
Ah, we just really love each other!!
Me, Brooke, and Kris saying good-bye to this part of the sea before heading to Mallorca!

MALLORCA, ESPANA:

This is the view we had out of our ballcony of our apartment!

Me, the Mediterranean Sea, and the sun!
Rachel, Brooke, and I on the beach! I can fly. I can fly! This is becomming a trend! Notice the Frisbee...yeah, I was totally gonna catch it!
Rachel is much more talented than me when it comes to flying! She almost had the Frisbee!
Me, Brooke, and Rachel=CRAZY! We are running into the freezing cold sea here!Our apartment, the great couches/beds, and Kris's laptop that we used probably too much!
Horse back riding!Our mountain climbing experience. This is just the beginning! We made it to the top! I am on top of the world!

Coming down...what more can I say?
Our poor legs! Kris's, Brooke's, and Mine were burning! I don't know if you can see them...but there are scratches all over them!
CAKE AND ICE CREAM...need I say more? Oh, and a movie!!
Chilling at our hotel by the pool getting some good tans!
In Alcudia on the wall of this small sweet town.
The view with the fog. It was so pretty even with the fog.

Cutting fresh oranges for fresh orange juice!Kris, Me, Rachel, Dr. Stegen, and Brooke all waiting for our great Mallorcan meal! Eating ice cream with our suckers!!

The spanish cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. It is really big and spectacular.

NORTHERN EUROPE:

Hanging out with my parents and have a great time. My Mom took most of the photos, so I am sorry to say I do not have any to share with you here. Except, this great photo of my Dad trying on an original authentic Austrian HAT! I think it fits him well!

Liebe Freunde,

Believe it or not, but my time here in Salzburg, Austria is winding down oh so quickly. I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany on September 2, 2007 and began my adventures of Europe, Salzburg College, and much more. In less than a month, on May 3, 2008, I will be flying back into Chicago, Illinois and greeting my home country for the first time in eight months! I can hardly imagine what all I have experienced and what is yet to come.

However, even as unbelievably close my arrival home is, I still have a few more weeks to enjoy here. In addition, I recently spent 2 weeks gallivanting around Europe again having the time of my life.

On Wednesday 5, March, my Economic and Politics of the European Union class boarded a train together on our way to Brussels, Belgium. The next two days would be spent learning more about the European Union in the actual city where most of the business is done today. We had an overnight train together and arrived in Brussels Thursday morning. We were able to learn all about the regional committees of the countries in the EU. We also then were able to meet a Parliamentarian and go into the Parliament Building. That was really neat as most people are unable to get past the security into the business area of the Parliament.

We learned a lot about the EU and even got to sit in the conference hall where big meetings go on. There was a meeting about the Role of Women in The EU going on. We were able to sit in on some of the speaking and use the headphones to hear the translations of the speaker. The EU has 27 members and 23 official languages including German, Slovakian, Gaelic, Lithuanian, and many others. It was the neatest thing ever to sit in this hall and hear all those 23 languages that were being translated simultaneously as we sat there while the speaker spoke in French. It was so fascinating.

When our tours with the EU ended, we were free to explore Brussels at night. Brooke, Kendra, Jennifer, and I went to the city center. We went on top of a parking garage to get a 360 degree view of Brussels and then walked around. We also got waffles and some good kebaps. We saw Jeaneke Pis, a little statue of a girl who is peeing into a fountain. The fountain actually is not running, so it is just the statue itself without the effect of the water. After seeing the city center, we headed out to go see the Acromium, a huge structure built for the 1958 world fair.

We got to the Acromium and saw it all lit up. It was super pretty and neat. Many people had told me before it was a waste of time to see it, but I think seeing it at night is totally worth it! It is very high with these balls covered in lights. We all really enjoyed it and took many photos before heading back to go to sleep.

The next morning we had one more meeting with a lady from the EU. After another EU morning, we were free to go and start all of our 2 week travels!! Brooke and I headed to the train station. We were running a little late and were getting very nervous when our tram didn’t show up very quickly to take us to our train. Luckily the tram came, we made it to our train, and found it was 25 minutes late…we had plenty of time!

On our train, we were off to Paris, France. Only an hour or so later, we made it into the city of love. It was raining and Brooke and I were tired of walking around, so we finally found a hostel and settled in. When it was dark and much clearer out, we ventured out again and made our way to the Eiffel Tower.

I have heard so many bad things about Paris and especially about the Eiffel Tower. Many say it is ugly, small, and so unattractive. When Brooke and I came around the corner and saw the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the night, we found it so beautiful and amazing. At the hour every night for 10 minutes, the Eiffel Tower sparkles its light. Luckily, our first impression of the Eiffel Tower was many lights flashing in the darkness of the night. We stuck around for awhile and enjoyed the pretty night and the bright Eiffel Tower before heading back to sleep.

The next morning, Brooke and I were supposed to meet our friends, Ryan and Kris, early at the train station. In order to get the cheapest rate, Brooke and I were in separate rooms and I did not wake up in the morning until 7:00; we were going to leave the hostel at 6:15. Luckily Brooke went without me and Ryan, Kris, and she made it safely back together. We ate some breakfast and were ready to explore the city again.

We decided to go on a Free Walking Tour that is put together by the New Europe Company. We got to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, many famous buildings and gardens, old bridges with crazy men’s faces, and loads of other things. One of the most interesting places our guide pointed out to us was the place where the "Immortals" live. These "Immortals" are the men and women who are pretty much the idols of the French Language. They define words, make up new ones, and try to keep the French language without any wester (American/English) influence. These "Immortals" are so strict about keeping French ‘French,’ they were so mad when the IPod came out and they learned that Apple patented the IPod name. Even though the "Immortals" couldn’t make a new French name for this little device, they would not to be shut down. Instead, they changed the PRONUNCIATION! Instead of saying I-Pod like the rest of the world, the French pronounce it "E-Poe."

