Austria: Day 3 & 4

So...here's the deal with the whole traveling-while-taking-16-hours thing: the few days after you return from the trip you're stressed out of your brain!

With that being said, our second day in Salzburg was amazing. We woke and gazed gloomily out the window and the streets being washed with a cold rain. We left England for a reason. But we didn't let it stop us. We got ready and went downstairs for a small breakfast at the hostel. Being in Salzburg, our hostel played "The Sound of Music" every day at 10:30 AM. After breakfast, we gathered in the TV room to watch the movie before we went on our tour at 2:30. It's just such a great movie!
We stopped at a grocery store on our way to the tour and grabbed bread, cheese, and salami which we ate on the steps of a church on the square from which our tour departed. We were absolutely freezing, but the food was tasty and cheap. Eventually we were in a van along with a British couple and two Swiss journalists and our fearless tour guide, Peter. Peter...how would I describe Peter...a little crazy with a pinch of eccentricity thrown in? The first thing he said to me personally was, "What's yellow and smells like a banana?" After I shook my head he responded, "Monkey vomit...isn't that terrible?" Anyway, he drove us around Mirabelle Gardens, though we did not go in--we had gone the day before. The first place the van stopped was the back of the Von Trapp house with the lake where Maria and the children fell out of the canoe when they saw that Captain Von Trapp had returned home. The lake was frozen, but the scenes still played vividly in our minds. We didn't linger long because we had many places to go and we were very cold. He pointed out the mountain that Maria sang "The Hills are alive..." on and the mountain from which the Von Trapps were filmed escaping Austria. Next, we passed Nonberg Abbey where Maria (both in the real Maria and Julie Andrews) resided with the nuns before she went to be a governess to the children. Our driver pointed out the front of the house when we drove by--the movie used two different houses to film the front and the back, and then used a Hollywood set for the interior. Near the front house, down the tree-lined alley where the children hung from trees as the Captain drove by, there was the gazebo. Need I say more? "I am 16, going on 17..." Classic. We were not allowed to go inside of the gazebo, however, because a few years ago an 80-year old lady had attempted to do the dance leaping from seat to seat...she fell and broke a hip.

Loading in the car, we headed for the mountains. Our driver began playing the soundtrack to the movie and the hills came alive. The mountains were beautiful--birds eye views of Salzburg and other little towns blew my mind. Eventually we arrived in Mondsee where the Basilica there was the church in which the wedding was filmed. This area of Austria was also known for providing a warm vanilla sauce to accompany apple strudel. Our driver dropped us off for an hour, so we went into the church and then shopped a bit before enjoying the amazing dessert. Peter dropped us off at our hostel at the end of the journey. It was great--definitely worth the 4 hours and 37 euros.
After recovering from a busy afternoon, we decided to follow Peter's suggestions for dinner and for the evening activities. Wanting to experience Austrian culture, we ventured to a beer hall--I believe one of the biggest in Austria...thankfully they also served Coca-Cola along with their bratwurst, sauerkraut, and pretzels. The food was delicious--I had no idea I was a sauerkraut type of person, but it was tasty! After dinner, we went to the Hotel Stein. Our tour guide claimed the rooftop bar had one of the best views of the city at night. So we took the elevator and went on the roof to take pictures ignoring the annoyed waiters who wished we'd buy something from them.
When we returned to our hostel we met Monique the Crazy German bunking with us. She was in her 60s with bright orange and red hair. Her English was horrible, but she sure loved to talk! She invited us to accompany her to a free exhibit at the Modern Museum of Art the next day. We accepted the free elevator ticket and met her the next day at the bottom of the mountain. The elevator was built in the cliff so it took us to the Museum which overlooked the city. None of us really appreciate modern art, so we didn't last long in the museum, but we greatly enjoyed the breathtaking views of Salzburg. We wandered about taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful day. After lunch at McDonalds, we sat on the banks of the river soaking up the sun for hours. Eventually we took a bus to the airport and flew home.

