En Traunsee, Gmunden, etc.

A 4:30 sunrise view of the lake from my window :).

JUL.13- JUl. 16

Hmm let's see. We spent the last few days at the lakehouse. It was sort of familiar, strangely enough. I did some swimming and a lot of reading. Also, we visited the nearby town of Gmunden twice.

On the 13th, Christa and I went over alone at about 3? in the afternoon to Bad Ischl. It is so named because of its "healing water." It is also the location of the Austrian emperor's summer house and his wife's also (Queen Elizabeth as we know her, or "Sissy").

On the way there we stopped to try some smoke fish (thanks to whoever suggested that).

It was the best fish I have ever eaten. Most of the fish in the lake are trout, due to its depth.

After our visit to Bad Ischl and the villa, we went to see a concentration camp.

However, the visiting area closed at 5pm, so we just went up to the door. This was actually not where they lived, but where they mined rocks during the day.

The next few days were spent at this beautiful house, soaking in the lovely weather and awesome view. I spent some time "kayaking" around on a windsurfing board. Also did a little swimming, and read a book of Peter's that Christa lent me. For the week (though a short week; Tue-Fri morn) it was just me, Christa and Manuel since Peter had some meetings and Konstantine had to give tennis lessons.

(The view of the boathouse from the porch of the house).

Swans are common here. These two swans were around everywhere. One time, I was sitting by the lake, and one came up and started hissing and me and poofed itself up.

Geez I was there first!

The final morning with all my stuff packed and ready to go on the porch, before we left.

The winner of the world cup: SPAIN :)

JUL. 10

Slept in, relaxed, went to the park and walked around...

In the evening we had a grill out on a porch that I didn't know existed until now! It was very good- grilled chicken and salad and baked potato halves.

JUL. 11

Same as yesterday, but I went for more of a walk to get some exercise. The weather here is just sweltry, and many people were down by the river swimming on the beaches. I should've brought my swimsuit. However, I came back and swam in the garden instead.

We grilled out again, this time we had pork and lamb. YUM.

After that, some of Konstantine's friends and a couple of Manuel's friends came over and we all watched the game in the basement. It was fun. A lot of Konstantine's friends were cheering for the Netherlands, but we were not and were very happy when Spain (finally) scored a goal. Katarina? (I never catch anyone's name here, they always speak too fast) and I just laughed at Nelson Mandela in the crowd and Puyol's hair :p. And of course, now A. Iniesta is a hero-- "Dani Jarque siempre con nosotros" :'(... aber YAAAA.

Here is the trail that leads behind the Wänke's garden down to the city of Linz. It is

quite a climb, or descent, depending which direction you are going. Also, there is to the left in this picture an overlook that is almost directly over the street and you can look out across the Danube to the hills and the castle.

I tried to capture the pretty flowers that grow everywhere. This is in the park, by the Blue Danube.

This is the trail I have walked almost every day, down along the Danube.

no title

JUL. 9

July 9! I can't believe that! This morning I had breakfast with grandma again and it was delicious as usual. At about 11am I walked downtown to shop, but had no luck in finding the thing I was looking for. It was hotter than I expected it to be and the new shoes I bought turned out to be much smaller and more painful than I also expected.

On my journey, I again visited the park by the Danube. It was nice to sit in the shade and take off my shoes. Many students were enjoying the day there because it was their final day of school and they were done for the year.

When I finally returned from the area, it was early afternoon so we had lunch and then ate ice cream and lay in the garden. I fell asleep on the chair.

The afternoon whizzed by and there was a party in the evening. One of Konstantin's friends turned 18 so they had a big party. I decided not to attend (it was in the basement), since I speak poor German, didn't know anyone at the party, and had no experience around drinking at parties (18 is the legal drinking age here which is why they had the party).

Instead, Christa and I watched "Philadelphia", an older movie about a gay lawyer in Philadelphia with AIDS. It was very sad. We were done at almost midnight. Then I started "True Lies" with Arnold Schwazennager but got too tired and went to bed.

JUL.10

What- it's July 10 already?! Hahaha. I woke up at 8 this morning and decided to go back to sleep. It was 10:30 when I woke again. Then I got ready and had a late breakfast/early lunch in the kitchen.

I spent the next few hours looking for a store in Linz, which ended up not having what I wanted. I also layed by the river again and crossed to the other side to explore there. Then I bought some ice cream in Hauptplatz where there was part of the Ritterfest going on. The Ritterfest is like our Rennaissance festival, only spread out in about 5 places in Linz, and made for little children instead. It was mostly for little kids so I didn't hang around there too much.

Today is very warm so I think I will go swimming now.

