In Salzburg

This is a picture of the Mirabel Gardens looking at the Castle.
This is the view of the city from the Mountain.

Hello Everyone!

Sorry it has taken me so long for my next post. I have internet in the house, but I have to disconnect my host family's computer to get on, and it is a pain for them. I will most likely only post here once a week, sometimes more, so if you have any questions, or want to hear more just send me an email or facebook me and I will get back to you ASAP.
So here we go...
I got to Salzburg on Saturday night, by bus. I met my host family, a mother, father, and their son, but he is on vacation. They live in a nice flat by the river. They are both amazing cooks, and they are very kind and helpful. On Sunday I spent the day exploring and viewing the town, taking lots of pictures. I met up with my friend Tim and his host mother and they took me up to the top of a very close mountain where we could view the whole city. It was pretty awesome. After that I went back to my house to unpack and get myself situated. On Monday we had orientation. We spent time learning a little bit about the do's and don'ts of life in Austria. The Austrians are a very eco friendly people and thus we have to limit things like showers, washing clothes, turning lights off when you leave a room, etc. Little things, but they are very important to these people. The water here is amazing! It is right off the mountain and it tastes as good as any bottled water, with no added chemicals. After that we toured around the town learning about some of the local landmarks and good places to eat and hang out. When the tour was done we had free time and a group of us went out into the city to explore. And it is quite a beautiful place! Salzburg is a small city, around the size of Syracuse, but it has thousands of years of history, art, and music. There are two main pathways for people that run along the river and two main bridges for people to cross. On one side of the river there is the old town, and on the other is the new town. The old town dates back to Roman times, and has hundreds of old churches, buildings, and many other historical landmarks. The new town began around 1500, and has expanded since, but also includes the palace, Mirabel Gardens, and the rest of the city since 1945. It takes me around 15-20 minutes to walk from my house to the school and 5 min on bike, and that is what most people do. Of course there are cars and roads for them, but Austria, like most other European countries has an extremely good mass transportation system, along with numerous bike lanes, and pedestrian walkways. In Austria, bikers rule the road, and if you get in their way, they do not stop. Tuesday was the start of classes. I am taking 6: Austrian Civilization, German I, The Mozart Project, Hiking and Rafting, Austrian Cuisine, and voice Lessons. Austrian Civilization is a class which deals with the history, geography, and people of Austria. German I is self explanatory. The Mozart project is a class in which I study Mozart's work intensively. We have two papers and a 20 min lecture recital at the end of the course. Hiking and rafting is also pretty self explanatory and we go on 5 trips. One rafting, two hiking up a mountain, one ice cave, and one overnight. And finally I have my voice lessons; which haven't started yet. Classes are pretty hard, much harder then I expected. I already have 400 pages of reading, 2 papers, workbook assignments, and another 100 pages of work to do, most of it due within a week or two. I have been getting up early every morning to run and just take in the beauty, and last night I went on a nighttime photo shoot of the city. Today has just been classes. And trying to catch up on talking to people and updating my blog. I have learned a little German in a week and so far can say hello, introduce myself, have a very basic conversation, or order something at restaurant. It has been sunny and 70's all week and I have been enjoying shorts and short sleeve shirts, and nice and cool at night. I am looking forward to this weekend. On Friday we have an opening reception for all the students and host families, on Saturday we take a day trip to the lakes region to do some hiking, swimming, and just slothing on the beach, and then on Sunday its off to white water rafting!!! Hopefully I will post again soon.
Auf wiedersehen!
-Christoph-