Prague and Paris

Well, I survived midterms and now I can say that I'm halfway through the semester.  Can't believe how fast time is flying!  Speaking of which, tomorrow will mark my second month of being abroad- now that is hard to believe!  I feel like I have been here for a million years now!  I'm still loving it here in Salzburg and the experiences I have been having here are really helping me build confidence and stamina. 

Oh where to begin..... 
I went to Prague two weeks ago.  It was a beautiful and a very interesting place to visit.  We left Salzburg at 4:30 in the morning (not really the best time) and arrived there at around noon on Friday, October 21st.  It was a lovely train ride as I got to see the apparent differences between the landscapes of Austria and the Czech Republic as we crossed the border, as well as the sun rising over the Czech countryside- what a beautiful thing to see!  I also got to have my first experience staying at a hostel, which I've got to say was not as scary or dirty as I thought it was going to be.  The rooms were clean and there weren't any "creepers" staying there.  Actually, everyone was quite friendly.  We met this guy who had to have been in his late 20's or so and was a science teacher taking a free-run sabaticle around Europe for three months.  When we got there, he  asked us if we were Americans and we said, "Yes,"  and his face totally brightened up and then he said to us, "God bless you!"  It was his first time in Europe ever and that was the first time he had ever met any Americans since he had been there.  He was a really nice and friendly person and it was a fun way to get to meet some new people on this trip. The next day, we just spent a lot of time sightseeing Prague.  I've got to say that the food was really interesting.  I ate this cookie/cake kind of thing called a Trdlnik.  It's this delicious, doughy, sweet, kind of cookie that is baked on a roling pin.  After it is baked, they take it off the rolling pin where it forms a spiral shape and has an oppen middle.  Then sprinkle it with LOTS of powdered sugar. If you are interested in how they make it, go ahead and google it.  In the downtown square, they have this neat astrological clock that rings every hour.  A large crowd of tourists gather each hour to watch it ring and watch the little little saints come out of the clock tower.  I was lucky enough to see it happen twice.  Overall, this weekend get-away in the midst of midterms was wonderful!

And now to Paris!   So much to see and do!  I saw and did  soooooooo much!  I can definately say I'll be going back there in the spring when everything is in full bloom.  I think I can say that this was the first time I was ever completely satisifed with a group tour.  Our itinerary was well balanced out allowing us to see almost all the popular sites and giving us every evening free to do whatever we wanted.  We left Salzburg early last Friday morning.  We first stopped in Ulm, Germany (also the birthplace of Einstein) to see the world's tallest highest church tower.  If you have never been there, it is a Gothic Cathedral that was built between the 14th and 19th centuries and measures up to 626 ft.  What's fascinating and unique about this cathedral is that above the enterance is the "Israel Window," which reminds the Christian people of the Holocaust.  Another cool thing about this cathedral are the Choir stall (you St. Paulian choir people will get a kick out of this!)   Between the Nave and the Altar are wooden chairs decorated with small figures of carved oak wood in tge shape of saints, martyrs, scientists, philosophers, and most importantly, female prophets of the old testament.  I'll try to post some pictures of these.  And I know a  perfect place under two carvings where some certain choir members (not to be named) could sit!
We spent the night in Metz, France and then visited Reims, the capital of the Champagne region of France, before we arrived Paris lat in the afternoon. It was interesting to see how champagne is made.  It is stored in cellars really deep underground for many years and we got to see all 19,000 bottles that are currently stored down in the cellar.  And yes, it was very good Champagne!  We all got to sample a free glass at the end of our tour. ( :

We arrived in Paris on Saturday evening.  It was nice because we went and checked into our hotel and then we had the whole evening free to do whatever we want.  Of course, most of us went to go see the Eiffel Tower.  I think my most memorable moment in Paris was seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time.  After all the pictures and movies I had seen the Eiffel Tower in, there I was staring at it with my own two naked eyes.  It was perfect timing because it was turning dark and when it turns dark, it starts flashing lights.  It was such a beautiful sight!  And then when I found myslelf walking closer to this enormous steel structure and finally standing underneath it, I was like, "Whoa! I've got to be dreaming right now!"  The week before, I was stressed and somewhat sleep deprived from midterms and a week later I was in the most beautiful city in the world.  I couldn't have been any more happier! 

