It Is Finished

Gallivanting across Europe? Check.

Complete transformation of my entire faith life? Check.

Survive five final exams in three days? Check.

With only five days until I board my flight my life in Gaming, Austria is almost over. And what do I have to show for it?

Well, a wise man once said, "literally - nothing is the same." Thus said the household brother of legend, Elliot Foley when he in the days of yore walked these same hallowed halls. And I can with equal confidence say the same: literally nothing is the same. How I see myself is not the same. How I relate to the world is not the same. How I perceive other people is not the same. My relationship with God is not the same. Nothing is the same. Everything is different.

Now, I move on. I go home. But that will not be the same either. Sometimes it may be tempting to try and put things back the way they were but I know in my heart that that is not, and never will be, The Plan. Now is the challenge. Even now I hear the battle cry: it is time to leave the pilgrimages and the holy men and women and Maria Thron behind . . . and face the world. Austria has changed me; God has changed me; now I need to go change the world in the million little ways that will be required of me.

Even now my heart thumps against my chest with a curious mix of eager anticipation, a dynamic drive, and a tinge of anxiety. Do I have what it takes? No. But God does, He resides in my heart, and He gives me the strength I need. When I stepped off that plane for the first time onto European soil I had a heart of broken glass. Now, when I step on to that plane to go back to the United States I will have a heart of Blood and Fire, a Pierced heart, Jesus' Heart.

I came, a boy; I leave, a true man. St. Joseph pray for us.

Six Days Left

It's 11:16PM and I'm studying Philosophy of the Human Person with Sarah Joan. Two more final exams tomorrow and then I'll have my life back. Just a few days left to rock in Europe (and post my closing statements to this blog) then I go home. America, just a little bit longer and then we will be one again.

Ten-Day, Salzburg, Swizterland, up next: Rome!

brushes away the cobwebs . . . 

Yeah, it's been a while. With the end of the semester drawing near I find myself ever busier with an increasing class load and student life rapidly climbing towards a peak of activity. Thus, life plays a cruel joke on me and on my readers as the more and more I have to blog about the increasingly less amount of time I have to actually sit down and do just that! As a result this post will be brief like the last couple: I have a quiz and a reading assignment due tomorrow morning and then I leave for a day to go to Cinque Terra, Italy before our ten-day school trip to Rome and Assisi (where, hopefully, I will be able to visit my long-time friend Rebecca Skiba) so I don't have time to write an exhaustive post on every significant happening. Instead, an abridged version will have to suffice . . .

So, as already alluded in the previous post, my ten day pilgrimage was beyond spectacular. It was in fact life-changing. I am by nature an OCD contingency planner, however, David Mesina does not believe in plans and Audrey Poulin was just along for the ride so we embarked on our adventure with only a hastily compiled train schedule in-hand, with no reservations, no hostels booked, and absolutely no idea what we were doing or where we were staying. All that we did know was that we had a list a places we wanted to go and, somehow, we were going to go to all of them - that didn't happen exactly the way we had wanted it to.

En route to Paris we boarded a night train to Frankfurt, Germany. However, the train was completely booked and there was no room in the inn. We got kicked off in Nuremberg where we spent a good portion of the night in the train station before we could get a connection to Frankfurt. We were already a day behind schedule, I was freaking out, and my two saintly companions were praying like it was nobody's business. The previous sentence could be used to summarize almost every single day of our pilgrimage.

Eventually we made it to Paris where we visited Notre Dame and Ruo de Bac (which I have no clue how to spell) where our lady appeared to St. Catherine de Laboure. From there we went to Lisieux, prayed in the enormous basilica dedicated to St. Therese, prayed in the cathedral where she went to Sunday Mass, toured her house, and stayed at the pilgrim house. We then intended to go to Ars of St. John Vianney. However, unbeknown to us there are apparently eleven Ars in France and we ended up in one of the wrong ten . . . in the middle of no where . . . 600 km away from our intended destination . . . on the other side of the country. After David and I spontaneously purchased new coats in nearby Cognac we travelled to Lourdes. From there we went all the way to Fatima in Portugal and then flew from Lisbon back to Vienna. However, before we made it back to Gaming we found ourselves stranded on a platform waiting for a train at 1AM. It was 5 degrees C. We slept in a nearby elevator because that was the warmest place we could find and were suddenly very thankful for the coats we got in Cognac. A train finally arrived around 5AM and we eventually made it to Gaming and the Kartause. And everyone lived happily-ever-after.

