Mozart, Disney Castles, Oktoberfest, and more

So I am dreadfully behind on this travel journal, but I’m going to attempt to close the gap between history and present reality as much as possible here. I believe I finished last time with a gripping tale of the battle and defeat of the fearsome foe Untersberg. Sarah’s parents had traveled to Europe by this point and she was hanging out with them in Vienna (so this is the weekend of September 27-28). I mention this because it was really the first time that Sarah and I hadn’t been somewhere in the vicinity of each other since we’d been in Europe, and I think I realized then that I really was starting to make some good friends in Salzburg and it was okay if Sarah and I weren’t around each other all the time (although of course we still enjoy hanging out). 

On Sunday, Seth’s hausfrau (he lives in a homestay instead of a dorm) took a group of us outside of Salzburg to this hill called Maria Plain that had a beautiful view of the city. It was sunny and in the 70s, much improved from the freezing cold, rainy days we started our trip with. The hill is named because of a painting of Mary that has survived since the 17^th century from a church that burned down on that hill. Another incredibly ornate and beautiful church was built to house the painting, proving yet again to me that you can walk almost anywhere in Europe and find something hundreds of years old and beautiful. We enjoyed frolicking in the grass and playing with some Austrians’ dogs—it really made me miss Maggie, I’m not going to lie. Seth and I also got some good opportunities to take couple pictures: 

The scene was just too beautiful to be enjoyed without some arms enfolding me.

Sarah’s parents came to Salzburg after Vienna and treated me to a Mozart dinner concert, which was awesome and really nice of them. It was in a really pretty banquet hall adjoining a church in old town, and we listened to various Mozart opera pieces and even the famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik while sipping wine in between courses of our excellent meal. I can’t think of a much more Austrian experience, frankly. 

So the public transportation in Europe is great and all, but usually while it’s running. In Salzburg the buses like to never come on the weekend, and I was getting slightly sick of this so I took the initiative of purchasing a used FAHRRAD—also known as a bike to you Americans. Actually, I think it’s the best decision I’ve made since I’ve been here because now I don’t have to buy any more bus passes, which are expensive, and also there’s a lot of places you can only get to in Salzburg on foot or by bike. Now class is only 10 minutes away, downtown is about 15 minutes, and there’s plenty of beautiful bike paths through green alpine fields to feast my eyes and bike tires upon. I think I’ll be able to sell it back at the end of the semester, so I think it’s a good investment.

A month without Star Wars is, to me, like life without joy. Sure, it still happens, but what’s the point? So, in accordance with this philosophy, a group of us watched A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back to breathe some purpose back into our lives and give us a firm foundation upon which to exist. I mean, if I lose perspective on the Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance and what the Rebels are fighting for, how will I possibly be able to orient my moral compass or anything else for that matter? Hopefully we’ll finish up with some Return of the Jedi soon so I can see if Luke still convinces Darth Vader to stop being evil as crap and also to see if the dreaded stormtroopers are still defeated by giant teddy bears. 

My political views--FAR, FAR right (and dark)

On Friday, October 3, I visited the famous Neuschwanstein castle near Füssen, Germany, with the Kogers (Cinderella Castle, anyone?). It’s not quite as old as a lot of the castles and fortresses in Europe, being built in the 1800s and all, but by American standards that’s still pretty old. Krazy King Ludwig of Bavaria built this incredible castle basically as a vacation home, but he died before it was finished (go figure). It is way up on top of a hill surrounded by the Bavarian Alps, and it really does look like the stereotypical fairy tale castle, complete with white walls, tallest room in the tallest tower and all. The inside was so fantastical and elaborate that it was almost overwhelming—Ludwig dedicated each room to a different opera by the composer Richard Wagner, which is a little strange, but after all he was insane. I particularly enjoyed the dragons and various other mythical creatures depicted on the walls. All in all, it was a very scenic and beautiful experience. 

On the way back we had to change in Munich, and I got to experience what my parents had always warned me about from their time in Europe—the efficiency of the public transport here. We arrived at our train back to Salzburg on the minute, walked past the open door to first class, and literally touched the handle of the second class car and the train started moving, leaving us helpless, stranded, and alone. I really felt like I had experienced Europe after that, and the several trains we had to take to get home since we missed that one. 

So I basically got back to my dorm, went to sleep, and woke up early the next day to go right back to the train station and go to Munich AGAIN. Don’t worry though; I was excited, not depressed, because everything is a totally new experience when the renowned Andreas is your guide. The train was packed with young and old folk alike ready to enjoy the last weekend of Oktoberfest. And when we got to the city, the place is literally packed with thousands upon thousands of people there intending to do the same. Our knowledgeable tour guide showed us around the city, and I’ll see if I can sum up the highlights: copious amounts of human beings, lederhosen and dirndl shops, impressive Gothic architecture, the GLOCKENSPIEL, and gardens. Oh yeah, and did I mention I think I was born to wear lederhosen? 

