Graz, Kaprun, und Schnee in Wien!

Hallo!

I know I haven't written in forever, so I'm just going to hit some highlights of the past couple weeks.  After Mom and Dad left, all of the Christmas markets opened.  The first day that I could, I went with my roommates to the largest market at the Rathaus.  It was so beautiful and full of Christmas knick-knacks, scarves, jewelry, and (of course) delicious food!  There were pretzels, donuts, chocolate, chocolate-covered fruit, roasted nuts, and much more!  I can't wait to go back and buy lots of things.  After the Christmas market, we took the subway all the way to the end of the line and then took a bus about 15 minutes outside of Vienna to Grinzing where there is a really popular Heurigan (a traditional Austrian restaurant).  This might be one of my favorite meals that I have had yet!  We all got lots of bread, cheese, meat, liptauer, potatoes, and white wine.  There was live music with violins and an accordion.  At one point, my phone rang in the restaurant and the accordion player played my phone ringer!  The whole night was so much fun!!

the Christmas market at the Rathaus

view of the Parliament building from the market

cookies in the market

yummy!!

the accordion player at the Heurigan!

Later that week I saw Rigoletto at the opera house and there was a famous tenor (Ramon Vargas) AND a famous baritone (Dmitri Hvorostovsky)!!!!  They were absolutely INCREDIBLE and got the most thunderous applause I have ever heard.  By that night, all of the Christmas lights had been turned on around Kärtnerstrasse and it was amazingly beautiful.  Earlier that week, I went with my roommates to see Puccini's Tosca, which was fabulous also!!!!  The soprano was an African American, which is something very rare to see.  We all had some American pride that night!  After Tosca, we went to Cafe Sacher and had coffee and sacher torte. :)

Two weekends ago, I went with my friend Ariel (from Emory) to a city called Graz about 3 hours outside of Vienna.  We took the train (which went smoothly!) at 9 in the morning and left Graz at around 6:30 at night.  Unfortunately, since we went on a Saturday, a lot of big sites were closed, but we saw almost everything you could see from the outside!  There was a beautiful clock tower, a famous double spiral staircase, Christmas markets, an amazing Parliament building, a Congress building, monasteries and churches, and fabulous shopping and restaurants!  Overall, it was a cute little town and Ariel and I had lots of fun exploring with our guide books.

the Graz Rathaus and Christmas market

the Berg double spiral staircase

Ariel in front of the clocktower

the Rathaus in Graz and Christmas market at night

the city of Graz at night

For Thanksgiving, my program rented out a Heurigan and only students and faculty from my program went and had an ENORMOUS traditional Thanksgiving dinner about an hour and a half outside of Vienna in a town called Baden.  They bused us out to Baden and we went into a huge room that sat at least 150 people and had about 30 tables.  Every table had a pitcher of red wine, a pitcher of white wine, and a pitcher of unsparkling water (obviously intended for Americans since there was tap water)!  Then after about 20 minutes of just talking to each other and our professors, all of the women in dirndls brought out HUGE platters of turkey, bowls of mashed potatoes, carrots and peas, stuffing, corn, and I can't even remember what else.  Every table had its own enormous feast.  The night was definitely successful in helping stave off everybody's homesickness for the holidays.  We all had a great time!!

so much food!!

This past weekend, I went on a trip that my program planned to Kaprun, Austria, which is a small ski town in the Alps.  We left on Friday at noon and got to Kaprun at about 7:30.  The drive was supposed to be 5.5 hours, but the snow was so bad that it took us forever!  It reminded me of driving in Minnesota at Christmas time.  On our way to the hotel (yes, a hotel, not a hostel!!) the bus stopped at a ski rental shop where there was a pair of skis, boots, poles, and a helmet waiting for every person with our names already on them.  Everybody was so excited to go skiing the next day and that there was snow on the ground that we all just played in the snow for about an hour while everyone got all of their equipment fitted.  (I got a huge snowball in the face!)  Then we went to our hotel and had a delicious buffet of traditional Austrian food (meat, cheese, etc.) and some yummy pasta.

