Fertig mit Europa

It's hot.  I forgot how hot Iowa gets.... Wow.  I mean, wow.  Okay, anyway, on to the final installment of my Europe trip.  My journey home.

I had gotten back from Zürich and was now happily in Salzburg.  It was Monday night, and I was supposed to leave from Munich on Thursday.  Most of Tuesday I spent at the house, sleeping and getting over being sick.  Something about Europe apparently does not agree with me because that was the second time I'd been sick in a 6 week span. So Tuesday passed, and then Wednesday I was feeling so much better and I had planned to walk around town, so I did just that.  I spent my last day walking around more of Salzburg than I think I had the whole time I was there.  I went farther north than I'd been yet, and farther east.  Salzburg even gave me a beautiful day to enjoy.  The morning and afternoon spent, I went back to the house having successfully spent all of my Euros that I didn't want to keep and having acquired some more souvenirs.  Guess what then happened?  Yep, it started raining.  Once again, Salzburg was sad to see me go.  I can't quite recall though, but either that night or a night before, it hailed again.  BIG hail.  The weather apparently had a scheme brewing....

The next morning. being my departure day, I was up at 3:00 a.m.  Showered and packed, I went to catch the earliest bus to the train station - 5:27 a.m. (or something absurdly early like that).  I waited...and then waited...after a short waiting break, I waited some more....all the while begging and pleading with God to please send a bus my way.  Here's the deal, I had to catch my train at 6:32 a.m. to get in to Munich around 9 a.m. to go through customs and be at my gate in time for my flight which left at noon.  What I wasn't aware of at the time is that for US Citizens flying back to the states, you are asked to be at your gate an hour before departure time...soooo 11 a.m.  Goody.  So I wait and pray some more and then a guy comes along.  It's about 6 o'clock now.  I asked him to make sure that the buses were running today, and he said "yes", but that it was a bank holiday, so that meant it would run on the Sunday schedule.  The next bus would come in about 5 minutes.  Ok...at least the bus was coming.  Sure enough, the bus came around the corner (I've never been so happy to see a bus in my entire life and I don't like I will ever be again), I loaded my suitcases, caught the next transfer bus, and made it to the train station in time. Win!  

I went straight to where my train would be coming in and sat down, but it got continually closer to my departure time and no train was to be seen.  Then an announcer voice comes over the speakers and all can catch are the words "Train", "No", "Munich", "Bus"..............heh, say what?  I asked a lady near me and she informed me that apparently the delightful hail the night before had taken out the power lines for the trains all the way to Rosenheim which was on my way to Munich, and that they were going to try and take us by bus.  20 some people with all their luggage, by bus.  Well, that was fine for the people who didn't have a plane to catch, but for myself and another older gentleman, that wasn't really an option.  He had a flight leaving at 11:15 a.m. so he needed to get there quickly also.   In the process of all this happening, somehow my mom either called me, or I called her, and we talked over what the options were and the only option that ended up being available was taxi....all the way to Munich.  Ok, yes, it was going to be expensive, but let's assume that I missed my train shall we?  So let's say the trains were working later that night so I got on the train to Munich.  Alright, I get to Munich but all the flights to the US are full for the next few days (My mom had found that out), so I have to stay in a hotel for at least one night.  That would be at least 80 Euro which is approximately $120.  Then, I get an airplane ticket, but since they are all pretty much booked, it ends up costing, we'll say, $3000, which was about what my mom had found out.  I would gladly pay the $550 dollars to get to Munich and catch my original flight than pay around 3,000....so taxi was the plan.  I offered to split the taxi ride with the guy who also needed to go to Munich to catch his flight but he was in such a huff'n'puff about it, that he refused, confident that if he could just get ahold of the airport, they would get him a change in flight that wouldn't cost him anything, that this wasn't his fault, blah blah, how could he be expected to pay for this, blah blah, the phones won't work here, 500 dollars?!? that was crazy to pay, blah blah and so on... Ok, whatever you say buddy, I'm catching my flight.

After some issue with payment method, I finally had my luggage in the trunk, my self in the car, and a way to get to Munich, a way to get to the US.  I had a pleasant conversation with the taxi driver on the way and at one point he asked me if driving fast bothered me, it doesn't thankfully, because what should have taken around 2 and a half hours took about 1 and a half or so.  He even took me straight to my terminal.  I found my way through the airport, went through at least 5 different forms of security check, and got into my gate around 10:40 a.m. with time to spare.  Sure enough, the flights were booked and completely full, but the flight was pleasant, the interchange at Philadelphia uneventful, and then I was in Chicago, riding down an escalator to see my parents standing there, waiting for me.  I was home (almost).  We found my suitcases easily enough (thank goodness for bright, florescent pick duct tape), loaded up into the car, and set off towards Burlington. 

