Addendum
As a postscript to my final blog entry, here is a map of all the countries I visited this year (thanks to Jen for the link.) It felt like a lot at the time, but now I see that when viewed in the context of the whole world, it is actually a paltry amount. I apparently still have a lot of work to do :-)
U.S.A.
United Kingdom
Netherlands
France
Germany
Italy
Vatican City
Austria
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Hungary
Tunisia
A Final Wrap Up
It really is amazing how quickly time passes when there is so much to do. I can't believe it's been a year since I last wrote in this blog. I don't even know if anyone still reads it (personally, I would have given up a long time ago if I were a reader), but I promised my mother that I'd write one last entry as a wrap-up to my year in Austria. Fair enough. So here it is.
Well it has been just over a year since I flew in to the Atlanta airport from Edinburgh. In the past year I’ve moved to Boston, completed half of my Master’s program, and gotten interested in the topic of reparations for human rights abuses (which I am writing my thesis on now). It has been a very busy year, and a good one, and I am glad that I decided to go back to school after my year abroad.
Living as an American overseas did have its challenging moments. While it certainly wasn't dangerous to be an American in Vienna, I did face my fair share of prejudices. These prejudices most often came from my students, and while hearing such comments as "all Americans love George Bush and want to kill all Iraqis" was beyond infuriating, I just tried to impress upon people the stupidity of making such broad generalizations about a country as large and diverse as the United States (or even about small and homogenous countries, such as Austria.) I hope that I was able to change my students' negative impressions about the U.S., or at least give them something to think about. It was definitely eye-opening to live outside the U.S., and it impressed upon me even more just how important it is for Americans to have an international perspective. So, I guess in the end, facing prejudice ended up being a good thing :-)
But I have to say, I really do miss living in Vienna. I love the lifestyle there – everything from the public transportation to the fantastic cafés to even having shops and stores closed on Sundays (which, admittedly, took some getting used to at the outset.) And I also admit that my year in Vienna was certainly charmed – my job wasn’t strenuous and neither were my studies, so perhaps I did get to enjoy life a little more than the average Viennese, but I think the average Viennese enjoy life a little more than the average American, so it works out in my favor either way (I once read that in Russia, rather than saying “work like a dog,” the phrase is “work like an American.”)
I also was very lucky to have met some of the most intelligent and interesting people that I’ve ever known while living in Vienna. I guess the other Fulbrighters were almost a built-in group of friends, but these are people that I would have sought out even if they weren’t so convenient. They are all brilliant and fascinating with a wide array of interests, but they also know how to just kick back and have fun. While I loved the city I was living in, it was made so much better by the people I was with while living there. I missed those people this year. I missed being able to hop on a streetcar to go visit Alexis, or being able to make last minute plans with Kim for shopping and coffee.
I even miss my work and my students. It took me a few months to really get comfortable in my role as a teaching assistant, but by January I really enjoyed being at the front of the classroom. I enjoyed preparing lessons for a wide variety of age groups, and I enjoyed hanging out with my colleagues. Actually, I am very grateful for the teaching experience I gained in Vienna, as this past year I have put it to some use as a teaching assistant for an undergrad level Comparative Politics class. It was nice to start that job with the sense that I at least sort of knew what I was doing in a classroom!
In the end, accepting the Fulbright and moving to Vienna for a year is probably the best thing I’ve ever done. I fulfilled one of my lifelong goals of living in Vienna, and I would go back in a heartbeat. First, though, I have much to do stateside. Bis dann und wiederschaun. ☺
Peace y'all,
Carly
Last Days in Vienna
After Emily left for Germany I only had about eight days left before moving back to the States for good, and I wanted to make those eight days spectacular ☺ Coincidentally, around that time the weather turned hot and sunny – the perfect combination for lots of outdoor activities and fun-ness.We spent a lot of time outside in the sun; we would sit in the Stadtpark for hours on end, or we would rent ViennaBikes for one Euro and ride all over the city (not as easy as it sounds – have you ever tried to ride up a steep hill on a one-speed?) We also realized that, free of snow, my roof-terrace was an excellent place to while away an afternoon, and we spent time up there talking and painting toenails and drinking beer. I love lazy summer days!I also partook in some interesting activities, however. Kelly, who had a very productive year, worked part-time at the Naturhistorisches Museum analyzing a collection of bones. The work sounds morbid, but it’s actually really cool – this collection of bones is probably around one thousand years old, and she analyzed each skeleton to see if there are any traces/evidence of how they died. She actually made some startling and important discoveries involving a rare illness that I know nothing about, and we are very proud of her ☺ Anyway, on Friday, June 16, she invited us to the Museum to go “behind-the-scenes,” per se, and see where she worked and what she was doing. Let me tell you, I’ve never seen more skulls in one place in my life!! The whole thing was very impressive, and I’m so glad I had a chance