Thursday was cramped by a time sensitive to-do list. I had my last final at 12:30, and immediately after that I was off to the airport to catch a flight to Vienna, Austria. My morning consisted of finishing packing, printing tickets, running to the library, cleaning and eating a good sized lunch, in between some last minute studying. Pretty soon it was noon and I was trekking across campus with my bag to the testing hall. I completed my last test with ease and was quickly on the airport hopper and through airport security. My first flight was to Munich for a layover before continuing on to Vienna; however my first leg left late due to Dublin airport back ups so by the time we landed in Munich I had 20 minutes before my next flight departed. Stressed, I trucked it through the airport and customs to make my flight. Thankfully they held the plane and we were in Vienna in no time. From there I managed to get myself on a train, switch to a metro and then walk to my hostel late at night in a city that spoke German. With an exhausting day of traveling and testing behind me I went straight to sleep eager to see Kathleen in the morning.
Waiting in the airport
I awoke bright and early, got ready, ate breakfast and went to see a bit of Vienna. I walked towards the historic ring and admired the few buildings I saw. Their old architecture fascinated me, but with a heavy bag on my shoulder I soon stopped in a park to rest. I then met Kathleen at the Vienna State Opera House and we were reunited at last. We sat on the edge of a fountain and caught up on our lives before heading to the train station. The walk to the train station was longer than we expected and the weather was warmer than it was in windy,cloudy Ireland, but we made it. After figuring out the train schedule and tickets we were on the train to Salzburg. A group of Austrian women were sitting next to us on the train, obviously going to some sort of party because they did repeated champagne toasts. While the ladies drank we listened to the Sound of Music soundtrack to prepare ourselves for our stay in the city the musical is set in. Two and a half hours later we were in Salzburg. Of course our hostel would be on the opposite side of town from the train station. Weighed down with our bags and with the bright afternoon sun blazing down upon us we made the long, excruciating journey to the hostel.
The view on our walk to our hostel in Salzburg
Garden I relaxed in Vienna
The view on our walk to our hostel in Salzburg
Once checked in we were free of our bags and able to explore the old town without being pulled down by luggage. We strolled through old town, popping in various historic churches and gazing at the magnificent architecture and design of the city. As the hours waned by we ended up on the river bank, absorbing the last rays of sunshine before going back over their lock bridge and grabbing dinner. We got kicked out of the grocery store before I could pick some dinner food out, so instead I got a hotdog from a street vendor. It was too frankfurters with ketchup and German mustard, which I washed down with Austria's famous grape and apple lemonade. I quickly got dirty because the bun could not handle two weenies and sauces, and neither could I. After my messy dinner we returned to the hostel, where we stayed in the lobby to watch the Sound of Music and eat chocolate pudding before going to bed.
Fountain and fortress
One of the many churches we went into
Most churches in Austria are this ornate
Love lock bridge
What can I say, I'm a mess
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