The following weekend I went to Salzburg with Andrew Rall and his dad (who paid for Everything). We went to a documentation center on WWII, toured the salt mines, and went to the Augustiner which is Salzburg's beer hall.

This past weekend I went to Grindelwald in Switzerland with various wonderful people (There were eight of us total - and personally I really liked having such a large group), had an insane amount of fun, and . . . oh yeah, I went paragliding over the Swiss Alps: 

Back at the Kartause

I'm back from ten day but I don't have time for an in-depth blog post right now so a quick summary will have to suffice until I can find the time. Essentially, my ten day break was one of the most difficult, profound, and all-around best experiences of my life. It was an adventure to the fullest. From being stranded in Frankfurt, Germany for a day, to arriving 600 kilometers from our intended destination in a town by the same name, to bathing in the spring at Lourdes, to the penitentiary walk at Fatima, to being homeless for a night in frigid Vienna and sleeping in an elevator, never have I experienced so much divine providence, met so many amazing people, or faced down so many problems in so short a time. I returned from my trek of a large portion of Europe a visibly transformed person. Upon my return people have asked me, "are you changed, Christian? You look different somehow." And I tell them, yes, my perspective on practically everything is not the same, how I relate to others is not the same, how I view myself is not the same, my faith is not the same. I am a changed man.

Sorry to Disappoint

but I finished my last midterm this morning and I leave for my ten day break in two hours so no updates on Poland. I will be touring France with David Mesina and Audrey Poulin starting with Paris and then going to Lisieux, Ars and Lourdes. We will then go all the way to Fatima in Portugal before taking a plane from Lisbon back to Vienna.

Midterms

Unfortunately with midterms beginning this Friday and going all through next week I don't expect to write a legitimate blog post for quite some time. I do plan on blogging about my experience in Poland, in fact I plan on writing on the pilgrimage in three parts as that's the only way I feel I can do the trip any justice, however it's going to be a while. Until then, please pray that the next week and half is as successful and stress-free for me as possible.

Statistics

Below are some numbers describing my stay in Gaming so far. Some of these statistics were blatantly stolen from the University's blog. However, since I just cited my source I'm allowed to do that.

There are 181 students enrolled in the Austria program for the Fall 2009 semester.

Average GPA of students in the Austria program: 3.22

Average Age of students: 19.5

There are 70 male students and 111 female students.

Michigan is the 4th most represented state with twelve students including myself

My major is the most represented major here in Gaming with a total of 31 Nursing students; theology is second with 28.

I've been in Austria for 31 days.

It will be another 78 days (I think) until I return to the States.

I've taken 685 pictures since arriving in Austria and I deleted 146 of them.

I'm taking five classes for a total of 15 credits. My classes are: Philosophy of the Human Person, Foundation of Ethics, Christian Marriage, Introduction to Sacred Scripture, and History of Western Civilization II.

I've participated in more Masses than I can count since coming here but I've only been to Urs, the local bar, twice. I really feel those two numbers should be closer together.

I've gained four pounds since coming to Austria.

I eat on average three kiwis a day. The most kiwis I've had in one day is six.

Pilgrimage to Mariazell

Between the unending stream of reading assignments, the prospect of my pilgrimage to Poland this coming weekend and my first midterm next week I cannot possibly post about the multitude of events that have occurred over the last few days and do them even an inkling of justice. Therefore, I will write solely on the highlight of this past weekend, namely, my pilgrimage to Mariazell.

The background behind Mariazell is rich in history and legend. A summary can be found at sacred-destinations.com.

The legend:

On the evening of December 21, 1157, a Benedictine monk named Magnus was in a forest looking for a place to build a monastery. At one point, his path became blocked by a huge boulder that was too big to go over or around, so Magnus took a small wooden statue of the Virgin Mary he had in his knapsack, knelt in prayer, and asked the Virgin Mary for guidance. Soon there was a great rumble and the rock split in two, allowing him to pass through.

Some facts:

Magnus and some locals built a shrine to the small wooden statue of Mary which was rebuilt multiple times to give us the Basilica in which the statue is housed which we have today.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Mariazell is the most-visited Marian shrine in Central Europe.

