"Going Back To Kansas City"

In the Lake District

In the words of Geoffrey Chaucer, "All good things must come to an end." Yes, the time has finally come where I say my goodbyes to the place I have called home for the past 5 months. It is hard to believe that just 141 days ago I journeyed out of Kansas City to Linz, Austria. It is also hard to believe that one of my all time dreams which was to study abroad is coming to an end. This journey has been filled with countless ups, numerous downs, and never-ending adventures. I am beyond grateful to God for this amazing opportunity and for keeping me safe in my time abroad. I am also entirely grateful to the friends I made while abroad who encouraged me, made me laugh, and most of all helped me get the full experience out of my time abroad.

In Zurich

Lucky for me I was able to spend my last weekend traveling to Switzerland, Innsbruck,  and Salzburg. For my last weekend in Europe, I went out in style. It has always been a dream of mine to travel to Switzerland. In fact, if it hadn't been for how expensive Switzerland was I was highly considering studying aboard there. After a 6 hour journey through lower Austria and Switzerland my friend and I arrived in Zurich. The train ride was probably one of the prettiest train rides I have ever been on, I couldn't keep my eyes off of the scenery! Upon entering Zurich I was amazed with how clean it was and shocked by how expensive everything was. It was also about a million degrees outside something I have not experienced yet while in Europe. Despite the heat and prices Zurich was absolutely beautiful. The phrase you get what you pay for could not be truer than for Zurich. Everything might of been expensive but, the city was clean, the public transport relatively nice compared to other cities, and the overall scenery breathtaking.

Center on Innsbruck

After Zurich we took a train to Innsbruck, Austria, many of you are aware that my grandparents live in Innsbrook, Missouri. So naturally I had been trying all semester to take a trip to Innsbruck so I could say I had been to an Innsbruck/ook in two different countries. Innsbruck is defiantly a place where tourist go. The town itself though was beautiful and unique due to it being surround by the Alps. It was also like stepping back into time. When we got there we even got to see a band playing. I also bought my favorite purchase in Innsbruck, a drindl. A drindl is traditional Austrian dress and I have wanted to by one the entire time I was in Austria. I can not wait to find every excuse to wear it.

The last stop was to Salzburg. Salzburg is probably the most touristy city in Austria because of the movie The Sound of Music. Even without the Sound of Music though Salzburg could easily be a popular city on beauty alone. Like most European cities the architecture of the city is beautiful and takes you back in time. 

standing in front of the gazebo!

While in Salzburg my friend and I took the Sound of Music tour. This tour took us to various sights of the movie and even drove us through the historic lake district of Austria. Once again the scenery was beautiful. The tour was really fun and it was filled almost entirely with Americans. Not going to lie it was very weird hearing that many people speaking english at once. Coming back to the US will defiantly be an adjustment! The weekend was for sure a great way to end my time in Europe!

Last night with the Americans

I'm coming home for Austria with a very empty pockets but priceless experiences that have shaped me into someone different than I was when I arrived. It will be weird to come home and not be surrounded by old architecture, large gothic churches, and cobblestone streets. I am excited to come home though and will forever be grateful for the time I was able to spend in Europe. I will be coming back one day, that is a promise! I hope that everyone has enjoyed reading about my adventures in Europe. I can't wait to come back and have more. Until then I will be listening to "Kansas City" by Marcus Mumford on repeat the entire flight home. Thank you all for reading my blog, until my next adventures... 
Auf Wiedersehen, 
Liebe Alex
"Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories." - Ray Bradbury

Home Away From Home

With only a week left in Linz I am overcome with a sense of nostalgia. To think something I dreamed my whole life of doing is coming to an end in just one week. I would like to apologize for my lack of blogs. Over the last month I spent most of my time in Linz hanging out with fiends and studying for my last exams. I did take one day trip to The Eagles Nest which for those who do not know is a house up in the mountains that was built by Hitler as a kind of hangout. It is technically on the German side of the Alps but, the view is of both Austria and Germany. The Eagles Nest is near the town of Berchtesgaden and the views are absolutely breath taking! 

Over the past couple of days I was lucky enough to have my grandparents come to Linz and visit me. Having them come visit me gave me the perfect opportunity to be a so called tourist in Linz. As many of my friends and family have asked me about Linz this is the perfect opportunity to tell you all about my home away from home. 


