German Adventures

German Adventures

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Austria.. The Land of Old Friends and New Adventures



Thanks to facebook and the fact that it is not too hard to stalk people this day and age, I was able to reconnect with an old friend from high school. I had thought that he lived somewhere over in Europe, but I couldn’t remember where. Since everyone is one facebook message away from being located, I sent him a message and found out that he was quite close to me and living in Salzburg, Austria which is about a five hour car ride away.

I decided to go visit him last weekend and we had an amazing weekend full of many wonderful Austrian activities. I got there late Friday night and he was bbqing with some friends. I soon realized his European adventures are quite different from mine. He has really embraced all of the German/Austrian lifestyle. He speaks fluent, really fluent, German and only really has European friends. It was quite amazing to see. It definitely motivated me to speed up my learning of the German language and culture.

The next day we got up and went to a pond/lake/streams that were filled with frigid cold green/blue water. He jumped off a cliff and I tried to do it but couldn’t make myself take the long plunge so I opted for a smaller cliff. After that we went for the most gorgeous hike up to the top of a green mountain top. I thought we would see tons of people because it was a perfect day for a hike but I think we saw one person on the way up, two people on the top, and a few people on the way down.

The ascension up to the peak was full of wonderful views of all angles of Austria but the descent was my favorite. We stopped at a hut were we had some Austrian beer, snacks, and Schnapps. Everyone left the hut and we watched the sun go down over the mountains. We then went down the hill a bit further and all of a sudden the night air was filled with the voices of Dolly and Kenny singing “Islands in the Stream” while two Germans danced to it. It made me smile quite a bit. So we stopped and had a beer with the dancers and their three closest friends.

The next day my friend had a piano concert and then we took bikes around Salzburg (best known for the birthplace of Mozart and the location of the Sound of Music). We grabbed lunch by the lake, ice cream in the town center, and drank a few beers as we ventured up to a castle and through the forest. We meet up with two of his friends and they were also very much fun. The final destination was a beer garden where I enjoyed sauerkraut, german potato salad, and German meats while the three others drank their final beer.

I then drove back to Germany which was actually a great car ride. It was very scenic but there was also a lightning storm that lit up the night sky for about two hours of the drive. I did get a bit tired near the end but I have found a fun activity to do when I get tired on drives.. try to learn the words to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. So that and frequent stops kept me up long enough to get home.

So needless to say the weekends do keep getting better and better. I am really enjoying traveling and getting a small taste of what each place has to offer. Salzburg was a great city but I really think the best part was being around an old friend and having an insider show me the best hidden treasures... thanks Paul for all your hospitality and great memories!!!


Goodbye Austria!!!

2 comments:

  1. When you were climbing up that mtn were you singing "Sound of Music"? We have been to Salzburg and it is a beautiful place. Yea for you and your adventures. MJ

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  2. Julie Andrews never once was not in my head... take away the double negative and quite simply what I am trying to say is "The Hills were alive with a few of my favorite things"

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