to see her in action.After looking at the skulls, she took us up to the roof of the Museum, from which you can see the entire city. It isn’t open to the public, and it was a lot of fun to run around and see the views from up there. We got some great photos, actually, and we were able to see some of the preparations they were making at the Hofburg (across the street) for George W. Bush’s upcoming visit to the city.Later that evening was Kelly’s birthday party, which she held at a Heuriger. All the girls decided to get all snazzed up, so we looked very cute for our evening out ☺ We all sat around a big table outside and snacked, drank local wine, and chatted. I love Austrian life! It was a great evening, and we had a lot of fun ☺ It was sad, though, to realize that my time with all these people I’d met was ending, and it was very strange to think that next year they wouldn’t be just a streetcar ride away if I needed a buddy to grab a coffee with.On Saturday, I went to my Betreuungslehererin’s (boss’s) house for tea. In Austria, when people socialize (unless they are with family), they do it in public – restaurants, bars, etc. Rarely do people visit each other’s houses. So when Christine asked me and two other teachers over for tea, it was really a great honor. I stopped on my way and bought her a potted flower as a gift, and when I arrived I saw that Kathi (another teacher) had done the same. Ilona, the other teacher who was invited, brought homemade pfirsichtorte (peach cake…mmmmm….) It was a fun afternoon, and I had a good time chatting with my colleagues. For the first time all year they actually wanted me to speak German, which was a little intimidating. I don’t think it would have been intimidating if I’d been speaking German with them at the outset, but somehow having to change languages after nine months was unnerving (but luckily I remembered how to speak properly, and all was well ☺)After tea, I headed out to the Praterstern (home of the famous Viennese Riesenrad, or Ferris Wheel), where I met the girls for a Mexican dinner. While our own dear Tin Tan serves up some of the tastiest margaritas I’ve ever tried, their food is sorely lacking in authenticity, and we’d heard tell of a better restaurant in this area. We weren’t disappointed, and I only wish I’d gone earlier in the year!After dinner, we decided to find a place to partake in our new favorite activity – watching World Cup football in a pub. I think I probably went to pubs every night of my last week in Vienna (excepting the night at the Heuriger) for football, and while I was never a football fan before, this totally converted me (at least to understanding the excitement of World Cup time!) We were sorely disappointed by the Americans, who did not play all that well and who had some unlucky calls against it, and I wasn’t too thrilled when Italy won it all (although at least they didn’t play dirty like France did), but I got sucked in by the Cinderella stories (like Ghana, who I believe was the first African team to make it past the first round of the tournament, or Tunisia, for whom we naturally had a special affinity and who almost beat Spain.) Anyway those nights were some of my favorites from the entire year, and I am so glad to have experienced a World Cup in Europe ☺ (And getting a free World Cup/Erdinger baseball cap for buying Erdinger beer – the German equivalent of Keystone light – wasn’t too shabby either!)Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for me were spent packing and tying up my life in Vienna. It took me a while to understand how I could arrive in Vienna with two suitcases worth of clothing and finish my year with so much more junk than that! I went through my wardrobe and basically divided it in half – the clothing that would come home, and the clothing that I would leave in the Red Cross drop box down the street. They got a huge donation, let me tell you! I also had to de-register with the authorities, arrange to have my mail forwarded, and close my Austrian bank account and have my money transferred to my American one (a task that didn’t actually get completed until the morning of the day I left…whoops.)I originally wasn’t supposed to leave until early July, but after Zack passed away I decided that I would like to come home earlier, if we could work out the flights. It took some finagling, but my brilliant mother found a way for me to fly British Airways on Tuesday afternoon from Vienna to Manchester to Edinburgh, and then take Delta’s flight on Wednesday from Edinburgh direct to Atlanta. On Monday, I decided I’d better check the weight limit for bags on British Airways, and good thing I did. Most airlines allow around 50 pounds per bag, but BA’s intra-European flights had a weight limit of 50 pounds total. Major Problem. So Monday I quickly unpacked and repacked and mailed a few more boxes home (cheaper than paying the heavy luggage fee.) Although I was still over the weight limit, it at least wasn’t 30 pounds over, and I figured I could cry my way out of it if necessary (I love being a girl!)Monday evening some people came over for one last drink on my roof, and Tuesday I had Billa sandwiches with the girls before heading off to the airport. I arrived in Edinburgh feeling hot and sweaty and in desperate need of a shower. Since I tried to get rid of all possible excess weight, I didn’t bring any toiletries with me, having assumed that the Holiday Inn in Edinburgh would at least have soap and shampoo. I was unfortunately wrong, and I decided it wouldn’t be a huge deal if I flew home gross (that’s what World Cup/Erdinger baseball caps are for, anyway, right?)I talked to my mother that night and she urged me to try to locate some shampoo at least – she said the front desk should have some, and luckily she was right. So I got a shower, which was probably nice for all the other passengers. My flight from Scotland to Atlanta was straightforward and easy (I even had an empty seat next to me – the best way to fly!)