The "fun" hadn't ended, however. We had no idea of the fiasco that awaited us in London. Our plane landed at 10:00. We needed to take a 45 minute train ride to an Underground station then take the tube about 6 stops (10 minutes) and catch another train to Oxford that would be an hour long. Worried that the tube station would close at 11, we rushed to the airport train. We arrived at the tube station right at 11--it wasn't closed! But the line that would take us to the other train station was shut down for maintenance. We decided to take a bus. We hoped the 23 and sat for an hour as it made 19 stops before it arrived at Paddington Station. We walked into the station at 12:35. The last train for Oxford left ten minutes before. The next train...at 8 in the morning. With tension building in the group, we stopped at Burger King for some energy and inspiration. I was the only one with cash (thanks mom for your advice to always keep a stash for emergencies) so we caught a cab and went to Marble Arches where we wanted to catch the "Oxford Tube," a 24-hour bus that ran from London to Oxford. Around 1:45, we boarded the bus grumpy and tired. Once we arrived in Oxford, there was a 30 minute walk back to the house. It was raining. I arrived home soaking wet at 3:30 and have never been more excited to see #10 Canterbury Road in my life.

I'm living spontaneously...YIKES!

Austria: Day One & Two

The rooster crows, "Time to fly away little chickens." And with that call, we do fly away to Austria.

Due to pricing, we decided to fly into Linz, Austria last Wednesday. We landed around 4:00 PM and had to take a bus into the center of town to find our hostel--which I did not get directions for in advance. The bus took us to the train station where we asked the information booth for directions. The nice lady told us, in her German accent, to take the tram four stops. After wandering around a bit, we did eventually find our hostel. We had two rooms--one with three beds for the three girls, and one for the one boy. We were exhausted, but our tummies were angry at us, so we asked the receptionist for a recommendation for dinner. She suggested Josef's which was a nice restaurant with traditional Austrian food. We had to take the tram to the restaurant, and we had trouble figuring out how to pay for it, so we just hopped on without paying. Since I'm always worried about getting in trouble, I was VERY uncomfortable and convinced the group that we should pay the next times because I saw a sign saying there was a 50 euro fine for not paying for your ride. Now, I'm surprised the group believed me because the sign I saw was completely in German, and I was only guessing at it's message; however, we payed for our trips after that.

Dinner was amazing. Spinach strudel. I was in absolute heaven--I'm going to figure out how to make it because it blew me away.

After dinner, our sweet teeth started kicking, so we stopped at a McDonald's for McFlurries. One comment: foreign McDonalds' are incredibly nice. They are clean, classy, and have a coffee bar that looks like a mini Starbucks inside of a McDonald's. It's the greatest thing! So we ate our desserts and headed to the Danube river to see Linz at night. The buildings were lit up in different colors which played on the water and the sight was beautiful. Exhausted and cold, we trammed back to the Youthotel Linz to retire for the night. I drifted to sleep to the sounds of German reporters commenting on women's Olympic speed skating.

The next morning, we woke and packed our bags. The hostel offered us a complimentary breakfast which was incredibly hearty and delicious. Following breakfast, I checked us out and we all started for the train station to go to Salzburg. The trip took about an hour, but we arrived in the beautiful city around 11 AM. Our hostel was much easier to find this time around, so we checked in and then hit the town.

Salzburg is amazing. I suggest that any and everyone who ever has the opportunity to visit, snatches that it up like a lizard snatches a fly. Everywhere I walked, I either saw mountains or fabulous architecture. I cannot even begin to describe the beauty of the place. This is the city where Mozart was born and where "The Sound of Music" was filmed--not to mention the city where the actual von Trapp family lived. As we walked through the town, scenes from the movie played in our heads. In the Mirabelle Gardens we saw the children and Maria running around singing "Do, a deer, a female deer..." and in the market we saw little Gretel accidentally drop the tomato. We knew that we had to go on the famous "Sound of Music Tour," so we bought tickets for the next day at 2 PM.

After meandering through the city and its shops and interesting streets, we eventually returned to the hostel for naps and for dinner. We were tired little children and did not feel up to exploring the city any more that day, so we went to bed relatively early. We were sharing an 8-person room with 4 girls from Michigan, so it was fun to have some Americans there.

