OKTOBERFEST! Man, it was so great, I wish I could remember it.
Just kidding. It was great though, something about being at the real Oktoberfest, and not like your church's version was pretty awesome.
We took two overnight trains so that we would only have to use one Eurail day, since we would be boarding the next night before midnight. I was happy about this because I didn't think I would want to be there for more than a day, and wow, was I right.
We got there around 6am and waited in line for about an hour. Then I proceeded to be flattened against a wall as people elephant rampaged their way into the tent area. It was crazy, I was disappointed in humanity a little. (This will continue to be a theme for me).
Then we proceeded to wait outside until the tent opened, and then we took turns going in and getting pretzels. Paul and I played a thousand and one games of speed and waited for our turn to go in.
TIP: YOU CANNOT BRING BAGS IN THE TENTS. If you end up going to Oktoberfest, be aware and do not bring a backpack, because they will not let you in. This is why we had to take turns going in, because some people had to stay with the bags.
Inside, since each tent represents a different brewery and theme, looking up there were big clouds and starts and different paintings and murals. It was pretty sweet, the tent was so big it held probably at least a thousand people. We found our group and listened to the opening music which was pretty cool. They brought out the first keg (which I think is a tradition) and then when it turned noon, they started serving beer. It took us about an hour to get our liter's (they only serve them in liters for 10 euro's each) and after we had drank ours, Paul and Theresa and I went to walk around, we went souvenir shopping and got awesome blue Oktoberfest t-shirts. Then we walked Paul back to the train and Anna, Theresa, and I went to the Residence museum in Munich, and to the Hofbrahaus! German food is not my favorite, but going to Hofbra was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. It was so much fun, and the food was pretty good for me not liking German food. Then we got gelato, and tried to meet up with our group at the train station.
This is the part of the night I really became disappointed in the human race. We got to the train station and were sitting on the floor and I had fallen asleep (after being up on the train all night). As I was abruptly woken up that we were gonna move to another place to wait, I was informed that many drunk people had walked by and thought I was passed out, drunk.
Yeah, the half of a liter of beer I drank throughout the course of the day really did me in.
Pathetic. I was even wearing my Holy Spirit sweatshirt. Don't get drunk in your household gear, I mean, don't get drunk at all, but one should never get drunk when wearing household gear.
Anyways, we ended up moving to McDonalds to wait, and when I tried to go to the bathroom, a girl cut in front of me and a few other German ladies, and the German ladies proceeded to ask her to go to the back of the line, and then they all started cussing at each other and I got hit with a purse and it was a big mess. I was exhausted and I just had to pee.
I headed back to my seat and stumbled upon Chai, who told us where the rest of the group was sitting, and we made our way back to them, but not before a drunk man stumbled (literally) up to our table asking us, in German, if we spoke German, and he was baffled when we said no. I know in his intoxicated mind he couldn't really process this, but no meant no we do not speak German, so when he began yelling at us, in German, we still had no idea what he was saying. That was our cue to leave.
We boarded another overnight train to come back home, which started a long and difficult sleepy trek back to Gaming, but with few problems, we made it back, and all was well.
Look, Oktoberfest was amazing, when you walk in it is like a giant fair with huge tents that hold thousands of people, little shops and stands everywhere, rides and a big ferris wheel, but after a few hours I began to feel incredibly tired and burnt out. PLEASE GO. Please, I highly suggest it. If you heard from your friends that it is crazy and not worth it, they are wrong. Go for one day, do what we did with the trains, it takes one Eurail day, and I promise you will not regret it.
As for the drunk people, I hope they learn, and we need to pray for them. Trust me, if I couldn't remember my weekend, I'd be pissed.
Stay classy Franciscan.
Stay tuned for the next post about the POLAND PILGRIMAGE!
Thank you Jesus.
- Savannah
Friday, October 10, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Croatia/Medjugorje: A little Peice of Heave and a whole lotta heck. (Scott Knows Round 2)
Well, where to begin?
This was one of those trips that the universe was trying DESPERATELY to keep us from going on. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Before we had even left the Kartause.
We started planning 2 weeks in advance, but somehow we still didn't have transportation on Tuesday, and we were leaving that Thursday.
So Scott helped us book our rental car, which was fine until Annie realized she didn't have her license, and the car was in her name.
Shoot.
We scrambled around trying to figure out who could go with her to pick it up since she didn't have a license, and just when we were about to give up, she found it. Trust me, it was a bigger deal than it sounds.
So we send her off with the Brothers to get our car, and then we get a call, we can't pick up the car because we need a credit card. And no one has one.
Well shit.
TIP: When you rent a car, you need a credit card, with at least 900 for them to block off. Don't be that dumb American who doesn't know that, cause that was us and it sucked.
So Annie is stranded in Vienna with the Brothers and no car, so we fly through the Kartause collecting all our belongings because the last bus from Scheibbs is about to leave, and we just found out we need to get to Vienna. Tonight.
So we make the bus and all our necessary trains, and we get to Westbanhof (Which we are all very familliar with since the Vienna debacle). There and then we decide not to spend money on a hostel, we can just sleep in the trian station.
