Prague, Dresden, and Berlin

I had an amazing time on my trip! All three cities (Prague, Dresden, and Berlin) were beautiful, and my friends made every second fun! There was a lot of driving involved, but the time passed pretty quickly in the company of friends, and I know it was just a preview of what Euro-tour will be like in May. But if we have as much fun as I just did, I know it will be totally worth it!

Prague: After taking a train to Linz early Wednesday morning, I met up with all the other exchangers on the bus, and we set off for Prague. The drive was about four hours. But I was surrounded by some of my closest friends, and we watched ‘The Incredibles’ so it didn’t seem that long. We got to Prague in the late afternoon, and by the time we started our tour, the sun was setting. We had an awesome tour guide, and the city was absolutely spectacular. We were running a little behind schedule, so the tour guide told us to run so we would make it into this cathedral in time. Crash and I ran ahead, and as we entered, Crash turned around with a look of awe and mouthed, “Oh my gosh” and then ran around the corner again. I knew this must be not like other churches we’ve seen, so I quickly followed Crash. I was blown away by the view. Ceilings that rose to the heavens were framed by intricate stain glass windows. I took tons of photos, and just soaked in the beauty. We continued on to a stunning night tour of Prague, which is a city bursting with history and culture. At one point we walked over a bridge heading towards a castle, and I was just grinning from ear to ear. I had this magical feeling I used to get as a little kid in Disney World, except this was a million times cooler. I kept thinking to myself how grateful I was, and how amazing my mom is. When she put the money in my account for this trip she wrote ‘Merry Christmas’ with it. She is the absolute best for helping me accomplish any dreams I have, and giving me the best Christmas present of all time! This also was one awesome Halloween! Not too many kids my age get to say they spent their Halloween in Prague!

 

Dresden: We slept at a hotel in Prague, and then were off promptly the next morning to Dresden, Germany. It was raining in Dresden, and we had a bus tour. The tour was a little dull, and you could feel the mood on the bus damper a little. But we got some free time after the tour, and Laura, Izze, and I explored the city a little. We found a huge shopping mall, where we did some shopping and stayed out of the rain. We all hopped back on the bus that afternoon to drive into Berlin. Dresden wasn’t my favorite, probably because of the rain, and the tour, but it was nonetheless a beautiful city!

Representing Colorado!

 

Berlin: We drove straight to our hostel, ate dinner there, and then had free time for the rest of the night to explore the city. I headed out into the night with William, Henrique, Laura, Izze, Sam, and Kaylee. We went into the city, and ended up running into Crash, Johnny, and Lucas. I decided to go with those guys instead, and it ended up being a really interesting night! The four of us tried to speak only German at the beginning of the night, which is always frustrating for me, because their German is really, really good. But they are very patient with my not so good German J. We came across some of the main attractions in Berlin, including the Brandenburg gate. Everything looked so pretty lit up at night, and I was quickly falling in love with the city! We walked along the streets, and browsed in tourist shops. At the end of the night, we walked down by the river on the way back to the hostel. I wanted to see how cold the water was, so I walked down the steps to put my finger in. The bottom step was really wet, and I slipped, ending up in the river. Thankfully, I saved my camera and the important things, but I was drenched. Lucas the Eagle Scout helped me out of the water and had plenty of first aid advice for me. We then began to rush back to the hostel, because it was getting pretty chilly out, and I was real wet. We got a little lost on the way back, but eventually figured it out. I was extremely embarrassed for being such a klutz, but I was super grateful to have such good friends to take care of me!

 

 The next morning, we had a guided bus tour of the city where we saw other attractions like the Museum’s Island, Checkpoint Charlie, and of course, the Berlin Wall. I had lunch with Laura, Lucas, Crash and Johnny, and we spent the rest of the day together exploring Berlin. After dinner, Crash, Laura and I went out into the city again. We did some tourist shopping, and then ended up in this gigantic book store. We shared some laughs in the English section reading some super funny books, and listened to an amazing singer in the jungle café below. We continued on and came across a soap store. The guy working there was so friendly, and the three of us had a great time playing with soap and bubbles for a solid hour! We ended the night with some ice cream and good conversation.

 

Overall, the trip was completely awesome, and I am really looking forward to Euro-tour now! Mommy, since you’re the only one who really reads this, thank you so much! You really are the best for helping me achieve any dream I dream, and sending me on such an amazing adventure! I love you!

Wochau and Tourist Day

I had another amazing weekend thanks to my awesome host family! On Saturday, Theresa (host sister) flew to Italy with my host grandpa for the weekend. So I got to be an only child! My host mom and I had a ‘tourist day’ in Vienna and I had a really great time with her. First, we went to this adorable café and had hot chocolate and cake. The bakery had glass doors, so you could watch bakers making really elaborate cakes and sweets. It reminded me of the show Cake Boss… Austrian style! Then we took a tour of the emperor’s apartments and learned about Sisi (Elizabeth), the famous troubled empress of Austria. Her story was really dark, but also so interesting. It is the most indescribable feeling standing in a room, and thinking, “This is where Sisi spent most of her days. That is literally the bed she slept in.” It’s hard not to just stand there in awe! We finished the day at a family owned Italian restaurant where the authentic food was so yummy, and the conversation with my host parents was awesome! All in all, it was a really solid day!