On Saturday morning, we got up really early to head to the slopes.  The mountains were absolutely beautiful!!!!!!  The whole town is built around a giant glacier, so there is snow 12 months a year.  The main difference from skiing in Colorado is the insanely BITTER cold.  I have never been in such cold weather in my life!  Thank goodness for the delicious pizza and hot chocolate that were at the bottom of the slopes :)  I found a girl who was on about my level and we stuck together on the same couple of slopes the first day and just took hot chocolate breaks whenever we got cold.  The runs were really nice, but a little harder than the runs at Copper.  But we had fun exploring the mountain and having a nice lunch in the cafeteria with everyone else from our program.  When we got back to the hotel, pretty much everyone trekked to the nearest grocery store and bought food for the next couple hours.  We just hung out in our hotel rooms and listened to music and ate until dinner was ready.  We had another delicious dinner buffet and sat in the hotel restaurant for a couple of hours.  Then our program leaders took us to this bar called Baum Bar in the village, which was kind of like a tiki bar mixed with a country western bar.  We all went out in snow boots, sweat pants, and sweatshirts, so it was really fun!

view from above the tree line

it was soooo cold!!

a view of the glacier

the lift we went up

Then we got up the next morning, checked out of our hotel, and went back to the slopes.  I skied with Amanda (from Minnesota) and Anna (from Chicago) for a while and we found a couple new slopes that we hadn't been on the day before.  Then we met up with a couple other people and skied for another couple hours.  It was much warmer on Sunday than on Saturday, so the only time we took a break was for another $15 cafeteria lunch and some hot chocolate.  Otherwise, we were out for about 5 hours in a row!  Then we went straight back to the bus and headed home for Vienna.  It took us another 8 hours to get home because of snow storms the ENTIRE way back.  But when we got back to Vienna, everything was covered in a new layer of snow.  It was amazing because we hadn't seen snow in Vienna yet, and the palaces and churches and opera house looked incredible.

I cannot believe I have less than 3 weeks left here!!  I am so ready to come home and see everybody, but I cannot imagine leaving this city :(  I don't know what I'm going to do when I can't go to the opera whenever I want!  Vienna at Christmas time is just wonderful and I feel so lucky to be here!  But miss you all and can't WAIT to see you!!!!!!!

Auf Wiedersehen :)

Die Eltern sind in Wien!! (Teil Zwei)

Guten Tag!

Mom, Dad, and I had tons more adventures after they got back from Budapest!  On Wednesday, I had class most of the day, so Mom and Dad went exploring around the city until I was done.  After class, we went to a cafe for dinner and sat there for a couple hours...it was such a beautiful place and the food was so delicious!  After the cafe, we went to go ride the Riesenrad, which is a giant ferris wheel with an incredible view of Vienna.  Unfortunately, when we got to the ferris wheel, it had just closed, so we went back to the hotel to rest up.

dessert at Cafe Landtmann

Dad's Turkish coffee and Turkish delight

On Thursday, I had class for most of the day again.  I got to go to Beethoven's House with my Classical Symphony class though, so that was pretty cool.  We went to the apartment where he lived in Vienna for the most years.  We even saw one of his pianos!  After class, I met up with Mom and Dad and we went to the Naschmarkt.  Mom and Dad were amazed at all of the food!  We walked around, bought a few little things, and had the most FABULOUS falafels and hummus at Dr. Falafel.  After the market, Mom and Dad went to an organ concert while I went home because one of my friends from Emory was in Vienna to visit.  I went with a couple of friends to an Irish pub and had delicious hot apple cider (not as good as Grandma and Grandpa's, of course!) and it was really nice to see a familiar face from Emory.  (All of these pictures are on Mom and Dad's camera!)

On Friday, we got up early and took the train to Salzburg.  I met Mom and Dad at the train station and they were waiting with coffee and pastries and sandwiches!  It was so nice and yummy :)  This time, the train went fairly smoothly (other than there being almost no places to sit), so we got to Salzburg problem-free!  We checked into our hotel and then went to explore the city.  We ended up in a park in front of a palace that we had no idea what it was, but it was beautiful!  There was a huge fountain and gates and hedges and an archway and everything was so green.  Once we had our tour on Saturday, we actually found out that we had been in the garden where Maria and the Von Trapp kids sang "Do-Re-Mi" in The Sound of Music!  After walking around the gardens, we walked into the old area of the city and did a LOT of shopping.  We didn't buy too much, but we saw so many amazing things!  Some of the stores had their Christmas things out, and Mom and I had so much fun looking at all of the beautiful decorations.  We also saw an old church (that looked remarkably similar to all of the other European churches we've seen, but no less beautiful!), and then we went to a cafe to get some coffee.  The cafe ended up being a Buddhist/Indian/hippie-ish cafe, so it was an interesting experience.  My hot chocolate spelled "Joy" in the whipped cream!

part of the gardens

more of the gardens

the fountain and gates of the "Do-Re-Mi" song!

one of the Christmas stores...everything was so pretty!

a stand in a market that we found

one of the churches had stones on the ground with strings to the ceiling, but we never figured out why!

my "Joy" hot chocolate!

