Salzburg Christmas Markets

Hi everyone!

I hope you are doing well. I had another calm weekend in Salzburg. On Thanksgiving my study abroad group went to a Mozart dinner theater. It was really lovely and in the oldest restaurant in the world or something, it dates back to a monastery from like the 800's. I got a real Thanksgiving meal on Friday, though. My American friend Danielle, who I met in my aerobics class, invited me to a Thanksgiving dinner at her house. There were over 20 people there, including my friend Kathleen who went to France with me. It was a mix of American, British, Irish, and a few Italian, Czech and Polish students. Everyone brought something, so we had turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes. The British brought bread pudding and rice pudding, so that was new to me. I didn't understand at first, but Kathleen taught me that they call all deserts puddings. Once again, there is a huge cultural gap between Americans and British/Irish/Scottish people, even though we speak the same language.

On Saturday I rode my bike along the Salzach River which runs right through Salzburg, and went up to this church on a hill called Maria Plain.

I also went to the Christmas Markets in the Aldstadt with my Austrian friend Hanna. There's such a great atmosphere of the bustle of shoppers and little stands with Christmas goods. They say this is the warmest November Salzburg has had in 230 years, and that there should be snow for the market. Of course I'm a little relieved it isn't colder than it is, but I hope it will snow before I leave. We had some Glühwein, hot spiced wine, and walked around the market. It's so cool that their markets over here are outside.
Here's a pic of the Getreidegasse, the shopping street in the Aldstadt all lit up:

There's also an outdoor skating rink set up and humongous Christmas trees.

We had church on Sunday and choir practice again. I'm looking forward to our Christmas service and concert, but I also really enjoy rehearsal and just singing again.

Here's one view of the house I'm living in: There are gardens on both sides, and sorta shutters on the windows, but I guess they're more like a double window.

This is the view of Salzburg from the church I hiked up to. It's a great view of the mountains surrounding Salzburg.

Next weekend I'm going to Berlin. It should be interesting. By the way, I was thinking that I wouldn't have too bad of culture shock coming back to the US, since I'm in an industrialized, Western country and all, but then I watched Cars, which is a cute film, and SO American, I'm definitely going to have culture shock. No doubt. Just watching I had dreams about dringing through the Hill Country. I only have 3 1/2 more weeks here. I definitely feel ready to come home. I've done so much and learned through every experience. Pray that I would continue to live these last weeks here fully and to invest in relationships here to the end.

Loving the Advent Season in Salzburg,
Liz

Life in Austria

Well, I didn’t go out of town this weekend, which was really nice and relaxing. I’ve been travelling every weekend for the past month or so. So, I enjoyed just being in Salzburg. We had gorgeous sunny weather on Friday, so I rode my bike on some trails out of the city and saw some new sites, like the castle that they used to film the back of the house in Sound of Music. It was great to go to church and worship with the believers I’ve met here. After church we had a choir rehearsal for a Christmas music program we will have in December. I’m so glad I get to be a part of a choir again, even for a short time. We have amazing musicians in Salzburg. A lot of the students I’ve met in church go to the University Mozarteum, a music institute. I know they are some of the best musicians in training, and that someday I will see their names for concerts and think back to the days we spent together as students in Salzburg.

I thought I would share some small things that are different about living in Austria.
- People say ‘Malzeit’ before a meal, like ‘enjoy your meal.’
- Stores are about 20 times smaller than HEB. People just shop more often and buy less each time. There are bakeries and markets for fresh bread and produce. At the stores, the cashier quickly scans your items and then you pay and get try to get your stuff and yourself out of the way while she starts checking out the next person. It was frustrating at first, but I guess I’ve learned to bag quickly and move!
-Students pay next to nothing for a college education, and it used to be free for them. Some facilities are older and could use some improvement. The university campus is spread out through the city- there is no main campus. The library and certain majors are in old buildings in the Aldstadt (old city), while language classes are in another area, and science classes in another, newer building.
-There are more hazelnut flavored products over here. Like Nutella- a delicious chocolate hazelnut spread, goes great on pretzels. I don’t know how you justify having it for breakfast, but then we have donuts in America.
-Like 70% Catholic, that’s all.
-And we’re getting into the Christmas season, which means Christmas markets, ice-skating in the square, hot wine. So nice!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’ll have a dinner concert with my program, but I think I’ll miss out on getting turkey. Only one month until I come home!

Liz

Aha, Praha!

Dobrý den!

This past weekend my study abroad group and I went to Prague, capital city of the Czech Republic. You might not have any idea of what is in Prague, but it is actually a very large city. We toured the historical part- many theaters and shops, the Charles Bridge, and a castle.

The Charles Bridge was pretty cool- especially at night. It has statues of saints along it, and is pretty long. Prague has more of an Eastern Europe and Russian flavor to its culture.

On Saturday I visited the Prague Botanical Gardens- Botanik Zehrada. They had a long greenhouse with plants from different areas of the world. It was nice to be back in the horticulture world!

I also went shopping in Prague- the Czech Republic mines Garnets, so they had beautiful jewelry. And, this was the first time on the trip that I had to change money. The Euro has definitely simplified travelling through Europe.

Well, not too much else going on. I'm still riding my bike, rain or shine. Tonight I have Taerobics- I enjoy chatting with the girls there. Salzburg is starting to decorate for Christmas, and I'm excited! Hope y'all are doing wonderful!
Love,
Liz

Italy

Hi everyone!

Well, we had our first snow here, but I wasn't even here. My friend Dave and I travelled by train to Italy for 5 days. We started in Rome. I got to see more in Rome than I had 3 years ago, but there still wasn't enough time to see everything. We toured the Colosseum and Roman Forum, saw a bunch of Michelangelo's works including his Moses, Capitoline Hill, and of course the Sistine Chapel. We went through the Vatican and St. Peter's. It was great weather, and I enjoyed meeting other travelling students in the hostels we stayed at.

After Rome we went to Florence, which is a great city. We walked up to a chapel on the hill, with a great view of the city.

I went to the Boboli Gardens and walked around the expansive old landscape.

We also saw a great exhibit at the Uffizi gallery of Leonardo da Vinci's notes on everything he studied-anatomy, movement of water, his flying machine. It was incredible to see his genius.

Finally, we travelled to Venice and saw Venice by night. It is so unique with the canals! We enjoyed walking along small canals and crossing bridges and seeing St. Mark's square.

It was good to get back to Salzburg after all this travel. The train ride through the mountains freshly covered with snow was so beautiful. We went through some light snowfalls, and saw mountainsides of fir trees white with snow. Such a winter wonderland! The snow has almost all melted here, but I'm sure there will be more. I had a delicious dinner with my host family last night. My hausfrau roasted duck and we had with it Knudel (bread dumplings) and red cabbage.

I'm looking forward to Bible Study on thursday nights with a group of students from the English-speaking church here. When I'm with them I feel at home here.

Be blessed!
Liz