I have to admit, that since being home I have found adjusting to be a little difficult.  It was easy to adapt to a lifestyle that was always in motion, always with something new to see and do, and always in German.  Not that my life here isn't exciting, but it isn't as active, and it certainly isn't in German.  I find myself missing the language so much and with little to no opportunity to practice it.  It is so wonderfully good to be home, but at  the same time, there will always be a part of me that feels a little homesick for Austria.  Aber, für jetzt bin ich fertig mit Europa....aber nür für jetzt...(But for now I am finished with Europe....but only for now.)

Victoria

Zic Zac and Zürich!

I'm currently sitting at my computer, waiting for my album to load onto Snapfish.com so that I can order prints of pictures. Then with that done, I can begin my next adventure which is perhaps almost as expensive as traveling abroad, but perhaps a tad more time intensive...scrapbooking. My grandparents and parents bought me a scrapbook and the materials I need so that I can have a hard copy of my memories.  It will be a wonderful thing when it's done I'm sure (I hope).  Also, this waiting allows me the perfect opportunity to write the next section in my adventure towards home.  I had left Venice and was now on my way to Zürich, Switzerland.  This was on June 19th.

We arrived in Zürich around 5 p.m. and the first thing that instantly secured my heart to Switzerland, was the fact that I was back in a German speaking country (that and it has amazing chocolate...).  I had missed German so much while in Venice (even though it was only one day) and going back to a German speaking country felt like going home in a way.  Then add a beautiful lake view, fresh air, friendly people, gorgeous mountains in the distance, and free ketchup, and I'm sold.    Zürich really took my breath away (well, I mean, by this point I was still feeling ill and breathing was a little difficult through a stuffed up nose anyway).  The first order of business was to find our hotel room.  See, usually when traveling through countries in Europe, a person stays at what is called a Hostel. It is like a hotel (just take away an "s"), but much cheaper and not quite so luxurious (depending on where you go).  Rooms are set up so you can share a room with three other people, or 7 other people, or even 15 other people.  That's how it stays so affordable for travelers (who, let's face it, have no money usually).  Unfortunately for us, all the hostels were booked for that night, so I booked a room in a cheap hotel for the night using the internet on my phone.  We eventually find our way to the hotel, Zic Zac Rock Hotel.  Oh my.  Each room, is themed, with a famous person.  For example, there is the Prince room, or the Bon Jovi room, and then of course there was our room....the Bob Marley room.  Apparently, in my hastiness, I had requested a smoking room...apparently in my hastiness I had also booked the room for the 24th of June....which was 5 days later...The two gentlemen at the desk were nice enough to allow me to switch the room reservation to the current day, but did not do so without laughing at me a little first.  

We explored the hotel a little, and then I opted to shower and sleep since I was not feeling well.  We called it a night and prepared to explore Zürich the next day.  I woke up feeling quite a bit worse, probably because I was in a Bob Marley themed room...and the air was not the freshest...but none the less, we ventured out and found that God had blessed us with a beautifully gorgeous day.  The air outside thankfully, was crisp and fresh and clean, and the city, amazing.  We walked around all day, going into shops, buying souvenirs, sitting near the lake and lunching in a grand park.  We visited a few churches and did a few touristy things, but not much otherwise...I was content to simply be in Zürich and enjoy the general beauty.  Honestly, out of all the places I went to in Europe, Zürich is my second favorite city (after Salzburg naturally), and I would love to go back.  The people are nice and very helpful, and the city is industrialized, but not in a dirty, smoggy sort of way.  It was a very pleasant city with old buildings mixed in with new buildings and shopping streets with all varieties of stores and people.  I wish I had more to tell you, but with me being sick and us only having a day, all we really did was walk around.  Our train was leaving at 6 something in the evening to take us back to Salzburg so we headed to the train station.