As many of you know, I have spent the last 5 months living in the town of Linz. Linz is a city of 200,000 and it the third largest in Austria. Linz is also the capital of Upper Austria and sits along the Danube. Many of you have most likely heard me complain about Linz and how small it is as well as how I am bored here. In all honesty though, Linz is a very nice city with plenty of restaurants, museums, and bars. The university I go to is about a 20 min tram ride from the city center and for just 10 euros a month I have been able to use all the public transport I want. I will probably miss the public transportation the most. 

In 2009 Linz was ranked as the culture capital of the world, and all though I did not visit the Ars Electronica Center or the Lentos Museum I have heard really good things about them. Linz also boast to having the largest, not tallest cathedral in Austria. There also is a very nice castle, although it does not look like much you can get a pretty good view of Linz from it. The streets near the city center are also very quaint and my grandparents made the comment that Linz's streets are very typical of Europe. After traveling to many european cities I agree. 

While my grandparents were here I took them to Postlingsberg which is a church at the top of a hill. At the top you have a spectacular view of Linz and the Danube. We also took the chance to visit Linz's Botanical gardens. The gardens were like any other botanical gardens I have been to but, since we were able to be there on such a nice day it was very beautiful. 

Probably my favorite thing about Linz was hanging with my new found friends and going to various festivals and restaurants. Every fall and spring Linz is host to the Urfahraner Market. Here there were beer tents, carnival rides, delicious food, and live music. There were also plenty of people walking around in traditional Austrian dress the Dirndl and Lederhosen. Going to this festival was super fun and really immersed me into the Austrian Culture. Linz also is host to Bubble Days which is an outdoor concert as well as wake boarding contest that takes place on the Danube. I also participated in going to a Street food Festival which reminded me off all the food trucks you see at First Fridays in Kansas City. Lastly, because of the Euro Cup I had the opportunity to cheer on Austria at the Public viewing Area. 

Cheering on Austria

Linz may be a small city with not a lot of attractions but it was my home for 5 months and I will miss living here. Although, I am beyond ready to return to Kansas City. 



Be on the lookout for one last blog about my last adventure in Europe where I will be traveling to Zurich, Innsbruck, and Salzburg.

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles." - Tim Cahill
As always, Love Alex

When in Rome

It’s hard to believe that in just over a month I will be journeying back to the United States. Although I feel like I have been in Austria for a long time it also feels like just yesterday I was getting on the plane to Austria. My time here has been eye opening and everyday I feel myself being challenged by cultural differences. I think part of me thought I was already pretty accepting of differences. I had always talked that way but while in Europe I find myself constantly wishing for the United States and rejecting some of the culture in Europe. Although I feel like I’m doing a better job of adapting then when I first got here I of course have plenty of room to grow.

Over this past week I did not have class so I took a trip to Italy with my friend from Turkey. We went to 4 cities in 5 days. Although it was doable I am completely exhausted after my travels. I started off my journey by taking my first ever night train from Linz to Venice. I didn’t get much sleep on the train but the time did seem to go by pretty fast. We arrived in Venice at 8:30 in the morning and all I wanted to do was eat some food and find a bet. Due to the limited time and the cities we wanted to see we were only in Venice for the day. Luckily, with the right plan and motivation seeing a lot of Venice in one day is completely double. 

enjoying the canals

The canals are absolutely beautiful and getting lost in the small streets is very peaceful. If you go to Venice I do suggest doing the water taxi especially if you don’t like walking. Navigating the streets of Venice can be very confusing even with a map. There are many small ones that dead end and finding your way around can be difficult. My friend and I didn’t use the water taxies. For one, they were not running because of a rowboat event, and secondly we were trying to save money any way we could! Needless to say we took the wrong turn often but, honestly it was okay because it would lead us a way from the really touristy areas and into peaceful streets. The day in Venice was great; we had great weather, great pizza, and great gelato. The sights were beautiful, and we left more tired than we came with sore backs from carrying our bags and worn shoes from all the walking.

