Home Sweet Home

Well it's over....Countless train rides, 15 credit hours of class, 12 flights, 10 countries, and 3 months later, I am finally back at home. It has been quite a ride...one that I will NEVER forget. Thank you for all the messages, letters, and most importantly prayers. They all helped me get through and return safely back home. HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

I'm on Christmas Break!

No more finals!!! Today at precisely 9:30 a.m. I officially started my Christmas break. Now that's a good feeling. Monday we had our two big finals....Humanities and German. They were't as scary as we thought, but we will just have to wait and see how I did. Today was our German oral final. Again, not as bad as it could have been. After German, our teachers took us to the Kunsthall Museum. There is a 1989 Berlin Wall display there, so they wanted us to get to see one last thing while we were in Vienna. All in all, I fell pretty good about my tests, but the important thing is that I COME HOME IN TWO DAYS! I am even already done packing! I can't believe this experience is almost over. It has literally been life changing. I have made so many friends, experienced so many different things, and learned a lot about myself along the way. I know I will carry the things I have seen and done here for the rest of my life. I will definitely miss Vienna, but I am ready to come back home. All that's left now is to weigh my bags and make sure they don't weight more than 50 pounds....2 days!!

The end is in sight...

BEST...WEEK...EVER. I had so much fun showing Rhett around Vienna! After a busy day running around on Monday we took a trip out to the small town of Melk on Tuesday. We got to spend a few hours walking through the streets and around the palace and abbey before heading back to Vienna for Thanksgiving dinner! Our magician of a travel agent, Daniel, arranged for a local American restaurant, Franks, to cook a feast for us. We had turkey, of course, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, peas, dressing, and cranberry sauce. Not quite like grandma makes it, but close enough. Wednesday I took Rhett to the Naschmarkt, our local fresh food market. I think it was one of his favorite places...right next to the Prunksaal of the National Library. I knew he would love it there the first time I saw it. He also saw the Opera and my school before we had to meet everyone for an exciting night! Nineteen of us boarded a train that evening for Bratislava to go to...wait for it....the BACKSTREETS BOYS CONCERT!! It was as awesome as it sounds. I forced Rhett to come with me, but I know he had fun :) They were a little rusty, and Kevin was missing, but I know we all loved the flashback to middle school. We all had a great night together.

Thursday I took Rhett to my favorite palce in Vienna, Schonbrunn Palace. There is also a Christmas Market there, so it was twice as great! We finally got to go shopping and then out to dinner. Friday we decided to skip our trip to Budapest on account of sheer exhaustion and we did some intense shopping instead. We are pros at that. I took him to Mariahilferstrasse, the Michigan Avenue of Vienna, and we went to town. We did take time to see New Moon in the local English theater though...I think I was a great tour guide overall :)

Saturday was a sad day because I had to take Rhett to the airport. Luckily, I will see him again in 5 days! Along with my family!

The rest of the group is up in the Alps for the weekend, but Allison and I stayed behind. We were going to meet up with them later, but the train ride ended up being too long, so we are hanging out in Vienna for the weekend. It ended up being ok though because we have a lot of studying to do. Finals start Monday!

RHETT IS HERE!

Thursday night we took an overnight train to Chinqueterra, Italy. When we got there, we realized we had to do some hiking and were not very prepared for it. The pictures will tell it all...I had some pretty killer shoes on. Besides that little set back, Chinqueterra is BEAUTIFUL! I know I say this every week, but again, the most beautiful place on earth...We hiked along the Mediterranean coastline from one little town to the next. After having pasta at a restaurant on the beach, we explored the town and hung out by the ocean for a little bit. All in all, it was a very relaxing afternoon before we had to catch our train to Venice.

We arrived in Venice late, so we went stright to bed when we got there. Saturday, we pretty much just hung out again in the city. We saw a famous Venetian glass-blowing factory, ate more pasta, and I even rode in a gondola! Venice is a very interesting town. Their streets literally are made of water, and they have boats instad of cars. Some of the hotels are only accessible by water! It was a great place to just explore and shop. Saturday night, we got on another night train to head back to Vienna.

After hardly sleeping from excitement on the train, Rhett called me to let me know he was in Paris!...and he was about to have to sprint to catch his next plane. Well that made me nervous...the next call was not as good as the first. Since the first plane was delayed, he missed the next one, but he was able to get on another flight later in the day....5 hours later. Well if the weekend hadn't gone by slow enough, those next five hours sure did! LONGEST DAY OF MY LIFE. Finally, at 3:30 he called to tell me he had landed in Vienna! I was already waiting at the airport for him (freaking out). Fifteen minutes later, I got to hug my best friend after three months! (Awww) I CAN'T BELIEVE HE IS IN VIENNA!

We went to dinner at my favorite restaurant here in Vienna, Vapianos, and then walked around the Christmas Market at Rathaus. Rhett loved both.

Today after class, I took him around town. We ate at Cafe Central, saw the Hofburg Palace, went through the Museum of Natural History, and then wandered through Stephansplatz. We then grabbed dinner at another Christmas Market at the Belvedere Palace...a lot for one day, but it was so much fun! I am a very lucky girl thats for sure.

We've got a busy week of sight-seeing ahead!

I'M DONE WITH MY RESEARCH PAPER!!!

