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5月15日 Week Two, Almost ThroughWe've been having a good time seeing the sights of Vienna. Jim studies the places we take the students so he's a great tour guide. I've been asked about posting pictures, and the short answer is, it's a little too complicated to post pics with the limited amount of time I have on the internet. I'll post the pics of this group when I get home. It's not as good, I know, but right now it's the best I can do. All the prompts and instructions for this blog are in German. I don't read German that well and Jim is busy doing other things and can't help me. So there's my sad excuse for not posting pics. I think I have it figured out so that I can do it next year though.
This past week we visited Karlsplatz, the Nasch Markt (a favorite), the Hofburg & Schonnebrunn Palace. The weather was fantastic except for yesterday when it 'misted' all day on us. Since we're all from the west, we loved the mist and rain so it was still a great day.
The Nasch Markt is two blocks of food, clothes, accessories and people! It's always busy and such a fun place to go. There are lots of booths set up selling different things and we bought falafal for the students to try. They loved them and so do we. A falafal is (as I described in the previous post) a deep fried ball of some sort of grain or meal. Very good!
The students didn't have anything planned for this afternoon so we're taking them to the Hunnertwasser Haus, a very strange apt. building built by a man whose last name was Hunnertwasser (Hundredwater). A strange name for a strange building. Look it up on the internet, it's so interesting.
We have one more week in Vienna and seem to have run out of time for everything we'd like to do. The students have said they'd like to bring their parents back to Vienna and show them around. They love it here and have all seemed to enjoy their time associating with each other, sightseeing and even going to class. 5月6日 Food in Austria Food doesn't seem to be as tightly regulated in Austria as it is in the U.S. There are little food stands all over the city, sometimes not looking terribly clean, selling pizza by the slice or whole, falafal, which is a Turkish ball about the size of an Italian meatball that is made of some sort of green meal and then fried. They are really good. Also sold on the street are "hot dogs" . These are actually long thin wursts that are inserted into a long bun by a hole poked in one end of the bread, they're kind of strange looking. You can also buy ice cream, more wursts, schnitzels, kabobs, doners and other meat sandwiches.. An interesting fact about the restaurants here in Austria as well as in Germany, is that they don't have lots of restaurants serving traditional Austrian or German food. The explanation we were given by a German was that if people want German or Austrian food, they stay home and cook, if they go out they want something foreign. Hence, many, MANY, Asian and Italian restaraunts. To our surprise Jim and I were taken to a Mexican restaurant here in Vienna and it was actually pretty good. While some of the food was a little different from what you get in the States, it was still good. McDonald's and Burger King are also a huge presence here in Europe. The Europeans LOVE these restaurants and they are always busy. The difference between the McDonalds and Burger Kings here and at home is that here the sandwiches are much fresher and taste so much better! It seems that they make the burgers to order rather than having several already made up and handing you one when you order it. There is an open air market called the Nasch Markt where we take the students and it's a lot of fun. There are vendors there selling all kinds of food. The smells are interesting to say the least. We've seen food that I didn't know existed, fruits, vegetables, fish and meats. In Restaurants the people take their time. In America we're in a hurry to eat and run; here they will take hours lingering over their meals, coffee and cigarettes and it seems to be perfectly okay with the establishment.In fact you have to ask for the bill to pay because they generally don't just bring it to you. I think their philosophy is the longer you stay the more drinks you'll buy, but I don't know that for a fact. Food is definitely a great experience here in Austria and we look forward to wandering around each day we can and seeing what the little sidewalk stands have to sell. The students are having a great time experiencing all the new taste treats that are being sold on the streets here. I'm sure they'll have some interesting stories to tell when they get home. 5月5日 We're Here!Hi Eveyone:
The students have all arrived and started classes. They are having a great time exploring. This group hasn't traveled very extensively so everything is new to them which makes it so fun for Jim and me. We love to show the students 'OUR' Vienna.
For those who came with us last year, here's a little update: ActiLingua has changed restaurants for the meals. It's a much better restaurant but it's in a less convenient location, so I guess it's a trade off. We had lunch there yesterday and the food was really good. Also, they are serving breakfast at the Residence on Sunday now which makes things better too.
Kaertner Strasse is all torn up for renovations. It looks like they may be paving it with blacktop rather than replacing the cobblestones, which would be really sad. I hope the blacktop that is there now is going to be replaced, but we shall see. St. Stephens is still shrouded for cleaning, but the part they have cleaned is beautiful. It would be fun to come back in about 5 years and see the changes to the Stephen's Platz area.
