Holy crap. Where was I?
Right, so after two weeks of actually having to do "school" and neglecting my blog so that I could do exciting things to make up for having to do "school," I find myself bored enough once again to sit down and tell y'all what happened.
I guess I technically never finished blogging my spring break. Well, after departing Nice and arriving in Geneva, Jonathan and I hopped trains across Switzerland to get back to Innsbruck. Our itinerary got fouled up from the beginning when the first train we were supposed to take was either incredibly delayed or just never showed up because of the ongoing French strike. Instead of just sitting there and taking it, we decided to fly by the seats of our pants and just hop the first train to Zurich. So we did. We accidentally sat in first class, which was great until the conductor found us and ordered us to move. When we got to Zurich, there was another train leaving in 30 seconds for another town even closer to Austria, so we hopped on that one. We repeated this process of not really having a plan and just running from one train to barely catch the next one until we found ourselves in Feldkirch, Austria, where we finally got stuck with an hour layover. We used the hour to explore a bit and to get dinner at an Imbiss close to the train station, where I ordered THE BEST KEBAP I've ever eaten. Yes, for the record, the best kebaps are served by authentic Turkish immigrants in Feldkirch, Austria, near the train station. The restaurant randomly had American flags plastered all over the outside, too, which made no sense and thus made me incredibly happy.
On Saturday (this would be April 10, for all of you who are taking notes), I went to visit my (then) new friend Michele in Salzburg, which is truly a city fit for a king. We had a lovely day doing a lot of stereotypical Salzburg stuff. I still haven't seen The Sound of Music. If you really want to know more about what I saw in Salzburg, watch this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_3Ogv-bjO4
Salzburg: a fascinating town...
...where fascinating people live fascinating lives.
After a week of the usual, our friends from Salzburg came to visit Innsbruck, and we all had a great Saturday hiking up the Nordkette, cooking Mexican food, and doing other stuff. Lizzie was supposed to come to Innsbruck too, but there was an angry volcano in Iceland that prevented her from doing so. What the hell, Iceland.
On April 23, I hopped a train to Neckarsulm, Germany to visit my extended family, none of whom I had ever met before. I sat in first class again (accidentally) and got kicked out, as usual. Meeting my relatives was a bit challenging at first, since German was spoken exclusively. I can honestly say that, by the time I had to leave on Sunday, my German had actually improved considerably. All of that improvement is gone now, but whatever.
We kicked off the weekend by driving past the houses where my maternal grandparents grew up - right down the street from each other. After that we went out to a local brewery where I sampled some of the local beer. Only later did I properly realize that more people actually prefer wine in that region, which at first seemed rather anti-German to me, but after I tasted the wine, I changed my mind, because it was really good. On Saturday morning I went to the pool (baths, I guess) with my cousin Diana and my other cousin, Philipp. Yes, Philipp and I have the same namesake. There were two Philip(p)s and two Wolfgangs, so learning names was incredibly easy.
L-R: Eberhard, Wolfgang, Wolfgang, Philipp, Philip (Me), Marion, Angelika
Saturday evening/night involved driving to another town to hear a concert in which Diana's boyfriend Dominik was performing. He plays the trumpet. So does Philipp. I was in good company. Anyway, the evening involved a trip across German wine country in a VW convertible in 70 degree weather and Germans playing a hilarious rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. I took some videos which I would upload if my internet would cooperate.
After the concert, we went to a party in a fire station. Imagine, if you will, three old dudes DJing and mixing up some classic German music, a bunch of other old people dancing on tables, and a bunch of young people standing around drinking and laughing at the old people. In a fire station. It was awesome.
On Sunday, Wolfgang and I went to the motorcycle museum in town. We rode his motorcycle to get there. Afterward, we cruised through the countryside for a couple of hours. We eventually arrived at a small mountain where a biker convention of sorts was happening. Apparently it happens every Sunday. So yeah, I got to see some crazy German bikers up close.
I am exactly this cool
So, after a lovely weekend with my family, I came back and took midterms for a week. A slight reprieve was had in the hike up to Höttinger Alm that a few of the guys decided to take on Thursday afternoon. I ordered some Speckknödel and Kraut at the Alm. And a beer, of course, because a beer is exactly what a body needs after a long hike up a mountain. A beer is also what a body doesn't need right before a dangerous run back down that mountain. I like to live on the edge, though.
What a view
The highlight of the weekend (May 1st now...moving right along!) was Gauderfest in Zell am Zillertal. Imagine, if you can, a day of drinking awesome beer, eating awesome food, watching a sheep judging contest, dancing on tables, watching Alpine wrestling, drinking more awesome beer, singing and continuing to dance on tables, and drinking more awesome beer. That was Gauderfest. Man, the German-speaking world knows how to party.
Wouldn't you?
This picture really sums up the atmosphere
This past weekend I was in Bologna visiting Maria Sengenberger. We had a great time, despite some logistical difficulties involving the city of Modena. Italian public transit is never particularly reliable, but Modena really is a special case. I would talk more about it, but that would just make me angry and would also ruin the inside joke that Maria and I have.
We visited Maranello on Saturday to see the Ferrari museum, which was honestly rather disappointing. It was really small and didn't have all that many cars or displays. There's nothing else to do in Maranello except see Ferraris, so we were done there after about an hour and a half, but still ended up waiting for an hour to catch the bus to MODENA so that we could get back to Bologna.
Like I said, we were bored waiting for the bus, so I decided to see if I could break the speed limit. I couldn't. I wasn't wearing my running shoes.
The nightlife in Bologna is fantastic. The city is home to the oldest university in the western world, and all of the students hit the streets every night because no one really ever has homework. Maria and I bought some wine at an outdoor market, had a fantastic dinner at a classic Bolognese restaurant, and then sat on some steps in a piazza and drank the wine and just took in the atmosphere.
Well, I guess that's it! I'll be going to Paris for four days on Thursday, followed by a week-long excursion to Budapest, Prague, and Vienna. My life certainly isn't getting any worse. Thanks to everyone I mentioned in this post for showing me such a good time!
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