Conclusion

I have now been home for over a week, and the strangest thing is how normal I feel. I've spent the last week running errands, meeting up with old friends, and taking a short trip to our cabin in McCall (ending the weekend with an amazing Bronco victory over Virginia Tech tonight- HURRAY!) I've babysat, had a job interview, seen all the yearly check-up doctors, and even met with my Boise State academic advisor to figure out my schedule for graduation. All of my spare time has been dedicated to organizing my room and slowly reintroducing my things back into it, which is a trying task on its own.

So really, despite the fact that I've been gone for almost 14 months, it's still life as usual.

What matters, however, is that I am different.

I would like to sincerely thank those of you who have taken time (and occasionally quite a bit of time) out of your lives to keep updated on mine and read babbling post after babbling post. It's a comfort to know that there are those in the world who are rooting me on, and who are there to support me in times of need.

I did start a book blog, which you can find at juliasbookblog.wordpress.com. I've been so busy this past week that I have only just picked up a book for the first time since leaving Italy.

Again, thank you for your time and support.

Alles Liebe,

~Julia~

Approaching the End

I remember being at Disneyland when I was a kid, and thinking to myself 'This is fun now, but by this time tomorrow I'll be in school again.' I'm not sure where, how, or why I picked up this habit, but it's always on my mind- where will I be in 24 hours exactly? 48? It's with this sort of unpleasant buzz-kill mentality that I've been counting down my time left here in Italy. Today it's been a pretty monotonous response in my head, since the answer to the question is going to be "on a plane," but I can't tell if that makes it easier or worse.

Sometimes when I think about going home, I think about what I want to do first: go to Target, go to the library, see my cats, eat Mexican food... and I know that when I get there these will all be comforting to me. I think about seeing movies in theaters, in English, and of getting coffee at Starbucks whenever I feel like it. Of being with my family, of navigating around town in my car, of knowing exactly where I am and understanding the language being spoken.

For better or for worse, I'm going back to normal.

While I'm doing all these things, in the back of my mind I'll be thinking 'This time last week I was laying on the beach reading Little Women for the first time,' or 'This time last week I was sitting down to the family dinner of pasta while watching cheesy Italian game shows.' Unfortunately, the game works both ways.

I had a mental breakdown before leaving Boise to go to Germany, and I had another when I left Germany to go to Italy. At the moment, I am not exactly breaking down... but instead sitting in a sort of melancholy stupor, too tired to panic.

24 hours from now I will be on a plane somewhere over the Eastern United States. 48 hours from now, I will have a fresh haircut and be heading to the fair. 72 hours from now I will be at church. 96 hours from now I will be babysitting, etc. etc. etc.

Back to life as usual.

Bullet Pointed Contemplations

I have been going over these lists in my head, which just goes to show how far bullet points truly have infiltrated my brain...

Things I will miss about Italy:
-laying on the beach reading
-play cards with Marco
-playing Wii with Luca
-playing volleyball with Neno
-Dimitry's sass
-fresh focaccia
-olive oil used in abundance
-treating time at the Mediterranean Sea like a normal, everyday thing
-having five cats and three dogs to pet and love
-learning new words every day
-Luca talking to me in Italian and expecting me to understand
-having cheap and ready access to travel to other countries that have different cultures and languages

Things I won't miss about Italy:
-having to shower just to get the sand off
-stores being closed for 2-3 hours in the middle of the day
-the Post Office closing after 1:30 in the afternoon
-ODing on pasta (it's good, but every day gets to be a little too much)

Things I am excited for about Boise:
-Target
-being with my family
-the familiarity of my hometown
-starting "real life"
-Shane Maxey whipping me into shape
-catching up with friends and their adventures
-stores being open every day of the week
-stores having reasonable hours of business
-renewing my Library card
-eating Mexican food
-eating at the Beanery
-getting involved at church

Things I am nervous for about Boise:
-making friends
-finding a job
-starting "real life"


Here's another object of contemplation:

Upon my return, I will no longer be an Au Pair (shocking, but true) and will thus have no need for a blog - especially one with a url that says "juliatheaupair."

