Patsch and Innsbruck, Austria

Yesterday Kevin and I spent a lovely christmas eve in a typical austrian guesthouse in the village of Patsch., tucked away in the Alps. We had traditional austrian food, which seems to be a mix of german and italian food. For example, pasta made with heavy cream and served with beer. We could not see the alps at all because of the fog which was too bad because we were right in front of them! Thats what I get for paying extra for a room with a view! 

Then we took a bus into town and walked around, looking at the sites. The only things open were churches and cafes. We wandered through a couple of gorgeous baroque churches, and then had an amazing hot chocolate experience at a cafe. They give you the hot milk, and a ball of chocolate mousse, a shot of baileys or  a cup of caramel, and a cup of whipped cream with toasted almonds. The hot cocoa pretty much put me into a coma from all of the sugary creamy richness. 

Later in the night the fog cleared just enough for us to see a church, right next to the guesthouse. The bells were so loud! With the rest of the villagers, we wandered down to the church at 11pm for midnight mass. The choir was lovely, and the inside of the church was so beautiful. There was a nice baroque organ inside as well. 

This morning (christmas morning) we opened our stockings that my mom sent us and listed to christmas music. We also had a nice christmas breakfast in the guesthouse. We were kind of the only guests there that were not somehow related to the innkeeper. Kind of awkward but really nice to see how the Austrians do christmas. I am sure we were the only non-austrians in the town church too! 

We then took a long walk in the snow and hopped on the bus into Innsbruck to our new hotel, much more modern than the other one. 

Tomorrow we are taking a train to Venice!! I am really excited because everything there will actually be open, where as pretty much everything was closed in Innsbruck for the holidays. I am so excited to see the ocean again and to eat some good italian food, hopefully all olive oil or tomato based, Im getting pretty sick of cream based everything here. 

I will try to update soon! At least the McDonalds all offer free WIFI and in Austria they make veggie burgers!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Much Love,

Michelle

Blog guilt

I should begin by apologizing for not posting for such a long time. The last month has been a whirlwind of final exams, holiday celebrations, and saying goodbye to new friends and [host] family.

Highlights include:
-Having Mom and Dad visit me in Strasbourg, and meet my host family. I am so grateful that they were able to come see the place I got to live in for four months, and the best part was the hugs!
-Finishing my studies in France! I wrote a 10 page research paper in french about my internship at the organic foods store in Strasbourg, and I am really proud of my work!
-Walking around the christmas markets of Strasbourg, which have been around since 1571!! I loved tasting the mulled french wine, the spiced beer, and all of the little christmas cookies! Alsace is a delicious place to be during christmas! And so beautiful in the snow!
-Spending my evenings in front of a roaring fire watching movies with my host family, with a cup of tea.
Before I left Strasbourg, they told me they felt like they have always known me and that I am really like a daughter to them. That meant so much to me. I am really thankful for having had such an amazing living situation, living with two amazing people with so many wonderful stories to tell.

Leaving Strasbourg was difficult. Already I miss my daily bus ride to and from school, where I listened to music while looking out the fogged windows or listened in on conversations in french. I miss seeing the Cathedral. I miss coming home to a lovely family and eating amazing french food every night.
I had a truly amazing time in Strasbourg, and I will miss it dearly but its just time to move on and continue my big adventure!

What am I doing now?
Well on saturday, I took a train at 6:30 AM to Munich, Germany to see Kevin and get ready for our europe trip. Of course I experienced train issues. I made sure to get a direct train since I had all of my luggage with me, but alas, my train broke down in Stuttgart and we had to stand in the snow for 30 minutes before the next train came. Meanwhile, Kevin was waiting for me in the train station and heard the announcement that the train was canceled. That was all they said!!! He had no idea what to do. So he waited. I arrived about an hour late, and everything was fine.

In Munich, we have been walking around all of the christmas markets. I really thought I would be disappointed by the markets here as Strasbourg's are more famous, but I have to say I am really impressed with the market here. They really go all out in Munich, and they make a point to keep the Bavarian feel in the christmas markets. One of the markets is medieval themed where they have puppet shows of fairy-tales like Hansel and Gretel, performance artists, and stands selling grog, meat, and artisanal crafts. Very cool! There is another christmas market that is really hip. There are glowing lanterns everywhere, and most of the vendors are selling arts and crafts.
In Strasbourg they serve the hot wine in plastic cups that are used once and thrown away. Here in munich they serve the hot wine in adorable ceramic or clay mugs. You pay more for it, but if you return the cup you get half of your money back. They do the same thing with all of the food and beverages here. Its a really great system, there is much less garbage and the hot wine does not taste like plastic.
This also encourages a more communal atmosphere, as people stick around close to the stand to eat and drink. There are tables set up with fireplaces in the middle to stay warm. Its wonderful!

