Prost! We're in Austria! Wait, You Don't Know Who AL BUNDY IS?!??

Just two short days after getting back from Roma, I was on the road (well, train tracks)again, to Austria! By now, most of you know that I've been involved in couchsurfing (couchsurfing.org, join! It's free and you'll never regret it!), which is "an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the world. Since 2004, members have been using our system to come together for cultural exchange, friendship, and learning experiences. Today, over a million people who might otherwise never meet are able to share hospitality and cultural understanding.Our mission as an organization is to create inspiring experiences: cross-cultural encounters that are fun, engaging, and illuminating. These experiences take many forms. CouchSurfing's initial focus was on hosting and "surfing" (staying with a local as a guest in their home)."

Basically, you stay at someone's house or host someone at your home, for free. How does all of this relate back to Austria? Well, back in 2007 (I think?), Niki, a girl from Austria, couchsurfed with my family for a month, and I went to go visit her!

My Tour-de-Europe started with a sleeper-train ride from Paris to Munich. I was settling into my tiny couchette when a girl came in and asked me if I would take her place in another compartment so that she could be with a friend. I happily agreed, only to find that I was switching into a compartment with five German fourteen or fifteen year olds, who asked me to turn off my light so they could sleep, and promptly spent three hours poking each other and talking in German. It made me wonder if the girl who I switched with actually had a friend coming or just didn’t want to be with a bunch of annoying teenagers! I somehow managed to fall asleep, and the next morning, I was in Munich! I took a regional train to Freising, a smaller town where Niki picked me up. I got to see a little bit more of the countryside since some roadwork was going on and we couldn’t find the right way at first :)

Niki took me to Regensburg, Germany where she’s studying medicine. It’s right on the Danube (which really isn’t all that blue!). I met her little gerbil, then we went to walk around. Regensburg is where Pope Benedict is from, so they had a few pope-themed stores (Buy your Ratzinger candles here!) that were rather entertaining. Niki and I climbed up the tower of an old church there and it was really beautiful. We went to have lunch at a little Indian place there, which was delicious. It was funny seeing an Indian menu in German, but I guess it’s just as strange as seeing an Indian menu in English. Overall, the town was really pretty and it was a beautiful day. We met up with Niki’s boyfriend Thomas, and the three of us drove to Niki’s hometown of Hartkirchen, in Upper Austria, about an hour and a half from Regensburg if I remember correctly, just down the Danube. It was a really really pretty drive (mountains! Hills! Rivers! Deer! Forests!ahhh!!), and I soon discovered that there are no speed limits in Germany :)

It was funny listening to the two of them tease each other about their countries (Thomas was from Germany and Niki is Austrian) and to try to remember to speak English so that I could understand what they were saying haha! I finally met Niki’s family: her mom Doris, her dad Franz, and her sister Daniela. We relaxed at the Schöppl’s house, exchanged hilarious youtube videos (Thomas showed me this absolute gem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T_obaO46Bo ), said hello to my mom over skype, and had a late dinner:

beer, wine, bread, cheese, tomatoes, sliced meat, and eggs. We played an egg game, where each person takes an egg, and you hit them together; whosever egg doesn’t crack wins!

The next morning Doris, Thomas, Niki, and I drove to Salzburg! When most Americans think of Salzburg, we think of one thing:

The Sound of Music!

When Austrians think of Salzburg, think think of...

well, not The Sound of Music. How can this be? I didn't get it either until Niki's family explained it to me: It's an American film made in the 1960s about an Austrian family that left in the 1930s, with American actors, in English. So the only people who know about it are a) people who work in the Salzburg tourism industry b)People who lived in Salzburg around the time of filming and c) Americans.

Nevertheless, Niki's mom Doris was an excellent tour guide around Salzburg, and we ended up seeing a lot of the film locations anyway.







Salzburg is a really beautiful city with three sort of recurring themes for me (well, besides the whole Sound of Music thing for Americans):

1) Mozart.
Wolfgang himself grew up and lived there, and there are references to him everywhere, including a delicious candy-thing called Mozartkugeln, which I tried when Niki brought some to the US with her. It's a pistachio marzipan, nougat, chocolate bonbon.

2) Their kaisers. I guess I would probably name everything after them too since they once governed a humongous empire.

3) Lederhosen and dirndls. I thought this was a COMPLETE American stereotype of Bavarians and Austrians, but people actually wear them and they're actually pretty pricey (easily $200 or more for the outfit). There were lederhosen and dirndl stores everywhere, both traditional ones and more "stylish" types too. We also saw a band playing dressed in their traditional garb. It kind of made me wish I had a cultural outfit, but then I realized that it would probably amount to wearing a potato sack or something.

