From Liechtenstein, our worldly adventuring took us east... to Salzburg!
And, as musical theatre people who are virtually obsessed with Julie Andrews, Lydia and
I had a killer time in Salzburg. It’s not only a beautiful city, but we were in
many of the same places where the coveted star filmed The Sound of Music. How freaking cool is that?!
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| This staircase can be found in the Mirabell gardens, where the "Do-Re-Mi" scene in the movie is filmed. |
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| Doe, a deer, a female deer.. |
So basically our entire time spent in Salzburg was dedicated to Maria and the Von Trapp family singers.
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| I am sixteen going on seventeen... |
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| The backyard of Captain Von Trapp, where the children and Maria fall into the lake after the Captain returns home from seeing the Baroness in Vienna. |
Outside
of our nerd-out for The Sound of Music, some highlights of our time in Salzburg
included a visit to the Mozart
family’s house, which serves currently as a museum.
With the purchase of the Salzburg City card, we were also able to go on a tour of the Stiegl brewery and try four of their beers. FO' FREE.
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| "WE'RE IN A BEER GLASS!" We were quite titilated by the 3-D animation of our educational beer film! |
With "Edelweiss" stuck in our head and hearts, we boarded the train Monday morning to
head to Prague!! :D
April 20th, 2015
Upon
arriving at the Art Hole Hostel in Prague (which I would most highly
recommend), we immediately ran into an old friend from France:
KEVIN!!
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| We look happy, but those were actually the worst margaritas ever to be made on Earth. |
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| Center square! |
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| Photo shoot at the John Lennon wall. |
We
definitely did not spend enough time in Prague, and I would return there in a
heartbeat. The city has a wonderful energy about it, and its architecture is
not something that you would find in cities like London or Paris!
April 23, 2015
Vienna,
like Prague, is another city in which I wished we had more time to stay. There
is only one word to describe it, and that word is GORGEOUS. Vienna has some of
the most beautiful, elegant buildings I have ever seen, and it was
astoundingly clean for a city of almost 2 million people!
My favorite two activities in Vienna were seeing the Schonnbrunn Palace, as well as going to see a Bach concert in the Konzerthaus.
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| The Hapsbergs used to live in this Palace during their time as rulers. I guess I wouldn't mind it. |
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| Our volunteer photographer: "Do something different!" |
While we didn't hear a whole lot of the Vienna Boys' Choir during the concert -- in fact, I think they only sang for about ten minutes in total -- we really enjoyed experiencing such classic, baroque music. I imagined myself lounging next to a backyard pool in an enormous hoop skirt, with numerous cherubs flying around my head and feeding me strawberries while an incredibly attractive blond played harp in the corner.
Our final destination on our trip was Budapest, the capital of the Czech Republic.
I thought of a great metaphor for our April voyage: our two and a half weeks spent traveling can be represented by a giant sandwich. The fillings and the condiments of the sandwich are super awesome (think ancient-grain mustard, gruyère and parmesan cheese, fresh lettuce, all that good stuff). Then, imagine putting all those delicious middle parts between two slices of bread made of squirrel poo and shredded Wal-Mart bags. That was essentially our trip -- a super bad start (forgotten train pass) and ending with an awesome middle.
You see, in between soaking in one of Budapest's many bathhouses and going to get a massage at a day spa... Lydia's wallet got stolen on the metro.
Money, credit cards, metro tickets, student IDs = gone.
The upside was that her passport was safely locked in the hostel; so while the whole situation was stressful, everything ended up being all right! Afterwards, however, we needed that massage more than ever, and so we gratefully lounged in the Isis spa drinking tea and getting rubbed with mango butter for a full hour.
IT WAS MARVELOUS.
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| Fancy peeeooopplleee!!! |
To celebrate our last night before having to fly back home to France, we stayed for hours at the music festival in old town, eating fabulous food, drinking local beers, and listening to the SoulBand while sitting on an ancient fountain (I would upload one of my many clips I took of the group, but unfortunately they're not working.... :( )
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| Best sausage I have ever had. |
We arrived back home in Rennes around four on Friday. I don't quite know how I feel about being back. On one hand, it's very sad to think that this was my last grand adventure before flying back to the States in June. Plus, the next three weeks will be spent finishing up essays and taking our final exams; that, paired with the stress of solidifying a summer internship, makes for a neurotic Dani!
On the other hand, it has been so nice to be in a familiar place and back with Antoine, particularly as there is such little time left to simply be here, in Rennes, my home away from home.
All I know is that I am not going to take a single second of the coming weeks for granted, because it will all be over only too soon.
Time sure does go by fast, doesn't it?
Love and hugs to all,
D
Oh how we have enjoyed your blogs of your many treasured memories in Rennes and the rest of Europe. Time does go by fast but you stopped to enjoy it. To break out of your bubble and say hello to the world. The places you have been, the people you have met, the food, wine, desserts and beer you have enjoyed is an experience not many will ever have. You have your heart in 2 places. As hard as it was to let you fly from our nest to France for a year, it will be a time in your life you will never forget.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy and savour your time with those your treasure. We will be waiting to hold you tight as you return home. For us, it is as if you have been gone a life time. That is how it feels when you deeply love someone special in your heart.
You have touched so many lives in this journey and you I have no doubt brought joy where ever you went.
Love always,
Mom