Homework? What is that?

This was the first week I have actually felt like I was in school. I guess after being here for a month already that is pretty good. We have had a lot of homework this week and when I say a lot it is probably nothing. Haha! Just compared to the past couple weeks it has been a lot. We had to write a paper about the Oberammergau play and man was that tough. It’s like I forgot how to write one! Not good! This whole week has been kind of rainy so it actually hasn’t been that big of a deal. If it was sunny and we had all that homework I probably wouldn’t get any of it done. The beginning of the week was pretty slow but on Wednesday night a big group of us went out. We went to Augustiner Brau. It is a really fun atmosphere but I don’t like their beer there and that is all they have. We hung out there for a bit and then went to Murphy’s Law. We always go there and it is nice but it’s kind of boring. It is not a good bar if you want to be in a big group. I got a Rum & Coke there and it was great! I think it is my new drink of choice. Haha! After hanging out there for a bit we went home generally early.

Thursday was a pretty productive day which was good. I got a good part of my paper done and then a group of us decided we wanted to get out and do something. Kate, Aimee, Megan B., Brady and I all went to Leopold’s castle again which is the Sound of Music house. Some people hadn’t seen it so we took them there. It has really nice walking paths around the lake so I didn’t mind going back a second time. After that we walked to the Nonnberg Abbey which was apparently in the Sound of Music but I didn’t recognize it. Supposedly it is the Abbey where the nuns sing “How to Solve a Problem Like Maria”. It was cool to see and I got to mark off one more thing on my self-guided tour. We continued walking and went to the St. Peter’s cemetery. It is so cool there! I had been there before but we saw they have these catacombs. You have to pay 1 Euro to go in but it was worth it. I don’t really know what they are but Aimee and I decided to go. We climbed all of these stairs and they had different altars basically. I don’t really know what they were but we got some good views of Salzburg anyways. Afterwards we got Kebap for dinner. I haven’t said anything about Kebap yet but everyone eats it. It is basically a Gyro but with really good bread instead of a pita. It is really good but I don’t get it nearly as much as some of the guys here. They go to one specific place and they all have punch cards! It is kind of crazy really. When we got back to the dorms I did some more work on my paper and then relaxed. The group decided not to go anywhere that night so we all just hung out in one of the common areas. It was fun because we met some new people. We met two guys from Maine and Washington D.C then two girls who were actually from Austria. The boys were a little strange but nice and one of the girls, Julia, was so nice! I talked to her a lot which was fun. I think our group is a little scary at first because we don’t hold back anything around anyone.  I guess it is good but it is kind of a strong first impression. Haha! People are always amazed at how many there are of us here and we are always in such a big group. When I was talking to Julia I realized just how small our world is. I was wearing a St. John’s University sweatshirt and she told me that she has friends who went to St. John’s prep school for a year. Her high school has an exchange program with the prep school and her friends said they just love Minnesota. It was so crazy! Once she told me that I introduced her to Sean who actually went to St. John’s prep and they knew some of the same people. Such a small world! Overall it was a fun night getting to know new people and just hanging out.

Aimee and Me

Friday we had our class cancelled so we could finish our paper which was really nice. We had to submit atleast half of it by 12:00 and once that was over we set out for something new to do. Our group had plans to go to the Salzburg Zoo which is supposed to be really neat but since it was rainy we decided against it. It stopped raining by the afternoon but we thought it would just be better to go on a nice day. In the afternoon Aimee, Megan P., Kevin, Brady and me decided to do some shopping. We went to one store which has really cheap clothes but I didn’t really find anything. I found a cute button up shirt but that was about it. It is actually pretty good for me because usually I walk out with nothing. Haha! At night we had a really nice group dinner and concert at the fortress. It was really great! We all got dressed up and went to dinner. The dinner was a four course meal and it was delicious. It was really fancy food and it tasted so amazing! After that we went to the concert which was a Mozart symphony. I actually really enjoyed it. I didn’t think it was my thing but it was really good. The players were so talented and it wasn’t too long which is good. The only real problem with those things is that they are drawn out but this was actually perfect timing. The views from the fortress at night were absolutely gorgeous! The whole city was lit up and unfortunately my camera could not capture it but it was beautiful! We got done with the concert at 10pm and of course the night was still young so a group of us went to a bar called Flip. I persuaded them to try a new bar because I was just so sick of Murphy’s and the good thing was that everyone loved it! They had really good music playing and it was a fun atmosphere. They had reasonably priced drinks which is always a plus. I had a Choco Colada and a Captain Hook and they were both so good! Everything I have picked out at bars has been really tasty! J We got back to the dorms around 1 and went to bed. It was a really fun night!

