The Hills are Alive with the Sounds of Austria

Last weekend, I embarked on what will be my last bus journey to another country (Bittersweet, to say the least). This trip was taken to the gorgeous Austria, and I was more than happy to be reunited with the German culture post-Oktoberfest.

The trip was hosted by my old pals at Bus2Alps, who I also did Cinque Terra and Oktoberfest with. After a 10.5 hour overnight bus ride (awesome, right?), we arrived in Vienna where we immediately headed to the city center. Vienna is a very modern city, and has a lot of great shopping spots and restaurants. The only downer was it that it POURED rain and my poor new boots got soaked through. Looks like I will be investing in some rain boots soon.

But anyways, some highlights from Vienna were:

The State Opera House
The Sachre Hotel, where we indulged on a world-famous Sachretorte

St. Peter's Church
And a tour of a Schnapp's Factory!

That night, my friend/travel buddy Amy and I went to a traditional Bavarian restaurant where I was reunited with my precious Radler beer (half beer, half lemonade). I ordered meatballs and mashed potatoes, and the waitress told me I wasn't being adventurous enough. I stuck with my guns, because this was the only thing that looked okay in English. However, this is what she brought me:


Someone please identify the "balls" in this meat (hehehe). But it was delicious, nonetheless. Salty as heck, though. The German's love their deep-fried salty goodness!

That night, we headed to the Bermuda Triangle (not the tropical one, right Amy?) for a night on the town. They have some AWESOME bars and clubs down there, and there are a ton to choose from. Definitely drank more jaeger and beer than I had in a long time, but it was an epic night to say the least.


By the way...Austrians like their tequila shots with cinnamon and an orange slice. Weird, huh?

The next day, we spent our final hours in Vienna at the Schonbrunn Palace. However, we were able to participate in a very unique event that had just started in Austria that weekend: The Christmas Markets!!!


Yup, these markets feature everything CHRISTMAS!! You can find them all over Austria, and they have all your needs for the holiday season: nativity sets, ornaments, decorations, snowglobes, creepy stuffed woodland creatures...they've got it all! Austria is GORGEOUS with all the Christmas decorations up, and I felt so lucky to be a part of their holiday festivities!


Oh, and I am currently lucky enough to be in possession of a friend of the family's Flat Stanley. He also enjoyed our visit to the Palace and its gardens :)


Our next stop for the weekend was Salzburg, home of the "Sound of Music," Mozart, and Red Bull. Our Bus2Alps guide described Salzburg as looking like a birthday cake. I couldn't agree more. The city is so dang charming, and you can't help but feel giddy walking through it. The Christmas decorations and markets made the city look all the more magical. It made me completely forget that Christmas was more than a month away. (SUPER bummed I'm missing Thanksgiving, by the way.) I like how Christmas seems less commercialized in Europe, and more about making the city look awesome and spending time with the family. Could use a little more Jesus though :)


After some souvenir shopping at the Christmas markets (get excited, my loved ones backed home), we had dinner at the Augustiner Brewery. Oh, German beer halls...how I had missed you. And German beer...I missed you even more. I know I sound like an alcoholic, but you seriously do not know beer until you've sipped the magic that those Germans produce. Going back to Keystone and Bud Light is going to be impossible.


That night at the hostel, we participated in the strangest event I had ever been to. It was called "Demon Night," and basically consisted of a bunch of crazy-ass Austrians in 1,500 euro demon costumes sexually harassing everyone in the bar. And that's all I'm going to say about Demon Night.


The next day, we took part in the world-famous Sound of Music tour! I was pretty much raised on this soundtrack, but was shocked when I realized I had never seen the movie in its entirety. I also forgot that the Von Trapps were a real family singing group. But alongside of the sing-a-long moments and seeing all the places that the movie was shot at, it was cool going into the countryside of Salzburg. Everything there is so lovely, and you feel like you have walked onto the Sound of Music movie set. Oh wait....we did :)


It is safe to say that I am officially in love with Austria. Better yet, I'm in love with Europe. Why must life separate me and my beloved in 4 short weeks? UGGGGGH I DON'T EVER WANT TO LEEEEAVE!

This weekend, I am off to Rome to reunite with Jenny Driver! Can't wait to see what new adventures await me :)

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye!

-Kara

Monday Worries

Hi everyone!

As of Thursday, I only have a month left. Holy CRAP. Where did the time go?!? My emotions are so mixed right now. I seriously have about 42149 million thoughts spinning through my brain. Allow me to let you in on some of them...

