Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Thanksgiving in Austria

On thanksgiving Libby and I ventured off to Gaming, Austria where some of her friends are studying abroad... here's a picture of the campus, where we stayed!Gaming is a small adorable town in between Salzburg and Vienna and we had such a fun time! There was snow there which was very exciting and it the town was so beautiful, I was amazed at God's marvelous craftsmanship! We left very earlymorning by train and got there in the afternoon on Thursday...we explored the town right away, it was very cold there but I was so glad I came prepared, I looked a little goofy even walked a little funny with the many many layers I wore haha but it was so worth it! That evening the school had a turkey dinner for us and it was really neat they served us like a restaurant and everything! They turned down the lights and came out with the huge turkey with sparklers sticking out of it, it was very entertaining and yummy : ) but I must say I still very much wished I could have been home for thanksgiving...nothing can compare to being with my family and I missed all the food (like sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie : ) ) but I was very thankful that I ot to go to Gaming and meet such sweet girls, we had a blast! Oh and I forgot to mention all the students and Libby and I were dressed in our Austrian clothes haha-what fun!(dirndles for the girls, lederhosen for the guys...probably spelt that wrong though!) So after dinner we went to a little Austrian ball where we got to learn some Austrian dances, this was very entertaining haha...and we even did some polka(Grandma would be proud!), This is a video of one of the dances the guys were trying to learn, haha let's just say there were some coordination issues, it was so funny to watch! then after this they played American music and we danced the night away : )...I think one of my favorite parts was when we practiced our mad interpretive dance skills,haha! so then the next day we slept in and relaxed, watched Sweet Home Alabama, sucha classic and played some cards and Skip Bo and of course we were all in the Christmas spirit so we had to listen to lots of Christmas music! Then we went out to dinner and got pizza, I tried the weirdest kind but it seriously was amazing and I will have to try an recreate it...it was called Nicolette and it had turkey bacon and cranberry sauce as topping, so random! Later we watched the movie "White Christmas" and almost made some chocolate chunk cookies haha...they kind of never made it into the oven, raw cookie dough is pretty addicting! So we were up until like 2:30 in the morning and unfortunately we had to leave in the morning by 5:30...man what an experience, so no buses leave that early on saturdays to take us to the station which is about a 45 minute walk away, so off we went in the dark and we got 2 girls to come along with us..but one of them had a torn meniscus and could only limp, what a good sport Amy! So we realized we may not get there on time so first Libby tries to give Amy a piggyback ride, haha that didnt last long and so plan B, Libby and I start power walking and praying and trying to hitch hike(the people in the town are very friendly!)while Amy and Ashley are behind us also trying to hitchhike knowing that would be their only chance of making the train with us...haha so we get there with only a minute or 2 to spare and thank God we see Amy and Ashley there, someone had picked them up, yay! So then we were off again on our way to Salzburg! Haha with our baggys of pesto pasta, cookie dough and oatmeal, haha, don't ask, we had a few train changes and we couldn't get seats on the train from St. Polten to Salzburg so we laid on the floor in the aisles, I imagine it was a very humorous picture...so once we got there we got to explore the city and see some of the Sound of Music sites and the Christmas markets!



here's a picture of one of the traditional things they sell, lebkuchen(gingerbread) hearts and they're all decorated with cute little sayings and pictures...they also had tons of candy and sweets, including giant gummy bears(superbars) haha!



we got to see Mozart's house too!



it's hard to see but we found the fountain from the Sound of Music and it inspired Libby and I, we were dancing all around it and in it, haha The town was so awesome and we had such a good time, oh and I was so excited I had been wanting hot apple cider so badly and they don't have it in Budapest so at one of the stands they were selling "kinderpunsch" (kinder means kid haha and it was one of the only hot nonalcoholic drinks) and it tasted just like hot apple cider! So we went to a church that night and then made our way to dinner at the Augustiner Beaustubl, where the beer is brewed by the monks, and I got a yummy burger...it was pretty cool in there because I felt like I was in a giants home, everything was huge, the clocks and decorations and of course the liters of beer, it was quite an experience...we eventually made it to our hostel later that night and it was so nice, all 4 of us got bunkbeds together and we even got breakfast in the morning! It was so nice to sleep after only an hour or two the night before! So on Sunday our friend Ashley had to return to Gaming : ( but Amy came with us to Innsbruck! I must say I have never experienced something like what I saw in Innsbruck, the alps were all around the city and it was so incredible!
They had Christmas markets there as well and a kind of fairytale land with all these fairy tale characters set up all around!






