Auf Wiedersehen, Bregenz!

Saturday was monumental: my last in Bregenz. As cliché as it sounds, it is hard to believe I have been here a month already. In some ways it seems I was still getting used to this little town, but then I think back to that first day of getting lost, when everything was new and the town seemed rather large, and I realize just how much has changed in four weeks. I know most of the (cheap) restaurants in town, I know all of the employees at our favorite gelato shop, the Pfänder and der Bodensee are no longer foreign words to me. I have now tasted Döner, banana milk, Voralberg Trink Joghurt, real Wiener Schnitzel, and authentic Käse Spatzle and can (mostly) pronounce them all in German. My favorite water is from the fountain on the main square, I know about the shortcut through the cemetery, and I know that the grocery stores all close at 5pm on Saturdays.

I have only tapped the surface in understanding the people here and how they differ from Americans. I know that trash cans are hard to find, that olives and salami are breakfast mainstays, mountain-climbing is a common family activity, changing out of your Speedo on the beach is not taboo, and they are as in tune with American pop culture as we are.

Last night we had a dinner for all of the students from MSU and their Austrian host families. I sat with my host sister, Cheyenne, and her friend Emily. Our food took two hours to arrive (not a typical Austrian experience), which left us plenty of time to discuss Austrian and American culture.  These girls are enthralled with American culture, and their English puts me to shame. We discussed, among other things: American politics (Obama is generally admired in Europe), religion (much of the younger generation does not go to church because they feel it is too traditional and formal), and education (they were required to study English from a young age, and have also studied Latin, French, and Spanish). It was interesting to hear their impressions of Americans and what they had learned in school about American culture and tell about our families, plans, and lives.

Last night in Bregenz: Cheyenne and I

One thing I have loved most about traveling is the people. The buildings are impressive, the food is fabulous, the scenery is gorgeous, but after a lot of sightseeing I love to just sit and watch the people. These cities are packed with such a wide diversity, and each one has a story, a language, habits, opinions.  It makes me wonder how we ever get bored, when we are surrounded with such an array of people in our daily lives, no two the same. 

Schön Wien

I got back “home” to Bregenz tonight after a weekend in Munich, but before I write about that I should probably catch up on last weekend in Vienna.

We took the 8 hour train ride overnight on Thursday. This meant six people crammed into a single cabin, three bunks on each side, which allow the luxury of sitting up only if you don’t mind your neck being smashed against the ceiling at a 90°. Needless to say, I was happy to see the familiar friendly grande cups of Starbucks a few blocks after we got off the train in Vienna.

We didn’t waste any time and spent a couple of hours at the Leopold Museum, perusing art we have been studying in class. After lunch we moved on to the Belvedere, an even larger art museum.

The Belvedere

I got a little bit of exploring in before six of us headed to Vienna’s soccer stadium with  for Rapid Wien’s match against Paris St. Germain. We eventually elbowed our way to some tickets, ran to the opposite side of the stadium (barefoot) to the right entrance, and settled in for a true European experience, my first professional football match. The crowd was small by European standards, but they made far more noise than most American football crowds. One end of the stadium was set aside especially for the die-hard Rapid Wien fans, complete with a cheer conductor who coordinated the chants, songs, and flares that kept things lively throughout. Rapid Wien lost, but the experience and the giant pretzels were definitely worth the trip.

After the football game

Saturday we started out bright and early at the Secession, which houses (among other contemporary works that I didn’t get) a fabulous frieze by Gustav Klimt based on the composer Richard Wagner’s interpretation of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The afternoon was free for several hours wandering the massive market, full of fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, meats, fish, nuts, dried foods, cheese, breads, and plenty of restaurants and clothing stands. The smells and the sounds and the abundance were incredible; I wish I could do my grocery shopping here! The three of us bought little snacks as we wandered through, the most unfortunate of which was the small chunk of cheese, which tasted delicious but whose stench followed us around persistently for the rest of the day. We also climbed the wobbly scaffolding to the very top of the dome in St. Karl’s Church.

That evening we all attended Attila, our first opera of the trip, for our music course. Dressing up was fun, and it is amazing how much more meaningful and enjoyable an opera is when you have done some background studying about it.

view of the city from Stephenskirche

The next two days in Vienna rushed by with another (huge) art museum, The Kunsthistoriches, a night view of the city from a ferris wheel, gelato, two trips to the fabulous Schönbrunn Palace (once for the mazes and once for the zoo), more gelato, shopping, a tour of the State Opera House, and climbing the tower of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Vienna is an incredible city, with monumental architecture around every corner and a vitality that reminded me of New York City. I would go back in a heartbeat. 

Adventures in Germany

The last ten days flew by, and the adventures have been stacking up, despite my lack of blog posts. 

The German town of Lindau is just six miles up the lakeshore, and there is a great biking/walking trail that goes all along the edge of Lake Constance. Last Tuesday after class about ten of us set off on bikes for Germany. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a bike ride, and we made quick time. We found a spot on the island (of Lindau) to park our bikes, and the moment I locked up my bike I had the instant sinking realization that my bike cable key was no longer on my person. My first thought I must left it on my bed when I unloaded my backpack for the ride, so after ransacking my backpack several times, I borrowed Jon’s bike and headed back to Bregenz solo hoping to return in time to get in on at least some of the exploring with the rest of the group.

This church is about all that I saw of Lindau. The organist was practicing, which was perfect.

