Praha! errr, scratch that....LINZ!

So, this weekend began (Thursday that is) with me thinking I was leaving late to catch a train, in order to catch an early bus to Prague (Praha). Oh how wrong I was. Didn't get a seat reserved on the bus, couldn't get one on another bus, and didn't want to pay crazy money for a train. And so, the decision was made to scratch the trip. Well for me at least. I ended up going to Linz (it was a crazy day, most of the group still went to Prague, while 2 of us joined up with another 2, and the 4 of us went to Linz.

So, Friday morning we left wicked early to catch the train that would get us into Linz at a decent time. After hitch-hiking most of the way to the train station (don't worry mom, it's legit here, and the townies are really cool about it with students), we caught up with a hoard of Franciscan students all getting to the main train station to go our separate ways (this wasn't the most exciting thing to the couple hundred elementary school/highschool students from around here who normally barely fit on the train without us). After this, we caught our train to Linz, on which we sat for an hour because it broke down 6 minutes from our stop. We then went and checked into our hostel, and began to explore the city (after a quick nap). We at kebabs, as per out tradition in every city, and then saw two of the churches there. After this, we purchased Linz cards, which would get us into every museum, on all public transportation, and even gave us a 9 euro food voucher. Then, we used that to get into the Ars electronica museum, which is one of the coolest places i've been. They had all kinds of interactive exhibits, and we spent a long period of time on the coolest toy ever, a tablet drawing board that was super advanced. After this, we went to an art museum, and then ate dinner at mcdonalds (we were craving it).

Saturday consisted of breakfast, a nap (we're slightly lazy), and then a ride up the tram to the lookout point/church way up above the city in a place called postlingberg. After that, we went back to the electronica musuem, and spent more time drawing. We then got dinner at a cool restaurant in town.

Sunday we returned to Gaming (this time we had to walk from the train station, 45 minutes back to the Kartause). It was a great weekend. Slightly crazy because of the change in schedule, but overall Linz was a beautiful city, and we had a great time.

I haven't posted pics yet, but they'll be on facebook when I do!

that cost how much?

Salzburg and Munich. Here we go.

Friday morning at the crack of dawn (okay so it was like 730, but on 4 hours of sleep that's early) we boarded the bus and took off for Salzburg, Austria. After a couple hour drive we arrived, got off the bus and marched in our bumbling herd of Americans over to the Franciscan church where we had mass with the auxiliary bishop of Salzburg (he tried really hard, but him saying a mass in English was pretty entertaining). After that, we had lunch in Salzburg followed by a walking tour (cold, foggy, and with everything covered up for winter are great conditions for tours). Then, we spent some free time in the city, followed by dinner at the Kebap shop next to our hostel (delicious!) and headed to the Augustiner. There, we enjoyed the best beer any of us has found yet (and, from what I've been told, will find), and had a great night.

Saturday morning we woke up and once again boarded the bus, this time headed for Munich. We had mass there at the cathedral where Pope Benedict XVI was bishop for five years, which was awesome. We then had a short tour of Munich, followed by some free time. We began the free time by having some sausage from a street vendor in Munich, and then proceeded to walk around the city checking out different stores and buildings. Finally, we made our way to the Hofbrahaus and enjoyed some German beer at the most authentic of German beer halls. Here, we each purchased steins to bring home with us, one of my friends deciding to buy the ceramic instead of the glass. He asked in German how much it cost because he read a phrase book. The problem with that? When they respond in German, and you can only count to ten, it doesn't make sense when the tell you it costs 22 euro for a mug. Then, when all you have a is a 100 euro bill anyways, it doesn't matter what they said when you go to pay. Needless to say, he was less than thrilled.

Sunday we were back in Salzburg where we attended mass (in German) at the cathedral. This mass was beautiful because it was Mozart mass, where all of the music was played on a major organ, and was composed by Mozart himself to be played on that organ with the acoustics of the cathedral. Beautiful. After that, we had lunch and then enjoyed (some more than others) a trip to the Church where the von Trapps got married in the Sound of Music, and then returned to Gaming.

So far, Salzburg is the best city. We'll see what can top it. Prague next weekend, update you after!

