Emily's Exploits

PICTUR ES Our final week in Europe was spent touring Tuscany and then a quick trip to Innsbruck, Austria (where the Winter Olympics have been held twice!) We did a lot of hopping on trains and moving to and from hotels- so it wasn't my favorite leg of the trip just because we were on the go so much- but when you're in Italy, how can you even complain?  I actually loved the long train rides because there were castle ruins near the alps, and beautiful scenery and it was just fabulous. I spent a lot of time being introspective and getting excited to come home. Because now that I'm home I feel great that I'm here and ready to move on to the next step in my life.  Getting back to the trip: Venice: Very pretty with all the water and gondolas. We went to St. Mark's square, then to Rialto bridge, and the next day we spent on Murano Island (close by Venice) where they make the famous glass sculptures and jewelery and things! I loved the island and I bought myself some great...

Study Abroad has been life changing. I have learned so much about the culture, about people, the food,the music, dancing, recreation, and day to day life of the Austrians. But there is one part of the Study Abroad which is completely unique and can never be duplicated in any other time or place.  I've been blessed with an amazing group of supportive friends and teachers. Of course we didn't start out as close knit as we are now, but the joy was in the journey of discovering their lovely  personalities and learning to create a working environment of love and learning. I'm going to copy what a few of my friends have already done in blogs past and write a bit about each character in the story of my Vienna Experience, just as a tribute to them and my gratitude for the things I've learned from them.  Dr. Vincent is the leader of our group. He is the Opera Director at BYU. I first met him when I was a senior in high school- I arranged to have a voice lesson with him one weeke...

Sorry- here's the link to all the pictures from the previous two posts :D HERE

SALZBURG After finishing our German final, all 10 of us students hopped on the train to Salzburg!! The place where the Sound of Music was filmed!! Our trip thru the countryside was fabulous. I am in LOVE with Austria. The grass was so vibrant and green with patches of daisies, there were rolling hills everywhere with little villages and churches, we saw a gorgeous sunset... I simply cannot put it all into words. I cried as I looked out the window when we got toSalzburg. That's how sappy I am.  We saw the  Hellbrunn palace owned by some sort of bishop, and he put in all of these fun water powered mechanical things, as well as water that squirts you unexpectedly from random places, like out this deer's antlers! It was built in the 1700s and was powered by water then, and still is today! It's fascinating.  The people in the town wore those cute hats and traditional coats, and there was a cute market, and the huge castle complex at the top of the hill that was built in 1077, a...

MAUTHAUSEN This camp began in 1938 as a concentration camp for German and Austrian "criminals". Prisoners of war were sent here, and Jews began to enter the camp in 1942. The average life expectancy of someone entering Mauthausen as a prisoner was 2 months. An estimated 50,000 people died here, and another 50,000 or so died at sub-camps surrounding Mauthausen.  There is a stone quarry down the hill from the barracks where the prisoners would hew away stone and carry it up the hill to build more buildings. Sometimes for fun the officers would push prisoners off the cliff of the hill once they got to the top. They called it "parachuting".  When a contingent of 500 Russian prisoners attempted an escape, those who were found were brought back to the camp in the cold of February, chained to a wall, and hosed down with cold water until they froze to death.  In the summer, overseers closed all the windows and doors to their sleeping quarters. Their rooms reached temperatu...

OK, but not really. I spent the afternoon going on my seventh and final walking tour around the southern part of Vienna's inner city, between the Naschmarkt and Belvedere Palace. And it was so wonderful! First of all, it was nice to just be alone and stop when I saw cool things that I wanted to see... and sometimes I find strange things that I think are cool, like this:  I find photoshop fun... It's not Elizabeth Arden, but it's a red door... and it is awesome. Found an art gallery on a street I passed. Don't you just love the old architecture and the beautiful sign up above? I can hardly even believe I saw this from across a really really busy street.  And probably best of all, I found or walked past 4 vintage clothing stores! It was a shame they didn't have anything like a necklace or earrings out, or else I would've bought it! The clothes were ADORABLE, albeit expensive. I doubt that I'll have time to go back, but if I don't, a trip to Urban Exchange...