Partyzeit

While all of you were worrying and complaining about your NCAA brackets, I was busy doing other things that were far less depressing.

On Wednesday, most of the ND students got together and threw a St. Patrick's Day party/dinner that couldn't be beat. Sadly, no one over here really knows that March 17th is a holiday, and they go to work/school/the gas station/therapy SOBER instead of being completely drunk for the entire day. So, in order to show the Europeans how it's done, we made some soda bread, stew, cookies, fried potatoes, and some other tasty stuff that I don't remember at the moment. The potatoes were my idea, and while it was suggested that it may have been more appropriate for us to serve boiled potatoes in typical Irish fashion, it was also suggested that we should probably serve food that tastes good, since we were throwing a party. So we took over the first floor kitchen, packed it full of people, and had a good old time. The Polizei may or may not have been called. That's all I should probably tell you.

Distinguished ND trumpet alum Charlie Vogelheim was visiting for the week, and on Thursday we went out with him to Stiftskeller, the same place that I took Mike Carter on the previous weekend. Thinking of the tiny bubbles made me feel queer. (<- INSIDE JOKE)

On Saturday, Jonathan and I took a day trip to Munich. We hopped on the 7:30 train out of Innsbruck and got to Munich at around 9:30. We then proceeded to walk around rather aimlessly through Olympiapark on our way to the BMW headquarters. We stopped for an hour and a half at a German garage sale, which wasn't a garage sale so much as a giant collection of people who drove their cars out to the park and set up tables to sell their old crap. It was fun looking at all of the old German stuff for sale. I thought that we might be able to find some really cool souvenirs, but we mostly just found old stuffed animals, clothes, and random figurines and such. We ended up purchasing a used knife set for 4 euro. Also at Olympiapark:

Nuthin' but a G Thang

In the afternoon we took a guided tour of the BMW Museum, which lasted an hour and a half and was totally awesome. There were amazing cars and motorcycles everywhere. Here's just one of them:

Pierce Brosnan drove this exact vehicle during the filming of Goldeneye

We capped off the day by going to the Paulaner brewery for Starkbierfest, which means Strong Beer Party for all of you who need that sort of help. The beer was strong, the pretzels were huge, the women were dirndl'd, and people were dancing on tables. 'Nuff said.

On the train ride home, Jonathan and I shared a compartment with a South Korean guy who was visiting a bunch of friends in Europe and an Italian economist and economics professor who was returning home after a conference in Munich. English was once again the language of choice. We continue to meet new and exciting people from all walks of life in various random situations, and most of the time these new and exciting people speak English with a fair degree of competency.

Today I went skiing with Per, one of our Swedish friends from Rössl. Conditions at Kühtai were less than ideal; it was mostly cloudy, the snow was a bit slushy and sticky, and at around 3:30 it actually started raining. We knew the season was coming to an end, and so we wanted to go one last time, and despite the mediocre conditions, we got in a great day of skiing. On one of the lifts we met a nice German lady who lives on the Nordsee. It was refreshing to speak actual German with an actual German, instead of mincing dialect with a Tiroler.

All in all, a great way to say goodbye to old man winter. Celebrate with me by watching some Germans sing a silly song about the coming of spring!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73xXkoqwcRQ

More Winter Games

Mike came to visit this past weekend! With him came what was hopefully the last blast of winter for the year, and there was a fresh coat of snow on the ground. Undeterred by the slippery conditions, we took Mike hiking up the Nordkette on Friday, and thankfully the weather cooperated and gave us some spectacular views. After dinner we went to Cafe Sacher, where Mike and I both had the legendary Sacher Torte for the first time. It was tremendous. It could have been the best single piece of cake I've ever eaten, except it wasn't because the portion size was so tiny. We then went to Elferhaus in the Aldstadt to show Mike how good beer should taste, since good beer is pretty much nonexistent (and when existent, very expensive) in Rome. He finally realized what he'd been missing.

On Saturday, we went skiing, and Mike survived!

Mike Carter, skiing the Alps! It really happened!!!

That evening we went out to Stiftskeller, a restaurant in the Altstadt, where we ate traditional and stereotypical Austrian classics while listening to live music. Mike and I both had Wiener Schnitzel (von Kalb, of course) and Apfelstrudel for dessert. The live music consisted of three rotating groups: one English-American fiddle & guitar band, one group from Paraguay that played traditional Latin music, and of course a Tirolean group consisting of an accordion, a string bass, and a guitar (as I recall). Here's a picture of us enjoying our Mass beer, which was the only size capable of lasting us through the entire meal:

One liter for each of us

After dinner, as we walked back, we noticed that there was a fireworks display on top of the Nordkette. It was rather impressive to see the mountainsides lit up, although God only knows whose idea it was to shoot of fireworks in an area known for deadly avalanches.

On Sunday we went to Mass in Dom St. Jakob (St. James' Cathedral). The service was nice, as always, and the music during Communion was particularly interesting because it was very modal and eerie sounding. We gave Mike the Austrian McDonald's experience, and shortly afterward, he hopped a train back to Italy. All in all, a very solid weekend.

