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.

Germany this weekend!

After a wonder but exausting fall break, we arrived back in Vienna to 3 papers and a book review...welcome home. Monday I went to two more site visits for my research paper, the Sisi Museum and the Imperial Apartments in the Hofburg. Both were very helpful, but I had to run through them quickly in order to get back and start on all my papers. Since they were due Tuesday at midnight, I finished two of them and saved the other two for then next day. Before bed I skyped Rhett to say goodnight and got THE BEST NEWS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. Are you ready for this??.....HE IS COMING TO VISIT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What?! I was literally speechless with surprise. Apparently this has been planned since I left for Vienna, and I never knew. Needless to say I am ridiculously anxious. My best friend is coming to Vienna in 17 days! I can't believe it!

Tuesday I took my allotted once a week nap and wrote some more papers. We had a study session with pizza to finish all our work together. Wednesday guess what I did??......Oh yeah wrote another paper! There seems to be a trend going....I did get some much needed laundry done also. Today I get to write just one more paper...just one more! For this week anyways. I don't leave for weekend travel until tomorrow morning instead of tonight.

This weekend I am going to Salzburg and Munich. The plan is to go on the Sound of Music Tour tomorrow in Salzburg and then head to Munich. Here were want to see "Cinderella's Castle," Dakau, and Possenhoffen Castle, Sisi's childhood home and my final site visit. I will let you know how it goes!

London, Scotland, Ireland...

I do believe I probably had the best fall break out of all the groups here, but don't tell anyone :) As soon as class got out Thursday we finished packing up and hopped onto a train to Bratislava where we caught a plane to London. After deciding that the original plan of sleeping in the airport was not such a good idea, we booked a room at the Radissen for the night. The next morning we headed into the city! We were all extremely excited to hear English. Our first objective was getting our tickets to a Broadway show that night. Luckily, the Apollo Theater where Wicked plays is located right next to the train station, and I snagged a seat on the tenth row. I love my student ID card. We then ate our first fish 'n' chips at The Wellington! We quickly dropped our stuff off at the hostel and got ready for the plays. The other group got front row seats at Lion King, but I was extremely content with my Wicked seats. Speaking of...I LOVED WICKED! It was amazing! It is definitely at the top of my list. After the show, we dropped by Big Ben to see it for the first time. Again, amazing.

On Saturday morning we went on a search for Notting Hill, a part of town that was the setting for the movie "Notting Hill" that I have yet to see. It was beautiful, and the leaves were changing for fall. Then came another little adventure to find Wimbledon. After a couple of hours, we finally found it, and the security guard even snuck us in to see center court! This day was quite the day for sightseeing because we then went back into town to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. We had dinner at a cafe and then.....another show! This time I was on the front row of Chicago! It was such a fun show and the perfect one to be on the front row for because the stage was smaller than usual.

Sunday we did some more sightseeing with visits to Charles Dicken's house, Platform 9 3/4, the London Tower Bridge, the Globe Theater, the Millenium Bridge, and St. Paul's Cathedral. In the middle of that we attempted to find Diagon Alley which we failed at. I'm still not really sure if it exists or not. We did some shopping on Oxford Street where I was again reminded of how convenient the dollar to pound exchange rate is...We had dinner at another great pub, The Brewmaster. London was an amazing experience, and we were actually there long enough with no problems to be able to enjoy it.

Monday "morning" we woke up at 3 a.m. to get on a plane to Scotland! We were picked up at the airport but THE Hailey Jones! We arrived at her house to a mom hug and homemade breakfast. After a short nap, Hailey took us out to see the beach and castle in Dundee and then to some adorable little shops. We came home to another homemade meal! This time it was lasagna. Hailey's mom is such a great cook! We then got to snuggle up and have a night in watching movies together. It was just what we needed. Tuesday Hailey took us out again, but this time it was to St. Andrew's Golf Course, which I'm assuming is one of if not the most beautiful course in the world. St. Andrew's Castle and Cathedral didn't disappoint either. We then had another night in with pizza and a movie! You gotta love girls nights.

Wednesday Hailey had to work, so we were on our own to find our way to Edinburgh. The city is full of beautiful castles, churches, and cathedrals. I know I say this after every visit, but Edinburgh was the most beautiful city for me so far. We spent the day roaming the streets and just enjoying the city. Mrs. Jones again had something waiting for us when we got home. This time is was dessert! We were very spoiled the entire week...Our last day in Scotland we stayed in the entire day relaxing and working on homework. I know it doesn't sound very fun, but doing work was essential, and it was nice to get to relax in a real home for a day.