It was a perfect last week to end my amazing year overseas. I’m so grateful and lucky to have had the chance to really live one of my dreams. Since I was a little girl (probably seven years old), I had planned to live in Vienna one day, and I actually did it. And it was perfect ☺
Climb Every Mountain
While Meghan was with me in Vienna, I had my final day of teaching, which was exciting. While I thoroughly enjoyed my job (for the most part), I was really looking forward to having the month of June to just hang out with my friends and do some good sightseeing!The Wednesday after Meghan left (June 6), Emily Conger (a good friend of mine from high school) arrived in Vienna. She had been traveling with her family in France and was meeting up with her boyfriend Rob a week later in Germany, and she spent the intervening time in Vienna with me! I picked her up from the airport, and it was so great to see her – it had been over a year, which neither of us could believe.We spent a few days doing some sightseeing around the city – the first district, Stephansdom and other churches, the Belvedere (where we had some fun with some crazy statues), Café Central, and other Viennese things. One day we took a walking tour of a part of the city I’m unfamiliar with, which was fun. We also took a trip to the Naschmarkt for lunch one day, and that evening we headed to Kristina’s for a end-of-the-year farewell party, complete with slideshow (courtesy of Jen, the technology genius.) It was a fun party, but it was sad that it would be our last time all together before Jen headed back to the States.On Thursday evening (much in the same vein as with my sister), we decided to take a weekend trip. Emily wanted to go to Bratislava, but I’d been there already and had no wish to return, so we decided instead to go to Innsbruck. I am so glad we did this, because Innsbruck probably became my second favorite city in the world (or at least Europe!)We left early Friday afternoon, but since the trip is almost six hours, we didn’t arrive until it was getting dark. We located our hotel (walking distance from the train station), and then set out to find some dinner (harder than it sounded since we weren’t near the city center.) We finally heard tell of a pizza restaurant that stayed open late and headed in that direction. We thought we’d found it when we spotted the large neon sign of a man tossing a pizza, but when we got closer, we realized it was actually a large neon sign of a naked woman flaunting her leg, beckoning us into a nudey bar. And right next door to THAT was the pizza place (that actually had delicious food!)On Saturday, we took the street car into the city center, where we took the Lonely Planet walking tour and saw all the major sights and buildings. Innsbruck is really neat, because it feels very old and mysterious in the inner city, but on the outskirts, there are these gorgeous baroque-style buildings. Anyway, it was a great way to see the big sites in the city, and a nice morning jaunt. In the afternoon, we decided that since we were in the middle of the Tyrolean Alps, we should take advantage of it and do some hiking. We managed to locate the Innsbruck tourism office, who pointed us in the direction of Patscherkofel, the mountain that was used in several Olympic events when Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976.We were able to take a streetcar from the city center out to the town at the base of the mountain, and from there, we took a gondola lift (Wikipedia term) about 2/3 up the mountain. From that point, we decided we had enough time to hike down the mountain and back to the base town, which we proceeded to spend the next five or so hours doing. It was quite a hike – more rigorous than we thought initially, but it was a great way to spend an afternoon. We saw cows and climbed gates and stopped for a Coke at a little restaurant next to a little church about halfway down.When we reached the town, we took the streetcar back to Innsbruck, where we had dinner in the city center and talked about what we wanted to do the next day. Luckily we were in agreement that the best thing to do would be to take the gondola lift back up the mountain and then hike up to the peak (and back down to the midpoint again.)This proved to be much more strenuous than we thought, for several reasons. First, as we set out, I read the map wrong, and we accidentally started down the path that would take us over to the next mountain down the line. Whoops. Got about a half mile before we figured that one out and came back. Then we thought we saw the pathway up and started to climb. Man, that was a durn steep pathway, and about halfway up, the pathway kind of petered out. We were very confused, because, well, old people and young kids hike this mountain, and this was tough for two fit twenty-somethings. Then we got to the top of our little slope and saw…a road…that people were walking on…that led right from our little starting point to the top of the mountain. Double whoops. But I rest assured that we took the *ahem* adventuresome way up and thus were more rewarded because of it ☺ We got some gorgeous photos at the Spitze (peak) of the mountain, before we headed back down.Since we had to catch a train, and since we’d hiked the rest of the mountain the previous day, we took the gondola back down to the town, and we headed back to Innsbruck to take our leave and go back to Vienna. I, for one, wasn’t ready to leave, but alas. I would go back to that city in a heartbeat!The day after we returned, Emily set off on her own for a day trip to the Wachau (very fun) while I stayed in Vienna and studied for my final exam (less fun.) It sounded like she had a great river cruise, but I guess it was good for me to be responsible and prepare for my test. Meh. I’d rather be cruising the Donau ☺The next day, we just hung out together around the city before we went to the train station. Emily caught an overnight train to Düsseldorf, where she was to meet Rob, her boyfriend, for some World Cup action (and yes, I mean soccer) It was so great to have her visit, and I had such a great time both seeing the familiar sights of Wien and traveling to a new place!
