I love Hot Cocoa. I mean love it. Good hot chocolate is God's gift to Mormons in exchange for our abstinence from coffee. That's one of the reasons I love this little hotel so much. We're in Salzburg, Austria for the week. Salzburg is most famous in the US for being the location of "The Sound of Music" and the birthplace of Mozart. It is a beautiful little town nestled into the Alps. I don't think that I have ever been anywhere quite so beautiful. Nor have I ever been anywhere where I get unlimited delicious hot chocolate every morning with breakfast. After two weeks of very basic "continental" breakfasts (read toast, jam, and herbal tea), I am taking full advantage of the delicious buffet of breakfast items that greet me in the morning. The hotel where we are staying was built fifty years before Columbus even left for America. Imagine that...This building has had hotel guests since the 1450s. The rooms are small and the bathrooms miniscule (you have to put one foot into the shower to use the toilet), but it's a great place to come home to.
We left Vienna early on Wednesday morning. Our first stop was a somber one - Mathausen, the last Concentration Camp to be liberated by the Allies. For years, I've read in history classes about the evils of the Nazi empire, and discussed the dangers of fascism, but this was a first, coming face to face with its remnants. The overwhelming feeling was one of silence. As you walked about the grounds, your footsteps echoed in your own head, becoming the footsteps of those whose withered bodies once walked that very ground. We stepped into the gas chambers where thousands were put to death, and walked past the crematoriums where they burned the evidence. As Professor Jacobs said, "there is good and evil in the world. Most of the time we focus on the good, today you will see evil." It instilled in me a respect and reverence for the past- a past I have studied for years, both in university and in high school, a past that really is not all that distant at all.
Later on Wednesday we stopped at the famous Shonburn Waterpark. This beautiful residence and grounds was the home of one of the famous Archbishops of Salzburg, who possessed the highest religious power as well as political power in the region. One of the Archbishops built the grounds to play practical jokes on his friend, and for the day, we must have become his friends because many practical jokes were played on us; we sat down at the outdoor dining table only to be surprised by high powered fountains of water shooting up through the seats, were sprayed in the walkways and in the coves that he had so carefully decorated. Thankfully it was hot outside and the water was less an annoyance than a welcome refreshment. On the same grounds, the girls in our group found the famous gazebo that was used for the "I am 16, going on 17" song in The Sound of Music... The Sound of Music madness had begun.
Yesterday we had a great tour of downtown Salzburg. We went to the Monastery, saw dozens of Churches, went up the hill to the famous fortress and ate the famous veal sausage in the town square. Rachel and I spent the afternoon wandering around the shopping district, looking at things that we would like to buy if the dollar had a greater buying power. At least I won't have to worry about having enough room in my suitcase to get everything home! While wandering around the night before, I had stumbled upon a small hole in the wall Italian restaurant and we went back Thursday night. It was spectacular. Definitely away from the tourists, it was a locals-only type of joint and the food was delicious. I think that's my favorite part of being in Europe, finding new incredible restaurants. After dinner we met up with the rest of the group for a Marionette performance of The Magic Flute. It was so different than anything I've ever seen. The singing and music was great, and the puppets were so detailed and life-like. Another of those "only in Europe" experiences.
This morning (after 6 cups of Hot Cocoa), we went up one of the mountains to tour an old Salt Mine. When I read that on the itinerary, it sounded like the goofiest thing ever, but really it was quite fun. The name of the town, Salzburg comes from the German world Salz which means salt. That's what made the town so wealthy - in medieval times, salt was called white gold. Anyhow, we got to go into one of the old mines, way down underground (over 200 meters down at one point) and see the way the excavated the salt. It was really unique but the best part were these slides that we got to slide down - we really flew. A machine in the tunnel clocked us going over 22 km/ hour! I'll have to upload the goofy tourist picture that I got talked into buying. It really turned out great.
And so now I'm back at the hotel, getting caught up on a little school work, and skipping the hottest part of the day. I'm planning to go on a nice hike this afternoon and maybe do something with the rest of the kids this evening. We leave Saturday morning (after one more delicious breakfast). Next week I'm headed to Frankfurt, Germany with the Young Single Adults from Vienna for a Temple Trip. It should be a lot of fun, and the week after that, I'll be in Venice! (Unfortunately I hear there are a lot of pigeons... me and pigeons just don't get along, as George said, 'I thought we had a deal!!!' ". That's it from Austria for now!!!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
It's been a busy weekend. It's early morning again - 5:30 AM. I can't seem to get the sleep schedule quite right. Yesterday after church, Bryce and I decided to take a nice Sunday nap. I laid down around 3 in the afternoon and woke up at 9. Crazy, eh? So we tried to stay awake until about midnight and then went back to bed. I feel well-rested and hope that soon my body will be back to a normal schedule.