We have 4 students with us this year; Kim, Sara, Katrina and Colton and they are still a little overwhelmed by the S-Bahns, trams, busses and U-Bahns, but they'll know the system within a day or two, we're sure. They made it to school on time this morning all by themselves, so they're getting the hang of things.
We hope you will enjoy coming along with us on our Study Abroad trip by checking back frequently. I will update as often as I can, but with internet accessibility somewhat limited, I never know when that will be. Please feel free to post comments, we'd love to hear your thoughts about our adventure.
Thanks!
5月29日 Salzburg, Salt Mines, Castles & FriendsSorry I haven't kept up with the blog very well. It's been hard not having easy access to a computer.
We arrived at our little guesthouse last Sat. afternoon and we've been on the run since. The guesthouse is so traditional looking with flower boxes, etc. The owners are so happy to have us. It is a family run business and the father speaks no English at all, but every morning he'll say to all of us 'Morgan America!'.
We have visited the Borg, or castle, the Salt Mines, Mirabelle Palace & Gardens, Twila's host family from when she was a student here, Mauthausen, the concentration camp and an exchange student, Christian's house for a cook out.
It was a steep climb to the borg which sits on top of a mountain above Salzburg, but once you get there the view is magnificent. The entry ticket allows you a tour of the castle, the museum and other things.
The salt mines were lots of fun. We rode a rail into the mine then went on a walking tour for about an hour and half in the mine. There we went down two rail slides and took a boat across the underground lake. We were sorry to leave the coolness of the mine and go back into the heat and humidity. The mine is accessed high in the mountains where there were beautiful green meadows with wildflowers and trees surrounding it.
Mauthausen was a very sobering experience. I don't think any of the students had been to a concentration camp before and they said it was a very valuable experience.
Twila, one of our students, was an exchange student here a few years ago, so her host family invited us all to their house which is by Wallersee ( a lake) for a cookout of kabobs, pork cutlets and salad. it was great. Some of the students went swimming in the lake after dinner. The next night, some of the students went to Christian's house which is right over the Austrian Border in Germany for another cookout and swim at a water park. Christian is a student at SUU as well and they were all happy to see each other again.
The students are starting to leave for the last parts of their trips to Europe. Some are going on to other places to meet up with friends and family and some are going home.
We have enjoyed this study abroad program as much this year as in other years. The kids have been cooperative and responsible and that always makes for a lot of fun. The weather has been hot and humid. While the rest of us are us are sweating terribly because of the humidity, Molly, our student from Boston, has remained cool as a cucumber. This humidity is nothing she told us. I'm glad I'm not going to Boston this summer if that's true!
Thanks for coming along with us on this 3d SUU German Study Abroad Program. We hope you've enjoyed reading a little bit about our activities and we've had a great time experiencing them. 5月23日 Last Days in ViennaWell, we're winding down our stay in Vienna. This week we did our last two culture classes. I have been asked how we do the culture classes since the students are divided into two groups for their lanugage classes. We take the afternoon group on the tour in the morning and the morning group in the afternoon, so Jim does the culture class twice each time. He also does two classes a week.
This week we toured the Belvedere Palace, a beautiful palace built right in the heart of Vienna for Eugene of Savoy for saving Vienna from a Turkish invasion. The palace was built in the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. It looks a little like Versailles. It has an upper and a lower part to the palace with French gardens in between the two. Eugene lived in the lower Belvedere and used the upper and more ornate palace for receptions, etc.
Thursday we took the students to the Vienna cemetery which is huge. There are many different sections in the cemetery, Jewish, Russian, public officials, etc. The one that we were interested in was the musician\s section where Brahms, Beethoven, Schumann, Hugo Wolf and the Strauss' were buried. There is also a Mozart memorial, but no one is really sure where he was actually buried because he was buried in a pauper's grave. There is a beautiful chapel at the cemetery which is very large. There is a lot of gold leaf mozaic in it which is breathtaking. The students all really enjoyed visiting the cemetery even though some were a little hesitant at first.
The students are finishing their language course today and we will be leaving for Salzburg tomorrow morning. They are all looking forward to going to Salzburg, but would like to stay in Vienna a little longer too. They have all have a fun experience and are so glad they have had the opportunity to come on this Study Abroad Program.
5月19日 PragueHello Again:
Jim got permission to get the students out of class at ActiLingua last Friday so that we could get an early start on our weekend in Prague. We left on the 10:04 train from the South Train Station in Vienna and arrived at the Holesevica Train Station in Prague after 2. We arrived in a downpour so those of us who took our umbrellas were really glad! The students stayed in Plus Prague, a youth hostel. The hostel was clean and the students seemd to think it was okay. There was even a pool at the hostel where two of our girls went swimming!