A Tale of Two Sisters
I met Meg at the airport just after I got back from Rome. Luckily our flights landed within minutes of each other, and it was so great to have my sister with me in Vienna! We took the train back to the city (because the airport is actually in the town of Schwechat, which is a half-hour train ride away.) All we did on that day, Tuesday, was head back to my apartment, where Meg took a nap, and grab some dinner.On Wednesday evening, Meghan and I decided to go to Mass at the Piaristenkirche. While I was in Rome, I found out that a close friend of mine from high school passed away suddenly, and there was no way for me to get back in time for the funeral. I was lucky to be with friends and my boyfriend when I received the news, and I was even luckier to return to Vienna to a ten day visit from my sister, who was a wonderful source of support for me. She suggested that on Wednesday, the day of the funeral, we go to Mass so we could be with Zack in spirit, if not in body.Before Mass, we were approached by a lovely and very friendly elderly Viennese woman, who pointed out some of the architectural hallmarks of the church and gave us a prayer card. After Mass, we left the church to see a rainbow stretching out over the city (you can see a city view from the church steps.) At this point, I’d been living in Vienna for nine months, and this was the first rainbow I saw – while leaving the church on the day of one of my best friend’s funerals. I refuse to believe it was a coincidence.On Wednesday evening after Mass, we decided that we should take a trip and made some last minute plans for a weekend trip to Salzburg. We found inexpensive hotel accommodations on the internet (hurrah for technology!) and we decided suck up our pride and schedule ourselves for a patented “Sound of Music” tour – the thing for American tourists in Salzburg to do (and my second time taking it!)I, being a travel agent wannabe, also scheduled a side trip into our journey. On Thursday, we left Vienna on a morning train, which we took to St. Valentin, where we changed trains. We arrived in the town of Mauthausen at around 2pm. Mauthausen was home to the only concentration camp that the Nazis set up in Austria, and as with the other concentration camps, it has been turned into a memorial and a museum. I, a person who considers herself a scholar of German history, had actually never been to a concentration camp before, and while I obviously wish the places never existed in the first place, I was glad to have the opportunity to see this one.We arrived at the Mauthausen Bahnhof (train station), which, like most small rural towns, has just one platform and two tracks. We knew the camp was a few miles outside the town, but we weren’t really sure how to get there other than to walk, so we set out on foot. Luckily, less than a mile into our journey we actually walked past a taxi depot, where we hired a cab to take us the rest of the way (and they gave us their phone number for the return, bless them!)I’m not quite sure how to describe the camp. Solemn is a good word. Desolate in feeling, but not in location, which was actually quite beautiful. The camp itself was rather bleak, as you might imagine, with buildings made of graying wood, walls made of stone, and fences topped with barbed wire. We received headsets with our admission fee, so we took a self-guided tour through the barracks and work areas and shower rooms. They have actually torn down many of the buildings that used to be there (mainly barracks), and ironically, where the buildings used to stand, there are now patches of beautiful wild flowers that are surrounded by manicured grass lawns. All over the camp people have donated memorials – plaques, obelisks, headstones – in memory of the victims and also of the soldiers who liberated the camp. It was a sobering experience, but I’m very glad we were able to go.After seeing the camp, we headed back to the train station and took the train the rest of the way to Salzburg, where, since it was dark (and I do say this to offer an excuse, because I don’t normally do this!) we grabbed a taxi to take us to our hotel. We hadn’t had a proper meal yet that day, so we were overjoyed to be staying next door to an Italian restaurant, where we had a delicious meal, after which we headed to bed.The next morning we woke up and headed back to the train station (we walked this time, because it really wasn’t very far) to meet Antonia (!!), who stopped for a few hours to meet us in Salzburg on her way to a weekend at her family’s lake house in Kärnten. After meeting up with her, we took a tour of the Mozart Geburtshaus (Mozart’s birthplace), which is one of several Mozart museums in the city. Being a good girlfriend, I took illegal photos surreptitiously of the old-fashioned instruments for my boyfriend to see ☺After the Mozart museum, we wandered around the city, grabbing lunch in a Beisl (café), and stopping in to view the Cathedral, which is extremely different (and more modern on the inside) than any church I’d seen in Vienna. We played around in the city, taking fun pictures and having coffee until Antonia had to catch her train out. After that, Meg and I wandered some more before heading back to the hotel, grabbing dinner, and going to bed (because we had a big day the next day!)We woke up early on Saturday so we could meet our Sound of Music tour bus on time. We stopped by several major landmarks of the movie – the house that is the front of the von Trapp estate (and is now a conservatory), the different house that is the back of the same estate, the famous gazebo (where Maria and the Captain sing my favorite song before smooching), and finally, the church where Maria and the Captain get married. The church is in the lovely town of Mondsee, which is right by a lake of the same name, and we stopped there for lunch. Strangely enough, while wandering around Mondsee I actually ran into a favorite pupil of mine from Vienna. Apparently her family owns a vacation home in Salzburg. I’m not jealous or anything!We got back to the city in the mid-afternoon, after a rather fun tour. I have to say, it was a great experience, and we got to see a little bit of the surrounding countryside while sitting on a bus and singing along with the Sound of Music soundtrack ☺Meg and I took the train back to Vienna that night, because on Sunday we had another treat. As a graduation present to Meg, my parents bought us tickets to see the Spanish Riding School perform! It was so amazing to watch those horses and riders doing their thing. While I got to see them practice, I’d never seen the actually perform, and it was a really cool thing to watch. Thank you mommy and daddy for that ☺I had to work the next week, so we just did some of my usual Vienna-life activities (such as go to the English Bookshop and take our purchases to a café (if we wanted to be Viennese) or Starbucks (if we wanted to be smoke-free) to while away the afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather was cold, rainy, and gray for the duration of Meg’s visit, which really stifled the urge to sight-see outside.One thing we did get to do was take a boat ride on the Danube through Vienna. I’d been on river cruises through the Wachau Valley before (outside of Vienna), but never through the actual city. It was interesting to see all the landmarks from afar on the water (the Danube doesn’t actually run through Vienna, but beside it.)On Saturday, June 3, Meg and I woke up at 3am to get her to the airport in time for her flight (yeesh!) I was sad to see her go, but it was so wonderful to have her come stay with me! I only wish Bridget had been able to make it over as well, but maybe next time.