We learned a lot about Paris and saw many things! We saw the Eiffel Tower once more and the big gate thing that I forget the name to. It is a big structure that sits in the middle of the world’s biggest round-about. This round-about has 9 lanes for traffic. There is an underground tunnel that will take people from outside the traffic to the center where the gate is. However, some crazy people either don’t realize this or are just stupid; but attempt to run through the 9 lanes of MOVING traffic to get to the center. I don’t want to know how many tourists are hurt or killed a year from attempting that.

It became night and it was time to say good-bye to Paris and Ryan as Brooke, Kris, and I boarded our train bound for Barcelona. We found ourselves in a first class car, were given water and ear plugs, and I fell fast asleep just to wake up in the morning in Spain.

In Barcelona we had no planned things to do and proceeded to walk around the coastal city. We used the internet, sat on the beach, looked at a small market, sat on a bench, looked at the old buildings, walked through a garden, and again sat on a bench. We finally had some direction and went to see a church or cathedral structure called the La Sagrada Familia. It is a very unique church that they have been building for over five years I think and they don’t plan to be done for another ten or so! After seeing this church, we finally found ourselves a hostel, walked around some more in the rain, went to sleep, then went out walking again.

It is Monday the 10th of March and we sat on a bench in a small garden for a good hour or so after eating our breakfast of bread, pretzels, oranges, and yogurt. We watched some interesting people walk by including a man practicing some Tae Kwan Do, little boys playing with a little play car, and a girl playing soccer with her grandpa. We finally moved from our bench, and took one last trip to the sea before flying over it. On our way we passed a super interesting playground and tried out the coolest teeter-totter ever. We then saw the beach, took a picture, got a train to the airport, and boarded our plane bound for Palma de Mallorca.

It was only about fourty-five minutes after taking off did we begin our descent onto the little Spanish island of Mallorca. It was so exciting after landing to be in such a beautiful place full of relaxing activities. At the airport we met up with Rachel, who had flown down from Salzburg after a weekend in the Czech Republic when her real destination had been Slovenia. It was great to see Rachel and we were all excited together to head to what would be our home the next five days.

We were very lucky and were able to quickly catch the bus into town. We were even luckier when we then caught the last bus for another two hours bound for the other side of the island where our hotel was. It was sometime after seven when we got in and we easily found our hotel only a block off the beach. We got settled in and took a trip to the grocery store. That first night in our awesome little apartment we cooked rice with shrimp and vegetables. We had cake and milk for dessert, which would later become a nightly ritual. After a long day of travel, we all were tired and went to sleep early to prepare for some rigorous days ahead of us!

Tuesday morning the 11th of March greeted us with beautiful weather and sunshine. We made some eggs for breakfast along with toast made on the stove. We were unable to drink the water from the faucet and instead had to buy it in the store. We also enjoyed some really amazing fruit juices with our favorite being peach and grape juice.

We were all excited to get out to the beach and headed out there in summer attire. We walked through the FREEZING cold Meditteranean Sea and soaked in the sun. We also then played Frisbee on the beach and took some amazing diving photos into the sand. It was great to just be able to enjoy the weather and be outside and just relax. Eventually we got hungry and enjoyed meat and cheese sandwiches before heading out to lay by our hotel pool the rest of the afternoon.

We really had a hard life and after the sun started to set, the weather got chilly, so we headed inside. We went shopping again, not forgetting our cake and milk. We also checked on a horse-riding activity that our hotel was offering. After making a meal of rice, meat and veggies, we decided to explore the town at night. We were in the Port d’ Alcudia, a very small port town on the sea. There were plenty of different places to go to chill and meet others, but none really looked truly great. So, after a lot of walking around, we went in one place for awhile and eventually went back home to go to sleep.

The next morning, we were on a quest to ride some horses. A man came and picked us up along with a girl from England and a couple from Sweden. We were all ready to go ride some horses. We went 15 minutes from our hotel and all got on our horses. We were being led by an older man through Mallorcan woods and also some parts of a town walking and trotting. We then were passed on to a younger man with long, curly blond hair. He took us through winding paths of sand and dirt in a forest or woods of some kind. He stopped us once and asked if we all wanted to gallop. Of course we were ready for the challenge. It was so fun to be galloping on sand in Mallorca and just having a great time. At one point in time we were able to see the beach and the blue of the Sea, but unfortunately we did not walk the horses along it.

Our ride was coming to an end, but after we went through a gate once, the guy who was leading us, his horse must have spooked and somehow the reins on one side of the bridle broke off and the horse got loose. It was a little funny as the horse was not any of ours, but at the same time it made us wonder. He luckily caught her and we were back on our way. Brooke swears that with him as our guide it almost felt as if we were in a movie with the good-looking Spanish horse wrangler. I guess I have to agree with her. I asked if many of the horses were that crazy and the guy told me this was the first time since last fall that the horses had been out for a ride. I am so glad he told us that at the END of our ride!! Oh well, it was super fun and really a great ride. I think we all had a good time.

After getting back to the hotel and finding some lunch, we were all ready to brave the cold Sea and jump into it!! So, we got our swimsuits on and headed to the beach. We needed someone to document our craziness and Kris willingly volunteered. Therefore, Brooke, Rachel, and I ran into the sea and dove into the freezing, very salty water. It was so cold, but also invigorating. In order to warm up a bit, we played some more Frisbee before all four of us jumped into the water one last time. I really think the people on the beach thought we were crazy, but there was no point in wasting the Sea and not jumping in!