YAY! Whew...this project that has spanned the entirity of this trip is finally over. Now I can breathe...that is until finals. After spending the last two afternoons locked in my room on the computer, tonight we get to go out and have some fun! The whole group has tickets to the Spain vs. Austria national futbol match--It's going to be awesome!

The Christmas markets have opened here in Vienna, so I am looking forward to spending some money at those next week. Tomorrow I leave for Italy...again. This time we are going to Cinquaterra and Venice. And guess what will be waiting for me when I get home on Sunday...RHETT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He will be here in exactly 92 hours. I'm counting down...

I come home in 15 days!

ESPANA!

I love Barcelona! I thought I would just start off with that...

Last week Macy's and Jordan's families came to visit, so it was great getting to be around them and eat dinner a couple nights. I spent the afternoons doing MORE WORK! We have a big research paper coming up, so we have all been super busy. Some people even stayed home this weekend to catch up.

Thursday Kat, Jordan, Kirk, Andy, and myself jumped on a plane to Spain! I can't believe I just spent the weekend in Barcelona...it was wonderful. We explored as soon as we got there and had dinner at La Xerinolas where I had my first paella (so good). On the way to our hostel, we walked by a dunkin' donuts! We, or at least I, was flipping out to sat the least. I believe I had 6 Boston Creme donuts in the span of 2 days...I know I know....We woke up Friday morning and had a private bike tour through the city. It was not easy let me tell you. I think we some how ended up in the advanced bike tour group. She had us weaving through traffic and people, and up hills and through side streets...it was challenging! We got to see all the major sections of Barcelona and even had free time to run around on the beach. After that, we ate lunch at an open air market where you could find practically ANYTHING...Any fruit and vegetable, chocolate, pasta, bread, sheeps brains...you name it. We shopped around a little bit in the afternoon and went to the Magic Fountain later that night to watch the light show, which was like a mini Fantasmic. We had great dinner and great converstation later at Rita Blue.

Saturday we stopped for breakfast at you guessed it...Dunkin'...then went wandering around Barcelona. We saw the FC Barcelona stadium and the '92 Olympic Stadium and Village. We shopped at some markets down by the ports and stopped for lunch at a great outdoor cafe where we had awesome burritos and chips and salsa. We spent a good part of the afternoon and evening just hanging out on the beach talking before turning in for the night. Sunday we flew back to Vienna where our vacation from the research paper came to an end. Barcelona was a beautiful and relaxing city, so it was nice to get to hang out with no worries for a few days. I also enjoyed getting to know some of the guys on the trip that I had not spent much time with before. We had a great group and had a lot of fun together.

Today and tomorrow I will be trying desperately to finish this paper because my next few nights are busy with fun!

(Oh yeah--Rhett is coming in 6 days!! I am freaking out if you couldn't tell yet.)

Salzburg and Germany!

What a weekend! I experienced so many emotions this weekend from happiness to excitement to awe and even to disgust. The places we visited were extremely varied. We woke up at about 5 on Friday to catch an early train to Salzburg. Once there we went on the Sound of Music Tour which was AWESOME! Salzburg is a beautiful place, and it was of course fun to see the filming sites for one of the greatest movies of all time. I learned so many tricks about the film that I will have to watch out for next time I see it. The most jaw-dropping place we were taken to in Salzburg was Wolfgang Lake. It is a lake surrounded on all sides by snow-capped mountains. Breathtaking. I had no idea I was in for an even more astounding place once I got to Munich. We arrived in Munich a little later in the evening when all the shops and restaurants were starting to close down, so we did not really know what to do when we got there. We met some Americans in the underground who were headed to a Germany vs. USA ice hockey game, so we decided to give it a try! GREAT decision on our part. The game was so much fun! We won in double overtime in a shootout. It was so exciting, and it's always fun to beat the home team in their own country nontheless.

Saturday we woke up and jumped on the train out to Fussen to see Newschwanstein Castle a.k.a. the most beautiful place I have ever been in my entire life. The castle is set up on a hill surrounded by snowy mountains and woods. Once you get to the top, you can see the countryside for miles. It was a fairytale. This is probably why Disney modeled Sleeping Beauty's castle after it. Words will not do this place justice, so you will have to look at pictures, but not even that compares. Newschwanstein is definitely on the "Go back to one day" list. I want everyone I know to get to see it. After walking back down the mountain, we stopped in a little cafe for hot chocolate. Life doesn't get much better than that!

Sunday we headed to Dachau. It was quite a 180 from the previous day. It's hard to describe the feeling you get when you walk into a place like that. It is eerie, quiet, and gives you a feeling comparable to nausea when you enter in. There is a sign that reads "Arbeit Macht Frei" on the entrance gate which means "Work Brings Freedom." Dachau was the first concentration camp built, and was used as a work camp for people imprisoned for all times of reasons including thousands of Jews. The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach only worsened when I walked through the baracks, rooms made for 50 men that held 400, the isolation cells, and the crematorium. I could not stand to be outside in a coat and gloves for more than 15 minutes, and men in thin pajamas had to stand at attention for hours in the rain and snow. That put things into perspective. The longer I was there, the more that sick feeling turned into disgust and then to just plain hatred. I still do not understand it, and I never will. Dachau was not a happy experience, but I am glad I went.

Back in Munich I quickly saw Possenhoffen, Sisi's childhood home, before I had to catch the train back to Vienna. This weekend I saw the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life...and the ugliest, and they both impacted my life immensely.