While I obviously am lacking in motivation to post very often, I have enjoyed blogging as an outlet for creative writing. I was always proud of my writing abilities in high school, but once I got to college, I seldom used them (as most of my papers, after my freshman year, were research papers). When I was even a time in my life where I wanted to be a journalist, but for reasons I'm unable to remember I chose to study music (which was obviously the more practical and marketable choice of the two). I don't regret studying music, but I do miss writing.

I've also realized that during the course of this summer, and even the last couple months in Germany, I've read "for pleasure" for the first time in years (excepting Harry Potter, of course). I have read so many books (I just finished Sense & Sensibility this afternoon) and am so thirsty for more, but I'm afraid that returning to some semblance of "normal" life may make it difficult to continue reading with the speed and enthusiasm I've lately enjoyed.

So how do these two combine in marital harmony?

With a book blog, DUH.

I find that after I read a book, I become anxious to find somebody with which to share my thoughts and feelings on them that I can hardly contain myself. Then it occurred to me that, while my life in Boise will more likely than not be undeserving of a blog in itself, I could perhaps blog about the books I read. It will be a good opportunity to express my thoughts and feelings on the book, regardless of whether there's an audience or not, as well as sharpen my writing skills. Not to mention the greatest of possible reward will hopefully be some sort of reason and/or motivation to continue to read. And, if there does happen to be one or two of my friends who read the blog and have read the book I've written about, maybe we could start a discussion about - and as many of you know oh-so-well, I do love to discuss.

So there you have it. When the book blog is up, and this blog is ready to come to an end, I will post the new link.

Alles liebe,
~Julia~

the FINAL Final Countdown

*cue back to GOB and his magic dance*


Here we are, kids- only 19 days until I leave Italy and return home. I feel so stupid for only having posted TWICE in the last two months, but it would appear that I've just too much to do. So, for old times' sake, here is a bullet point update:

Past
-Rome and Florence were good, but HOT. We were in the middle of receiving a high pressure front from Africa, which meant that there was almost no relief from heat for a couple of weeks. You could sleep in your underwear without any covers and still have trouble getting to sleep from the heat. However, I did have a great time and was very glad to see two of Italy's most famous cities.

-While in Rome, I had to stand in line twice for St. Peter's Basilica (I was inappropriately dressed- tank tops are too revealing, even if it's 95 degrees and humid, so I went back with a scarf the next day) and waited in significant lines for both the Vatican Museum and the Colosseum. We stayed with our neighbors here in Villanova who live part-time in Rome, so it was nice to see a little bit of "normal" Roman life, as well :)

-In Florence, I made friends with a few girls in my hostel room and spent most of my time with a girl from Norway and a girl from New Zealand. I had been told that Florence was very small, but I was surprised to discover how truly tiny it really is. I saw all three David statues (the original, the duplicate standing in its original outdoor place, and the bronze triplicate overlooking the city). I managed to sneek two pictures of the original, despite the Camera Nazis running around saying "NO CAMERAS!" followed by bitter Italian mutterings under their breath.

-I went to Milan for two days and stayed with Cristina's cousin's daughter (first cousin once removed, if you will) who is my age. We went out with some of her friends the first night, and I bought a cocktail that cost me €10... which I of course didn't realize until after I received it. There aren't too many sites to see when you discount Prada, Gucci, and other super-mega design name stores, so one day was more than enough to see it.

-I spent a week in Sweden visiting distant cousins on my dad's side. My grandmother (Mor-Mor, although she's technically my Far-Mor) is a first generation American, and her parents immigrated from Denmark in Sweden. I actually visited a third cousin on the Danish side briefly in Copenhagen after leaving Germany in May, and this time around I visited (a grant total of fourteen) relatives on the Swedish side (including my Mor-Mor's last living cousin, Sven, and his wife Mai. And yes, they are as adorable as people named Sven and Mai sound like they would be). There's been a lot of contact between our branch of the family and theirs, so it was nice to get my turn in.