Emperor Joseph II dissolved the monastery and and banned pilgrimages there during his reign.

The ban was lifted sometime after Joseph II's death and today more than 1 million people visit Mariazell every year.

Conveniently, Mariazell is only about twenty miles from Gaming.

This used to be a small chapel

So, on Friday morning at 7AM roughly fifty or more students, faculty/staff and children of faculty/staff departed by bus where we were then dropped off at the nearby nature park. From there, we would have to hike 18 miles (or 29 kilometers) to Mariazell along the Erlauf River through the foothills of the Austrian Alps.

Erlauf River/foothills of the Austrian Alps

However, with eighteen miles to traverse I couldn't stay too long in one place to enjoy the trail's beauty without being left behind and so I walked, and walked, and walked. The first half of the hike was largely uneventful. I simply walked in silence, soaking in the natural beauty I had become completely immersed in. The Erlauf river was clear and vividly blue and green, there were countless waterfalls, high-arching bridges across the river that had to be crossed single-file, wild mountain goats and so much more.

Then the foothills opened up slightly, the river deepened and we got to do this:

Shortly after we discovered a cave:

Then, we found my favorite location along the entire hike:

And if you think it's cool when Kevin jumps from ten feet how much cooler is it when he does it from thirty?

For the final three hours of the hike we left the river, traveling instead through the countryside, passing by farms until we came a small town about five kilometers outside of Mariazell.

Without the beautiful Erlauf River and surrounding mountains to distract us, every minute of that final couple miles dragged on forever. However, we eventually made it - and just in time for 4PM Mass, after which we had some time to enjoy the beauty of the basilica and pray.

Then, after a full day consisting of an eight hour hike, Mass in Mariazell's Basilica, and some free time to explore the town and church ourselves, we finally boarded a bus back to Gaming. However, not before I got a souvenir:

No Longer a Teenager

One of the perks of being in Austria: my birthday comes six hours earlier. I'm twenty years old today.

Weekend in Gaming

While most of the student body went to either Switzerland or Prague in the Czech Republic I spent my weekend back in Gaming. This is partly due to my peculiar financial situation but also because 1.) I want to explore Gaming itself and 2.) I have what can only be described as a literal mountain of homework sitting on my desk. It should also be noted that I got a job cleaning the Mensa after meals. So, on Thursday evening, after slaving away with my mop and bucket, I met my roommate Jason G. at the Keller (the Kartause restaurant) where we enjoyed a few beers and more importantly the company of his grandfather who was visiting from the States. I probably had close to a liter of the Keller's light beer which is more alcohol than I've had before in one sitting. As a result I now believe that I truly understand what Benjamin Franklin meant when he said, "God gave men alcohol because he wanted them to be happy."

Friday I had plans to hike to the waterfall outside Gaming with a half dozen students, including good friend Andrew Rall. However our hike was delayed by a thunderstorm. The rain began to let up by 4PM and we decided to brave what was left of the inclement weather. Of course after hiking the three miles to the waterfall it began to downpour once again so that upon returning to the Kartause we were all fairly drenched. Still, it was a pretty great time to be had.

Every night also consisted of movies, beers, and board games until Sunday came and I'd hardly done any homework. I wish I could say that my weekend had consisted of lots of productive and profound studying but sadly most attempts just ended in impressions of books on my face as I napped. I did get a fair amount done throughout the day on Sunday but unfortunately I have enough homework still that the school week is going to be incredibly hectic. However, on a positive note, I definitely aced my history test this morning.

What little profound studying that may or may not have actually occurred.

unproductive, not profound "studying" that definitely occurred

Adversity in Austria

I have been struck by more ill-fortune in these past few weeks in Austria than in the rest of my entire college experience put together. First, I lost my ATM card just prior to leaving for Austria and my bank would only mail it to my home address that they had on file. This means that I would have to go to Austria without access to my account until my parents could mail my card to me upon its arrival to my home. Meanwhile, in transit to Europe the airline lost my luggage and I had to spend my first several days in Europe without clothes or any other commodity. Then, immediately upon arrival I became sick. Then I got sicker, and sicker. I won't go into the details of my symptoms but suffice to say that they were pretty miserable. Now, I'm finally back to my healthy self and I have all my luggage safe and sound. Yet tragedy would strike again when on Thursday my ATM card finally arrived. But that's a good thing, you might exclaim. Well, I thought the same thing as well until I tried to actually use my card only to receive the following message, "card invalid internationally or defective." After talking with my bank I can find no reason why my card shouldn't work internationally. After enduring three weeks with nothing but some cash to hold me over, I receive a defective card. 

