Auf Wiedersehen

I made a new map 2 or 3 months ago, with new goals and destinations. It's the end of this year's travels, but definitely not the last journey I'll take. If anything, this year has inspired me and introduced me to completely new places I want to see. 

I want to thank everyone I have met this year; it has been truly amazing to have you in my life, no matter how brief. My door is always open (and if you're one of the ones who said the same to me, watch out because I may eventually take you up on it. For real.)

And most importantly, so many thanks and love to my family and friends back home who supported me this year. It was really hard at first to be so far away from home, but I am so glad that I made it through the first few months and established my life here. It has been one of the most beautiful and thrilling years of my life.

Lastly, to my blog readers: I started this blog for study abroad, but now I am going to continue it as I head home. Even in old places I have adventures and discover new things, (and I love blogging now!) so new constellations is going to get just a bit more...American. Look forward to meeting New England, you're going to love it.

I'll be traveling home on Saturday, so shoot some prayers out for me if you think of it. I can always use a bit extra, with the travel craziness I've been experiencing this year....

love,

lucy

surprises

 First, I came home late Monday night really tired and unhappy, to find that my favorite people in the world had turned my room into one massive fortress. They engineered it to have only one possible way tog et through, and left crazy annoying Christmas music on loop on the other side so I would have to crawl through to turn it off. AMAZING.

 Then, Tuesday afternoon, completely by chance that I happened to unregister with the police right in this area of town and happened to be meandering my way to meeting up over by Schwarzenbergplatz, I passed by this clock exactly at noon and FINALLY saw the people that go by at noon. It also plays music! I've lived here 10 months and had never seen it....

 A few hours later on Tuesday, I went to the home of the family I've been doing English practice with, and as a farewell gift, the mother gave me this beautiful Gmunden Ceramic mug/cereal bowl. I had to run to my poetry exam, so I opened it in the tram and was just so touched! It's also my favorite pattern; I think the two of us had talked about this months ago, and she remembered! She also told me that if I ever need anything shipped from Austria, like foods or Austrian coffee, to just let them know because her husband could ship it from the embassy...such a lovely, welcoming family!

 And then, after quite a stressy day, we had our last Wellesley farewell dinner far at the edge of the city up on a sloping vineyard Heuriger, and not only did Emma, Melissa, and I wear our dirndls, but Clara wore Melissa's Alpine hat, and we all had a bit too much of the lovely house white wine, sitting outside against a sunset backdrop and later glittering Vienna skyline, and all had to take taxis home.

This is my last day in Vienna, but not forever. Definitely not forever.

             -lab

sigh

i am going to miss sitting at my desk *pretending* to myself to be doing work and really just watching the clouds go by and lazily drinking tea...one exam down, 2 to go, and a paper that i really should have finished in the last 2 hours....and then i say good-bye to this beautiful city...

-lab

Wellesley adventures

The five of us Wellesley ladies had our last trip altogether with our program director and her four-year old son Paul this past Thursday. We took the train West of Vienna and first did a tour of the Melk Monastery (making that my third visit!) and then took a boat down the Danube to Dürnstein. This little town is famous for its blue church steeple and the ruins sitting high above the town on the cliff.
This first video is from us walking through the town of Melk to the monastery, we got caught in a parade! Thursday was some kind of Catholic holiday...corpus christi? I dunno...but it called for a marching band and people to be wearing dirndls, so it was fun.

Our last stop of the day was to a really nice restaurant in Dürnstein. The theme of the day was apricot, and at this restaurant we all ordered fresh apricot juice (from the apricots in the orchards of this town), apricot champagne, and apricot cream strudel. About 10 minutes after we arrived at the restaurant, a torential downpour started. Good thing we left the ruins when we did, otherwise we all would have been soaked, not just Paul, who insisted on escaping our table and running through the rain. Much to his mother's dismay. Once he was convinced to stay out of the rain he took to punching Clara for about 45 minutes straight. Afterward he wanted to hold her hand and have her sit next to him on the train ride home. Boys!

I can't believe my last weekend in Vienna is almost over....

