Austria: Salzburg!

My trip to Austria began with a stay at “Hotel Stanstead” aka the airport floor. The flight was very uneventful, I fell asleep minutes after takeoff and slept until we hit the ground. When I woke up I was greeted by a gorgeous sight- the Alps!!

A friend I met on my trip to Lapland last semester met me at the Salzburg airport and was my host for the night. Before my arrival, my friend had asked me if there was anything I would like to see in the city. I had suggested trying to sights from the Sound of Music. It turns out that although set in Austria, very few Austrians actually know the movie. By the time I had arrived, my friend had watched the movie and made a list of places in the city which had appeared in the film. Throughout the day we visited the park where part of do-re-mi was filmed, the fountain, the gate of the nunnery, the Von Trapp house and the gazebo.

We spent the day exploring the city. Salzburg is absolutely gorgeous. Our day of sightseeing included climbing a very steep hill to a castle which overlooked the city. Construction of the castle began in the 12th Century. It was crazy to wander around knowing that the castle has existed since well before Canada was discovered! The views from the tower of the castle were magnificent. Mountains surrounded the already beautiful city.

I stayed in my friend’s residence room. It is probably the nicest rez room I have ever been in. There was a large bedroom, with a private kitchen and bathroom. To add to all of this, the view was remarkable. I am so unbelievably jealous of the view! (See the picture below!) The village was perfect-exactly how you would imagine a mountain village. It was called Kuchl and I would highly recommend visiting this village if you’re ever looking for an escape. It was so quiet and relaxing.

The following day I was back into the city of Salzburg to meet a friend who had studied in Jyvaskyla with me. We spent the day touring more small villages surrounding the city. The next morning we woke up and went to a beautiful restaurant on a mountain which overlooked a lovely little lake. It was a beautiful and sunny day so we then spent the better part of the day relaxing on a dock enjoying the lovely weather.

Now, as you all know the key to my heart is hockey and I was thrilled to see a game while in Salzburg. The Salzburg RedBulls faced off against the Linz Black Wings. It was an intense game in the final round of the playoffs. The RedBulls were victorious which excited the home crowd.
I had an amazing time in Austria, but by this point it was time to head to Germany!!

Me at the gate to the nunnery in the Sound of Music

What a view! (from my friends rez room!)

The dock where I spent an afternoon!

Hockey!

Easter Break: London!

Please accept my sincerest apologies! It has taken me much to long to tell you all about my amazing Easter Break. Essays and exams have been all consuming since my return but now I’m fortunate to have a bit of a break between exams so it only now that I find the time to begin writing about my monuments trip.

Let’s see where should I begin?!
London!:

London has always been number one on my list of places to travel. The first few days of my break I finally got to check London off my list (and I’m still trying to decide on a new number one!). At the time of my visit, my cousin was in London for an alternative placement for school. This meant that I got to stay in a posh London flat (thanks Mike!).

My first night in London meant it was time to check out some of the tourist attractions! First stop, Oxford Street! After wandering through some department stores which are way out of the budget of an exchange student, we ventured to Piccadilly Circus to meet some of my Swansea friends who also happened to be in London. After posing for our classic tourist pics in the circus, it was time to see Buckingham Palace!

Now as you may or may not know, I’m quite a fan of the royal family. No need to discuss the reasons, but as I’m sure you’ve concluded I couldn’t wait to see Buckingham Palace! Accompanied by my cousin and a friend from Swansea we set off to the palace despite the pouring rain. I will always cherish my first glimpses of the palace, a dream come true you could call it. The tears of joy in my eyes certainly surprised those who had accompanied me to the castle. The Palace was beautifully illuminated against the night sky and rain. I couldn’t help but just stand in awe.

The next morning I ventured back to the palace, this time to see the Changing of the Guards. I was shocked at the number of people there on a random off-peak weekday. It was difficult to see through the crowd, but eventually I made my way far enough forward to see the ceremony. The band played a great medley which included an array of Beatles songs (I’m sure there were more notable tunes, but they escape me right now).

Last semester I had made two friends at the hostel I stayed at while in Helsinki. I was lucky enough to see both during my time in London. I met up with the first to take a walking tour though the city. It was unfortunately raining, but it added to the London atmosphere. It was great to see parliament, the Eye, the clock tower that houses Big Ben (the Bell), St. James’ Palace and Trafalgar Square to name but a few of the sights. The tour was great (and free) and taught me some really cool stuff. Did you know that the lions in Trafalgar Square were made out of melted French cannons?!

The next morning I met up with my second friend who I had met in Helsinki. We had a “day of museums”. We visited the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. I will just write a few lines about each one.