Saturday was an exciting day. We woke up with no plans and no way to get in touch with anyone else. We jumped on the bus and then the streetcar to downtown and went to the Secession Building (a famous building designed by Otto Van Wagner). Two of the girls from our group were leaving as we got there, so we took off on an adventure with them. We jumped onto a random subway car (called U-Bahn), and then someone guessed a number (3) and we got off at that stop. Then we explored and walked around. It was a beautiful afternoon.
A little after 4 we got in line to get tickets for the Opera. The Wien Stattsopera is very famous and very good. The tickets are normally quite expensive, but on the day of show, you can get standing room tickets for only 3,50 euro (Incidentally they use commas where we normally use periods). So we waited in line for about two hours - played cards, told stories, got to know the people around us and then finally we got to buy our tickets and then go stake out our spot. Standing room is a unique concept to Europe I think. It was a small room directly in front of the stage, behind all the seats of the first floor. The view and sound acoustics are obviously fabulous in this location. The space is not. there are these tiny rows where you cram into and then tie a scarf or sweater to mark your spot and then you have an hour to wander around outside before the opera starts.
We saw Le Nozze de Figarro (or The Marriage of Figarro). It was absolutely fabulous. The costumes, acting, singing, set design - it was great. Standing was not so great. My feet hurt so bad. When there was an intermission all of the students and other people around us would sit down on the cramped floor - we were quite a sight. To the rest of the opera crowd, dressed in their finest apparel, I'm sure we looked like the quaint peasants trying to get some culture. Who cares what they thought? I saw the show for 3,50!
About 15 or so people from our group went to the Opera that night, and most of us went to Cafe Mozart (which is across the street) afterwards. It was horribly expensive, but fun to be with each other. The other people in our group are a lot of fun. I think I'm definitely starting some wonderful friendships here. That night, we got home about 12:30 - I've got to start getting in earlier!
Then we woke early Sunday morning to get ready for church. We were showered and out the door by 8 to catch the bus down to the normal streetcar and then to a different bus that took us to church. I was feeling real proud of myself about my ability to get around and then we got on the right bus going the wrong way. But we realized after a couple of stops and just switched to the other side of the street and the right bus! At some point, the missionaries jumped on our bus, so we knew we were going the right way.
Church was a lot like the mission all over again but with a thicker accent in a different language. We sat through Priesthood without understanding almost anything except when they gave scripture references or used a word we knew like aber (meaning but). Then we went with the missionaries to their Gospel Principles class, figuring that a smaller class group would help us understand. Turns out there are 4 elders in our ward and two sisters. One of the sisters was teaching the class and I knew from the dorms. It was quite a surprise for both of us. That class was very good, and because both Bryce and I had taught out of the Gospel Principles book a lot on our missions, we were able to understand a lot more. In Sacrament Meeting we had the opportunity to share our testimonies in broken German. I think the members liked it and they could understand the basics of what we were trying to say. Oh, and in Sacrament meeting I met the other sister missionary who is a sister of of my good friend Kinsi Suttner (Kinsi had a lot to do with me getting through German 101).
So pretty much it was a very busy weekend, but a lot of fun. We are getting a lot better at getting around here in Wien, and I'm starting to think in German more and more. Aufwidersehn!
Saturday was an exciting day. We woke up with no plans and no way to get in touch with anyone else. We jumped on the bus and then the streetcar to downtown and went to the Secession Building (a famous building designed by Otto Van Wagner). Two of the girls from our group were leaving as we got there, so we took off on an adventure with them. We jumped onto a random subway car (called U-Bahn), and then someone guessed a number (3) and we got off at that stop. Then we explored and walked around. It was a beautiful afternoon.