I got to experience a few days on the Atlantic coast in a little fishing village called Bovallstrand, as well as take a day to enjoy a boat tour of Gothenburg (or Göteborg, if you will). Their idea of good weather is anything above 70 degrees and not raining, and with the exception of only a couple of days, I was lucky enough to encounter good weather. I went a little nuts while there, though, because I decided to try and make an accurate family tree, get everyone's information, and I even made a google map of all the relatives in the US (should any of them decide to come to the US, they can practically pick a State in the East or West - not so much middle - and find some "family" to stay with). I asked my dad how I got into this mess, and he appropriately reminded me that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Thanks, Mom :)

Present
I had a wonderful time traveling, but every time I was away I kept wanting to get back to Villanova to be with my guest family. When I got back from Sweden, I arrived home to find all four boys and all three dogs outside awaiting my return. I had been feeling a little nervous, that maybe it was strange for them that I had been gone for so long (a week) and would be leaving for good soon... but they were all just happy to see me. I cannot even begin to describe how that made me feel.

Yesterday I made my family's beloved M&M cookie recipe, and although I had to use all butter (instead of half butter, half shortening) they still tasted great and are already gone today. While in Sweden I bought maple syrup, since I couldn't find any here, so this morning I made French Toast... and the kids liked it!! HURRAY! I didn't plan on them eating very much, after their astonishing reaction to pancakes, but Neno and Marco each ate two, Dimitry one, and Luca ate a half (hey, better than nothing). Cristina's brother, Paulo (Popy) had asked me way back when if I would make French Toast, so it was also nice that he was here today to partake with us :) I also bought lemons, and will make lemonade in the next day or two.

Future
As anticipated as the post-high school "Where are you going to college" and as feared as the post-wedding "When are you going to have kids," I am repeatedly approached with the infamous post-Superbowl question, "What are you going to do next?"

The answer?

Well I can't afford to go to Disney World, that's for sure.

After having a internal and external only-to-one-or-two-people debate about whether to return to and stay in Boise, or to try Portland State University on for size, I have decided to do what my conscience, and my pocketbook, have advized me to do: stay in Boise.

There are several elements I took into consideration, but frankly I just can't afford to try something new for a while. I plan to live at home (until I can afford not to) and go to BSU to get another Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. This isn't exactly what I anticipated, but it's what I think I need to do. I was hoping for a Masters (one BA seemed like enough), but not only does Boise State not have a Masters in Elementary Education, but there are several prerequisite courses I would have to take beforehand to even qualify for such a thing. If, afterwards, I decide that I still want a Masters, I can always go to Portland.

I think my fear is that once I return to Boise, I will get too comfortable to ever do anything new or adventurous again. That's why I came to Europe right after college- do it now, before I have any ties that bind. However, the only person standing in the way of me moving in a few years time (should I choose to do so) is me. If I'm afraid of never taking any new risks again, then I have to make myself do it. I can't be responsible for what other people do, but I can be responsible for my own decisions.

I just need to have enough faith in myself to realize that being back in Boise doesn't mean I'm giving up on the new things life has to offer, or that I'm done seeing what there is of the world. On the contrary, Boise is going to be an entirely different world when I return because I'm different. Boise should be a safe haven, full of the familiar and comfortable... but I'm different than I was when Boise was all of those things. I'm different now than when I graduated from high school, and after I graduated from college, and after I spent a year abroad. I don't have very many friends still living in Boise, and I'm going to have to start almost from scratch. I'm going to have to put myself out there in class, in work, and even in church. If I don't want to live like I never left, then I'm going to have to explore Boise in a new way and allow myself to be vulernable to making new friends.

This, of course, is very scary... but I know I can handle it. There are a couple of quotes I like to throw around in such tangents, for instance "God never gives me more than I can handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much" (Mother Theresa, I think) and "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (last verse of Matthew 6- possibly my new life motto). I know that God will be there for me, and he will lead me down the right path... all I have to do is fix my eyes on him and go through the doors he opens for me. Just pray I find the doors instead of running into the wall...