Arrivederci Roma!
When I found out that the Holy Cross College Choir would be singing their way through Italy while I was living in Austria, I knew that I would have to visit them as a groupie for at least a few days of their trip.They left Holy Cross in the middle of May, right after final exams ended, but before graduation, and they toured Florence and the Tuscan countryside (Lucca, Siena, etc.) The final leg of their trip was to visit Rome for a few days, where I was able to join them (thanks in large part to my wonderful three-day weekends at my work!)I flew down to Rome on Friday, May 19. I was lucky enough to have the help of Pam Getnick, director of the HC College Choir, in arranging my hotel accommodations. She was able to get me a room at the same hotel as the Choir (even though their website said they were fully booked) at the same reduced rate the group was paying. I am eternally grateful to Pam for this help, especially since I am familiar with neither the Italian language nor Rome itself.I took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, and I am pretty sure the driver swindled me. He said the fare was double the number the hotel had given as a reasonable airport-hotel fare, and I was a little taken aback. I paid it, and checked in, and only then did I realize that I should have asked one of the desk clerks (who spoke English) to talk to the driver for me and see if that was really the fare. Oh well. I know for next time, I guess.I waited in the hotel for the group to get back (they’d gone out to dinner), and when they returned I had a fantastic mini-reunion with several choir friends of mine (Andrea, Sarah, Fran…) It was so great to see everyone!!We woke up super-early the next morning, as our group was scheduled to tour the Vatican and in order to get into the country/museum/religious compound at a reasonable hour, you must line up at an unreasonable hour. We entered the Vatican at around 9:30am, and it was as glorious as ever. I’ve been through the Vatican before, and it is true that their collection of religious art and artifacts is unparalleled. We saw Rafael’s fresco, The School of Athens, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and Pieta, Bernini’s Chair of St. Peter altarpiece, and everything else on display. I’ve heard it argued that the Vatican’s collection is too large and too rich, and that it is obscene that the Vatican holds so many priceless pieces while there are still so many poor and suffering people in the world. I see the logic behind this, but I don’t agree with it. It is important to preserve history, and these works of art represent some of the best parts of the Church’s history. Additionally, they still inspire faith in people today. I think the Vatican is right to treasure and proudly display these pieces.We left the Vatican area (after seeing some …hehehe…Swiss Guardsmen, aka wearers of the greatest uniform ever designed) and headed towards the Spanish steps, where we all split up to find lunch and do some roaming (hehehe Rome-ing, if you will.) We also got to see the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon and several other Roman landmarks. I’d been to Rome before, but it didn’t leave a great impression on me the first time around (probably because the weather was chilly, rainy, and gray.) This time, I absolutely loved the city, though (probably because the weather was warm, sunny, and happy…)That night the Choir sang a concert at Il Gesu, the Jesuit Mother Church, which was very good. They sounded fantastic, and they actually packed the giant church as well. Probably the most exciting part of the evening for me was trying to turn the organist's pages without messing up or accidentally stepping on the organ pedals. Luckily no such thing happened, and the choir performed beautifully.On Sunday, we again woke up early to take a tour of the Colosseum. Again, I’d seen it before, but photos and memories can never do justice to the real thing. That place is enormous and imposing and elegant and beautiful. I love seeing it. And the really neat part is that it just kind of pops up out of the blue. You drive down regular-looking Roman streets, and then all of a sudden, whoops, there is this magnificent ancient structure staring right at you. It’s fantastic!After wandering through the Colosseum for a while, we headed to the Forum, which is nearby. I think it is just so much fun and so mind-boggling to wander through these structures that are so old and that have such rich history associated with them. I mean, when you are in the Forum, you could be standing on the same ground as Cicero or Tacitus, or even Nero, God forbid. I love it!After our tours, we headed back to the Pantheon area, where we all grabbed some lunch where we could and got to hang out in the sun for a little bit before heading back to the Vatican. That evening, the Choir got to actually sing a Vatican Mass (something I was lucky enough to do with my high school choir.) They were absolutely wonderful, and the congregation even applauded afterwards, which the organist said never happens.After Mass, we headed over to Trastevere to have some dinner and enjoy the nightlife. Our little group (Andrea, Sarah, Fran, Julie, and a few others and I) found this great outdoor restaurant, and after dinner we tracked down some yummy gelato….love it! Since it was Sunday, however, there wasn’t any night-life to speak of, so after eating we all headed back to the hotel to hang out in the bar there.Monday was our final day in Rome, and since the Choir was finished with all of their concerts, we just got to enjoy the whole day. We slept in a bit, and the we were really free to do whatever we wanted to do. Sarah, Julie, Fran, Andrea and I decided to do some shopping in the gorgeous Roman shops, which was fun. It certainly passed the time very quickly! We had lunch in this great little restaurant (Pam joined us), that had the best risotto I’ve ever eaten….mmmm…..That evening, we went to a restaurant where the wait-staff are also opera singers, so we were serenaded as we ate our multi-course meal, which was a hoot. They were pretty good, I must say!The next morning, we packed up and headed to the airport. The Choir was headed back to the States around the same time my plane left for Vienna, which was convenient. It was sad to leave my friends, but all in all, it was a fantastic trip. I’m really glad I was able to visit the group, and I’m also really glad I had a chance to get back to Rome, because I really loved it this time around, and I’d go back in an instant.While I was a bit bummed to be leaving, I only had an hour or so before greeting my next visitor – my sister Meghan, whose flight from Atlanta landed at the same time mine did ☺
Oops
Yep. I'm completely aware that I've totally wussed out on the blog. Hey, I'm just proud that I made it to March before I quit!Anyway, here it is in short form, my life since March (outside of all the random Fulbrightness that has ensued): Meghan Conboy and her boyfriend Jeremy came to visit. My parents were here for two weeks, and we traveled to Prague and Budapest with intermittent stays in Vienna. I went to Salzburg for a weekend in the mountains. I went to Boston for a weekend to visit. I have wrapped up my work year and only have 4 days of teaching left. I am about to leave for a weekend with the HC College Choir in Rome. My sister Meggie arrives on the day I get back from Rome for a 10-day stay. Two days after she leaves, Emily Conger arrives for a week. And when Em leaves, I will officially have 2.5 weeks left in Europe. Whoa.