We sat for a while and a train pulled into our gate about 40 minutes before ours was supposed to leave, and it didn't have Salzburg as its destination, so we sat some more til that one would leave and ours would come.  Well then it got to be about our departure time and the train was still there, in our gate.  Quite confusing.  I then heard over the intercom that it was the last call for the train to board and we looked at each other, then looked at the train, jumped up, grabbed our things, and flew to the nearest door of what we now understood to be our train.  What I didn't fully realize at the time is that not all trains list every single stop...and some minor stops are left off and it is to be understood by the supposed all-knowing traveler, where his or her stop is.  Thankfully, I asked someone on the train and he alleviated my fears by saying that yes, the train did in fact go to Salzburg.  Happy day.

Sure enough, we pulled into Salzburg around 10:00 p.m., we grabbed a bite to eat at McDonald's, then I caught the very last bus going to my house that night.  It felt like going home.  It was going home.  And next time, I'll write about my second homecoming...Back to the US I go (but not without trouble of course)!!

Victoria

Auf Wiedersehen Italien! Hallo Der Schweiz!

 Ich bin so faul!! (I am so lazy!!)  It seems that without something to do every minute of my day, I procrastinate the simple things such as writing on here and working on pictures and such.  I apologize for having not written. Well, I shall remedy this problem right now!

Venedig - Venice


I don't know how many of you know this, but train companies  have this really cool option called "Night Trains".  Pretty self-explanatory.  You ride a train...at night...makes sense, right?  Well, there's more.  These night trains have sleeping compartments, with beds, and they also serve you breakfast in the morning, with coffee.  Happy Day!  So Anna and I met at the train station around midnight and then after waiting an hour or so, got situated on our train in our beds.  Now, I normally sleep pretty well in vehicles because of the movement and the bumps, but add a bed to the equation, and I'm a happy camper.  In the morning (around 6:00 am) they woke us up and asked whether we wanted coffee or tea with our breakfast and then brought each of us our food and drinks.  Approximately two hours later, we arrived in Venedig (Venice) and got off the train.  Our first mission: find a bathroom.  We found a bathroom.  Second mission: Find the exact change needed to get INTO said bathroom and USE it...I love Europe, but that is one thing I will not miss - having to pay to use the restrooms.  After freshening up a bit, we walked out of the train station to find an absolutely breathtaking site.  Down the stairs to what I guess you would call a street, you see the river/canal in front of you, with boats and people and buildings.  Something similar to the picture.


We stayed in Venice for only one day and had a train ride at 6:00 am the next morning that was to shuttle us off to Zürich, so we planned on walking around the city, hopefully taking a gondola ride, simply enjoying the city and the sites, and then waiting around at the train station until the next morning (in my head, it made no sense to try and find a hostel to go to bed at 11:00 pm, and wake up at 4:00 am to get ready and catch the train...so we stayed up all night, maybe not the smartest decision, but it worked).  We encountered some interesting people throughout the day, some who were very pleasant, and others who were not..so..pleasant... For those of you who have been following along, you may recall an incident in Salzburg when a guy asked me a ton of questions, wanted my phone number and started to follow me on his bike and I might have lied and told him I had family in Salzburg and that I didn't have a phone or facebook?  Well, that scenario pretty much repeated itself in Venice, only this time, I was from Austria, my travel buddy was my sister, and neither of us spoke very much English.  The things you'll learn about yourself....  


Needless to say, Venice is gorgeous.  The city is a winding maze of confusing streets crowded with people and canals crowded with boats and gondolas.  Every corner turned presents a new breathtaking, unexpected surprise.  The buildings are old and mysterious and there are so many little shops nestled into any little space available.  Then, take into consideration that the buildings are hugged right against the canals which are crossed by quaint little bridges.  I actually got to go on a gondola ride through many of those little canals.  It was wonderful!  The drivers are amazing too. They steer those boats like it's nobody's business!  Now so far, I've painted a picture for you that's quite pretty and nice...but I feel it only fair that I paint the other side for you as well.  Venice is crowded, smells like dingy water and old cigarette smoke mixed with old alcohol, and the streets are so confusing as there is no grid formation.  Now I admit that since I had started getting sick that day and walking around with a heavy backpack isn't a super duper pleasant experience, my opinion of the city might have been negatively affected.  The city is beautiful, and if any of you ever get a chance to see it, I would recommend it, but as for me, one day was enough. 


Well, after a lot of walking, some shopping, eating, and more walking, 6:00 am eventually rolled around and we got on the train (we got to sit first class by the way),   and headed off to our next destination.  Auf Wiedersehen Italien!  Hallo der Schweiz!  (Goodbye Italy, Hello Switzerland!)

Victoria