For the record, there are many things that make me very excited about coming home to Boise, including but not limited to:
-being close to my family
-getting involved in at First Baptist
-whitewater rafting
-getting a PROPER haircut
-Shane Maxey whipping my sorry butt into shape
-an (up until now) secret but strong desire to reignite the Camp Crescendo fire

So don't be under the impression that I will return to Boise with an unhappy or heavy heart... because to be honest, I think it's a bit of a relief. Besides- if I didn't want to, I wouldn't.

So here's a parting round of prayer requests:
-That I trust in God and follow him through the doors he opens.
-That I will be able to find a job once back in Boise.
-That I will be able to afford to move out of my parent's house within the year, ideally within six months. I don't think anybody can deny the mental and emotional benefits of a independent 23 year old NOT living at home.
-That I will be able to get health insurance that covers my basic needs, and not just first time or emergency situations.
-That God will give me the confidence to make new friends.

Part of the home terf advantage is that there are hopefully some connections to be made out there... so if you happen to be reading my blog, and are a merciful soul who might be able to help me in any of the aforementioned ways, please do let me know.

Also, I'm available for babysitting as of August 28th. Spread the word.

Alles liebe,
~Julia~


PS- I started to post two days ago, but got distracted trying to find a video of GOB from Arrested Development doing his opening dance number and spent several hours afterwards lost in the wonderful world of youtube.

PPS- if you don't know or haven't seen Arrested Development, do yourself a favor- watch it.

Beach, Books, Boys, and Beyond

Along with brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things :)

Beach
We go to the beach truly every day (I don't go every day, but the boys do). We've been having delightful weather lately, although it has brought with it a most unwanted flock of flies. In fact, this week we're getting some hot air courtesy of Africa, so things will be a little too hot. The humidity isn't too bad, but it's more than a desert girl like me is used to. Anyway, the sea is delightfully blue and gives the kids something to do for the ENTIRE day. They will often go in the morning, come home for lunch, go back in the afternoon, stay the night at a little beach house they have across the street, go to the beach in the morning and then come home. I usually go in the afternoon (as when I go in the morning, I tend to fall asleep).

Baba Beach

Neno, Dimitry and Marco

I go swimming with the kids, but my tolerance level for staying in the water is somehow less than theirs. I mainly get in to cool off, and then sit under an umbrella. How do I occupy my many hours under said umbrella, you ask?

Books
I have been on a crazy reading frenzy since getting here! I started with a modern remake of Pride & Prejudice (a neighbor lent it to me in German while with my first guest family, but I could only understand the gist and no details, so I bought it online in English). It was only okay, but it made me really want to read P&P again. As it happened, Cristina had several books in English including possibly my favorite book ever, so I read it again and devoured it in a matter of days (keep in mind that I didn't exactly have all day every day to read, plus it takes longer to read older literature than modern - I find -). Among her collection was a series of Sherlock Holmes short stories, Wurthering Heights, Shakespeare's the Tempest, and "simplified" editions of Jane Eyre and Great Gatsby. I didn't realize the latter two were simplified, however, until I started reading Jane Eyre and was horrified at how poorly it was written (being perfectly aware of it's status as a work of "genius"). Upon making this discovery, I began searching in local bookstores to see what their English collections looked like. In the first store I found a legitimate edition of Eyre, although I have yet to find Northanger Abbey or the other two Austen books I have yet to read.

Anyway, I read Eyre, followed by Wurthering Heights (I had no idea that there was more than one Brontë - I was only aware of Charlotte). I then turned to a book I had purchased in Germany by Isabel Allende which was a ficticious novel based on the history of the only woman who helped found Chile in the 1500s. I'm now on the Sherlock Holmes short stories, and only have left from Cristina's stash a book of apparently amusing animal tales entitled Dog Stories and the Tempest. Oh, and I read the text of a play that I purchased after seeing it produced at the Royal National Theater in London (The Pitman Painters- google it, it's brilliant).