The next day, we went to Notre Dame.  Our visit of Notre Dame was incredible because it was a Sunday so that mean that mass was going on.  I didn't attend the actual Mass service (I don't need to specify why that is), but I did get to see the acolyte, deacon, and priests proccess down the aisle, which was pretty cool.  Not every Sunday you get to attend and/or see a service at Notre Dame hehehehe!  Afterwards, we went to visit the Sainte Chapelle.  The Sainte Chappelle was the palace chapel of the royal family and a reliquiry shrine for relics of the passion of Christ, bought by Louis IX (Louis the Pious) from the Byzantine emperor.  The stained glass windows inside were so beautiful and colorful!   To conclude our tours for the day, we went to visit the Musee Marmottan (Monet Art Museum).   To be honest, Monet is one of my top five favorite artists, propably number four after Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Van Gough.  I have always had an admiration for is paintings of landscapes.  It was a wonderful, but exhausting, first day in Paris and ended nicely by going to Moulin Rouge for Halloween night.

Day 2 in Paris consisted of a tour of Fountainebleau, which was used a hunting palace during the reign of King Francis I and then Napeolean after the French Revolution.  The palace and gardens are MASSIVE, but not quite as massive as Versaille.  After visiting Fountainebleau, we got the rest of the day free to do whatever we wished.  One of my friends and I went to the Champs Elysee where I got to do some shopping and we went to lunch at this cute little cafe with a sailboat themed setting where the waiters wore sailor hats and blue and white striped sweaters- it was darlin!  I had alway imagined myself sitting on the Champs Elysee drinking a cappucino and yes, there I was doing exactly (well, almost- we weren't exactly outside) what I imagined myself doing. 

The next day was out tour of Versailles.  I just can't believe that someone actually lived in a place that huge!  But it was absolutely beautiful.  I can say that I totally liked the gardens better than the inside, especially since all the fall colors were in bloom, which made it extra gorgeous.  The interior was beautiful as well, but what really annoyed me were these funky Japanese scultptures that were on display throughout the palace of Versailles, which, to me, really interfered with the whole European beauty of the Palace of Versailles. Especially since I'm not so much of a fan of modern Japanese art work.  After touring the palac and gardens for a couple hours, a group of us went across the street to this really cute and very French cafe where I orderd a latte and a crepe with chocolate and caramel syrup and vanilla ice cream.  It was the prettiest crepe I had ever seen and wow was it delicious! 

Afterwards, we rode in our tour bus back into Paris and had a tour of the Musee Rodin, where I got to see the two famous sculptures of the "Gates of Hell" and "The Thinker."  Then we went to the St. Louis Des Invlaides where I got to see the tomb of Napolean.  Yet, it was another long day of tours and ended with a small group of us going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  It was getting dark and it was foggy, so we didn't have a very good view, but it was still worth it.  At least I can now say that I've been on top of the Eiffel Tower!  

Our last day in Paris conluded with a tour of the top two museums in Paris: The Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay.  The Louvre was incredibly amazing and HUMUNGOUS!  I felt like I was playing Da Vinci Code- another surreal moment for me.  I got to see the original Mona Lisa and the Aphrodite.  Since the place is so big, I didn't get to see everything unfortunately, but I was completely satisfied.  I think the Musee D'Orsay was my favorite out of all the museums we went to because it's full of impressionists artwork, such as works by the artists Monet, Renoir, Van Gough,  Manet, Degas, etc.  What I love so much about impressionist paintings is that they consist of things from "real life."  Nothing to do with religion, mythology, or imaginary creatures- it's all REAL.  To me realist and impressionist paintings act as a mirrror towards our everyday lives making (or helping) us see what life really is.  So I give big credit to these magnificent artists. 

So that pretty much sums up what I've been doing these last two weeks.  I only have 6 weeks left of Fall semester so things are still really busy here in Salzburg.  Not sure where I'll be traveling to next before my three week Christmas vacation.  Oh speaking of which, I will be spending my Christmas break in the United Kindom and Spain.  The plan is that my cousin Glenna (who's currently serving in the Peace Corps in Benin, Africa) will come visit me in Salzburg, then we'll fly to Dublin, Ireland and spend 5 days there.  Then we will fly to London and spend Christmas there with her mom (my cousin) Ann and my Aunt Marge.  I'm so excited!  Then I'll fly back to Salzburg for New Year's, spend a couple days there to rest and then on New Year's Day my friend and I are going to fly to Barcelona and spend the last week of Christmas break traveling between Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Madrid.  Yeah, that's a lot of traveling to pack in, but it's the best oppurtunity to have since I'm here and won't have any classes to stress about.  At the end of my eight months abroad, it will have all been worth it!  Life is so good!!!