A little after 4 we got in line to get tickets for the Opera. The Wien Stattsopera is very famous and very good. The tickets are normally quite expensive, but on the day of show, you can get standing room tickets for only 3,50 euro (Incidentally they use commas where we normally use periods). So we waited in line for about two hours - played cards, told stories, got to know the people around us and then finally we got to buy our tickets and then go stake out our spot. Standing room is a unique concept to Europe I think. It was a small room directly in front of the stage, behind all the seats of the first floor. The view and sound acoustics are obviously fabulous in this location. The space is not. there are these tiny rows where you cram into and then tie a scarf or sweater to mark your spot and then you have an hour to wander around outside before the opera starts.
We saw Le Nozze de Figarro (or The Marriage of Figarro). It was absolutely fabulous. The costumes, acting, singing, set design - it was great. Standing was not so great. My feet hurt so bad. When there was an intermission all of the students and other people around us would sit down on the cramped floor - we were quite a sight. To the rest of the opera crowd, dressed in their finest apparel, I'm sure we looked like the quaint peasants trying to get some culture. Who cares what they thought? I saw the show for 3,50!
About 15 or so people from our group went to the Opera that night, and most of us went to Cafe Mozart (which is across the street) afterwards. It was horribly expensive, but fun to be with each other. The other people in our group are a lot of fun. I think I'm definitely starting some wonderful friendships here. That night, we got home about 12:30 - I've got to start getting in earlier!
Then we woke early Sunday morning to get ready for church. We were showered and out the door by 8 to catch the bus down to the normal streetcar and then to a different bus that took us to church. I was feeling real proud of myself about my ability to get around and then we got on the right bus going the wrong way. But we realized after a couple of stops and just switched to the other side of the street and the right bus! At some point, the missionaries jumped on our bus, so we knew we were going the right way.
Church was a lot like the mission all over again but with a thicker accent in a different language. We sat through Priesthood without understanding almost anything except when they gave scripture references or used a word we knew like aber (meaning but). Then we went with the missionaries to their Gospel Principles class, figuring that a smaller class group would help us understand. Turns out there are 4 elders in our ward and two sisters. One of the sisters was teaching the class and I knew from the dorms. It was quite a surprise for both of us. That class was very good, and because both Bryce and I had taught out of the Gospel Principles book a lot on our missions, we were able to understand a lot more. In Sacrament Meeting we had the opportunity to share our testimonies in broken German. I think the members liked it and they could understand the basics of what we were trying to say. Oh, and in Sacrament meeting I met the other sister missionary who is a sister of of my good friend Kinsi Suttner (Kinsi had a lot to do with me getting through German 101).
So pretty much it was a very busy weekend, but a lot of fun. We are getting a lot better at getting around here in Wien, and I'm starting to think in German more and more. Aufwidersehn!
I am writing today at a much more normal time - it's 10:10 AM. Thankfully we were able to sleep in a little this morning. I took some pictures of the view when I wake up in the morning - hopefully I can figure out how to post them here, or at least post a link. It is the most beautiful sight to see this wooded mountain out the window.
So yesterday was our second official day in Vienna (in German it's spelled Wien). We met at the Institute in the morning and had so much fun seeing each other and comparing stories about our haus-fraus. I think our host mom is one of the funniest. She is a little crazy but really nice. I think most of the craziness is due to our lack of ability to communicate with clarity. And hopefully our communication skills will get better.
So we went on a walking tour yesterday with the people who work at the Institute as guides. I was in the back of our group and started my own tour - "the blue and green signs on the outside of buildings signal an ATM inside" I guessed... turns out I was right. It was fun to see all the places that I had read about in the guide book- I've been lucky to remember a lot of the details from reading which makes the experience more enjoyable. Anyhow, after walking around a little bit, we went to the Nashmarket. It's a lot like Pike Place Market back home. Open air, all kinds of food. A lot of people eat there for lunch, as we did yesterday. I had a delicious kebab sandwich - only 3 euro and very filling - granted that's like 5 dollars American, but here it is a pretty cheap and filling meal. The Nashmarket is maybe a 5 min walk from school, so we will probably eat there most days for lunch. There were a lot of bakeries with great bread that I saw as well.
Oh, I forgot to tell about how we got back into the city center that morning. Our haus-frau came with us on the bus (it picks up 2 doors up the street from us). Then we transfer to a street car which takes us right into downtown. We got off the stop with her and she explained in broken english that we needed to get on one more streetcar from here but that she would be going back home. She pointed at the right street car, we hopped on and then realized we had no idea where we were going. The most comical part was when German tourists would ask us for directions and we would do our best but invariably led them astray. Oh golly it was funny. Luckily most of the young people here speak very good english.