Boys
Four boys is a double edged sword- sometimes they play wonderfully together and can be content for hours at a time, and sometimes they try to take our their anger by throwing sand and fists. Dimitry has a very dominant personality, Marco is super chill, Neno doesn't need to dominate but also doesn't like being dominated, and Luca is just happy to follow. Sometimes the mix works, and sometimes it doesn't.

I sometimes find myself stressing too much because I can't communicate with them the way that I'd like to, and so the only things I'm able to communicate involve the word "no" (conveniently both English and Italian). Yesterday I hit a little bit of a wall, just because I felt like the boys (by which I mean Neno and Dimitry) were blatantly not listening to me in one of the few instances where they knew what I was saying. Cristina spoke with them, and when I started to cry a little she started talking to me. It wasn't that it was such a big deal, so much as I just felt frustrated. She pointed out something that I know to be true of myself, which is that I need to learn how to relax (she said "I'm not saying this for myself or for my children, but because I think it is important for you."). For as often as I tell the kids to chill, I seem to not be able to take my own advice. There are a lot of Julias (and Giulias) in their aquaintance, including Dimitry's sister, so whenever they say "Julia" I get paranoid and want to know what they're saying about me. I need to learn to not act like a 12 year old girl who just wants everybody to like her. Cristina also said that kids will base their opinion of people based on how people behave, not based on their own distortions.

I was nervous that things would be a little weird between Neno, Dimitry and myself afterwards... but after I showered (we had been at the beach) Neno asked me to play Wii with him, and after dinner I played cards with Dimitry and Marco. Today Dimitry even sat down next to me while I was playing Wii for a few minutes, and while watching the Spain-Germany match Neno rooted for Germany because I was rooting for them (I should stop rooting for teams- as soon as I do, they lose).

This afternoon was so hot that the kids were too tired to go to the beach (except Dimitry, who I think is never tired but didn't want to go alone). I could tell he was restless to do something, and it was so darn how that I needed to cool off... so I told the boys to put on their swim trunks and meet out back to play with water. They didn't need to be told twice and were outside spraying each other with hoses before I had even gotten my swim suit on. They really had a lot of fun, and enjoyed turning the slide into a (what appeared to be painful) water slide.

Beyond
First of all, we celebrated the 4th of July on Sunday! I made pancakes for breakfast, and the kids didn't like them!! Apparently they've never had anything for breakfast besides a bowl of hot chocolate and dunk biscotti cookies in it (seriously, that's what people eat for breakfast - adults drink a bowl of coffee instead of hot chocolate, and occassionally will take toast with jam and drop it into the bowl to eat it), and the change was unwelcome. Neno had a truly pained look on his face as he tried to graciously swallow the half of pancake he managed to consume. Marco, ever pleasant, ate a second one (although he covered it in sugar instead of whipped cream and berries). Dimitry and Luca didn't like it any better than Neno, but at least the parents thought it was good. For lunch we barbequed hamburgers and hot dogs, plus I made potato salad AND fresh lemonade from scratch! When they eat cooked meat (as opposed to cold cuts), including hamburgers, they generally just put the meat on a plate and cover it with olive oil and salt. This is actually quite tastey, but I wanted them to try hamburgers on a bun. None of them wanted to use ketchup, mayo, or mustard... but I made them put at least a tiny bit of ketchup and mayo on the buns and they didn't seem to react too poorly. Of course, they ate no potato salad (I asked Marco, poor thing, to just try one bite. He stuck a piece of potato in his mouth and made the most hysterical face of disgust. He wasn't trying to be dramatic - not his style - but was just genuinely grossed out by it) and were at first adverse to even trying the lemonade. I made them each try at least a little sip, and they all LOVED it! It went really quickly, and I plan to make it again. Sadly there were no fireworks, but there was an American flag. Plus, they got to meet my family on skype :)

Next- I head to Rome on Friday with Gianni and Cristina. They have a wedding to attend, and are bringing me to show me the city. They will return on Monday, and I will head to Florence for a few days before coming back to Villanova. At the end of July, I will fly up to Gothenburg, Sweden to visit some distant family on my Dad's side, and at some point will (hopefully) make a day trip to Nice and spend a weekend in Milan with the daughter of one of Cristina's cousins. Whew, time is flying.

