L'heure est à la fête!

Bonjour mes amis! Oui, je parle francais. Or.... I wish I could ;). But it's improving!

Anyway, it's been a while since I have posted. And with good reason - I have been doing NOTHING exciting since my last post! In Bad Aussee, I've still just been sitting around, and I was so bored, that I watched the MTV Video Music Awards. If you know me, I don't really do that. Soo... yeah. One day, though, my landlords invited me to the lake, Grundlsee, with them. It was a nice day, and we walked around the lake a little. But now, I'm in the middle of my trip around Germany/Switzerland/Austria, so I have some updates!

As reported, I was supposed to leave Friday to go to Bad Neustadt, but as it turned out, Kerstin's family couldn't accomodate me that weekend, so I had to change my travel plans a bit. But it ended up working out really well, because when I thought about it, I didn't want to take the train all the way up to Bad Neustadt. And! On Monday night, as I was walking in my door, there was a woman walking in in front of me and she goes, "Are you Alaina?" And I'm like "....yeah..." "Oh, I'm Eva Speilmann!" - she is my main English teacher at the school! She had to give an interview or something for the TV station based in my apartment building, and then she knocked on my door so we could get to know each other. She spoke English to me, which set my nerves a bit at ease. She is very nice and very excited/exciting, and reassured me that the students are really nice and I have nothing to worry about! It was fun to talk to her. Anyway...so, I left Tuesday for Innsbruck for 2 days, 2 nights.

Innsbruck is a very nice city, but actually not that big. There are Alps all around the city, which is probably the best part. I met a girl from Berlin, which was cool. We hung out the first night I was there and went to an Irish pub (always a good time!) and then hung out in the park a little the next day before she left. We exchanged numbers and emails and she invited me to Berlin, and I her to Bad Aussee. So, I guess she's my first, new, German friend haha. And probably sometime in November, I'll go to Berlin!

The day she left, Wednesday, I spent walking around the city. There is not too much to see in Innsbruck but the Altstadt is very pretty cobbled streets. I went into a pretty church and walked along the river. Then I bought dinner and read in the park. While I was buying a beer at the grocery store, a German asked me if there was any specialty beer from Innsbruck. Of course, I didn't know the answer. And it turns out this dude was staying in the same hostel as me...weird.

So, I went back to the hostel around 8 pm and was checking my email in the common room. All of a sudden, an old German guy starts talking to me. He's got a bunch of bags and a heavy accent and at first I'm just smiling and kind of laughing, not really talking to him since I was checking my email. He changed the channel on the TV to The Gladiator (in German) and then starts commenting on what happens in the film to me, which is something I find annoying. Then, he feels the need to start speaking with some Japanese people who don't understand German and hardly English. The old German guy opens his bags, and what is in there? But a bunch of seemingly worthless historical collectibles, such as newspaper cuttings, postcards, stamps, coins, pictures, etc. He starts trying to talk to the Japanese people about this and I, of course, become the translator. Meanwhile, The Gladiator is still on, I'm trying to watch, and he's still commenting on everything. Cool. Eventually, the Japanese people escape and I am left to watch the movie in peace. (The Gladiator is a very good, very sad movie - I cried!) Anyway, the old guy had fallen asleep, so I wake him up before I leave, and then he somehow gets me to sit and listen to him talk about his artifacts for a good hour. He actually gave me a few coins, which I thought was very nice and friendly of him, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with them. Then, he wanted to send me stuff about Bad Aussee, so I gave him my address and he gave me his and I'm supposed to send him a postcard. In the end, he was a very nice old man and I was happy I sat and talked to him but it was just a little tiring....