The Natural History Museum was housed in gorgeous building. I had an excellent tour guide too (thanks again Mike!). It is definitely a site to visit if you’re into the sciences. I particularly enjoyed the rocks and mineral section of the museum. This is not because I’m a fan of rocks and minerals but simply because when looking at one rock, I thought to myself “That’s just a normal rock!” Turns out it was just a normal rock, when I read the little sign I was informed that the rock was from Bancroft!

The Science Museum, hmm, what to say about this. This was probably the most poorly arranged museum I have ever been to. There were a lot of dead ends throughout the exhibits which made it very frustrating to navigate through the museum. Some of the contents were interesting, but I wouldn’t really suggest stopping here.

The Victoria and Albert Museum had such a wide variety of exhibits. My favourite by far was the exhibit of casts. There were two rooms filled with cast replicas of statues and monuments from around the world. I loved how overwhelming the one room was, there was so much to look at. All of the replicas were gorgeous. There was also a fashion section which housed the famous pearl dress worn by Princess Diana.

Following the museums we ventured to Hyde Park and the Diana Memorial Fountain. The fountain was simply that, a fountain. Although I feel it is nearly impossible to link a fountain to the memory of someone’s life, it did posses a calming and almost mesmerizing effect. I suppose this is not far from the traits Diana is said to have possessed.

Saturday meant an early morning and a trip to Portobello Road (the street where the riches of ages are sold!) in Notting Hill. It was such a beautiful area of the city. The market was extremely crowed and definitely targeted tourists... which was perfect since I was of course a tourist. The market was much larger than I expected and we sadly had to leave before finishing the entire stretch. Luckily we were off to see another set of relics only seen in London! London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London!

To me, London Bridge is nothing special, except for that famous little ditty (which I hummed to myself while looking at the bridge). Not far down the River Thames, is Tower Bridge. This is the bridge everyone thinks of as they hum that previously mentioned tune. This bridge is pretty cool... buuuut, I was not pleased with the paint colours on the bridge. I’m sure they were chosen for some specific and significant meaning but I’m sorry, the baby blue railings just didn’t work.

After crossing the river, we went to the Tower of London. This site is not simply a tower, but a walled city once home to royalty, and also a home for prisoners. There were numerous displays, one of which had a large display of armour worn by royalty centuries ago. There was something magical about standing in front of a suit of armour worn by Henry XIII. This man may be infamous now, but years ago he was a real person. Seeing the suit helped to reiterate that fact. By far my favourite exhibit was the Crown Jewels. There was a row of display cases housing the royal jewels. Moving sidewalks ran along two sides of the display cases. I wish I had been able to take pictures but sadly it not allowed. I can’t even begin to explain how incredible the jewellery was. It is hard to believe that jewels that large actually exist. The Coronation Crown was breathtakingly beautiful and surrounded by others which were nearly as radiant.

I absolutely loved London. I could walk 2 blocks and see another sight which I had grown up admiring pictures of. I fell in love with the city and returned later in my break, but that’s a story for another time. Next up, Austria!!

My first trip to Buckingham Palace!!

Inside the Natural History Museum

Underground and Clock Tower (home of the bell Big Ben!)

Me with HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge

Sorry! This is as close as my camera could get to the Crown Jewels!

The London Eye!

In general...

Lately my posts haven't talked about everyday life since well, travelling is more exciting! But now its time for some general observations!

Rules of the road.
As you likely know, drivers sit on the right hand side of the car. I am still frequently shocked (and scared) when I see a child sitting in the front left seat. The same goes for adults in the front left seat who clearly aren't paying attention to the road ahead.

Traffic lights here change from green to yellow to red and back. Yes, that's right there is a yellow light when the light changes from red to green.

Bus attendants.

On some of the local bus routes there is a) the driver and b) the attendant. The driver drives the bus and the attendant walks throughout the bus collecting money and tickets. It is great for avoiding lines as everyone can just get on the bus.


Slang.


If someone is your friend, they are your mate. If someone is attractive, they are fit. If something is cool, its lush. To thank the driver of a bus, taxi, etc., say "Cheers drive!". Thanks can be shortened to "Ta!"


Tomorrow I venture off to London for a few days before setting out to continental Europe for a few weeks. I'm not sure where exactly my adventures will take me but I'm excited to meet up with some friends who I met last semester.

Take care, talk to you when I'm back!
Happy Easter!

P.S. Here's some pics of Swansea!

Outside the train station. Abertawe is the city's Welsh name.

The beach. I love this place.

The city centre- featuring Yates, a great pub!

Rhossili.