At this point, I doubt I'll be able to make it to Venice, but that's just one more reason to COME BACK! I still need to see the Netherlands, Brussels, and Greece, plus I'd like to visit Norway and Poland, not to mention re-vist certain cities. I know that most people spend a lifetime saying that they'll travel, and if they manage to do so always pledge to go back... but I fully intend on not being like most people.

Last, but not least- I left the US exactly one year ago today. It's absolutely insane to think about how quick and yet how long this past year has been. I can feel the weight of the time, and how long I've been away from home... but I'm not done yet :)

Neno, Marco and Cristina on the 4th of July

A video from playing outside today with Neno, Luca, and Dimitry

Alles Liebe,
~Julia~

Two Week Checkpoint

Hey look, I've been in Italy for two weeks already! Where does the time go... certainly not towards blogging...

Things are going quite well. I have a really kind and welcoming host family- parents Gianni and Cristina, with kids Marco (11), Lorenzo (more often called Nenno, 9) and Luca (4). Cristina's parents live next door, but there are still another eight family members: three dogs and five cats. Russell is some sort of Finnish bear dog (related to the husky) and is huge, but really a teddy bear. Kira is quite old and can't hear, and Jack is a new Jack Russell (get why they named him Jack?? :) puppy who likes to lick toes and play soccer with us. Pirata is aplty named since he's a one-eyed kitty, Gaspare dislikes all the other pets, Simba likes to sleep on the fish tank, Romeo technically lives next door but comes here to eat, and Dodo is the oldest and looks kind of like a lion.

Marco definitely acts like the eldest, and is the most calm and sensible of the three. He likes card games, and I've taught him a couple - including Dutch Blitz! Yay! Nenno is pretty funny, and, with his broken english and third person tendencies, talks like Tarzan ("Nenno happy!" for instance). He has yet to learn to be a good loser, so when he plays cards he gets VERY frustrated if he doesn't win (or at least does poorly). Luca is the king of the pity party, and can burst into tears at the drop of a hat. He always wants to play Wii, but if he doesn't win he gets very upset and sometimes even runs from the room. I've told him (and had translated through his brothers and mom) that I won't play with him as long as he has a bad attitude, and it actually seems to help.

Although Gianni, Marco, and Nenno all know minimal amounts of English, it really isn't enough to actually talk to one another. Cristina has to act as my translator, although Gianni can understand a good amount of what I say. Luca, on the other hand, knows only the few words of English I've taught him in the last few weeks like "star" and "flower" (courtesy of Nintendo games).

These boys LOVE their video games, from Wii to DS, and I have to say it's a bit of a relief. After two families where the kids were only allowed five minutes at the end of each day to watch a cartoon, it's nice to be in a house where electronics are considered the anti-Christ. Playing Wii has actually acted as a really good medium for me to get to know the kids. They talk to me in Italian and I talk to them in English, but we're somehow able to communicate anyway. It really is impressive how much one can communicate without words.

Another effect communication tool? Body language via throwing pillows. Luca threw a pillow at me on the first day, and it developed into what is now known as "Battle of the Pillows" which basically involves the three boys hurling pillows at me, and me chucking them back. It was a good game to play with them right off the bat because it let them know that I was there to have fun with them.

Lets see, what else... well, I've been to the beach at least four times already. The sea isn't too cold to swim in, but it's taken a little getting used to with the salt water. I've gone twice alone with Nenno and Marco, and they like to jump in the waves (which were HUGE today) and then roll around in the sand.

Ah, one last thing - I got some sort of weird 48 hour bug last week which involved cold shivers, high fever, and a headache. Not exactly fun, but hopefully that will fill my sick quota for a while.

