Fall Break

A cafe-hopping, bridge-crossing, castle-searching, mountain-climbing, snow-falling, Mozart-rockin' good time...

For my fall break last week, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the cities/regions of Salzburg, Bavaria, Prague, Vienna, and Graz. The following are the statistics of my trip:

Days traveled: 10

Countries visited: 3

Cities visited: 5

Items lost, stolen, forgotten, or otherwise left behind: 0!!! (That I know of...)

Trains missed: 2

Cafe stops: 14. Yeah...I know.

Postcards purchased: 27. Eek. Surprised myself with that statistic.

Weinerschintzels eaten: 3

Number of times the purchase of a ticket came down to the last cent: 2 (Once on my bus ride to the airport...a little too close for comfort...and the second time after I had walked (yes walked)up to the fortress in Salzburg to find out they only accepted cash for the entrance fee)

Number of times kicked out of a bar for having a dog: 1

Apple strudels savored: 2

Items purchased to protect self from cold: 3 (2 hats and gloves)

Languages attempted to be spoken: 3 (French, German, Czech)

Number of times followed by a homeless man from Vienna to Salzburg: 1 (which was enough...not quite sure how he managed to do that)


I had an amazing time. I had wonderful company, sampled lots of yummy, traditional cuisine, drank lots of coffee, did lots of walking, and saw some of the most beautiful sights Europe has to offer. I will do my best to summarize each of my destinations in sequential order so that this blog doesn't become too unbearably long.

1. Salzburg: mountains, "narrow crooked little streets in contrast to the great spacious squares", shops, cafes, Sound of Music, Mozart, mint-green river water, the Yoho Hostel, Shamrock Pub, weinerschnitzel, beautiful trails, fall leaves, Mirabell Gardens, young people in their traditional Austrian costume called "tracht", Hohensazburg Fortress, baroque churches, markets, Steigl beer, fountains, and magnificent cathedrals.

2. Bavaria (in Germany...I didn't realize I was going to be in Germany until our bus driver told us that we were entering the country, and that we could hold our passports up to the window as we drove through): Konigssee (King's Lake), apple strudel, hills in the shape of a witch lying down, gorgeous fall leaves and Hitler's headquarters, the Eagle's Nest.

3. Prague: Charles Bridge, fun tour guides/hosts named Jan (pronounced Yawn), walking, Astronomical Clock, art nouveau, buildings from different eras all built around each other, Prague Castle, environmental photo displays, Jewish Quarter, Old Town Bridge Tower, walking, Old Town Square, pig's knuckle, St. Nicholas Cathedral, orange rooftops, dumplings, the Dancing House, crystal, Cathedral of Our Lady before Tyn, cheap beer, cute houses, and more walking.

4. Vienna: cafes, snow/cold cold cold, St. Stephen's Cathedral, old ferris wheels, walking past sites but not into them like the State Opera, City Hall, and various theaters/churches/museums (unless seeking shelter from the cold), cafes, weinerschnitzel, Sky Bar, composers immortalized, The Hofburg, beautiful gardens, The Graben, and more cafes.

5. Graz. Ah, Graz. The following is my journal entry written soon after our visit there:
I will never forget this day. It seems like a dream beginning to fade from memory. It started simple enough with breakfast, missing a train, and eventually catching a train over to Graz (Austria). We fell in love with the city right away with its town square, beautiful architecture, and apple strudel. We were just beginning to feel content when we stumbled upon Schlossbergplatz (a huge hill with a trail you could hike to the top). We excitedly began to climb to the top of this steep, tall hill, taking in the breathtaking view of Graz at sunset for most of the climb. It wasn't until we reached the top that we realized the remains of a castle were located there. Then it began to snow. And it was beautiful. And then we heard a group of people singing "Hallelujah" (Rufus Wainwright). And then we followed the singing to the top of a deep well located near the castle. And then we stood around the well with a group of about 8 twentysomething German-speakers. And then we sang. Or rather they sang and we listened. And then we sang "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." And then they sang a German canon while we listened. And I had to pinch myself. And then they sang the Dona Nobis Pacem canon. And I could sing with them because I sang it in high school. And it was beautiful. And we were singing into a well and the snow was falling and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever done. And then we walked to a cafe and had a discussion about American politics (go figure) but it was productive and I was sipping espresso and talking politics with a bunch of Europeans in an Austrian bar. And we came outside to find enormous snowflakes falling from the sky. I can't believe how amazing that was and Jen and I are feeling high like we have fallen in love (with Graz) and the memory is already starting to fade. Did it actually happen? Did we miss our train so we could sing and have a political debate with a random group of European actors? It's like I lived my European fantasy and now I can hardly think clearly.

So, it was amazing. I think I'm going to need the next 7 weeks until Christmas break just to recover from this last one.