• First of all, there are sooo many places I want to travel to, but time is not allowing it. I don't want to leave here with any regrets, but I don't want to leave with bad grades either. I already know I'm leaving with no money (more on that later)! I'm extremely bummed cause my friend Amy and I were planning a trip to Paris our very last weekend here, but then we found out that we have to be in Florence for the final class project for event planning. So we are going to do our darndest to just go for a few days the weekend before. I NEED TO SEE PARIS! Also, I HAVE to go to Rome. It would be so pathetic if I didn't! Hopefully that will be happening over Thanksgiving weekend. I'm sad because I don't think I will be making it over to Venice or Milan. Both places are really expensive to travel to from Florence, and I'd want to spend more than a day there. Sign :(
  

• If I could turn back time, I would have made a budget sheet for the semester. Cause seriously, money is going so fast. I still have three more trips to supply money for, two that still have to be booked, Christmas presents/souvenirs to buy, my leather jacket to purchase (maybe), and oh yeah, I might want to eat here and there. It sucks, but I've had to force myself not to go out to bars and restaraunts as much anymore. I will be honest...a lot of my money was blown on drinks and nice dinners within my first few months here. So I'm doing my best to cut down on that kind of stuff because A) It's what's making me fat and B) It will help me dwindle down on bad habits I've developed. Plus, partying in Florence is kind of getting old. I'd rather save my money for going out in cool cities, like Vienna and Salzburg. Did I mention I'm going there this weekend? :)

• After my parents left, I developed major homesickness. It was hard seeing them, only to have them leave again. Also, I'm really starting to miss home, my friends, and my family. But I had to promise myself something...I CANNOT be counting down the days til I fly home. I will regret it otherwise. Cause let's face it...all the stuff I miss is going to be there for a very long time when I get back. When will I ever get too live in Florence again? Probably never. So I'm sucking it up, and just saying NO to homesickness.

• I'm about to register for my final semester of college. Ever. Next semester is going to suck sooooo bad, and I need to cure any signs of senioritis I may see. The homework habits I've developed over here are NOT good ones. And even though I got A's on all my midterms, this behavior will NOT FLY next semester. I gotta step up my game, cause believe it or not, I have a ton of final projects and papers to do within the next few weeks.

• Other reasons to dread coming home: No job, no internship, no money. Cool!

This entry is really whiny, I know. But it just goes to show that life isn't always glamorous for the study abroad student. There's so much to think about! I just wish I could stay here forever, and have all the money in the world.

I will give a quick shout-out to the weekend's events. I stayed in Italy, cause my bank account and I needed a travel break. I decided to hang out with people that I wanted to get to know better. So on Saturday, I went to the adorable city of Lucca with my friends Ayla and Kassie. We rented bikes and rode around the walled city. It was really fun, and these two ladies were excellent day trip buddies :)


On Sunday, my friend Carissa invited me to go to Bologna with her roommates. And Bologna really lived up to its name...it was pure bologna. I was REALLY underwhelmed by the city. We knew that it was a college town, and supposedly had the "best food in Italy." Umm, okay says who? I guess if we would've done an olive oil tasting or something like that it would've been better, but we spent too much money on the train ride there. The only cool things were an archaelogical museum, complete with a real Egyptian mummy, and this outdoor market that, I kid you not, did not sell anything over 20 euro. It was MAGICAL. I got two pairs of earrings for 2 euro!!

But note to other study abroad students: Bologna is not worth the travel cost, unless you are going on a field trip or something along those lines.


I know that this entry was simply me rambling and complaining. But hey, I'm entitled to an entry like that, aren't I? But do not let that detere you from the fact that I am having the time of my life here, and am going to live this last month to the fullest!

Hopefully, my Austira entry will compensate for this one ;)

Ciao for now!
-Kara

England = Bloody Brilliant

One of the amazing things (amongst the thousands of other reasons) about studying abroad is that you get to live the life of a jet setter. If you want to go somewhere, you just do it. So I decided that I was going to visit my fellow HB Oiler softball alumni Jenny Driver in England for the weekend. The reason? Just because :)

Jenny is studying abroad in Bristol, which is a city in South West England. She attends the University of Bristol, which could very well double as Hogwarts.


I'm a wee bit envious of Jenny's experience because she is fully immersed in an English school, while LdM (the school I attend) is specifically for study abroad students. However, Jenny does have to live in a dorm with a bunch of "freshers." So for the first time in a while, I was grateful for my one-bathroom apartment! But I digress.

I arrived on Thursday and Jenny gave me a tour of the city. After, we got ready for what I deemed "One Night in Bristol 2010." I got to meet a lot of Jenny's friends, who were quite literally from all over the world! I hung out with people from Sweden, Austria, France, and of course, England and America. We hit up a LOT of bars and pubs, and had a great time dancing to songs that reminded me of high school prom. I was also introduced to cider, which is now officially a beverage of choice for me. Bristol is an awesome city, and I am glad I got to experience it from a "Uni" student's perspective!