-luce

the way it should be

yesterday, Sacher Torte at the Hotel Sacher

today, a beautiful afternoon of swimming in the Danube

Living it up, only 8 more days after today.

-luce

ich bin eine berlinerin

The Berliner Dom, on a beautifully sunny day!

one of my favorite pictures from a collection at the German History Museum.
This museum was amazing. 

at the opera to see "The Abduction from the Seraglio" by Mozart 

The Ishtar Tor, at the Pergamon Museum

badass anti-white collar enslavement graffiti

sunset jazz on my last night in town

a horribly taken shot of me in front of the brandenburg gate

so.....Berlin was pretty awesome. I would like to go back there again. soon.
peace.

to my pops

Happy Father's Day!

Easter, a few years ago. just a bit silly

I cooked with the Doleschels for the last time today. We made apricot dumplings, which are my favorite Austrian dessert. They are actually quite simple to make, which only makes them more appealing! I have loved getting to spend so much time with my penpal Julia and her family, and not just because her mom makes the best sweets (but it is pretty wonderful...). When I got there today we had coffee first, and she had just made an apple strudel, so that was my appetizer before the main course of apricot dumplings. What a life!

They sent me off with an English version of the Sacher Hotel cookbook which has all of the best Austrian recipes, so for belated father's day celebration, I'll be happy to put the book to use. You can also make these dumplings with sour cherries....! That plus some strong coffee, good music, and we'll have our own little Viennese evening in Bedford :)

love,

lucy

Vienna Pride

Yesterday was the Vienna Gay Pride Parade, the largest gay parade in Europe. I've never been to a gay pride parade before, but I expected to see a lot of people in crazy outfits and dancing and that is exactly what I got--it was a ton of fun. This was the last float of the parade, and all I can say is, only in Austria. Only in Austria.

amazing shot courtesy of clara buchholtz

-lab

crunch time

At this time in two weeks I  will be on my flight headed to London Heathrow, where I will then board my plane to Boston.

That is a staggering thought as I have spent the last week battling a laptop that refused to respond, trying to research for a presentation next week, and figuring out my exam schedule for my last couple of classes, since I have to take both early. I've also been making lists of the millions of random things that go with moving out of a place after a year, including finding people to give my extra spices to and locating donation bins within walking distance that I can bring unwanted clothes to. I only have two suitcases to pack in, each can be 23 kg this time, and I am determined to not go over that weight limit. I have this over-whelming feeling that my to-do list is only going to get longer as I cross items off of it.

But really, while all of this boring work stuff feels like it is taking over my life for these final weeks, the truth is that I am also having so much fun whenever I'm not doing work that I almost immediately forget how hard I was (or wasn't) working. Yesterday for example: I battled the entire day with sweltering computer labs, forgotton charger cords, crazy kids at my internship, and the headache that comes from that feeling of having too much to do and not enough time to accomplish it. But then I took the evening off and headed to the Donau with friends. We ate ribs at the best restaurant along the river and watched the amazing lunar eclipse which had the moon disappearing and then reappearing beautiful shades of red and orange. We went swimming after the incredible ribs, around 11, and by that time the sky had completely cleared and we had sparkling stars and the big orangey-red moon above the river, with a twinkling city skyline on one side, and the wooded edge of the Donau Island on the other. The cool water was the best antidote to my headache, and was absolutely what I needed. It was a night I will never forget, a perfect Viennese summer evening.

So I've decided I won't let myself get too stressed about getting everything done in two weeks---there are still too many Vienna things to savor as well. But I will get the work DONE. That is a must.

Bärlin: in food

Last time I went to Germany I posted afterwards with pictures of the amazing food I experienced there. I feel obliged to do the same for my trip to Berlin with the Wellesley program, because it was pretty incredible. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures at my two favorite restaurants, so when Clara gets back from Istanbul I'm hoping she has a few shots I can borrow. In short, we had a lot of coffee, cake, and rich food during our stay in Berlin, and so many exquisite snacks along the way.

classic outdoor beer-tent-esque fare

they had NO IDEA what they were in for....

 More about Berlin to come soon!
luce