On Friday we woke up at a ridiculous hour again, but this time to board the plane to Dublin. When we got into town we checked into the hostel and then went to find a castle in the countryside. We visited Maldehide Castle and then ran around on the beach for a little bit. That night a few girls decided to go a little crazy....and they got tatoos! I wasn't one of them though don't worry. We ate dinner at Fitzsimons and then strolled throgh Temple Bar an area with lots of shops and restaurtants for a little bit. SATURDAY WAS HALLOWEEN! We of course wore our costumes around all day, even on the Viking Tour! It...was...awesome! You ride around in a vehicle that can go on land and in the water and wear viking hats and growl at people while on a tour of the city. What could be better than that?! And to top things off we had lunch at "probably the smallest pub in Europe." I don't doubt that it was. For Halloween that night we went to dinner, had gelato, and then went back to Temple Bar, which was very lively and full of people in costumes. Costume watching was probably the funnest part of the night. We ended the night listening to live music before turning in.

My trip to the UK and Ireland was incredible. I went with the best 8 girls on this planet, and will remember it for the rest of my life.

Coming Soon...

FALL BREAK WAS FABULOUS! Three countries and four flights in 10 days was a whirlwind, but I loved every second of it. I have a busy week coming up, but stay tuned for details soon on what I did in London, Scotland, and Ireland!

Fall Break!

Well I am in the middle of packing up my room yet again...tonight we fly out to London! I still have to pack...We will be in London for a few nights and are set on doing all the touristy things including maybe a few shows. We then head to Scotland where we have our own personal tour guide, our friend Hailey. After that, off to Ireland for the end of our trip. It's going o be a very exciting and eventful week! Keep me and the other eight girls going in your prayers for safe travels. See you again in 10 days!

More studying...

Well after all the excitement of last weekend, I was looking forward to finally being back in Vienna and relaxing a little. Wrong. I spent my entire Monday afternoon cramming for another German quiz (which I didn't do so hot on by the way). I took a break and went out to dinner at Vapianos for Kat's birthday! That seems to be the new favorite restaurant of choice.


Today was another fun-filled day locked in my room all night studying. We conveniently had a 8.5 hour class today, so that didn't help much either. For CIVA we went and visited four different churches to compare and contrast the buildings. First, we went back to the very traditional and elaborate Stephansdome. Next, we travelled out to the industrial district of Vienna to Denau Citykirche. It is an extremely modern Catholic church shaped like a box and made out of metal. The inside is lit with only natural light through dozens of round windows in the walls. We then went to a the International Baptist Church of Vienna. Although it was very small and sort of old school, we all immediately felt more comfortable here because it was more of what we were used to. Our last church took us way out to the outskirts of the city. The Wortrubakircke is a Catholic church set on top of a hill surrounded by woods. If you walk through the trees a little ways you are on top of a hill that overlooks the entire Vienna Woods and hills. The church itself looks like a concrete jenga game. It was very interesting to get to see how the setting of a service can drastically affect its mood.


I must now get back to studying Humanities, and I am super excited about it. Shout out to Nana and Papa for sending me a Halloween card! I loved it! Mail always makes my day :)


Oh yeah..I'm leaving for a 10 day trip to the UK in two days...oh my.

Oh Paris...

Paris...wow...where do I even begin? I do believe I had one of the most unlucky weekends in my life these past few days but hey, I was still in Paris right?

Thursday night a group of nine girls was so excited to be headed out to Paris on our first free travel weekend. We made sure to get to the train station a good forty minutes early so we wouldn't miss our train. While a few of us were wandering throught the grocery store, Charli and myself decided to take a look at the departure board to see if our train had arrived yet. Unfortunately, our train wasn't even on the board. We calmly walked over to the help desk where they told us we were at the wrong train station. Great. The only way to get to the station on time was by taxi, so we grabbed the girls out of the grocery store and flagged down three taxis as fast as we could. Our drivers were kind enough to speed a little bit and we got there with a few minutes to spare. Not a great way to start off, but at least we didn't miss our train. Once we were settled into our rooms we realized that our doors didn't have locks. We had all been told horror stories about people getting things stolen in the middle of the night, so we tied all our things together, wedged them under the seats and fastened them to any pole in sight. Regardless of our cautiousness, we were still a little nervous and didn't sleep very well that night.

