So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu!

The time has come to say goodbye to this beautiful place I've called home for so long, and yet so short, a time. It feels like just yesterday that I stepped off the plane and walked out into the sunshine of a summers-end day in Austria, but it seems like forever ago too. Life before Austria seems like a dream, one that is fast approaching reality. Tonight my fellow students and I will be piling onto the buses for one last ride with Tony, making our way to the airport in the dark of night. Tomorrow will be spent traveling; I believe my flight path takes me right over the North Pole! And after a long time in the air, I will be arriving back home in the good old U.S. of A. in the evening.

This semester has been amazing; in so many ways it is indescribable. So many good things have happened! I discovered wonderful people whom I now count among my closest friends, who I might never have known otherwise. We sank in the mud on the Cliffs of Moher. We spent an hour drawing Michaelangelo's David. We met random people on a train and stayed up into the wee hours of the morning talking with them. We discovered the best gelato in all of Italy (at the end of the Ponte Vecchio). We had a heart-to-heart over the biggest dinner ever, by the fireside in a pub in Ireland. We lost Anna more times than I thought it was possible to lose someone. She showed up again every time. I drank more tea in this semester than I think I have in the rest of my life combined. I sang in an a cappella choir and our voices soared heavenward in glorious churches throughout Europe. We climbed the stairs that Jesus walked, kissed the stains left by his blood. We saw the bones of Saint Peter and the gold-encrusted heads of both him and Saint Paul. I met beautiful people from Turkmenistan, Georgia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Belarus, China. We had exciting adventures involving gummy-bear CPR and Wolverine claws. I watched as friends jumped in the creek at 10 pm in the freezing rain. I met beautiful Sisters and experienced the soulful homilies of Fr. Seraphim. My history class and I witnessed the most meaningful appeal to do our homework well and to examine our motives for going to college ever. We all learned almost everything there is to know about "what man and woman do to become mother and father together." Many of us struggled through demanding philosophy classes, but the rewards are unfathomable: this semester would have been superficial in comparison to the way it actually was if Professor Seifert-Wolter had not pushed us to the utmost as she did. I went to Mass almost every day and had dates with Jesus at least once a week. Most of all, the wild and lovely and shining glory of God and all creation has been shown to me in every face, every vista I've encountered.

This beautiful place has touched me deep down and changed me in ways I'm not even sure I understand. And yet it is all a memory now... the challenge is to keep that memory real and alive. I don't want to go back to look back on Austria a year from now and only remember the things we did, I want to look back on this time and be able to say that it made me who I am today. The journey doesn't stop here when I leave this place and a new one begin when I'm back in the States; it is all one journey, one path, and Austria is a turning point: the road less traveled that makes the journey great. Thanks for walking with me!

The road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

Picture Perfect

For pictures of our dirndl frolic in the meadow, please follow the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030477&id=1083113901&l=a61fed8d08

Don't forget to check out Heather's blog (spurenaustria.blogspot.com) for her side of the story along with more extensive pictures!

Rome and Assisi

After a long and arduous journey by bus over the hills and far away to Rome, we plunked our bags down in the hotel, freshened up, and set off for our first sight of the Eternal City. After a stop at Soprani's (a great store for anything religious) we stepped into St. Peter's Square for a first look at the home of our universal family. It was such an awe-inspiring sight... no words or pictures can do it justice. Walking into St. Peter's for the first time was amazing. We saw Michaelangelo's Pieta and then we climbed all 535 steps up to the tip-top of the dome. It was a little drizzly, but the view was stunning anyway.

Me in St. Peter's Square

Heather and I waiting to see the Pope!!!

Heather and Audrey waiting for the Papal Audience. (there would be a picture of Anna too, but she was sleeping)

Woohoo! Pope Benedict XVI came out to thunderous applause!!!

Santa Scala, the holy stairs Christ climbed on his way to meet Pontius Pilate. There are four spots covered in glass under which you can see dark stains, reputedly from Christ's blood.