Wien-

JUL. 8

I figured out where the word Wienerschnitzel comes from- at least I think. Wien (veen) is the German/Austrian name for Vienna. So Wiener is a person from Vienna. And schnitzel, as I have already explained, is a breaded meat that is common here. Thus, schnitzel from Vienna is Wienerschnitzel.So, Manuel and I caught the 10:10 OBB headed to Budapest (Vienna is on the way). The OBB is a train that runs across Europe and it's a very good transportation system. When we got to the city, we used the Subway to get around, and our feet.

It's nearly impossible to explain everything about Vienna, but I took some pictures so you can see. I didn't take pictures of was Manuel's apartment. It is so nice, with matching couches in two rooms and two full bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. He got it because his friend's dad owns a hospital system and the apartment is right next to his hospital in Vienna.

The River Wien (more like a canal now). Manuel thought maybe the river came first and the city was named after it. See that thing in the middle? That is a pile of garbage.

This is the central ring street. I can't remember its name. It encircles the first district, which is the very middle of Vienna.We crossed this street multiple times.

Imagine that- a hydrangea bush (or a snowball bush) just like the one in our yard. It was in a nice park we walked in.

In that same park: a "no soccer" or "no fußbal" sign.

Haha just goes to show how common it is here.

Here is basically the center of Vienna. It was not that busy when we were there, but Manuel said at certain times it gets really crowded (we were there on a late Thursday morning).

Here is the Operahouse, which I guess is famous or something.

We're going to Vienna during the "Sound of Music Camp", so we figured we'd probably go in then and so we just walked by it this time.

Manuel says this is one of, if not the, most famous hotels in Vienna.

There is a huge line of horse carts waiting to carry tourists around the city.

We had pizza for lunch. It was very big. I got spinach pizza.

Ok, you won't believe this... This is the University of Vienna main building!!

It is so ornate and beautiful, impossible to believe it's a college. And remember, college here is free. Most students in Austria attend the University of Vienna (there is the main school shown here, the Economics school where Manuel goes, the Med. school, and the Law school) because there are not many private colleges. Not really any. And there are maybe a couple other national universities around, so Vienna is the place to be.

My last picture... Manuel had an interview with "the top consultant in the world", I guess. I don't know him. Anyway, he was there to discuss working with this company after he finishes school, possibly before he goes back to get his Master's. My plan during this was to chill in the National Library. However, that was closed. So I ventured down the street to Helden platz, a tourist-focused conglomerate of museums and stores. I wandered around, finding that most things cost €, and just kept walking until I reached this garden. This is a statue that was in it.

After Manuel got done, we headed back to the apartment, he cleaned up some more things to bring to Linz, and we went to catch the 6:20 OBB, and home. We arrived at 7:55pm, and then had dinner and watched Forrest Gump with Christa. And then I slept, and very well.

Chillin'

JUL. 7

ESPANAAAAAA. Gewinner. A little while ago, the big match between Germany and Spain was concluded when Germany did not get any goals. And Spain had gotten one. That's good because I was cheering for Spain. There is a bit of a rivalry between Austria and Germany, so I think a lot of Austrians were rooting for Spain. Now it will be the Netherlands vs. Spain, but I think Spain will win.

Today was a lazy day, but lazy days are probably the best days in this beautiful country. I spent the morning reading in the garden, after a delicious breakfast again. Only this time grandma had crescent rolls and a croissant.

In the afternoon, I moved strategically around the house and garden some more, until finally deciding to skip the barbeque at Christa's school in favor of a run (about 17:00). I ran down the stairs down the steep hill toward Linz, and then on a park path that runs a long ways along the Blue Danube river. I only ran about half the time, but it was very scenic and lots of others were out enjoying the day like me. I think I will return to that park.

When I came home, I took a dip in the stand up pool in the garden and then we watched the semifinal soccer match in the theater. Like, I said, Spain won. Hoorah!

Mit der Classe

Grandma's "house" through the doorways from the dining room.

As far as I can tell, this is like bacon but thinner and not cooked. Ö. It's really good :).

The breakfast spread in grandma's floor that she put out for me this morning.

^^whole wheat, rye, crescent breads; raisin sweetbreads; almond torte; eggs and salami; bacon stuff and green peppers; ham and swiss cheese and tomatoes; juice; homemade jam & honey; sweet fruity tea.

JUL. 6

Today I got to meet some Austrian students!! I got up early enough, and met Christa and her French class at the bus station. We went on a treasure hunt around Hauptplatz, the central square, and then down Landstrasse (the main street with shops). I was on a team with two little girls, a boy, and then Leni and Astrid. They were very nice and tried to translate into English as much as they could. I enjoyed it so much I went back to the school with them and we all got chocolate for prizes and they cleaned up from their overnight. Then we said goodbye.