And as I'm settling in for the night, around 12:45, I vaguely remember Scott telling us on the phone last week that we aren't ready to sleep in a train station.
Remember that part about Scott knows? He was completely right. Not two minutes later, a man comes over and tells us the station is about to close, and that we can sleep outside.
what.
TIP: THE TRAIN STATION CLOSES. AS IN, YOU CAN'T STAY THERE.
So we pack up and hit the benches outside. We are just starting to fall asleep when two security gaurds come over and offer us a place to wait for the train. So I'm like, sure, it is freezing and I'm exhausted.
Bad idea.
They lead us through this gate that looks like a jail cell, and while I was expecting a waiting room of some sort, what we found was a series of rooms that led to other rooms that resemebed unfinished basements. Then they locked the door behind us. So we were stuck.
I remember laying there thinking this is one of those mistakes that people don't recover from. In all honesty, I thought we were gonna be taken. Locked in a random creepy basement-like cement walled janky room, with no guys with us, I thought we were toast. Luckily, they came back for us at 4am, and let us out.
TIP: SCOTT KNOWS. You don't know, Scott does. So listen to him. Don't sleep in the train station. And if you do, for the love of all things that are good, make sure its 24 hours, and use good judgment.
So after our wonderful night, Annie finally get's the car, and we are on our way to Split Croatia! It's about an 8 hour ride, we dropped MaryRose and Annie at the ferry in Split, then Karly, Theresa, and I headed to Medjugorje.
After getting lost in the city of Medj for hours (it is not that big, it's like one circle), we finally found some Frannys who helped us get to Nancy and Patricks castle.
This is the little piece of heaven. Medj is one of the most beautiful, excellent, holy places I have ever been to. An apparition was going on when we got there, and Dominick and I both saw the Miracle of the Moon. It was so cool! I knew Mary was present, and it felt so beautiful. It was Friday, a fast day, so for dinner we just had bread. But the next morning, Nancy made a big breakfast for all of us before we set out for the day.
Nancy and Patrick are also incredible. If you ever go to Medj, you HAVE to stay with them. They were a god-sent. Well, actually, you can only stay with them if you are a Franciscan University student, or a religious, so sorry to everyone else hoping to go, you can still go, but they only take in Frannys and religious.
That day we went to mass, walked around the town, went souvenir shopping in all these awesome little hippie flee markets, (basically souvenir shopping was rosary shopping. So. many. rosaries.) Then we went to mass again, and prayed some rosaries outside. We visited oily Jesus, it is this statue of Christ that secretes oil from the knees. It is so blessed. Definitely a must see. There was some hiking to do, Cross Mountain is a popular one, usually done barefoot and offered as a penance you can meditate on the stations on your way up. Also apparition hill, where Mary actually still continues to appear is super blessed, especially at night.
The Saturday night mass, prayer, and holy hour was incredible. We took a small break to eat Patricks delicious hot-dogs and drink crack tea (this incredible sweet tea) and do more rosary shopping, but it was such a blessed night. You could feel the presence of Christ in the whole city, and how everything is truly centered around Mary, our mother, queen of peace, and her Son. It was a beautiful thing.
We woke up at 4am the next morning to head out. While we were getting ready to go, the second wave of disaster stuck.
We had recieved a text from our group that told us to pick them up in a completely different location form where we dropped them off, which happened to be 3 hours, so 6 hours (since we were 3 already from split) away from heading home. We knew we had to leave ASAP and that returning the car that day wasen't going to be an option. However, when we got to said location, we realized there was a miscommunication and they were actually still in the original place, hours and hours from where we were. They made the decision to double buckle in the cars they had, and while we hauled ass back to vienna to try and return the car on time, they ran into trouble of their own.
Very very long story short, we ran up over 600 dollars in data charges trying to figure stuff out, tons of extra money in gas,
and a 500 euro fine for double buckling.
TIP: DO NOT BREAK ANY LAWS IN EUROPE. You'd think its pretty self explanatory, but trust me, you will be tempted. DON'T DO IT.
And we didn't even get the car back on time. So we had to pay for an extra day. After driving around Vienna for hours, we finally decided to call it a night and head back to Gaming. We had no GPS and no directions, so we stopped to ask and were told to follow signs to St. Polten, stop again, and ask for directions back to Gaming from there.
So that is what we did, and the very very nice lady in the rest stop told us to follow signs to Mariazell...which happened to be really really out of our way.
Also the funny thing about Europe and Sunday is that all the gas stations close at 4pm.
Guess who ran out of gas 40 minutes from the Kartause at 1am in the middle of the mountains?
This trip could not get any better.
So we knock on some random person's door, borrow their phone, and call Scott, because he knows.
And I kid you not, when I say this man is a god-sent, I really really mean it. He came and picked us up, and then drove me the next morning to pick up our car.
If you don't have a Scott to save you form every disastrous situation, I feel really sorry for you, because without that man, I do not know where I would be right now.
It is difficult to explain exactly how everything could go wrong in a matter of days, or how disastrous it really was, but think about 500 euro, a bunch of college students, and feel bad for us.
I thank God that we are all safe now, for an amazingly blessed weekend, and that we had Scott, but this was a tough one. Austria is really great, and all about learning, but this was too much.