We went shopping again of course, relaxed and cooked the rest of the day, and watched a movie together along with our cake and milk. We made fake potatoes that night, and never before have had I tasted better fake boxed potatoes. They were unimaginably too good for being boxed.

Thursday morning came bright and early, and we were all ready for a challenge. We vowed we were going to climb a mountain by the end of the day. We set out and walked straight towards the closest rise out of the ground.

I don’t really remember if we thought the mountain was closer than we anticipated or if we thought it was farther than we thought, but in the end we made it to the foot of the little mountain. We were not sure exactly how to start walking up it, but eventually crossed the highway and just started walking up. There were not any real paths so we just headed straight up. It was quite an experience. There were many rocks and scratchy brush and it seemed as if the top of the mountain continued to get farther and farther away…as it generally seems to do when you climb a mountain.

The sun was really warm as we climbed and before we knew it, we were all sweating and getting rather tired. We were truly getting a workout. After awhile we finally just tried finding the fastest way to the peak. We considered turning around, but we all agreed we wanted to see what was on the other side. From down below, we hadn’t realized the great incline of the mountain and were second guessing our decision to climb up there. However, we finally made it up to the top. It was such a clear day that from one side we looked out over Port d’ Alcudia and far off into the sea. When we turned around we looked out into a long stretch of beautiful green forest. It was spectacular to look at as we ate our peanut and butter sandwiches and cookies.

After our quick lunch, we found ahead of us a great challenge…How were we going to get down? The way we came up was very rocky and would potentially be slippery and dangerous. The other way down was more vegetative but came to a very impossible way. We finally decided to take the grassier way and then veer off back to the same path we came up where it wasn’t as rocky. So we headed down.

I am not sure how long it took us to realize it, but soon we found out it was going to be more of a challenge to get down than it was to get up. The grass was not slippery, but Brooke, Kris, and I were wearing shorts and our legs began to burn from many scratches. Also, the way we chose was totally not easy at all and we had to stop periodically to reassess our path. In addition, we had originally decided we were going to veer off and head down the way we came after the rocky part. However, as we continued, we must have forgotten that idea and soon ran into not so easy ways. We were all losing hope and becoming frustrated…but all we could do was laugh. The bottom of the mountain was not coming closer at all.

I don’t know how long it finally took us, but eventually we made it to concrete and Kris saying, “I have never been so happy to be on concrete before in my life.” We three with shorts came out of the brush with red legs covered in cuts and scratches and Rachel’s foot was not working the strongest. We slowly headed back to our hotel. Our mountain trek is one that we still joke about.

Back at the hotel, believe it or not, we all just sat down, watched some sports on TV and took a nap. We spent the majority of the afternoon doing this. Thursday night we made a nice supper and sat down together to watch yet another movie and enjoy some cake and milk. We settled into bed early that night.

The next morning was Friday. On Monday when Rachel was on her way down to Mallorca from Salzburg, she ran into one of our College’s directors, Dr. Stegen. Dr. Stegen’s husband and she were also on their way to Mallorca for holiday in their vacation home. They had invited us over to their place for a Mallorcan meal and just to sit and relax. So, we walked the thirty minutes to the town of Alcudia where Dr. Stegen was to pick us up.

Alcudia was such a quaint little town which was at one time a Roman settlement. It had an old city wall in which we were able to walk on top of and see the small town buildings and pretty landscapes. We also saw some old remains and some other really neat sites. I’m glad we had a reason to walk out that way or we would have never seen it.

Dr. Stegen picked us up and drove us to a really high look-out point in the area where one can usually see the sheer edge of the cliffs as they drop off into the sea. It was a beautiful day, however, for some reason there was fog and clouds right over the area in which we were trying to look at. Even with the fog, the view was amazing and the clouds made for interesting pictures of the mountain peaks. We were not able to see the mountains dropping off into the sea, but it was still worth driving up there. After that, we headed to Dr. Stegen’s place.

Their place was back on these wonderful country roads where bikers were whizzing by us. It was so amazing when we pulled into their little drive and saw the most super little home surrounded by ripe orange and lemon trees along with a swimming pool. It was as if we were in paradise with the sun bright and the atmosphere so wonderful. We were able to pick some oranges for freshly squeezed juice and sat down for a great meal of Mallorcan chicken with mushrooms, carrots, and tomatoes in an olive oil sauce and also a tomato salad and bread. The meal was ever so good tasting.

After our meal we were surprised by another treat, Almond cake and almond ice cream. The two sweets complimented each other so perfectly and we all had to have seconds! We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with conversation and basking in the sun outside on the patio. It was a great afternoon and we all enjoyed it immensely.

After they drove us back into town, we decided to spend the rest of our last afternoon no where else than the beach. We got dressed and headed out to lie out. It seemed like a good idea at first until maybe 10 minutes later we realized we were actually freezing rather than tanning in the sun. So, our attempt at sunbathing had failed, but we just headed back to enjoy our last night in Mallorca together inside.

We made a super spinach, rice, and chicken meal along with enjoying our last cake in Mallorca. We had originally said we were going to explore the night life again, but were so tired we instead went straight to bed.

It was Saturday the next day and early in the morning we got ready, packed up and caught the bus back to Palma de Mallorca. On our arrival in Palma, Rachel headed to catch her plane to Ireland while Brooke, Kris, and I explored Palma. We spent the morning finding breakfast and then good places to sit down at.

