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!