I got some great friendships out of it, Theresa and Karly and I have come a long way, not to mention the bonding time with Scott, so through it all I still feel very blessed and happy to be here. A redeeming weekend would help for sure though.
Next weekend: Oktoberfest.
This was one of those trips that the universe was trying DESPERATELY to keep us from going on. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Before we had even left the Kartause.
We started planning 2 weeks in advance, but somehow we still didn't have transportation on Tuesday, and we were leaving that Thursday.
So Scott helped us book our rental car, which was fine until Annie realized she didn't have her license, and the car was in her name.
Shoot.
We scrambled around trying to figure out who could go with her to pick it up since she didn't have a license, and just when we were about to give up, she found it. Trust me, it was a bigger deal than it sounds.
So we send her off with the Brothers to get our car, and then we get a call, we can't pick up the car because we need a credit card. And no one has one.
Well shit.
TIP: When you rent a car, you need a credit card, with at least 900 for them to block off. Don't be that dumb American who doesn't know that, cause that was us and it sucked.
So Annie is stranded in Vienna with the Brothers and no car, so we fly through the Kartause collecting all our belongings because the last bus from Scheibbs is about to leave, and we just found out we need to get to Vienna. Tonight.
So we make the bus and all our necessary trains, and we get to Westbanhof (Which we are all very familliar with since the Vienna debacle). There and then we decide not to spend money on a hostel, we can just sleep in the trian station.
And as I'm settling in for the night, around 12:45, I vaguely remember Scott telling us on the phone last week that we aren't ready to sleep in a train station.
Remember that part about Scott knows? He was completely right. Not two minutes later, a man comes over and tells us the station is about to close, and that we can sleep outside.
what.
TIP: THE TRAIN STATION CLOSES. AS IN, YOU CAN'T STAY THERE.
So we pack up and hit the benches outside. We are just starting to fall asleep when two security gaurds come over and offer us a place to wait for the train. So I'm like, sure, it is freezing and I'm exhausted.
Bad idea.
They lead us through this gate that looks like a jail cell, and while I was expecting a waiting room of some sort, what we found was a series of rooms that led to other rooms that resemebed unfinished basements. Then they locked the door behind us. So we were stuck.
I remember laying there thinking this is one of those mistakes that people don't recover from. In all honesty, I thought we were gonna be taken. Locked in a random creepy basement-like cement walled janky room, with no guys with us, I thought we were toast. Luckily, they came back for us at 4am, and let us out.
TIP: SCOTT KNOWS. You don't know, Scott does. So listen to him. Don't sleep in the train station. And if you do, for the love of all things that are good, make sure its 24 hours, and use good judgment.
So after our wonderful night, Annie finally get's the car, and we are on our way to Split Croatia! It's about an 8 hour ride, we dropped MaryRose and Annie at the ferry in Split, then Karly, Theresa, and I headed to Medjugorje.
After getting lost in the city of Medj for hours (it is not that big, it's like one circle), we finally found some Frannys who helped us get to Nancy and Patricks castle.
This is the little piece of heaven. Medj is one of the most beautiful, excellent, holy places I have ever been to. An apparition was going on when we got there, and Dominick and I both saw the Miracle of the Moon. It was so cool! I knew Mary was present, and it felt so beautiful. It was Friday, a fast day, so for dinner we just had bread. But the next morning, Nancy made a big breakfast for all of us before we set out for the day.
Nancy and Patrick are also incredible. If you ever go to Medj, you HAVE to stay with them. They were a god-sent. Well, actually, you can only stay with them if you are a Franciscan University student, or a religious, so sorry to everyone else hoping to go, you can still go, but they only take in Frannys and religious.
That day we went to mass, walked around the town, went souvenir shopping in all these awesome little hippie flee markets, (basically souvenir shopping was rosary shopping. So. many. rosaries.) Then we went to mass again, and prayed some rosaries outside. We visited oily Jesus, it is this statue of Christ that secretes oil from the knees. It is so blessed. Definitely a must see. There was some hiking to do, Cross Mountain is a popular one, usually done barefoot and offered as a penance you can meditate on the stations on your way up. Also apparition hill, where Mary actually still continues to appear is super blessed, especially at night.
The Saturday night mass, prayer, and holy hour was incredible. We took a small break to eat Patricks delicious hot-dogs and drink crack tea (this incredible sweet tea) and do more rosary shopping, but it was such a blessed night. You could feel the presence of Christ in the whole city, and how everything is truly centered around Mary, our mother, queen of peace, and her Son. It was a beautiful thing.
We woke up at 4am the next morning to head out. While we were getting ready to go, the second wave of disaster stuck.
We had recieved a text from our group that told us to pick them up in a completely different location form where we dropped them off, which happened to be 3 hours, so 6 hours (since we were 3 already from split) away from heading home. We knew we had to leave ASAP and that returning the car that day wasen't going to be an option. However, when we got to said location, we realized there was a miscommunication and they were actually still in the original place, hours and hours from where we were. They made the decision to double buckle in the cars they had, and while we hauled ass back to vienna to try and return the car on time, they ran into trouble of their own.