So, here I am: I'm stranded on the other side of the world with no money; I can't travel - I can't even buy groceries. I feel like I should be miserable, like this is the part of the story where I'm supposed the throw my hands up in the air and say, "I give up, world. You win." Yet despite having no money, and experiencing a period without clothes, toiletries, or even my health, I'm not unhappy, disappointed, or afraid. By all means I'm in a very uncomfortable situation yet, inexplicably, I possess a joy and a sense of freedom that contradicts my experience. Perhaps it's because, as I sit here within the walls of an ancient Carthusian monastery, I can't help but possess the attitude, not of a tourist, but of a pilgrim - and while by the standards of a tourist I am incredibly poor, as a pilgrim I have grown immensely in my wealth. I believe that I have grown spiritually and have come into my own as a person more in the past few weeks than in the last couple years - and I accredit this in part to those very challenges mentioned above.

Of course, I must also give credit to all those who have supported me in various ways during these past weeks, from my peers to the faculty and staff, but most importantly to my Lord who has decided to touch me in a very special way during my stay in Gaming. In respect to all the good I have received and accomplished it is of course His grace which I praise and no deed of my own. The reigns are in his hands, I'm just along for the ride.

Salzburg/Munich Part 2

At 10AM Saturday morning the buses arrived at Max-Joseph Platz in Munich, Germany. Our first stop of the day was Frauenkirche Cathedral for Mass followed by a short tour which consisted mostly of standing in Marian Platz waiting for the three surrounding clock towers to strike noon. At this point it was windy and very cold and I was sick and possibly dehydrated so you can imagine that I wasn't particularly enjoying myself. However, our tour finally ended and our free time in Munich began. I quickly joined the first group I found that was going someplace warm where I could get something to drink.

The group I found myself with consisted of Fr. Brad, Anna, Katie, Chris, and Bill Jones. The place: none other than Munich's famous beer hall, the Hofbrauhaus. The irony however is that while at this famous German beer hall I never actually had a beer. Instead I ordered a coke and water, because beer does not help much with dehydration. I did however try the beer hall's famed white sausages which I found delicious even in my unwell state.

After a couple hours spent in the beer hall Bill and Chris left us for the Olympic Stadium while the rest of us decided to search for some cafe we had heard about that serves thirty varieties of hot chocolate. Our trek first led us through the open-air markets which we wandered around in for awhile. We then found ourselves in a shoe store so Katie could buy a pair of Birkenstocks, because apparently they're far less expensive here than in the United States. The cafe eluded us a while longer as we took several wrong turns but eventually we found our way.

I ordered the strawberry-flavored hot chocolate and settled down to listen to Fr. Brad's entertaining stories for the next hour. For my family back home: Fr. Brad reminds me very much of Chuck Biewer, so you can perhaps imagine how much fun he'd be to hang out with for a day. We decided that next we'd go to the English Gardens when another group from Franciscan arrived at the cafe and one of their members, Joan, decided to join us.

We eventually met with some other people from our university including the resident director Vince, and Fr. Seraphim. We didn't stay long at the gardens because we had to be back at the busses soon but we did see the Japanese lake/island and some people surfing on the river - as well as Fr. Brad preaching to the ducks. Unfortunately, we had to grab dinner on the go to get back on time.

Japanese Lake

Fr. Brad preaching to the ducks

The next morning we went to the Salzburg Cathedral for Sunday Mass. The mass was in German so of course I couldn't understand what was being said. However, the five organs, enormous choir and orchestra kept me feeling fairly involved. Besides being in German, the mass was different than what I was used to in another way: at communion, instead of forming lines, everyone just leaves their pews to receive the Eucharist as a crowd - which I thought was much better than our silly lines.

Finally, after lunch again at the Sternbrau, we left Salzburg for our return trip to Gaming. However, we did make one stop on the way at Mondsee where we got to tour the church where the marriage scene in The Sound Of Music takes place, as well as swim in the lake. Thus ended our trip.

Church at Mondsee

Lake at Mondsee

Oh, and my health has finally returned to me.

