After over 100 days I am back home. Being home is fantastic, hugging my parents and my dog after being away for so long makes me so happy but I can’t help but feel as though Salzburg and my extended family of 50, who are now scattered across the country still have a sizable chunk of my heart. But before I get into that I still have to fill you all in on the past 2-3 weeks where I took a few interesting trips to Berlin and Venice!
My trip to Berlin was a little bit of a spur of the moment thing. I didn’t have any plans most of the week until I heard Serge and Matt were headed to Berlin, so I found a train and a hostel and thought I’d meet up with the boys on Friday. The train was great, I left Thursday night and rode through the night, directly to Berlin. I got to my hostel which was incredible and blew my mind, it was called the Wallyard Concept Hostel and had a courtyard, open lobby and comfortable rooms, easily one of the best hostels I stayed at all semester. Right off the bat I was beginning to like Berlin.
Selfie in front of the Brandenburg Gate
From the hostel I headed out to find Serge and Matt and some other friends who I had found out would be in Berlin. We decided to meet at the Brandenburg Gate and from there we walked around what felt like the entirety of Berlin.. Well, it was probably more like a mile before we bought subway passes, but that’s not the point. We walked through the Brandenburg Gate, checked out the Reichstag, had a great lunch outside in the middle of Berlin, walked to Checkpoint Charlie and than hopped on a subway to the East Side Gallery.
Serge in front of the Reichstag
Checkpoint Charlie or “Checkpoint C” was the best known of the 3 checkpoints on the border of East and West Berlin. Today the Checkpoint is surrounded by tourist fanfare but in reality it was once the main crossing and meeting point of East and West during the Cold War. The checkpoint is little more than just a wooden shed and sandbags. It is by no means permanent and has been built up in recent years to preserve it. The reason that it looks so cheap is because the Allies (England, USA, and France) refused to look at the Berlin Wall as a National Border and didn’t want to give credence to the Soviets by building a permanent checkpoint structure along the Berlin Wall.
Checkpoint Charlie
From Checkpoint charlie we got on a subway and headed out to the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km stretch of preserved Wall that has been painted by artists from all over the world. Following the fall of the Wall in 1990, artists were invited to come and paint on the Eastern side of the wall to celebrate a hopeful future of freedom and finally putting the final nail in the coffin of reconstruction following WWII. It’s a bit surreal seeing the Berlin Wall still standing in such a long stretch. Even covered in art, the Berlin Wall is still incredibly intimidating so I can only imagine what it must have been like untouched, cold, grey, and not to mention the watchtowers and armed guards looking over the entire area. We stood there staring at the wall taking in the aura and history of the moment and only one thought came to our minds as we found ourselves in this incredible situation… We have to climb over to the West…
Escaping East Berlin at the East Side Gallery
As the sun started going down we knew we had had a full day and we got ready for dinner. We had a mediocre meal in the middle of East Berlin with a great view of the TV Tower. the place we ate had lounge chairs so when we finished eating we could have a few beers and people watch in the square while the Tower loomed over us. We were blown away to find out that the Tower was built by the Soviets during the Cold War and not in the years after reunification.
TV Tower in East Berlin
That night we met up with Julia, Erica, Brooke, Josh and Maddie and headed to a club at Serge’s urging. I’m not much of a “club fan” but it was definitely a fun time. We spent most of the night laughing at a bachelorette party of American girls embarrassing themselves over and over. But as we were getting ready to go the bartended started pouring alcohol all over the bar and then pulled out a match and lit the entire bar on fire!! WHAT?!?!
THE BAR IS ON FIRE?!?
This stunt kept us around for a little while longer, but as our group started to trickle out Serge, Matt and I decided it was time for a midnight kebab and headed home. The next day I had to head home so I was happy to have hit most of the main spots in Berlin on my full day there. I had another great train ride, smooth connections and no delays and I got home looking forward to seeing my parents the next day!