Very very long story short, we ran up over 600 dollars in data charges trying to figure stuff out, tons of extra money in gas,
and a 500 euro fine for double buckling.
TIP: DO NOT BREAK ANY LAWS IN EUROPE. You'd think its pretty self explanatory, but trust me, you will be tempted. DON'T DO IT.
And we didn't even get the car back on time. So we had to pay for an extra day. After driving around Vienna for hours, we finally decided to call it a night and head back to Gaming. We had no GPS and no directions, so we stopped to ask and were told to follow signs to St. Polten, stop again, and ask for directions back to Gaming from there.
So that is what we did, and the very very nice lady in the rest stop told us to follow signs to Mariazell...which happened to be really really out of our way.
Also the funny thing about Europe and Sunday is that all the gas stations close at 4pm.
Guess who ran out of gas 40 minutes from the Kartause at 1am in the middle of the mountains?
This trip could not get any better.
So we knock on some random person's door, borrow their phone, and call Scott, because he knows.
And I kid you not, when I say this man is a god-sent, I really really mean it. He came and picked us up, and then drove me the next morning to pick up our car.
If you don't have a Scott to save you form every disastrous situation, I feel really sorry for you, because without that man, I do not know where I would be right now.
It is difficult to explain exactly how everything could go wrong in a matter of days, or how disastrous it really was, but think about 500 euro, a bunch of college students, and feel bad for us.
I thank God that we are all safe now, for an amazingly blessed weekend, and that we had Scott, but this was a tough one. Austria is really great, and all about learning, but this was too much.
I got some great friendships out of it, Theresa and Karly and I have come a long way, not to mention the bonding time with Scott, so through it all I still feel very blessed and happy to be here. A redeeming weekend would help for sure though.
Next weekend: Oktoberfest.
Vienna: Scott Knows Round 1
Oh Vienna.
You know, looking back, this is all something to laugh about, it really is.
So the school takes us to Vienna the second weekend, our first overnight trip. Everything was fantastic, we had an awesome first day, ate incredible Schnitzel, stayed at a pretty sweet hostel, and even went to an Opera the first night.
DISCLAIMER: The Opera was SO FUN, but it was in German. Duh Savannah. Although it may seem obvious, don't forget you aren't in America.
We saw "The Magic Flute" and while most of the group elected to pay the 12 euro and sit, Annie and I payed 3 Euro for standing room only, and ended up being able to sit. I was basically along for the ride, Opera's really aren't my thing, but I enjoyed it despite it being in German, and Annie and I were pleased with our decision to pay less. My suggestion, take some time to culture yourself even if you aren't that into it, I was glad I went, it was fun to get all dressed up and feel classy after spending so much time feeling gross from traveling.
That night some people went out to this 5-story club in Vienna. I was pretty tired, and some locals told us people get drugged there alot, so I stayed back. It was almost midnight by then, and our friends didn't end up getting home until 4 am.
The next day was going to be our last day, and the university bus left at 4. However, we had tried to plan to go to Prague that day, and when that wasen't going to work out, we took Mr. Pipp's advice and decided to skip the University bus, stay later, and take a late train to Gaming that night. Fine, we get all the directions and head out to see Vienna. (Since the Opera took up most of the night, we had alot to see in one day).
Our first stop was the gardens at the Schonbrun Palace. Beautiful. Definitely a must see. We didn't end up paying the entrance fee to the actual palace, but the gardens were free. And I love free things.
After that we hit the Noschmarkt. This was easily my favorite thing we did all weekend. A giant flee market that stretched for blocks and blocks. Can you tell I love flee markets? Super vintage and hippie, vendors just set up and sell ridiculously cool stuff. I bought this sweet indian wall hanging for 10 euro (bargained down from 30) and a cool aztec painting for 6 euro. There were beautiful 5euro scarves, and tons of food stands it was so fun.
After that we decided to head back in the direction of St. Stephans church, and the treasury museum. First we stopped in McDonalds to sit and eat our food that we brought.
TIP: Steal food from the Mensa. It isn't technically stealing since you paid for it. Nobody got time for buying unnecessary meals. Save your money for seeing cool stuff and maybe having a cool dinner somewhere.
We went to St. Stephens for mass after our lunch and nap in McDonalds. It is a beautiful church, but wow talk about spiritual attack.
It is so easy to see why Catholicism is dying in Europe. People texting in communion lines, nobody kneeling or standing, old ladies pushing and shoving you to get the Eucharist, people talking during the homily and in the communion line, it was unreal. I have never felt that stressed during and even after mass was over. Overall, not a good experience. It was all in German as well. I knew Jesus was there, but it was impossible to pay attention. I felt cheated out of mass.
MaryRose and Theresa and I were the ones who stayed back from the bus, so after mass we went to dinner at this cool outside turkish cafe. The waiters loved us, and the food was excellent.
After dinner we hit this huge gelato place, and tried about 8 different kinds of gelato. My favorite was the dark chocolate, it tasted like brownie batter.
Thats when it all fell apart.
I had remembered Scott telling me something about "The last train runs to schiebbs at about 8 pm"
Schiebbs was 3 hours away.
And it was 10:30pm.
And we didn't have a hostel.
Oops.
