Austria and other things.

I realize it's been about a month since my last post, I've been traveling the world! Well, that may be an exaggeration...but I did go skiing in the Alps, and toured Berlin again! So, I have somewhat of a valid excuse.

February has come and gone, and I feel as if time is slipping through my fingers. I have been living here for over two-hundred days, and have less than four months left. That thought makes me want to cry, in both sadness and excitement!

This past month has been very busy, and great fun. I don't think I had a weekend where I wasn't doing something! On the fifteenth of February, I went to De Guyter in Pijnacker, for my friend Nienke's birthday with many other classmates. The famous (in Holland, and possibly Belgium) Yellowclaw was performing that night, so the bar was completely packed! They came on 'stage' (really just a small raised area) around midnight, with strobe lights and all. I had such a fun night, despite how loud, crowded and hot it was in the building! To the left is a picture-collage of the night. It was definitely one to remember! Then again, it feels like most days are here.

The next Saturday I spent ten hours in the car with my host family, headed to Austria! It was quite crammed with six people, everyone's bags, and ski gear. For the drive, Tim and I made thirty sandwiches, so that we only had to stop on the way for bathroom breaks!

Most of the drive was through Germany, until we hit the mountains. Driving through the mountains reminded me so much of going back and forth between Homer and Anchorage! So in other words, they were quite gorgeous indeed.

That week, everyday we went skiing in THE ALPS. We stayed in a small apartment, right in the center of the small town, Neukirchen. In the mornings, Renee and I, or Dennis and Tim, would walk across the street to get pastries for breakfast. After coffee and food, we'd all dress appropriately for a day of skiing, and head to the lift.

Learning to downhill ski was such an adventure- funny, and even at times a bit scary! I realized halfway in the week, that if I didn't look all the way down to the bottom of the slope, I wouldn't get as nervous. Most of the time it worked! I did of course fall down a few times, but who doesn't when skiing in the Alps? Luckily I had Tim, Dennis, Renee and Rob to help me!

Most days were gorgeous at the top of the mountain, with the sun shining so bright that I had to put on sunscreen! Somehow I still managed to get a bit burnt... but that's one of many gingerproblems.

We'd ski until lunchtime, and break for a delicious meal in one of the restaurants. Depending on how tired Renee and I were, we'd either ski after lunch for a bit, or call it a day! It was quite exhausting.

Listening to other foreigners around me was quite entertaining also, because most of them came from either Germany or the Netherlands- therefore I could understand half of them!

In the evenings we'd go out to dinner at one of Marijke and Rob's favorite restaurants (they had been to Neukirchen many times before). The schnitzel was to die for, and I tried so many delicious, Austrian meals and desserts! For the last night in the restaurant, I tried Jagertee, which is a tea that is often drunk in the colder parts of Europe in the winter, even more specifically, in the Austrian Alps during the ski season! It is black hot tea, normally made with rum and other spices. I am a big fan of teas in general, and it was as they'd say here in the Netherlands, heerlijk.

All in all, the trip was fantastic. After dinner each night, we'd all play card games until midnight or so. I had a great vacation, and would honestly love to go back there someday. A girl can only dream!

Saturday we all piled in the car again, and headed back home, to the Netherlands. This car ride I was smart; plugged in my music, and read a book to kill the time! None other than, the well-known 50 Shades of Grey. Now I can understand what all the hype is about!

I was home only on Sunday, because Monday morning I would be headed to Berlin with my class! So of course, Sunday was spent doing laundry and packing for my next trip....

That's for the next post though!

-Molly