We closed our eyes and dreamed of yodelers and lonely goatherds, excited for the adventure the next day had in store.

Alice, Harry, & Me

Last Wednesday, our "Oxford Through the Ages" class went on a tour of Christ Church Cathedral/College which is where I'll be completing my service hours as a docent during the semester. In the last 150 years, it was mostly associated with Charles Dodgson ("Lewis Carroll") and his book "Alice in Wonderland;" however, in more recent years, the name "Harry Potter" fills the corridors of the 12th century Cathedral. There are so many stained and painted glass windows, and as our tour guide pointed out, they are full of jokes! For example, the section of the stained glass "St. Frideswide's Window" that I have pictured here depicts the death of the 8th century patron saint of Oxford. The window was created in 1898, about the time when the modern toilet was first invented, so the artist included a flush-able toilet in the background of the image. Can you find it?

Charles Dodgson was a "Student" (professor/"Fellow") of Mathematics at Christ Church College in the 19th century while the Dean was a man named Henry Liddell who had three daughters--the middle, a girl named Alice. Dodgson was a friend of the Liddell's and wrote "Alice in Wonderland"--that crazy day dream--for Alice. Throughout Christ Church can be found all of the inspiration for that fantastical piece of literature.

For example, today when I was beginning my service hours, a jolly old man told me a brief history. He led me to a door which opened to the two back gardens of Christ Church College. "Do you see that building over there?" he asked, in his jolly-British-old-man way, "That is the back of the Library, and Charles Dodgson used to sit and look out one of those windows and look down into these gardens. You see that little green door separating the two?" I nodded yes, "That was where he got the idea for the little green door in Wonderland. And that Chestnut tree? The Cheshire Cat sat grinning from a great Chestnut tree."

He then went on to tell me a very dramatic story. "Well, Alice was a pretty little girl, and pretty girls often grow into beautiful ladies, and beautiful ladies often fall in love. Well, Alice fell in love with Queen Victoria's son Leopold, but of course, a common girl could not marry royalty. So they had to part ways, but their final words to each other were," and here he started sniffling and pretending to cry, "'If I ever marry, and have a son,' said Alice, 'I shall call him Leopold.' And Leopold said, 'If I ever marry and have a daughter, I shall call her Alice.'" He then led me to the entrance of the Cathedral. "Well Alice did marry. A man named Hargreaves. And she did have a son who died in the War," by then we were standing in front of a memorial for the men who served their country and died in World War I. He pointed and, sure enough, "Leopold Reginald Hargreaves." And Leopold had a daughter, Princess Alice, who died in the 1980s. Now isn't that a romantic story?

Anyway, the staircase leading to Hall was filmed in "Harry Potter" and the Hall itself was inspiration for the hall at Hogwarts. I know I'm crazy, but I'm not a fan of the movie, so I don't fully appreciate it, which I should, because as a volunteer, I'm allowed to dine in the Hall. :)

So, I began my service hours today and it was so much fun! I worked with two ladies, Wendy who was in her 60s and Mary who was in her 80s. Both were very kind. Especially Mary who was just precious! My favorite quote of the day came from little old Mary. The cleaning lady was discussing the new 'Alice in Wonderland' which is about to be released and she said, "I'm old enough to be his mum, but I just think Johnny Depp is so handsome!" to which Mary replied, "Well, I'm old enough to be his grandmum and he still gives me the stirrings!" I laughed so hard. It was absolutely hilarious.

I'm so excited to continue my volunteering at the Cathedral. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories and quotes in my coming posts. And I intend to read "Alice in Wonderland" and continue to find Dodgson's inspirations throughout the Cathedral and College.

Cheers!

My Valentine is Across the OCEAN!

For the past few days, Valentines festivities have been in full swing here at #9 & #10 Canterbury Road. Kristi and some others organized a "Secret Valentine"-type event in which girls and guys drew names selecting their Valentine for whom they would make or buy a gift. This evening we are having a dessert party and everyone is giving their gifts then. I, along with a few others, did not participate because I have precious Jason across the sea.