Sure enough, when we got to the train station, the very personable attendent wasted no time telling us we were screwed and to "have a nice night".
We promptly panicked, then collected ourselves enough to try and find a phone. Theresa's university phone miraculously turned on after we prayed over it (thank you Jesus). We called Scott as fast as we could and he helped find us a hostel somewhere close, and even booked it and payed for our reservation for us. (He's so good to us).
Because Scott knows.
So we made it to our hostel only to discover 3 naked guys in the room, but we didn't even care. When we woke up we couldn't believe we were still in Vienna.
TIPS:
1. THE LAST TRAIN RUNS TO SCHEIBBS AT 8 PM. Plan accordingly.
2. Keep the card they give you at the beginning of the semester with all the important phone numbers, like Scott's, on it.
3. Europeans like to sleep with little or no clothes on. Don't be alarmed.
4. Get to know your RD's, because of our relationship with them, it makes things ten times easier. They know who you are, and how to help you. Also they are REALLY cool and have tons of fun stories.
After all was said and done, it came down to the fact that Scott knew, and continues to know. Keep reading to find out how much he really knows, and helps us out of the next situation in which we proceeded to screwed ourselves even worse than this time. I wonder if this ever gets easier?
- Savannah
You know, looking back, this is all something to laugh about, it really is.
So the school takes us to Vienna the second weekend, our first overnight trip. Everything was fantastic, we had an awesome first day, ate incredible Schnitzel, stayed at a pretty sweet hostel, and even went to an Opera the first night.
DISCLAIMER: The Opera was SO FUN, but it was in German. Duh Savannah. Although it may seem obvious, don't forget you aren't in America.
We saw "The Magic Flute" and while most of the group elected to pay the 12 euro and sit, Annie and I payed 3 Euro for standing room only, and ended up being able to sit. I was basically along for the ride, Opera's really aren't my thing, but I enjoyed it despite it being in German, and Annie and I were pleased with our decision to pay less. My suggestion, take some time to culture yourself even if you aren't that into it, I was glad I went, it was fun to get all dressed up and feel classy after spending so much time feeling gross from traveling.
That night some people went out to this 5-story club in Vienna. I was pretty tired, and some locals told us people get drugged there alot, so I stayed back. It was almost midnight by then, and our friends didn't end up getting home until 4 am.
The next day was going to be our last day, and the university bus left at 4. However, we had tried to plan to go to Prague that day, and when that wasen't going to work out, we took Mr. Pipp's advice and decided to skip the University bus, stay later, and take a late train to Gaming that night. Fine, we get all the directions and head out to see Vienna. (Since the Opera took up most of the night, we had alot to see in one day).
Our first stop was the gardens at the Schonbrun Palace. Beautiful. Definitely a must see. We didn't end up paying the entrance fee to the actual palace, but the gardens were free. And I love free things.
After that we hit the Noschmarkt. This was easily my favorite thing we did all weekend. A giant flee market that stretched for blocks and blocks. Can you tell I love flee markets? Super vintage and hippie, vendors just set up and sell ridiculously cool stuff. I bought this sweet indian wall hanging for 10 euro (bargained down from 30) and a cool aztec painting for 6 euro. There were beautiful 5euro scarves, and tons of food stands it was so fun.
After that we decided to head back in the direction of St. Stephans church, and the treasury museum. First we stopped in McDonalds to sit and eat our food that we brought.
TIP: Steal food from the Mensa. It isn't technically stealing since you paid for it. Nobody got time for buying unnecessary meals. Save your money for seeing cool stuff and maybe having a cool dinner somewhere.
We went to St. Stephens for mass after our lunch and nap in McDonalds. It is a beautiful church, but wow talk about spiritual attack.
It is so easy to see why Catholicism is dying in Europe. People texting in communion lines, nobody kneeling or standing, old ladies pushing and shoving you to get the Eucharist, people talking during the homily and in the communion line, it was unreal. I have never felt that stressed during and even after mass was over. Overall, not a good experience. It was all in German as well. I knew Jesus was there, but it was impossible to pay attention. I felt cheated out of mass.
MaryRose and Theresa and I were the ones who stayed back from the bus, so after mass we went to dinner at this cool outside turkish cafe. The waiters loved us, and the food was excellent.
After dinner we hit this huge gelato place, and tried about 8 different kinds of gelato. My favorite was the dark chocolate, it tasted like brownie batter.
Thats when it all fell apart.
I had remembered Scott telling me something about "The last train runs to schiebbs at about 8 pm"
Schiebbs was 3 hours away.
And it was 10:30pm.
And we didn't have a hostel.
Oops.
Sure enough, when we got to the train station, the very personable attendent wasted no time telling us we were screwed and to "have a nice night".
We promptly panicked, then collected ourselves enough to try and find a phone. Theresa's university phone miraculously turned on after we prayed over it (thank you Jesus). We called Scott as fast as we could and he helped find us a hostel somewhere close, and even booked it and payed for our reservation for us. (He's so good to us).
Because Scott knows.
So we made it to our hostel only to discover 3 naked guys in the room, but we didn't even care. When we woke up we couldn't believe we were still in Vienna.
