Austria, Italy, and Greece

Again, I must apologize for not writing more often. Finding time is hard to do here! ok, so picking up where I left off....it feels like so long ago. The streets of Austria were packed with fans from all over. The euro cup is being hosted in austria and switzerland this year, so anywhere you go in those countries it is all about futbol... soccer!! Vienna was awesome... i have never met more accomodating people in my life... dont remember if i talked about that the last time i wrote, but people went out of their way to help us out. The second we would pull out the map we would have someone stop to help! We went to the Croatia v Austria game in the fan zone downtown. They shut down all the streets and put up huge screens... thousands of people yelling and cheering flood the streets... the screen was right in the middle of the main square... you look behind you and there is a lit castle in the background!! IT started pouring rain. We got soaked-we were literally standing in 4 inches of water flowing over our feet. I have never experienced rain like this- it was relentless!! I will never forget the sight of thousands of fans, jumping and screaming, waving their flags in the pouring rain!! It was awesome! We found minimal shelter under an Austrian flag that some people were holding over them- it was completely worthless, but fun anyways! Depending on the group of people we stood amongst determined who we were chearing for to avoid getting beaten to death!

I have found that we have a habit of sleeping through the alarm...we always make our trains, but i do believe that we have only made 3 without having to run...at this point we have taken 60 or 70 some trains!- After Vienna, we met Jenny in Salzburge- it was so good to be the three of us again! For those of you who arent diehard sound of music fans- its filmed in Salzburge!! We stayed up late and watched the nightly showing that our hostel offers. It was us and 2 other Asian girls that were equally enthusiastic about the experience... by the end of it we were great friends skipping and singing...raindrops on roses!!!

The next morning we got up early and rented bikes to explore the city on our own. We decided to visit all of the sites in the Sound of Music- Mom, you would have loved it! We visited Nonburge Abbey, REsidence Platz, the outdoor theatre, the gazeebo, we also found the sites of the front of the house and the back of the house( the one on the lake) in the movie!! After a lady spent about 10 minutes telling us all the reasons we didnt want to - couldnt get into the lake, including that its dirty from duck poop, the rocks are sharp, its not very deep, fishhoods everywhere, and its illegal- we jumped in for a swim- got out just in time before security showed up! Sweeden was playing that night, so we had to fight the crowds but got lucky and ended up with free oversized Sweden jersies, bracelets, and hats (quite attractive- fisherman style with checkered mickey mouse ears that stuck out on the sides)- WE wore those religiously for the next two days... riding around on our bikes, we must have looked rediculous!!

We woke up early and went to the famous garden with the steps and the fountain... Meribella palace and garden). Then caught our train to Hallstatt, Austria!!

Word cant describe a place like this...I literally have never seen a place as beautiful as this (and that is saying something, having grown up in Colorado!) Hallstatt is a little village on a lake- it is literally unable to expand because it is surrounded by mountains that jet up out of the water- only accessable by boat. You should have seen our faces as our train pulled into the remote little dock. We were exstatic!! IT was raining- we jumped off and ran down to the dock! We stood, jaws dropped as we approached the picture perfect little village. We got off and found the place we were to stay in no time- Johann Holl!! It was the basement of a lady and her husbands house. The dining table hung over the lake- you look out the window and you could literally jump into the lake!! I became quite fond of the easy shoes in the closet that were high healed and made in china- I literally could not separate myself from them the whole 4 days that we were there.

Waking up in the mornings was like rediscovering and underserved privaledge! We cooked our own food for the days that we were there... this consisted of spagetti and fruit... oh and avacodos!! We hiked back into a rivene- up to this breathtaking waterfall- whose power forced mist to appear almost as rain- we got soaked. One day we rented a paddle boat and explored the water...I seriously cant describe what took place in Hallstatt. We had time to sit, explore, read, pray- God was so present, so real. I was able to really enjoy the girls. I realize so much each day what a gift they are. I learn so much from them and am so blessed by their sacrificial and patient love towards me!