We did go and see the Spanish Cathedral which was really cool, but mostly we moved from one bench to the next just sitting, chilling, and people watching. It was maybe our laziest day yet, but it worked for us! We at one time decided to get some ice cream to eat with red lollipops and sat down to enjoy that. Brooke and Kris have decided they are going to perfect lollipops and ice cream to be enjoyed together and market them to the world. I think this will never happen…

We were going to be really early to the airport, but we had nothing else better to do. So, we grabbed our bus to the airport and took a nap before checking in and boarding our Ryan Air flight to Frankfurt. If none of you have ridden a Ryan Air flight before, be thankful. Although they may be cheap, the entire flight entails the loudspeaker going non-stop with ads and commercials the entire flight. Our flight was in the evening, so I was hoping to sleep, but that did not pan out like I had hoped. But, luckily we made it safely to our destination and grabbed our bus to the main Frankfurt airport where we would spend our night.

It was now Sunday and we were in Frankfurt with nothing to do. So, we found an internet café and wasted our time there for awhile. Brooke and Kris found a hotel and checked in before we went and explored what Frankfurt had to offer. It was rainy and cold, so we just walked a while before we got hungry when then we ate at Pizza Hut. I hadn’t had their pizza in over eight months and it was like heaven to me!

Because it was raining and on Sunday nothing is open, we agreed on going to see a movie in German. We watched Horton Hört Ein Hu, or Horton Heard A Hu in English! The seats were super comfy and all three of us at one time during the movie dozed off. However, it was a cute movie we all understood and was worth our time. We then headed back to Brooke and Kris’s hotel to chill before my train left for Amsterdam. I took a shower there and we watched some Arrested Development on Kris’s computer.

Finally, we went to the train station, had some supper, and I boarded my train bound for Amsterdam. I arrived at the Schiphol airport around 1:00 am and settled in for a nights sleep on the chairs there. I slept until 8:30 or so when I was able to greet…

MY PARENTS!!

My mom and dad were able to come visit me for a week here in Europe and our first destination was the great city of Amsterdam. They looked good after their long-haul flight from Chicago and we readily headed to our hotel. After checking in and getting our stuff together for a day on the town, we headed to the city center for some food and fun.

We grabbed some lunch and then caught up with the New Amsterdam Tours to take a free walking tour of the city. Mom and Dad were initially concerned about a 3-HOUR WALKING TOUR!! However, they soon found out it was not all walking and it was actually really informative and fun! We learned all about the red light district with the oldest woman at 72, the old sailors’ chapel, all the canals, the Coffee House tradition, a piece of magical holy bread, Anne Frank, and so much more. I can never become sick of Amsterdam and the city is just so filled with history. Late afternoon the tour ended and I am happy to say that my mom and dad enjoyed it very much.

We were going to go and visit Anne Frank’s house, however the line was super long and mom and dad were really feeling the flight by then. So, we headed back to the hotel for them to take an early night and I hung out with some other people there before heading to sleep myself.

The next morning, Tuesday, I had arranged to meet up with one of my friends from the Netherlands. We were able to hang out with her all day.

It was getting late and we were going to head to Groningen that night, but we ended up only heading to Dronten with Diana and spending the night with her there. Early the next morning we headed out for a day of adventure.

We took a bus to Zwolle and then a train to Groningen where we spent a couple of hours looking at the old town and buying some authentic Netherlands goods. We then hopped back on the train bound for north of Hannover, Germany. We were hoping to see the towns where some of our ancestors came from. We eventually made it to Nienburg.

In Nienburg we had hoped to take a bus to Bolsehle. We were told Bolsehle was where some of our family came from and where we would find a church and really nice people. The bus would not go south until later and instead we opted to take a taxi there. Using my limited German, we finally made it to Bolsehle. This town was really in the middle of no where and had maybe ten houses. We found a fire house, but no church. We also found a small cemetery where we talked to a lady who informed us Bolsehle had no church. This nice lady gave us an interesting ride in her car back to the village where we had walked maybe five minutes from!! It was a super gesture though.

We again talked to another lady and she told us the same, there were no churches in Bolsehle, but one in Husum three kilometers away. I suggested we walk to Husum, but my mom and dad were not as excited about the idea. Instead, we called the taxi driver back and asked him to drive through Husum and another town we expected some of our relatives came from. On our drive through Husum, we did see a church and a cemetery and expect that is what we were searching for. However, the day was getting late and we decided to continue on. Back in Nienburg we headed south to Hannover to catch a night train to Füssen.

During our not so successful journey through those small towns, it was apparent to us why our family settled where they did. The landscape in these northern German towns and the area around them is almost identical to the area where they settled in Northeastern Iowa. It is primarily flat with some small curves in the landscape covered in green pastures and scattered woods. It was really beautiful!

In Hannover we had to wait a few hours before our train left and grabbed some food in McDonalds (one of the only warm places to eat at). The people were not as friendly as we had hoped and we also had a strange confrontation with a man we believe was drunk, high or both. However, we finally boarded our train and got comfortable for the night.

The next morning we found ourselves in a world of white! It was snowing again. We arrived in Füssen and took a bus to the area of the local castles. The casltes include Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Schwangau. With the snow, the clouds were low and so the visibility was not the greatest. However, it was still pretty and we enjoyed a tour of Schloss Schwangau where a Bavarian ruler used to live. I know I should remember the name of the actual man, but my brain seems to forget any detailed specifics lately.

The tour was neat and then we found a nice restaurant to enjoy some Bavarian originals. Dad had a dish with potato noodles and sauerkraut, Mom had Käsespätzle, a kind of cheesy macaroni (one of my favorites dishes here), and I had a spinach strudel. We also enjoyed a Topfen Strudel or a cream cheese dessert. It was all super good! Es schmeckt gut!

After our time there, we found a train again bound for the super city of Salzburg. It was pretty late when we arrived and after checking in to their Bed and Breakfast, my mom and dad settled in for a good nights rest. I headed to my host family’s house to also get some sleep before some extensive site seeing!