We had lunch at a really old Austrian restaurant (it was from around the 16th century, I think), which was really great, and they introduced me to radler, which is beer mixed with soda (7-UP, Fanta, or this Austrian soda pop called Almdudler, an herbal fizzy drink that's actually really good but not sold anywhere else!).
It was quite tasty, and from that point on I frequently ordered it in Munich and Berlin, and impressed all my American friends by knowing the name of this drink in German haha. We walked around some more, and went to a really beautiful cafe, where I had some delicious apple strudel and tea!

Later that day, one of the Schöppl's relatives (Niki's uncle I think?) was having a birthday, so all of us went to his house, in the same village of Hartkirchen. Even though most of them didn't speak English, it was still a good time, and Thomas translated a lot for me. They were all such friendly and welcoming people, and offered me copious amounts of schnapps. I learned the German word for "cheers": Prost! You must also look the person in the eyes when you say Prost. I don't know how it came up, but the stereotypes of Americans was discussed, and someone mentioned Al Bundy as a stereotypical American. Al Who? AL BUNDY! I may live under a rock, but I had absolutely no idea who Al Bundy was. They tried giving me hints: from the American tv show! Maybe from the 80s or early 90s? I was still clueless. (Note: I later wikipedia'd him. He was a character on Married...With Children). They just could not believe that I didn't know who Al Bundy was. It was really hilarious case of cross-cultural confusion. The night finally ended in a really interesting walnut-flavored schnapps, accompanied by a story: if you drink too much of the walnut schnapps some kind of walnut fairy follows you home!

Luckily, the walnut fairy didn't follow me home and then next morning Niki, Thomas, and I went to....the Grottenbahn!

The what?

The Grottenbahn! It's a sort of fairy-tale land theme park for kids. Were we the only ones who weren't either parents or six year old kids? Yes. Was it completely awesome? YES.

We first got into a little dragon roller-coaster kind of thing (it's a bit hard to explain: it was like a rollercoaster but without going fast or up any hills. Both were unnecessary, the next part was wayyy too exciting).

The little dragon ride took through a cave where different gnome/dwarf scenes would appear and lights would flash.

Downstairs was a little mini-town where you could go visit life-size scenes of famous fairy tales. I was familiar with some of them grace à Disney, but I was surpised how many Austrian/German fairy tales Americans have co-opted. There were some that I was completely unfamiliar with, but luckily Niki and Thomas were excellent narrators.

We visited a really beautiful church up on a hill overlooking Linz, the capital of Upper Austria.

After the three of us returned from our voyage, we found Doris busy in the kitchen making a traditional Austrian meal for us.

It was a lot: rice, salad, schnitzel, peaches with a cranberry sauce, potatoes, and a cake to top it all off!

After relaxing for a bit (and letting all of that food settle!), Niki and Thomas and I drove back to Regensberg, and I took my train to Berlin. I had an excellent time in Austria, and it was great getting to see Niki again and meet her family.

Prost!

Claire

Roma, Ro Ma Ma

Current location: Lucerne, Switzerland! My spring break plans have changed dramatically (thanks a lot, volcanic ash!). My planned trip: Austria, Berlin, Prague, Munich, Istanbul, Athens, Santorini. Austria, Berlin, and Prague were incredible (blogs to come later!), but instead I went to Zurich, now Lucerne, then Geneva on Saturday! Since I've had some extra train-time, I decided to update my blog yet again about an event that happened a month ago!

...My Easter Rome trip!

Notre Dame's Campus Ministry had a set itinerary for us in Rome, which was really nice. A lot of my friends studying abroad in various places in Europe all converged upon the Eternal City (hey, all roads lead to Rome, right?), and it was great catching up with everyone.

We arrived late Thursday night. Good Friday consisted of walking around Rome and seeing the sights in the morning



going on a Holy Sites Tour with the ND crew (including going up the Holy Stairs, which was a really moving experience).

and going to the Stations of the Cross with Le Pap himself outside the Colosseum!


We had to arrive about 2 or 3 hours early to get good spots. Luckily the ND flag was waved proudly as a way to find everyone. Night fell on the Forum, and the crowd continued to grow. After the long wait, several helicoptors started flying around, and the pope's entourage rolled on in.

