Goodbye, Austria
So my plane leaves tomorrow morning and I fly back to America. I am completely ecstatic about coming home. I miss my family, my friends, 24 hour stores, and ice in my drinks (that come with free refills!). I complain a lot about Austria, but I usually have good reasons. I have beef with this country. But it hasn't all been bad. I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. I would do it a million times over again without hesitation. I've improved my German. I've made some good friends. I've seen things I thought I'd never have the opportunity to see. And so, here is a list.
Things I Like About Austria:
1. The bells. There are about a million and one churches here in town. And they ring their bells several times a day. I love it.
2. Seeing mountains and a castle on my way to class. I mean, how many people are able to do that?
3. Austrian dialect. Yeah, it's pretty insane sometimes. And always good for a laugh.
4. The Altstadt (old city). I love to wander the narrow streets, check out the gorgeous baroque churches. I love the high, narrow houses with dates such as "1436" on the top of them. I like crossing the river and taking in the beauty of the Mirabell Gardens. I love the fountains. I love thinking about all the history and the countless people who have walked the same streets over the centuries. And I love it when the church bells ring while I'm in the Altstadt.
5. The landscape. We don't have mountains where I live at home. I love seeing the mountains everyday.
6. Good beer. Not that water they serve back home that they pass off as beer.
7. Sitting on the river Salzach. It's usually a nice blueish-greenish color. And it always has a cool breeze coming off it. But don't try to swim it.
8. Said river is also known at "Denial" River. Because uh. Of the problems Austria often has with reconciling with the past. Which can all be said in one lovely German word: Vergangenheitsbewältigung.
HA. I love German.
9. "Hitler im Himmel" puppet theater downtown. I mean, really. What the?? Probably the weirdest thing I've seen here.
10. Ice cream stands. GELATO RUN!
11. The chocolate. Milka for the win!
12. The Krampus run near Christmas. SCARIEST. THING. EVER. Look it up.
13. Being fairly centrally located, allowing for the opportunity to travel.
14. Close to Germany. Ok, that's kinda cheating. But I love me some Deutschland.
15. The water. I mean the tap water. Oh, man, is it good. It comes from the mountains. And it is delicious.
So there's a list. I'm sure if I were to make a list of Things I Don't Like About Austria, it would easily be twice as long. So I won't. I don't want to leave here grumpy or ungrateful. Because I am entirely grateful for being able to have this awesome opportunity. I will never regret it.
Goodbye, Salzburg (And Mozart by proxy, naturally). Thanks for the memories.
When my airport van picked me up, we had to pick up a few other people before leaving Salzburg. It seemed like serendipity or something out of a movie because we got to drive through the Altstadt. I was so happy and in some sense relieved that I got to see the beautiful city once more and say my goodbyes. Being 6am, the center of town was deserted and it seemed magical to view it for the last time as if it were just for me. The van crossed the river as we headed towards the highway. As we drove along the Salzach, the sun was rising over the Monchsberg illuminating the Fortress. Tears filled my eyes as I said my final goodbye to the beautiful city of Salzburg. There were many times I wanted nothing more than to simply get out of that town. But at that moment I prayed that I would come back.