For the rest of the day, I hung around. Until 7:30pm, when Christa and I went to an orchestra ensemble concert in the square of the governor of Upper Austria's office. It was beautiful, and the players were fluent in the music. We didn't get home until a little after 10:00.

When we got home, I went downstairs where Manuel and Konstantine and some friends were watching the soccer match. Then we watched "Two and a Half Men", which I guess is pretty popular here, and then a movie. It was 1:30 when I went to sleep. Poor Konstantine had school in the morning! I woke up around 8 though despite the late night, because it was a beautiful day.

Settling into Linz

JUL. 5

Hallo! This morning I woke up around 8:30am. Then, I had a wonderful breakfast with grandma. She made everything and then some! Tomorrow morning I will have breakfast there again, and so I will take a picture.

After breakfast Christa and I went downtown to go shopping. It is still all very much, so I didn't buy a lot. Plus, maybe I will have a chance to buy things at the camp too. Visiting the H&W store was very tempting; so many clothes and where to start? Christa got some tshirts. Then we got ice cream- I think I had mango and malaga. I can't remember the second flavor's name, but it was very odd. It had sort of cherries, but it tasted like faint dirt and perfume with sugar... I think. Haha in a good way.

^ The Wänke house from the rear (from the garden), and the porch and steps.

Then she asked what I'd like to do, so, being the adventurous tourist I am, I told her I'd like to go back and rest for a while. We ate dumplings for lunch. Manuel complains that every time Christa makes dumplings, they eat dumplings for days. I don't mind because they are very good. They have ham and bacon inside and are salty, on the outside they are like our dumplings. Also, we had sauerkraut.

I got a crash course in the home theater from Manuel this afternoon. We also sat in the garden and talked about University in Vienna and things like that. He was calling his friends sometimes, because tonight they are playing soccer but no one has a car. It is the opposite of home. Everyone can drive, but they have no need for cars. Manuel will drive his father's car with some people from nearby.

The Wänke garden, from the back porch step.

The stairs are four? levels, just a winding wooden staircase going up and up. On the walls along the way, there are beautiful pictures. Christa says they are her parents'. I really like them and look at them every time I go up the stairs.

Below is a table of water and juice-type-stuff. This was at the art exhibition, but it seems to be common everywhere. You will see club soda or plain water and then fruit syrup. You pour a little fruit syrup in the bottom of a glass and add the water or soda. It is kind of like pop, except when you have it with water it's not. We have two kinds of syrup at every meal.

Schnitzel and swimming

JUL. 4

I woke up at 4:30am and happened to see the beautiful sunrise over Linz, so I snagged some pictures. The next time I woke up, Peter was sayin

g, "Emma, Emma. You want to wake up now? Because the boys are going to over to my father's in half an hour and you come with?" It was 11am. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I assured him I was getting up and I would be coming.

The meal Peter's father cooked was delicious. It's striking, the impression these Linz people make; I can't remember his name, but Peter's father is the most congenial man. He greeted me smiling and said, hello, my name you will hear a lot of times again. Or something like that. He was wearing a button up dress tshirt, a shef's apron, and a speedo. That's another thing- people here are always much more formally dressed than we are (well I mean except the speedo, because it was hot out and evidently he'd been tanning or swimming).

For lunch we had schnitzel. In this case, that was pork patties fried in batter, kind of like fried chicken or something but much better and less greasy. We also had seasoned lettuce salad with vinegar, corn, and seeds of some kind. And little round, oiled and seasoned potatoes. YUM. Wondervall, as I told him.

I was too full to finish. But, a little while later, when he asked if I wanted ice cream, I couldn't refuse. And I'm glad I didn't- chocolate ice cream cake sort of thing with strawberry ice cream and lots of strawberries. I only wish I'd taken a picture.

Peter's father and mother (his mother spoke only German. Luckily I can say "ya" and "danke, danke schün") had to go somewhere, leaving Konstantine, me, and Manuel to lounge around and eventually go swimming in the pool. Haha of course we only swam for about 5-10 minutes and layed in the sun the rest of the time. Ahhhhh. But then a storm came out of nowhere and it began to rain, so we went home. The storm blew through. Meanwhile, Konstantine and I watched Wimbledon/Monsters Inc. and the storm went away.

I think we are having dinner in a while, and I don't know what we're doing after that. But the storm has cleared and again it's beautiful. In the distance, behind the city, you can see the beginning of the Alps.

LATER...

