Alright, I have a confession to make. Before this semester… I had never seen the Sound of Music. Ah, I know! As part of the class we had to watch it (and apparently listen to the soundtrack every single day on repeat). And as much as I do not like musicals.. I have grown to like and appreciate the Sound of Music.
The whole class met in Austria on Saturday, and we all got to do the Sound of Music tour. Pretty cool, right? Well we started off the tour by going to the church where the Von Trapps got married (in the movie), called St. Michael’s church. They actually got married in the Stiftkirche Nonnberg nunnery up the hill, but it was too dark to film in. That was the actually nunnery where Maria Von Trapp went to and the one in the movie, the scene where the kids run up to the gate of the nunnery asking for their Maria back. We went and saw that too- it is still a working nunnery. We walked over to the hotel that all of the cast of the movie stayed in (besides the children) called the Hotel Bristol. Kelley told us many stories about the cast and that hotel- Christopher Plummer was actually an amazing pianist and played for people almost every night after filming. Did you know that he actually absolutely hates children? That's ironic. The filming was supposed to take 6 weeks but ended up taking 12 because of the weather. So they all lived in Salzburg for quite a while. We went to the Mira Bella Gardens, where toe Do Re Mi scene was filmed- that was pretty cool. And we went to the house that was used in the movie and the real home (which you can stay in for the average price of a hotel). And of course, the Gondola, where we got videos of all the girls singing 16 going on 17. Salzburg was a really cool place, and I’m sad we only spent a day and a half there. It’s beautiful! I posted pictures on facebook of course! Sorry I haven’t posted any on here lately, it just takes way to long to do L. I’m headed to Italy tomorrow for our Art History tour!
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Hello friends! It’s been so long since I last wrote, weeks actually! I am so sorry for such a time gap- I definitely thought I would have more time and energy to blog while being abroad. I’ve never been so wrong. I think the last time we spoke I was just about to head out on my road trip with a few friends. I told you about how I was a little nervous right? I mean, driving across all of Western Europe isn’t always the safest thing to do- especially when you don’t know the road laws. However, it turned out to be okay! It was actually one of the best weeks I’ve had here. I got to spend an entire week with a couple of my closest friends here, in our own car, no agenda, and no obligations. It was amazing! In just 7 days I was in a total of 7 countries. Crazy right!? We started off in Regensburg of course, left around 10 am on Saturday November 8th heading towards Netherlands via Cologne Germany. We ended up just staying in Cologne for 20 minutes, because we couldn’t find anywhere to park- ugh. We then headed toward a town called Utrecht about 45 minutes south of Amsterdam. We stayed with a friend of Olivia’s, which was so great! They cooked up traditional Dutch meals, played card games with us, and best of all- let us sleep in their cozy beds. It was a nice place to stay overnight and I’m so glad we did. The next morning we headed to Amsterdam! We when arrived, we dropped off my friend Emily with a couple of her friends that she planned on staying with for a couple days, meanwhile Olivia Harriet and I checked into our female only hostel. I totally recommend doing that by the way. We stayed in Amsterdam for the next couple of days, and it was one of my favorite cities so far. Weird right? It’s such a spiritually broken place, yet I hated to leave. Spiritually broken is honestly the best way to put it… Amsterdam is a sad place. Not only because of what takes place there every day, but the history as well. The drugs, exploitation, abuse, and neglect almost sickens me. To make things worse, we took a tour of the city where we learned all about each of those topics. We even walked through the Red Light District (don’t worry- it was in daylight and with tour guides). This was the part that made me cringe. We walked through multiple allies, where all types of woman stood, practically naked, in their windows ready to welcome men. I had always heard about places like that, but never experienced it first hand. I’ll spare you the details of all that I learned, simply because it’s horribly inappropriate and horrific.
