What I Hate the Most

I HATE that I can never really catch the entirety of what I'm doing in a picture. I really like my camera, but the pictures don't do justice to what I can see with my own eyes. Now maybe if Jean Marie was standing next to me, she could give the experience of the sight proper justice with her awesome camera skills, but I just can't. The pictures I've previoulsy posted are only half of how beautiful the full scene is.

I HATE that it's already so cold! Hate Hate Hate! Double Hate! Loathe entirely! But I love how the trees turn colors.

I HATE that I'm missing football season. But it won't ever be the same now anyways since I wont be in the 12th man student section watching the Big 12 Teams.

I HATE so much when I miss the SBahn train into the city. It's so annoying to walking around the corner and see it leaving. So then I have to wait 20 min for the next one. And its embarrassing the many times I've had to chase after it. Maybe I should leave the house earlier... Good idea.

I HATE that I am a 12 hour plane ride, 7 hour jet lag, hundreds of Euros, across the Atlantic, over the moutain and through the woods, in another country, and then some, away from you all. But you are just a click away on Skype. Thank you technology.

I HATE that I'm missing out on so much... My heart physically hurts sometimes, but I'm gaining a lot by being here and God has been, will continue to be, and is always good to me.

Czech -ed out Prague this Weekend

We ventured to the Czech Republic last weekend to see its capital city, Prague. I was able to take the weekend trip with my friends, Irinia and Andrew. We had an incredible time! It was about a 6 hour train ride from Munich. The Czech Republic is the direct eastern neighbor of Germany. I had no idea the deep history of the city and was blow away to learn so much about it. It is a gorgeous place! One of my favorites so far! We only spent one day there but were able to see and do a lot. We arrived late Saturday afternoon and after checking in at our hostel, we went to see the castle! 

This is the St. Vitus Cathedral within the walls of the Prague Castle that sits perfectly ontop of a hill overlooking the city.

Andrew, Irina, and myself inside the Castle.

There was a beautiful view from the castle and luckily we caught it at sunset. Then we made our way down into the city to the Charles Bridge - another Prague landmark. We ate dinner at a really cool Czech style restaurant and had some original pilsner Czech beer. Then, after a nice nighttime stroll through the city, we went to a bar to hear live jazz music - a Prague favorite.

History Fact #1: This is the currency in the Czech Republic called crowns. This looks awesome because its 2000 crowns, but it's worth less than 100 Euro (about 24 crowns = 1 Euro) (about 17.5 crowns = 1 US dollar). So prices on menus and signs look silly at first - dinner cost us 500 crowns.

History Fact #2: They speak Czech, in case you didn't know. And it sounds nothing like German... or Englisch.

History Fact #3: The Old Jewish Ghetto of the town is now one of the nicest (and most expensive) places to live in the city.

Bonus Fun Fact: Almost all of Eurotip was filmed in Prague apparently - only some of you will think this is actually a fun fact.

On Sunday we went on a tour (Englisch speaking of course haha) and loved the unique stories of the city and its influencial people. So this was a stop in the Old Town Square. It was a beautiful day :)

Our tour guide had some great stories. The best one was what he told us about an elderly woman who had lived in the Czech Republic her entire life and never moved. But, she lived in 8 different countries.... What?  The Czech Republic was constantly being changed and conquered and divided and renamed. So, this woman never moved, but the government and territory issue was pretty complicated over this past century (and centuries). Every time there was a new set up, there was a different currency with different passports. Crazy right? Finally in 1989, the Czech Republic overcame Communism with the Velvet Revoluation (named this because no one died). Good story.

With the Castle behind us.

With the Castle behind me.

A Bohemian street show in the Old Town Square. Really cool.

Enjoying the company :)

What was your least favorite thing about Prague?

My least favorite was the Museum of Torture... I got the hebbie gebbies just walking by!

What were your top 3 favorite things about Prague?

Only 3?! I could go on and on!

My favorite was the tour we took on Sunday.

My favorite was the Jewish Ghetto area and the rememberance of WWII history.

My favorite was the interpretive light show that was projected onto the old town hall and the Astronomical Clock tower on Saturday night. It was such a cool way to incorporate such a modern technology with the extensive Czech history. Very cool.