We woke up in Straussburg, Germany where we were to catch the next train to Paris. When we went to reserve our seats, we were told that the only train available to Paris that day was not going straight into the city but to the outskirts where we would take the metro in. It was not ideal, but it was our only option, so we took it. Our train ended up taking us to Disneyland Paris, something I was thrilled about even if I was on the outside looking in. We found our way around the metro and finally ended up around Notre Dame around 1 p.m. The rest of the day was great. We saw Notre Dame, tourded the Louvre, and even got to see the Eiffel Tower light up at night. We took a cab to our hostel, which turned out to be awesome. It was a youth hostel decorated in bright colors and patterns, was very clean, and had internet and breakfast. I think we got spoiled with it being our first one.

Saturday we woke up and headed to the train station to reserve our overnight to Salzburg where we were going to go on the Sound of Music tour. When we get to the counter, the woman tells us again that there are NO trains leaving out of Paris that night. NONE. They had all been booked. We now had no idea what to do. We had to be back in Vienna by 10 p.m. or we would lose our travelling priviledges. We spent the next 4 HOURS going from train stations to bus stations and even the airport. Our last resort was to pay 120 euro for a flight to Budapest where we would take a train back to Vienna after sleeping in the airport. We were all stressed, frustrated, and flat out annoyed by the entire situation. We finally called our tour guide, Daniel, for advice, and he recommended trying to get into Germany any way possible. We decided to try the train station one more time. After a few minutes of searching the nice man at the counter found nine tickets on a train leaving Saturday night for Munich. Apparently there were trains leaving out of Paris. I know if any of us ever ran into that first woman again we would have a few things to say to her.

After a few deep breaths, we had about 5 hours to go and enjoy Paris. We spent the afternoon shopping, eating, and just hanging out in the beautiful city! We mad our train in time, and were relieved to be going back home. During the middle of the night, our train stopped at a station for a good two hours, and we have no idea why. This caused us to forget any hopes we had of making the Sound of Music Tour. We arrived in Munich after a 12 hour train ride and hopped on the train back home. During this ride, again, the train stopped due to "construction" on the tracks. By this time we had all come to the conclusion that anything and everything that could have gone wrong was going to, so we just dealt with it.

Besides the continual series of unfortunate events we had to deal with, Paris was still an amazing and beautiful city. The people were surprisingly friendly, and the food was unbelievable of course. I only got a taste of what it was like, so I hope to go back some day.

God taught us a very important lesson this weekend and that is to put all our faith and trust in him. He might have taken longer than we would have liked, but in the end he got us through our storm and brought us back home.

Winter has arrived!

It is freezing!
I can't believe I was wearing a skirt and t-shirt last week because Vienna has been in the thirties this week! A few of us were not feeling too well after an exhausting week last in Italy and the sudden weather change, and that is why I spent my Monday afternoon sleeping.
To save room in my luggage I didn't bring a coat, so Tuesday after lunch at Vapiano I had to go buy one because it is getting so cold! Tuesday night we had a night in together. We ordered pizzas and watched the Sound of Music to prepare for the tour this weekend. Wednesday after class we did a couple Vienna visits for the week. We stayed around the Hofburg Palace and saw the stables for the horses of the Winter Riding School and another small palace. We also visited one of my all time favortie places in Vienna, the Pruksaal of the Austrian National Library. Have the ever seen the library in Beauty and Beast? It is the one where the walls are lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling and has rolling ladders to reach the top. The Pruksaal looks exactly like that. It is the largest Baroque library in Vienna. I can't wait to go back soon to study. That night we had our weekly devotional which is always much needed.

TODAY IT WAS SNOWING! I have never in my life seen snow in the middle of October. We had Humanities class in the art museum again, so that is always fun. Right now I am packing for Paris!! I can't believe I will wake up in France tomorrow! We will be there the entire weekend but are stopping in Salzburg on the way back home Sunday for the Sounds of Music tour. I will keep you updated as always!

I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. - Psalm 18:1-2

Ciao Bella!

Well I just back from a 9 day journey through Italy! It was beautiful, informative, and completely overwhelming to say the least. So here goes nothing…

Saturday night, we took our first overnight train! It was an experience. There were four people to a room with two bunk beds in each. It was not the best sleep of my life but was better than nothing, and we woke up in Rome and hit the ground running!