Later than night, I met up with my friend Emily and we got to go see our favorite band in concert at the infamous Paradiso Club. We saw Twenty-One Pilots! If you don’t know who they are- you best been looking them up right now. My personal favorites by them are Migraine, Ode to Sleep, and Car Radio. So go do that now- then come finish reading. Done? Okay! Anyways, we got to see them live which was definitely in my top 3 favorite concerts! It was done so well! I am still in awe… it was SO GOOD. So yeah… I could go on and on about how much I loved it, but I don’t want to bore you. The next day we headed to our next country- Belgium. We stayed in a small town north of Brussels named Bruges. If you’re looking to get a Belgian experience, but wanting to avoid the touristy towns, Bruges is a wonderful place to go. Like Amsterdam, it’s a canal city, and so full of life. In a different way though. It’s quaint, much like a German town, but there are always people out doing something. We were lucky enough to be there on Wednesday morning, when they do their weekly markets. One of my favorite things to do is walk around and see all the fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. They also had fresh rotisserie chicken (for my carnivorous friends) and delicious potatoes (for me). So we enjoyed a very nice lunch, and once again loaded up our little rental car, headed in the direction of Paris! When I used to think about Europe, I always imagined it much bigger than it actually it. In reality- Europe as a whole is like the size of the United States, and full of small countries. By the end of my trip, I will have been to 11 different countries! That is just insane! So in just a week we were able to see 6 countries, not including Germany, since we live here. So our drive from Bruges to Paris, which sounds like a long distance, only took us a couple of hours. We stayed in a town just outside of Paris, St. Denis, and took the train into town instead of trying to; a. drive in Paris and b. find somewhere to park for under 100 Euros. That turned out to work very well, since it only costs us about 6 euros for a day pass (Very cheap in the metro world). While in Paris we did many of the iconic touristy things, such as the Arc De Triomphe, Notre Dame, The Louvre, the Lock Bridge and of course, the Eiffel Tower. Can you guess which of those my favorite was? Okay- inly 15 Euros to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower!? Why wouldn’t you go!? That was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Never in my life did I imagine myself at the top… How great! I posted many, many pictures on Facebook- so check them out. From Paris we drove through Switzerland, which was absolutely beautiful, and ended up in the small town of Lindau Germany, which is right on the boarder or Switzerland and Germany. There wasn’t a specific reason for staying there, expect for the fact that it is only a 45 minute drive to Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is a tiny little country that you probably have never heard of before. I had to go there to get my parents a magnet. Anyways, there is not much to see there so we only spent a couple of hours in the country. From there we drove through Austria, and finally made it home to Regensburg Germany. We technically didn’t have to be there until the next day, so the three of us had to try to find somewhere to sleep that night. A hostel in Regensburg was way out of our price range (especially since Olivia lost 200 Euro somewhere in Europe a few days prior). Harriet decided to pay the large price for a bed in a hostel, but Olivia and I decided that since we still had the car for another night- we would just sleep in it! Sounds great right? Except for the fact that it was below freezing and we didn’t have any blankets. Luckily, when our director found out that we were doing something so stupid- she called our hostel and got us two more beds. Praise God for caring adults rights? So we slept well in our warm beds- and were ready to take on the rest of our adventure the next day. Olivia and I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to return our car (and walk back in the freezing cold), and then get all of our stuff together because we were about to head to Austria! Kelley (our amazing director) picked us up and we headed east! Sound of Music- here we come! So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night. This week I've learned more about what it means to extend grace than I have in my entire life. It's been a rough couple of days, weeks actually. Without going too much into detail, I'm desperately in need of prayer and encouragement lately.
But back to my main point- Grace. What is grace? Grace is unearned, undeserved favor. It's when we get what we should not... One of the best definitions I've heard is this... "Grace is when we get what we don't deserve, and mercy is when we don't get what we do deserve." Just sit on that for a minute. Anyways, this week the Lord, and many people around me, have been showing me grace day after day. And no matter what I do, or how many times I mess up... Grace is still given. It doesn't make sense... kind of like my post about forgiveness not too long ago. It has only challenged me to extend grace in every aspect of my life, and the lives around me. Even when it doesn't seem fair- just think about all the grace that the Lord has shown you and I- we should do no less. On a different note- I leave for my road trip tomorrow morning! Crazy right!? Again, I'm asking for prayers for safety over the next week. Driving doesn't make me nervous, in fact I love it. But driving in a different country- a different continent- scares me to death. That being said, I will most likely not have access to internet for the next few days, but I will do my best to update you all Remember, Grace. Yesterday our class got to take a field trip to Nuremberg Germany- famous for many things. But the one I was most excited about is the Christkindlemarket. Or as I would describe, the Christmas town of Germany!!! Every year the town is filled with different shops and carts all for Christmas. Millions of people gather to do their Christmas shopping- and it is honestly one of the most beautiful events! Unfortunately they do not start until the second week of November, so we were a little early, but we are going back soon. Expect to see pictures.
