Hello Bloggers.... I have been home for a month from Vienna. I know way to update. I would now like to update everyone on the last 2 weeks of my trip. We took a group/class trip to Hallstaat and Salzburg and Dorfgastine. It was so great. So here comes the update.



On the way to Hallstaat we stopped at a concentration camp, it was a very quite and moving time. I got to walk and stand in the same places as people that were in prison there. We saw the tiny bed rooms, the work areas, and the cremation kilns. It was hard to look at. The beds were so small that my nieces would barely fit, let alone a grown man. The work areas were of course the largest parts of the camp. Then the room with the kilns was horrifying. To this day there are pictures and names on the walls of the rooms from family of the ones that died. While we were there it began to rain which darkened the sky, ti was almost like the sky was just as hurt as we were looking at it. We saw pictures of the dead bodies and of people fading away from abuse and hunger. There was also a cemetery for women and children that we saw. It was sad to say the nicest part of the camp.



After this stop it was of to Hallstaat. I LOVE this place. It was like living in a postcard for a couple days. We went to the salt mine while we were there. It is the largest in Europe. It was cool, we got to slide down the miners slides. LOL so much fun. Inside the mines it also had a salt lake. To get there we took a ski gondola and then hiked up in the Alps. The most amazing thing you could ever see, hands down. The view form the top at the mines was so unbelievable. We got allot of time to walk around the little Hallstaat. I got some souvenirs. We went to the Bine Haus which is the BONE HOUSE...ahhhhhh so cool. It is a little building that has skulls and body parts, it sit in a cemetery behind a church. We also at 10:30pm did a polar bear plunge into the lake..it was freezing but so worth it. I mean how many people can say they jumped into a lake in the Alps. Also while walking around we ran into some people in full on lederhosen. It was crazy..of course pics are up on facebook.

Next we went to a small church in ST. Wolfgang..which is a very small town with some shops and the church, ti was on the way to Salzburg.

When we got to Salzburg we rested up and started the tour the next day. We went on a guided tour, we saw sights from Sound of Music, Mozart's birth house, and the 1st coffee shop and many other 1sts in Salzburg. It was cool, our tour guide was a funny little old guy. He made the tour allot more fun then it would have been.

After the tour we had a group dinner and then Anne and I went back to the hotel and dyed our hair pink. Ok it was really just like highlights but still fun. Then the next day we headed to the ICE CAVES just outside Salzburg. It was a long hike/walk after the gondola ride but so cool.

While we were walking up again in the Alps we were higher then a little prop plane. The ice caves was made totally out of yes ice and stairs. We went straight up then back down. The ice was shaped like bears, elephants and other stuff. It was cold but so much fun. When the cold fun was down we got ready to go to Dorfgastine. On the way we stopped at a little pull off and took some pics with the Salzburg castle in the background.

We spent the last 8 days in Dorfgastine..which is also like a post card. It took about 30 minutes to walk to width and length of the town. We stayed in this little B and B and the family that ran it were so cute. While there we hiked the Alps..like hard core hiked the Alps. We took the same path that the Von Trapp family took to escape. From the top we could see the back of the Italian Alps.. which I thought was so amazing. It started to rain on the way down but to me that just made it so much better. We had some great little group dinners and a town BBQ. They knew what they were doing to cause the food was so good. I got to watch a shooting star shower over the Alps. I don't think I have ever been in such awe before, it was beyond breath taking. And yes of course when started to rain Anne and I went outside and danced in like there was no 2mro. So cold but come on who goes to the Alps and doesn't dance like an idiot in the rain? lol We also got to go the the church there. which was a mass, it was very different but nice to see how other people choose to worship. We also hiked up to and Alm which is a mountain farm for lunch..wasn't my favorite meal but the experience was fun and I got to share it with my group.

We left on Friday morning on the train to head back for our last hours in Vienna. Anne and I ran some last minute errands and went to the out reach to say goodbye to everyone. That was the hardest part of the trip, I grew to love those people and leaving them hurt. I got my hugs and hand shakes after being there a few hours and we went back to the hostel. My plane home left around 11 am Sat. Aug 15, the ride the airport was filled with I don't want to go's and has it already been 3 months. After some delays and re-routes through Denver I got back to AZ about 4-5 hours later then planned. Even though the airline lost one of my bags I was happy to be back. Just cause I know people are thinking about it..yes I cried the plane ride home. Sad day I know, I just was not ready to leave Vienna or Europe for that matter. I love the people and the country more then I ever thought possible. Vienna will always have a place in my heart, and I hope to return back one day. Thank goodness for facebook and e-mail so I can keep in touch with my new friends and who am I kidding family. I love you guys and I will always miss you.

Just in closing all in all everything I did was life changing and everything I saw was mind opening. This was a summer that will never be topped, I had the best time of my life.. Thank you mom and dad for giving me the encouragement to go and making it financially possible for me to go. Thank you BYU for the opportunity. Thank you Prof. McFarland and Isaac for being so amazing, and making the trip memorable. Thank you to everyone in my group for all your help and the laughs we shared. Thank you to the outreach for becoming a home away from home and my new forever family and friends. Thank you Vienna for welcoming me in and giving me the summer of a life time. Words can not express what I felt and the memories I will always have.