The church of St. John Lateran. This is actually the official church of Rome, I think. Up there in the baldacchino you can see two gold busts... they contain the actual heads of St. Peter and St. Paul. The DNA from St. Peter's head matches the DNA of the bones buried under St. Peter's, which is pretty much proof that it's actually him. Can you believe I was actually about six feet away from the bones of SAINT PETER!?!?!?! I actually saw them! (Heather and I were able to get into a Scavi tour underneath St. Peter's)

I had to visit the Protestant Cemetery in Rome while we were there for my history project, so Heather and I set off on our own morning excursion one day and discovered this gem of a burial place. Percy Shelley and Keats were buried there! After that we set off back to the Vatican to meet up with Sr. Joan Paule and Audrey to explore the Sistine Chapel. It was beautiful, but I have no photographic evidence because photos are strictly prohibited... you have only to hear the Italian guards shouting "no photo!" every two seconds to give up hope of going unnoticed ;-)

After five bustling days in Rome we piled back onto the buses and made our way to Assisi. The peace and tranquility of the city on a hill was a welcome relief after the go-go-go atmosphere of Rome. We saw the original Portiuncula in a nearby town and then we got into Assisi proper, where we discovered our luxurious and blessedly bedbug-free hotel.

Heather and I spent some time reading on the rooftop patio of our little hotel... it got chilly once the sun moved, but it was very very pleasant to just relax and soak in the beauty.

This is the afternoon view from our hotel window... isn't it dreamy?

Once it got too cold outside we took advantage of our wondrous room... there were more than enough beds, all quite comfortable, and the showerhead was SO MASSIVE it felt like standing in a tropical downpour!

The sun started to set, providing yet another breathtaking view from our window.

One night Heather and I ran into Sr. Joan Paule while we were walking. We stumbled upon this cute little street lined with candles. It was so neat because all the building were connected, even the ones across the street from each other! There were little bridges on the second story that connected neighbors and all sorts of attractive vines and old stonework.

Audrey, Anna, Heather and I had a picnic lunch in the piazza outside of Santa Chiara overlooking an olive grove. On Sunday our time in Assisi came to an end and we all clambered back onto the buses for the long trip home.

France and Belgium

We started off our expedition in Chartres, a beautiful little place outside of Paris. Both Anna and Heather had done papers on the cathedral there and our visit was the fulfillment of a life-dream for Anna. As we stepped off the train and headed toward the twin spires in the distance, we came across this cute little street that made me think of Memere ;-)

Then the majestic spires rose into view and boom! We were there!

The facade was extremely detailed; every surface was carved! The whole place was really really old (I don't remember how old... 12th century perhaps?). They were in the middle of renovating the inside so we didn't get to see everything, but there was still plenty of amazing-ness to revel in.

Sorry this picture is so dark, flash was not allowed. What you're supposed to be looking at is an actual segment of Mary's veil!!!!!!!!

We climbed the belltower all the way to the top. Whew! Was that ever a climb! We stopped along the way to chill on an overhang and listen to the bells.

Anna ;-)

Heather :-D

After that lovely day excursion we headed up to Namur, Belgium. Heather's good friend/ big sister welcomed us there for a weekend of relaxation and good times.

The inside of a church we went to Mass (in French!) at.

We stopped to pick up some desserts... this little mountain of raspberry goodness is mine!

These rainbow colored and flavored cookies were all the rage!

Heather was very excited about her coconut and Belgian chocolate pyramid!

In the evening we went up to the Citadel for a good view. Here are Anna and Heather with Cath.

After many train adventures (TGV lost our good graces after one leg of the journey...) all four of us made it back to Gaming alive. Yay!

Absence Explained

Hello my trusty readers! I have been very remiss in keeping up with this blog. Studies have been pressing and finals are on the brink of beginning, so it may be a little bit until I can bring things up to date. Since I've last updated things, I have been to Chartres and Belgium, Rome and Assisi, and had a day jaunt with family in Vienna. I haven't been taking many pictures, so I have to procure some from friends first... stay tuned!