Anyway, the next day I woke early and made my way to the train station to go to Freiburg!!! The ticket ended up being cheaper than I thought it would be, which was a relief. I took the train to Munich and then I was supposed to take a train to Karlsruhe but the train to Munich was late, so I took a train to Mannheim, then to Freiburg. And I was on ICE trains the whole way, which was lovely! I got to Freiburg around 6 pm and tried calling Maude, but apparently she had given me her house phone number, so that didn't work too well haha. I decided, then, to just show up at the Guesthouse because I didn't have anyone else's number. As chance would have it, I ran into Mary Catherine (friend from high school and college, who is now at Goethe) on the way to the Guesthouse! She is now living in Sarah's old room, which is pretty funny. We went straight to Nassim's room and everyone was there, just like normal! I gave everyone a big hug, even Alex who I think actually hates me, and I was immediately poured a drink! Apparently, everyone had been partying all day, so I had to play catch-up. It was so nice to see everyone and hang out just like normal! :)

Eventually, Maude and Marilyne got there and we went to get some pizza. Then we all got ready to go out and Maude, Marilyne, Pac-Man and I went to Shooter's before Kagan (everyone else went straight to Kagan). We stayed until 3:30 am and then went back to Nassim's room...just like usual :). Maude, Marilyne, Ice, Nassim and I all slept in Nassim's room and it was hot and crowded, but fun. Ice said he had to take the train back to Heidelberg at 5 am, and it was 4:30 am when he said this, just as we were going to sleep. He said "oh shit!" and then decided to go to the train station right then. Instead, he decided to sleep for a half hour and when I woke up 3 hours later, he was still there haha.

Marilyne woke up and was feeling sick, so she went to sit on the balcony. Eventually, I went to join her because I just couldn't sleep anymore. When we try to communicate, it's really funny because she doesn't speak English and hardly German and I not-even-hardly speak French, so yeah. Then Mary Catherine got up and let me use her shower. Maude and I then decided to have Schnitzel for breakfast (!!!) at about noon. We went out and it was so awesome to be in Freiburg. Really, I love that city. I didn't realize how much until being away from it for a while. It felt so good to just walk around with Maude as we did all summer. Sooo nice!

Marilyne met up with us and we did a little shopping. We started to head back to the Guesthouse around 2:30 and luckily saw Nassim, Ice, Mary Catherine and some new girl Stephanie, who were all heading out to lunch. We said bye to them and all made promises to meet up in Vienna or Heidelberg or Freiburg and then we parted ways. Us girls packed up and then headed for Neuchatel and la "Fête des Vendanges" (after Alex tried to convince us to stay for the weekend haha). La Fête des Vendanges is the festival of the harvest and, apparently, the biggest/best party in Neuchatel!

The drive was easy/nice and it was fun to drive yet again in Europe. When we arrived, Maude's mother made some delicious spaghetti and we ate a lot before going out drinking. It was planned that I would sleep at Marilyne's apartment on her spare couch, so I brought a bag over there, after Maude and I bought some drinks at "la gare" (Hauptbonhof --> train station). The city was crazy alive because of the festival....music everywhere, people everywhere, people drinking everywhere...it was like a fantasy world. They have a lot of parades and people shoot confetti out of big air guns so the ground and the people were covered with paper. It was insane and was a really cool effect at night, it looked like snow on the ground. I got to see one of the parades and all of the marching bands were wearing crazy masks and I thought about what Ferden would have said if we wanted to wear masks while marching and I laughed. There were even families out, with little kids, and all the kids had bags of confetti and would throw handfuls at people walking by.

Maude and I sat by the lake for a little bit and watched drunk people then we headed to this one bar, Fun I think it was called, and we met up with all of her friends that I know. Maude's brother was really quite drunk and could barely stand, so it was kind of funny....but also annoying haha. He left at some point and then Maude decided it would be better for me to sleep at her house instead of Marilyne's so we went to Marilyne's to get my bag and then we left with the bus. Suddenly, Maude cried out "Shit!" and pushed the button to stop the bus as she explained that he brother was passed out on the sidewalk. So we get out, haul his ass up, and he runs away from us, up the hill, home to his house. We get home, change and pass out in Maude's teeny-tiny bed.

The next morning, we gave her brother a lot of shit but he laughed it off and said he didn't remember anything. His mom said, "So now you have a great impression of my son" but in French and Maude translated. There was another parade on Saturday, so Maude and I got ready to go. It was totally different during the day, with more families and little kids and less really drunk people. We saw the parade and I got to see Maude's old marching band, which her little brother is now in. So cool!! There was still confetti everywhere and the sun was shining! Maude and I met up with Marilyne and we got some food (I ate duck for the first time!) and some drinks and sat by the lake, which we could see now because it was daylight. It was a really nice day, and we went back to Maude's house so I could pack.

