What A Weekend

All dressed up for white water rafting!














Enjoying the beautiful water in the Salzka- mmergoot or lakes region.







So it has been quite a weekend.
It all started on Thursday night.... karaoke night at a local pub.
Oh boy this was a trip. A group of us headed out not knowing what to expect. The place was really open and nice with a huge screen for reading the lyrics, and you didn't even have to go on stage to sing, which was a bonus. But what made it fun was that most of the music was American, and we had a great time singing along with the Austrians. Then there would be famous Austrian pop songs that would come on and we would do our best to muddle through the pronunciations and melodies. It was a great time.
Then on Friday my last class was lunch at noon. boo yah!
By the way, if I haven't emphasized it already, I am eating like a king!
At our school we have a woman who cooks for all of us, and she is basically a gourmet chef. The food that we get on a daily basis is out of this world!! I hate Garlock oh so much more these days haha. Then for dinner, both of my parents are amazing chefs and we have been eating gourmet meals for every dinner thus far... so yea, food, one of my passions in life, is being oh so wonderfully fulfilled. Anyway...
So on Friday we had a group dinner with all the host families and all the students in our dining room, which was amazing!! After that we went to check out the famous Augustiner beer hall. This place was huge!! It reminded me of a large cafeteria, except that there were three large rooms, with huge wooden tables and hand carved chairs, on the walls were numerous Austrian drinking songs in German, and latin proverbs that were supposed to be a sort of conversation starter. The atmosphere was amazing. Hundreds of people just having a great time, being loud, and enjoying life. On Saturday we went on a tour of the Salzkammergoot region or "lakes region" of Salzburg. It was breathtaking. Hundreds of small villages dot the countryside filled with huge mountains, ski resorts, large quiet lakes, and streams, and beautiful river valleys. We spent the day touring a few of these towns, but were unable to go onto a lookout because it was rainy and cloudy. Speaking of weather, it has defiantly made a 180. After 4 days in a row of sunshine and 70 degree weather we have had days upon days of grey dark skies with mist, pouring rain, or just drizzle. And the temperatures have been only 50-60 degrees in the day. But I really don't mind, and the mountains look quite mystical in the low clouds and mist of the mid day rain. By the time we got back I simply did homework and passed out. Then on Sunday was the crown jewel of the weekend experience... white water rafting! We left the school at about 1 and headed up the Salzach river (the river that also runs through the city) We arrived at the main building and got fitted for wetsuits, helmets etc. After that we headed up the river for a 30 min drive to the starting point. We had some great Austrian tourguides, who didn't have the greatest english, and that just made it more fun. So basically it turned into a 2 hour trip covering 11km and full of rapids, swimming, splashing, people falling off the boat and many other adventures. It was overall an amazing time, and was absolutely beautiful. My only regret was that I wish cameras we allowed because the scenery was absolutely amazing! After hours we finally arrived home, and I ate dinner and then passed out for a wonderful 12 hour coma. Life in Salzburg is quite an adventure.
Tschüs!
-Christoph-