Tonight Kevin and I are opening our christmas presents to each other, and tomorrow we are taking a train at 9am to Innsbruck, Austria. We are staying the first night in Hotel Barr, which is a bus ride away but overlooks the entire city and the Alps! We are going to open the stockings that my mom made for us (thanks mom!!!) and the cards I got from relatives (thanks grandma!!!). We might to go midnight mass in one of the beautiful churches there. There is also a possibility of taking a sleigh ride in the snow! I am very excited for tomorrow!

After Austria, we are going to Venice. Then taking a flight to Valencia, Spain...then to Barcelona for New Years! Then through france and eventually Paris! We will return to Munich and I will prepare for my upcoming semester in Morocco!!!
Wow! I am the luckiest girl in the world!

I want to say Merry Christmas to my family, and I wish you all a happy new years! I wish I could be there with you all, but I am on my big adventure! You will be on my mind on christmas!
Also, thank you to my parents for the Eurail pass which allows me to use all of the trains I am taking in Europe!

I will try to keep this updated on my travels!

Sending my love,
Michelle

P.S. Kevin says Hi!

Some country air...

Bonjour lecteurs!
Its getting to be that time of year in Strasbourg where downtown comes alive with christmas decorations, the smell of roasted chestnuts, and the taste of hot mulled wine...Noel (christmas) is coming soon! The famous Christkindelmarket opens this saturday! I can't wait to stuff my face with alsacian christmas cookies that seem to come in every shape, size, and flavor...or to drink the Biere de Noel (Beer that tastes like christmas) or hot spiced wine. This is the time of year to forget calories.


Since I last posted I have been on a couple of excursions around Alsace, the first with the entire group.
We left Strasbourg around noon for Ebermunster, home of the only baroque church in Alsace, also famous for the organ of Andre Silbermann.

Then off to Colmar! Colmar is Rick Steeve's favorite city in France. That's got to be saying something right? Well apparently its great in the summer when its typically alsacian buildings are covered in flowers, OR during christmas when they open their traditional christmas market. We went in between these seasons, so not much was happening. It was still charming though!

And what is a trip without a good ole healthy dose of museum? Le Musée d'Unterlinden is a famous museum in Colmar renowned for its collection of the Retables d'Issenheim. Basically...giant paintings on wood panels (before canvas was used in paintings) depicting the life of jesus. I'll admit that I'm not really into Jesus art, but it was really amazing to see the painting techniques progress through time. With the first painting, people looked flat, but with the second, more light was used in the painting. My favorite one even had hints of impressionism, way before the time of impressionism! Even though we were in a giant museum, we only had enough time to see the giant panel paintings because our guide was really really excited about them and wanted to talk about them forever.

Colmar:

After a brief pretzel break, we hopped back on the bus to Lapoutroie. I wouldn't even consider this a town. I felt kind of embarrassed hurling through the dinky little village with our gargantuan tour bus. 

There, we stopped at le Musée des Eaux-de-Vie (basically a museum of liquor). A jolly old man greeted us at the door to show us around. As I looked around, I saw that the walls were covered in shelves of mini liquor bottles. He said that there were perhaps 8 million of them in his museum! He walked us through all the steps of how people made liquors with the materials they had. The room was filled with old trinkets used for distillation. 

Then came the best part of our time at the museum...free tastings!

He asked if I liked the taste of black licorice, and since I do, he began to prepare me a sip of absinthe. To make it sweet, they pour water over a sugar cube that is suspended over the glass with a slotted spoon. The sugar dissolves in the water and falls into the absinthe.

I also tried small sips of Pain d'epices (basically christmas-y spices), pear, peach, green apple, and rose. 

After a while, the free tastings became too much to swallow (haha), so we piled back into the van. Destination: dinner.

Or so I thought. More like operation: make everyone in the bus nauseated. Our bus driver took the route down the mountain with switchbacks. Next time they should consider taking a straigher route after the free liquor tastings...