**Warning! The following post and pictures cannot do justice to the Rhossili area!**

My friends and I recently took a day trip to the Gower Peninsula, a region near Swansea. In 1956 the region was the first area to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK and I can certainly see why! Although I cannot say I have seen the world yet, in my opinion this area holds a beauty unparalleled by the Canadian Rockies, the hills of Tuscany and the snow covered forests of Finland. I spent the day in complete awe of my surroundings.

The Gower Peninsula covers a large area but we spent the day in Rhossili. The highlight of Rhossili is an island called Worm's Head which becomes accessible everyday at low tide. There is a rather long scenic walk out to the pier which eventually connects to the island. The walk offers breathtaking views from cliffs jutting out from the beach below. The beach was absolutely massive, especially when the tide went out. It is certainly the largest sand beach I have even been to.

There were a large number of people at Rohssili that day. Having now completed the walk, it is not a walk I would recommend to the young or old but it certainly seems that locals of all ages enjoy the trek! Like I previously mentioned, when the tide goes out it is possible to walk to the island. This crossing was certainly not easy. It often felt as if we were not making any progress as you constantly had to watch your feet to avoid the remaining water between mussel covered rocks. When we finally reached the island we thought the worst part of the walk was behind us. We stopped to watch the grazing sheep and enjoy the views. We continued along to the second half of the island where a surprise met us...

We were greeted by a jagged rock face which connected the halves of the island. It certainly was not the leisurely hike we had anticipated. I like to think that I'm a fairly brave person, but crossing the rocks was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Every scary step was worth it when we reached the other side. The views were spectacular!

As I'm sure many of you will agree, the wort part of a hike is that you have to go back. After crossing the rock face and land bridge again, we decided it was time for some easier exploring. Next stop: the beach!

The beach was amazing. It will be a great spot once it is warmer. Especially when the tide is out, the beach stretched for miles. The distant water also gave us access to the bottom of the cliffs which we had previously enjoyed views from. The view at the bottom of the cliff was also astonishing. I am by no means a geography major nor do I have any real knowledge about land formations, but the layers of rocks which created the cliffs were fascinating. Caves and holes were scatted throughout the cliffs providing homes for numerous birds and a great exploring opportunity for some curious university kids!

If you ever get a chance to visit Rhossili, do it! A coastal region hours from London may not top your list of places to travel, but I promise, it will be worth every penny!

Now that I've written a novel, here's some pictures!

Cliffs and beaches.

One of the many cliffs.

Me on a cliff above the beach!

Worm's Head Island

The land bridge is forming as the tide goes out.

Crossing the land bridge (notice all of the mussel shells covering the rocks!)

The unexpected rock face! (It doesn't look at all scary in this pic! Hmm..)

Me and the view from the island!

Back on solid ground. I call this picture "Stereotypical Wales".

Stone wall, sheep and village... Welcome to Wales!

Shipwrecked remains on the beach at the bottom of a cliff.

Worm's Head at dusk.

Bath!

I recently went to the ancient Roman city of Bath. It was a gorgeous city. The architecture is magnificent. Even the new buildings are constructed to match the old. Not that I am by any means a city planner, but I loved the unconventional layout of the town. There was a prominent circle of connected houses in what is called the Circus. Nearby, by is the Royal Crescent. It is rumoured that Jonny Depp is living here and I could see why anyone with enough money would choose to live there. It is once again a rounded set of attached houses with a large park in front. We also visited the Bath Abbey. Like the rest of this city, the abbey was beautiful.

The Circus

The Royal Crescent

Outside the Abbey

Inside the Abbey

The real reason I visited the city was of course to see the ancient Roman baths. The baths were incredible. It is amazing that something so beautiful and sophisticated was created without modern technology. The baths were created on a hot spring which still exists today. I know my pictures cannot do Bath justice, but they will certainly help add to my brief descriptions!

A view of the bath and the abbey

Me at the bath!

Avebury and Stonehenge!

Yesterday I went to Avebury and Stonehenge on a trip organized by the school.

Avebury is home to the largest stone circle in the world. The site consists of one large circle with two smaller circles inside of it. We had gorgeous weather. The beauty of the rolling hills was only enhanced by the blue sky and fluffy clouds. There were also countless grazing sheep on the hills, which for some reason tends to thrill North Americans! There is a quaint little village which has geared itself to be a tourist friendly area with gift shops and museums.

Part of the circle and village.

Me and my gnome with one of the stones!

Following Avebury we went to Stonehenge! Stonehenge was much smaller than the circle in Averbury, but I enjoyed that because we were able to see the circle (or at least what remains) in its entirety. The weather had unfortunately changed between regions and there was even a brief period of snow. Luckily the snow didn't take away any of Stonehenge's glory. Stonehenge is located in the middle of nowhere. Once again standing amidst large rolling hills, the scenery is just as breath taking as the monument. As a child I watched countless documentaries on Stonehenge. Standing in front of the stones, I wondered how so many hours of footage could be collected. By the time I finished walking around the path (you cannot actually touch and walk among the stones), I had numerous picture with each new angle being revealing more of the mystery. Despite simply being stones, there is so much mystery and magnificence that I am no longer surprised at the collection of footage.