My first day there, I toured the Baths of Caracalla, the Forum, and the Colosseum which were all breathtaking. While walking around these places I always tried to picture them full of people and life back in ancient Rome. Even though baths are not around anymore, we still have stadiums and downtown city life much like the Romans did. Clearly they were on to something. After pizza for lunch by the pantheon, oh yeah THE PANTHEON, I had my first taste of real Italian gelato. Even other cities in Europe do not come close to imitating gelato from Italy. It's the real deal. For dinner, our very beloved Italian guide, Daniel, took us to dinner…a four course Italian dinner. We had mushrooms and rice for our pre-appetizer, pasta as an appetizer, baked chicken and potatoes for the main dish, and homemade dessert. Mouth watering yet? I now understand completely why Italy is so famous for its food. After dinner we had a little free time in a piazza before headed back to the hotel. What happened there is probably going to be one of the biggest highlights of the trip. While turning the corner, we all hear the Black Eyed Pea's "I Gotta Feelin'" start to play. For some reason, our first reaction was not to sing along or sort of bob our heads to the song but to run as fast as we could to where it was coming from. Again, I have no idea why. When we got there, we found ourselves in the middle of a "Jesus Rave" as we call it. The local Catholic church had basically put on a dance party for the square! On the stage there was a dj, a few dancers line dancing, and a banner that read "Jesus is the center of our lives." During that 20 minutes, all 27 of us completely let loose. Not only was it amazing feeling to get lost in the moment, but to be doing it together as a group and with other groups from about a dozen different countries.

Seven a.m. on Monday morning came bright and early. After breakfast, we headed to Vatican City! Here we toured the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's, and the Sistine Chapel, three big ones to have to take in in one day. Because we see so many artworks on this trip, it is easy to kind of pass by them and forget about the time put in and craftsmanship behind each and every piece. That definitely happened to me, but every now and then I would catch myself and try to think about the work that went into making something so beautiful. If there is one thing I learned in Italy it is that I am completely MINDBOGGLED at how one person would even go about creating such a masterpiece. Take, for example, the Sistine Chapel. There are literally not words to describe it. No pictures or descriptions do it justice until you see the real thing. I am still blown away and cannot wrap my brain around someone taking the time to create it. St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the entire world, was the same way. It was very ornate and almost gaudy, but still unbelievable. I got to see Michelangelo's famous Pieta here which was of course remarkable. After lunch and gelato again, we visited the Catacombs of San Callisto, ancient burial chambers for Christians in hiding. It was a bit creepy but also makes you appreciate how hard people fought for Christianity. For dinner, we decided to eat at the smallest restaurant we could find, and it turned out to be a great decision in the end. You can never go wrong with Italian bruchetta and pasta for dinner.

Tuesday was slightly more relaxing with a visit to a couple museums, some shopping, and gelato (again I know) by the Trevi fountain. At the Galleria Borghese, I discovered my favorite sculptor, Bernini. One of my favorite piece's is his David. Look it up and check out the movement and expression on his face. Apollo e Daphne and Ratto di Proserpina are two more of my favorites. I also got see many of Carvaggio's paintings. Even though I am not a fan of his work, they were still great to see in person. At the Trevi fountain, there is a tradition of how to throw coins in. You must use you right hand and throw them over your left shoulder with your back facing the water. The legend goes that one coin means you will return to Rome, and two means you will get married. I threw two in in hopes that I will return to Rome after getting married…sounds like a good plan to me.

Wednesday I went to Pompeii. On the way we took the wrong train and got "lost" in Salerno, my favorite city so far. It is a small town on the Mediterranean Sea that is surrounded by mountains. Absolutely PICTURE PERFECT. We eventually got to Pompeii and toured it for a while. It is HUGE. I had no idea exactly how big it was but I did not expect what I saw. They really have uncovered an entire city, not a village or even town but a city. It was a long day but worth it in the end. Daniel took us to another fabulous dinner at a place run by nuns from all over the world. We had a great meal and they bid us farewell with a performance of Ave Maria.

Thursday was a very busy day. We travelled to Florence by train and knocked out five places as soon as we got there. The first place we went was the Academia where we saw Michelangelo's David! It was better than I pictured in person. Again, there aren't words to describe it. We then did quick run throughs of Capelle Medici and a couple churches. That afternoon we walked up on the Duomo. Wow is all I have to say. Another masterpiece. After all the touring, we relaxed with shopping. That always works for me. The market in Florence is enormous. If you love leather, it is the place for you. I love markets because of the unusual things there and getting to bargain for good prices. I have gotten pretty good at that. The bridge in Florence, the Ponte Veccio, is a fun place to stroll through. It is world famous for its jewelry, and there is no doubt in my mind as to why. I felt like a fish attracted to shiny objects. Daniel took us to another great dinner that night. Pasta and pork chops were the main dishes.