Finally, we arrived in Munster, home of the smelly munster cheese and our restaurant "A l'Agneau D'or" (at the lamb of gold). This small restaurant was run by a husband and wife team. They are well known for their delicious cuisine. We started out with profiteroles filled with munster, and tartines with new munster, then continued with a seasonal salad paired with an amazing Riesling. It was the kind of place where whoever is paying gets to try some wines to make sure they are good enough, and choose the ones that everyone will be drinking. Quite chic, non? 

In between the appetizer and the main course we had a sorbet made of spiced red wine. Delicious!

The main course was munster gnocchi (and turkey for the meat eaters) paired with Pinot Noir. And to finish the whole night off well, chocolate mousse pie with creme a la feve de tonka. Apparently the spice they put in the creme was more expensive than caviar, AND it kills rats. Hmm. I guess delicacies aren't supposed to be rational. 

The chef came out to give one of our group members a birthday flower and kiss. This man was exactly what I always thought a french chef would look like: large with rosy cheeks, sporting a chef's hat and a GIANT grey curled mustache. 

Now for the next excursion! One of the professors at my university mentioned that a trip was being organized to Barr, France, a wine making village in Alsace. Who would pass up a trip to a wine making village? So off I went.

After a brief train ride through the outskirts of Strasbourg, we arrived in Barr. 

I liked Barr. It is not frequented by massive groups of tourists, so I didn't feel guilty for being there. I mean, I didn't feel like one of "them". You know who I'm talking about. The huge tours that follow guides walking backwards holding a flag so everyone stays together, and shepherding them all obnoxiously into the same subway car or the same restaurant? 

Some friends of mine also had signed up for the trip. We decided to go on a hike through the vineyards! It was so beautiful. You could see the town and all the towns surrounding it. At the top of the hill we found refuge on a grassy knoll, and taking advantage of our surroundings, feasted on wine grapes that the harvesters missed. 

Then we met back up with the group for tour of a giant wine cellar and a wine tasting! They had some seriously old wines in there, covered in inches of dust and cobwebs. 

I wonder if that was a good year?

I would like to leave you with the mascot of alsace, the stork! There are some that get to fly, and others that are chosen to sit in the zoo where they get harassed by small drooling children. 

A stork's nest!

Until next time!

xoxo,

Michelle

Too much to say!

These past couple of weeks have been filled with adventure, so much so that its a daunting task to write all about them in the blog. I will keep it as simple as possible or else this blog entry would turn into a novel.

My vacation for tousaints went something like this:

Left Strasbourg for Paris on the 23 of October

Stayed for 3 nights in Paris with the entire group!

Went to Brussels for 2 nights with two girls from the group

Took a 7 hour train to Munich to spend Halloween with Kevin

My 3 hour train turned into 8 hours to get back home to Strasbourg!

Now for details:

PARIS:

On my list of places I want to go, I had never before considered Paris, France. It just seemed too typical to include. I had also heard from many that it was a disappointing place to visit after all of the high expectations. However, on the train to Paris I realized I was going to PARIS FRANCE! So I shoved aside my preconceived notions of the city and took it for what it was. And it was amazing! I feel so grateful that I was able to visit such a beautiful city. It's true what they say about it being a romantic place, something about it is just soooo lovely and wonderful. We ate very well in Paris, especially the chocolate mousse! We saw the play "La Lecon" by Eugene Ionesco, walked to the Louvre at night:

and saw the eiffel tour sparkle (it lights up every hour), and skipped down the champs elysees. Not bad huh?

My favorite part: seeing the Van Gogh's in La Musee D'Orsay.

Interesting part: The pedestrian bridge over the Seine is covered in padlocks with couple's names on them. It really made me miss a certain someone. 

Surprising part: I did not "go out" at all in Paris. We were all so tired from walking all day that we just wanted to sleep!

Pop quiz: What is this place? (Answer at the end of blog entry)

BRUSSELS:

Of course our train from Paris to Brussels was cancelled (the strikes) so we hopped on another one and sat in the stowaway area. Even though the trains here have been really complicated and not very reliable because of the strikes, there is something magical about watching the countryside roll by and watching the houses change from little french homes to brick belgian homes. 

I stayed in the Hello Hostel in Brussels for 2 nights with Mary Alice and Lainie (from Michigan).

I would describe our trip as one of gastronomic goals. We ate everything quintessentially Belgian:

Belgian fries: I took mine with sauce piquant. No idea what it was made out of, but delicious.