The Stations were quite long, and all in Italian with some Latin mixed in for good measure. But the audience was a mixture of every possible nationality, young and old. I shared my program with a German couple next to me (it was funny hearing the differences in our pronunciation of the Latin), and it was just a really striking example of the universality of the Catholic Church. Did I understand a lot of it? No. Did I appreciate it? Yes.

The Stations ended and a few of us went to Campo di Fiori for a bit of nightlife, and then back to our hostel.

We woke up early on Holy Saturday for a tour of the Vatican Museums. We waited in line for what seemed like forever, then we had a tour guide lead us through the thousands of paintings, sculptures, the Sistine Chapel, and finally, St. Peter's Basilica. It was super crowded, but I appreciated it so much more than when my mom, Megan, Beth, and I went through by ourselves almost eight years(!!!) ago.


The rest of the day included eating, walking, eating, walking, and eating (gelato! pizza! lactose intolerance! I mean, what?). 50 of us got a free lunch at one of the best pizza places in Rome (or so says MTV Europe ha!) after the Vatican tour. Mom and Dad, your tuition money was completely worth the pizza lunch at Le Montecarlo. It was heaven in a pizza margherita.


We then went on a saints and relics tour with the Notre Dame group, leading us through several Roman churches.

That evening, we went to the Trastevere neighborhood, which was much more quaint and much less touristy than many other parts of Rome. My roommate Hilary met up with some friends from her major at Notre Dame (PLS, or Program of Liberal Studies, it's a great books course and it's kind of like a cult; rituals include excessive talking about literature and philosophy related topics, discussing their seminars and ND profs while leaving all non-PLS people present completely in the dark), and all of us went to dinner at Dar Poeta, a cute little place in a small alley. We waited about and hour and a half to get in, and it was completely worth it.

And I was also introduced to the most fabulous invention in the city of Rome: OLD BRIDGE GELATERIA. It's right by the Vatican, and you get THREE (I repeat: THREE!)heaping scoops of gelato PLUS whipped cream for 1.50 euro. It's homemade, delicious, and there's no better deal in Roma. We would go there twice a day.



Easter Sunday!

Upsides:
1) Jesus is Risen! Woo-hoo!
2) Easter Sunday at the Vatican. Can you get closer to Heaven that that? Methinks no.
3) Getting to see 80 year old nuns practically fighting to the death jockeying for a better position.
4) Discovering that the Vatican has official state umbrellas (yellow and white, naturally)... and that Swiss Guards have special rain ponchos.

5) Getting to see my cousin Luke in Rome!


Downsides:
1) Pouring.Rain.All.Day.
2) No.Umbrella.

3) Standing for 6 hours at the Vatican
4) Being locked out of our hostel from 11-4.
5) Discovering the hard way that my consumption of long island iced tea should be limited to one.



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and then commenced the WORST 24 HOURS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. I'm not exaggerating in any way, shape, or form. After a long trip from Italy to Paris, we arrived too late to take a train home to Angers. Instead of shelling out 30 euros for a hostel for about 7 hours (we arrived in Paris at 11 and our train left the next morning at 6:30 am), we made the STUPID decision of spending the night on the streets of Paris. Bad, bad, bad idea. I had looked up in advance a few all-night places in Paris, which are an extreme rarity because French labor laws prohibit businesses from opening more than a certain number of hours per week. Paris is definitely not a city that never sleeps. I wish I had know that in advance. Alas.

We headed to the Champs Elysees for a few late-night places, which ended up being a Quick (France's version of a McDonalds), where two of my friends ordered meals and ate them painstakingly slowly, so as to buy more sitting-down-and-staying-warm time. It was cold that night in Paris, maybe 25 degrees plus wind, and I was still in my Rome sundress. After we could no longer stay in the Quick, we decided to try to sleep in Gare Montparnasse, the train station. But the realities that the metro closed a few minutes earlier and that the Champs Elysees and Gare Montparnasse are on opposite sides of Paris quickly set in. My three friends and I, already exhausted from little to no sleep and too much walking in Rome and jetlag from our day's journey, began the longgggggggg walk to Gare Montparnasse. The streets were deserted. We could even cross the Champs Elysees, one of the biggest streets in Paris, easily and without the use of crosswalks or traffic lights. The four of us were frozen, ready to collapse, and in sour moods as we arrived at the train station at 2 or 3 am.

