Our adventure in pictures

I finally uploaded our pictures to Picasa!

To view the album directly, check out the album online here.

Vienna III: Van Geest Edition

   I have been avoiding blogging all of this because every time I sit down at my computer I feel guilty for not working on my history paper... but that is in the final stages, so here is the week's news from Graz in summary.
   Monday afternoon I jumped on a train to go meet two very special girls who were passing through Austria on their way from Prague to Venice. Erika was my roommate for a year and a half, but studied abroad my last semester at Calvin. She and her sister Marijke are currently in the middle of a month backpacking around Europe. Wien Meidlung train station was the first time we had seen each other in two and a half years. There was much screaming and hugging :) (click Read More)

Family tour of Graz and Salzburg

   I just said goodbye to Mom and Dad at the train station here in Graz after two and a half days in Graz and two days in Salzburg. Tuesday morning we snagged some Kuchen at the market and took the tram out to Schloß Eggenburg and toured the museums and houses. The gardens around the big yellow building are full of blue peacocks. In one corner of the grounds there was an archeology museum with pieces from the Hallstatt period through the Romans. Dad had a great time translating grave stones! The palace also had beautiful "State" rooms, an art collection, and a coin museum because the builder was head of the Hapsburg mint.
   On our way back into town, we stopped by the "Friendly Alien" for a quick walk through the modern art exhibits and a lovely view over Graz. (click "read more")

Wiener Parents, ja!

   Mom and Dad were subjected to essentially the same Vienna tour that I did with my friends about a month ago, so you should recognize the locations of some of the pictures! We took the U-Bahn into downtown and did a walking tour around Stephansplatz and the Dom, down the main shopping streets (Dad was not as amused as Mom and I that "douglas" is the name of a makeup store chain), past the Oper (where Mom met a charming gentleman selling Mozart tickets), and through the Hofburg.

   In the afternoon we headed out to Schönbrunn and walked up to the Gloriette through the gardens. The weather started out clear and sunny, but by the time that we reached the huge summer palace it was a little cloudy, though not unpleasant! Mom and Dad went on a tour of the imperial apartments while I explored the Carriage House- Ana, it is definitely going on our list! 

   Over the next 24 hours we also made stops by the Hundertwasser houses, Belvedere palace and gardens, the Nachsmarkt, parliament, Stadpark, Manner chocolate store,  and espresso and tortes (including Sacher) at a Viennese Café/Konditorei... by the time that we finally got on the train to Graz, Mom and Dad were pretty exhausted!

  

Sunny Salzburg

   Only one week into Easter break and I am ready for it to slow down a little bit! I got home at 8:30 pm last night after three fantastic days in Salzburg with Petra, Pavel (Russ.), Gabriel (Deu.), and Marietje (Belg.). After spending the first afternoon wandering around the city, we decided to buy a 24 hour "Salzburg card" for the next two days, which gave us access to more than we could possibly see in that amount of time...
   In lieu of a long-winded, blow by blow account of our adventures, here is a summary and I'll let the pictures fill in the rest (If the slideshow does not start, click here to go to the photo album)

(Thanks to Petra for sharing her photos with me! The album will be expanded when I swap with Marietje, Pavel, and Gabriel)
Day 1:

• 4.5 hrs on the train from Graz to Salzburg, met Gabriel there, found hostel.
• Lunch at a really nice place on the east side of the river
• Wandered around town, over the Mönschburg, along the river
• Bought bread, cheese, olives, and wine for a picknic-style dinner at the hostel
• Evening walk through town...

Vienna 4: Schönbrunn to the Danube

   We were up early in the morning on Saturday and, after some granola and tea, took the tram to the Schönbrunn Palace. The summer home of the Hapsburg family was stunning, ornate, opulent, and steeped in history. The walls had the stories of the Emperors, Maria Theresa, Marie Antoinette, Sissi (Elizabeth von Bayern)... written into them by the royal family and a the best artists of the period. After touring the personal apartments we walked out to the gardens. Funny, it was a pretty popular place for Vienna's morning runners! Warm, just everything ready to bloom... We didn't walk up to the Gloriette, but next time! (tea, Mom?)