At 7, Maude and Felix drove me to the train station and I got some food for my 12 hour jounrey to Graz, Austria. I very nearly left my glasses at Maude's house, but her father drove them to the train station for me. I found my track, said my goodbyes and got on the train to Zuerich. It was a quick, stressfree ride. I ate my sandwich in the Zuerich train station (it was tuna and didn't want to eat it on the train near anyone because I'm nice) and then the train pulled up 20 minutes early and I got on and got settled. I shared a compartment with a Swiss-German grandmother and daughter and another man got on in a different city. I actually slept a little but sleeping on a train is really weird. The train switched travel directions a few times, so I was sometimes forced to roll into the wall. The pillow was really crappy, but I managed to get a couple of hours.

I arrived in Graz at 7:40 am and it was actually a pretty nice, crisp morning so I decided to walk to the hostel instead of wait for the bus. My original plan was to check-in and sleep for a couple of more hours, but I can't get my room until 2 pm, which was depressing. I decided to eat their breakfast, which was good, and thank God they have free-wireless internet, so that is how I'm spending some time right now.

So, I've arrived in Graz one day early for my orientation. There are three (I think) other people already here at the hostel, too, so I have to go into the city and buy some credits for my phone so that I can contact them. This hostel is actually really nice and one of the livliest I've ever stayed in - people are everywhere, which is a good feeling.

Anyway, in general, I'm really happy with my traveling. It felt so so so good to get back to Freiburg and see everyone. It was the same as it was all summer and it made me really happy. Everyone was happy to see everyone and we had a great time together. Plus, the city is just perfect - not too big, not too small, can walk everywhere, has everything you need, etc. It's like Ann Arbor, but German. So, a group of friends want to visit me in Austria, in Vienna, and that would be so fun! Ice, who is studying in Heidelberg, invited me (and everyone else) to go to Heidelberg, and I definitely will next time I'm in Germany (probably November). Then, I actually want to make it to Bad Neustadt, Freiburg, Heidelberg and Duesseldorf, because I now know someone there.

Neuchatel was so great, too! I had such a wonderful time at the festival. It was such a different experience than anything I've ever done in the US, and it's something that Maude has done every year since she was born! I wish I could have stayed for last night, too, but oh well!

So now I have today to explore Graz a little and then tomorrow begins my week-long orientation. I'm excited to meet the other people in my program and I know we'll have a fun week here in the 2nd biggest Austrian city :). Then early Friday, I go back to Bad Aussee to prepare for Monday, my first day!!!! I'm a little nervous, but it shouldn't be bad.

Anyway, not much else to say, except that I could really go for a nap........but time to explore a little, I guess. Hope all is well with everyone! Miss you all!!!
Love, Cheers,
Alaina

And you were the sunshine heading my frontline

Hello! How's it going? Here in Bad Aussee, it's just going. Lately, I have been doing absolutely nothing and while I had been looking forward to this downtime, it's starting to get really boring. I spend my days walking around the city (which isn't too big, so that doesn't last too long...), grocery shopping (when needed), watching a lot of really crappy American TV dubbed in German and reading. I have, however, started running again, which is really nice. I'm not pushing myself too much with it, since I haven't run in a very long time, but I'm trying to make a good, healthy habit :).

I also haven't been drinking much caffeine lately, so last week when I had a glass of Coke Light(Europe's Diet Coke) at 10 pm, I was up until almost 5 am, which was kind of funny.

Last Saturday (aka, yesterday), I had wanted to go to to Salzburg for the day. When I checked the train schedule Friday night, it wouldn't load, so to be safe, I set my alarm for 8 am to get up on time. However, my alarm didn't wake me up (I suspect it went off and I turned it off without waking up, because it was set) and I woke up at 9:30. I checked the train schedule and the next train was leaving at 10:17 am and I told myself I could make it. I got ready really fast, and as I was walking out the door, I checked my cell phone: 10:05 am. And I still had to go to the bank. I decided I couldn't make it in time and the next train wouldn't get me there until 3 pm, so I ditched that plan and went into the city.

Saturday morning is apparently a big shopping time for the locals, as everything was alive and crowded. I found an even better grocery store than before, and since I love grocery shopping, I enjoyed that :) haha.