The whole way home I couldn’t help but think that I definitely had not taken the key out of my backpack since I had it a couple of hours earlier after class, so I prayed on repeat while I biked that it was somehow miraculously in my room. No such luck. My host family was nowhere to be seen, and of course the internet was down for the first time since I have been here, which meant that I had no way to contact them. I changed out of one sweaty outfit and rode to our school for some wi-fi access to let my family know what was up then set off back to Germany for the second time that day, without much of a plan but knowing that I needed to get Jon’s bike back to him.

Rainbow over Bregenz on our return trip

Another six miles later, I managed to find some of my group, and we considered our options. I was ready to leave the bike in Germany, take the train back, and come back for the bike later, but the guys wanted to try their hand at breaking the lock. While they tried various techniques (bobby pins, brute force, etc.), I took a mini-tour of Lindau while trying to find a bike shop with Jordan. I was prepared to have to prove my ownership of the bike somehow in order to get some help, but it must have been a regular occurrence because I barely explained my situation before she handed me a hefty cable cutter and sent me on my way. By the time we made quick work of the first cable, bought a new one, got some sustenance in us, and managed to collect the entire group, shops were closing and dark clouds were closing in. I decided that, since I knew the way so well now, my Lindau exploration could wait for another day. By the time we returned to Bregenz Jordan was bleeding, my bike breaks were off kilter, and we were all quite damp.

Part of the crew, braving the rain

Overall, a successfully memorable day of adventure in Germany with little harm done.

Miles biked today: 26

Hallstatt, Austria

Until we rounded yet another corner and spotted the quaint village nestled between the mountains across a serene mountain lake, we were not entirely sure that we were even on the right train. Along with the other three remaining passengers, we went straight from train to ferry, which provided a panoramic view of the lake and town.

view from the ferry

I was telling a regular customer of mine about my upcoming trip a couple of weeks before I left, and she raved about Hallstatt convincingly enough for me to check it out. I am so glad we did. We were especially struck by the kindness of the people we encountered. Everything seemed suspended in time, and the people seemed to have slowed their pace to fit their town. We missed heavy rains by a couple of weeks that caused a rock slide and severe flooding in the village. It seems that our hotel had been hit heaviest of all, with water and rocks rushing through the basement and first floor. The army had been stationed in town for three days to help clean up the aftermath, but they were obviously still trying to pick up the pieces. Despite this disaster and the fact that they did not yet have hot water or heat in the building, the owner was gracious and welcoming and our view was idyllic.

the view from our room

Hallstatt’s shops cater to the masses of Japanese tourists, and the town reminded us somewhat of Mackinac Island, except with a depth of history and quality of craftsmanship that the U.S. can’t compete with. We met Sharon, a British shop owner, on our first afternoon, who came to Hallstatt ten years ago on a film set and then decided to “become a hermit” and stay. Thanks to her, we got in on a fabulous 16-piece Big Band concert to benefit the victims of flooding that evening. She also told us about a tech school down the street where students learn to build furniture and musical instruments.

streets of Hallstatt

While exploring the next day, we found the school and wandered through their art exhibit. This fachwerkschule is actually a high school for about 400 students from all over the world who learn woodworking, furniture design, interior design, sculpture, and instrument fabrication. We were impressed by their work (these kids are 14-18 years old) and got to chat with one of the teachers for nearly an hour. He is actually a graphic designer and in his first three years at the school has redesigned their entire marketing identity: logo, publications, etc. His English was excellent, as was his design work.

a current senior's work

The weekend was completely relaxing: no phone, no internet, no schedule. I had forgotten what it felt like to get eight hours of sleep, but it was wonderful. We toured the salt mine (this involved a laser show and two wooden slides), soaked up the picturesque views, explored, took naps when we wanted, people-watched, and generally did whatever caught our fancy. It was just right.

An dem Weg

It's Friday morning here, and I am on the first of three trains to Hallstatt, Austria: east and south of Bregenz. I have been here a week now, and we have been packing in the adventures! Classes started Monday, so each day we head to the convent for a few hours of art history and opera education (not the official title). We are set free at 2:00 each afternoon, which leaves plenty of time for exploration. 

On Monday we set out up the Pfänder, which is the “mountain” on the edge of Bregenz. Compared to the snow capped Alp off in the distance, it’s not a real mountain, but it took us a agood hour and a half to hike to the summit. The view was breathtaking (ok, it also might have had something to do with the steep incline and being out of shape), the cows really sported huge bells, and the valley we beneath us could have been a screen shot from the The Sound of Music. Jumping in the mountain lake water when we got back down was heavenly.

Tuesday was recovery day from our hike for swimming, gelato, and exploring. I have a bike now, so I can cover a lot more ground in less time. The driving style here is… confident, to put it mildly. With all of the tall hedges and narrow, winding streets, blind corners are more common than not. Austrian drivers deal with this by pulling halfway into the turn, slowing down a bit, and then edging in anyway. This makes biking an exciting experience, but I have adopted tried to adopt their confidence on two wheels; it seems to be working so far.

my street

A rainy Wednesday left time for homework, Euchre, and patriotic music, and Thursday dawned with no plans for barbecue or fireworks. In fact, the most patriotic sight I spotted in Bregenz was an American flag strategically placed in the hand of the shiny Statue of Liberty in our neighbor’s yard. My house mom has declared that I am sehr sportlich after our hike Monday and a long run yesterday afternoon. Most Americans are nicht sportlich, she says, which is the general opinion of Americans here: fat and lazy. We have only experienced warm welcomes so far, however. If the Austrians don’t like us, they hide it well.

Happy Independence Day!

Another four hours left on our train ride… perfect time to knock out some homework and a nap.