now, i have debated about how exactly to go about recounting our travels because, you see, there are just so many great memories. and pictures, of course. actually, there are over 500 pictures. yes, i was "that girl" but hey, it's not every day that you casually travel the world. i'm going to try to hit the high points...
the trip started out FRIDAY morning with several hours of frantic packing (into one tiny backpack) and hair-drying of clothes (since we don't have a dryer...winter will be interesting, folks!). then, i did a very very bad thing...i swore i wouldn't while i was here but upon entering the train station with an empty stomach (all that was left in the fridge was butter and some blackberry jam. doesn't make for a very hearty meal...), i saw the golden arches and couldn't resist. that's right, people, i. ate. mcdonald's.
in italy, the land of delicious food, i chose a #5 chicken mcnugget meal with barbeque sauce. it was a low point. but i was excited!!! until, that is, i got on the train, settled into my seat, opened my lunch bag, and found not my precious chicken mcnuggets but a deluxe hamburger complete with loads of ketchup, mayo, and raw onion...needless to say, i took a small bite and then abandoned ship.
after the fateful chicken mcnugget (or lack-there-of) incident, we were off to rome, where we caught a bus to the airport about 45 minutes outside the city (which by the way, has NO CHAIRS! i recommend bringing a crazy creek if you ever fly ryanair). once settled in on the floor of the airport, several hours early for our flight, we found great entertainment in attempting to casually force our bags into the little measuring stand. how many vanderbilt students does it take to get a rolling suitcase out of a ryanair luggage measuring box? approximately 5: one to pull, one to push from the bottom, one to hold the stand down so it doesn't topple over, and two to and laugh to the point of tears watching (and also guarding the rest of the luggage. a very important role).
after causing a slight scene at the "rome" airport and successfully evading any hidden ryan air fees, we boarded a bus to get to the plane to get to another bus in memmingen (what ryanair calls "munich"...it's actually a tiny town that smelled like a zoo an hour and a half bus ride from munich) to get to our hostel--the wombat.
MUNICH: i'd say this was one of our favorite stops. perhaps because we had not initially planned to visit this great metropolis. it was merely a stepping stone to get us to salzburg (possibly our most important stop. the homeland of the sound of music...but i will get there momentarily). needless to say, we loved munich! for many reasons:
1. starbucks. there is not one starbucks in the entire country of italy. have i mentioned that? it's really mind-blowing to me. this one, in the munich train station, was the first of many we visited on our travels. definitely photo-worthy. also, note the starbucks bag, which became part of my luggage for the duration of the trip. for some reason, while frantically packing i didn't think about where i would store the many items i had stuffed in my pockets for the flight. don't worry, starbucks came to the rescue!
4. hot dogs and pretzels the size of your face. at the biergarten am chinesischer turm (the chinese tower beer garden), complete with old men wearing lederhosen and playing traditional german music. we also got a kick out of trying to speak german...can you tell?
5. random man-made waves in the middle of parks where people surf...casual
6. the glockenspiel. saying it was just as exciting as seeing it. it didn't make this pic, but thought i would put it on here anyway because it's cute. shout-out to geg, euro trip planner and tour guide extraordinaire!
after an eventful 24 hours in munich, we caught a train to SALZBURG!
things we loved:
5. they speak german. reliving my elementary school days. one of my favorite phrases/one of the few i remember: "das ist eine parkuhr" (that is a parking meter). clutch in many circumstances. look i found one! don't worry, i shared my extensive german knowledge with my travel buddies. we could count to ten like champs by the end...and say thank you! very important skills.
these were a few of my favorite things (besides raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, of course):
the house they used for the terrace and water scenes.
obviously it was necessary to act out the scenes that happened in each place. on the left is where the kids fell out of the canoe into the water and on the right is the gazebo where liesl sang sixteen going on seventeen. it was even lovelier than i imagined.
with christie in the lake district outside salzburg, where they filmed opening scenes of the austrian countryside. beautiful.
after an afternoon of singing and touring, the bus stopped in a lovely town where we got crisp apple strudel. inspired by maria herself, of course. complete with vanilla ice cream and vanilla sauce, ya.
the church where they filmed the wedding ceremony.
mirabell gardens. look familiar? do re mi fa so la ti do. don't worry, we sang the whole time. it was wonderful. magical.
7. markets and more hot dogs. and winter hats.
i have made an executive decision to divide the trip up in two blog posts for your sanity and my own, so stay tuned for part II: prague and paris.