But, tomorrow is Monday. Friday, I am leaving little Bad Aussee for a whirlwind traveling trip. I'll be first going to Munich, spending the day there, and perhaps doing a little shopping then off to Bad Neustadt for the weekend! I'll be there until about Monday afternoon, when I'm going to go somewhere? and spend Tuesday and Wednesday. Either late Wednesday night or early Thursday, I'll be going to Freiburg and spend the evening, probably at Kagan haha, and then Friday, I'm driving with Sarah and Maude to Neuchatel for this big wine festival! I'm pretty excited. From there, I'm going straight to Graz for my week-long orientation! After that, I have a weekend to re-cooperate and prepare for my first day- Monday, October 5th! I'm getting a little nervous so.... we'll see how it goes!

Anyway, I've been doing a little research into volunteering with the Red Cross while I'm here. I won't be starting that up until at least mid-October/early-November, just so that I can give myself some time to adjust to working and to get a little more comfortable with the language/dialect here.

Additionally, my sleeping pattern is getting really screwed up. I usually go to bed around 1/1:30 am and sleep until 11 am/12 pm. This is bad considering I will be working in a school very soon. While I don't know my schedule yet, I am sure I'll be starting around 8/9 am. I was thinking about waking up early everyday this week just to get used to it, but then I realized I had absolutely nothing to do and making the days longer would be somewhat painful. I guess I'll just have to jump right in when school starts...haha.

OK....well that's all from my little life. More than ever, I wish I was in Ann Arbor, especially after this weekend (go blue!!!!). I'm not homesick (you know, that horrible, horrible feeling in your stomach?) but I just wish I was in the States, at home or in Ann Arbor. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I'm coming home for Christmas and I'm getting really excited already. And, by the time I start school, it'll only be 3 months until I'm flying home! Which is a pretty exciting thought. I'm already making plans with friends! And the last two weeks before October will go fast, as I'll be traveling, meeting new people, and having fun.

But, hmm, that's all. Hope all is well with all of my lovely readers! Until next time...
Love,
Cheers,
Alaina

7/4 Shoreline

Yes, it's fall time. School started yesterday in Ann Arbor, and I'm feeling a little nostalgic...even though it's only been exactly 1 year since I was in the same position everyone else is in. It's kind of weird not being there when I know everyone else is there, but I am really glad that I'm not in class- couldn't handle any more of that.

Anyway, here are some things I miss:

• The time in between early Saturday football games and dinner time/going out again time. It was a good time to take a nap, borderline sober up or just keeping drinking right on through.
• I do miss that first day back to class feeling. You know what I'm talking about? The exictement, the prospect of learning something life changing, looking forward to boardening one's mind, hoping to change a little in the next semester...
• I miss brand new textbooks and how they smell. But I definitely don't miss buying them and therefore I am a couple dollas richer than those returning students.
• I miss the campus, and the leaves that will soon change and fall on the ground. I miss the smell of fall. Although I'm sure fall will be similar here, there is just something about Ann Arbor and the campus that makes it better.
• I miss the new fall shows that are starting on TV. And even though I don't watch much TV, I still miss that I could. I can't even watch the TV shows online in Europe! WTF! I have to download whatever from iTunes, which may get expensive and take a lot of time... grr.
• I miss all my friends and just sitting around bullshitting with some beers for hours. Most likely in 1225.
• I miss my old apartment and my cool bed on the floor.
• I really miss my pillows. My pillows here are subpar.
• I have always missed Mexican food but it's just getting worse as time goes on. I just want a damn Big Ten Burrito burrito or nachoes! OMG! Is that too much to ask?!
• I miss Charley's Fishbowls- Purple Rain specifically. mmm
• I miss Dance Marathon! Another year with those people would have been great...
• And I miss Hilary and Emily and Amy so so so much!

So that's that.

Around here, I really haven't done much for the past couple of days. I got internet (I posted some pictures!) and have just been keep a low-profile. I walked around the city a little bit and I have some errands to run (sending those DAMN postcards...) but mostly I've just been resting and sitting around my apartment trying to catch a good dubbed American TV show or movie on the Austrian channels. So far, along the lines of "good" I have seen: Bring it On (haha!), The Professional, Crash, random episodes of House and Law and Order: CI, Catch and Release...blah blah blah. It's helping my German understanding :). I finished my book, Wicked, which, by the end, I didn't like much anymore. The beginning was really good, but once I hit the halfway point it really dragged on and I didn't like it. But I finished it.

