Retreat in the Austrian Alps

This last weekend we went to a cabin in the mountains for a relaxing break from our "difficult" lives. the first day we were there it was really foggy and we couldn't see anything, Friday or Saturday morning. I couldn't just stay in the cabin
because of it, I had to get out and explore. So my friends Ben, Asia and I took off at about 10:30am and started our hike, not exactly sure where we were going to end up. We took directions from two German ladies and apparently the trail they sent us on is one of the hardest you can take. We were climbing straight uphill for about 2 hours, it was exhausting but worth it. For those of you that knew me in high school, it felt like I was living my On The Verge character only without the corset and Victorian trekking gear. When we finally reached the top the fog had cleared just enough for us to see the Austrian Alps!! I felt compelled to yodel, so I did (not well though.) Then we went to the restaurant on top of the mountain and warmed up. We didn't return to the cabin until about 6pm that night. It was so amazing. The next morning was sunny so I went out to the ridge for another spectacualr view and spent some time with God. Seeing places like the Alps makes you realize just how incredible our God is and just how small we are in comparison. He has provided me with so many opporunities and my goal is to use these opportunities to glorify Him. This really is a life changing trip and I am evjoying every minute that I am not missing home.

Salzburg

The hills were alive with the sound of music and I experienced it first hand!

Salzburg is beautiful. I went with a group of nine other girls, we took the train out Friday morning and came back late Saturday night. When we first got there, a few of us went on the Sound of Music Tour that showed us the filming locations in Salzburg. We saw the gazebo, the house, the lake and the best part was going to see the Austrian countryside. The driver took us out to a little town called Moonsee and it was one of the cutest towns I have ever been in. Each building was a different color and they were all unique, I could definitley live there, but not right now. That night we met new people. A girl named Kelly from New York, and two guys. Chris from Seattle and Micheal from Australia. They were all really nice so we hung out and walked around the city for a while. The next morning we tried to climb up the hill to see the fortress but we had to pay to get in, so I climbed up past the trail and found a great spot to take pictures. After that we went down into the city where the St Rupert Festival and an a river side art fair was going on. My friend Heather and I went shopping for the rest of the day and warmed up by getting hot cocoa in a cafe. We caught a train at 19:08 that night and had a compartment to ourselves like the ones in Harry Potter. It was dark outside and all of a sudden the train stopped. We all got quiet and my friend Michael (a girl) says "There better not be any dementors around here!" It was really funny, but spooky at the same time. Luckily the train started up again and we all kept our souls... yes I know, I'm a nerd. Overall the weekend was very relaxing, I can't wait for my next adventure!

Refugee Center

There is a lady here named Reggy that does a ministry involving refugee kids and families. She has basically created a safe, Christian environment for those in need. the kids are all extremley energetic. A little girl named Michelle, put me in plastic handcuffs and sent me to "jail" another little girl named Karly helped bail me out:) we did this a few times. I also played ping pong with a guy named Thompson from Nigeria. He schooled me, but said I was really good. The little boy on in the picture on the left is named Sydney, he is two and it took me the whole time to get a smile out of him!! He has a twin sister named Shelly. They are both adorable! the picture on the right is of Marcelle. He is the smelliest, most energetic kid I have ever met. He wouldn't let me put him down for about 10 minutes. We played uno poker using candy. Overall it was an amazing expirience and I cannot wait to go next time

Mission Trip Update:

I am head off to Croatia the first weekend of October to help build and repair houses!!

Life is good...

I am feeling much better now so I have truly started expiriencing Vienna!! We are learning German everyday and it has really been beneficial. So Guten Tag! wie geht es inhnen?? gut? gut! (translation good day! how are you? good? good!) Unfortunatley my three years of french training affects my German accent. Oh well. Today I went to H&M for the first time. It is a little more expensive than I was told but it was still fun. This weekend I am heading out to Salzburg with a group of girls and I might go on the Sound of Music tour!! I am having a lot of fun here and in a few weeks I will be in Chemwitz, Germany for my first mission trip! That is all for now, I have homework to do... Auf wiedershenen!

The Castle

This place is amazing!! there is a section of three stories called the dorms that the girls and sponsors are staying. I am on the third floor. The guys are staying on the other side of the Castle in the attic rooms. It is on a hill overlooking the city of Vienna and the entire plot of land is shaped like a ship. there is a baroque garden with really old statues and many rooms to go exploring in. The floors are mostly white marble and there are a lot of big windows. Outside our classroom (which is the ball room) there is a large veranda, I hope to do homework out there sometime soon. It is really warm here to, it ws nearly 80 degress yesterday!! The Vienna woods is really close to us as well. there are a ton of trails right behind us that we are welcome to run on. I havent experienced too much culture shock, but I did get a little sick, that is not fun. I am hoping to feel better soon. Our first class starts today, it will be weird going to school here but I'll get used to it. Until next time!!

LONDON!!!

London was fabulous!! We got in early on Saturday morning and took a two hour walking tour with a Scottish man named Adam. Then we had our required sights such as the Westminster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral (where part of Harry Potter was filmed and where I saw Evensong) Big Ben, Parliament, Tower Hill, Tower Bridge and more. For my free time I splurged on seeing Wicked at the Apollo Theatre. It was by far the best musical I have ever seen!! The set, costumes, acting and singing all blew me a way! We also saw Les Mes as a big group. Our hostel was really nice to, I met two girls Mie and Steena from Denmark, they were really sweet. On one of the free evenings I went shopping at a place called Primark, it was the busiest department store I have ever seen, there was a line of at least fifty people just for the fitting room! It was so chaotic, but I managed to find a dress for 5 pounds, that was exciting. Unfortunatley 5 days was not enough to see everything but it was still so much fun! I hope to go back one day.