And now, for your entertainment, I will share a couple of videos that made an impression on me since my last post:

Pidgeon: Impossible - http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=jEjUAnPc2VA

Trololololololololo - http://trololololololololololo.com/

Until next time!

Walk Like an Austrian

First, review your knowledge of 80s music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHngF_b3NuE&feature=fvst

- Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles

Then, listen to the song again from the beginning, but substitute my alternate lyrics to the first verse, and try to guess what happened to me on Tuesday!!!

All the Austrians on the block
They wait for greens lights to cross the street
They don't move too quick (oh whey oh)
They don't jaywalk like Americans

When the Polizei see you cheat
They want the money on the spot
10 euro fine (oh whey oh)
They stop you and write you a ticket

Foreign guys paying stupid fines say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like an Austrian

That's right, on Tuesday night, continuing my proud tradition of getting ticketed for doing harmless things that everyone else does without repercussion, I was fined €10 for jaywalking. Remember before, when I bragged about how trendy I felt when I walked across the street when the light was red? Talk about karma.

Classes have officially started, and it looks like it should be an interesting semester. I'm taking five classes, zero of which are Accounting classes, and half of which are in German. Yes, half of five. It should be a great semester as far as classes are concerned.

Jon showed me this interesting graph today, and since I haven't been taking any pictures for the past few days (my picture taking finger needs a break after last week), I thought I'd share it here to spice things up a bit. It's a graph showing the correlation between per capita GDP and the religiousness of a country's population. In general, the richer a country is, the less religious its population is, with one pretty significant outlier on the far right...

USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

Speaking of religion, Mike Carter is coming to visit this weekend! If you're one of the 84% of Americans who believe in a God, please say a prayer for Mike, so that he won't die when I take him skiing on Saturday.

Schönes Wochenende, alle!

Pretty Bubbles in the Air

Well, I did promise to keep these posts short, but since I've been in the British Isles for the past week, this post will almost certainly be the longest to date. Consider this post a substitution of length for frequency. I promise it will be really, really exciting. I'll even write in an intermission to make it easier on you.

ACT 1: Dublin

Jon and I caught a train to Munich on Friday night (this would be 26. February, if you're counting), and then a flight to London Stansted. We had an overnight layover, during which I had probably the most uncomfortable night of sleep of my life. Stansted is my least favorite airport in the world so far. It's ugly, uncomfortable, and poorly lit. The terminal is really just one giant hangar-like structure with various labyrinthine walls creating a maze that runs through it. I'd pay extra to skip it if I had to do it again.

We arrived in Dublin on Saturday morning and met up with Ashley Elias, our hostess for the weekend. We then took a well-deserved nap before heading out to take a walking tour of the city. Dublin is a nice town. It's a bit sleepy and the architecture is generally unremarkable, but it's also just a very comfortable place to be. There are statues of famous Irish men and women all over the city, as well as various street performers in the more popular areas. There was a group performing "The Wild Rover" right downtown as we walked past. I didn't tip them because they were obviously pandering.

Chillaxin' with Oscar Wilde

Shameless

We went to the Guiness storehouse later that afternoon. I learned all about how Guiness is brewed, and then after our self-guided tour we were taught how to pour the perfect pint of Guiness. If you don't know how to do it, you should really find out. It was delicious. That evening we all went out to a REAL Irish pub, where I had my first hot whiskey, a delicious drink that I would also definitely recommend.

On Sunday we took a trip to Howth, a fishing village and northern suburb of Dublin. There were sea lions there. We had some excellent fish and chips for lunch, after which we took a long hike around the rocky peninsula. The weather was great and the scenery was epic.

Like I said, epic

We eventually did make it out to that lighthouse in the distance, but it turned out to be private property. Showoffs.

That night we stayed in and watched the US-Canada Olympic hockey final. At least we made them work for it.

On Monday Jon and I met up with a friend of his named Maura who goes to college in Dublin. She took us on a tour of Trinity College and its environs, where we saw the Book of Kells and St. Patrick's Cathedral (which is Protestant...grr), among other city landmarks. We got lunch at McDonalds to facilitate our plan to eat McDonalds in every country we visit. Irish McDonalds is not nearly as good as Austrian McDonalds. The food generally tasted exactly the same as it does in America, but it was nearly twice as expensive. Dublin is a ridiculously expensive city and the McDonalds was no exception. I have no idea how the people who live there can afford their collective drinking habit.

That afternoon we went to the (former) Jameson Distillery. Now it's just a museum/tourist trap, but it was still very interesting, and I was chosen to participate in a special whiskey tasting, which definitely made it worth it. I was given samples of Jameson, Johnnie Walker Black Label, and Jack Daniels, and I found it hard to pick a favorite. They're all good, just very different. After the tasting I got another Jameson on the rocks, also for free (well, included in the admission price I'm sure). I now have a cheesy certificate that says that I am a qualified whiskey taster. Boom.