For the past few days, he has been apologizing to me for only mailing me a card for Valentine's Day. I didn't mind because a card is plenty--especially considering the distance. So when I walked out of my room toward the kitchen this morning and saw the huge box downstairs by the front door, I didn't even bother to go check whose it was. I set about making my traditional breakfast of tea and toast with Nutella (I've developed a cold and tea feels SO good on my throat).

I heard Nicolas singing as he walked down the stairs headed to Christ Church, then I heard him come back up the stairs to the kitchen. "Your middle name wouldn't happen to be Lynn would it?" he asked. Now, I get asked this question every time I get something in the mail from Jason because he addresses the envelope "Stephanie Lynn"--it's actually really cute :) Anyway, I responded positively and he said, "You have a packaged downstairs. And it's epic."

I honestly was confused. I'd already gotten my card, and Jason said over and over that he didn't send me anything else for the occasion. So I followed Nicolas downstairs and was standing next to the three-foot-tall box convinced that I was getting something smaller. He indicated that the big one was for me and sure enough the label read: "Stephanie Lynn, 10 Canterbury Road." A huge smile broke out on my face as I grabbed the box and took it back to my room where I opened it to find a balloon, a teddy bear, and a box of chocolates along with a little note. Tears came to my eyes--I really do have the sweetest boyfriend in the world. He is a blessing to me...and I'm not just saying that because he got me a present! For all my single ladies out there, don't settle! Wait until someone blows you away! :) :) :)

Sorry to be mushy, but I just wanted to share. Have a lovely Valentine's Day everyone!

York & Whitby...AKA: "Freezing Times"

Life in England, is a busy, busy time. Between classes, traveling, planning travels, preparing our Sing Song video, Skyping with loved ones, and trying to get enough sleep, there's barely any time left in the day to do the most important thing: update my blog so that everyone at home can now how crazy life here is! But this morning, I forced myself out of bed at the ridiculous hour of 9 AM, made a strong cup of French-press coffee, and sat down in front of my computer, ready to inform the world of my going-ons.

Last Thursday, before the rooster crowed, we were on a bus driven by Fearless Dave the Bus Driver headed to York. We did not know what to expect...I suppose we all thought, "Hm...I suppose it'll be like New York, but older." Ha. Not quite. After a four hour ride to North England, we exited the bus and were immediately greeted by a Mr. Freezing who proceeded to make us miserable for the remainder of the day. We walked into town, past the astounding Cathedral or Abbey, and Malia, Kristi, and I stopped at a precious little deli for lunch. After we ate, we took some time to regain our courage to battle Mr. Freezing again, and we spent the remainder of the day popping in and out of the ridiculously cute and even more ridiculously expensive shops in the town of York, which is vastly different from New York, might I add. By 4:30, we were once again on the warm bus, and Dave led us into the town of Whitby which is right by the North Sea. Claire, Kristi, and I were too cold to venture outside after dinner in our hostel, so we waited until morning to experience the little harbor town.

In the morning, a large group started the day at the Whitby Abbey Museum which was practically connected to our hostel. We walked through the museum and then explored the amazing ruins of Whitby Abbey which is over 1000 years old. This is the Abbey that Bede, the "Father of English History," recorded the Synod of Whitby taking place in the 7th century which was a major turning point in British history because this is when the nation decided to following the Roman Catholic traditions instead of the Orthodox traditions. The ruins were absolutely fascinating and even more mysterious--I'd give anything to hear those walls talk.

We then walked down the 199 steps into the town of Whitby to find some famous fish and chips. We stopped at Magpie Cafe which has the reputation of having the best fish and chips in England. Malia and I were stuffed from lunch at the hostel, so we didn't have any, but everyone in our groups said they were absolutely amazing. We then wandered in and out of some shops. Whitby is known for its Jet. A black semi-precious stone. I have never seen anything that black in my life and it's absolutely beautiful. Malia, Natalie, and I decided that we needed to buy jewelry to remember Whitby by, so we searched the shops in the town until we found the perfect rings. Malia and I ended up getting the same ring with an oval jet stone in the middle. So pretty! Feeling accomplished, we climbed those 199 steep steps again back to our hostel. Whitby was great and the beach was so pretty, but so cold!

