Saturday, August 18, 2012

High on a Hill Stood a Lonely Goatherd...and some BIG Ice Caves

After leaving Germany we made a quick stop in Salzburg, Austria, which was made famous by the movie "The Sound of Music." This is my mom's favorite movie of all time so Kayla and I were forced to watch it every year...ok maybe not forced exactly. While in Salzburg we went on a "Sound of Music" tour and took a day trip to the Ice Caves.

The "Sound of Music" tour took us all around Salzburg and the surrounding countryside so that we could see of the locations where the movie was filmed. We stared in awe at the abbey on the hill, twirled in front of the infamous gazebo (unfortunately it was locked otherwise I would have forced Kayla to be Ralph and hold my hand as I ran around the benches), dipped our toe in the lake outside the house used as the back of the Von Trapp villa in the movie, and ducked behind the trees that the children climbed. We were the youngest people on the tour and the guide was VERY impressed with both our knowledge of the movie and the fact that we knew the words to EVERY song. There should have been prizes....we would have won them all.

The fountain the Von Trapp children and Maria marched around during the "Do Re Mi" song.

People just stared as I spun around like a fool.


We felt like we should have fashioned some clothes out of our curtains before taking this picture.

The house used as the back of the Von Trapp villa and the lake the children fell in.

The super cool "Sound of Music" bus.

This really had nothing to do with the movie...it was just pretty.

The church where Maria and the Captain get hitched. (Sorry the pic is a little crooked...we were really excited to get outside and get some ice cream.)

And there is the ice cream.

This is not a screen saver....the sky really was that blue.

Kayla was in awe of the sky.

The gazebo....this was only used for some outside shots...the dancing scene was done on a stage :(


Our trip to the ice caves was only supposed to be a 4hr trip but turned into a day trip.The ice caves that we visited are the largest in the world!  We were loaded onto a charter bus and driven WAY up into the Swiss Alps.Then we walked even further up the mountain before arriving at a big round hole in the side. We were sweating from the hike up the mountain which made for an interesting sensation when we were greeted by the 50-60mph freezing winds at the entrance to the cave. As we entered I was handed a lantern with an open flame to help guide our group through the labyrinth of the caves....I don't know why they thought I was a good person for this job. The temperature inside the caves was below freezing (obviously or there wouldn't be any ice.) It was amazing to walk through and see walls made of nothing but ice. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures but if you are interested I am sure there are some images on google you can look at :)  On the way out we had to descend down a huge staircase. When we were about half way down I slipped and fell. If it weren't for the lantern I was holding or Kayla's squeal I don't think anyone would have noticed....unfortunately they all turned to look. Instead of helping me Kayla just stood and laughed....loudly. Aside from the fall and the fact that the trip took longer than expected it was a very good day.
This was my face after we were told that the entrance fee was not included in our tour cost....the entrance fee was $36 for 2 people...we only had $35

This was Kayla's face.
Luckily a nice couple helped us out.

My new home.

The entrance to the ice caves.

I still don't know why they thought this was a good idea...I guess they thought I looked responsible.
I almost caught a lady's hair on fire...and Kayla's pants.


It was FREEZING.

We couldn't feel our fingers.

Standing in the entrance.

We had quite a view.

On our hike back down.



Kayla and I are SUPER close...some would say we are attached at the hip.

AMAZING


Kayla was frustrated that we didn't have any money for snacks....


I was contemplating eating the table.


Even though the tour ran long and we were starving this view made the whole thing worth it.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Munich: Beer Capital of the World

Well we arrived in Europe....and we are never leaving. Everything about Europe appeals to me....the architecture, the languages, the romance, the food, everything.

The first stop on our European Adventure was Germany. We flew into Frankfurt and then traveled by train to Wiesbaden to meet up with our friend Andrew. He is in the U.S. Army and was nice enough to offer us a place to stay for a few days. After hanging out at his place for a few days we all piled into the car and took off on a road trip to Munich; stopping to pic up our friend Dan on the way. While in Munich we had the opportunity to visit some clubs, go on a bike tour of the city, visit the famous Haufbrau Haus, visit Olympic Park, and venture outside the city to the Dachau Concentration Camp.

Even though we were only in the city for the weekend we learned so much about beer, the history of Germany, and WWII.


Andrew, Sarah, & Dan

Bike tour of Munich



Inside Olympic Park

Olympic Park

Top of the tower looking over all of Munich

Dachau Concentration Camp Gates


Memorial of those who died during the Holocaust.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Tour of Beijing

Culture Shock:
noun
a state of bewilderment and distress experienced by an individual who is suddenly exposed to a new, strange, or foreign social and cultural environment.

For example, Sarah and Kayla experienced quite a culture shock upon arriving in China.

It took Kayla and I a few days to really start enjoying Beijing. This is due in part to the fact that our first 3 days were filled with torrential downpours, strange food, and inability to speak the local language (or find anyone else that could), and really rude roommates. We had a few moments where we really thought we were going to have to move up our flight and leave China early. However, we moved to a new hostel in a different part of the city on our 4th day and it changed our entire outlook. Our new place, Sanlitun Hostel, was in a very relaxed part of Beijing and was close to both sightseeing areas and fun nightlife scenes. We were also very fortunate to meet two girls, Anna & Ellie, and they really helped us to enjoy our stay. Ellie has been studying Chinese for years and she kindly helped us do things like order food and talk to taxi drivers. She had also lived in Beijing for a year so she was able to give us some insight on things to do and places to see. Overall we really enjoyed our trip and are looking forward to meeting up with our new friends in Europe!
Here are some photos of Beijing Hot Spots:
Great Wall of China







Tiananmen Square & The Forbidden City










 Olympic Park
Kayla & Anna 

The Water Cube & The Bird's Nest

The side of the Water Cube


The Summer Palace







Just for fun
Girls Night

Anna, Sarah, & Kayla

Anna, Kayla, & Ellie


Kayla's new best friend.