In order to have the most efficient trip ever we took a night bus from Venice to Rome. I know crazy right two days with no bed, shower, or privacy! The night bus was not bad but I arrived in Rome at 6 am and if any of you have seen me sleep deprived you know I turn into a 5 year old when I have not had enough sleep. Luckily the friend I was traveling with was patient with me and we found food and Wi-Fi before embarking into Rome.

hope my wish comes true

 Our first stop in Rome was the Vatican. After figuring out the Roman metro system we reached our destination and got into line. Now if I had had a little more sleep and done a little more research on getting into the Vatican I would of just stayed in the line I was in and gotten into the Vatican without problem. The key is to get there early before the lines. This was not the case; my friend and I were persuaded into taking a guided tour through the Vatican and the Basilica. We probably paid double the amount we normally would but my brain was not fully functioning so you live and you learn. The Vatican museum was very impressive; I especially loved the hall of maps. Knowing my dads love for maps I wanted nothing more than him to be there with me boring me with his knowledge of them. I would of enjoyed to have been “bored” with map knowledge. After the Vatican Museum we ventured into the Sistine Chapel. The chapel was beautiful but in my honest opinion it was anti climatic. Yes the portraits were beautifully painted but I have seen much more impressive churches and chapels in my time in Europe. In fact right after the chapel we entered into St Peters Basilica which I found much more impressive with the enormously high ceilings and extravagant architecture. After the time in the Vatican we made our way to my favorite meal of the trip. 

At Piazza Venezia 

We went to a restaurant not far from the Vatican so yes it was a tourist spot but I had the best pizza there. After the Vatican we made our way to our first hostel, Mr. Rome. The hostel was nice set up an old historical apartment about a 15-minute walk from the coliseum. Although we only had two days in Rome we thought it both necessary to take a short nap before journeying back into the city. 

It's even better on the inside

The next day and a half in Rome was spent walking between all the landmarks and sights. Our feet were tired but our hearts full. There is nothing like the feeling you get when you are standing face to face with buildings and historical places you have spent your whole life learning about and seeing in films. It’s a feeling that I will absolutely never get over. Walking the streets of Rome and visiting places like the Coliseum and Trevi Fountain is such an unreal feeling. The old buildings in Rome are huge the Romans built building as if they were gods. Which they kind of thought they were. Overall Rome was beautiful and the weather while we were there was fantastic. 

In Florence

On the fourth morning we journeyed from Rome to Florence. My only knowledge of Florence before going was what my cousin Jenny has told me. In fact she gave me an entire itinerary for my day in Florence. If you ever need to know what to do in a city ask my cousin if she has been because she gives great recommendations on attractions and restaurants! In Florence we went to the leather market where I indulged myself and bought a purse, I couldn’t resist. We saw the Duomo, which unlike most churches I have visited; outside architecture was more impressive than the inside. 

Watching the sunset over Florence

By far though my favorite part was watching the sunset over the city of Florence from Michelangelo Plaza. We were probably there for two hours. We wanted to see the view in the daytime so we got there just before sunset, watched the sunset and then waited for the night to come to life. Watching the sunset over the city was very peaceful and I couldn’t help feeling super content with not only my time in Italy but also my time in Europe. I feel more than ready to face the so-called “real” world now after my time here. I feel more mature, less nervous about others thoughts about me, and ready to make a difference in the world no matter how small. I would have been completely happy to watch the sunset over Florence for the rest of my life. Unfortunately our time in Florence came to an end and our time in Italy soon followed. Our last day in Italy mirrored the way I felt. 

Standing with Juliet

For our last day we visited the city of Verona the setting for William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet. The weather, having been so wonderful the entire trip was the worst. It rained the entire day and was very cold. The city of Verona was very beautiful, peaceful and romantic and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it the most if I hadn’t been cold and wet all day.  We were able to go to Juliet’s balcony but unfortunately due to the rain I was not able to write my letter to Juliet. I’ll just have to come back, next time hopefully with my very own Romeo.  Italy was wonderful, with the best food I have eaten in Europe and more gelato than a girl could ever want. I don’t think I have ever been more exhausted than the time I spent in Italy and upon entering the night train back to Linz I was more than ready to be back in my dorm bed. Little did I know my Italian adventure was not yet over. 

