Storybook Land

I returned last week from a fairy tale book my family vacation in Salzburg, and am still blown away (not just because of the warm gusts blowing through the trees out my window).  I was lucky enough to visit this part of Austria in January, when the ground was covered with the snowflakes that were constantly floating downwards.  But to see it now, fresh green grass everywhere and bright blue skies...wow.

View from our flat at the beginning of January and the end of May

We stayed at the grandparents' holiday flat again in St. Gilgen.  We arrived just before noon, and wasted no time.  A stroll through the village to eat Wiener Schnitzel on the waterfront was our first order of business.  We drove around to the other side of the lake to eat some Salzburger Nockerl for dessert and take in some incredible views.

We spent out second day exploring Salzburg by foot.  Instead of using words, I'll give you some more visuals:

Mozart's Birthplace

The German Alps in the distance

It was a very active holiday.  We climbed and climbed and climbed.  It was stairs in Salzburg, and the next day, it was the Zwölferhorn.  The views were absolutely phenomenal.  Here are a few glimpses:

We saw a bunch of paragliders all around.  I WILL do this someday.

The Wolfgangsee

We even got to see this one taking off!

We weren't expecting to go through snow...

Where we sat and ate our lunch

The top!

With Elena 

Italian Alps behind me

A couple years ago, my cousins went to a little Austrian village called Hallstatt.  They showed us their pictures and I was astounded at the beauty.  I thought it would be exciting to visit, but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to go.  You know, if I were going to go to Austria, I'd go stay in Salzburg or Vienna or Graz or Linz...one of the cities where there is lots to see.  But then I moved here.  Lucky, huh?  

Hallstatt is an old salt mining village.  When I say old, I mean like 7,000 years old.  There is an abundance of salt in this region, meaning a lot of wealth.   Walking down the main street, you can buy salt in almost any form.  You can also tour the world's first known salt mine.  

It's tiny, tiny, tiny.  The last census says that less than 1,000 people live there, and you can walk from one end of the village to the other in 10 minutes.  It's been pretty secluded--until about 120 years ago, the only way to get there was by foot or by boat.  Now there is a road and train tracks, though if you come by train, you have to take a ferry across the lake from the station to the village...a village that is virtually unchanged, as it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Now I'll share some pictures, but they don't do it justice.  This place is unreal.  It was so perfect that I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't at Epcot Center in Disneyworld.  It wasn't built for tourists--it was built for function, but the beauty of the architecture and nature brought the tourists anyway.

Oh, this little thing?  This is the MAIN street.

It was a long, windy ride home, but we made it, and the experience was so worth it.  

Grace and peace,

Hilary

Eureka, Vienna

Goooood grief.  Sometimes I just have to stop myself and ask, "Is this really my life?"  If any of you are concerned that I don't realize what an incredible life path I'm on, stop your worries right now.  I realize.  And I'm so thankful.

I have come through some adversity in my life, to be certain.  But what I have to show for those times now has more worth to me than any smooth path my strides could have worn into the ground over the last 24 years.

The opportunities I've been offered, the family that came from blood and the family that came through the heart, and the loyal, consistent, loving friends that have walked into my life are all things I think about daily.

One such friend of mine came to visit last week, and it was so refreshing!  Bret is a fantastic young man from my hometown, with whom I share a love for Harry Potter, vanilla chai lattes, and speed scrabble.  Here is the earliest picture I can find of us.  Just because throwbacks are always fun.

On the Cardoza family trampoline, circa 2002

And at my goodbye the night before leaving for Hungary, circa 2006

Bret is studying for the year in Granada, Spain, and had enough extra time for a jaunt eastward to see me!  We spent Thursday and Friday in my town, just walking around, baking, catching up, and (of course) watching Harry Potter while drinking vanilla chai lattes.

 We went with Andi and the girls to a Heuriger for Friday dinner.  It's not exactly a restaurant...though you eat there.  A man/family has a license to sell what they make.  You can get this year's wine, their grape juice, delicious meats, homemade spreads, fresh bread.  I've only recently discovered these, and could eat there every day happily.

On Saturday after breakfast, we headed into Vienna for the weekend.  I'm surprised our feet didn't fall off from all the walking we did.  The weather wasn't perfect, but a little drizzle never bothered any Humboldt natives before, right?

Our first stop was right outside the train station.  The Prater, of course!  Theres a lovely little amusement park just outside of my train station, with the giant ferris wheel for which Vienna is pretty well known.  

There are tons of other carnival rides, including bumper cars, roller coasters, giant slides, and the Guiness World Record-holding tallest swing carousel.  Which we did.  We were both pretty nervous at first, but I have a weakness when it comes to "world's most insert noun here" attractions.  At least where adrenaline is concerned.  I can't see myself getting too worked up over the world's largest ball of twine or anything.

Anyway, it wasn't scary at all once we were at the top!  And it gives a crazy view of Vienna.

Then we got hungry, and headed to the Naschmarkt to grab some food.  We checked out the giant flea market before finding our lunch.

When the drizzle turned into drops, we sought cover in Phil, a fantastic little book cafe that some friends took me to in March.  Bret ordered a Viennese-style coffee.  I, being the cultured, mature adult that I am, ordered hot milk with honey.  And enjoyed every drop.

You can't go to Vienna and not see St. Stephen's church, so we caught the U-Bahn to Stephansplatz, rode the escalator up to street level, and saw the beautiful Stephansdom.

Perhaps you would be more impressed if one could fit the whole thing into my camera's range.  But one can't.  So use your imaginations (or come visit me before July).  We walked into the church, which I've done before, but my breath was taken away this time.  They've put up colors over the windows since the last time I've been inside, and it was so beautiful!

It was still too early for dinner, so we went to the Genuss Fest, or "Enjoyment Festival," at the Stadtpark.  We walked around and checked out all of the booths representing different regions of Austria, and then sat down and people-watched.  We were lucky enough to see some good old-fashioned Austrian Lederhosen.  Bret thought he was being really sneaky with the camera, but he realized that if you zoom in really close, the guy is looking right at the camera.  Well done, buddy.

By this time, we were wiped out and ravenous, so we met up with a couple friends and went to a brewery nearby.  After taking up our table for longer than we needed to, we moved the party to McCafe (because we're that classy) and chatted and laughed into the evening.  Walking down Kärtner Straße, we stopped to watch this street performer (and blindfolded, no less!):

We had time on Sunday before afternoon church to go to Schloss Schönbrunn, the Royal Palace of Austria.  This place is beautiful any time of year, but now, the flowers are in full bloom and the gardens are stunning.  Here's the only picture we got together there.

Bret couldn't leave Vienna without eating Wiener Schnitzel.  (In case you don't know, "Wiener" means Viennese.)  I took him to a great little place by the Rathaus (city hall), called Cafe Einstein.  I love it there!  They have tables outside so you can enjoy nice weather, but it's got a great atmosphere inside as well, with an untraditional setup and lots to look at.

I was so proud of myself for finding it without getting lost.  I hardly noticed that Bret was meters behind me.

I got to introduce Bret to my friends at church, but before I knew it, the weekend was over and it was time to take him back to the airport.  It was so, so, so good to have a piece of home in Austria.  Hanging out with Bret helped me to feel better about going home.  When I'm here, I do miss my family, but I can only think about all of the people and things in Europe that I will miss dearly.  Bret unintentionally reminded me about the relationships I have at home, and all of the good conversations and hugs I will have waiting for me in Eureka.

Grace and peace,

Hilary