I started listening to music again. I didn't realize until my mom mentioned it that I didn't listen to music anymore. I guess I just kind of stopped for the last few months and didn't get back into it, which it is a little weird to think I just stopped listening to music. Like, it's not something you really need to DO.... Hmm. But I put on Broken Social Scene this morning and from just the opening two seconds of their self titled album, instantly I fell in love all over again. I literally stopped what I was doing, listened intently and swooned. So that was good.

So yeah. Today I'm going to try and figure out if there is a gym in the area (I want a treadmill!) and how to get to the nearby Grundlsee via bus. It's been quite sunny and hot around here, so I'd like to go swimming again sometime soon. I'm going to Bad Neustadt sometime coming up, but I'm not sure when because I want to be able to just leave, go to NES, Freiburg and Oktoberfest then straight to Graz for my orientation. So it'll take some good planning haha.

Anyway, that's all for now! Until next time...
Love,
Cheers,
Alaina

Welcome to the Good Life

Grüß Gott!(<-- how they greet in Austria.) Sorry it's been forever and a half since I've written... things have been a little crazy since my last post, and I'll try and recount it all.... *WARNING: this post is very long!!!*

The last week before my mom came to Germany was pretty uneventful. I don't remember anything specific that I did, but I know I went to class everday expect for Friday (when my mom came!) and probably went out a few times. I also went early to the Mediothek quite a bit to study some German and Maude said that I spoke only German all week, which is kind of funny. It was getting really close to the end, so we were all hanging out a bit and just enjoying each other.

So... my mom came on Friday the 21st! I met her at the train station around 1 and definitely skipped class. I brought her to my room, we drank a beer, then we went around the city. Of course, the first day, we had Schnitzel! Mmmmm, so good! The next day, Saturday, we took the train to Basel and went to the Van Gogh exhibit at the Kunst Museum Basel, and it was really, really nice. We walked around the city a little bit, got some food and then headed back to Freiburg. That night, we went out to Thai food (delicious!) and had a nice evening. I left her at the dorm for the night and went out with a group of people...probably to Agar, but I can't remember... Sunday, we were going to go to Baden-Baden but decided against it and went out to breakfast at Uni Cafe. Then, we made our way to the Seepark! So nice, as always! My mom loved it, I didn't get burned and there were not too many naked people- perfect day! We ended the day with half-a-chicken and it was a perfect Sunday.

The last week in Freiburg was nice. I spent about half the time with my mom and half the time we friends. Monday night, I think it was, Sarah, Maude, Pac-man and I went FINALLY to Augustinerplatz to sit and drink a beer. It was a really chill time and I'm glad that I did it before leaving Freiburg! Tuesday night Maude and I went to Stammtisch, only to immediately turn around and leave because it was so packed and hot. We went to Cafe Brazil and had a drink and just chatted and then called it an early night. My mom and I made breakfast everyday but Wednesday, we met Maude in the city for breakfast at Aspekt. Oh my gosh- so delicious! It was the biggest breakfast I had ever seen and so yummy haha. Then, we went into the city to purchase me some new shoes, because my Converses are pretty dead. I got some nice Pumas, but ended up getting them too small, so I had to exchange them the next day (I LOVE THEM!!). Anyway, Wednesday night, Maude, Pac-man and I went to Shooters and had a few drinks and chilled. Some German dudes sat by us and chatted Maude and I up, and we made them guess where I am from. For some reason, they first guessed Luxembourg because of my accent haha. Then, they decided Russia, or some Eastern European country. The US was the last possible country they could guess, and finally they did haha. Sometime during this week, I Skyped with Hilary and Amy it was a lot of fun!!! I miss you ladies so much and hope you're having a good welcome week!! xoxo