Me at Stonehenge!

Angle 1

Angle 2

Angle 3

Angle 4

Angle 5- As we drove away

Just me and 74,000 other fans!

In recent hours, an opportunity presented itself which I could not refuse... tickets to the Wales vs Scotland game in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.

Last night I went out for dinner with a group of friends. At the same restaurant as us was a group of Scottish men in kilts. My friend decided she wanted a picture with the kilts... it's not everyday you see a kilt in Tennessee! The conversation of course turned to the upcoming Wales vs Scotland rugby game. It was then discovered that the Scottish group had 2 extra tickets... how could we say no?!

Despite staying up way too late to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies, I woke up this morning very excited to the day's events. First came the bus ride to the city of Cardiff (the Welsh capital) which located approximately 1 hour east of Swansea. The bus dropped us off right outside of the stadium adding to my excitement.

Welcome to Millennium Stadium!

When we entered the stadium we took a chance to visit the field level. We were able to watch some of Scotland's warm up and I was quite thrilled to see that many of their drills were the same drills I had once done. There was also a male choir and marching band to help create the atmosphere.

Scotland warming up

When we eventually went to our seats, they were amazing. Second level, dead centre behind the posts.

View from our seats!

The game itself was incredible. Scotland carried the lead through the majority of the game (which was good since we were sitting in a section of Scottish fans). Wales rallied back with an astonishing final 10 minutes of play to win the game 31-24.

A little bit of rugby action...

...and a little bit more!

The whole experience was very surreal to me. I will admit that rugby was a large influence in my decision and persistence to study in the UK. The intensity of the game and the passion in the stands today created an experience I will not soon forget.

Mumbles!

Just a short bus ride away from me is an area called Mumbles. Located on the Swansea Bay, the town has a lovely coastal feel. There is a long strip of sea-front shops, restaurants, hotels and houses. There is also a castle looking over the town. Unfortunately we could not go into the castle, but it provided a great view of the town.
When we arrived, my friend and I commented on how large the beach was as the water seemed to be a great distance away. We decided it was necessary to make the trek out to the sea. The walk took us at least 20 minutes as we tried to avoid the large wet patches of sand (which we assumed was melted snow from the night before). When we finally reached the farthest point, we stopped to admire the view across the bay. When we turned around, the path we had taken was starting to disappear. We later found out the bay has one of the fastest tides in the world! We made it back to dry land safely long before the tide caught us once again.

Oystermouth Castle

View from castle

Low tide prior to our walk

(looking away from the shore)


The tide starts coming in as we reach the farthest point!

(looking towards the shore)

High tide about an hour after we returned to the shore!
(looking away from the shore)

How could I not take a picture of the rugby club?!

Welcome to Wales!

Hi Everyone!
I apologise for not writing sooner! After another trip across the ocean, I’m back in Europe. This time my travels have brought me to the UK! It is almost surreal to say this as the UK has topped my travel list for as long as I can remember! I am now in a city called Swansea studying at Swansea University. I am about three hours west of London by train.

I’m living in a university residence townhouse with 9 other people. It is quite an international house with 4 Americans, 3 Welsh, 2 British and of course me representing Canada. Everyone has been very helpful to those of us who just arrived.

Bikes are not nearly as popular here as they were in Finland. You see the odd one, but they are certainly not the primary mode of transportation for students. I have now paid an arm and a leg for a bus pass, but the buses here seem to have frequent service. The buses also cover a wide service area so I will be able to take some day trips (in fact I took one to Mumbles today... stay tuned for a post about that trip!)

I cannot say that I would give a high grade to the weather here so far. We’ve had a few days of sun and a few days of rain. Last night it snowed... for me this was of course devastating. Wales is supposed to be my warm climate! Guess I will just have to wait for spring.

The biggest contributor to my culture shock so far has certainly been that vehicles drive on the other side of the road. I always feel as though the bus is going to drive into oncoming traffic. Knock on wood, this hasn't happened. In Canada as you have likely notice even when walking, we tend to stick to the right side. Here I simply cannot figure it out. People seem to just walk wherever they please. Maybe there is a system that I have yet to figure out.

Queuing. People here love to line up. I will use waiting for the bus as an example. At Brock when a bus arrives everyone waiting will crowd around the door. Here, everyone lines up single file and waits patiently for the bus to park, this also allows room for people to exit the bus.

Check back soon for my post about Mumbles and of course a picture post!