I found my knight in shining armor, haha...


...unfortunately my tummy was very upset but I'm still so glad I got to see the city...Ashley left in the afternoon and Libby and I had to wait until 9:30 that night to take a train back to Budapest...we sat in the station for a few hours and played Skip Bo(I was so glad I brought that!) then we were on our way back to Salzburg where we had a connection and about a2 1/2 hour layover until our next train!

haha or expressions say it all... Oh man that was interesting, it was like 2 in the morning...and of course I was sick...I can only look back and laugh now(I'm feeling much better!) but Libby and I almost ended up in Zurich because we were confused and thought a train was going to Budapest when it actually was coming from, oh man praise God a man told us this and we made it off the train before it left! So we didn't get back to Budapest until 9 the next morning and we were both very exhausted so we didn't make it to class but it was all very worth it and it was much more fun to sit around and watch It's a Wonderful Life , Charlie Brown's Christmas, and the Grinch(cartoon version) haha I was so excited to find them for free online! Well it won't be long now until I'm home, how crazy! This next weekend is my last in Budapest and we are going to visit the Christmas markets here and make gingerbread houses and watch Christmas movies and maybe even see the Nutcracker ballet, yay! I must say I absolutely love the markets I've seen so far and cant wait to see Viennas the weekend after this one...its such a huge part of the European culture and so worth checking out! Well I miss everyone so much and am so excited to be home for Christmas!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

One month to go...

A month from now I will be on my way home! I cannot believe how fast everything is going but I have enjoyed it so much and am just so thankful that God provided this trip for me! His timing is so perfect! Well as much as I miss family and friends I am trying not to be too homesick this last month because I know I will see them before I know it...: ) I have become so used to living in good old Budapest, it's going to be so weird coming back home and getting readjusted! Well this weekend is my second to last one in Budapest(can't believe it!) so I hope to make the best of it...next weekend isour thanksgiving break and Libby and I will be in Gaming Austria with some friends of hers, we will have a big feast there and even get to go to an Austrian ball! I hope my family has a blessed Thanksgiving, I will miss being with them! Then we will also be visiting salzburg Austria for a day and Insbroch(not sure how to spell it..?) Austria, where we'll get to see the Alps! then the following weekend we are going back to Vienna again, can't wait to see Lisa and Christian again : ) and we will be seeing all the Christmas markets there, yay! I am very excited about travelling! Well this past weekend we went to Szentendre, Hungary and then to a little town called Skanzen where we participated in St. Martin's day at the open air museum...it's called the Goose Festival...it's a tradition to eat goose and drink wine so you won't go hungry or thirsty for the rest of the year...haha I tried some goose and I can't say it was my favorite thing but I'm always up for new thing : ) After we ate we walked around the little village and there was a little farm area, I'm very glad that we went there after we ate haha...the animals were so cute! It was neat to see people dressed in the traditional hungarian clothes and go in some of the little candy shops and houses there, one house had a little brick oven where little women were baking fresh gingerbread and little kids were decorating them! I am glad we got to see more of Hungary outside of Budapest, I always enjoy the country setting, it was ver beautiful! Yesterday a group of girls and I went to Pizza hut for lunch, haha it was really fancy and the pizza was amazing as usual : ) it was kind of comforting to eat American food I must admit because we don't do it very often here!
I think something is going on with my internet connection because I can't upload any pictures, but if you want to see some from the Goose festival just check out my facebook!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

A well-needed vacation : )