So in the afternoon after lunch and some more orientation, we all went shopping. Four of us went to T-Mobile to buy a prepaid cell phone - it's pretty crappy, but it was cheap and I mainly got it so friends and family can call me (you can call me on skype - it's really cheap). A bunch of the girls went to H&M, but I found the european sizing confusing - I don't think any of it would fit me anyway. Speaking of clothes the Austrians are incredible dressers. Everyone looks sharp, even on the bus. Even the bums - some guy asked me for money yesterday and he was wearing an old suit, but he still looked good, plus he was able to speak english, so I hooked him up with 20 cents.
The institute for the Church here in Austria has an outreach center - it is a beautiful building in downtown with foosball, pool, computers, lots of couches and meeting rooms for institute classes. It's a really neat place. On Friday nights they host a game night and they invited our group. We all went! It was a blast, although I think we were a little overwhelming, 21 American BYU students crashing the party of normally around 10. We also met the 4 missionaries who live here in Vienna, two of which are in our district (part of town). They seem like nice guys. I still enjoy being around missionaries and have to stop myself from introducing myself as "Elder Behnke" when they reach out their hand...
After the game night about 6 of us and 5 of the Austrians went out for "eis" or gelato. It was incredible. My first gelato in Europe, and now I understand what all the fuss was about. Wow. That was at about 10:30 or so that we got gelato together. And then Bryce and I walked out to the streetcar station to find our way home. Again, we weren't sure how to get there, but there was a really nice couple at the station and they spoke excellent English. We told them where we lived and they live on the same street so we just followed them. The bus that runs up our street doesn't operate that late at night, so we had a nice 15 minute uphill walk. It really is a beautiful neighborhood. Aufwiedersehn!
So yesterday was our second official day in Vienna (in German it's spelled Wien). We met at the Institute in the morning and had so much fun seeing each other and comparing stories about our haus-fraus. I think our host mom is one of the funniest. She is a little crazy but really nice. I think most of the craziness is due to our lack of ability to communicate with clarity. And hopefully our communication skills will get better.
So we went on a walking tour yesterday with the people who work at the Institute as guides. I was in the back of our group and started my own tour - "the blue and green signs on the outside of buildings signal an ATM inside" I guessed... turns out I was right. It was fun to see all the places that I had read about in the guide book- I've been lucky to remember a lot of the details from reading which makes the experience more enjoyable. Anyhow, after walking around a little bit, we went to the Nashmarket. It's a lot like Pike Place Market back home. Open air, all kinds of food. A lot of people eat there for lunch, as we did yesterday. I had a delicious kebab sandwich - only 3 euro and very filling - granted that's like 5 dollars American, but here it is a pretty cheap and filling meal. The Nashmarket is maybe a 5 min walk from school, so we will probably eat there most days for lunch. There were a lot of bakeries with great bread that I saw as well.
Oh, I forgot to tell about how we got back into the city center that morning. Our haus-frau came with us on the bus (it picks up 2 doors up the street from us). Then we transfer to a street car which takes us right into downtown. We got off the stop with her and she explained in broken english that we needed to get on one more streetcar from here but that she would be going back home. She pointed at the right street car, we hopped on and then realized we had no idea where we were going. The most comical part was when German tourists would ask us for directions and we would do our best but invariably led them astray. Oh golly it was funny. Luckily most of the young people here speak very good english.
So in the afternoon after lunch and some more orientation, we all went shopping. Four of us went to T-Mobile to buy a prepaid cell phone - it's pretty crappy, but it was cheap and I mainly got it so friends and family can call me (you can call me on skype - it's really cheap). A bunch of the girls went to H&M, but I found the european sizing confusing - I don't think any of it would fit me anyway. Speaking of clothes the Austrians are incredible dressers. Everyone looks sharp, even on the bus. Even the bums - some guy asked me for money yesterday and he was wearing an old suit, but he still looked good, plus he was able to speak english, so I hooked him up with 20 cents.
The institute for the Church here in Austria has an outreach center - it is a beautiful building in downtown with foosball, pool, computers, lots of couches and meeting rooms for institute classes. It's a really neat place. On Friday nights they host a game night and they invited our group. We all went! It was a blast, although I think we were a little overwhelming, 21 American BYU students crashing the party of normally around 10. We also met the 4 missionaries who live here in Vienna, two of which are in our district (part of town). They seem like nice guys. I still enjoy being around missionaries and have to stop myself from introducing myself as "Elder Behnke" when they reach out their hand...