Friday was filled with more museums. I hate to say it, but by this time we were a little burnt out. Il Bargello is a museum that used to be a prison. The biggest thing we saw there was Donatello's David, or Gayvid as we call it. Google it, and you will understand why. The Uffizi is another remarkable gallery to tour. I only wish I had been more awake to enjoy it. After the museums, we again did some more shopping before a small group of us headed out to Pisa on our own. The leaning tower of Pisa is…unexpected. Whatever you are picturing in your mind right now, it is quite the opposite. I imagined this quaint green field with rolling hills in the background and the church and tower sitting in the middle. Unfortunately it is located pretty much smack dab in the middle of the city. It was dark, cold, rainy, and we didn't get home until about midnight that night, but at least we got some cool pictures.

Satuday we travelled to Siena where we were given a tour a saw a couple churches. Siena is a very cute town that is typical of small town Europe. The city is divided in to 17 districts each with its own flag and symbol. For example, our guide was from the seashell district. The most exciting thing Siena does is a horse race twice a year. Campo square is turned into a race track and the entire city comes out to support the horse randomly chosen for their district. The race only lasts one minute and thirteen seconds, but the preparations takes days and weeks. After returning to Florence, we had our final dinner with Daniel. He took us to his friends Gigi's restaurant. Gigi is a huge Italian man who is CRAZY. It was so much fun. We even got to watch the Italy vs. Ireland soccer game. Daniel, Gigi, and all the cooks and waiters were screaming a cheering throughout the entire dinner at the game. It was a great way to end the trip.

Sunday, and exhausted group of 33 people returned home to Vienna. Our train took us through the beautiful countryside of Austria, Austrian Alps included. We were all grateful to be back at our second home.

I will never forget Italy.

I LEAVE FOR ITALY TOMORROW!

Whew the week of tests is over!!
The CVA test was 5 essay questions long and took me 2 hours! Those tests will drain you...but finishing was such a relief. The girls here have started doing pilates together a few times a week, so I did that and went for a run after class...A run around the Belvedere Palace...who can say that?! For dinner we tried out a new place, Cafe Frey, down the road and then went to our weekly devo. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Today, German quiz out of the way, we went shopping :) Mariahilferstrasse is like the Michigan Avenue of Vienna. So much fun. We also rewarded ourselves with McDonalds for dinner. We are such girls.

Right now, I am packing for a 10 day trip to Italy in one backpack. We will see how that goes...

ITALY TOMORROW!

Study, study, study...

What a busy week with school! There are always journals to be done...the first CVA test, and the first German quiz! Yikes. Studying didn't leave too much room for fun things this week. Monday was my first attempt at trying to study. I went to Oberlaa, which is officially my favorite park in Vienna so far. It is very secluded away from all the busy roads and stores and is completely surrounded by trees. It is the only park I have been to so far where you can find a quiet place and not even see another person for hours. It looks more like the parks at home than any other and is full of mostly older couples strolling through (so cute!).

Tuesday night for dinner, a group of us went to Vapiano, this make your own pasta place. It was the best meal I have had here to date. After that, more studying...Like I said, not too much time for fun when there is a lot to be done for class.

Today we had Humantities class at the KHM. We looked at several works from the Renaissance including a whole room full of Titian and a couple Raphael's. I am so lucky to get to see what it is I'm studying in person instead of just images in a book. After that, a group of us when to Pickwick's for lunch and to "study." We got a few things done in between our outbursts of completely random conversation.

More studying is in my future for the next couple of days but after that....ITALY!! 3 days!

Relaxing weekend in Vienna.

Well my first weekend free in Vienna is officially over. Every other weekend I will be out touring Europe until the weekend before I come home! Saturday I got to SLEEP IN! It was wonderful and much needed. When I woke up, I went with some of the girls to Pickwick's, the English Cafe we found the other day. There they have "normal" food, and the music selection is awesome! It's good to have a little taste of home every now and then. After spending a few hours there journaling, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the opera. We went to the Volksopera and saw Mozart's "Magic Flute." Not my favorite I must say...I don't even know if I would have liked it in English. The plot was not very intersting, and the set and costuming wasn't fun to look at, but of course the music was good.