One of the farm houses

Saturday was an interesting day that is for sure. We had a group tour planned for a farm museum. Yup, a farm museum! We were all really confused as to why she would plan such a thing. I have never heard those two words put together before. Let’s just say no one was too excited. We took a bus to the outskirts of Salzburg which was beautiful. There were mountains all around and it was amazing. When we got the farm museum, (ha! I laugh every time I say it) we got a guided tour. The farm houses were cool because they are different from ours but I just have to say the tour was really boring. We just didn’t really care about it so no one really listened. It would have been better just to walk around the place because it was actually really pretty. They had pretty gardens and walking trails which would have been more fun to see. We got lunch as a group and then headed back to the dorms for some down time.  At night the group made plans to go to this place called the Half Moon club to go dancing. We got to the place and they didn’t open until 10 so we went to Flip again and got a drink. There were some people who didn’t come with us the night before and everyone said they liked it. It is a fun bar. Then at 10 we went to the other place and the guys in our group got stopped at the door because they weren’t wearing the right clothes. It was the strangest thing! The guy standing there said all the girls were fine but the guys needed nicer shirts and no white shoes so we didn’t go in. It just made me mad because we were a group of about 8 people and they just lost that business and also I really wanted to dance! Haha! We then went to another bar called O’Malley’s but it was really crowded so we just decided to go back home. It was a pretty fun night but there was some more drama which was not fun to deal with. I hate drama more than anything and apparently it is unavoidable with this group. Haha! At least I am not involved in it! When I got back to my room I got to skype with everyone at the cabin but unfortunately my roommate was sleeping already so only they could talk and I typed. It was rather hilarious! At times I would laugh but I had to remind myself to stop.  I loved it even though we couldn’t talk for that long. Hopefully I will get another chance soon!

View from Eagle Nest

Sunday was probably one of the best days we have had yet! The weather was absolutely perfect and the sun was shining! We headed to Hitler’s Eagle Nest around 10am. The bus picked us up right at our dorms which was nice. We didn’t know the ride to the place was part of the tour and our director got mad at us for talking during it. It was not good but whatever. It was a beautiful bus ride. Completely surrounded by mountains and everything was so clear! There was not a cloud in the sky so you could see everything. So beautiful! We got a little ways up the mountain and then we had to get on another bus then take an elevator to the very top. I have been to the Eagle Nest before but this time was so much better. When I went in high school it was a really cloudy and foggy day so you couldn’t see the beautiful scenery. Being on top of the mountain was absolutely gorgeous. The pictures do not give it justice but I don’t think I have seen anything so breath-taking. There were mountains all around and you could see for miles. There was a lake right between the mountains and some mountains with snow on them. It was neat because we could see the fortress in Salzburg from the very top. The house itself is not very cool but going up there for the view is definitely worth it. It is basically a restaurant now. We got kind of rushed out of there by our tour guide which was too bad but I could have spent the whole day up there. Once we got down we went and looked at the museum that is there. I didn’t see that when I was there last so it was interesting. It was all about WWII which always fascinates me. There also was a bunker there that we got to see. Overall the day was really nice and we could not have asked for better weather! It’s funny because when I went to the Eagle Nest in high school I never thought in a million years that I would be back there. It made me realize just how lucky I am! (There, I will end on a nice note this time instead of a ‘screaming’ one!)