As for next year, I will be in Boston (yay!) starting my Masters degree in law and diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Tufts University. I'll be living with my sissy, and to top off the wonderfulness, muchos friends will be in the area! The future is lookin' good :-)
I promise an end of the year wrap-up before I leave :-) I can't believe I'm almost done.Peeeeeeeace y'all.
P.S. My name is Carly and I'm obsessed with The Office. JimPam.
Fulbrights in Salzburg:Danny, Jo, David, Kristina, Chris, Toffifee (yummmmmm), Carly, Jen
Vienna, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Vienna
Mom and Dad arrived in Vienna on April 7. They actually had been in Europe a few days at that point, and they stayed in Amsterdam. I am actually very jealous of that, as I have only flown through Amsterdam and have never seen the city (and I’m dying to see the city!!) I left my apartment nice and early (around 8:45) to meet their 10am arrival, but when I got to the airport (about 9:45), their flight wasn’t yet up on the arrivals board. I found this to be very confusing, actually, as the Vienna airport doesn’t usually make that sort of mistake. I decided to call mom’s cell phone to see if by chance their flight had been delayed. Actually, mom told me, their flight didn’t leave until NOON, and wouldn’t arrive until 2pm. Oops…so typical of me to make that mistake, and gosh I was mad I hadn’t double-checked their flight time before I left my apartment! Oh well, at least I had a book and my ipod with me to pass the time.Mom and Dad’s flight finally arrived, and it was wonderful to see them. We didn’t do too much that first day – just checked into their hotel and walked around the city a bit. I showed them my apartment, and we grabbed dinner. We decided that the next day we would see a bit of the countryside, so Mom and I headed to the Westbahnhof to get tickets for a Danube cruise and tour of Melk Abbey.Saturday morning we set off early on a train that took us to Melk (left is a photo of the Abbey and below to
the right is a photo of both my parents and me on a terrace at the Abbey overlooking the Danube.) We somehow managed to locate the route up to the Abbey from the train station (which wasn’t as easy or as straightforward as we thought it would be, but luckily we ran into the local tourism board, and they pointed us in the right direction. We made it up to the Abbey, where we then took a tour through the place. Every time I go back, I’m reminded at how beautiful it is, especially on a beautiful sunny day. Th
e yellow buildings against the blue sky are always so cheerful ☺ And let me tell you, we had perfect weather that day. After the tour through the Abbey, we walked down to the village for a traditional Austrian lunch (by the way, we were pointed in the right direction by my handy Lonely Planet Vienna, which included good info on day trips outside the city – including to Melk…wow, this blog has totally turned into one giant advertisement for Lonely Planet travel guides…)After lunch we tried to locate the proper dock for our river cruise 
(see photo to left), and we were one of the first groups on board the boat (which was good because we were able to get great seats on the top deck.) The cruise lasted about an hour, and it was fun to see all the castles and vineyards on the banks of the blaue Don
au (see photo to the right.) We arrived at our destination point, where disembarked, walked the two miles to the train station and grabbed some dessert to kill time before our train left to bring us back to Vienna. Including a slight detour on the train (they were working on the tracks and had to bus us around a certain point), we got back to Franz Joseph Bahnhof at about 4pm after a great tour. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, which was nice after a busy day ☺The next day, Sunday, we went to Mass at the Jesuitenkirche to hear the choir. On Sunday after
noon we headed out to the Heeresgeschichtlichesmuseum (the military/war history museum), which is out by Südbahnhof in a bit of a sketchy area. It was worth the trip though, to see a great museum that I’d never been to before (the recommendation to see it came from my old boss at the State Department, by the way – Tom.) It covered Austrian military history from before the days of Prinz Eugen (who saved Vienna from the Ottomans) to post-World War II, and it was fascinating. We got to see the car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot, and we even got to see his uniform with bullet holes. The shots that changed the world forever. If you can pinpoint one moment that decided the course of the twentieth century, you could make a good case for this one. God, I love history!!! (The building itself was gorgeous too - see above left photo of main entrance.)On Sunday we also took the Strassenbahn out to Billrothstrasse 26, aka my school, which was fun. It was locked, so we couldn’t go in, but at least my parents got to see the outside of it and the area in which I worked (the nineteenth district is actually one of the wealthiest/nicest in the city.) All in all, it was a fun day ☺
On Monday we took the train to Prague for the next leg of our trip. I absolutely love Prague – it has a completely different feel from Vienna. It is more mysterious, somehow, and it feels older. While in Prague we actually hired a private tour guide to take us around. Since we were only in the city for two days, really, we though the best way to see as much as possible was to have a small group of just the three of us led by a local who could drive us if necessary (as opposed to renting a car and driving ourselves…oh God the mere though of that is terrifying!!! And calls to mind some scary memories I have of my father driving our super-mini-mini-van through the Italian countryside…this way was much better.)