This morning we went to high mass at Augustinekirche, where many of the Hapsburgs were married. This church is known for its music because they do their whole service by composers like Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven with a full orchestra and chorus. Our service this morning was done in Puccini's "Messi di Gloria." It felt more like a concert to me than worship, but at least the music kept my attention. After church it was off to the washeteria for some much needed landry. Figuring out how to work the machines was an adventure in itself, but it eventually got done. This evening, we had a devotional to take Communion. It's always great to get to get together after a weekend of not seeing everyone. ITALY IN 5 DAYS!

It's the weekend already!?

Wow this week FLEW by! I feel like I was just in Prague...I have a feeling this entire trip is going to feel that way...Well let's see what did I do this week...Wednesday was a very relaxed day. After class I had a wonderful afternoon of shopping with the girls and Mexican for dinner. We have this great place right by the hotel that we go to often.
Thursday was a little more productive. We had Christiany in the Visual Arts class at the Schatzkammer Museum. That is always a good day. We saw some very intersting things related to the class including one of the three veils of Veronica, the Imperial Crown, Imperial Cross, and Imperial Lance. They are much cooler to see once you know what they actually are. There was also a tooth from John on display and a piece of the real cross! Gasp! Those Catholics...crazy fellows. After class I spent the afternoon at the Augarten. It used to be a palace and is now home to the famous Vienna Boys' Choir and has the oldest Baroque garden in Vienna. Pretty sweet. The park would be nearly perfect if it weren't for two distracting obtrusions that dominate the landscape there. Two huge and ugly Nazi flakturms or watch towers still stand in the park. The Viennese can't tear them down without destroying everything around them, so there they sit. Looking at them honestly put a knot in my stomach.

Today's outing was ridiculous! We have a list of "Vienna Visits" we have to do every week in order to get out and see the city. Well, Jordan, Macy, and I decided to get as many done as possible. Three and a half hours later we had been to six Gothic churches around the city and the Parliament building. What an exhausting afternoon...it really was fun though! Wandering through the streets of Vienna has been one of my favorite things to do here. You never know what you're going to run into! Today we found a British Cafe that has an English movie rental store in the basement. Very useful...tonight we went to dinner at a local cafe as a group to catch up with the adults on the trip. After that we had a devo...that lasted almost three hours...Like I said I am with an amazing group of people who are full of awesome advice and who just love to talk about God. I am very lucky. This weekend will just be a relaxing one in Vienna before all the crazy travelling starts.


"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
-Matthew 17:20

What a great weekend!

I had such a great weekend! On Friday after class I went to the Vienna Roman Museum. The museum is built on top of these ancient Roman ruins that were found underneath the city. The ruins are of two tribunal houses from an ancient military camp. Everytime I see things like this up close and personal I can't help but think about who had walked and lived on the very floors I was looking at and what was their life like? The most intersting part of the houses still in tact was the heating structure. Underneath the floors there would be a hollow chamber that was filled with heat from at fire at the entrance. This would heat every room of the house. Hundreds of ancient artifacts that were found are also on display. I continue to be reminded every day just how smart and productive these ancient civilizations were.

Saturday and Sunday I was in Prague! That city is so beautiful! It is definitely the essence of European architecture. After a four hour bus ride, we were free to explore! I ate lunch at a cute little cafe right on the streets and paid twenty dollars for a cheeseburger! Trying to keep Czech rounds, Euros, and American dollars separate in my head apparently comes as a challenge to me. I learned my lesson though. While walking back to the bus to leave, we walked throught this ridiculoulsy loud "Anarchy Rave" in the square. Young people dressed up in crazy costumes and rocked out to techno music playing from dozens of vans. It was the shadiest thing I have ever seen in my life but was still interesting to get to see. After hours of eating and shopping it was off to the hotel. The hotel we stayed in had a bowling alley and casino in the basement. I had never heard of such a thing! You have to pay for everything in Europe (even the bathroom) so I spent the night playing cards in the room instead.

Sunday morning we got up early for our official tour of Prague. Our tour guide showed us around Prague Palace, Charles Bridge, and the Old Town Square. Prague was a beautiful and wonderful experience! On the way home we took a "bathroom break" at Excaliber City. It was probably one of the most unusual things I have done on this trip to date. Excaliber City is right on the border of the Czech Republic and Austria and was kind of like a state fair...but dragon themed. It was awesome. We had time for a few rides and games until we had to be back on the bus.

