Fall Break Chapter 2: Salzburg

As I alluded to in my previous post, I was a bit grumpy after Rome, disenchanted with Europe in general, and kind of disappointed in my adventure to Italy. It was a great trip, of course, but I wasn't blown away by it, to be honest.

Anyway, I got on a train from Rome to Florence early in the morning. This might be a silly observation, but I noticed that people are much more talkative in Italy than in other places I've been to on the train. All the while there was a pleasant hum of conversation filling the car rather than the stiff silence I've experienced elsewhere.

Trains are very punctual here, and I was surprised to see that at the scheduled arrival time to Florence, the train was still rolling and there was no city in sight. Normally, I wouldn't mind this tardiness - it means less time hanging out in a train station, but I only had a fifteen minute break between that train and my connection to Innsbruck, Austria. Time crept on, and I started getting more and more anxious. In summary, had I not ran through the train station in Florence and or had the Rome train been only one minute later, I would have missed the train to Austria and would have been in quite the pickle.

Nothing bad happened, though, and I was safe on the train, which meandered through Italy for a while before turning north towards the beautiful Alps. Though it looked cold, miserable, and rainy, it was still amazing to look out the window and see walls of earth rising up around the train. Clouds looked as though they had gotten tangled on the wooded slopes, almost like garland on a Christmas tree. I was in a small cabin with a German couple, and aside from a few comments on where in Italy we were coming from, we sat in a comfortable silence (as opposed to the uncomfortable, awkward silence that exists in other situations).

By the time I got to Innsbruck, it was dark outside. The connecting train to Salzburg was uneventful other than making significant progress in finishing The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I found my way to the buses, took it to my hostel, and settled in for the night.

Salzburg was my first experience with a hostel, and I think I was a little spoiled! It was very clean, comfortable, and well run. If you didn't know this already, The Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg and was shown every evening at 8, and so of course I watched it both nights I was there. But more than watching the movie where it was filmed, the following morning I went on a Sound of Music tour. The tour guide was a crazy, charismatic English woman and I had a complete blast!

Let the pictures begin!

Woman in the middle in the black hat was my tour guide - like I said, she was a hoot!

First stop: The Pavilion!

Something funny about the pavilion: people can no longer go inside it because an 82 year old woman was skipping around on the seats singing "I Am 16 Going on 17" and fell and seriously injured herself. Okay, so maybe that's funny in a terrible, ironic way.


Recognize the back of the Von Trapp home? :)

In the gardens where most of Do Re Mi was filmed.

The little gnome that they marched around.


The Do Re Mi steps.
I just felt like skipping for some reason.

On the tour, we also went outside of Salzburg and saw some of the beautiful mountain lakes!
A nice wall of rock that was seen in the movie. I know - these pictures are just becoming ridiculous!
See the red dome of the Abbey?


The Church in Mondsee where the wedding was filmed.


The bank where they skipped along the river, again in Do Re Mi.
The foot bridge they walked over!

That concluded my Sound of Music Adventures. I wandered around the city, ran into Mozart.

This wall is older than the United States of America.

I went up to see the fortress...



But entrance was pretty expensive and I had other plans to see castles later in my trip. I thus wandered down some new paths and found myself in the hills above the city!


It was so beautiful! The colors on the trees were pretty ripe and it was a nice fall day.


A bit of Salzburg for you!


In conclusion, Salzburg has been my favorite city so far! It wasn't a huge city like Rome or Paris, but was just about right for my tastes! And of course I am a fan of mountains. In fact, it has made me want to backpack through the Alps and first visit Switzerland, but then come back through Austria, and maybe on to Hungary.

I was sad to leave Salzburg, but my adventures weren't done yet. I still had Munich on my itinerary before heading home. But that's a story for another day.

Love from Belgium!
Gracie

Fall Break Chapter 1: Roma

I just got back a few hours ago from one of the most incredible weeks of my life! It started last Saturday, October 25.

I traveled by train the whole time. As a quick aside I really like the idea of having efficient public transportation! I took my first sleeper train from Frankfurt to Milano. It wasn't too bad. The set up was basically six beds that were bunked three on each side of a small cubicle. I was on the top bunk, and had to stow my luggage beneath the bottom bunk, clamber up a rickety ladder to the top, and get settled in all in the dark, trying not to awaken the four other strangers who were already sleeping having gotten on the same train at some earlier station.

At 2 in the morning, border patrol came into our compartment and searched the guys bags who was sleeping below me. I guess they found out that he had been in Amsterdam recently and must have been looking for pot. Other than that, I didn't a terrible night's sleep. It was pretty neat waking up in Italy just across the Swiss border. Too bad I didn't see Switzerland, but I have a feeling I'll be back!

I took a train from Milano to Roma, and the ride was lovely! Northern Italy is hilly, then we went through Tuscany, which was also nice! I would like to see it in the summer when it's full of plant life - everything has now been harvested, leaving behind empty fields. Not complaining - I was in Italy! It was also really neat listening to the families around me speaking Italian - it's such a dynamic language!