The next morning, after breakfast and a brief walk into the town, we left little Whitby at 10 AM. Fearless Dave drove us into Nottingham--that's right! Robin Hood's Nottingham. We were going to experience the center of English middle class culture: football ("soccer" as Americans call it). I don't know much about soccer except what Jason has told me and what I Googled when we first started dating in order to try to impress him (it didn't work); therefore, I was a little skeptical about whether or not I would enjoy sitting in the cold for 2 hours watching Nottingham Forrest take on Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship League (one step below the Premiere League which is what Man U and Chelsea are in). To my surprise, I enjoyed it so much! Dave told us that there were about 35,000 fans in the stands. One thing that stuck out to me about the fans, was the songs. They sang songs together throughout the game--everyone knew them as well as other chants and cheers such as "C'mon you Reds!" and "Worst referee in history" (the latter was my favorite). But when thousands of people began singing "You've lost that lovin' feeling, whoa, whoa that loving feeling..." I couldn't help but laugh. I have no idea why they sang that song, but I thought it was absolutely hilarious.

Anyway, Nottingham Forrest (the home team--the team we were cheering for) won! Happy and excited, we got on the bus and returned to Oxford where we soon got in bed to try to recover from a busy, but fun-filled, weekend. I may try to return to Whitby when it is a little warmer, and if I get another opportunity to attend a football game, I'll be jumping on that like a kid on a trampoline!

You Sound Like You're From London

The alarm sounded at 7:30. Grumpy, I quickly turned it off then said to Claire, "Why do we have to get up so early!?"

By 8:30, we leaving House 9 and walking toward the train station in Oxford headed for the city of London. I forgot to eat breakfast, so I grabbed a chocolate pastry and a cappuccino in the train station.

With a "chugga-chugga choo choo!" the train took us to Paddington Station in London. It was about an hour to the city, but it went by pretty quickly. When we arrived, we went to the British Library where we saw "Treasures of the British Library." The Magna Carta was there along with so many other amazing manuscripts. One display was a collection of The Beatles' drafts of song lyrics. One song was written on the back of an envelope--they had bad handwriting! but I suppose that's alright since they were geniuses.

I saw first editions of Shakespeare, Jane Austen's journal and her first draft of "Persuasion," a 10th century Bible, and many other antique documents. It was awesome.

I ate lunch at a nearby pub called O'Neils. I got a Tuna Melt--pretty tasty, but we had to eat fast in order to meet the group in time to go to the British Museum. Cole had told us that the British Library and Museum were very, very close to each, so it would be a very short walk. I'm never going to believe him again. It was NOT short, but I suppose if he told us it would be as long as it was we would complain. The British Museum is always fascinating and intimidating. Mummies, sculptures, artifacts, art, EVERYTHING you can imagine. I saw the Rosetta Stone which was fascinating. My feet were killing me after about two hours of browsing through the museum, so I found a bench and rested for the rest of our time there. At four, the group reconvened. I met up with Becca, Brittany, and Derko since we were the only four who would be returning to Oxford that same night. Brittany and Allison wanted to go see "Phantom of the Opera," but they didn't have tickets, so we walked down to the theatre district at Leicester Square, but they were not able to buy tickets for a good enough price; therefore, Allison and her group went to their hostel and we four day travelers headed to Piccadilly Circus to shop and explore. I bought a gift for Jason, and then we wandered the streets a bit. It was a freezing cold day with winds and light rain, so we tried to think of something that we could do that would be inside. So we hopped on the tube to Knightsbridge to visit the famous Harrods department store. We walked around in wonder at the ridiculous prices on everything. The jewelry didn't even list a price, instead the ticket said, "Price upon Request"--I don't even want to know what price they would give for a De Beers diamond necklace that contained 230 total carat weight! I did purchase some Rose-flavored Turkish Delight. I'd never tried it, but it's pretty good!