May Pole at Stiegl Bräuwelt
As luck would have it May Day celebrations from May 1st had been rained out and pushed back a week to the day mom and dad got in. I figured they would be exhausted but this was something they could not miss. May Day is a celebration similar to Labor Day in the US, except it is normally celebrated on May 1st. The main attraction is the raising of the massive May Pole manually! No machines involved, just straight man power and time. It normally takes 2-3 hours to raise the pole with many breaks in between for those raising it to have a few beers. Once raised, it is tradition to attempt to climb the pole to the first wreath, where bread and wurst are hidden. I’m not sure what would happen if someone fell from that height but I’m glad I never found out.
Two brothers climbing the May Pole
But while the raising was going on we had time to relax as a group and drink some fresh Steigl beer! We pulled on our lederhosen and dirndl and took in all that is May Day. I was curious about how difficult it would be to climb the pole and decided to check it out.. I immediately knew that climbing it was not for me, but thanks to my great friends they caught me in the act of checking it out..
Not for me…
Haley, Connor, Emily, Dakota and I at the Stiegl tent on May Day
Not too long into the celebrations I got word from the parents that they were finally here (after getting lost and taking a quick nap) and I got to see them for the first time in 3 months! I got mom and dad a beer and introduced them to the entire group.
Dad was definitely a fan
They hung around for awhile before we all went to eat dinner together. It was a great week and celebrating mothers’ day and mom’s birthday in Austria are two things I’ll never forget! The end of their stay in Austria came way too fast and the end of the week came before I knew it. I said goodbye for the next 3 weeks and as they headed to Italy, so did I! Another last minute trip, found me hopping on an early morning train headed to Venice! Most of my friends headed to Istanbul, Turkey and I had to take a hard pass on that “adventure.” Luckily they all returned safely after the weekend. But the only two people left in Salzburg were Emily and I, so we made plans to go somewhere neither one of us had been before during this semester and we were lucky enough to find a cheap place to crash while we gorged ourself on Italian food.
First meal in Venice
Our train arrived around 2 in the afternoon and we immediately set out to see the “must see” sights in Venice. We stopped but the Rialto Bridge on our way to Piazzo San Marco, and on our way we stopped for lunch on the Grand Canal. I had my first of many caprese salads that afternoon and some delicious gnocchi. After that amazing first meal, we headed to Piazzo San Marco with gelato on our minds
Piazza San Marco
We were told that it was supposed to rain the entire weekend in Venice, but we were very lucky that both days were beautiful, and the rain held off until the nights. I spent most of my semester abroad trying to fight off the urge to go to Italy. I love Italy and everything about it, but I wanted to go to new countries and experience new cultures and foods on my grand adventure. But now that I was here, I knew this was right were I should have come right away! The food, the architecture, the people, and the language were all amazing and I wish I had spent more time in Italy. Oh well, I have my entire life to explore the world. There isn’t much for me to say other than the entire weekend was amazing.
Looking over the Grand Canal
Bruschetta and Caprese Salad
This place is incredible.. I never want to leave..
Bridge of Sighs
Basilica di San Marco
After our loaded first day, where we saw almost all of the sights on the main section of Venice our trip turned into us gorging ourselves on incredible food, relaxing, and then waiting until our next meal.. But, all great things have to come to an end, and after two full days in the beautiful city we had to get on a train and head back to Salzburg. Unfortunately, on our way out I misread the departure time of our train and instead of leaving at 5:00 pm it left at 15:00 which is 3:00 pm.. So we missed our train.. We caught the next one though and got back to Salzburg at 4 in the morning.. oops.
And just like that our last weekend that we would be able to travel outside of Austria was gone. But, don’t be fooled I still had one more adventure in me and I headed out the next weekend to get in some May skiing. Yes, I said MAY skiing. At some places in Austria there are ski resorts that stay open year round. This one in particular is right outside of Salzburg near the small town of Zell am See. Kitzteinhorn is the name of the resort and it is situated on a glacier about 10,000 feet up that looms over the valley and lake.
Kathryn and I at Kitzteinhorn
I went with my friend Kathryn and I wasn’t sure what to expect. With the weather being about 60 degrees outside I wasn’t sure how much snow there would be or how the good conditions would be. To my surprise there was plenty of snow, and the conditions were actually pretty good!
Top of Kitzteinhorn at 10,000 ft
Ever since I arrived in Austria and my first afternoon of skiing back in February, I knew that I needed to get a picture of myself skiing in my lederhosen. I finally had that chance today and I didn’t let it slip!