After the game night about 6 of us and 5 of the Austrians went out for "eis" or gelato. It was incredible. My first gelato in Europe, and now I understand what all the fuss was about. Wow. That was at about 10:30 or so that we got gelato together. And then Bryce and I walked out to the streetcar station to find our way home. Again, we weren't sure how to get there, but there was a really nice couple at the station and they spoke excellent English. We told them where we lived and they live on the same street so we just followed them. The bus that runs up our street doesn't operate that late at night, so we had a nice 15 minute uphill walk. It really is a beautiful neighborhood. Aufwiedersehn!
Friday, May 2, 2008
First Post - here it is!!!
I wrote this this morning but finally have internet access so here it is!
I got to the airport Wednesday morning about 5:00 AM, and yes that is too early for a 7:25 flight to Washington DC, but I did have time to watch a movie and I had most of the terminal to myself for the early morning hours. The flight from Seattle to DC wasn't too bad, about 5 hours long. I sat with a bunch of newly minted military personnel. They had finished their basic training and everything and had their first assignment ahead of them - they were going to Saudi Arabia or somewhere else in the middle east. Did I mention how small the seats were? It didn't help much that the two girls in my row were both about as big as me. Anyway, we made into DC alright.
In DC I met up with about 13 other people in our group for our flight to Vienna. Somehow, meeting up with all those other people finally made it seem real. I was going to Europe. I was going to fly over an enormously large ocean - I had never done that before. We claimed our little area in the terminal and had a great time getting to know each other and waving in new members. "She looks like one of us," "Alright, you call her!" "Hey! Are you doing the BYU study abroad?" And then another member would join our group.
Once we got on the plane I realized how drastic the difference between first class and coach was. As I walked through the first class cabin on to my dinky seat it was like going through a mansion and coming out in a ghetto. Honestly, smallest seats ever (or maybe I'm just getting bigger). Anyhow, I was in a crappy window seat, but got switched to an aisle seat which was a little better. The plane had lots of movies playing - most of which I had already seen, but it helped distract me for 2 hour periods. The flight took about 9 hours total. We had an excellent grilled chicken dinner and a delicious breakfast of meats and cheeses. They did get the food right. It was absolutely fabulous!
Upon arriving in Vienna, we found our bags, and went through customs without any problems. Then we had to wait 2 hours for 4 more students. That's what you get for being the early bird. At least there was internet access and I fired off a quick email to my family to let them know I was alive.
When we left the airport, we went to the Austrio-American Institute of Education, which is more or less the hub of our program. It's where our classes are taught. It is right across the street from the opera house in a beautiful part of town. We wandered up the road to Stefansdome (the famous Cathedral), but after that short jaunt we were really too tired to do anything else. At 2, the whole group went out to lunch for Italian which was delicious and then we were back to the institute to wait on our new host families, Probably the greatest scene of the day was the entire classroom full of us American students with our heads down sleeping. What a sight. We were so worn out and we were trying to hard to stay up and go to sleep at a semi-normal time.
I have a room mate named Bryce Romney - he's from San Diego. We were the last two to be picked up. Our host Mom is an older woman (widow I think). She has a gorgeous home! It's really very big for Vienna. We are on the third floor and our window looks out on the beautiful Vienna woods. The home has a garden and a beautiful set of stairs to climb up to the house each day! She tells us that that there is one bus to take that connects us to the streetcar and then it is a straight shot to school. She has been hosting American students for over 20 years! My goodness. She made us a delicious dinner last night of schnitzel. She only speaks a little English, and we only speak a little German, so we'll have to learn a lot more quickly. Thankfully she is patient with our ignorance.
We have an orientation at the Institute this morning. I'll probably post this from there because we have no internet here at home. Yes, Blake has no internet at the house. This will be a challenge :) Anyway, we've got that orientation and then we will probably do a little more exploring. Our little district is quite a ways out, but it is very beautiful compared to other parts of Vienna that we have seen.
Oh and the cars. The taxis are Mercedes Benzes. It's crazy, there are nice cars everywhere. People take very good care of them and rarely do you see anyone driving by themselves. I think that's a good thing, to carpool. Anyway that's about it for this post. Aufwiedersehn from Austria!!!
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