Thursday was the last day of class. We watched a movie, "M", which was boring but then my class went to a cafe together for cake and coffee, and it was really nice. Thursday night was a really good night. Fernando, Sabri, Nassim, Aturo, Sarah, Maude, Francesca, Pac-man and I all went out to eat at Karma (which was not that good...) and then Fernando, Pac, Aturo, Maude, Sarah and I went to Shooters and had about 4 Schüttler shots each haha. The "Schüttler" is when you have lemon juice and blue curacao (I think) in two different shot glasses, take them together, and swish them around in your mouth (German verb for this is "schütteln", hence the name) and then swallow. So fun!! After that, we all tried to get into Kagan, but since only the girls were on the guest list (thanks to Sarah!), the dudes couldn't get in and they went home. It was some kind of special night at Kagan, with a singer, so it was super packed! But it was a really fun night- I enjoyed dancing with my girls :) and some dude took pictures of us and they are on some party website now- funny!!

The next day, I had to pack up all the remaining stuff and head out nice and early..... My mom and I were in a mad rush all morning packing, checking out and trying to figure out how to pick up our rental car. Somehow, we managed it all and I even sent my transcripts from Goethe. Finally, by about 12 noon, we were on our way to Bad Aussee! I navaigated us all the way, and my mom drove superbly. The landscape was so cool, especially when we got into Austria (ALPS!!) and it was a really nice and easy ride. ...Except that it was 8 hours long haha. We ended up about 1.5 hours late to meet my landlord, but that's alright since she was still waiting for us.

And- wow- let me tell you: my city is gorgeous! There are the "lower" Alps all around the city and trees and low hanging clouds and lakes and everything is amazing. The town is quiant, but not too small, and I think I will really enjoy it. Also, my apartment couldn't be more perfect! I had a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom- all separate. The bedroom is small, but it has a big bed and a window facing on the most crowded street in BA haha. But it's OK. There is a dishwasher in the kitchen and a clothes washer RIGHT in the bathroom so it's pretty neat. And- the very best part- is that I have a balcony!!!!!!! It's actually like a little deck built on the roof of my landlord's place, but it's outside, has a view and a chair and I couldn't ask for more! My mom helped clean and unpack and decorate a bit so now it actually feels like home!

Anyway, so we stayed in BA (that's what all the license plates say- BA! haha) for approximately 12 hours and then made our way to Vienna on Saturday morning. We didn't have any directions, just an atlas and a small city map in a guidebook, but we found our way all the way to the hotel...somehow...without getting lost! Vienna was a great city. We walked around, met mom's friend Sarah, who married an Austrian and was visiting in-laws at the time, and had a pretty chill time. We went to the big castle, Schönnbrunn, and did a neat little tour! Let me tell you, the Hapsburgs were badasses and liked to show it. I also happened to buy this really cheesy, kitschy display plate with Franz Joseph and his wife Sisi on it hahah- very funny actually. We went up to the hunting lodge and had a beer and then walked back down again, very enjoyable! On Sunday night, we went to a concert of Strauss and Mozart's music and it was so much fun! I didn't think it would be, but I really liked it. The only problem was, we couldn't find the stupid place at first and we were running around the city like idiots, but we finally found it haha. In Vienna, we ate Wiener Schnitzel twice, and it was good. We also somehow managed to get free breakfast both days, even though it should have been €60 all-together haha... ask my mother for the details.

Anyway, on Monday morning, we made our way back to Salzburg. We only stayed there for about 18 hours, but it was well worth it. We went to "Die Weisse" restaurant and got Hungarian goulash, which is somehow actually an Austrian dish and it was very good. Then we crossed the river into the downtown area and just explored, which was very nice! We went back to the hotel and I watched 10 Things I Hate About You in German and it was funny.

We left early-ish on Tuesday and took our time exploring on the drive back to Bad Aussee. We stopped at Dachstein (a mountain peak) and took a cable car up and got some good pictures, then we drove through Halstatt and admired the lake. We got back to BA a little early, which was good. We went grocery shopping and tried to find internet (which doesn't exist in BA, apparently) and then worked on setting up my apartment. We watched House in German, an episode which my mom had previously seen, so she knew what was going on. Wednesday, we wanted to explore the area a little more, so we drove around and went to Altaussee, which is a pretty nice lake, but my mom wasn't too impressed. Then, we went back to BA, tried again to find internet, but instead found the Kurpark and the Mercedes Benz bridge! This park is so beautiful and the bridge is neat! It symbolizes the geographic middle point of Austria and of Europe, but it's kind of strange to have a Mercedes Benz symbol shaped bridge in the middle of such a tiny town haha. Anyway, then we went back to my apartment and watched the Grey's Anatomy season finale in German and even though I didn't understand half of it I still cried and my mom thought it was great even though she understood nothing haha.