Güten abent/ gütenacht. If you are good at math, you will realize that it is 2:14am here. I know I ought to be sleeping, but the heat is more than at home, and it is really morning in our time, so I just can't sleep. The computer is right across the hall and will not disturb anyone, so I thought I'd pass the time until I feel more tired.

This evening, I sat in the yard and read my required college reading. I also listened to the neighbours and passer-bys speaking. It's easy to love these people, laughing and enjoying the weather.

After Peter and Konstantine returned from driving practice (Konstantine has his final driving practice, sort of like behind-the-wheel, tomorrow), we had cheddarwurst for dinner. Then, Christa and Konstantine and I watched a movie in the family's home theater that Peter built himself. Konstantine made me choose the movie (even though I had no idea what to choose, and really didn't care); I picked "Wall-E." I guess it is one of his favorite movies, so I chose well. Then we were off to bed, because they still have school here and tomorrow Konstantine has to go by eight. Christa doesn't have to go until 5:30 pm, when they are beginning an end-of-school overnight party with the children and she is chaperoning.

That is all I can think of, for now. Tchüß.

the first day in Linz

JUL. 3

I was hardly fazed at the new day at first, but by the afternoon it caught up to me.

First, I arrived and toured the house. I will certainly need to post some pictures, because it is a gorgeous house like out of a story. After that, Peter, Christa, Konstantine and I had tea. (Christa is the mom, Peter the da, Konstantine is 17. Manuel was not there, but he is 19). Konstantine had a tennis tournament that afternoon, so Christa and I walked around Linz. Everything was so new

that I did a lot of staring.

Linz has many shops like ours. It has a lot of very nice, contemporary clothing, which made me think that it is a tourist town, but Christa says it is mostly industrial. I guess they just like to shop. There are multiple castles and cathedrals. I

saw both the 'new' and 'old' cathedral (so called, even though both are pretty old).

the left is the new and the right is the old church. in the foreground is a miniature replica of Linz when it was younger.

Then, we drove up the 'hill' to a touristic, children's trainride about the Austrian folktales. Christa says they take all their guests there. The train was a dragon that rode around and we saw lit-up models of dwarves stillframed as scenes

from the tales.

This is one of their rabbits. Apparently they just depict poor sick rabbits that the nice dwarves take care of. It seemed sort of creepy to me.

Finally, I went with Christa at 6 (oh, after a delicious dinner of pork, beans and lettuce with us two) to the Catholic school where she works. There was an exhibition of an famous

abstract artist, and the children had done a mimic gallery that exhibited beforehand. There was a phenomenol twelve year old pianist who could've showed up anyone I know in a second. The paintings, also, were very deep. I was surprised how much graphic nature and intense themes

they allowed the children to include, but it was very good to see the expression they put into their work. After touring the gallery, there was an opening ceremony. I regret to admit that I was nodding off, partly because everything was in German, and partly because I was very tired, having been awake for over 24 hours. At last, we went home and I slept. And slept. And slept...

This was my favorite childrens' painting at the exhibit. I'm not sure what it meant, but the empty

room and bed and cowering figures were just striking.

Flight

Hallo! I don't speak much German, and imagine that, it's the main language spoken here. I get along well by smiling and nodding though. And many people do speak English.

My flight connections all went very well. First, I flew from Minneapolis to Toronto. I met a girl who is studying Archaelogy and was flying to Israel. It was cool because, after unboarding, easily finding my gate, and exchanging some American $ for Canadian $, I went to eat at the

Toronto food court ^

found court and saw her there. So we passed a good three quarters of an hour talking (she is in Chicago, but grew up in Minneapolis, so we had a lot to talk about). It was at Toronto that I began noticing all the German-speakers.

At Frankfurt, the connection was almost even easier, even though I had to get another boarding pass. I was concerned about my luggage, but turns out it transferred too, and I guess it said that right on my luggage pass that listed the luggage destinations. In Frankfurt, all the checkins were electronic, which

scared me a little. However, you only have to scan in your passport and type your flight details in and, voila, a perfect boarding pass prints out. Then, I spent my first Euros on an overpriced and disgusting fruit drink.

At Linz, everyone spoke German. I waited for my luggage, and talked briefly to a girl returning from a Rotary trip to Australia. Once I had that, I went outside and Christa was waiting for me.

Germany/ Austria from the sky

Here is my luggage (or "baggage" as the airline calls it) to get me through one month of travel and adventure. How does it all fit?

Mom and I will be staying in Minneapolis tonight and my flight goes out at 11am sharp tomorrow. Not sure when I'll be able to get to a computer next, maybe in an airport during one of my layovers.

See ya!