On Saturday, we got up early to go on the Sound of Music tour around Salzburg (after croissants and coffee, of course).  The tour took us to the backyard of the Von Trapp's house, the gazebo, the gates to the entrance of the Von Trapp's house, the church where Maria and the Captain were married, and into the mountains to this beautiful small town.  We went into a couple cute little shops and got some coffee and pastries before the bus took us back into Salzburg.  When we got back, we went to an old church that was attached to an old brewery.  The brewery had a type of cafeteria in it with all different kinds of Austrian food.  Dad got some weird bologna and onion dish, but Mom and I got cheese and Liptauer and bread.  Dad also tried the beer and said it was really good.  After the brewery, we went window shopping again for a little bit.  Then we headed back to the hotel and got dressed for our dinner.  We went to a Mozart dinner, which is a dinner that supposedly simulates the dinner parties back in the time of Mozart.  We had a yummy dinner and dessert while an quartet and two opera singers performed pieces from Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and, The Magic Flute.  The room where we ate was really fancy and pretty and the music was beautiful.  One of my favorite parts of the dinner was the Mozart silhouette that was made of cocoa powder next to the cake that was for dessert!

the backyard of the Von Trapp house

dancing at the gazebo!

the church where Maria and the Captain were married

the inside of the church

the city of Salzburg

a small village near Salzburg

we met my friend Ian and did the Do-Re-Mi dance on the steps!

the brewery

the room of the Mozart dinner

the dessert at the Mozart dinner (with the cocoa Mozart silhouette!)

On Sunday, we made a quick stop at Anker and took the train back to Vienna.  Once we got back to Vienna, we went to an organ concert at the Votive Church, which is a beautiful old church just outside the center of the city.  Then on Monday, we got up and had an amazing breakfast at Anker and then went to the Belvedere Palace.  I had seen the outside of the palace before, but the interior was absolutely incredible.  There was a huge Klimt exhibit in the palace, including a huge permanent display of "The Kiss."  Then after the Belvedere Palace, we did some shopping on the main street, Kärtner Strasse and then went to a couple chocolate shops.  Then after shopping, we went to Cafe Sacher and had the original sacher torte!  It was so pretty inside and the food was incredible!  After shopping, we went to the Opera House again to wait for tickets for Madama Butterfly.  Once we got tickets, we went over to the grocery store and got yummy sandwiches and chocolate and cookies and chips and ate dinner in front of the Opera House.  Then we went inside, and the opera was absolutely AMAZING!!!!  The set was incredible and all of the performers were beyond fabulous.  I think we all three really enjoyed it!  After the opera, Mom and Dad walked me home and then went back to their hotel room to get ready for their early flight on Tuesday morning.  After Mom and Dad left, I had to recover for a couple of days and catch up on sleep and work!  More news on what I've been up to since Mom and Dad left later :)  Auf Wiedersehen!!!

a chocolate shop

Cafe Sacher!!

our delicious meal at Cafe Sacher

the original Sacher torte of Vienna

coffee for Mom and Dad

Die Eltern sind in Wien! (Teil eins)

Hallo!

Mom and Dad have been here for a couple of days and it has been crazy!  We have been so busy.  On Thursday afternoon, I met them at their hotel and we went to Kärtnerstrasse (the main shopping street) and ate dinner.  Dad got pork schnitzel and he loved it!  After dinner, we went to my favorite bakery (Anker) and got croissants and a krone...yummy!  

Mom and I on their first night in Wien!

Mom and Dad's first encounter with Anker

Then on Friday morning we got up, had coffee and pastries, and headed to the train station to leave for Prague.  The trains were a little confusing, but we figured out which platform was ours, got some delicious sandwiches and another croissant, and got on the train!  We were a little surprised when the conductor came to stamp our tickets and told us "This train does not go to Prague.  This train go to Poland."  We were slightly shocked, but thankfully the conductor was really nice and told us how to get to Prague from where we were!!  We got to see almost all of the Czech Republic and we even made some new Czech friends on the train, but we eventually made it to Prague on Friday night.  That night we checked into our hotel (which was beautiful...a welcome change from my hostels!) and walked around Wenceslas Square.  We saw a beautiful gothic church all lit up and the Astronomical Clock.  Everything was so beautiful at night and the streets were empty...it was amazing!  We walked to this incredible restaurant where Mom and Dad both got gulash and I got an enormous chicken schnitzel.  We also had this bread with some sort of butter that was amazing.  The restaurant was so pretty and old, strange American music was playing (as usual in the European restaurants I've experienced!) and we had so much fun.