We now enter into the tale of the great train robbery. A thrilling tale about a young mid-western girl who travels upon the night train from Venice to Linz with little thought in her mind besides her wonderful time spent in Italian cities. The night started like any other, the girl found her way to her seat. Met her very nice companions from the Philippines who were interested about her time so far in Europe. As the night continued on, the girl grew sleepier and sleepier until she could no longer keep her eyes open. At first knowing the dangers of the train she clutched onto her purse as she slept but, alas in the night she slowly took the strap off from around her body because it was chocking her. Farther into the night the bag fell to the floor. Seeing as she was at the back of the compartment and her new friends legs blocked the door she thought little of it and fell back asleep. When she awoke 30 minutes from home she was struck with panic as her purse had gone missing. As she freaked out about her lost passport, money, kindle, and id her new friends from the Philippines calmed her down and found the authorities. The authorities found the bag in the near by bathroom and to her utter relief the only thing missing was 25 euros and some American dollars. Lucky for the mid-western girl her newfound friends were generous beyond belief and offered her some money to use to buy breakfast when she reached Linz. After her tears had dried and she realized how lucky she was she accepted the gift and returned safely back to the city of Linz. The End. 

I think I was most embarrassed about my misfortune because I knew the dangers of thieves and pickpockets on the trains. I’m so grateful for my new friends from the Philippines who took pity on a mid-western girl. 

standing just outside the ice cave

After my journey through Italy, I am beyond ready to spend more time in nature because I am not a city person and for the last 4 months that is all I have seen. I did get a taste of nature this past Sunday when I journeyed to Werfen a small village near Salzburg where I visited the largest Ice cave in the world. We were able to eat lunch with a beautiful view of the Alps. That day I also walked the equivalent of 96 flights of stairs, and after walking five days straight in Italy my legs were shaking by the end of the day. I hope that my last month in Europe can be spent with more time enjoying the beautiful nature and scenery of Austria. I am excited to journey once again back home the United States but I will cherish every last moment that I have in Europe. In the words of Saint Augustine, 

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”

Love, Alex

"Little Me Back from Paris"

Eiffel Towers and Greek Signs

It's hard to believe that in less than two months I will be leaving Austria and heading back to the states. As my time continues in Europe, I continue to be enlightened by different cultures while learning more about my self. I apologize for not writing in a while I have been busy with traveling as well as my school work. Contrary to popular belief I do go to school! I know it's hard to believe. Since I last wrote, I have taken two trips one to Stuttgart Germany and the other to Paris. As many of my friends and family know I am part German on my mother's side. We have been fortunate enough to stay in touch with some relatives who still live in Germany. I had the opportunity to go visit them a couple of weekends ago. My journey to Stuttgart included a 5 hour train ride, lucky for me the ride was very scenic! Once arriving in Stuttgart, I attempted to only speak in German the entire time with my family. I now have so much more respect for all of my international friends who speak in only english to me. It is so hard to fully express what you mean when you are speaking in another language! My family assured me that my German was not that bad, I don't know if I believe them fully. My time in Stuttgart was super great and I am beyond grateful for the hospitality of my very distant family. Although it was rainy and a little cold, I enjoyed the city of Stuttgart as well as the Porsche museum I visited. 

City Center in Lille

Like life, studying abroad is made great through connections. One of the ways to make studying abroad great is to find friends who are studying abroad the same time as you but, in different countries! Over this past weekend I had the opportunity to visit my friend from Truman State who studied in France this past semester. After a train, plane, and bus ride I arrived in the town of Lille where she studies. It was great to talk to her about her experiences and talk about all our trips we have taken. It was also comforting to hear about all her struggles because I have dealt with and felt almost the same things as her. It is funny that we both studied in two pretty different countries yet experienced the same cultural differences with school and the all around culture. After spending a day in Lille we got up super early and took a 2 hour bus to Paris! 

I loved the tree line streets of Paris

Paris the city of love, lights, and romance, but also tons of history. I have never been prouder of myself than my trip to Paris. The entire time there my friend and I figured out the metro system without once getting lost or with a paper map. We even found our way to Versailles which involved getting on a city train. I feel like I can master any city now after figuring out the over 12 metro lines of Paris! After we found our hostel in Paris, Jordan and I headed towards Versailles. Note to all of my Missouri friends do not accidentally pronounce Versailles like the city in Missouri. I knew the difference but upon reading the name my mind automatically reads it like the town in Missouri. 