Friday morning greeted us bright and early and we headed into the Altstadt or old city. During our walk into town, mom noticed the horse carriages headed in the same direction. I was hoping to surprise her with the horse carriage ride around town, but of course, my mom is the worst person to try to surprise…she ALWAYS figures things out before. Nevertheless, we headed into the Altstadt and enjoyed a really nice ride around on a carriage equipped with Half-lingers. It was really sweet and fun.

After our ride, I pointed out some other sites in Salzburg, got some sourdough bread, and then I took my parents to my college. Luckily there were people there and my parents were able to meet the amazing Gretel and the greatest cook, Brigitte. We even got some blueberry pancakes and ice cream!! I showed my parents the small Salzburg College before heading on.

I then took them to see where I did my photography project at the local farm near my host family’s place. After showing them that, we relaxed at the Bed and Breakfast for a while and had some meat and cheese with our bread.

We again then headed into the city center where I wanted to show them the big Augustiner Brewery. This was Friday night and I was hoping they could try Leberkäse and other wurst. However, it was Good Friday and as the Augustiner Brewery is one of the monks, they didn’t have ANY meat being sold. Therefore, mom and dad enjoyed a See Lachts fish dish, a tomato and onion salad, and knödeln with mushroom sauce (dumplings). My Dad also had to enjoy some beer. Because it is fasting time, the beer brewed at this time is Fastenzeit Bier, fasting time beer. This means that it is thicker and stronger than usual! I think my Dad enjoyed it.

After experiencing the local tradition at the Augustiner, we headed back to our beds and enjoyed another good nights rest.

Saturday morning we headed back into town so we could go up to the Salzburg Festung, or Salzburg Fortress. On the way I showed my parents the Salzburg flamingos and a very special hobby farm. We headed on the walk up to the fortress. I had thought that we could walk up for free and see some of the things instead of paying quite a bit for the cart ride up and down. However, I was wrong and it was still rather expensive to get into the courtyard of the fortress. So, instead I took my parents on a nice walk through the Mönchsberg to see the city for above. It was a really nice and relaxing walk.

At the end of our walk, we were able to meet up with my friend, Cameron. He does Sound of Music bike tours during the summer and was going to show us some of the sites. He told us about the St. Peters Cemetery, some of the horse fountains, and other sites in the film. We took a lunch break before going to see Mirabellplatz.

Mirabellplatz is a place with beautiful gardens where a lot of scenes in the Movie was filmed. After seeing these sites, Cameron had to leave us, and we headed to Hellbrunn.

Hellbrunn is a huge park with a building complex that one of the Salzburg Archbishops built as a summer home. He was a very funny man and also built water games to entertain and trick his guests with. We took the tour of the Wasserspiele. The water tricks are really silly and neat to listen to. There is one part in the tour that entails a beautiful room filled with bird noises made exclusively from water power. It sounds so real. Another one of my favorite parts of the tour includes a huge wooden moving musical collaboration. I really don’t know what to call it, but it is a big thing showing the typical happenings of small town and has over a hundred or so movements powered only by water. It is really neat to see.

After the tour, we scoped out the large green grounds and also toured inside the castle. There is one room in the castle that is octagon shaped and is called the music room. It has the most amazing acoustics and magnifies every sound. It is my favorite part of the castle.

When we saw all we needed to see, we headed back towards town and walked to Schloss Leopoldskron, otherwise known as the Sound of Music house. We walked around the lake and saw the house. I think it is always just so beautiful and amazing to walk around the corner and see it sitting there on the edge of the water. I always like to go running around this lake.

We were finally toured out and headed to my host family’s place for a great meal of Wiener Schnitzel, Kartoffeln Salat, and Sachar Torte. This meal could also be told as breaded veal cutlets, German potato salad, and Austrian chocolate cake. It was really great and my Mom and Dad were able to chat with my host parents. I gathered a lot of my parents’ things together and when it was time to say good-bye, my host dad drove me and my parents to the train station. We said good-bye and left on our train bound for München Flughafen, the Munich Airport.

We made it to the airport and tried to settle in for a little sleep before my mom and dad had to check-in for their flight home. It was Easter Sunday morning around 7:00 am when we woke up and headed to the check-in counters. We got all the baggage checked and had some breakfast. It was then time for my Mom and Dad to go through security and back to the comfort of their home country and farm! It was really sad to say good-bye, but someone had to say it.

After they made it safely through the security, I headed back to Salzburg to enjoy Easter Sunday service at my church here in Salzburg. When the service was done, I was lucky to enjoy an Easter Brunch with my friends of the church. It would have been really great if my parents would have been able to stay one more day and I could have spent Easter with them.

But, not everything is as we want it to be or how we expect/plan it to be. We must take what we are given and be thankful for all the God blesses us with. I am very blessed that my parents were able to come and visit me and that even when they had to leave; I still had amazing friends to spend my time with and enjoy their company.

I am very sad to say that I will be leaving Salzburg in a very short time. I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends again and doing things that I have not done in a very long time. However, it is going to be very hard to say good-bye to the friends I have met here and the activities that I have enjoyed the last seven months.

I hope this finds everyone well! I am doing great staying super busy with school, hanging out with friends and enjoying my last days here in Austria. I will soon update you all again with the fun since my two week break.

Bis dann,

Ciao,

Dana

A Quick Note

The Crew!! Me, Ryan, Rodrigo, Brooke, Kris, and Jahn!! On the top of one of the small mountains in Salzburg. Our Brazilian Friends, Rodrigo and Jahn! We met them in Budapest after riding the train about three times together unknowingly!