TIPS:
1. THE LAST TRAIN RUNS TO SCHEIBBS AT 8 PM. Plan accordingly.
2. Keep the card they give you at the beginning of the semester with all the important phone numbers, like Scott's, on it.
3. Europeans like to sleep with little or no clothes on. Don't be alarmed.
4. Get to know your RD's, because of our relationship with them, it makes things ten times easier. They know who you are, and how to help you. Also they are REALLY cool and have tons of fun stories.
After all was said and done, it came down to the fact that Scott knew, and continues to know. Keep reading to find out how much he really knows, and helps us out of the next situation in which we proceeded to screwed ourselves even worse than this time. I wonder if this ever gets easier?
- Savannah
Austria: Kartause, Melk, Salzburg.
Hi Friends,
I tottally want to just cut to Vienna, cause that is where the real "fun" began, but I'll make ya'll wait it out.
The Kartause is beautiful, the beds are comfortable, and basically its so old I can't even play wallball for fear of cracking some 9million year old wall.
Really though it is pretty cool, and Gaming is so cute. We took a walking tour at one point and had mass in this adorable little church in town. There is also a kebab stand (Gyro's and pizza) GO THERE. The Kebabs are so good.
In town there is like 800 ATM's (Called Bankomat's in Europe) a spar, a shoe store/post office, a bakery, kebab stand, church, outdoor store, school supplies store, chinese restaurant, and other cute little stores. Gaming also has like a thousand hiking opportunities, like the caves, book mountain, stations hike, etc.
BE AWARE: If the Pipp kids take you to the caves, you will be on your hands and knees SCALING the side of the Austrian alps, hoping you don't fall all the way back down. And then you will slide (like on a playground, but far less safe) on your butt, the whole way back down. It was like an extreme sport. Shout out to Ian for saving me from a falling boulder.
Hear me when I say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. My legs were dotted with at least 20 bruises and cuts.
It was absolutely worth it.
There is also a creek, super cold, but everyone creek jumps alot. It's fun, esspecially after a hot day. (Sorry spring people).
We visted Melk on the second day we were there, there is a beautiful abbey/museum. It was a great way to start the semester, even though we were all pretty exhausted.
The first weekend we took a day trip to Salzburg. It was raining when we first got there, and all through mass, but after that it was beautiful. We took a walking tour, led by Mr. Pipp, (Pipp pipp, horray), bought big pretzels, saw tons of Mozart stuff, bought Mozart balls, and had an excellent lunch.
We went to these really pretty gardens from scenes in the Sound of Music, took some picures, then Theresa and MaryRose and I went this awesome flea martket full of cool hippies selling their awesome hippie things. I loved it. We tried this bread with like 30 different kinds of sauce, and met up with one of our RD's, Scott.
This is the first "Scott Knows" when he helped us get to the Augustiner-Keller, this huge beer hall where half of our school resided. I shared with him my pickiness in the food department, and he helped me order fries. They were really good.
Stay tuned for next time to find out what happens when three girls get stranded in a foreign country with no way to get home.
Peace of Christ,
Savannah
I tottally want to just cut to Vienna, cause that is where the real "fun" began, but I'll make ya'll wait it out.
The Kartause is beautiful, the beds are comfortable, and basically its so old I can't even play wallball for fear of cracking some 9million year old wall.
Really though it is pretty cool, and Gaming is so cute. We took a walking tour at one point and had mass in this adorable little church in town. There is also a kebab stand (Gyro's and pizza) GO THERE. The Kebabs are so good.
In town there is like 800 ATM's (Called Bankomat's in Europe) a spar, a shoe store/post office, a bakery, kebab stand, church, outdoor store, school supplies store, chinese restaurant, and other cute little stores. Gaming also has like a thousand hiking opportunities, like the caves, book mountain, stations hike, etc.
BE AWARE: If the Pipp kids take you to the caves, you will be on your hands and knees SCALING the side of the Austrian alps, hoping you don't fall all the way back down. And then you will slide (like on a playground, but far less safe) on your butt, the whole way back down. It was like an extreme sport. Shout out to Ian for saving me from a falling boulder.
Hear me when I say it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. My legs were dotted with at least 20 bruises and cuts.
It was absolutely worth it.
There is also a creek, super cold, but everyone creek jumps alot. It's fun, esspecially after a hot day. (Sorry spring people).
We visted Melk on the second day we were there, there is a beautiful abbey/museum. It was a great way to start the semester, even though we were all pretty exhausted.
The first weekend we took a day trip to Salzburg. It was raining when we first got there, and all through mass, but after that it was beautiful. We took a walking tour, led by Mr. Pipp, (Pipp pipp, horray), bought big pretzels, saw tons of Mozart stuff, bought Mozart balls, and had an excellent lunch.
We went to these really pretty gardens from scenes in the Sound of Music, took some picures, then Theresa and MaryRose and I went this awesome flea martket full of cool hippies selling their awesome hippie things. I loved it. We tried this bread with like 30 different kinds of sauce, and met up with one of our RD's, Scott.
This is the first "Scott Knows" when he helped us get to the Augustiner-Keller, this huge beer hall where half of our school resided. I shared with him my pickiness in the food department, and he helped me order fries. They were really good.
