I'm alive!
So I'm safely back in Rome after my whirlwind tour of Ireland, and I have SO many stories to share! Yet again, I don't even know where to start.
I'm really sorry that this blog has become scarcely more than a photo gallery in the past month and a half! I knew things would start to get busy, but I didn't anticipate having this little time to actually write things about all my adventures. I'll be returning home two weeks from tomorrow, and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post before that time. But I promise that once I get home, I'll continue to fill in the blank spots on here with the random stories and memories I've accumulated from this study abroad experience. So feel free to keep on reading, as I'll continue to post for quite some time!
Speaking of pictures, I'm also sorry that I haven't uploaded more to WebShots. It takes
forever to get them on there, which is very frustrating. I'm doing the best I can! I think I'll devote a whole day just to pictures sometime next week, though.
Just wanted to let you know that I'm back to the Eternal City for two more weeks of studying, packing, last minute sightseeing, gelato devouring (how I will miss it!) and goodbyes. This weekend I'll be showing my friend Kim around, then next week is our last week of classes. We'll have one study day on Friday (which is completely unfair because we have Friday's off anyway!!) and then finals start on Saturday. I have five total. Religious Studies Saturday, Music Appreciation Sunday, Art History and Philosophy Monday, and Italian Tuesday. Then I'm free for two days, in which time I'll be re-visiting all my favorite places, and closing out our journey with a gelato crawl. And, of course, I'll throw the coin over my shoulder and into the Trevi.
Because I will make it back here someday. At least, I pray.
More to come! But for now, a walk in the evening sunshine before class. Ciao!
Thank You!
Thank you, family, for helping me to share in the familiar joys (and mild chaos) of Easter back home. I wish I could have been there with you all! It sounds like it was a good time, and I'm definitely sad to have missed out on all those extra deviled eggs. But I look forward to seeing you in May! It's certainly coming fast.
I'm in Ireland right now and having a fabulous time! I'll be updating as soon as I can but it's very hard to find internet time while backpacking. Take care and I'll post again soon! Love you all.
Happy Easter!
Whew. That took FOREVER, but I'm glad it's all up. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
I also just wanted to say that I hope you all have a fabulous Easter. You're in my thoughts and prayers, and I can't even tell you how much I miss you. This is the first Easter I will ever spend away from my family... and that's going to be very hard on me. Mom, Dad, Kristy... I love you with all my heart and soul. Say hello to all the Vigil regulars for me, and be sure to enjoy an extra donut at Smokeybones after the Vigil Mass! And please sing extra loudly (Dad, please just sing. Period!)
To all extended family, I miss and love you too. I wish I could be there for brunch to see all the little ones and give you all hugs, but just know that if I could, I would be. I'm hugging you from afar!
And to all my fabulous friends, both from home and school... take care, and have a blessed Easter season. I can't wait to see you again!
God bless!
Backpacking Through Europe! (1st of 3 parts)
A week ago, my friend Ellen and I set out on the most incredible adventure yet. We left for Munich after a very rushed final day of classes and an alarming taxi ride, and soon found ourselves in Munich, Germany. There, we met up with my good friend Kimberley, and left for our first stay in a real hostel. It was quite an experience... the hostel gave us a card for a free beer, which we cashed in, and I was distressed to discover that, in spite of my German and Irish roots, I still don't like beer. Oh well. Our room was right above the bar, so it was kind of hard to fall asleep, but we did our best. The next morning, we went to Neuschwanstein Castle, pictured above. It was the most beautiful castle I have ever seen, not that I've seen many! The Disney castle in Disneyworld is modeled after it. King Ludwig lived here just before he went insane and died mysteriously. It's an interesting place! It was really fun to hike around, too. Waterfalls and trails and valleys... and snow!
Here are the three of us brave explorers. This was the third attempt at a picture with the castle (The first man didn't get the castle in the background, and then I tried holding the camera, but we finally found someone capable of helping us out!)
This is one of the views from inside the castle. The tour was shorter than expected, but it left more time for...
Hiking!! This was so beautiful. I tried to get closer but got scared, because the snow was a little slick. We were so tired after our day of hiking and exploring that we just crashed back at the hostel. Still didn't get much sleep, but again, we tried.
The next morning, we decided to take a tour of the Dachau Memorial Site, at the location of the former Dachau Concentration Camp. It was one of the most powerful things I have ever done, and I can scarcely comprehend what I saw there. I will likely grapple with the sheer magnitude of what I saw there, and what happened there, for the rest of my life. Dachau was the first concentration camp, and thousands went through there. An estimated 45,000 to 50,000 died there, which is actually kind of small compared to the 1.2 million in Auschwitz. Still... I was overwhelmed and deeply appalled by the size of the place, and it was very hard for me to see. I'm sure I'll post more about that soon... it will take a post of its own, I'm sure.
The original door to proclaim, "Arbeit Macht Frei," literally, "Work makes freedom." Ironically dark and twisted Nazi phrase to welcome new members of the camp.
Inside one of the nicer buildings, where they held important political and religious figures and conducted some awful experiments. It didn't feel right to take many pictures, so I don't have a lot from there. It's all too vivid in my memory, though...