Brooke and I at the only place where you can 'really' see the sky.
Jumping Photos!! Brooke and I jumping over the entirety of Salzburg.
Brooke + Snow = Salzburg Weather...
Hello Everyone,

It has only been a few weeks since my last post, but I am leaving now for two and a half weeks on my mid-semester holiday. So, I thought I would give you a little message before I left.

The last two weeks have been really good. After going to Budapest, my friends from church were finally back from their holidays. Therefore, I was able to hang out with them, go to bible study, and enjoy the nice weather.

On night we had a burger night and made carrot and fruit salads, homemade buns, and enjoyed our delicious food. In addition, this past weekend, we had some Brazilien friends who we met in Budapest here in Salzburg and showed them around. It was loads of fun walking up the Moenchsberg, taking photos, and then getting attacked by rain and snow.

I recently signed up for a Hip-Hop dance class and a step-grooves pilates class. I already had a dance class and it was super fun. Great excersice and fun in an hour and a half every week! I look forward to continuing the classes when I get back in three weeks.

The rest of the news: I went to church on Sunday, studied for my mid-terms, have completed most of my tests, and tonight I head out to Brussels for the start of my break. I will be going to Brussels, Paris, Barcelona, Mallorca, Amsterdam, Nienburg, Munich, and then come back to Salzburg soon. I also will be meeting up with my parents in Amsterdam...so I am super excited for that!!

Well, I hope all is well in the lands of which you all come from. It snowed today here in Austria, but the sun is quickly melting it away.

Have a great March and some good Easter Holidays!!

Wiedersehen,

DANA

February...

The crew that helped me BRING IN my birthday!! Miriam, Cameron, and Brooke!

My roomie, Brooke!
The greatest people ever who helped me eat birthday cake and watch Hairspray! From the left: Jocelyn, Rachael, Miriam, Veronika, Joyce, Caitlin, Me, and Brooke.
One of the best birthday gifts ever!! Thank you Joyce and Miriam!
Pretty flowers my host brother bought for me on the birthday. He truly is a super sweet boy!
One of the crazy floats in the Fasching Parade. This man swung around up there even flipping upside down!
A keg on a float in a city-wide parade...I didn't think I would ever see that. Only in Austria.
Crazy Cave-Men with their painted faces and cattle bones on strings. Rather Frightening.
Another unique sight at the Fasching Parade.
And...My pretty pirate with Brooke and I. My host dad was behind all of this...

Me and a snowboard!!

Me ACTUALLY Snowboarding!!
Riding the SNOW!! Amazing expereince!!

Kris and I...she taught me everything she knows!!!

Just Chilling...
Me and Budapest! It was so wonderful!
Parliament Building!
Our Flea Market that we enjoyed in the beautiful sunny weather.
Budapest by Night.
Most of our Budapest group posing like rock stars! Me, Brooke, Caitlin, Kendra, Kris, and Ryan...Rachael was taking the photo!

Greetings,

It seems just like yesterday that I was waiting in the Frankfurt terminal for the new group of students to arrive; I simply can not believe that I have been in class for four weeks already!!

Meeting the new group was really quick, and after I maybe met about half of the group, they had to head to Trier, and I headed to Hamburg, Germany. So, on Monday, January 21, I headed out again by myself. I went to Hamburg and found a hostel after walking through the rain. Because the weather was so awful, I stayed inside the entire night from about 3 in the afternoon on. I read my book and drank some tea and talked to the others who were staying at the hostel until I snuggled into a long night of sleep. The next morning I headed out to see the famous huge Hamburg Harbor and sit around enjoying the wonderful day it was. The ships were really big and neat to see and it was really refreshing to walk along the water and see the always growing, industrial city of Hamburg.

After seeing what I could of Hamburg, I jumped back on the train and headed south to Cologne. Cologne is a beautiful city at night with all the lights and I easily found my hostel, settled in for the night after eating some free noodles, and was off to sleep. The next morning while walking to the famous Cologne Cathedral, I ran into the group on the street and hung out with them for the rest of the day. When the time finally came, I got back on the train and finally made my way to Salzburg!

Back in Salzburg on the 24th of January, I was greeted happily by my great host family and started to do laundry, straighten up things, and get back into life. The first night I was back, I even was able to baby-sit my host siblings. It was an experience. I was in charge of three kids, none of whom I can really communicate well with, and was alone with them for over two hours. It was a lot of fun, but the language barrier was a battle.

Finally, Saturday came and I was able to meet who my new roommate was going to be. My host Dad and I headed into town to meet the group and came home with Brooke Etnyre from Illinois as my new roomie! That first night I quickly got Brooke initiated with Salzburg and we went to watch a movie with Miriam and Joyce, two friends from church.

The Sunday before classes started, we went to church and met more people, walked around more of Salzburg, and just chilled. It was then Monday morning and we both were starting the new semester in Salzburg. We had orientation, lunch, and Ellen, Jimmy, and I (the year students) took the new students on a ‘practical’ walking tour of old town Salzburg. That first night, we had some girls over and had a girl’s movie night together and watched Step Up!! Great movie of all time!!

The rest of the week flew by with classes and hanging out with the new people. Then, the next weekend came and it was super duper fun!! Friday night, I was able to go watch Jana’s, a girl from church, contemporary dance recital. It was really interesting; I had never before been to any modern art dance performances. Saturday was spent at an amazing Fasching parade. Fasching is the time before Lent and fasting time when everyone in Germany and Austria has parties and sincerely just eats a lot of meat and drinks a lot of beer.