Looking over Zell am See in meine Lederhosen
The afternoon was so bizarre, I never thought I’d be surrounded by snow in late May, let alone enough to ski on! Not to mention being able to sit and have lunch on the mountain with short sleeves and a beer and watch as kids flew past me in their super G suits practicing downhill skiing. Now I know why Austrians are such great skiers, they can ski whenever they want throughout the year. But, unfortunately I was not prepared for the conditions of May skiing. I didn’t have my face covered and I left that afternoon with one of the worst sun burns I’ve ever had. My beard protected most of my face but my forehead and neck got roasted, but, I did get a fantastic goggle tan.
“Our” Untersberg as the sun goes down
The next day a few of our classmates set up a picnic of sorts dubbed “soberest” on one of the local hills for all of us to say goodbye to each other. We still had 5 more days and would say goodbye to these people 2 or 3 more times but it was a beautiful afternoon and we had a great view of Untersberg. We took tons of pictures and brought up memories of our first few weeks in Salzburg which felt like a few days ago. We all couldn’t believe how fast this amazing adventure has gone by..
Serge, Connor, Lucy, Haley, Emily Mitch and I at “sobfest”
We stayed up here for about 2 hours talking and sharing stories and watching as the sun went down. It really put into perspective how much I’m going to miss these amazing people.
Myself, Matt, Dakota and Connor
Group photo with nearly everyone in it
After this we had exams and papers due and we didn’t get much of a chance as a group to get together until our usual Tuesday night bowling session which was a blast as usual. And before we knew it, it was Wednesday. Our last full day in Salzburg. I had 2 exams but once I finished them I found out as a group we would be taking over Augustiner Bräustübl and than moving to our favorite bar in town, O’Malley’s Irish pub. it was a heartbreaking night as one by one we had to trickle out as some of us had flights leaving as early as 2 am the next morning. At O’Malley’s a few of the girls put together a list of “superlatives” for everyone in the program. Some were good and others were cheesy but I loved my superlative “most likely to be caught out wearing his lederhosen.” Funnily enough I was actually wearing my lederhosen again that night so I guess they nailed that one.
One last liter at Augustiner Bräustübl
Anyway, that night was full of some of the toughest goodbyes I’ve ever had to say. We had grown so close to each other over the past few months in a foreign country and we all made friendships that will last a lifetime. I had no idea coming into this semester that the last night would be this difficult. But as I said earlier, all good things must come to an end. As the night came to an end, Serge, Haley, Connor, Dakota, and I found ourselves on the lock bridge in the center of Salzburg and we couldn’t do anything but just stand there. We all knew how much we would miss each other and none of us wanted to be the first to break it up and go to bed. Eventually Dakota had to go, but we convinced him to get one last käsekrainer with us for old times sake. After that, we hung out a bit but we all knew we had to get a little bit of sleep before our flights out. So after one last teary eyed goodbye we headed back to our dorms.
More of the crew in the Bier Garten
One last game of pool at 3 am
Gonna miss my Austrian family: Serge, Connor, Emily, Haley,Mitch and Lucy
And of course, my last kebab…
Sun going down on Salzburg for the last time
The next morning I almost missed my shuttle to the airport! I barely made it, but I made it. I had a great flight and tried not to think too much about all of the people I’m leaving behind and was thankful I had Lucy and a few other friends on my flight to Philly as well so it wasn’t exactly a final goodbye. It was smooth and before I knew it I was back in America with wifi and data again!
First view of America after nearly 4 months
One last thing before I shut this down for the time being. I want to thank my mom and dad for everything they did while I was gone this trip wasn’t possible without them. Also thanks to Meredith for being patient and dealing with the time change every day. I had the most amazing 4 months in my life but coming home to the amazing people in South Carolina makes returning home just as great. I couldn’t ask for a better family home or abroad. I love you all and thanks for the memories. Auf Wiedersehen!
Thanks for giving me the world mom and dad.
My new life in northern Germany 
I’m so glad you squeezed in a few more places to see before vamoosing it back home! I have loved your stories and keen sense of adventure Vince! It’s a big world out there to discover! xoxo
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