When we got hungry, we wandered the streets until we found a pub that wasn't too crowded. We landed at the Angel & Crown and went upstairs to eat where it was a little more quiet. I had a delicious Steak & Guinness pot pie that took about 30 minutes to eat because it was so hot. We stayed at the pub for a while talking and eating. Eventually, we hit the streets to do a bit more wandering and experiencing the city, and then headed back to Paddington Station to catch a train back to Oxford.

Exhausted, we arrived to our houses around midnight. It was a long day, but it was SO much fun!

Wandering, Wandering...LOST!

Yesterday was Sunday. I decided to go for a walk to explore the city and enjoy the brisk, January air. Off I set--I decided to wear my warmest coat and my tennis shoes so that discomfort would not be the cause for me to return to cozy House 10. I headed to city centre. I decided to stop in the covered market for a cookie. I cannot seem to be able to venture away from the Triple Chocolate Cookie and a cup of cold milk; however, I think the next time I go to Ben's Cookies, I'll follow the example of the girl who ordered after me who, when asked what she'd like, responded, "What is the hottest?" And that's what they got. Mmmmm...a hot cookie with cold milk would be so perfect! I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out next time I go.

Anyway, with cookie in one hand and milk in the other, I turned onto High Street past Magdalen College (CS Lewis is closely tied with this college, but I'm uncertain whether he attended or taught there). The buildings were very beautiful.

I continued walking over a bridge and into a part of town to which I'd never been. Looking back, I should have turned around at this point, but I foolishly kept walking. And even more foolishly, I kept walking. And kept walking. I turned once and then decided to just try to find a different route back to city centre so that I could see more of this mysterious side of Oxford. I ran into Cowley road and turned left. Then I walked for about thirty minutes. At every bend in the road I thought, "Surely I'm close. Surely." Around 3:45, I started getting nervous and began to think that I was lost. I realized that I probably wasn't in the best spot of town. The next bus stop I got to, I stopped and read the sign. It read, "Towards City Centre." So I sighed, sat down, and waited. A couple of shady characters walked by, but soon there were about six people at the stop, all of which seemed to be nice and "posh." When the bus finally came, I got in and asked the driver to take me to City Centre. "1 pound 80, please," he responded. I paid, took my ticket, then relieved, I took a seat. The ride lasted about 10 minutes and I realized my folly: when I'd reached Cowley road, I should have turned right instead of left. That way I would have arrived back at city centre "lick-a-dee-split!" The bus driver pulled up to the intersection of Cornmarket, High Street, Queens, and St. Aldates. I then walked as fast as I could back to the house. Lesson learned: If I wander by myself, I should always turn around before I get too far from the familiar.

Since Dr. Lytle is here now after the Presidential interviews, we had management for the first time today. I really enjoyed it and the two and a half hours seemed to fly by! Afterward, I began working on my new goal: jogging. I donned my sweats, grabbed my iPhone and earbuds, and hit the street headed for University Parks. I need to download the "Rocky" theme song to really get me pumped while I jog. It wasn't pretty, but it was a start. Contented, I returned to the house and tried to warm up by taking a hot shower. Soon, it was time to cook tacos with Claire. Our jalapeno cheese really added to the entree. After dinner, my sweet tooth was back with a vengeance! I asked Malia if she was interested in G&D's ice cream for the second night in a row, and she heartily agreed to come with me. Ryker and Christie joined us as well. I ordered a Brownie Sundae. It was amazing! The brownie was so warm and soft it melted in my mouth. The Bailey's ice cream added a burst of flavor, and the whip cream and chocolate sprinkles completed the ensemble. I ate the entire thing on the walk back to the house. It was GREAT! It cost 5 pounds, so there is no way I'll be getting that very often, but perhaps it'll be a good treat to have every couple of weeks--when my sweet tooth is inconsolable.

Now, I'm in the common room watching a movie with many of my fellow adventurers waiting for 10:30 to roll around so that Jason will be out of class and can Skype with me before I retire for the evening.

Good night world! Your traveler is weary.