The next day, Jenny's friend Presh was kind of enough to drive us to our hostel in London, where we would be staying for two days. Our hostel was called Palmer's Lodge and is in Swiss Cottage. I highly recommend it if you are traveling to London anytime soon. It has a wonderful staff, clean facilities, and is located very close to a tube station that can get you to central London quickly.

Our night out in London was memorable to say the least. We were recommended by the hostel to check out Piccadilly Circus for nightlife. So after our first tube ride (Can California please get a public transportation system like that? Kthanks.), we arrived and I couldn't believe where I was. Piccadilly is London's equivalent of Times Square in New York (I'm assuming, since I've never been there. Waaaah), and is the home of London's famous West End theater district. Being the Broadway nerd that I am, I just about died seeing all these theaters. My goal is to return here some day, and see a show. Maybe this new Phantom of the Opera sequel?


We weren't really sure how nightlife worked here, so we went into this lounge called Jet. I was prepared for a totally sober night when I read the menu and saw that drinks cost about 10 POUNDS EACH. Um, no. So after giving the club a few minutes, we were on our way out when a man offered to buy us drinks. And when I say man, I mean an old dude. We agreed, and he and his friends provided us and about 5 other girls with beverages throughout the night. I'd compare it to getting bottle service in Vegas. Sadly, I didn't find the British boy of my dreams, but some sugar daddy's in a club didn't seem like a bad solution at the time ;)


On Saturday, we planned on being ultimate tourists. Since I only had one full day in London, I just wanted to SEE things. I didn't need to go in them, because that would take too much time. So Jenny and I hopped on a double decker bus, and saw:

The London Eye (which we rode as well)
Big Ben and Parliament (My favorite)

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace
Baker Street

Tower of London
Tower Bridge

London Bridge (Not that cool)

And the London Dungeon, which is essentially just a Halloween Haunt-esque tourist trap. But fun none the less :)

Overall, it was SUCH a fantastic weekend. Jenny was a blast to travel with, and I wish I could have stayed longer! It is impossible to even dent London in a day, so I definitely plan on returning some day. That is, if I ever have money to again.

Sorry again for the long post...but I'm going to stop apologizing for that, cause people have told me they are actually reading this thing! That makes me so happy!!

This weekend I am staying in Florence, but in two weeks, I'm going to Vienna and Salzburg! Can you say, Sound of Music Sing-a-Long Tour? Ha!

Cheerio!

Kara

Mother and Father Rutkin Come to Town

Here are some highlights from my parent's positively delightful visit to Florence. I couldn't have asked for a better time with them, and I miss them already!!!! But only 6 more weeks until we are reunited in California :)

During their time in Florence, the Rutkins:

Visited the Uffizi

Saw the David
Took a day trip to Siena

Explored the Boboli Gardens

Gazed at the city from the Piazza delle Michelangelo


Feasted on Bistecca Fiorentina


Did a wine tour in Chianti
Hiked to the top of the Duomo
And enjoyed each other's company more than ever before.

I love you, Mommy and Daddy!!

20 Things I've Learned in Florence in Two Months

1. Sneaking the forbidden photo of the David is easy! Keep your cool, turn off your flash and any sounds your camera might make. Just don't get caught or yelled at. Same goes for the Uffizi.
2. The Boboli Gardens are HUGE and mostly uphill. Don't plan on even denting it in one day.
3. If you go to Florence and do not eat a Bistecca Fiorentina, you WILL regret it.
4. Siena's Duomo pales in comparison to Florence's.
5. Fresh pecorino cheese has changed the way I look at dairy products.
6. Halloween is celebrated over here, but it's a more low-key, less slutty holiday than it is in America.
7. Buildings with red numbers are businesses, black means residential.
8. If the stairs are closed to get to the Piazza de Michelangelo, be prepared to take the long, windy, uphill car path. Or just take a bus.
9. You don't have to eat Italian food all the time. There are fantastic Mexican, Spanish, and Chinese places to dine at as well.
10. Because after a while, you realize that all of the restaurants food tastes almost exactly the same. Cause it is.
11. "Thank you" is grazie, not grazi. You scream "American" if you use the latter.
12. Don't buy water, soda, or food near any huge tourist spot. It is going to cost significantly more.
13. Once you've seen one painting of Mary with baby Jesus on her lap, you've seen them all.
14. I live 2 minutes away from the Medici Chapel. And I didn't learn this until today.
15. The Chianti region is positively lovely, even in a downpour of rain.
16. There's nothing quite like making eye contact with one of Michelangelo's statues.
17. Do your best not to book flights in Italian. It's a headache and a half to translate.
18. California folk do not know how to dress for cold. And by California folk, I mean myself.
19. Scarves and boots are an absolute MUST to fit in with Florentine fashion.
20. Florence is so much fun to travel in with your mommy and daddy :)