Monday night after a very long nap, I went to the New World Ballet at the Vienna Opera House. I payed 4 euro to see a ballet! Even though I had to stand, it was fabulous. I discovered that dance is probably my favorite form of art. I just love the movement in it instead of static and lifeless paintings and statues even if they are beautiful. One very intersting thing about the show was the last piece of choreography. It was humorous and slightly ridiculous. I have never seen a ballet that wasn't technical and classical, so that was refreshing.

Today nothing exciting happened, besides the fact that I woke up in Vienna. It is Cari's birthday, so we are going out to dinner to celebrate! We will see what this week has to offer!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECCA!! I LOVE YOU!

Museums, Cafes, and Pizza Parties...

Wednesday We had Humanities class in two different museums. The first, The Museum of Natural Hisory houses the Venus of Williandorf, the oldest known artwork in existence. It is 25,000 years old and is a carving of a rather large woman. She was so cute in person! She only stands a few inches tall because of the nomadic lifestyle of the people who created her. After taking a few minutes looking at her, we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Here, we looked at ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts. The Egyptian section was unbelievable. On display were actual mummies, coffins, and carved sculptures. It is fascinating if you imagine where these things have been, who has touched them, and what their purpose was for. The Greek and Roman statues were the same way. Who knew you could tell so much about a culture by the way they positioned the bodies of their human sculptures.

After "class" I had lunch at Cafe Central, Vienna's oldest cafe. It was built in 1868 and became a watering hole for intellectuals and still is today. Some of the cities most prominent writers and artists frequented the place. It is BEAUTIFUL. Forget whatever "cafe" you are thinking about right now and imagine having lunch in more of a museum setting. I had a warm ham and cheese sandwich, lame I know, and tried the famous apfelstreudel for dessert. Let's just say I was imagining American apple pie, and it was not. Almost all of their desserts are not nearly as sweet as ours, but we have found some good chocolate!

For dinner I had a good 'ole peanut butter sandwich with bread from the local bakery down the street, Anker. Later, most of us met down in the courtyard to have a devo. All I can say is I am on this trip with some amazing people who continue to lift me up daily.

Today was not as productive as the rest of the week has been. We got out of class at 10 so the other half of the class could go to the museums. We were supposed to take the time to work on out thesis, but I took a nap instead. It was ffor the first time the whole trip which is extremely unusual, so I think I deserved it :) When I woke up I fully intended on doing some journaling for class, but a group of us was called up to the Hortons' room to discuss fall break. There was some confusion as to when fall break was, and a group of us booked flights for the whole week. What a bummer. A short meeting turned into 5 hours of grilling our two femal faculty on love, marriage and everything in between. Then that turned into a pizza party for the whole group! It has been a fun night!

School has started...

Well, Monday school started and man was it early! My new schedule is waking up at 6:30, breakfast at 7:10, and starting the journey to the institute at 7:30. We start off every day with a short devo, then German class is first. Our teacher is hilarious! He keeps us on our toes though because he will call on us randomly to repeat or read things. I am on the front row! Bad idea...but at least it keeps me awake. After that, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for these first few weeks we have Humanities, and Tuesdays and Thursdays we have Christianity in the Visual Arts. Class gets out at 12 then its off to lunch!

Monday after class we went and visited a few parks around town. Stadtpark has a pond surrounded by running trails. These trails are dotted with statues of some of Vienna's most beloved artists and musicians. We sketched for a little bit then headed to Volksgarten. Volksgarten is the park surrounding the National Library and the Museum of Natural History. My favorite part was the statue of Queen Elizabeth surrounded by roses. She is the topic of my research paper, so we will be getting very close.

Today I went to class as usual then went to the Nashmarkt for lunch where I have a chicken kebob sandwich. It was tasty! The guy at the counter even showed us a magic trick! He had two euros in one hand and one in the other...he clapped his hand face down on the counter, and when he brought them back up, all three euros were in the other hand. I still don't know how he did it. For dinner we went to Cafe Chatanooga to have a little taste of home then chocolate gelato for dessert. The gelato here will be the death of me.

Tomorrow for class we are going to the Museum of Natural History to see the Venus of Williandorf, the oldest piece of art know to man...then the Kunshistorsches. It' going to be great!

Another amazing two days!