Salzburg/Munich part 1

Even though I'm sick, on Thursday I decided to join some students/school faculty/local children for a game of soccer. Despite having taken some hard hits, falling into an almost comatose state on my bed afterward (because I was sick), and having actually never played real soccer before, this turned out to be a great decision. I had a great time playing and apparently I'm a very good defender. In the words of Kevin Gallagher I was, in fact, "a beast". This would have been the highlight of my day except that, that evening Student Life was playing The Sound Of Music - which takes place in none other than Salzburg, Austria. I had not seen that movie in probably ten years and I had forgotten how great/funny it is so that in fact was the highlight of my day.

On Friday morning I once again donned my sweater vest and ate my zimmel as I prepared to embark on my weekend trip to Salzburg and Munich. Salzburg is about three hours from Gaming and, upon arrival, we immediately made our way to Franziskanerkirche for Mass followed by lunch at Sternbrau where I got to try my first red wine. Then began a walking tour of Old Salzburg. This time, my particular group was lead, not by Fr. Seraphim, but none other than the entertaining Jess, one of the two resident directors here at Gaming - the other being the stylish Vince. A few interesting facts about Salzburg: the name itself means "salt city" in reference to the huge deposits of salt that were mined there and are responsible for the city's wealth, much of The Sound Of Music was filmed in Salzburg, and then there was something else I meant to write here but forgot.

a fountain seen in The Sound Of Music

I then had some free time so I found a few people and we wandered the city, checking out the various shops. Eventually we stopped at a cafe where they had hot chocolate so thick it was the consistency of pudding - except it was way more awesome than pudding could ever hope to be. That evening I attended a classical concert across town featuring a quintet playing Mozart which was thoroughly enjoyable.

However, the night was still young so I went to the beer hall in Salzburg, the Augustiner with Steve Eskro, my roommate Jason Gast, and many other wonderful people. However, with an empty stomach and a stomach flu, I did not do much drinking. Finally, I decided that the best way to end my first day of the most epic trip of the semester so far was to go to McDonald's and participate in the most glorious BigMac my lips have ever devoured.

see, sweater vest

this is not much drinking

A Quick Update:

I'm leaving Friday for a weekend school trip to Salzburg/Munich in Austria.

While in Salzburg I'm going to go to a classical concert.

I may try to upload more pictures from Vienna before I go . . . or maybe not. We'll see.

I'm currently experiencing the horrible combination of lots of homework and being sick.

I feel kind of like this guy - except worse

Day Trip to Vienna

On Saturday, Franciscan University made its day trip to Vienna. At 10AM our buses arrived at the church Kapuzinerkloster in old Vienna where we then had Mass. The student body then split into groups and we began our walking tour of Vienna. As we walked through the city Father Seraphim Beshoner, head of our group, pointed out the most notable features, most important of which was probably the Irish pub (and I don't say that to trivialize all the other notable features. The Irish pub is just that

important). We stopped and toured several churches and historical buildings including St. Stephen's cathedral and the Hofburg imperial palace. Also, I met Sammy, the 7 year-old son of one of the FUS staff, on this trip. Sammy's pretty cool: he can speak German, English, and Slavic (though being bi- or trilingual isn't uncommon here like it is in the United States), and he's very witty as well.

Sammy (left), Father Seraphim (right)

We then ended our walking tour with lunch around 2PM at Melker Stiftskeller where I got to try their house beer, Hofbrauhaus Traunstein . . . at least, I believe that's what they call it. Once we concluded our lunch I was on my own until the buses departed at 8PM. Wanting to see the Schonbrunn palace I joined a group of about a dozen other students and together we hopped on the underground and emerged twenty minutes later outside the park that surrounds the Schonbrunn itself. Here we were able to walk the gardens, get an excellent view of the city below, and tour the palace itself. We eventually got lost in the park as we tried to find our way back to the underground but eventually we found our way . . . only to get lost again in the city looking for the Opera house - which is where we were to meet the buses. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to stay for the Opera or stop at that Irish pub we walked directly past (the very same Father Seraphim had pointed out earlier) so we got some food to go before returning to Gaming.

