I'm in Austria now! Since I last wrote we've been to Frankfurt, Germany as well as Munich and now we're in Salzburg, Austria where Mozart was born and The Sound of Music was filmed! It's so beautiful here, especially in the countryside. On the way from Frankfurt to here I was astounded at how pretty the countryside was! There were rolling green hills, cows, and cute colorful houses on the hillsides. It seemed right out of a painting or off of a Pinterest picture! Or, ya know, out of the movie The Sound of Music, haha.
I don't love the actual city of Salzburg as much as the countryside on the outskirts though. It's alright! But I LOVED Frankfurt, Germany. I wasn't even excited for Germany at all, besides going to the concentration camp, but I fell in love with Frankfurt! While in Frankfurt we went to the stock exchange and the Mein tower as a group then we split off and Erin and I and a few others went to this cute little street with outdoor seating all throughout the street! We got bratwursts which were pretty good but dry without sauerkraut. I made the mistake of not getting sauerkraut. Then we went back to the hotel and some people took a nap but I walked to this little grocery store right down the street and bought a lot of things for only $20! I got chocolate for my family and some snacks for myself! I LOVED that grocery store!
Then I took a nice nap in our fancy hotel. And it was great! Oh yeah the night before we got to the hotel really late and all the food stores were far away and closed so we had to eat at this restaurant in the hotel and at first we didn't want to because the menu outside the hotel showed only a few items for really expensive prices but we were starving so we went inside and there were cheaper items on the bigger menu. I got pasta pesto and it was so so so good! We had a lot of fun at dinner playing games and talking and bonding!
Above is a picture of Hannah and I's room in Frankfurt! Fancy!!!
So after I went to the store and took a nap, I went with Forrest and Erin downtown Frankfurt and we had tons of fun! My favorite part of the day with them was seeing the river as it was starting to get dark and going on the love lock bridge. It was so beautiful! And the city itself is just great and has a wonderful feeling! I think everyone on our trip really liked Frankfurt! We went to this street later that had more food places and outdoor seating and candles on all the tables and we each got food at different places near each other and then met and ate together at a table. I got soup because I had been craving soup for days! It was beef stew and it hit the spot! We ran into some people in our group and talked to them for a bit and then headed back to the hotel. It was a great day!
The next day we drove 6 hours to Salzburg, Austria. I actually love those long bus rides. Everyone just sleeps, talks, plays game, and occasionally we sing! I'd say we mostly sleep though. For some reason our tour bus puts me right to sleep. This tour bus we're on has taken us all through Europe. Our bus drivers are Bart and Damion and we've gotten to know them pretty well through the course of the trip! Bart's always making jokes over the intercom and this travel agent that's with us laughs historically at him and we can hear her all through the bus. I'll miss these simple things!
When we got to Salzburg, I went with Bri, Arely, Rachel, and Amanda to this Japanse resteraunt that has the best food EVER. Oh my goodness I got this Thai curry that's literally the best curry I've ever had and I've had A LOT of curry in my life.
We had so much fun and agreed to go the next day with the same group but we were too busy the next day!
Yesterday we went to this BMW building and listened to this guy who's a member of our church talk about his job working for BMW. He also gave this valuable lesson that I'll never ever forget! He said that we should consider if we're buying things for the right reasons. A lot of the people that buy BMWs buy them to show off to other people. He said that if you're buying something for the experience then that's a good reason but it's not a good reason to buy to impress. We all do it but it's not a good reason to! For example, some people buy a grand piano to show off to their guests and some people buy one because they like the sound of it when they're playing. They like the experience of playing it. Anyways, I thought that was a good reminder!
We went to the U.S consulate after that and then to Dachau concentration camp which was probably one of my favorite experiences of the trip! It was really special. I can't really describe what I felt there but I highly reccomend visiting a concentration camp if you're ever in Geemany or different parts of Europe.
I went with Brett and Erin to eat after that. We ate at a sit down restaurant even though we didn't have much time. We somehow finished in time though and then I sat in the very back of the bus with Brett and we both got to spread out because the back is so spacious!
When we got back to the hotel I went downstairs and had "girl talk" with Taylor Howard, Taylor Rodgers, and Nick Sparks. It wasn't really girl talk that's just what we call it when we get into deep conversations at night, haha. It was a lot of fun!
I like the people I'm traveling with and I'm having a really good experience over all! I don't know if I'd do another study abroad because I feel like you can probably experience things a little more in less large of a group but I'm definitely coming back to Europe with whoever I'm gonna marry! Europe really is all it's cracked up to be :)
Until next time,
Coral
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