Thursday was a really nice day, as we actually made it to a nice lake- Grundlsee. According to my mom, not a prettier lake exists in the world (but I'm not sure, the jury is still out on that one haha). It was really nice, though, and not crowded at all! The water was freezing, but we still swam a little, and it was really clear. The weather was perfect! Then, we went back to my place, had dinner and packed up for Munich the next day!

Friday morning, we drove to Munich! I love this city. We had a difficult time finding the hotel and the car return place, but we ending up with no problems- somehow! Then, the first tourist-y thing we did, of course, was go to the Hofbräuhaus. Yum! I finally saw the sign: "Durst ist schlimmer als Heimweh" (thurst is worse than homesickness) and I think I am going to adopt it as my motto, since I'm already a little homesick and apprehensive for this year. Anyway, we explored the city a little, traveled around via the U-Bahn and had a nice time. We got some really delicious mussels, which made my mom really happy.

We had to wake up at 3:15 am because my mom left the hotel at 4 am. I was very sad. I slept for another couple of hours and it was weird being in the hotel alone! But I woke up and had a really nice breakfast and then made my way back to the internet cafe and I'm about to get ready to go back to Bad Aussee via train.

Phew. So that has been the last three weeks. It was weird leaving Freiburg. I thought I would feel more sad or something, but really it was just like anything else. My two best friends from the place, Maude and Sarah, both live in Switzerland and already are planning to come visit, so that's not too bad. I also already have plans to go back to Freiburg at the end of September, so I won't miss the city too much. I guess it's just another chapter in my life- I took a lot of pictures, have a lot of memories, learned a lot, met a lot of people- but it had to end. Some people I'll stay friends with, some I won't. That's just how it goes. I just can't believe how fast the 3 months went by! I think my German improved a little bit, but not a whole lot. However, I did pass C1 (the highest level) with a "Sehr Gut" (very good) so I should be proud. I know I'll look back on this summer with really fond memories, so I'm glad it happened and I wouldn't change anything.

Being in Austria is weird. I have only been in the country for a week all-together, but when I came to Munich for the last 24 hours, it was obvious how much I missed Germany and how different the two countries actually are. Mostly, I'm referring to language. When Austrians speak, their dialect is so strong, I can barely understand anything. I heard a bunch of young kids speaking, and I was shocked. For example, if they want to say "What is that?" --> German: "Was ist das?" --> Austrian dialect: "Wos ist dos?" Omg! So their vowels sound funny and it'll take a little getting used to, but it'll be hilarious to "impress" my other German-speaking friends with my Austrian dialect afterwards haha. The small town is a little shocking. For one thing, I don't have internet in yet in my apartment. This would be OK in any other city, as bigger cities have internet cafes or T-Mobile hot spots, but Bad Aussee doesn't. So, I have to go about getting internet installed in my apartment...so that should be fun. Oooh, but I do have a cell phone... ask my mom or dad for the number, because I forget it right now.... And, in my city, every other store is a traditional German clothing store- i.e. Lederhosen and Dirndls (I think I spelled that wrong). Plus, I've actually seen people around town dressed in such clothes! Hilarious, precious, and a little weird, too.

I'm also a little apprehensive about living totally alone. Once I get in the groove of things and learn how things go in the city it shouldn't be too bad. The whole thing will take some getting used to, but I'm up for the challenge. :)

Anyway, like I said, I'm going to Freiburg at the end of September and hopefully I'll be going to Bad Neustadt or Würzburg to visit Kerstin. I also really want to go to Oktoberfest, but I have no plans yet...so we'll see.

Blah, OK, this post is long enough. Congrats to anyone who read it all the way through! Hopefully it won't be too long until I post again (meaning, too long until I get internet in my apartment).

Until next time! Love! Cheers!
Grüzi,
Alaina