Although the day was rainy, windy and cold Versailles was absolutely wonderful. A note to anyone who is going to study abroad. If you visit Versailles and have a visa for your time abroad you get in for free, you just go straight to the entrance there is no need to wait in a line for a ticket. We waited in a semi long line to buy a ticket only to find out that we didn't have to! 

Once inside the Palace, I was overwhelmed by the beauty and extreme detail that was put into it. All the ceilings were painted with beautiful portraits and scenery. The molding around the doors and ceiling were also very intricate. By far the best room in the palace is the room of mirrors, the ceiling has beautiful chandeliers, on one side is a wall of mirrors and on the other is a wall of windows with a view of the breathtaking gardens.
 
After exiting the Palace, we embarked into the Gardens. The palace grounds are huge! It takes a few hours just to walk across all of them. Again, I was amazed by the shear beauty of if all. I was also amazed that the royal family of France took the time and effort to set aside all of the space and build so many gardens. 

While walking in the Gardens you are surrounded by the sounds of classical music, and once they turn the fountains on it is a feeling like no other. I felt like I had been transported back in time. If I had on a huge dress and was not surrounded by people on their cell phones I would believe I actually was! I was sad to leave Versailles, but happy to get out of the cold. If ever in Paris I 100% recommend heading to Versailles its fairly easy to get to and completely worth the time and money. 

When arriving back in Paris we headed towards the Eiffel tower. I always thought of the tower as a large piece of metal and never understood the hype but, upon seeing the tower for the first time I was pretty speechless. The tower is so much greater in person it also is so much larger than I expected! We ended our first day in Paris looking at a the best view you can get of the city at Sacre-Coeur which is at the highest point of paris and also happens to be near where our hostel was. 

eating my Galette

The next day we started off at a market at the Bastille stop. If you are ever in Paris on either a Thursday or Sunday I suggest checking out this market. It is filled with food, fresh fruits, fish, and various crafts. There is a lot to look at and, it is in the heart of a neighborhood. We both ate galetts here which is like a crepe but with meats and cheeses. It was perfect! After the food and market we made our way towards Notre-Dame. 

While at Notre-Dame there was a service going on so I can partially say I went to mass at Notre-Dame. It is amazing to me to think of the amount of work that had to go into building the amazing old churches and palaces of Europe. It is something that is incomparable to the United States. The United States may of gotten it's first European inhabitants in the late 1400's but they never built churches to the scale they did in Europe. I regret to say that I was not fortunate enough to meet the Hunchback of Notre Dame but, the church outshines all previous visited churches. 

 

Paris was never a city that was high on my priority list of places to visit. I usually thought of it as to touristy, to cliche, everyone wants to go to Paris. I was pleasantly surprised by Paris. It is almost just like the movies. When you walk down the tree lined streets and look at the very buildings you can not help but be thrown into your favorite movies set in Paris. Paris is exactly like you imagine it to be with the cafes, houses, breads, and of course tourists. I feel that paris is a city that everyone should experience at least once. I also suggest to go when the trees have leaves on them.

We spent our last night of Paris at Sacre-Coeur watching the sun set over the city and Eiffel Tower. It was like something out of the movie except of course for the many street vendors and my lack of a Knight in Shining Armor. As I watched the sun set on paris and my weekend trip, I had a feeling of complete content. I also had never felt more confident in myself. I had just spent the weekend navigating a different city in a language I knew nothing about. 
Somehow had not gotten lost or at anytime felt stressed. I couldn't help but compare it to the pre trip I took to Washington DC  with my mom a month before leaving for Europe. On this trip, when arriving in the city I felt lost, confused and wanted nothing more than to find our hotel and then not leave it again until our trip to the embassy. I even refused to eat Chinese food when we were walking through China town. I refused to ask for help and relied on my mom to navigate the underground of Washington. It is amazing how much has changed in the past 3 months. 