The train station isn't truly indoors, and it's only a few degrees warmer there. We walked around looking for a good (read:safe and somewhat warm)place to sleep for a few precious hours. Whoever designed the benches in the station made the unfortunate decision to have the little arm rests in between the chairs rather than a completely flat model, making it impossibly for us to lay down. We tried to pull together some chairs in a nearby cafe for a makeshift bed, but eventually settling on some chairs in an area that was a tad warmer. None of us could really sleep more than a few minutes at a time, and it was torture watching the minute hand tick by. I've never, ever felt time go slower than those few hours. I was absolutely kicking myself for thinking that 30 euro for a hostel for a few hours wasn't worth it. We eventually made it home, but I was so tired I slept the entire day, and two days later I left for Austria for spring break!



I STILL heart Roma!

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Switzerland is absolutely beautiful! This volcanic ash business is crazy though. If you had told me two weeks ago that a volcanic ash cloud from ICELAND was going to completely change my spring break plans, I would have looked at you like you were crazy.

Bisous,
Claire

NorMANdy

Lovely Devoted Readers:
I have finally found the precious time to update my blog...about an event that occurred about a month ago. Yes, my friends, the time has come to hear about my adventures in Normandy at the D-Day beaches.

It was a cold and rainy day, which really never happens there. First, we went to the D-Day museum in Caens, France, a very well-made tribute to the events that occurred there. They had a pre-D-Day section on the events that led up to WWII, then a part about the actual day of June 6, then an after part that continued through the Cold War. We watched a film at the museum that was especially moving, it fully captured the enormity of the battle and the way in which history hung in the air on that day. It was a somber reminder of how many lives were lost fighting for our freedom--the footage was at times difficult for me to watch because of the rows of men just being mowed down on the beaches. In some cases, out of a platoon of two hundred men, only a handful would reach the top of the hill. I cannot even begin to imagine what my grandfather must have faced that day. It became very real to me, but I think a lot of people sadly don't understand how big of a sacrifice it was--a few teenagers in front of us were doing the Heil Hitler sign in front of a Nazi flag and taking pictures.


We then went to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. It was a bit funny because French people still aren't completely sure how to pronounce such a funny word, especially with French articles, ending up as "L'Omaha." And it was cool being able to say that I live in the place the beach was named after, if a bit odd that the word Omaha was plastered everywhere in sight.



The American Cemetery was very sobering. Rows of white crosses (and the occasional Star of David) filled the cliff above Omaha Beach. It kind of made me wonder what such a cemetery would look like today: how many crosses, stars of david, crescent moons, or just plain headstones (gotta account for all the atheists!).

I thought of how different the world of my grandparents and my own are. Even though I have lived through Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and now the Afghanistan War, my food hasn't been rationed, everyone I know doesn't have a son fighting in the war or a star in their window, I don't check the war updates every day in the paper. I'm not afraid my brother or dad will get called up for the draft.My day to day life is much the same, although there are certainly many who cannot say the same. To me, Germany and Japan are our Western allies, not people to be loathed or feared. We fight with unmanned, computer guided missiles now and the burden of fighting is often carried by people enlisting out of necessity. The World Wars were all-encompassing, all-or-nothing. They gave a generation a sense of meaning and purpose, something the generations of today have a hard time finding.


Walking down to the beach itself was a shock. Omaha Beach is absolutely huge. It's probably two football fields at least to reach the cliffs, which were heavily fortified with German munitions and underground bunkers.


We then went to the Point Du Hoc, a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach that was a necessary but incredibly bloody strategic point to take. GIs had to rappel up the cliff, facing fire from several directions, and overtake sealed bunkers and tanks.


Finally, we went to the German Cemetery, which was a bit different from the American Cemtery (while still having all the necessities, namely, corpses and tombstones). I was shocked at how young all of the German soldiers were: 17 or 18 years old. A lost generation.


If you're ever in Normandy, the D-Day beaches are a must for any American.

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I'm on spring break right now in Prague, which I'll be blogging about later. A bientot!
Claire

Where Does the Time Go?

I'm horribly behind on updating this old thing, but what else is new?

The weekend after Oslo I went to the beaches of Normandy. Incredible.
This past weekend I voyaged to the fabulous city of Rome, Italy for Easter. Double incredible.

Hopefully I'll get around to writing a lengthier post soon about both of those.
For now, I'm headed to visit my friend Niki (an amazing Austrian who stayed with my family for a month about 4 years ago!) in Austria, then to Berlin, then to Prague, then Munich, then Istanbul (or is it Constantinople?), then Athens, and finally to do nothing but lay on a Greek beach (Santorini).

Au revoir France, hello world.