Their first Viennese breakfast

so lost in the Czech Republic!

by the Astronomical Clock

On Saturday, we got up and had coffee and pastries and then went exploring around the city.  We walked to the Charles Bridge and spent awhile just looking at all of the vendors and musicians.  The bridge has an incredible view of the whole city and the Prague Castle.  After a couple of hours, we went to eat lunch at Cafe Savoy, which was a beautiful place pretty close to the river.  I had the most delicious goat cheese on toast, Dad got an amazing omelette, and Mom got split pea soup that she loved.  I think that meal was probably my favorite meal of the weekend...it was so delicious and the building was so pretty!  After lunch, we walked over to the John Lennon wall, which is a wall that people graffiti'd when John Lennon was killed.  Ever since then, people spray paint and write whatever they want on it.  I wrote a note to Leah and Sarah :)  After the John Lennon wall, we took the scenic route back to our hotel and saw the Charles Bridge from a different view.  After we got back to the hotel, we put on nice clothes and headed over to the Prague Opera House!  We saw La Boheme, and it was absolutely incredible.  We were in the eighth row and we could see perfectly.  The opera house was an amazing building, and even the food at intermission was good!!  After the opera, we stopped at this strange pizza place and had some pizza and then headed back to the hotel to rest up for Sunday.

Dad loved the sausage stands!

the view from the Charles Bridge

Cafe Savoy

Dad liked the beer, too!

the John Lennon wall

signing the wall for Leah and Sarah :)

the Prague Opera House...beautiful!

the three of us on the bridge

On Sunday, we had more coffee and pastries and headed into the Jewish Quarter.  We saw the Old-New Synagogue, the Spanish synagogue, the Jewish cemetery, and a couple other synagogues that had exhibits inside of them.   The cemetery was incredible...it was a very small plot of land that all of the Jews of Prague had to bury their dead in until the end of WWII.  There were thousands of headstones all piled on top of each other.  It was quite the site.  After the Jewish Quarter, we had lunch at a restaurant right by Charles Bridge.  (Another delicious meal, of course.)  Then we went back to watch the strike of the hour on the Astronomical Clock (a guard played a fanfare and a cuckoo bird came out!) and then we went shopping until it was time to catch the train back to Prague.  After the 5-hour train ride back, we ate dinner at a kebap and falafel place right by my apartment.  It was so delicious!  Then Mom and Dad went back to their hotel and I went out with my friends for Halloween.  We went to a club where one of the leaders of my program was performing in a German rap group.  It was quite the experience!!  It was definitely a good HalloWien! :)

the Jewish cemetery had thousands of headstones in a very small space

one of the old synagogues in the Jewish Quarter

Dvorak was from the Czech Republic!

the Astronomical Clock

a Czech Harry Potter poster!

Monday was another full day!  We got up and got some breakfast and went over to Schönbrunn Palace. We took a tour of the inside of the palace, which was built as a hunting home and then became the palace of Maria Theresia.  Then we hiked up the the Gloriette, which was a beautiful structure that was built to be seen from the windows of the palace so that Maria Theresia had something beautiful to look at.  Sounds like she was quite the diva!  After we walked around the gardens of the palace, we went to a restaurant that was originally a cellar under the Albertina Museum, which is one of the most famous museums in Vienna.  We had a traditional Viennese appetizer of ham, cheese, Liptauer (the yummy cheese stuff that I've talked about before), sweet pickles, and horseradish.  Dad got Austrian beer that he liked and the food was delicous!  I think I have yet to have a bad meal in Vienna!  On the way home, we decided to stop by the Opera House just in CASE we could get standing tickets for whatever was showing.  Lucky for us, we got incredible seats on the floor level of the concert hall!  We saw a ballet called "Jewels of the New World" that had 4 short segments: one by Stravinsky, one by Schubert, one by Haydn, and one by Tchaikovsky.  The performance was so beautiful and amazing!!!!!!  I had never seen a ballet before, so it was really something else.  After a very long day, I went home and Mom and Dad went back to their hotel so they could get up early and head to Budapest on Tuesday.  I've got to do a little work now, but I will write about the rest of the vacation later!  Until next time! Auf Wiedersehen :)

the Gloriette and part of the gardens...very beautiful this time of year!

the palace and part of the gardens

Dad and me...

and Mom and me! (in the gardens of the palace)

part of our traditional Austrian meal