Its almost November?!?

Hohenschwangau

Things have started to settle down a little around school and Salzburg as we all get a bit more settled in the routine of the school week and weekend adventures.  Earlier in the month I traveled with the girls volleyball team to Budapest for a 4 game round robin tournament to act as the fill-in coach.  We had a great day, despite the fact that I've never played organized volleyball, and the girls won all four games and even said I knew exactly what to say at all the timeouts and team chats!  I guess those beach volleyball leagues in the 'Saw paid off for something.  It seemed like the longest 30 hours I ever spent traveling somewhere.  We departed after school, got stuck in a 2.5 hr traffic jam outside of Vienna and checked into our seemingly creepy, rustic hotel sometime after 1 am.  When we got moving early the next morning we were pleasantly surprised that the cabins were surrounded by the gorgeous hills and early fall colors just outside Budapest.   We played our 4 games, hopped on the bus, picked up the boys soccer team, and headed back to Salzburg. What was left of the weekend, Sunday, was spent on serious relaxation and recover.


Two weeks ago another St. Jude friend, Brian, was visiting Munich.  I met him on the train and we traveled to Füssen to visit the castles Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.  It was the coldest and rainiest day I think I've had here, but it was gorgeous anyway.  The colors of the trees were at their peak and we even got to try the first tastings of glühwein this season!  The castles were very impressive, especially Neuschwanstein that was only lived in for 172 days before the King died, and was not completely finished.  It did however have its own replica grotto built just outside the King's chambers as a tribute to the grotto of Venus, atleast I think its Venus.  By definition, I think this would be classified as extravagant!  It was a great day trip, only 4 hrs from Salzburg on the train one way;)  We had just enough time to walk around the streets of Füssen to find a nice local place for dinner.  It was the best Jaeger Schnitzel I've had!

Glühwein

Last week was fall break for the school, so after turning in midterm grades the kids headed off to Paris and I flew back to the States.  It was an unexpected trip, but my Gramma Virginia gave us a bit of a scare with some pretty serious Pneumonia so it seemed like the right decision.  It was nice to be home for a few days, amazingly saw a lot of family, enjoyed seeing the pup, and even got some good ole American shopping mall time in with Kelly!   The readjustment has been a bit hard this week as I've gone from a 10 pm bedtime to now after midnight!!  I was greeted by the first snow of the season on Monday while taking the train back from the airport.  I woke up from my nap and thought I was still dreaming since the fields were completely white!  It looked like a wonderland, but quickly dissipated as I got closer to the city.  Monday night we had beautiful white puffy (and wet) flakes but by today its back into the low 60s, which is unseasonable.  The weather seems a bit like the MIdwest!  The mountains are getting snow though, and its there to stay. Ski season and the Advent Markets are just around the corner and I can't wait!!

Neuschwanstein

Cousins in Ohio

View out my bedroom window!

"Prost" to Oktoberfest 2010 and other weekend adventures!

It seems I have gotten a little lazy the last two weeks with keeping things up to date, so thank you Pat for the friendly reminder:)  It has been a fairly busy couple of weeks with Oktoberfest going on in Munich, the school sports teams getting their first games under way, and some other things around Salzburg.

Last Sunday I joined Sarah, a former work and Texas friend, in Munich for Oktoberfest.  Once we got over the stress of snagging a table we met some great people throughout the day and got into the swing of things by dancing on the table benches to some good ole Bavarian music and drinking songs.  I had to head back at a reasonable hour Sunday just as things started to get rowdy, but luckily I hopped a train back up Monday to meet two coworkers, Jan and Nichole, to pick up where Sunday left off.  For those of you that have never researched Oktoberfest I want you to think about the largest State or County Fair you've ever been to.  Now, replace the animal barns with beer filled buildings.  That's Oktoberfest.  There's a main drag, rides (including a ferris wheel and roller coaster which we definitely tested out), and "fair food."  The tents were even more crowded Monday evening it seemed, so we were pretty damn lucky to snag a table with some nice Dutch guys near the stage.  The band even delighted us with some classic American tunes.

This week I also went to my first Austrian movie theater.  Every couple of weeks they have a "special secret sneak peak" so you go, buy your ticket, then find out what the movie is once it starts.  Louie and I decided to be adventurous and go for it.  We were intrigued by the selection of "Moon."  Its an English flick with one main actor, voice over for a robot done by Kevin Spacey, and takes place on the moon, which I'm sure you guessed.  Neither of us would say that it was bad, in the end, but we also wouldn't recommend you see it at the theater.  

Sort of behind our school is a large brewery called Steigl.  They have railroad tracks through the property for efficiency, their own extensive herb garden, and a large yard for the horses to graze.  I said "Why does a brewery need horses, unless they are the Budweiser Clydesdales?" Silly me, they have a horse drawn beer cart that they use to deliver beer to the local customers in the area.  Pretty awesome.  Another place I went Saturday, Raschhofer, even makes a special brew, with lower alcohol content, for their cart drivers so they don't get too drunk while drinking and driving the cart around.  These Austrians like to think ahead.  Raschhofer also features round tables that spin (channeling the teacups from the fair) and have a stand for a keg right in the middle.  It was the perfect spot to celebrate birthdays of three coworkers.

The last new Austrian adventure was watching another coworker play in his baseball championships.  I never expected I would be sitting at a ballfield surrounded by the Alps in Schwaz, Austria.  The fans could learn a thing or two from the drummer at Jacob's Field, but other than their noisemaking abilities, it was a great day for baseball!  This weekend was capped off outside while I explored Mirabell Gardens, used for some of the city scenes in SOM, and hiked up and around Kapuzinerberg for some amazing view of the city.