After getting the students all checked in and settled, we all went our separate ways and explored the beautiful city with the Charles Bridge, the astronomical clock, the Prague Castle, Kafka's house and many other wonderful sites.
Saturday's weather was better, it was cloudy, but it wasn't cold and there was a small drizzle for a few minutes, but no downpour until later that night. On Saturday, the students that went with us to the castle were lucky enough to see an exhibit with birds of prey that they were allowed to hold, for a price, and that was a lot of fun for those who held the birds. Gabe held a huge Horned Owl with big orange eyes, and Meredith held a barn owl that was more her size.
After seeing the birds of prey exhibit, we went to the inner courtyard of the castle where we watched the changing of the guards. The change lasts about 15 minutes and is really interesting.
We weren't able to go into the castle cathedral because the line to get in was so long that it wrapped around the back of the church. But we walked through the castle and took pictures of the outside of the cathedral while Jim explained about flying buttresses and how and why they are so important in the construction of the huge cathedrals.
We had lunch at a charming little outside cafe. Charming until we got the bill, that is. There was a 25 crown per person "cover charge" and they charged us 200 crowns or about $12 American dollars, for a liter of water. Of course we didn't know the water was going to be that much until we got the bill. It was a real learning experience, but the food was good and the company even better.
After touring the castle we went to the beautiful and touristy Charles Bridge. It's a gorgeous cobblestone bridge with many large statues on the sides and it was very crowded. But it was worth fighting the crowd to cross it. After crossing the Charles Bridge, we took the students to an outside market in Wensceslas Square where they had a good time looking and buying a few souveniers. Then the kids went to do some REAL shopping and Jim and I just roamed around. Everyone seemed to have a really good time in Pragu and were really glad that we went.
We left to come back to Vienna on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. It as raining again when we left Prague and it rained on us all the way to Vienna, where it continued to rain all night. Being from the southwest, rain is an exciting thing, so no one minded getting a little wet.
Today everyone is back in class and tonight we are going to a concert at the Golden Hall, a beautiful concert hall where the Vienna Philharmonic plays.
This week we will be taking the students to the Belvedere Palace and the cemetery where Strauss, Brahms, Beethoven, Hugo Wolf and many other important Viennese citizens are buried.
5月14日 Heiligenstadt, Mass & Nasch MarktHi everyone:
We've had several experiences since I last wrote and I'll share a little bit of what we did.
Last Saturday we visited a house that Beethoven lived in during the summer of 1802 in Heiligenstadt, a suburb of Vienna. Beethoven went there when he found out he was going deaf. He believed that the deafness was from something that would prove fatal, so it was in Heiligenstadt that he spent his summer and wrote his final testament or will. When he discovered that the deafness wouldn't be fatal, he returned to Vienna and composed his 3d symphony which was really the beginning of Beethoven's music that we now know. We also went up the mountain from Heiligenstadt to Kahlenberg where we had a fantastic view of the Vienna basin. It also was where Jim explained some of the battles between the Austrians and the Turks when the Turks tried to invade Austria.
Sunday the Brückner Mass in D Minor was being performed at the St. Steven's Cathedral. It was also Pentecost or Pfingsten so it was a long Mass and a Cardinal presided and gave the sermon. The music was beautiful and the chapel was packed. Afterwards, those who chose to, went to an LDS Sacrament meeting.
Tuesday the students didn't have class at ActiLingua because of Pfinsten, so they explored Vienna on their own. Yesterday Jim and I took them to see the Hofburg or the Hapsburgs winter palace, the Karlskirche and the Nasch Markt. The Karslkirche is the best example of the Baroque style architecture of the 360 churches in Veinna. It's undergoing renovation, so we didn't go inside, but it is a beautiful building.
The Nasch Markt is an outdoor bazaar with lots of different kinds of foods, beverages and other items being sold. It was fun to walk through and see everything that was being sold and accept a few samples of the interesting food they sell.
We hope all is going well where you are and want you to know the students are having a wonderful time exploring Vienna. 5月7日 St. Stephans and SpringHi Again:
Today was the first culture class and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. The skies were blue, the sun was warm and there wasn't a raincloud in sight.
Our first stop was at the St. Stephan's cathedral, which was started in the year 1137 and was completed sometime in the 17th century. It's undergoing some repair and maintenance work right now, so there is scaffolding around the south tower and half of the front is covered as well. But it's still a beautiful cathedral and the inside is as remarkable as ever. Prof. Harrison explained about many of the aspects of the church which made it more interesting.