Never again. (Five different languages.)
At least... we pray...
After the tour, we decided to explore Munich! This is the Glockenspiel, which we got to hear the following day at noon. It was pretty cool. We wandered into Marienplatz, the main square, witnessed an anti War in Iraq demo, went into a view churches, and eventually walked around the Englischer Gartens.
This awesome Chinese Palace was at the center of the Englischer Gartens! Too fun.
Next stop: Hofbrauhaus! You can't go to Munich without experiencing life at this lively beer hall. And goodness, it was everything I expected and more. Loud, merry, and amusing!
Yes, I know what you're thinking family. Scandalous! But keep in mind, this is legal here. And I most definitely did not finish this thing! The man brought us out three ENORMOUS beers, which we stared at incredulously, and the people at the tables around us got a kick out of watching us sip those things. They were highly amused!
And, once again... I don't even like beer. But just for that night, we decided to embrace the spirit and get the full Hofbrauhaus experience. :-)
Keeping up with that spirit, we got equally enormous pretzels to serve as around dinner! Feasting on pretzels and beer... oh, what a night. Gotta love Germany.
The next morning we went in search of a Palm Sunday Mass, and on our way there were some beautiful flowers. This one was my favorite! So bright. Keep in mind I haven't touched up any of these photos yet... I'll have to do that when I get home, though.
So this is the inside of the Frauenkirche, where we ended up going for Mass. I do believe it's my favorite church in all of Munich. I can't even tell you how beautiful the architecture is! It's incredibly tall and rather awe-inspiring, yet simple and pure. I really like it. So we went there for Mass, and wound up in the middle of an amazing outdoor procession! There was a children's choir, a little band, and people all over holding bouquets of pussy willows and pine branches.
In the band accompanying the children's choir was a Russel Crowe lookalike. We were so startled by the resemblance that we took a picture! Actually, we took a couple.
The choir was pretty much adorable. It was really fun watching them get set up! Their directors are very snappy and do a great job keeping them in line. At one point, a girl started to duck under the arm of the director to pass him and go to the other side. Without even glancing down, he reached down and grabbed onto the top of her choir robe and pulled her back towards the other side. I chuckled a bit... reminded me of when I was in children's choir, way back when.
There was a beautiful outdoor procession, and Kardinal Wetter, a retired Cardinal in Germany, presided over the Mass. We all processed around the entire church before going inside for Mass. I was able to understand much more of the Mass than I expected! All that German in high school really paid off. I was the unofficial spokeswoman and translator over the course of the entire week, actually.
After Mass, we went to hear the Glockenspiel (so cool!) and then headed into a McDonald's for some McFlurries. Mine was an Amarena Crisp (cherry croissant type of thing) and quite good. I enjoyed the "Ich liebe es" (I love it) on the balloons!
We then decided to follow the advice of a random pamphlet from our hostel and check out a museum dedicated to some comedians, one whose name was Valentin, I believe? It was really weird. We didn't really understand a lot of it, but discovered a hilarious curved mirror! This is one of my favorite pictures of the several we took.
We then left the city by train for Salzburg, after stocking up on some German candy in the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station). It was a beautiful ride... I couldn't get enough of the countryside.
And then, when we pulled into Salzburg, we were greeted by the most solid and beautiful rainbow I have ever seen! We had plenty of time to look at it, too, seeing as we missed our stop on the bus and had to ride it back around the city.
Ohhh, what a journey. And it was beginning all over again!
I loved Salzburg.
The Hills are Alive!
So on Monday, we embarked on the Sound of Music tour! Before we left, we had to get some food in us, so the picture shown above is Ellen and Kim at a fountain, sampling pretzels. We each got a different kind and then shared, because they were amazing! Apple cinnamon, veggie, and a donut-type of sugar one. I love pretzels! It will be hard to go back to the oversalted ones we have in America. Alas.
Also, note the hats. We decided to get in the spirit! I even wore a SKIRT the entire day!
Before we left on the bus, we got to spend some time in the Mirabell Gartens, which is were a lot of the scenes from Do Re Mi were filmed. We just
had to re-enact some of the scenes, so this picture shows Ellen and I, master tourists at our finest. Note the confused looks on the faces of the two people walking through! I felt bad for them.
Tour bus!! Our leader was a man named (and I kid you not) Sunshine Gunther. HAD to be his tour name... I hope. He was hilarious, and dressed in true lederhosens! Humorously enough, our hats matched his.
"I am sixteen going on seventeen, I know that I'm naive... fellows I meet may tell me I'm sweet and willingly I believe!"
"I have confidence in sunshine! I have confidence in rain! I have confidence that spring will come again! Besides which you see I have confidence in me!"
(This is actually where this was filmed! I have a video of me skipping down. Unfortunately, there is no sound on my camera's videos, or else I would have sung loudly. It was quite fabulous!)
The home in the background is where the boating scene was filmed, and all the outdoor things (when they have lemonade, and find out that Baroness Schroeder is going to marry the Captain, etc.)