Ready for my next adventure

If you asked me now to go to a strange city, ask questions, figure out the metro, and eat Chinese food in china town I would do it without problems. The funny thing is I still have just under two months left before coming back to the states, imagine how much more confident I can become in myself in just that short amount of time. I hope the US is ready for the more confident Alex who is no longer afraid to ask strangers for help! I can't wait for all the adventures I have yet to experience and am beyond excited to continue to grow as a person.  "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." -Oliver Wendell Holmes No truer words have ever been said. 
As Always, Love Alex

"Miles from Budapest"

I have now been in Austria for just over 2 months. Part of me thinks the time is going by super fast and I can't believe I have been here 2 months, while the other part of me feels the time slowly ticking by and I am anxiously awaiting my arrival home on June 30th. Don't get me wrong, I am loving every minute that I spend in Europe, but if I have learned one thing in my time away it is that Natasha and I can not live more than driving distance apart, I miss her way too much. I have found that the best way to combat missing my sister and being homesick is to keep busy. The best way to keep busy, travel. During the week, I am busy with my school work, group projects, and readings but, on the weekends I have endless free time. This weekend I am taking it easy due to the fact that I was so exhausted last weekend from all my traveling. Unfortunately, it's only Friday and I'm already running out of things to do, I wish I was traveling somewhere. Hopefully I can explore a little more of Linz. I do have plenty of trips coming up, Stuttgart to visit distant family next weekend, France to visit a friend from Truman, and Italy in May. 

The past weekend, I had a chance to visit Budapest with a group from school. Budapest was beautiful but I would have to say that I enjoyed Prague more. The first day in Budapest the group got a semi tour of the city where we saw the Parliament building, some churches, the Danube river, and enjoyed the nice weather. After the tour, we went to a restaurant The Sir Lancelot, The restaurant was a medieval themed place, they didn't even have forks! I wouldn't recommend it. One, the food was not very great and two it was somewhat expensive especially for being in Budapest which is cheap compared to the rest of Europe. 

Met Ronald Reagan in Budapest

After eating the group left to go check out the nightlife of Budapest, I would say it's pretty alive. I stayed out the latest I ever have in dancing, Budapest has some pretty good places to dance. Even though I am an awful dancer I did have a lot of fun. Although, as many of my friends can tell you I am not one to stay out late. I became the first out of the group wanting to find my way back to bed!

The next morning we made our way to the Central market Hall. This place was huge with tons of food stands and craft booths. Although a lot of the stands sell more or less of the same thing, I enjoyed looking at all the different foods and even bought some homemade paprika!  After the market hall I made my way with a few friends towards the Castle of Buda and Matthias Church. The journey to these two places was a little of a walk/climb but completely worth it. The church is absolutely beautiful and the view was even better! If ever in Budapest, if you visit Matthias church be sure to visit a nearby cafe. 

my delicious cake!

The Ruszurm, which claims to be the oldest confectionery in the city has wonderful cakes. I can recommend the Eszerhazy torta, a specialty in Budapest, Dobostorta, and the "Ruszwurm" Torta. All delicious and worth the climb to get them! After enjoying our cake we made our way back towards the Pest side of Buda where we were staying. If you are not aware Budapest was actually once two different cities Buda and Pest and when describing where you are, you still would say whether you are in the pest side or Buda side. Our hostel happened to be on the Pest side. The hostel we were staying had a nice location and was also clean, I would recommend staying at the Wombat hostel. After resting for a bit we journeyed back into the city and fell upon a really cool street market with some musicians, tons of delicious looking foods and some really cool looking trinkets and such. Budapest is a great place to find street markets, we probably went to three in one day! That was by far my favorite part of Budapest.

St Matthias Church

After finishing our shopping we headed to dinner at Zsakbamacska, this place I can recommend. The food was delicious and the entertainment was even greater. Throughout the dinner we were entertained by some traditional music as well as dancers! Nothing better than dinner and a show!. After dinner was finished we journeyed once more into the Budapest nightlife. Having enjoyed enough of the nightlife the previous night I was ready for a good nights sleep. The last morning in Budapest I spent it wandering around the streets and falling upon yet another street market. I love street markets. I returned home from Budapest exhausted from my 3 weeks of travel with little rest but, content.
I don't know if I will ever return to Budapest but, I defiantly think it is a place worth visiting. It's hard to believe that I only have 2.5 months left in Austria, part of me ready to return to Kansas City and my family, but the other part wants more time to enjoy Europe and all its wonders.  

I'll leave you with yet another quote,  "Wherever you go becomes part of you somehow" -Anita Desai

Love, Alex