We decided that we couldnt travel halfway accross the world to be in the most beautiful place in creation to not swim in the ice cold mountain water... so we mustered up our courage and went out to a dock a ways down from our little home. We set the timer of our camera and ran full force of the end of the dock. It was so cold- i felt like my lungs colapsed- we scrambled, splashing and gasping for the dock, which was so slippery with duck poop, that we found ourselves laying face down in it cracking up and unable to hoist ourselves up... we looked up and found a group of elderly tourists laughing and snapping as many shots as their shutter speeds could get in!! It was well worth the experience!!

We had our first pretty rediculous train mix up the night before we left Hallstatt for Venice!! We realized that there was no way to make the train that was schedualed to leave... so we ran down to the centre of town...tiny (one store and one bar) we ran down to the internet cafe where i pr9omose i contracted lung cancer and found the phone numbers for the rail station and our hotel in Venice. we rushed to the phone booths side by side. Hope called toll free to activate her international cell phone (unsuccessful...again) while jenny and i fed the phone euro after euro not caring the price- we werent going to lose the english speaking rail emplyee who was doubling as a saint. we booked the reservation, then called the hotel in Venice to change our check in time to 1000 pm. a lady picked up, jenny explained our situation, and she was silent on the other end. i didnt put a coin in fast enough, so we lost her. This happened a couple of times...the entire time we were actually on the phone with the lady, she was lecturing jenny about howcheck in times are like appointments, you have people waiting for you, you cant just miss them. It was hilarious...jenny was very patient and we got the job done!

The next morning catching the train to Venice was quite the experience. We shared a compartment with some older historians who were traveling to write a text book. They watched us run to the wrong platform and watch the train that we thought we were supposed to be on leave... they also watched the joy on our faces when we realized that wasnt the right train and that we actually still had a chance to make the right one!! We stayed at a place in Venice called The Best B and B in Venice!! I dont have to stay anywhere else in Venice to tell you that this was not the best B and B ANYWHERE!!

There was a sketchy looking contraption on the floor that provided hours of conversation. Hope was convinced it was a fire alarm...i could have sworn it was a smoke detector, but Jenny thought it was a mosquito trap...speaking of mosquitos!!! Jenny and i woke up in the middle of the night because we felt like we were getting eaten alive... Jennys left eye was slightly swollen with the bites that surrounded it!! She got a little angry and started taking it out on the mosquitos.. 4 in the morning and hope and i just layed in our beds laughing hysterically as Jenny ran around the room with her towel, jumping off of beds- doing whatever it took to swing and kill the little buggers. by the end of the little war, jenny definetly cam e out on top- the towel was covered in mosquito and the walls were speckled with our blood!!

We met a group of really nice girls at the B and B (the breakfast by the way was dehydrated toast with some kind of approcot jam!!) and spent the next day exploring Venice with them. WE all chipped in and went on a Gondola ride down the grand canal. It was breathtaking- the painting dont lie. It was awesome to be able to see it for ourselves. Our Gondola driver sang with us the only Italian song we knew... when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie- he was great!! After exploring Saint Marks Square (dad, you would have loved it, simply for the fact that it shares your name) and the church that is completely done in gold mozaic- we bought masks with our new friends and went out to a wonderful little Italian restaurant!!

WE are loving the Italian food, and spend about half of our budget per day on gilato!! We caught our train to Florence!! WE camped in Florence... Piazza Michaelangelo.. if you look out the door of our tent we literally were looking over the entire city of Florence- it was spectacular!! We met two guys from England, both named Lois that we quickly became friends with. They were hilarious making fun of Americans, listing all the stereotypes. They were like little brothers...

Funny story... we found out when we said goodbye that at the beginning, when we first met, that one of the Lois said they were studying Geography...all three of us the entire time, thought he said photography... we spent the next day and a half asking him about his favorite artists and what he likes to photograph- each time he would give us strange looks...