My favorite part of the tour was when we went driving around the lakes and mountains, deeper into the Alps. SO AMAZING! I love them. I wanted you to see the view, so I have two pictures of the place we stopped at, but I also wanted you to see my full outfit. Yes, we paraded around Salzburg like this for the entire day. Yes, we got plenty of odd looks. :-)
The view.
Wow.
When we got back, we didn't really know where we were, so we stopped to play on the tree! Again, more funny looks, haha. I seem to be good at getting odd looks no matter what country I'm in!
Artsy picture from a pedestrian bridge, with Salzburg in the background and a flower from a "Saint Mary's tree" in the foreground. (There are lots of trees like this at home, and they make me miss it every time I see one.) Next post to follow!
Higher than the clouds
So these pictures are from the top of Untersberg mountain, which Kim and I decided to go to the top of on Tuesday morning. We started out with absolutely NO idea what we were getting ourselves into! We'd heard that the mountain used in the escape scene of the Sound of Music was in the area, so we went to the train station, read all the destinations, determined that because "berg" meant mountain, the word "Untersberg" was probably the right choice, and started out! I had planned on hiking, but we soon discovered that the trails were closed due to snow. Disappointed, I hesitated on whether or not we should pay to take the lift up. In the end, we decided to, and it was worth every penny! The views were INCREDIBLE. The picture from above is our first glimpse after leaving the lift station.
I don't think I've ever breathed air so pure in my life. It was like walking into the winter wonderland I'd always dreamed of, and more than made up for my missing out on snow this year! As we rounded one of the corners of the trail, I was so overwhelmed by the view of the distant mountains and countryside that I said, "Is this really my life??" really loudly. To my surprise and embarrassment, there were two American women standing nearby, and they started laughing as they called, "Yes, it is!" They were kind enough to take Kim's and my picture.
As we wandered along the winding trail, which was covered in slippery snow, we saw a cross up on a distant peak. In a spurt of stubborn independence, I decided that I was going to reach it. Kim was quite skeptical about the steep inclines of the trail, so she stayed behind to watch my journey and make sure I didn't get into too much trouble. I plunged ahead in a burst of exhiliration, panting and clutching my little finger rosary, praying that I could just make it up to the cross. In spite of the cold temperatures, I was so warm from the exertion that I wanted to take off my coat! I didn't, though, and just kept myself focused on getting to the top. On the way, I met an older man heading down (wisely holding ski poles) who looked at me like I was insane. In retrospect... it probably was. There I stood in the snowy peaks of the Alps, a 19 year old girl with pigtails wearing old, worn out Adidas shoes and clutching my purse as I climbed up the steep hill. No wonder he seemed confused! It was worth it all when I reached the top though. The cross was set up as a memorial to those climbers who had died in the Alps, and it was so beautiful. Unfortunately, the sky started to turn dark gray, and (fearing the worst) I set off back down the hill to return to Kim.
She had found herself a seat on some rocks on another, smaller hill. I climbed up to join her, and as I seated myself, I realized that immediately to the other side of the rocks was a sheer drop-off. Basically, we sat two feet from impending death! Trying not to think about the queasy feeling in my stomach, I sat and looked out to the left of us, straight into a cloud. We couldn't see any of the land, which would have been beautiful, but there was something amazing about being higher than the clouds... Kim had her Bible out and read Psalm 121 aloud. It read, ironically:
I lift up my eyes to the hills --
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip --
He who watches over you will not slumber
We were both a little nervous about sitting where we were, but it was such a rush! Then, out of nowhere, some mountain birds flew over and landed next to us! The bird shown above is, literally, mere inches from my leg. I thought for sure they were going to peck us, but none of them did. They weren't afraid at all, nor were they begging. They were just... curious. They were probably wondering what we were doing sitting on their turf! I doubt many people stop up there to just sit very often... most are hiking through. It was kind of a neat feeling, sitting there in the clouds.
I can't even describe how incredible the stillness felt. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. I love the Alps!! And I plan to go back and hike for real someday.
My mountain buddy, Kim, and I. She's pretty fabulous! We will never forget this day.
So beautiful. This was on the way back down. Anywho, later that night, after bumming around Salzburg some more and eating pretzels and apfelstrudel for our meals, Sarah Falvey joined us! We said farewell to Kim in the morning, as she was heading back to Spain, and then Ellen, Sarah and I moved on to Vienna. Unfortunately, it was a kind of gray, chilly day, but we had fun exploring with the Underground train system, which is remarkably efficient. I don't think I've ever seen such a wonderful train system! I wish we'd had more time there though.
We took some jumping pictures in front of this church (Rathaus Platz?) and just explored the Museum district.
I love long archways. SO much! This was by that same place as above. We later went to Sigmund Freud Park, and McDonald's for dinner. We also went to the Schonnbrunn Palace, which was incredibly beautiful, but by then it was too dark to see much more. I liked what I saw of Vienna, but hope I can go back someday to visit the incredible museums. I'll post again later, maybe when I'm back in Rome the week after next week! But for now, I'll be exploring Ireland and continuing this grand adventure. God bless you all!