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=191006&id=570370259&l=6bff48303e

1/16th done?

And so, the first week is over. What a weird feeling. We just got here, and yet we are already in the swing of things. This weekend we will be leaving the country for the first time (although just to Munich), but before that happens, let's recount this past week.

Tuesday was a day trip to St. Polten and the beautiful Melk monastery. Wednesday was orientation, and Thursday and Friday began classes. Then saturday was the day trip to Wein, or as we commonly call it Vienna. A beautiful city full of huge buildings, palaces, churches, tons of people, dogs wearing coats, a huge screen showing animals being torn to pieces (a PETA advertisement i'm sure), weiner wurstel (yeah, it's authentic, but still digusting), people break dancing in the streets, a guy disguised as a statue, and so much more.

Saturday night was then followed by a nightcap hike up a mountain with Daniel and Karl. Of course, they decided it would be a great idea to just go straight down the mountain (okay, so it was maybe a foothill, but it was still big for me), cross-country skiing on their boots, jumping from tree to tree, and making it look easy. I, of course, having never done something like this, was slightly intimidated, but I made it down the hill (okay, so they moved down the hill while I fell and slid, but hey it worked).

Then on Sunday my initiation into Austrian manhood officially commenced. When the female RA told us she had jumped into the creek here (a tradition of students, there is one spot deep enough to jump in), we felt the need to do the same. It was snowing and below freezing, but that's besides the point. We then proceeded to our hallway, where we yelled for others to join, from which we gained a group of 14 men ready to brace the elements. And so, after stopping traffic to cross the street, lining up and saying a quick prayer, we took turns jumping into the freezing cold water. We each emerged quickly, fought to make our lungs work again, failed in an attempt to make our faces move in the form of a smile, and eventually scampered up the side of the creek to somehow pull ourselves back up. At this point, we decided it'd be a brilliant idea to take a group photo, and so we all waited (and when you were the 3rd to jump, thats a LONG wait). But alas, the pain wore off after a few hours, and we now have a story to tell.

And so, for now, that is all. Here, you may find pictures of where I live: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=189168&id=570370259&l=06ed840bd3.

And here, you may find pictures of Vienna: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188925&id=570370259&l=f311d42c96

Enjoy!

cardio, queues, and an angel

And so it begins, I have officially arrived in Gaming, but not without quite an adventure. While I would like to think that my stories could live up in writing to the excitement they actually brought (or at least have provided in my head), alas i believe that will not be possible, and thus i will simply do my best to convey them truthfully.

The day of travel began at O'hare with lines which were way too long, but soon we learned that this would be the least of our worries. The two of us boarded our plane in O'hare, headed to Frankfurt, Germany, assuming that things would be easy. We would land in Frankfurt at 5:45, head to gate B13 and board a plane which would leave at 7:00 a.m. in order to arrive in Vienna at 8:25, where we would await the arrival of everyone else. Little did we know that mother nature didn't want to cooperate, and a bad wind would force us to arrive at 6:19. For anyone who has been to Frankfurt airport, it apparently is impossible to get from one gate to another in a matter of 41 minutes.

First, there was the outrageous line for what they called a "passport check". The worker allowed us to cut the line there, which moved us through very quickly (although, the small Asian man who ended up directly behind Karl did not seem to find it amusing or okay that we had cut the entire queue-and yes, it took me a while to figure out what queue was). Despite the objections, we moved quickly through, and then passed on to the security checkpoint. Once again with a long line, the worker allowed us to cut to the front. We were slowed, however, by the necessity of each of us to be wanded and patted down. After one more sprint to the gate, we thought we had made it, only to find out that the plane had already left.

This may have been a very tragic occurrence, if, however, the woman behind the counter had not been an angel. She got us an on earlier flight, and then preceded to give us directions to the gate; which included the phrase "and that's when you run." When we saw the tunnel that she told us to run down, we knew we had no choice, and we tested our cardio.

Long story short, we arrived in Vienna. After a short search for the bus, we got to Gaming, and now are in the beautiful Kartause. And so here we are, in the most amazing place in the world. And now, it begins; we will start the adventure known as the semester of a lifetime.