Cool chandelier in the cafe

 

            On Sunday, we drove to Wochau, a town just over an hour outside of Vienna. We toured a Church, which had two full skeletons in it. Staring at skeletons always makes me super reflective and really interested in the history. It just makes these people so much more real! We then dined at a hotel built in the 1300’s. Feeling extremely full, we decided to go for a little walk. It had snowed in Wochau the day before, and it was quite chilly out. But we headed out to the vineyards for a ‘short walk’ as my host dad likes to say. The last time he said that, we ended up climbing two peaks… but I had an amazing time, so I just went with it! The fall colors were unreal, and standing at the top of hillsides covered in vineyards was a breathtaking view. I felt like I was in Italy! The sun came out for a few minutes, and I had this amazing feeling of not wanting to be anywhere else in the world at that moment. I had an incredible time with my host parents and I am feeling so fortunate to be where I am, with the people I’m with, going on such incredible adventures! Speaking of which, I’m off to Prague, Dresden, and Berlin tomorrow! Stories will be coming!

Me and host momma... notice the snow in the background!

Churrch

Host parents

My week

            On Sunday, after taking quick nap, my family took me to the zoo. All of the cousins came and I loved seeing Ferdi and Felix (the little ones) get so excited. The zoo here in Vienna is the oldest zoo in the world, and is located in the Tiergarten in Schonbrunn (the same palace I was at on Saturday). Even though I was pretty exhausted, I had a great time with the family, and I am continually learning to never say “no” to any opportunity!

Ferdi getting a ride on Theresa's shoulders

Felix checking out some monkeys

Me with cousins, aunt, and sister

 

            On Tuesday at school, a boy in my class asked me to proof read his speech before he read it to the whole English class. His writing definitely made my day! The students were allowed to give a speech on anything they were passionate about. This particular boy chose to speak about loving yourself. And how all the people in the world could love you, but you don’t feel it until you love yourself first. It was really inspirational, and I told him I loved it! He then told me his story about not being really accepted for a long time and how hard that used to be for him; and then how things got so much better once he just started loving himself. I told him that was pretty amazing, and he gave me a big hug (my first one from a classmate! Score!) and I feel like we bonded.

 

            After school on Tuesday I had two basketball games hosted in another school in Vienna. Let’s just say that neighborhood made me super grateful to be living in the one I am! We got slaughtered the first game, but turned it around and won by 48 points the second game. I started to get a little bummed as I realized how much I missed my team back home, and all the little ways those girls made me happy and supported me.

 

            Like usual, a long day in the gym resulted in a headache for me (still don’t know why). Of course that headache quickly escalated into a migraine and that was a BIG bummer. Migraines are no fun as is, but I’m so used to having my mom there to take care of me and put cold wash cloths on my head and lay with me until I fall asleep. So naturally tackling this one on my own was a little bit of a struggle. But I took my shot and passed out a little while after.

 

            The rest of my week flowed on pretty normally. I was invited to lunch with friends on Wednesday and we went to this cool self serve vegetarian restaurant. When saying goodbye, I forced them to all give me hugs, and even though it was a little awkward, I’ve decided that’s what I’m going to have to do to get some love around here! J Friday was a national holiday and I went to an art museum with my family and grandpa. I found the art in this exhibit really interesting and unique and I really enjoyed myself. We had lunch together at a cute cabin like restaurant with a farm outside. The fall colors are beautiful here right now, and I’m hoping to see some snow at the end of the week!

Admiring some art

 

Turkey gobbling

 

 

Vienna Weekend

 

            This past weekend all the exchange students came to Vienna for our meeting. We all slept in a youth hostel near Mariahilfestrasse (a shopping street). The hostel was actually not too horrible, but I would have rather slept in my own bed here! On Friday night, we went to the opera. The opera house was beautiful, and the acoustics were amazing in there! I found that the opera itself was a little dull, but I spoke with my friends Simon and Rachel, who both had a true appreciation for it. It was really cool to hear them talk with such sophistication and passion, and I hope one day I can learn to love the opera the way they do!

Headed to the opera

Opera House

             On Saturday we toured the parliament building and Schonbrunn. These are places in Vienna I have driven by several times but haven’t actually been in. It was super interesting to learn about the history, but the day was quite long. I had a headache the whole day and my feet were aching from my stupid boots. When we got back to the hostel we had to get a shot to prevent meningitis. So the day was kind of turning into a bummer. We ate dinner together, and after dinner, I was determined to make the night better than my day had been. So Crash, Lucas, Lauren, Seth and I headed off to my favorite Viennese café, Café Schwarzenberg. Crash (of course) sparked up some really interesting conversation between us; comparing inspirations and new discoveries about ourselves since we’ve been on exchange. I loved that conversation because I felt like I really got to know my friends better. It was awesome to hear how much we’ve all grown and changed.