 

Belgian waffles (seriously the best thing in the world, I didn't even know that's how they were supposed to taste. It was like a cake/cookie/waffle, completely magical)

Belgian beer (mine's the one in the middle)

Belgian chocolate

HEAVEN!

We found this great little bar in Brussels with 46 beers on tap at a time. They ask you how you are feeling and they choose a beer for you. They are always right! We were always satisfied with our beers, no matter how strange they were. 

We also visited the flea market where I picked up some nice little trinkets:

Then we walked around Brussels without using the Metro. It's really not that big after being in Paris, so we chose to hoof it. So worth it! We walked up the hill to the museum area and went to the Rene Magritte museum. He has always been one of my favorite artists, so I was really excited to go, especially because it was only 2 euros for students! They didn't have any of his really famous paintings there but it was interesting to see how he progressed as an artist. 

We walked to the Palace and the royal gardens, past the european parliament building, and found our way back to the bar to quench our thirsts with some Geuze, a strange specialty beer of Brussels that involves spontaneous fermentation and a mixing of 3 lambics from different years! Wasnt half bad!

Also, a bus we frequently saw in Brussels, sorry I couldn't help myself:

MUNICH:

Time to relax! I love to travel to new places but sometimes it just feels great to kick back your feet, sleep in, and eat well. I am a creature of comfort. Originally, I thought I would go to Amsterdam after Brussels, but Munich called my name and I went. 

On saturday, Kevin, Hannah, and I went to Garmisch. They Olympics were held there in the 1930's. Its an adorable bavarian ski village. The train ride took our breathes away with the fall colors and the Alps...

We then visited the Olympic ski jumping area:

...and took a gondola to the top of the mountain to really get a sense of where we were:

Absolutely breathtaking!

Sunday we had Halloween! We got to carve pumpkins and roast the seeds, and also decorate for the party with cobwebs. I dressed as a zebra, even made my own mask, and Kevin went as the fruit stripes gum (the one with the multi-colored zebra on it) that we loved when we were kids. 

Kevin's bookshelf: 2 belgian beers courtesey of yours truly, a german mas, my zebra mask, my pumpkin who had a bad knife incident, and Kevin's with unfortunate skin problems. We had a great time!

My return trip home was twice as long as it should have been, I was quite miserable. At least there was a pretty sunset to watch as my train broke down. 

Tomorrow I am going on an excursion to Colmar, south of Strasbourg! Can't wait!

*POP QUIZ ANSWER: Starbucks!

Mes sentiments distinguees,

Michelle

xoxo

European Parliament trip

On tuesday, I had to be at the European Parliament at 10:30 sharp! No later! So I got to the bus stop extra early to find that there was major construction happening and of course...wait for it....another strike. So I waited in the rain for a good 20 minutes before running back home and asking politely for my host dad Daniel to give me a lift to the field trip. Thankfully, he obliged and drove me strait to the gate. He's so kind!

Then my friends and I, all wearing as many layers as possible and in varying shades of gray, black, and tan, shivered until our guide Terrance showed up. I was under the impression we were going to receive a tour of the building and then be on our way. I was quite mistaken.
We entered the building and our guide led us through the maze of corridors to the coat check, and then to a larger conference room with chairs all a round. A woman came in to talk to us and answer any questions we had. After a while, we learned she was the Vice President of the European Parliament! During her shpeel a man came in and served us coffee or tea. It was quite welcoming.

We were then led into the main area where all of the delegates meet.

They were having a panel on eradicating poverty. Each of us had headphones linked to an interpreter of our choice language. What surprised me is that the delegates called upon to speak only had one minute to get their point across. Can you imagine traveling all the way to Strasbourg for one minute? 

Then something really exciting happened! The president of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon walked in and gave a compelling speech on the purpose of the European Parliament. This apparently was a huge deal as he had never addressed the European Parliament before. What I found most interesting is that he warned the Parliament of anti-muslim sentiments. He received a standing ovation! I felt really lucky to be able to see such an important figure speak.

Today I had an interesting experience. I was taking the bus to school which usually takes about 15 minutes. Today it took 35. When the bus was going to take a left turn, there was at least a mile long parade of tractors driving in the street. The tractors had german flags and signs on it, and some of them pulled trailers with cow statues painted like the german flag. It went on forever and ever. The bus driver wouldn't let us get off the bus to walk to school. So there we sat as hundreds of giant tractors whizzed by. I still have no idea what they were trying to get across. Perhaps germany is striking milk? Haha.