Weighing the options

On Tuesday afternoon we went to the Dublin airport to catch our flight to London. The Dublin airport is really very nice, and is probably one of my favorites so far. We had one last Guiness in the airport bar before we left. It's so much better in Ireland.

In conclusion, Dublin was a very nice trip. It's actually quite similar to America, more so than London and a lot more so than Innsbruck. For example, the buses are always late in Dublin and people aren't above peeing in the street. And they generally speak English better than the English do. I felt right at home.

And now, time for a short break!

~ 10 MINUTE INTERMISSION ~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6jqaA_jeZ8

ACT 2 - London

We arrived in London on Tuesday evening and met up with Jonathan MacDurmon and Lizzie Schwegman. I went out with Lizzie to an pub called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which was rebuilt in 1667. I had an English ale. It was almost exactly what I expected. Bitter, watery, and warm.

On Wednesday morning the two Jons and I went to the Royal Air Force Museum, which featured a number of, well, planes. They were cool planes, but there wasn't much there by way of exhibition or explanation, so I was a bit lost while the two Jons (both of whom are in ROTC and know a lot more about military history than I do) were in the zone and would pause every now and then to fill me in. I definitely learned a lot.

We met Lizzie at the ND Centre (note both the spelling and the fact that ND outbid the French government for the building) in Trafalgar Square for lunch, after which we took a walking tour of all of the typical touristy things to see in London.

Trafalgar Square

We rode the lion

At Buckingham Palace we had a lovely conversation with a very friendly old Royalist near the gate. He was very happy that the queen was in residence and told us grand tales about her reign and shared his excitement about her upcoming Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Lizzie and me at Buckingham Palace. Note the flag, meaning that the queen is in residence

Phone Booth + Big Ben

On our tour we found the Sherlock Holmes pub, and so of course we had to go inside and grab a beer, which was OK at best. The atmosphere in the place was decidedly touristy, so consider yourself forewarned. I felt kind of stupid for having fallen for it, which is the opposite of how I had hoped to feel after going inside the Sherlock Holmes pub.

We ate pub food for dinner (some sort of meat pie with potatoes and an ale) and then went to see Avenue Q, which was absolutely hysterical and the most fun I've ever had at a musical. It was only 20 pounds too (using the student standby option), so I really can't rave about it enough. If nothing else, it reminded me of the importance of the Internet. I may be updating my blog now, but what you think I do.....AFTER???

Me and Lizzie after the show.

On Thursday morning Lizzie took us to the British Museum, followed by Ben's Cookies and Indian food for lunch. The British Museum is especially cool because it has all sorts of stuff from all over the world that the Brits just went ahead and took while they ruled the entire world and then never gave back. The reason that we made it to all of these places in just one morning is because we walked at a SUPER FAST LIGHTNING BLITZ pace.

Do YOU know the Muffin Man?

Lizzie left for the Mediterranean that afternoon, and so the Jons and I went to the Imperial War Museum, which, for lack of a more appropriate descriptor, was FREAKING AWESOME and the best museum I've ever been to. It had all sorts of cool stuff from WWI and WWII and great historical information too.

Lawrence of Arabia's rifle

Whoa

On Friday we went to Greenwich and saw the National Maritime Museum (also awesome), the former British Naval Academy, and the Prime Meridian. The weather was, once again, perfect.

Naval Academy

Am I in the east or in the west?????

Later that afternoon we went to both the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. I tried to take pictures but got yelled at for doing so. By the end of the day, I was pretty museumed out.

On Saturday, the Jons and I went to a Premiere League English football game. We saw West Ham United play Bolton in Upton Park. It was definitely the highlight of the week. The game wasn't actually very good. The Irons were sluggish and just couldn't capitalize on anything, which made it

feel a lot like a Notre Dame football game, especially since West Ham lost the game 1-2. I've decided that I can identify with West Ham because the club resembles Notre Dame football in two ways:

1. They used to be great and now they're not so good anymore

2. Both organizations have had movies made about them starring an actor who also played a Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (ND: Rudy with Sean Astin, West Ham: Green Street Hooligans with Elijah Wood).

We didn't actually see any hooligans, but that's probably because the Metropolitan Police were there in such force that I couldn't turn around without bumping into one of them. It was an amazing experience overall, especially when we all got to sing the club song, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riLNuXGmrro

+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5daD7gjQUdo&feature=related

So I was once again reminded of Notre Dame football as singing the song brought back memories of singing Tiny Bubbles with the trumpet section during Friday marchouts.

Our Seats

After the Game

So we were in London for four days, and it didn't rain once. Score.

After another night in an airport (Gatwick this time, which is superior to Stansted in almost every conceivable way), I find myself back at home in a German-speaking country. It was very nice to speak English for a week, but Innsbruck is starting to feel more and more like home.

A very special thank you to Ashley, Lizzie, and Jon MacDurmon for showing us such a great time!

Congrats! You made it through! Reward yourself with a Cadberry Creme Egg. They're to die for.