Way out in Austria. In the furthest distance is Hungary. Tell me if you can see Hungariantroops behind the mountains trying to invade.
adventure ho!
August 16: Wednesday
Five hours and fifteen minutes of sleep. Twenty minutes of waiting outside for the bus. Twelve minutes of waiting inside the bus. And about two hours of driving.
It's exciting!
The Trip
Left: Seriously, Austria, do you ever fail int he sweets department?
Now, we didn't head for the Alps right away. Instead, we explored the town of Eisenstadt in eastern Austria, on the border of Hungary. I brought a book and a water bottle, and took a trip around with Jared and a few other classmates.
We ended up eating at an absolutely amazing restaurant that featured pizza, pasta, schnitzel, steak, and a dessert menu longer than most entire American menus, with explosive full-color pictures. I sort of wish that our Study Abroad apartments could have been here in Eisenstadt instead of in Vienna, because I would have eaten at this restaurant at least two meals a day.
But look at me, taking pictures of my ice cream. What is this, Instagram? ... Or is that Snapchat? It can't be Snapchat, because Snapchat's pictures disappear. Also, I won't be able to snapchat my girlfriend in the Alps. And I won't be able to call my parents or my gardener. What about imaginary friends? What if I get eaten by a bear? What if I get eaten by an ;imginary bear? What if I eat an imaginary bear without knowing it? I could be eating it right now!
All I'm saying is that the professor really seemed to warn us about how scary the Alps could be.
As It Turns Out, The Alps Aren't Scary
Yeah, I was terrified for nothing. Well, not entirely nothing. The lift ride up to the top of the mountain was a little bit intimidating, respecially if you looked down. But the thing is, it was also beautiful. I think I've mentioned three or four times that the sights in Europe remind me of Middle Earth, but this... this takes the cake. Erm, the Lembas Bread, I mean.
The vistas are gorgeous. Thick green conifers, great grey cliffs, low-hanging clouds, and the occasional determined-looking goats. Yep, this is the Alps.
When we got up to the cabin, we could finally take in the true view.
Smile for the camera, Austria.
Top left: A view down from the lift. It's a long roll to the bottom.
Top right: There's Jared. Our rooms in the cabin are cozy enough. We can charge our things. The sheets are small and the towels are really small, but honestly, it's incredibly comfortable.
It was already early evening when we arrived in the Alps, so we were pretty tired, but a lot of us decided to take a small hike(the big hike is tomorrow). When we came back, we were getting pretty hungry.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck us at that moment. It was twenty minutes until dinner in our lodge, and I told Jared I needed tthe key to our room to put my stuff away. it was then that he patted his pockets, and.. yeah, you know where this is going. no key.
Great.
We immediately went outside, following the trail that we had hiked for nearly an hour. Our eyes searched the gravel and the grass for the glint of metal, to no avail. My stomach rumbled. The sun was setting. Jared was reminding me not to trust him (what a sweetheart). Hanging our heads in defeat, we returned to the lodge.
Only to find out that one of our classmates, Dewey, had found the key lying on the floor in the entranceway and had been holding onto it for us.
Great. Late dinner, but disaster averted.
Oh - and the dinner really was great. Very meaty. The Alps Lodge is a pretty professional establishment, and there was plenty of food and drink to go around. Deep, heartfelt late-night conversations were shared, none of which shall ever be written on this blog.