Well, I can't think of anything more to say... so I'm gonna go to bed.

Ciao!
~Julia~

I [heart] Austria

I didn't really give a proper recount of my first trip to Austria, and I'd like to have a whole post about my first few days in Italy (which I will get to before too long)... SO, in a bold new attempt to use some format other than bullet points, here is an over-sized recap of my time in Austria:

Ramsau
This was my second time visiting Gottlieb and Margarita at their beautiful house in the amazing mountains of the stunningly gorgeous country of Austria. They are both so kind, and such wonderful hosts. The first day or so, the weather was as I had left it in Germany - cold and rainy. However, when we went to Salzburg (on Sunday?) we were lucky enough to have warmth and sunshine! Before we got to the city itself, we went to a castle (Hellbrunner, I believe) just outside of Salzburg. Fun fact: the gazebo from "the Sound of Music" (think "Sixteen Going on Seventeen") was donated to the castle, and I was very disappointed that the doors were locked, preventing me from reenacting the scene. The archbishop (?) who built it (?) apparently had a sense of humor, because we took a tour of the trick fountains in the garden. At first I was a little freaked out at the concept of getting wet, but I ended up getting sprayed by water that came out of a (seemingly harmless) deer head on the wall... hey, if I was gonna walk away wet, the water may as well get me with humor :) We then enjoyed the gardens and a few rooms in the castle before moving on to the main event.

When I came to visit in October, we saw Salzburg in the evening when everything was closed, so it was really nice to be able to go to the same city a second time and see even more. We started out by walking through a beautiful (castle?) garden, and then mosied over to Mozart's birth house (where I took a picture of the outside. I love Mozart and everything, but I'm not gonna pay 8 Euros to see a room. I could spend that money in ice cream... or jewelry...) There were vendor booths set up along the river, so we (after lunch and ice cream) wandered up and down to peruse the selections. I'm kind of a sucker for pearls, and I may or may not have been too weak to walk past a certain necklace... oops. We then walked up the hill to the castle, which was... quite the walk. I've been to castles before, but not one like this. It was more of a town than a castle, with little shops and a public square. The view of the city was stunning. It started to rain a little, but the sun was still shining, making it a unique end to the evening.

The next day we went to visit Margarita's sister in her hometown of Eferding. Her brother also lives nearby, so all in all I met several family members. We went for a walk along the Danube (Donau, auf Deutsch) in the nearby town of Aschach. It was clear that Margarita was excited to be in her hometown, and it was fun to see a different small town culture.

Wien
I knew it was supposed to rain in Vienna, but when it first started to drizzle I figured I could handle it without an umbrella. WRONG. On day one it really started to pour, so I gave in to buying a souvenir umbrella. Even though it was raining, the city was still beautiful. I knew that I wanted to take advantage of all of Vienna's musical offerings, so my first stop was the Opera house. That night they were performing Salome, which was very exciting to me since I studied it in a music history class. They were sold out of almost all of their tickets, and were totally sold out for the performances the next two days (which were shows I didn't know)... the only tickets left were very expensive, but - with the encouragement of my father and, um, monetary sponsor - I decided that I only get to live once, so I went ahead and bought a ticket. I had never been to a (real) opera before, so it was cool to get to see one in such a historical setting. I didn't have anything too fancy to wear, but I did my best and thankfully didn't stand out as being under dressed. I had an amazing seat, but to be honest I was a little baffled about the acoustics. In opera, you don't mic the singers- they just belt it out and should be able to be heard over the orchestra. However, from where I was sitting there were many times where the orchestra was overpowering the singers. All the dialogue is sung, not spoken, but not every phrase is some stunning melody that hits the sweet spot of the singers' voices... so unless it was in the sweet spot, I had trouble hearing it. However, the experience was still worth the money, and I'm glad that I did it.