We saw so much of the city – the Jewish district, Hracany (we
watched a changing of the guard, which 
was neat - see photo to right), and St. Vitus and surrounding areas, the Charles Bridge area (see photo to left,) and other areas that have gorgeous buildings but whose names I can’t remember. We walked down the Golden Lane (see photo to right), which is this tiny and very old alleyway where all the palace craftsmen and artisans would live. These houses are sooo
small!! I couldn’t believe it actually, and my dad couldn’t even fit into most of them. They have all been turned into shops now. Probably my favorite part of the day was seeing St. Vitus’ cathedral. It is so beautiful on the inside, and Alphons Mucha, a famous Czech artist, 
actually painted one of the stained glass windows, which is just stunning (see photo to left.) We loved the Mucha window so much that the next day, after the conclusion to our tour in the morning, we went to the Mucha museum to see his body of work. I have always loved the Art Nouveau/Secession style of art, with Gustav Klimt having always been my favorite, but I have to say that Mucha has taken over. I absolutely love the way he paints and draws, and it was such a pleasure to see the Mucha museum.
That night we decided to do a totally kitsch
thing and go to a “traditional” Czech dinner, complete with music and dancing. This could be called the Czech equivalent of a luau, and while it was totally cheesy, it was also very fun ☺ The food was decent, and there was of course audience involvement. Mom and Dad did the Mazurka and I got to waltz with a guy from New Zealand (see photo to right.) It was a fun way to spend our final evening in Prague ☺
On Thursday we traveled back to Vienna, where we would stay for a few 
days before departing for Budapest. During these few days, Karl, Gertraut, and Antonia (Antonia lived with my family in Atlanta for six months in 1999 and is my age. See photo. Karl and Gertraut are her parents, and I lived with their family for two months during the summer of 2000) all traveled to Vienna to visit with us, and it was marvelous to see them all again. Karl is probably the best travel guide I’ve ever had. He is a dentist by trade, but he also has a degree in the history of architecture, and he loves looking at old churches and castles and explaining them to us. I always learn a lot when I’m with Karl ☺
While the Rezacs were in Vienna, we went to the Belvedere (my favorite m
useum in Vienna - see photo of our group on the grass we weren't supposed to walk on) to see the Klimt paintings, the Albertina, and the Leopoldsmuseum to see a fantastic exhibit displaying the works of Austrian artists. We had a nice dinner together as well. The Rezacs left for a family Easter celebration on Saturday, and Sunday (Easter), my parents and I went to church at the Votivkirche’s English Mass before catching a train to Budapest in the evening.
Budapest is another of my favorite places…in fact, it may even be higher than Prague on my list! Unlike Prague (which I visited 
when I lived in Germany the summer of 2002), I’d never been to
Budapest before – I’d only driven through it on the way to the Hungarian countryside, and it was such a treat to be able to stay in the city for a few days and really get to see it. Our hotel was in a perfect location – right on the Danube at the end of the Chain Bridge (see photo to right.) Our first night there, Dad and I went for a walk (while Mom soaked in the bathtub after falling down twice at the train station ☺) and took some gorgeous photos of the palace all lit up at night (see photo to left.)
In Budapest, as in Prague, we hired a private guide to show us the city because we were only there for
really a day and a half. The first day, we saw so much around the city – the palace area (see photo to left), the Parliament (which is this crazy neo-Gothic building), monuments to the 1956 uprising, the m
ain Jewish temple, the delicious inside of a pastry shop, one of the hills overlooking the city (great views - see photo to right), several Trabis, a beautiful church, and part of the Hungarian National Museum’s fantastic art collection. It was an amazing day, actually, and I can’t believe how much we were actually able to fit in! It really helps having someone who knows what they are doing with you!
That evening we had a delicious dinner at a nice restaurant and played some Quiddler in the hotel (I lost in a tremendous fashion) before heading to bed early (due to sight-seeing exhaustion!)