Stay tuned for next time to find out what happens when three girls get stranded in a foreign country with no way to get home.
Peace of Christ,
Savannah
Ireland 2014: The New LIfe Begins
I've never been the type of person to have a blog, but after the last few weeks I have realized that my life is far too interesting for people not to have a knowledge of it.
My name is Savannah, I'm a sophomore at Franciscan University and I study Theology and Catechetics with a Youth Ministry concentration. I love anything Pittsburgh, Haribo gummy bears, Lacrosse, and Catholicism.
I'm studying in Gaming Austria with Franciscan University's study abroad program. I have been here for a number of weeks, traveling to different countries and having all kinds of cool adventures, hence, the blog.
I guess I could tell you about Ireland now, like the title suggests, it was a great way to ease into the semester. I traveled from Pittsburgh to Chicago to Dublin (quite a feat after returning from working in Northern Michigan at an all girls catholic camp the day before). It was a really long day of traveling but we eventually made it!
Our first stop was Castlebar. There we stayed with a family friend of a girl I was traveling with. It was the perfect way to start our stay in Ireland. They made us some kind of Irish stew and welcomed us into their home. It was wonderful. Then they took us to this really old Abbey in Castlebar. We took cool pictures in the ruins, and in the garden area.
The next day, bright and early, we departed Castlebar for Knock. We had mass in this small chapel, and believe me when I say it was the fastest mass I had ever attended. 15 minutes flat. After that we visited the shrine of Our Lady of Knock until it was time to catch our bus to Galway. Our group got split up, so Adriana and I boarded another bus, separate from everyone else.
HELPFUL ADVICE: Don't do what we did. Stay together, it was very hard to find each other once we made it to Galway, we didnt even know if we had all made it, or where our hostel was, so if you can't all fit on a bus, WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE. It's not worth the stress. You are in a foreign country, take it seriously.
It was a very long ride to Galway but Adriana and I made it and attempted to find our hostel. As we are walking through the main square I hear SAVANNAH! And see Cassie running towards me. From there we met up with her and Hannah and MaryRose, it was so great to see them, it had been a long summer apart! Then Adriana and I asked some people if they knew where our hostel was, and they helped guide us in the right direction.
MORE HELPFUL ADVICE: Ask strangers things, esspecially in Ireland. They speak English and can help. Swallow your pride and do it.
Galway was amazing, it was one of my favorite places we stayed. We stayed for two nights, and depsite the drunk 40 year old man that slept in tiny underwear and smoked in the bathroom at 2 am, we had a great couple of days. We met up both nights with other Franciscan students there at this sick bar called The Kings Head (go there, it is awesome and get the King Charles dessert drink, it's delicious, I still dream about it). We met awesome Irish friends, Killian and Nathan, who also slept in our room, and a group of Dublin guys who took us to this cool electronic dance club in Galway called Carbon6.
NEVER lie about your age to an Irish police officer when hes checking your passport. Just don't do it.
Also, never wear a rugby to a club, you might not get in. I was very happy I was wearing it, compared to what some girls had on (modesty is the best policy ladies) but the security guards weren't too pleased with me. Maybe this is just the ghetto Pittsburgh in me, but I think sports-wear is classy.
We also took this sick day tour to Connamara, and saw a really awesome castle called Kylemore Abbey. That tour was so cool, easily one of the best things we did all week.
After we left Galway we spent the next two nights in Dingle. I LOVED DINGLE. It is like the Seattle of Ireland, right on the water its this adorable sea-side down and we stayed in this aggressively hippie hostel/campground, it was awesome. Right up my alley.
Eat the berries on the tree's if you ever go to Dingle. They are delicious I promise.
This is where we decided to start the new life. Sailing away on a canoe and living off of the earth.
No for real though, Austria is all about roughing it. You are going to be tired. DO NOT be that person who complains all the time and nobody wants to travel with. Suck it up.
I went for a jog around dingle, where I ended up getting lost and running for almost two hours. It was beautiful, but be aware of where you are. THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT AT NIGHT! Duh Savannah.
Catherine and Maria and I hiked this aggressive mountain, Mount Brandon. It is the second tallest mountain in Ireland. Did that on the same day as my 10 mile run. Not the best idea, but the view was incredible. Also became one with the sheep. Baa. And even though it was hard, I would have rather done that than sat around. Austria is all about adventure, take every opportunity to do something cool that you can. YOCTAO (You only come to Austria once).
After Dingle we headed to Dublin for our last day. On the way we stopped at the Cliffs of Mohr, it was beautiful, we took some pictures, and had some awesome soup in the little cafe. Then we got back on the bus and went the rest of the way to Dublin. Some of our group wanted to go see Trinity College, but I just wanted to find the James Joyce statue and chill out, so Catherine Maria and I hung out in O'brien's cafe for a few hours then we all headed to the airport. We met up with a bunch of Frannys and stayed there for the night. Our flight was pretty early, so we just slept in the airport. Do it. It saves money. You can sleep when your in America, don't waste your money on unnecessary lodging. I might just be cheap, but it was a good choice.
Soon enough, we boarded our plane and were on our way.