So this past week had been pretty overwhelming as midterms came to an end and I tried to survive for a few days on about 3 hours of sleep! but Thursday was a holiday here so we were off school and Libby and I were blessed with the oppurtunity to go spend the weekend with Lisa and Christian in Austria! The whole connection between us was kind of funny because of how random it was, Lisa knew my sister Hannah from highschool youth group at Church of the Redeemer, haha and she ended up marrying an Austrian man(Christian : ) ) who she met while she was studying abroad and now they live there! Well I had been looking forward to meeting them and I'm so glad I finally did, it was so much fun!!! This trip was so much more than I could even ask for and I'm so thankful for it!
It was so much more stress-free and relaxed than the trip to Vienna with the school and Libby, Lisa and I made many awesome memories : )...I feel likeI've known Lisa for so long even though we were only together for 4 days, haha, so I decided we are all long lost sisters!
This was my first travelling experience apart from the school and it was so exciting to be able to get on the train and go without a planned agenda, I can't even explain the feeling, but Libby and I will never forget it...Lisa and Christian were so gracious and hospitable, and so much better than a tourguide! Unfortunately Christian wasn't feeling too well this weekend but us three ladies were out exploring every day and Lisa took us all over the place,it was so awesome to experience more of the culture...and of course it was so fun to have so much girl time this weekend, can't wait to go back in December for the Christmas markets...thanks again so much Lisa and Christian for everything, you both are so sweet and I miss you already!!!

Here's parliament, such a beautiful day to explore too!




Hmm...for some reason I can't upload anymore pictures right now but they are up on my facebook page so check them out!

Some of my favorite things were...seeing the fall season, I haven't been able to experience the beauty much in Budapest but it was awesome here, walking through the parks and seeing the Belvedere Palace with all the pretty trees was awesome

We also went to the Northern part of Vienna to see the wine-gardens and then took a bus to the top of the hills, which was right outside the city and the view was breathtaking...you could see the entire city along with the mountains, really awesome and we went right as it was getting dark so everything was lit up!

We also went to the huge national cemetery there where we saw the graves of famous musicians like Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss...this was the biggest graveyard I have ever seen though, it seemed pretty endless...haha we tried to go at night because we wanted to see all the candles people had put out after all saint's day but it was locked...haha Lisa don't forget that's your next fieldtrip with your students!

We also went on a huge chocolate extravaganza at the grocery store, Spar, where Libby and I bought lots to bring home and share for Christmas, haha I think the sales clerks probably thought we were a little crazy but thats ok! I don't think we've ever had so much chocolate in our possessions at once!

Oh and I can't forget to mention our evening routine of chocolate chunk cookies, pretzels, tea and a movie(Sound of Music was especially appropriate : )), so much fun! We baked the cookies from scratch with Austrian chocolate so they were amazing of course!! Can't wait to continue our traditions Lisa!!

We went to lots of cute restaurants/cafes too that Libby and I never would have found on our own, One of my favorite things was this creamy pumpkin soup we got, we went to this brewery restaurant and we ate in this stone tunnel like thing, it was awesome!

can't forget our sausage adventures...haha there's sausage stands all over the city and these things are massive, if you order it with bread they stick it in a whole loaf, haha we finished ours though and it was very good but we were tasting it for the entire day!

We also got to see some of the Christmas decorations being set up already, seems so soon, but it is the next holiday here because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving... Can't wait to see them complete : )

On Saturday night we went to a Mozart and Strauss orchestral concert with opera singers and ballet, it was pretty awesome, and they didn't even mind that we were dressed like bums, haha, we only brought a little backpack for all 4 days so we were kind of limited in that area! Well the whole weekend was amazing and I will never forget it...God is so good, it was so refreshing for Libby and I! We both slept better than we have in awhile...for some reasons Hungarians like their beds really hard and firm so it was nice to have a softer mattress and Lisa let us use this amazing huge fluffy down comforter, I would bring one back to the States with me if I could fit it in my bags, haha! I decided I really love Vienna and Lisa and Christian too : ) and I look forward to making more memories soon...

stay tuned for pictures: )