We left on Tuesday afternoon to go back to Vienna. Mom and Dad then flew out on Wednesday, after almost two weeks with me. It was such a fantastic trip, and I was able to see so many new things myself. I absolutely loved having them here, and I had such a blast playing tour-guide to them in my city ☺
Fulbrights in Salzburg:
the right is a photo of both my parents and me on a terrace at the Abbey overlooking the Danube.) We somehow managed to locate the route up to the Abbey from the train station (which wasn’t as easy or as straightforward as we thought it would be, but luckily we ran into the local tourism board, and they pointed us in the right direction. We made it up to the Abbey, where we then took a tour through the place. Every time I go back, I’m reminded at how beautiful it is, especially on a beautiful sunny day. Th
e yellow buildings against the blue sky are always so cheerful ☺ And let me tell you, we had perfect weather that day. After the tour through the Abbey, we walked down to the village for a traditional Austrian lunch (by the way, we were pointed in the right direction by my handy Lonely Planet Vienna, which included good info on day trips outside the city – including to Melk…wow, this blog has totally turned into one giant advertisement for Lonely Planet travel guides…)
(see photo to left), and we were one of the first groups on board the boat (which was good because we were able to get great seats on the top deck.) The cruise lasted about an hour, and it was fun to see all the castles and vineyards on the banks of the blaue Don
au (see photo to the right.) We arrived at our destination point, where disembarked, walked the two miles to the train station and grabbed some dessert to kill time before our train left to bring us back to Vienna. Including a slight detour on the train (they were working on the tracks and had to bus us around a certain point), we got back to Franz Joseph Bahnhof at about 4pm after a great tour. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, which was nice after a busy day ☺
noon we headed out to the Heeresgeschichtlichesmuseum (the military/war history museum), which is out by Südbahnhof in a bit of a sketchy area. It was worth the trip though, to see a great museum that I’d never been to before (the recommendation to see it came from my old boss at the State Department, by the way – Tom.) It covered Austrian military history from before the days of Prinz Eugen (who saved Vienna from the Ottomans) to post-World War II, and it was fascinating. We got to see the car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot, and we even got to see his uniform with bullet holes. The shots that changed the world forever. If you can pinpoint one moment that decided the course of the twentieth century, you could make a good case for this one. God, I love history!!! (The building itself was gorgeous too - see above left photo of main entrance.)
watched a changing of the guard, which 
was neat - see photo to right), and St. Vitus and surrounding areas, the Charles Bridge area (see photo to left,) and other areas that have gorgeous buildings but whose names I can’t remember. We walked down the Golden Lane (see photo to right), which is this tiny and very old alleyway where all the palace craftsmen and artisans would live. These houses are sooo
small!! I couldn’t believe it actually, and my dad couldn’t even fit into most of them. They have all been turned into shops now. Probably my favorite part of the day was seeing St. Vitus’ cathedral. It is so beautiful on the inside, and Alphons Mucha, a famous Czech artist, 
actually painted one of the stained glass windows, which is just stunning (see photo to left.) We loved the Mucha window so much that the next day, after the conclusion to our tour in the morning, we went to the Mucha museum to see his body of work. I have always loved the Art Nouveau/Secession style of art, with Gustav Klimt having always been my favorite, but I have to say that Mucha has taken over. I absolutely love the way he paints and draws, and it was such a pleasure to see the Mucha museum. 
thing and go to a “traditional” Czech dinner, complete with music and dancing. This could be called the Czech equivalent of a luau, and while it was totally cheesy, it was also very fun ☺ The food was decent, and there was of course audience involvement. Mom and Dad did the Mazurka and I got to waltz with a guy from New Zealand (see photo to right.) It was a fun way to spend our final evening in Prague ☺ 
days before departing for Budapest. During these few days, Karl, Gertraut, and Antonia (Antonia lived with my family in Atlanta for six months in 1999 and is my age. See photo. Karl and Gertraut are her parents, and I lived with their family for two months during the summer of 2000) all traveled to Vienna to visit with us, and it was marvelous to see them all again. Karl is probably the best travel guide I’ve ever had. He is a dentist by trade, but he also has a degree in the history of architecture, and he loves looking at old churches and castles and explaining them to us. I always learn a lot when I’m with Karl ☺ 
useum in Vienna - see photo of our group on the grass we weren't supposed to walk on) to see the Klimt paintings, the Albertina, and the Leopoldsmuseum to see a fantastic exhibit displaying the works of Austrian artists. We had a nice dinner together as well. The Rezacs left for a family Easter celebration on Saturday, and Sunday (Easter), my parents and I went to church at the Votivkirche’s English Mass before catching a train to Budapest in the evening. 
when I lived in Germany the summer of 2002), I’d never been to
Budapest before – I’d only driven through it on the way to the Hungarian countryside, and it was such a treat to be able to stay in the city for a few days and really get to see it. Our hotel was in a perfect location – right on the Danube at the end of the Chain Bridge (see photo to right.) Our first night there, Dad and I went for a walk (while Mom soaked in the bathtub after falling down twice at the train station ☺) and took some gorgeous photos of the palace all lit up at night (see photo to left.)
really a day and a half. The first day, we saw so much around the city – the palace area (see photo to left), the Parliament (which is this crazy neo-Gothic building), monuments to the 1956 uprising, the m
ain Jewish temple, the delicious inside of a pastry shop, one of the hills overlooking the city (great views - see photo to right), several Trabis, a beautiful church, and part of the Hungarian National Museum’s fantastic art collection. It was an amazing day, actually, and I can’t believe how much we were actually able to fit in! It really helps having someone who knows what they are doing with you! 