Stay tuned to read how Patrick and I almost missed our flight from Frankfurt to Austria, our first couple of days at the Kartause, and our first real "Scott Knows" moment.
Peace of Christ
- Savannah
My name is Savannah, I'm a sophomore at Franciscan University and I study Theology and Catechetics with a Youth Ministry concentration. I love anything Pittsburgh, Haribo gummy bears, Lacrosse, and Catholicism.
I'm studying in Gaming Austria with Franciscan University's study abroad program. I have been here for a number of weeks, traveling to different countries and having all kinds of cool adventures, hence, the blog.
I guess I could tell you about Ireland now, like the title suggests, it was a great way to ease into the semester. I traveled from Pittsburgh to Chicago to Dublin (quite a feat after returning from working in Northern Michigan at an all girls catholic camp the day before). It was a really long day of traveling but we eventually made it!
Our first stop was Castlebar. There we stayed with a family friend of a girl I was traveling with. It was the perfect way to start our stay in Ireland. They made us some kind of Irish stew and welcomed us into their home. It was wonderful. Then they took us to this really old Abbey in Castlebar. We took cool pictures in the ruins, and in the garden area.
The next day, bright and early, we departed Castlebar for Knock. We had mass in this small chapel, and believe me when I say it was the fastest mass I had ever attended. 15 minutes flat. After that we visited the shrine of Our Lady of Knock until it was time to catch our bus to Galway. Our group got split up, so Adriana and I boarded another bus, separate from everyone else.
HELPFUL ADVICE: Don't do what we did. Stay together, it was very hard to find each other once we made it to Galway, we didnt even know if we had all made it, or where our hostel was, so if you can't all fit on a bus, WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE. It's not worth the stress. You are in a foreign country, take it seriously.
It was a very long ride to Galway but Adriana and I made it and attempted to find our hostel. As we are walking through the main square I hear SAVANNAH! And see Cassie running towards me. From there we met up with her and Hannah and MaryRose, it was so great to see them, it had been a long summer apart! Then Adriana and I asked some people if they knew where our hostel was, and they helped guide us in the right direction.
MORE HELPFUL ADVICE: Ask strangers things, esspecially in Ireland. They speak English and can help. Swallow your pride and do it.
Galway was amazing, it was one of my favorite places we stayed. We stayed for two nights, and depsite the drunk 40 year old man that slept in tiny underwear and smoked in the bathroom at 2 am, we had a great couple of days. We met up both nights with other Franciscan students there at this sick bar called The Kings Head (go there, it is awesome and get the King Charles dessert drink, it's delicious, I still dream about it). We met awesome Irish friends, Killian and Nathan, who also slept in our room, and a group of Dublin guys who took us to this cool electronic dance club in Galway called Carbon6.
NEVER lie about your age to an Irish police officer when hes checking your passport. Just don't do it.
Also, never wear a rugby to a club, you might not get in. I was very happy I was wearing it, compared to what some girls had on (modesty is the best policy ladies) but the security guards weren't too pleased with me. Maybe this is just the ghetto Pittsburgh in me, but I think sports-wear is classy.
We also took this sick day tour to Connamara, and saw a really awesome castle called Kylemore Abbey. That tour was so cool, easily one of the best things we did all week.
After we left Galway we spent the next two nights in Dingle. I LOVED DINGLE. It is like the Seattle of Ireland, right on the water its this adorable sea-side down and we stayed in this aggressively hippie hostel/campground, it was awesome. Right up my alley.
Eat the berries on the tree's if you ever go to Dingle. They are delicious I promise.
This is where we decided to start the new life. Sailing away on a canoe and living off of the earth.
No for real though, Austria is all about roughing it. You are going to be tired. DO NOT be that person who complains all the time and nobody wants to travel with. Suck it up.
I went for a jog around dingle, where I ended up getting lost and running for almost two hours. It was beautiful, but be aware of where you are. THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT AT NIGHT! Duh Savannah.
Catherine and Maria and I hiked this aggressive mountain, Mount Brandon. It is the second tallest mountain in Ireland. Did that on the same day as my 10 mile run. Not the best idea, but the view was incredible. Also became one with the sheep. Baa. And even though it was hard, I would have rather done that than sat around. Austria is all about adventure, take every opportunity to do something cool that you can. YOCTAO (You only come to Austria once).
After Dingle we headed to Dublin for our last day. On the way we stopped at the Cliffs of Mohr, it was beautiful, we took some pictures, and had some awesome soup in the little cafe. Then we got back on the bus and went the rest of the way to Dublin. Some of our group wanted to go see Trinity College, but I just wanted to find the James Joyce statue and chill out, so Catherine Maria and I hung out in O'brien's cafe for a few hours then we all headed to the airport. We met up with a bunch of Frannys and stayed there for the night. Our flight was pretty early, so we just slept in the airport. Do it. It saves money. You can sleep when your in America, don't waste your money on unnecessary lodging. I might just be cheap, but it was a good choice.
Soon enough, we boarded our plane and were on our way.
Stay tuned to read how Patrick and I almost missed our flight from Frankfurt to Austria, our first couple of days at the Kartause, and our first real "Scott Knows" moment.
Peace of Christ
- Savannah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)