The hills are alive with the sound of music! It has been a full week. Hil and I ventured to Austria this weekend. I really hoped we would get to see Austria, and while many of the girls went to Paris, Hil and I toured Vienna and Salzburg. We left Thursday and got to Vienna early Friday morning. We went with the bus tour group again. Vienna was a beautiful city. We did the ring tour on a tram to all the main palaces and museums, ate a famous piece of chocolate apricot cake (Sacher Torte…yum yum), and explored around St. Stephens church. It was kinda rainy, and I don’t have luck with umbrellas, but we had a wonderful time and enjoyed walking into all the shops. Our tour guide told us about the famous Opera House in Vienna and that they offered discounted tickets to students. On Friday night there was a ballet playing (Die Fledermaus), so obviously we had to go! I haven’t been to many ballets but I LOVED it! They sell the tickets that aren’t taken when the show starts to the students, so we figured we would have pretty bad seats. Boy were we wrong! We were about 6 rows back from the stage, in the most beautiful Opera House I have ever been in (not that I’ve been in many). It was such a fun night. Hil and I like to refer to this weekend as our “cultural weekend”. We toured the Habsburg Palace on Saturday morning and learned a lot about Empress Maria Theresa and the Austrian Empire. The gardens were beautiful and we enjoyed our sandwiches and fruit that we packed from hostel free breakfast (we’ve gotten smart with free food). We left for Salzburg around 2.
On the way to Salzburg we watched The Sound of Music! I had watched it with Mom the week before I left, but it’s one of those movies you can watch many times (right Blair?). The main reason Hil and I went to Austria was to go on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, and because of the Billy Joel song “Vienna waits for you”. We were very excited for Sunday. We got to Salzburg pretty late, and it was dark by the time we explored. From what I saw of the quaint little streets, churches, and mountains, I can say Salzburg is one of my favorite cities. We went with the group to the famous Salzburg beer hall. I didn’t know what to expect, but from what I had been told I would be missing out if I didn’t go. The beer hall reminded me of my father and Harry Potter (for different reasons of course). I actually really enjoyed it. It was huge and full of these long tables packed with stone mugs and men. We got stared at because we were literally the only girls in the place. We sat beside an Air Force couple stationed in Germany, and they informed us that the beer hall was named by the History Channel as the “world’s best beer hall with the world’s best beer”. It was quite the experience, even if I couldn’t finish my half liter, and Hil was pouring hers into mine so she could say she finished “the world’s best beer”. The food was all vinegar based and very Austrian. I tried Wienerschnitzel. We walked around Salzburg a little more and called it a night! Sunday was the long awaited Sound of Music Tour! The tour was great but I have to admit, if Blair would have been there it would have been better. Blair, one of my best friends, LOVES the Sound of Music more than anyone I know. We took a picture of her with us on the whole tour. Blair, you were there in spirit. My favorite part was the hill town of Mondsee, where they get married in the movie! It was about a 30 minute drive up in the hills from Salzburg, around the lake region. It was BEAUTIFUL! Kinda reminded me of the beauty of the Interlaken area. We had the best apple strudel and ice cream. It was a great afternoon! We left Salzburg about 2 and headed towards Firenze. I tried to do my school reading on the bus but couldn’t because of the view. The drive was beyond amazing. I stared out the window for 4 hours. It was unreal. We were driving through valleys, so we were surrounded by the Alps on both sides. Because of all the traveling we have been doing lately, we’ve been missing church on Sunday night. It’s been a bummer, but looking out the window and sitting for 4 hours was a wonderful time to think and pray. How could someone look at the Alps and beautiful countryside and not praise the Artist who made them! Another highlight of the drive was when we stopped at a McDonalds with a panoramic view of the Alps. If the beer hall gets a world famous award, then this McDonalds should too! No kidding, it was that beautiful. We got back to Florence around 10.
Other fun facts:
-While in Austria I discovered a new painter: Gustav Klimt. His work was all around Austria and I LOVED IT! I normally don’t notice artist, but I really liked his paintings. I got a couple of his post cards.
-This week’s photo class assignment was “self-portraits”. My teacher is very broad when she gives us the assignments. She likes creativity. My self-portraits were creative to say the least. Hil got her laugh for the week. It’s not easy to take pictures of yourself. You either look like the middle school MySpace mirror kid, or really weird and conceited. I think I may even prefer being a creeper with my “feel the world” assignment. I managed to get 10 self-portraits but my professor wasn’t as positive this week. I’m learning a lot about Photoshop. Here is a self-portrait for your viewing and laughing pleasure!
-On Monday I went to a “cultural dance class”. It was girls only and taught by my cooking instructor. The more I’m around my cooking teacher, the more I like her! I had to go to her dance workshop! It was the funniest two hours. It was mainly Egyptian style and middle eastern dancing (basically belly dancing). She kept saying “feel the music”, but 35 American girls aren’t used to “feeling the music”. I loved every minute. It reminded me of when Al and I dance on Christmas Eve for Grandma Johnson. We just did whatever we felt. At one point we danced with scarves around our heads and I felt like I was in Slum Dog Millionaire. After dance class and the ballet, I’ve decided I have missed my calling: I was meant to be a dancer.
-Last week we went to a Fiorentina vs. Milan soccer match! I’ve never been to anything like it- not even a UNC vs. Duke basketball game. It was intense! We looked like the dumb American girls when we tried to find our proper seats. Some Italian man informed us that we should just find a free seat…good luck with that! We had on purple so we were fine as long as we stayed with the Fiorentina fans. Florence lost sadly, and we never spotted David Beckham! It was a great night and I will def. be going back to another soccer match!
-I really enjoy hanging out with my language partner! She is so nice and I look forward to seeing her every week! We normally meet on Wednesday.
I love y’all very much. I think and pray for y’all (the faithful few that actually read my blog) daily!
Love.Meow.Wing.
Bec
“The present of things past is memory, the present of things present is sight; and the present of things future is expectation.” –St. Augustine (talking about the concept of time in Philosophy class)
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