The opera finished around 10 or so in the evening, so I wanted to make the most of my time. I had heard about some jazz clubs in Vienna, and although Birdland was sadly closed down, I managed to find another little spot called Jazzland. It was an ideal jazz setting, in a tiny basement bar that you probably wouldn't see if you weren't looking for it. There was a piano/drum duo playing, and the setting was really intimate. There wasn't room in the main room, so I went to the side where I could see half of the stage, but to my luck the musicians came and sat next to me before playing their final set. We somehow picked up a conversation, and it was really cool to just talk about music. The music was great (I stupidly bought one of their overpriced CDs... it seemed rude to decline after hearing the price, and it didn't seem appropriate to try to haggle a few bucks off) and it was the perfect end to my day.

I spent the majority of day two at Schönbrunn castle, where the weather had taken a turn in the right direction (I actually got a little sunburned). The castle itself is big, but the gardens are HUUUGE. I spent maybe 40 minutes doing the castle tour, and another 3.5 to 4 hours in the gardens. There just aren't words to describe how big and beautiful it was... you'll have to google it. I spent what little time I had left in the day seeing churches in the downtown area and wandered through a couple parks and even made it to the city hall. There are two things I love about big cities in Germany/Austria/Europe (?): they have city centers where everything is centrally located, so you can see a lot without going too far- you don't even really need to use the subway- and they all seem to have beautiful oasis gardens in the middle of the metropolis hubbub. Very cool.

I ended the evening with a small ensemble concert performed in a location where Mozart himself performed (I think when he was six or something). I'm pretty sure it was a tourist trap, in the sense that it wasn't the philharmonic or any recognized ensemble. There were five musicians (a string quartet with piano) who performed a two part program- first of some of Mozart's greatest hits, then of J. Strauss' greatest hits. They even had a singer for two arias and two ballet dances for a few pieces. The Americans behind me were wildly impressed, and it was difficult to lay dormant as they flaunted their lack of knowledge about Mozart or music in general... so I struck up a conversation with them during intermission. I was very friendly, and approached them in a way of also being awestruck and sharing "fun facts" with them. Thankfully, one husband (who apparently also studied music at one time in his life?) pointed out to his wife that Mozart (which she pronounced "Moe's art"... *shudder*) did not, in fact, compose Fur Elise (that one almost got me). Anyway, the musicians were definitely talented, but I think were clearly students studying music who were trying to make a buck. That's not a bad thing at all, but I wish I had gone to the Philharmonic (I got suckered into this concert because the guy told me that they performed in costumes - which weren't very impressive at all - and "Papagena, Papageno" was on the list and I wanted to see it performed in parrot costumes [the "Moe's art" American got very excited when I told her about it because she has two parrots... sigh]. It was not performed that evening). I then went to try out what was supposedly Vienna's number one jazz club (called Porgy & Bess, so I had high hopes). However, it was some trendy place with people trying to be posh. The band that was playing wasn't even jazz (apparently they are a "Jazz and Music" club) so I went home.

There was a festival going on in the city on my last day - I'm not exactly sure why - and there were lots of booths set up for various reasons. My feet were KILLING ME by then, so it was nice to sit and watch a *free* 45 minute outdoor concert. It was an octet with two clarinets, oboes, bassoons, and french horns. They also appeared to be a student ensemble, but were once again quite talented. I spent a good part of the day sitting (seriously, after Hamburg, Berlin, Copenhagen, Ramsau, and Salzburg before even getting to Vienna, my feet were DONE) so I went to the train station a little early and waited to catch my overnight train there.

SO- from here on out, it's all about Italy. No more looking back in the past or over analyzing what went right or wrong... so with that in mind, I'll see you in the future (not in the pasture).

Alles liebe,
~Julia~

My hostel experiences have been really good on this trip (save one mediocre). In hostels I've met people from Argentina, Singapore, and Iran... which is pretty cool! The Iranian woman was tiny, and so spunky- she went tango dancing every night :) Although we didn't go out together in Vienna, we ate breakfast together and talked about what we did during the previous day - it was nice to have a hostel friend.