I leave for Paris on Saturday! Then to belgium and who knows where else?

Adventures in Strasbourg

What a week!

Monday was well....a monday. Tuesday I was sick and didn't go to class, there was a strike, and I worked for 4 hours at the natural foods store shelving bags of flour. Wednesday was just too long. Then at 11 pm, Kevin arrived in Strasbourg! My host mom and I drove to get him downtown. As we were driving back she tried communicating with him in her best english, but would usually just start speaking french. As we drove around the neighborhood she told him "This was the place of farmers. Here, they made carrots and leaves to eat. Then the soil became expensive and they left". So cute!

Thursday, Kevin and I had a lazy day. I went into school for a quick meeting and then came back to put on warmer clothes. It feels like winter here! Then at 5 we went back into town for happy hour at my favorite pub "Au Brasseurs". They brew their own beer there, it is wonderful. After hanging out with Kevin and my friends, Kevin and I got a snack at Flam's, a tarte flambee restaurant. When we got home we were still hungry so we made a feast of pesto pasta, wine, and cheese. Very european!

On friday, Kevin and I made a big lunch and went on a bike ride to the Chateau Portales by my house, and through the surrounding nature preserve. It was so beautiful with all of the fall colors showing. 

Later in the afternoon we met up with Meghan at her house and then went to Mme. Zehr's apartment to celebrate Daniel's birthday with delicious cake from my favorite bakery "Au Pain de mon Grand-Pere". Kevin got to meet all of the Michigan people that weren't at the bar thursday night. Afterwards, Kevin, Mary Alice, Lainie, and I ate at a great italian restaurant nearby. We all ordered the spinach ravioli with sparkling red wine. So delicious! Then everyone came back to my house and we watched french TV and snacked on a baguette. It was a fun night!

Saturday, Kevin and I made a ton of delicious food and went downtown at 2:30 to see the strike against the retirement reform. There were so many people! And they considered this a small turnout, but I found it really impressive. 

"For work. For an increase in the power of employees, for a decent retirement. For quality public services"

The march seemed to be a means for people to really discuss their opinions with each other. Most people were talking during the march instead of chanting some protest mantra. 

Both individuals and unions participated. 

So many umbrellas!

Smoke filled the air!

After all of that exciting strike stuff, Kevin and I decided to do something even more thrilling! We visited the Notre Dame Cathedrale....

Gothic style Facade. Notice only one steeple!

Shhhhhh. The priest is speaking. 

The cathedral is easy the most beautiful I have ever seen. There are so many ornate details. Everything is so unique! However, the one thing I didnt like so much was that there were trinkets for sale inside the church, the candles you can light for someone were for sale for 2 euros, and there was a metal grate in the floor into which people dropped money. I just dont like the idea of money in the church. I understand fundraising...but still.

Then Kevin and I went to the top!!! I am so glad I did this! It was really nice to see Strasbourg from above, I felt like I got a better sense of the city from up there. I also loved looking at all of the roofs with their little windows. It was raining, but I still had a ton of fun.

Look at all of the cute roofs!

Kevin made a gargoyle friend.

Then Kevin and I walked around Strasbourg. We tried to go see a movie with my friends but we were too late, and they wouldn't sell us the ticket. Then we went to go rent a movie from the movie library, but silly us, all libraries were on strike. OF COURSE. Then the trams were not running very frequently and everything was quite frustrating. Kevin and I decided to take a load off in Tavern Francais. We each got a demi of beer and relaxed before heading home to cook mexican food. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any beans in all of france except kidney beans, and the guacamole in a jar here is made half with avocados and half with peas. It tasted horrible. BUT, after avoiding the guac and adding chili to the beans, we created a delicious meal. 

SUNDAY! Kevin's last day in Strasbourg. We woke up and made breakfast burritos which were quite delectable if I do say so myself. We then went on a very very long bike ride through the Le Foret Robertsau again, this time attempting to find the Rhin river. We got to the Rhin but were unable to see it or get to it because they have flood barriers and moat things. I got to take many great pictures though! Even though Kevin and I could not feel our faces, hands, or toes after this freezing bike ride, we had a lot of fun!

These are what they call the waterfalls. Its like a 3 inch drop. Haha. Its no Multnomah falls.

And for this coming week:

ANOTHER STRIKE! 

Visiting the European Parliament

Getting ready for the Paris trip!

All for now!

A bientot! Bises xoxoxox

-Michelle