At the Fasching parade, I saw the most outrageous floats, costumes, and signs. There were leopard skinned people, a LOT of pirates, men dressed as women, soccer players with cool whips, floats with kegs of beer ON the float, cave looking men with real beef bones attached to strings, half naked women dancing on the floats, and a lot of cool tractors that I took pictures of!! It was just so fun to watch all of the people partying and having a super fun time. At the end of the parade, we followed the remaining people and floats to the end and found our family. There I saw a really pretty pirate. My host Dad proceeded to going over and talking to him. I am almost afraid what he really told him, but we got a picture with him and he really is the prettiest pirate ever!

The rest of the night was spent making a really good salad, watching Dirty Dancing-Havana Nights, and then bringing in my birthday all together at Shamrock with Miriam, Cameron, Brooke, and ME!! It was a great beginning to a super birthday.

Sunday morning was church and I was even sung to! It was spectacular. Then, we ate a lot of cake and tea at coffee hour, and then headed quickly home for lunch with the family. I did some homework in the afternoon then Brooke and I went for a short walk up Mönschsberg. Later in the afternoon we got the party started! All the girls came over and we ate some amazing cake that my host Mom made for me. It was Miriam, Joyce, Jocelyn, Brooke, Veronika, Caitlin, and Rachael!! We ate our cake and then I got the best birthday gift ever from Miriam and Joyce. Channing Tatum is an actor from Step Up and She’s The Man. Miriam and Joyce got me a birthday calendar with men on it and they put a photo of Channing Tatum’s face on ever photo!! It is a very precious gift and it is hanging in Brooke and my room now!

After cake we all sat together and watched another amazing chick-flick…Hairspray!! It was so great to watch that movie. When the movie was done, we all headed into town to meet up with the rest of Salzburg College at the Augustiner Brewery. I think over half of our college was together and it was so fun to really get to know them better after only really knowing them for a week. After chilling at the Augustiner, we moved downtown to Murphy’s Law to watch the Super Bowl. It was so different to be in Europe watching the most American sporting event ever. The Giants won! I do not follow football, so if the Patriots would have won…that would have been great too!! The night ended after the super bowl did and I definitely had a super birthday that was a lot of fun that I was able to spend with so many friends!!

The second week of class began and work began to pile on. Tuesday, however, was Fasching Dienstag. This is the last day before the fasting begins! We had another birthday in the college and we all went out together to celebrate Anna’s 20th. As it was Fasching Dienstag, there were loads of people out dressed up again and I even got a picture with another pirate. The rest of the week was rather uneventful.

The weekend came and Brooke headed with a few others to Munich and Dachau while I stayed home to do some homework and just relax. I spent the day reading, writing papers, and also found time to enjoy a really nice walk on some trails.

Sunday, January 10 came and Brooke and I again headed off to church. It was a beautiful morning, and after church we were ready to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. We got on our bikes and ran home, packed some sandwiches and snacks, and headed to Helbrunn Schloss. On our way to Helbrunn, Brooke and I discovered some more amazing landscapes and areas of Salzburg. We met our family at the park area and then headed for a little hike up a small mountain. We were able to see a really neat stone theater and then spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the edge of the mountain overlooking flat pastures, the pretty city, and the magnificent mountains laid out before us.

The third week of class arrived and I definitely had loads more work to get done. This semester I have an Austrian Cuisine class. Every Tuesday I get to go and make a new Austrian dish and enjoy it with dessert! I am also taking an International Marketing class the entails a lot of reading and field trips to go on. In addition, I have an Economics and Politics of the European Union class that is taught by a great professor. I am learning so much about the EU this semester; I never thought I would find it so interesting. Besides these classes I am taking a Business class and two classes of German. My German is not as good as I would hope it would be, but it is so much better.

Valentine’s Day has never been a very important holiday for me, but I had a great day this year. After a long day at class, Brooke and I had no plans and our friend Cameron invited us over to watch a movie. When we arrived, he had bought us each a pretty flower and gotten us chocolate. Incredibly sweet and nice!! We also made some homemade popcorn in the pan and watched a really interesting movie. It was a super night for a great day!!

The weekend finally came again and it was totally a great! I WENT SNOWBOARDING!! At 6 in the morning, Brooke and I got up and prepared our bikes for a ride across town. We arrived at EM Stadium and were able to catch a free shuttle bus to Ruβbach Ski Resort. We got to the mountain, rented our equipment, got our ski passes, and went to the bunny hill.

The first ride down the small run was not very successful. I didn’t make it up the lift all the way, and then practical fell down the part I had made it up! I could not make my body do what I could remember from my first time snowboarding. It was some pretty rough runs at first, but I was finally getting it back down.

Out on slopes, many of the runs had T-bars to use to get to the top. These bars had contraptions that you put between your legs or sort of leaned on for the ride up the slope. These bars would have not been hard to use, except with a snowboard it is NOT easy. I never once made it up the entire bunny slope to the top with these bars. My roommate, Brooke, loves to tell this next story. I feel if I don’t tell you, my whole snowboarding experience will be compromised. However, I am not going to tell you. The following text was submitted by my wonderful and so supportive roommate, Brooke:

On the bunny hill the “platter lift” as I was told, was the way you got to the top. You would take this round plastic rod thing, that hung off the rope and put it between your legs, this would then pull you up. Well this platter thing worked great for skiers but it was mighty hard for snowboarders. And the best story of the day happened on this lift. My roommate, who had the most trouble with this method, took a spill next to a fence, while riding the lift. As she let go of the platter thing, it wrapped around the fence, which then began to pull the fence, and in the end pulled it right out of the ground. Finally, someone stopped the lift and my roommate and I are standing on the top of the hill with a 20 foot fence out of the ground, having no idea what we are supposed to do, and I am crying I’m laughing so hard. Well needless to say, someone did come fix the fence and I had a story I told anyone who would listen!

Needless to say: I never went back up one of those slopes with the T-Bars again and Brooke really did tell everyone who would listen her story of the day!!