Arrived safely to Termini station and headed to Chez Liviana, a Bed and Breakfast, my roommate found on the internet. I met up with my three roomies (which, like the dunce that I am, I didn't get many pictures of -- sorry about that, guys! I'm not much of one for taking pictures of people). It was nice to stay in a place that felt lived in and not a hotel or hostel.

The Room


The View
After I got settled in, we were off! I guess we didn't want to start small, our first stop was colossal.



Norbert felt especially small.

I took a very interesting tour of the place, learned a lot of neat trivia that I won't spew out here. But I did think it was neat that the entrance gates to the Colosseum were numbered, and that the tickets (wee little terra cotta tiles) corresponded to the different gates. Below is number 52.


The bowels of the beast.


Proof I was inside.
Even though it was crumbling and faded, the Colosseum is still an amazing structure! It was neat to be standing in something that is about 2000 years old!

Arch of Constantine, just outside the Colosseum.
Did I mention the weather was beautiful? It was like getting a second summer! I had packed all sorts of cold weather clothes and was almost stuck sweating it out. Glad I had thrown in a few t-shirts!

Below is Trajan's Column, something I had studied in my art history class. The relief spirlas up the column and depicts the military escapades of Emperor Trajan.

Random fountain. I have a hypothesis concerning fountains, but that can wait for a few more pictures.


The Vatican! More specifically, St. Peter's Basilica. After visiting that cathedral, I need not ever visit any other! As a protestant, Catholicism has been a bit of a mystery to me, but through touring numerous cathedrals and pondering everything I've seen and learned, I'm at least starting to understand why they do the things they do.

Fountain. Now it's time for my fountain hypothesis. I think they're actually elaborate bird baths. Note the pigeons at the rim of the bowl.
A close up of the action.

Touring the Basilica was pretty cool, but the highlight (as morbid as this may seem) was touring the tombs of the Popes, including seeing where Peter the Apostle was buried. There was yet a heavy atmosphere around the tomb of John Paul II, and many people were there to mourn him.


After the Basilica, we headed to the Vatican Museum (mainly to see the Sistine Chapel).

Some Ancient Roman Heads for you!


Another flash back to Art History: Laocoon and his Two Sons.


Mosaic floor. Some ideas for home decorating, anyone?

Half-joking.

I was very excited to see this one by Raphael! The Plato and Aristotle - the two philosophers!

Just a note, the museum leading up to the Sistine Chapel is a labyrinth consisting of a miriad of chambers, each one with signs that seem to promise that the Sistine Chapel is next. Again, not complaining! It was humorous after a while, and created a good build up of tension. Cameras weren't allowed in the Chapel, but it was very impressive, of course.


One of my favorite parts of this city: ruins! Everywhere!



And, strange, but I present the Cat Shrine.


Look at that, another fountain! Except this one is famous!


The Pantheon. Pretty cool! However, from a historical stand point, I was disappointed that the Pantheon had been transformed into a Monotheon (it is basically now a Catholic Church).


And the Spanish Steps!
We all had a lot of pasta, some good wine, and gelatto! However, and I'm not sure how this will sound to you, I wasn't as crazy about Rome as I thought I was going to be. It was really neat and everything, but it felt too much like a city. I'm definitely not a lover of city life, and Rome was huge and overwhelming and crowded and crawling and...I could go on. I think this was also why I wasn't crazy about Paris. I'm glad I have been able to visit both, of course! But they weren't my favorites.

I felt sort of disenchanted with Europe at the end of Rome, actually. I could think of little that I would have wanted to see again and was ready to just head back to Brussels. I'm so glad I didn't end up throwing in the towel and continued my journey, but that is going to be kept for Chapter 2. Ha!

In closing, I leave you with this video. I'm thinking Alfred Hitchcock must have visited Rome at sunset, because this seems to happen every night.

Inspired by John Denver

I'm on a bit of a John Denver kick at the moment and have found myself repeatedly listening to "Take Me Home, Country Roads."

I have to confess that although I'm seeing wonderful things over here and I am so glad and thankful that I've had the opportunity to see the things I have, and I want to continue to travel around the world and see all the interesting things there are to see, I find myself loving the United States all the more in being here, especially rural America.

I love Virginia. I love Michigan. I associate both with the word "home" in my mind and heart. I would love to attend a graduate program in Virginia. We'll see how that works out - it's still a ways off - but it's a goal! :)

A simple life is a good life. I've done a lot of reflecting on my childhood and adolescence and have seen how good it was. I'm very happy and grateful for my parents (love you!), my family (love you, too!) and my friends (you're alright...kidding - of course I love you!). Unfortunately, I haven't made much of an effort to draw close to many people. I find myself scheduling people in rather than working my schedule around the people who are important to me. It has taken me coming here and feeling extremely lonely to realize how little time I invest in being with other people.

Anyway, thank you John Denver.

On that note, I'm leaving for Rome in a few hours, so I won't be writing in a while! I return to Bruxelles on 2 November (wow! Where did November come from??), so look forward to a post shortly thereafter!

My love!
Gracie