We swung by Oktoberfest for a few hours ON THE LAST NIGHT OF THE LAST WEEKEND OF OKTOBERFEST! Now how many people can say that, aside from the thousands that were there? It was basically like the Columbia County fair on crack (haha that’s actually a terrible description), plus a whole bunch of airplane hangar-sized beer tents. We rode a ride and then attempted to get inside a beer tent, which was impossible because apparently you have to get there early in the morning to actually get a spot. We did sit outside of the Paulaner tent though next to some Brazilians—who would have thought, the Americas united in Europe? We had a blast, all in all—except for the train ride back with some really drunk Austrians. They refused to stop smoking even after the conductor asked them to stop, which one of the Americans in our group responded to by opening her window. The Austrians started yelling about being cold, and the Americans started yelling about second-hand smoke, until I though I was going to witness a literal culture clash on the train. Luckily, the Austrian girl passed out pretty soon after that and that prevented World War III from breaking out.

The Brazilians tried to start the Wave. I think I was mesmorized by the experience.

Fortresses, Fussball, Palaces, Mountains...sweet

Ok so we didn’t really try to conquer Fortress Hohenwerfen—apparently it wasn’t within the “scope” of the program. Although I don’t know what the point of studying abroad in Europe is if you’re not going to try to conquer something, especially in a German-speaking country. I’ll give you the story that might be slightly closer to the reality of that trip. We took a bus about 45 minutes south of Salzburg up into the Alps (I mean the REAL Alps—snow, ice caves, Nazi war criminal refugees, and all). It’s really cool that you can travel just a few miles outside the city and it’s nothing but rolling farmland, woods, and mountains—all very quaint and beautiful. Hohenwerfen is on a hill overlooking a valley. It just happens to be the same fortress where the Nazis’ secret headquarters was filmed in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!! It also in real life was used by the Nazi SS officers. Like the Salzburg fortress Hohensalzburg, it’s about 1000 years old and has some really sweet medieval weapons and torture devices inside. The best part was the view from the fortress though:

 View from the bell tower of Hohenwerfen

Later that week, we went to watch the Salzburg Red Bulls play (real) football! I think I started to feel truly integrated with the culture when I was yelling and singing ridiculous phrases in German with hundreds of other people nonstop for the whole game. Apparently standing for an entire game is not only constrained to college football. The Red Bulls (named thus because Salzburg is home to the energy drink…cool, eh?) played the Graz Sturm…home to none other than the mighty Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of course Salzburg pounded them, 2-1, and I chanted *clap clap clap* “SALZBURG”, making my arms like bull horns, with the whole rest of the crowd in victory. Awesome. Europeans really define themselves by their football teams, and they will even admit it to you. For example, my Austrian culture teacher told me that Austrians didn’t really feel like Austrians (because they had been a part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and later Nazi Germany) until Austria finally beat Germany in the Eurocup semifinals in the 70s, and then they were really proud of their country.

On Friday, September 19, our whole group went to tour Schoss (castle) Hellbrunn, the summer resort of the Archduke of Salzburg back in the 1500s. It was beautiful and amazing, not just because of the impressive Renaissance art and architecture but also because the Archduke was apparently a trickster and he had a whole garden of trick fountains. Basically, you are walking around what appears to just be a statues and little gazebos full of art, and then the guide turns a hidden lever and you are assaulted from all sides by jets of water hidden in the ground and in the walls. The water pressure apparently comes from an underground spring, and the Duke even used it to power this little water figurines that move, which as an engineer I find pretty impressive for the 16^th century. Our Alpine tour guide Andreas also took a smaller group of us up into the hills to this stage cut out of the cliff where apparently for the last hundred years operas have been and are still occasionally held. Andreas demonstrated its acoustics to us with an entrancing rendition of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, auf Deutsch of course. This is a group of us getting owned by one of the trick fountains: 

I'm the one in the black jacket on the left of the table

I know what you’re thinking at this point. Great, Scott, you went and watched people run around with a ball, pretended you were a medieval warrior, and played in water fountains—real cool. Well, this is where my tale becomes a ballad of adventure and greatness…the very next day—Saturday, September 20, 2008—I scaled the soaring cliffs of the mighty Untersberg. 6,469 feet of sheer adrenaline and terror were conquered that day by three young, unsuspecting lads. The conquistadors were Seth, his 7 foot tall German friend Florian, and myself. It took us about 6 hours total to climb it and come down, and it definitely was a very trying experience—physically, mentally, and spiritually (as I contemplated the consequences of slipping off of the narrow rocky precipice upon which I carefully tread). We passed plaques all along the way of people that had died climbing it. My knee had started hurting on top of that, like somebody was jabbing a dagger in the joint, which really didn’t help the experience. However, as we climbed up through the fog and the clouds, I couldn’t help feeling like we were entering the Misty Mountains and that goblin attacks were inevitable, which really improved my spirits. Standing on top of this massive landform and looking in the distance to the snow-capped Alps jutting out of the clouds and seeing the Hohensalzburg fortress as a dot on the ground really made it all worth it though. I think I want to be a professional mountain conqueror. 

Unfortunately, Seth does not have the interweb with which he can upload his pictures from Untersberg, so this will have to suffice for now:

 I think this is enough for now, but I have many more tales to relate to you, my lads and lasses. Tschuss!