Instead of these awful slopes with “put the rod between your legs” contraptions, I headed up the big dogs. It was so scary at first looking down on these really steep runs, I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to make it down for lunch. But, I made it down and it was totally wonderful. We ate our sandwiches for lunch and headed back up.

Brooke and I, along with Ryan, Kris, and Ellen, headed down some new runs and I was finally improving. I was using both of my edges and able to make it down some considerable distance without falling on my knees or bum. It seemed, however, that I was sometimes falling more just trying to get up onto my snowboard than when I was going down the mountain. Luckily, I had a good friend, Kris, help me sometimes. She is really good at snowboarding. She also comes from Montana and attends MSU, so she and I always have good conversations about good ole’ Bozeman.

At the very end of the day I was so tired and I thought my body was going to give out, but I was able to make it down the very last part of the mountain without falling once! It was a remarkable ending to a very superb and beautiful day. I was really happy about my snowboarding and hope to keep going every year from here on out!

Sunday came again and that meant church also. Brooke and I went to church and then came back home to get started on some homework. I had a twenty page paper due about “the EU’s role in the world” and had to get started on it. Monday and Tuesday were also filled with writing days and by Wednesday morning, I had my paper done.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful and very relaxing after getting that large paper done. And, then we all decided to go to Budapest, Hungary!!

Kris, Ryan, Rachael, Caitlin, Kendra, Brooke, and I all wanted to get out of the city and I had one weekend left to finish my rail pass, so we chose a great destination of Budapest to visit. Saturday morning at 2 am, we all got on our train in Salzburg and by 9 am were already in another country!

One of the nicest days yet met us as we got off the train and headed into the city to explore. All day Saturday we walked around the city seeing the sites and enjoying the day. We walked all down the Danube River, saw the really neat Parliament building, walked through the beautiful castle complex, and even went through this really neat underground Labyrinth. The Labyrinth had a lot of unique dark paths to go through and many interesting paintings on the wall.

By the end of all of this site-seeing we were all getting very tired and finally set off to find a hostel. We found a hostel, put our things down, and then set out to find some Hungarian food for supper. We came across a really nice restaurant and enjoyed a super meal. I had a mushroom cream soup that was so nice and a Hungarian pasta dish with cottage cheese. It was all very good and we were entirely satisfied by the end of our meals.

To finish up our night in Budapest, we decided to see the river and buildings all lit up at night. It was very beautiful and we had a lot of fun before heading back for a much needed good night of sleep!

Early the next morning, Sunday, we all got ready and headed to a store down the way to grab a bite for breakfast. Most of us were able to buy a delicious fresh roll for about a dollar to fill us up for breakfast. Mine was a roll with a certain cream inside along with raisons. It was so great, I got another one later before we headed back home.

We had seen most of the main sites on Saturday and this day we decided to head to a Flea market all across town. It was another sunny day and the long walk to the bus station was very nice. We then found our bus and made our way to the outskirts of Budapest to find a true Flea Market. It was literally an oversized garage sale with everyone selling their different odds and ends. It was neat to see, but my favorite part was sitting down outside in the sun and enjoying a cold Sprite!! There were loads of antique things and neat furniture, but nothing I was really interested in or attracted to.

After our Flea Market, we headed back into the central part of the city and walked around some more. We grabbed some Gyros for lunch, road the really long escalators down into supposedly the deepest underground system of Europe, and then found a really nice park to sit down at and just relax.

When it was time to go find our train, we headed to the station, spent the rest of our Hungarian money, and waited to board. Then, we saw these two boys who we had seen multiple times since our train ride to Budapest. It actually happened that when we were almost to Budapest, we stopped at a very small train station 5 minutes from the main one. Three of us saw a boy get off the train and then he turned around to watch the train pulling away from him. He was standing outside looking very confused and lost. He had obviously not wanted to get off at this small station. After we got off at the main station and were headed out to see the city, we saw the same guy and his friend and were happy to see he made it into town. We then saw him two or three more times while walking around and at the castle. This was all on Saturday.

Then, while waiting for our train on Sunday we spotted them AGAIN like I was just saying earlier!! It was so incredible!! So interesting too! Kris then happened to say hi to them and then we started talking. They were from Brazil, studying in Germany, and were only in Europe for about three weeks. Also, they were going to be on the same train with us to Vienna. So, on the train to Vienna they found us and we sat together and chatted. In Vienna before changing trains, we realized again that our night trains were actually attached to each other and we would be technically on the same train all the way AGAIN from Vienna to Salzburg. As we talked longer, the two guys told us they were going to be in Salzburg on Saturday this upcoming weekend. If any of us are free, we are hoping to meet up with them again and show them the sights of Salzburg! It was just so crazy how one thing lead to another and by the end of our weekend we had made friends with two absolute strangers who we thought we would never see again!

After our long train ride back home, we finally crawled into our beds around 12:30 and were up for school again early Monday morning. I had German class, Economics, and I even had a wine tasting class that was a part of my Austrian Cuisine class.

The rest of the week will probably entail a lot of studying, a few movies, bible study, bike rides, and some walking or running outside in the wonderful weather we have been having. Next week I will have mid-terms and then go on a trip to the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium at the end of next week. After my field trip I will begin another two weeks of holiday and this time I should be heading south to France, Spain, and Mallorca for a week and then heading back up north to meet up with my parents!! I am very excited about my upcoming adventures and especially ready for visitors!! I can not wait!

I hope everyone else is doing well and the weather is not always bad. If there are any questions about my adventures or you want me to elaborate more about some of my last trips, just drop me a message or email and I would be happy to fill you in!!

I really hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy!!

Take Care,

Leibe,

Dana