While in Florence we saw el dromo of course and the David... It was pretty incredible, though i must say the statues leading up to it were most impactful for me, Michaelangelos the prisoners-

Next stop... Greece. We of course didnt leave ourselves enough time to leisurely catch the train...we went into the town of Bolongia during our layover to go to the market and get some bread, salami, and cheese. WE ended up having to run about 8 blocks with our packs to make it... we did, but it was quite the workout...

WE made it to Ancona...our ferry to Igomenitsa left early the next morning from the port of Ancona... the nights stay in Anconca was....pleasant!

The ferries to and from and in between Greece were amazing...dont believe the horror stories that people tell you!! we had pools on ours- they were close to 23 hours each way. we made lots of friends playing frisbee and doing belly flops soaking the sunbathers! WE slept out on the deck under the stars... we could hear the water rushing beneath us!!!

I dont think we saw a single cloud in the entire week and a half we spent in Greece!! It was phenominal- Austria and Greece are by far my two favorite countries by far. We spent a couple days in Corfu, where we went on a quad (4 wheeler tour) with a group of about 30 other people our age... it was awesome- we explored the whole island and went to the three highest points!! we went to a monastary and wandered around for a while and ended with an offroading section- so fun!! we were launching off of rivets and speeding past one another- it was a highlight for sure. The next day we went on a kayaking safari, where we paddled to some jumping cliffs and to another monastary on an island where we also snorkled around... The water below us was 60 feet, but it lookes like 10. we could see every rock, every fish, every ripple of sand on the ocean floor. I have never seen water that clear... that blue... It was absolutely breathtaking!! WE had so much fun!! That night we attended a toga party... where we sported silky pink togas like everyone else at our hostel. WE watched men dance to traditional Greek music and we even got plates smashed over our heads...and yes dad we tried ouzzo...only you would like that stuff (it was horrible!!)) We rocked it on the dance floor...our style of course- jumping and laughing...entirely unattractive and we got majorly dissed by the dj when we requested a song and he said he would nt play it because only me and my little friends would dance to it... we laughed pretty hard at that one!!

we loved kyaking so much, that the next day we rented kyaks on our own and paddled out to the jumping cliffs again and spent the majority of our day there!! We caught a ferry that night to and got into Athens the next morning.

Our time in Athens was ummm... well.... we almost got kicked out of the parthenon...apparently jumping pictures are not allowed and man, are they whistle happy. The security carries around whistles and they are not afraid to use those things. They had them blown before our feet could even touch the ground... we got asked a couple of times...maybe more than a couple to not, so we finally just left! oh another funny story- i was so tired that i fell asleep on the metro and apparently would jult and kick the guy accross from me- hope had to hold my head up or it would fall!... the girls filmed it... the guy was laughing hysterically and trying to talk to them in Greek.

Caught another ferry to Ios! - an island We camped in Ios... it was fun and we got to spend some good time on the beach...playing frisbee and playing in the sand. One day we rented 4 wheelers and explored the island on our own( we got to see Homers grave)...it was fun, but the island is a party island.... not exactly our cup of tea!!

After a couple days there caught yet another ferry and went to Santorini, where we rented mopeds and rode around the island for a couple days... we set out with nothing but our sleeping bags, and my contact solution in our seats and no plans of where to sleep... we ended on a beautiful beach.... for an eventful night!! WE locked our key in the moped seat, and the one that we had the key for ran out of gas...it is quite the memory!!

Now we are in HOT Rome- after another ferry ride... a horrible nights experience in Athens... and a wrong train to Bari that took about 5 hours!! We decided that we HATE athens... i will try to write more about that experience next time, i am just about out of time! WE went to see the colosseum, the spanish steps, and fount de trivea!! We are loving every second of our time hear, soaking up every memory we can squeeze in. God is teaching us so much and i cant believe we have another 4 weeks ahead of us!! I hope that all of your summers have been amazing!!