Well I have had yet another two amazing days here in Wien! Saturday I went with a group to Millenium City to check out the malls here. It was pretty much your typical American mall except the German everywhere. That afternoon we saw another beautiful palace. This one was called the Belvedere and was given to a general as a gift from the king! Can you imagine getting a palace as a gift? It was amazing. That night we went to an amusement park. It was just like an American fair, sketchy pop-up rides included. Apparently, Austria doesn't have very strict safety regulations, so riding rides was out for me. I still had a great time though! It was very funny listening to American pop and rock music at a foreign country's park. They sure do love our music!

Sunday was also a very productive day. We woke up and went to high mass at Stephansdome. It was quite and experience! It lasted two hours,was completely in German, and there was a lot of up down up down. The choir was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard in my life though. Between the German lyrics, the aucostics of the church and their voices, it was unbelievable. Although the service was new and strange to me, it made me extremely curious about their customs and practices and why they do what they do at church. A very traditional high mass is something everyone should see once in their life. After lunch we headed by bus up a mountain that overlooks the entire city. It was breathtaking! After that, we hiked down the mountain past fields of vineyards! At the bottom of the hill was this little neighborhood that was definitely the epitome of what I thought Europe looked like. The cobblestone roads, cute little houses, and beautiful flowers everywhere were a perfect picture. Dinner at our local Mexican restaurant topped off the night. I'm off to bed early because we start school at a ridiculous hour in the morning. Yikes. I'm a little nervous.

Sweet dreams!

I'm here!

Hallo everyone! Well, I finally made it. After three flights, countless hours of travelling, and a six hour time difference, I was to say the least tired my first day here. The plane ride on the way over was an adventure in itself. Lufthansa is definitely the way to go. Free movies, television, dinner, breakfast, drinks, and even a hot towel (which I wasn't sure what to do with). The plane was so huge I didn't even feel like I was flying and had to go down a flilght of stairs to get to the bathroom. A two-story plane?! It was awesome. When we arrived in Munich this first thing I noticed was that it looked a lot like home. I still felt like I was in the states. We took a bus straight to our plane and walked on right from the tarmac. That was a first. As soon as we arrived in Vienna, we hit the ground running. After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we walked to the school. It is right beside the world famous opera house! We can see it right out our window during class! That won't be distracting...We had our first real stab at German during lunch at Rosenbergers and dinner at Cafe Wortner. I have "danke" (thank you) down, but thats about it...I'm working on it. During my first meal in Vienna I managed to dump my plate of spaghetti and cream sauce into my lap. I dont' even know how it happened, but it wasn't pretty. I needed sleep.

Today we woke up and went straight to the university for a few presentations then headed to the Nashmarkt for lunch. The Nashmarkt is the farmer's market on steriods. It is a mile long, and has any fruit, vegetable, meat, cheese....pretty much any fresh food you can think of will be there. I ate Chinese for lunch. I know right Chinese...I'm finding that I am definitely not on the adventurous side when it comes to food.

After lunch we went to the Shonbrunn Palace. IT WAS AMAZING. I fell in love. The Hapsburgs used it as their summer house. Their summer house? I can't imagine what their normal palace looks like. Oh wait I can go see it anytime I want :) It is so hard to describe you will just have to look at pictures, but even that doesn't give it justice. There is even an imperial zoo on the grounds. They owned their own zoo right in their back yard. Unbelievable. Jordan, Sarah, Brynn, and I had to find our way back to the hotel after the palace to meet up with the group. No problem right? Well, that's what we thought. We left in plenty of time and were doing great until we got off the u-bahn...at the wrong stop. After thirty minutes of wandering around we finally decided to make a call. So, our first attempt alone was a major fail, but now we know.

Dinner was at Venetizia, and Italian place. I ordere "pizze mit pfefferoni" which turned out to be cheese pizza with peppers...but it was all good. Our waiter was very energetic and helpful. He was one of the few Viennese I have met that doesn't mind Americans. We're not too popular here.

The night ended with coffee at Cafe Sprel. I had Vienna iced coffee, which is espresso with a scoop of vanilla gelato. The gelato was fabulous, but I'm not a fan of coffee yet.

We will see what tomorrow holds!

Guten nacht!

Thanks.

Thanks to everyone who came today to send me off! I appreciate all the love and support and will continue to ask that you keep me in your prayers. I love you all! 2 days!

Welcome!

Hello friends and family! Here is where you can follow my adventures through Europe this semester while I am studying in Vienna. I will post pictures and keep you updated on the cities I go to and the things I experience while I am abroad. So, write it down--followrachelabroad.blogspot.com! I take off in two weeks!