Steve and I enjoying our lunch

Outside the Greenhouse at the park

brother and sister household

looking down on Vienna

Today, the students finally had an opportunity to tour the Kartause itself. The Architect, who not only owns the Kartause but was responsible for its renovation over twenty years ago, gave a talk in the church highlighting the importance of the Kartause from its conception to its present day. I don't know his name as he was introduced to us simply as The Architect. Even his secretary who has worked for him for over 25 years refers to him so. We also got to visit the bell tower, library, ballroom, and the three chapels present on the grounds - one of which is a beautiful Byzantine chapel with its religious icons hand-painted by the ITI theology students who used to stay there until last summer.

Apparently the Kartause monastery used to have a series of secret tunnels as well, until the Russians destroyed them during their occupation. Now, however, I must return to my studies as classes begin again tomorrow and I'm supposed to have the entire book of John read by that afternoon.

Oh, also, I was told today that I look like Peter Pan. I thought that was pretty hilarious.

8/27/09 First Day of Classes

Thursday was the first day of class so I awoke bright and early, donned my sweater vest, ate my German bagel, and heroically attended two classes, mass with Bishop Kung, then two more classes - all one almost immediately after the other. I have another full day of classes tomorrow to look forward to before a school trip on Saturday to Vienna . . . then about 150 pages of reading assignments to do by next week. After the first day of class. All those people who told me that "classes in Austria are chill, dude" lied to my face.

So, a breakdown for your convenience of the elaborate torture Franciscan University has scheduled for me over the next four months:

Christian Marriage with Dr. Asci

Foundation of Ethics with Prof. Seifert-Wolter

Philosophy of the Human Person also with Seifert

Intro to Scripture with Prof. Cassidy

History of Civilization II with Fr. Seraphim T.O.R.

But seriously, I'm excited about all my classes; not just because I have a penchant for torture but also because the prospect of learning all this cool stuff is pretty sweet. Also, my professors are what can only be described as awesome. So much so in fact that their lectures are like pure doses of awesome being injected directly into each students' bloodstream. No wonder FUS's study-abroad program is rated among the top five in America - we get our students high off of learning during class days and then send them across Europe over the weekends in this altered state of mind which can only be referred to as "enlightenment."

We are Guests in Gaming

A common topic of discussion among students here at the Kartause is how much the staff at the Mensa (the Kartause's dining hall) supposedly hate us. The staff seem to be easily irritated by our presence and apparently just changed the locks on the Mensa doors and they're the only ones with a key. This means that when staff forgot to unlock the doors this morning the resident assistants could only stand by helplessly as a crowd of students quickly massed for breakfast. Not even the resident director had a key and the student body had to wait half an hour before a local with a key could be found.

However, I don't think the Mensa workers hate us - though it may be possible that they dislike us just slightly. I find this perfectly understandable when I try to imagine working for an American cafeteria when suddenly my place of employment is flooded by nearly 200 Germans babbling in a tongue I cannot understand . . . and they're all wearing lederhosen. They say things in German and I don't know how to respond, they yodel, and they break all the rules out of ignorance. That seems like more than enough reason for me, the exasperated cafeteria worker, to resent these intrusive foreigners. Thus, I applaud you Mensa workers of Gaming, for putting up with the mass of American students galavanting around your home.

Americans like Steve Eskro

Tuesday, August 25th

Night came and morning followed. The second day.

My room has a large window. So large, in fact, that the sun, peaking over the foothills of the Alps, poured copious amounts of light into my room at 5:30AM. Unable to sleep any longer I rose, too deep in a mental torpor to feel anything. That is, until I clumsily pulled back the curtains and saw this:

Thus began my second day in Austria.

At 8AM Dr. Franz Schneider gave the entire school a talk on just about everything there is to know about the country Austria. Immediately afterwards the whole student body crammed into four buses and we drove to the nearby monastery Melk in the valley by the Danube river. This is Melk:

Fun-size!

This is Melk before mass:

After a guided tour, lunch, and mass at Melk we then travelled to Durnstein, a town of enchantment dubbed by the inhabitants of Austria as "the most romantic place ever." With only little over an hour in Durnstein we practically ran up a mountain in order to walk among the ruins of Durnstein's castle - where, coincidentally, King Richard the Lionhearted had once been imprisoned by the king of Germany.

it's no wonder that King Richard didn't stay imprisoned for long. I mean, look at the place.

After racing back down the mountain so as not to miss the buses we actually had a few minutes to spare. Hot from our hike we decided that logically the best course of action would be to jump in the Danube. However, still missing my bags I had only the clothes on my back and decided that just wading up to me knees would be sufficient. Although I still plan on jumping head first into the Danube river some other time.

