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Published: October 8th 2009
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Hello everyone! Well, it has been almost three weeks since I arrived in Salzburg, Austria. Time has really flown by but at the same time I feel like I’ve been here even longer because I already feel familiar with the area. Salzburg, meaning “Salt City”, has a population of about 150,000 and the locals actually refer to it as a town instead of a city since it is so small. It is very touristy but it is still so beautiful! I still can’t believe I’m living here and studying with Radovan Vlatkovic at the Mozarteum. It is really a dream come true!
Anyway, a few people suggested that this would be a good way to keep track of my experiences and it’s a convenient way to let family and friends know what I’m up to since not everyone has skype or Facebook and phone calls are expensive. I’ll do my best to tell of my time here so far. We were so busy so it’s difficult to recall everything we did and the places we went to/ate at. There is a lot to read so if you want to save yourself some time, skip to day 5. That’s when the
fun started! I might not be able to put up too many pics right now as I left most of the picture taking up to mom and they went home with her. So, let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start….ha! (Sound of Music anyone? Bueller?) I’m a dork I know. But it’s only fitting ☺
Well, my parents and I arrived in Salzburg, Austria on Saturday, September 19th, 2009. I had been on a short trip to Europe back in high school but this was my parents’ first time. I think we were all very excited and a bit nervous. I still wasn’t quite sure what I had gotten myself into. Nobody could believe that my mom was going to fly overseas. She was freaking out about the long flight and we kept joking that she should just take an ambien before the flight. Haha! I think she ended up doing ok though. We left Houston in the afternoon of the 18th, transferred in Frankfurt, and arrived in Munich late morning on the 19th. It’s much cheaper to fly to Munich than to Salzburg and it’s only 1.5-2 hours away. The flight was
a little bit uncomfortable once it came to sleeping time, but not too bad. It was much better than I remember.
We had too much stuff to take the train from the airport so we had to take a taxi-bus service. The first thing I noticed when we were leaving the airport were the taxis. Most of the taxis are BMWs or Mercedes! Much nicer than ours! I think the ride to Salzburg was supposed to be about 90 min. but it was bumper to bumper traffic the entire way! It turned into about a 3-hour ride. At least the scenery was pretty! Or whatever I saw of it when I wasn’t dozing off. We were so tired! We arrived at the hotel and wanted to get settled in before we met up with Maggie. She works in the OEAD Housing office and assisted us with finding housing, completing paperwork, etc. She was extremely helpful and we were meeting her so she could give me my room key. So, we checked in at the hotel and found out we would be staying in the part of the hotel that was across the street. That is where they have the
rooms for more than two people. We also learned that the building across the street did not have an elevator. Uh oh! Buildings are not required to have an elevator if they are under, I think, 4 floors. We did not mind climbing stairs but we were on the 2nd floor, which is actually the third floor, and we had 4 very large, very heavy bags. My dad and I were just going to help each other take them up one at a time but the bellhop insisted that he take them up himself. We still helped him some and we felt so bad for him. He was so sweaty and red in the face when he was done!
We could hear a band around the corner playing Austrian folk tunes and we wanted to try to make it down there to see them. By the time we were washed up and ready to go, the music was over. But we did make it for complimentary tea, coffee, and cake! We relaxed outside on the patio to enjoy the cool weather while we waited for Maggie.
A few minutes later, Maggie arrived with the key and some good
news. A single room had opened up in the dorm! I had actually kind of been looking forward to having a roommate from Spain but with my experience with past roommates, we decided a single would be best. We had had such a difficult time finding a place to live since this was all so last minute. I almost ended up with my own flat, which was what I was hoping for, but we thought it was a little too risky when the landlord wouldn’t provide pictures or an address. We were desperate and going to take it anyway but then we found out a space opened up in a dorm. We figured that would be more convenient while I got adjusted. Dorms here are much nicer than in the states. They are very nice and clean, and it’s like a small apartment. I have my own bathroom and kitchenette, which is nice. The dorms where recently remodeled so the room seemed fairly new (thank you IKEA). It’s a little far from school and the main area of the city, about a 20 min. bus ride, but it’s just for the semester. I don't mind having to ride the bus
Dinner
gluten free plane food... since bus system here is pretty reliable. The bus stops even have signs that count down the minutes of when the bus will arrive. Next semester I will most likely be living just a few minutes from school and the main part of the city. Ok, back to Maggie. So she ended up taking us to see my room and gave us a little bit of a driving tour of the city. Afterwards, we had a very long but nice dinner at a Greek restaurant. I had some very good moussaka and I think mom and dad had lamb. By then we felt like zombies. We were so tired, so we headed back to the hotel to go to bed.
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Lynne
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Wow!
Im finally getting around to catching up on your European adventure! What a great way to keep track of your experience! Am glad I was able to talk to you on the phone.