Sam and Juliet resting before our tour of Schonbrunn

Parliament Building

            After the café we went to my house for a little while, where I got coaxed into playing guitar for everyone. I usually don’t enjoy those moments too much because nerves make my voice sound horrible, and I’m not a huge fan of having attention directed at me. But it was over soon enough and then we got to watch Lucas juggle for us (the high ceilings in my house make it a perfect juggling spot)! Crash was starting to crash (haha I had to!) on my couch, so we decided to head back to the hostel and get some sleep.

Crash doing some stretches on the escalator

            The next morning Crash, Lucas, Lauren, Laura and I went to Stadtpark and the Belvedere. It was a foggy morning so they couldn’t really see the whole beauty of it, but they still made the most of it. I was really tired that day and somewhat of a grouch, but my friends did a pretty solid job of cheering me up. Saying goodbye this time wasn’t as hard, because I will see most of my friends again next week for our tour to Prague, Dresden and Berlin!

Update

Vienna Sunsets

School has finally been getting better for me! I feel more comfortable in my class, and now everyone is making an effort to talk to me, instead of me just invading on their conversations all the time! Some school days seem to drag on forver here, while others fly by. When I actually put some effort into listening and trying to pick out words I know, then the classes move quickly. But sometimes that just gives me a huge headache and I give up and read Pride and Prejudice. Today in history, I finally understood what was going on, and as kids read aloud from our book, I could actually follow along! I also am beginning to understand German class a little bit. Yesterday a Chinese kid in my class read a sentence from a Chinese children's book, and then translated it to English for us. This turned into a bit of a game, and everyone in the class who knew a foreign language translated the sentence for us. I was proud in the first place that I knew how to translate it from German to English, and then I provided the Spanish translation as well. I was so impressed by how many languages my class knew, and I think it really proves what a culturally diverse city Vienna is. Some of the languages included Japanese, Chinese, Hungarian, Bosnian, Serbian, Luxembourgish, Turkish, Polish and Russian. There were more, but everyone started talking so quickly that I missed the name of the language. In English class, we had a 'cultural picnic' where each student brought a traditional dish of their ancestors. I loved that class not only because we got to eat so much, but also because I got to try dishes from all the regions of Austria and also from Turkey, Hungary, and Poland. It was another perfect example of how culturally diverse Vienna is. I love it!
As an exchange student, sometimes we don't order what we want for fear of messing up or seeming foolish. Yesterday I was in Stephansplatz with Lauren and she really wanted to buy some of these mini chocolates. But we didn't know how to. So we followed the standard procedure for these situations: watch everyone around you and mimick them. But it didn't work too well. We were still thoroughly confused and ended up leaving the store. But Lauren kept staring in the window, wanting her chocolate. So finally, I told her to give in and use English. But she didn't was determined. So with some background encouragement from me, we walked back into the store and ordered those chocolates as best we could! And of course everything ended up working out perfectly. We walk away from those moments feeling incredibly accomplished. So you can imagine how great I felt today after dealing with the post office, and my school's secretary and director about getting a student card. When you finally summon the courage to deal with these things and learn to shrug off the embarrassment when you mess up, it really puts you on top of the world!

Castle Tour

Today I went to a 13^th century castle with my family. We drove to the Burgenland (the same region of Austria where I went to the opera and near my host grandpa’s house) and into a small town called Eisenstadt. We took a guided tour of the castle which was over 700 years old. And although the entire thing was in German, I had an English handbook to help me along the way. This was another one of those moments where I was completely blown away by the history in Austria. To read about Napoleon, and the Ottoman Empire in a history book is one thing, but to stand within the same walls built from men centuries before me is a truly indescribable feeling. It is easy to let your imagination run wild and think about how people lived in this castle 700 years ago. The pictures do more justice than anything I could write so I’ll let them finish the story.

Coat of Arms and Tower

Me outside the entrance

Coat of Arms

Crocodile placed at the entrance to ward off the Ottomans

(It worked! This castle was never overthrown!)

Ceiling of the chapel

 

This little guy has Medival relics stored in his head and chest

Prince Nikolaus' family

Tent collected in the 7 Years War

One of Napoleon's own tents

Armor of celebrated soldiers stored in this room since 1602

Prince Nikolaus' formal wear

Wooden stairs are so worn that they are very slippery

Oven

Spiral Staircase

Coat of Arms in Stone

 

After the tour, we went into Eisenstadt to eat lunch. We had some time to kill before our table was ready though, so we toured the local church, and the composer Haydn's living quarters. I ended the day with a chocolate cake with mango sauce (it was sooooo good!) and slept the entire car ride home. All in all it was a fantastic day of Austrian history!

Church

Typical Burgenland Architecture

Theresa and I braving the rain!