Then, that evening after returning to Gaming, Christmas had decided to come early. Leaving the Kartause for only ten minutes to go on a short walk, simply because I had nothing else to do, I returned to the lobby to find that my luggage had been secretly delivered in my absence. Maybe I should have jumped in the Danube after all.

me not jumping in

After checking to make sure that my extra crunchy peanut butter had made it through security it was time to go the local tavern, Urs, for the first time. This mad adventure was lead by none other than the glorious Steve Eddleson, with Will Goggins, Julian, and myself along for the ride. We all ordered half liters of Stiegal - except Will who got some girly drink I can't pronounce or spell. Not too long after drinking my Stiegal (which turned out to be the equivalent of two American beers) I decided to go back to the Kartause and go to bed. I also decided to start a beer diary. So far I've tried: Kaiser beer, which I didn't like; Weisenburger beer, which was better than Kaiser; and of course Stiegal beer which is the best I've had yet.

Day One in Gaming

At 3 PM Saturday my plane took off from Detroit and my trip to Gaming, Austria began. It was the smallest plane I'd ever been in, seating around 50 passengers. As the earth shrank away below me an ever expanding landscape became visible until we were engulfed by Michigan's overcast sky. Moments later we emerged to a crisp blue sky and bright sun complimenting the haphazard terrain of the clouds below.

After an uncomfortable flight on that cramped plane we landed in Washington D.C. little over an hour before my next flight was to take off. Approaching the gate I recognized the crowd of FUS students already waiting to board. After just enough time elapsed for me to exchange hellos with everyone I knew the plane began boarding and I went from experiencing flying in a plane smaller than any I'd been in before to the largest. After finding my seat I was immediately traded spots with another student so my neighbor could sit next to her friend. /the flight attendant explained that our flight from D.C. to Vienna was over 4,400 miles and soon after we were in the air.

My new neighbor, Sarah, a junior education major, and I talked awhile before dinner. Then, after eating I tried to sleep. No luck. Playing music, watching TV, and adjusting to every position imaginable didn't help either. Giving up on sleep, I decided I would accept a friend's challenge and thus ensued two-and-a-half hours of trying to beat Greg Hurst's record accomplishment of reaching level 49 on Gobbling Snake. However, my controller was on the fritz and time and time again my snake would spontaneously go in all sorts of directions I never told it to go in - this almost always resulted in the death of my snake. It was over two hours of pure insanity. But, let it be known, that despite a whacked controller I beat level 49 and made it all the way to level 50. Greg, I saw, I came, and I succeeded; your challenge has been beaten. However, I must say that, in order to make it all the way to level 49 on the horrible, horrible game, you must have the patience of a Carthusian monk, the skills of a ninja, and the good looks of Brad Pitt.

Sick of Gobbling Snake and with nothing else to do I spent the final hour of my flight in a sort of tortured daze, staring into the back of Matt's head. However, we finally landed and I somehow made if off the plane alive . . . only to be knocked senseless by Steve Eddleson's tackling hug at the baggage claim. After those first few very exciting moments where Steve practically yelled "HEY MAN! IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU!" and I checked to make sure all my appendages were still attached I waited to claim my luggage. And waited. "I bet United Airlines lost my luggage," I said jokingly as we all waited for our bags. An hour later I could be found in Lost & Found filling out paperwork for my missing bags. Yes, United did in fact lose my luggage. Right now all I know is that one bag is still in D.C. while the other is still unaccounted for. Meanwhile I was left with only the clothes on my back, 100 Euros, and my carry-on consisting of a couple textbooks, my computer, and my camera. Bring it Austria!

After taking the bus to Gaming it was time to clean up before Mass, and of course the most logical way to do just that when you have no clothes, no soap, and no towel is to jump in the river outside the Kartause - which is exactly what I did. It was cold. That evening the FUS staff hosted a social with free beer, and thus did I get to try my first alcoholic beverage. Now, I'm back in my dorm room hoping that by the time I wake up tomorrow I'll be over the jet lag - I haven't slept in 32 hours.

UPDATE:

I apologize if this post is incomprehensible. I was essentially in an exhausted stupor when I wrote it, posting it the next day without evening proofreading it; so it's pretty rough.