Misc. Adventures

So here I sit, in the computer lab of Denise's school, chatting away with various folks, both online and not, and realizing, I never updated the blog while I was in Germany. So a brief rundown, with some more specific information to come.

Monday, April 5th:
Arrived in Vienna (re previous post on my own stupidity) and spent the evening with Denise, a lovely hostess. Who even cooked!

Tuesday, April 6th:
Wandered most of the first district, got lost once or twice, made ideas about what to do when I come back to Vienna.

Wednesday, April 7th:
Started early in the day by catching a train to Salzburg. After checking in at the hostel I walked around the old part of town and visited the Dom Cathedral. Tried to find the Mozart Residence, but was completely unsucessful.

Thursday, April 8th:
Started early again by hiking up the hill (small mountain is more descript) to the Salzburg Fortress. After touring around the fortress I came back down and went to both of the Mozart museums (it was glorious!) and did more walking and piddling around. After a break at the hostel for dinner and a little relaxing, I met up with Anne Maree, someone from my dorm, and we went for a twilight walk of Salzburg. The city that had been incredibly breathtaking during the day, was astounding at night.

Friday, April 9th:
Once again, early day! Took the train into Munich, checked into the hostel, and proceeded to walk the entire city (including the Englischer Gardens) in one afternoon. I also toured the Residenz, which reminded me in a bizarre way of a mix of Versailles and Buckingham ...

Saturday, April 10th:
Took the train to Berlin, although I started a little later that particular morning. I had plenty of time on my hands. Dealt with rude German students, and the most adorable family that made me a little homesick.

Sunday, April 11th:
Decided that since I didn't get to visit Auschwitz, touring Sachsenhausen, the very first concentration camp was a good idea. It definitely was, and I'm glad I took one of the guided walks as well. It was really informative, and helped me understand what was what. It was also incredibly depressing. I've done a little research in addition to that visit, so I plan to write up some information about the visit at a later date.

Monday, April 12th:
After tooling around Berlin for the morning, I took one of the Fat Tire Bike tours for Berlin. I just did the basic city tour, and it was such a wonderful way to see the city. I had only the one day to basically do everything, and it was a little overwhelming, so definitely worth the price to pay up and get to do it all on a bike. Someday I'll go back and spend more time and do it properly. After the tour I grabbed my bags and hightailed it for the Hauptbahnhof (which is an attraction in and of itself) and caught the next train to Leipzig. By the time I made it to the hostel I was super tired and it was about 7:00, so I pretty much just ate dinner and collapsed.

Tuesday, April 13th:
The most convenient train for Vienna left at 10:36, so I tried to see as much of Leipzig as was possible in three hours. I definitely didn't succeed, but I saw the two Bach churches, one of them being a famous one from the Monday Marches from 1987. ;) After that I hopped my train and spent the next nine mind numbing hours heading back to Vienna. Whew.

Wednesday, April 14th
Oh wait... that's today! I walked around the Hofburg section of Vienna today for awhile and then once I was really good and soaked searched out a museum. The most convenient one was a bundled ticket for the actual Hofburg (palace) with the Schönbrunn. So after touring the Hofburg museums: Silver Collection, Imperial Apartments, and the Sissi museum (exploring the myth!) I headed over to meet Denise so I could attend her music history class with her. It was a riot, I'm so glad I went. He talked about a lot of stuff that I had written papers on this last term, so it was especially interesting for me to hear a Viennese person explain it. Very interesting.

Tomorrow I plan to tour the Schönbrunn palace (the summer palace) after meeting Denise for all you can eat salads. Super great plans. I'm happy. Friday is still yet to be determined. Saturday I go home ... sad days. I have to go back to the real world....