Our next stop was at a clock that is a fun thing to watch. There are12 figures of different famous people, one comes out and crosses the front of the clock every hour. At noon, all twelve figure cross the front of the clock and there is music with it. It's on a side street, so it would be an easy thing to miss unless one was told about it.
On to the oldest Roman church in Vienna, the St. Ruprect. It is very small and not at all ornate. There are some small stained glass windows, but that is all the ornamentation there is in the church. It's quite a feeling to know that the Romans used this little church all those years ago to worship.
We finished with the Schottenkirche, a church that the Irish built years ago. The celts and quite an impact on the area here.
The students are enjoying their German classes and are learning a lot. Everyone says their apartments are comfortable and they like the accomodations. So all in all, things are going well with the students. They are excited to be here and we are so glad to have them here. Each one is a delight and their enthusiasm is contagious!
Thanks for your support and we'd love to hear any comments you'd like to share.
5月5日 We're here and so's our luggage!Hi Everyone:
First let me apologize for what will be interesting typing errors that are sure to be included in this blog. The reason for the errors is that the German and Austrian keyboards have a different key placement than the American keyboards and they have punctuation that we don't even have in America, placed in positions of other keys on the American keyboards. So having explained all that, try to bear with me, read between the lines and don't think too badly of my keyboarding skills.
The last student arrived last night so all are here safe and sound. There was only one problem with lost luggage and it was delivered yesterday, so everyone has clean clothes, their makeup, hair stuff and all is good We took 5 of the students to downtown Vienna to show them some of the sights yesterday and they all enjoyed their first taste of Vienna. We took them back to their apt. so that we could go pick up Meredith from the airport and some of the students went back downtown. The downtown area is as beautiful at night as it is busy and exciting during the day. Molly and Amanda had lunch at a little outdoor cafe and had some uninvited guests join them on their table, pigeons and sparrows. There are lots of birds in the downtown area because of all the people eating and dropping food so you have to be careful not to encourage them.
Everyone got a good night's sleep last night and were anxious to get to their school, ActiLingua this morning. We met the students at their apt. at 8 a.m. and took them to the school. The location of the school couldn't be more perfect. The restaurant where their meals are served is right across the street, the underground is right next door and there are trams out in front. And it's always fun to walk on Rennweg, a main street running right into the Innenstadt, or inner city where all the action is.
The students have all been assigned to their classes. Gabe, Molly, Sylvia, Alexandra and Twila are in the morning class; Amanda, Meredith and Elise are in the afternoon class.
The weather has been typical so far. We've had blue sky and balmy weather and then cloudy skies, rain and cooler temperatures. So all is normal!
I will try to update this blog as often as possible, so check back often. We hope everyone is doing well at home and are glad to report that everyone is doing well here.
Please leave comments if you'd like. We'd love to hear your thoughts on what we're doing.
4月24日 A Favorite Quote"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time" 4月10日 Q & A EveningOn Tuesday, April 8, all the study abroad students went to Prof. Harrison's house for a German meal of wursts, rotkhol, German potato salad, apple cider & apple cobbler. After dinner, information packets were handed out to each participant with travel tips, activity itinerary, a copy of their passports and flight itinerary and a break down of costs. It was a fun evening for the students to get to know each other better. One of the students from last year's program, Alexana Neves, came to answer questions from a student's perspective which seemed to be helpful.
Travel plans to Prague were discussed and reservations at a hostel have been made, so it looks like we're good to go for our adventure in this beautiful Czech city.
We are leaving in less than a month and everyone is excited.
Please check in with our blog frequently. I will update it as often as possible.
3月29日 2008 Study Abroad ProgramWell, we're in the final stages of preparation for the SUU German Study Abroad Program. We will be going to Vienna and Salzburg, Austria again this year and know that the students will have a great experience.
I will update this blog when possible once we get to Vienna, but won't be able to add pictures until we get back into the States. Check this site often to find out what we're doing.
We will have a Q & A evening at Professor Harrison's house soon for last minute questions and each participant will be given a packet of information.
We need a printed copy of each participant's flight itinerary as well as a copy of their passport. Each student should make one or two copies of their passport so that they can have a copy with them at all times while in Austria.
Also, each participant needs to go to the Foreign Studies Dept. at SUU and get their picture taken for their International Student I.D. card that will help them get discounts in some places.
If anyone has questions about the upcoming program, please feel free to email Professor Harrison at Harrison@suu.edu
We are looking forward to this year's program and know that it will be fantastic!
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