These pictures aren't as cool as the city!

Three Month Marker

So, it's been three months already! Isn't that bizarre! Every week has been something new and exciting. But, at the same time, I have never felt more out place in some situations. It's so odd to be illiterate in this country and have a University degree in another country. I've definitely been humbled to have to realize this and motivated to learn. I've been thankful to make some friends here. I'm also very thankful to be welcomed into this family. I have a lot to learn. This is the good stuff :)

People ask me what my day schedule is like and when I think about it, I feel like a Mom-in-Training! I have been enjoying it very much. We have our off days, too though. Sometimes it's a little too much for the boys to have to speak English with me all day, but thankfully the morning brings a new day.

But I still catch myself missing you all back (I've tried so hard to stop saying y'all because people always makes fun of it, but I sometimes just can't help it). We wake up a little after 6am and I always laugh a little because of think it's so funny that most of you are going to bed right now. I may have also spent quite sometime on the google earth app taking a tour through Austin, Cedar Park, College Station, and Camp Allen just because I miss it all. And I have been lucky enough to Skype with several of you! But now, it feels like my iPad is my best friend. What would I do without the Skype!

It's a beautiful day here (even though its about 10*C) and I hope when morning comes to Texas, it is just as beautiful!

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music

I went with my friend, Irina to Salzburg, Austria. This little town is right on the border with Germany and is famous because it is where Mozart was born and the Sound of Music was filmed here (if you haven't seen it yet, please watch it! and if you have, I'm sure you are humming a tune from the film right now). It was a great day trip! It was just a 2 hour train ride from Munich. And this is where we went...

Maribell Schloss is a beautiful castle in the city with an incredibly well kept garden.

We had to trek up quite a flight of stairs to see this beautiful view of the city. Behind my right shoulder is the Festung Hohensalzburg (the Salzburg Fortress) and on the other side is the Alps.

This is the house Mozart was born in. I was a little disappointed with the museum inside though. Apparently the Mozart family did not have a good relationship with the town people. But the child prodigy has a great story. I don't know how he could handle all of the pressure.

Singing with the Von Trapps :) NBD

The view from the fortress.

Inside the fortress.

The view from the other side of the fortress of the Apls.

The sun was too bright so I couldn't get too great of a picture of the mountains.

Salzburg Dom (city center church) beautiful inside and out.

I hope I get to see more of Austria! I also hope this blog inspires a sing a long movie night like we had at the Holick house. One of my very fond memories (and photo shoots) from last year at A&M. But actualy being in Salzburg makes me understand why there is always a good time to sing a cheery song :) It's a beautiful place.

Auf Wiedersehen Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest has come to an end. Last Monday was the last day. I do not think I have ever had alcohol that early in the morning (it was only 11am... but still.. there were thousands of people there before us). So it was an impressive set up at the Wiesn with the beer tents (more like beer mansion halls) and the carnival rides and games, but there is definitley an ugly side. Everywhere you looked there was someone struggling to walk, or someone who gave up and was laying on the ground... Oktoberfest definitley will bring people to the edge and laugh while it throws them right over the cliff. So I was able to exercise my self control and still have a good time.

This is the only picture I got of us sitting down. Normally everyone is standing up on the tables dancing and singing. Every tent has a tradition German band playing some really funny songs. So by 3 or 4 in the afternoon, everyone has become a good dancer and singer. And if you know me, you know I love to dance so I was excited to join in haha. And you don't have to worry about looking silly to random people because you become friends with everyone around you within minutes. Even people who don't speak your language become your singing partner. It's really funny!

The Wiesn. It really looks like the biggest carnival in world. And isn't the Texas State Fair going on now? These are 2 different kinds of parties.

Inside the Paulaner tent. All of the mansion halls, I mean tents, are decorated to the max and they are all different. They're really cool, and can withstand holding one of the biggest parties in the world.

So Munich has literally looked like the petting zoo of an amusement park for the past few weeks. Everyone who lives here is always ready for it to come to an end. It was pretty crazy around town so I'm looking forward to it calming back down. I am not looking forward to the weather starting to get cold now; and not Texas cold but actual cold weather.