So, back to our field trip. Nuremberg Germany, the spiritual capital of Germany, the toy capital of the world. Inventors of the pocket watch, gingerbread and so much more. Home of the largest walled city the third Reich, the Nuremberg trials of the 1940's, and the largest history museum in Europe. And somehow we only spent a few hours there. We first went to the Document center, which is home of the Nuremberg Trials documents, as well as a plethora of information on WWII. From Hitler's youth and coming into power, to the coming of the Third Reich. There was so much information, and it was definitely interesting to learn about the German's side of WWII. One of the most impactful parts of this tour was when we watched clips of the Nuremberg trials of 1945 to 1946. I sat in awe as each member gave his statement about how they had no idea of what was truly going on in those years. And only 12 of the Nazi Leaders, the ones who didn't already commit suicide, were sentenced to execution. It made my stomach turn, to think that only a handful of people were punished for the torture and death of over six million Jews. Just a reminded of how sick and twisted our world is. We then headed to the German National Museum, yes, another museum. To be honest, my brain was full and I haven't completely processed all that we saw there. I do know that we saw the oldest pocket watch, and the oldest globe in the world. So that was pretty cool, the globe didn't have America on it yet either haha. They also had a toy museum, since Nuremberg was responsible for putting out many of the toys in the past centuries. Right outside the museum was what is called the "walk of freedom". It's a long line of pillars, each has a different language of the world. They even put a tree in the place of the Navajao's Pillar. It was simply a recognition of all the nations of the world. Then we got to do a little tour of the town. Much like almost every other German town, Nuremberg was absolutely adorable. Beautiful buildings, cobblestone streets and fresh produce everywhere. Coach took us to apparently the 2nd best Bratwurst house in Germany... too bad I'm a vegetarian! Everyone else enjoyed it though. We didn't get to stay too long, which means I will have to spend more time where when I go back! I am so excited for the Christmas Markets. It was a good day- I learned a lot and got to spend it with some pretty great people. Seriously guys- I would love to hear from you- so feel free to write. It still doesn't feel real that I am living in Europe... will it ever? I am trying so hard to not take this for granted and enjoy every minute of it. Much love, Me. Hey friends! I was sitting here in my room doing homework when I realized that I haven't even told you guys about my room! I haven't told you about any of my daily life here in Regensburg really. My life in Reggy is the closest thing I have to normal while I am traveling through Europe, since I am here for a majority of the time. So here's an average day for me!
There are 13 of us students this semester, a small number for AMBEX but I love having a small group. They are like family. There are 11 girls, and 2 guys that keep us in line. We live in a youth hostel in Regensburg Germany, which is somewhat like a hotel. 6 of us girls are in one room, 5 in the other, and the 2 guys are right next door. And right across the hall is our classroom. It's nice sleeping right next to where we have class, because I literally roll out of bed and go. Depending on the class, we start around 8 or 9, or whenever the professor feels like it I suppose. And we get out at about noon. Lunch is served at the hostel for us, and we usually have the rest of the day to do homework, hang around Regensburg or whatever it is! For example, this week after class a few of us went and did homework at one of the cute little coffee shops downtown. On weekends we are usually traveling, or doing something as a group. In fact, this is the first weekend in two months where I am simply sitting in my room, instead of on a train, plane or bus. I had to option to go to Prague for the weekend with a couple other friends, but my wallet decided against it. Next time! So I am here in Reggy. Regensburg... oh sweet Regensburg. It's a quaint little town with more history than the States, crazy right? Our hostel is technically on an island, right across the bridge from the Old Towne, and the beautiful cathedral that I've been posting pictures of. One of my favorite things is to walk around the town and see all there is to see. Cute bakeries, German antique shops, café terraces and so much more. Guys, it's lovely here. So, there is a little bit about my home away from home. Hope you feel informed :) loves! |
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