Lynn's Adventure Through Europe: Hohenwerfen Fortress and Hellbrunn Palace

Hi! Another week of not doing too much just site seeing around Salzburg. The weather has been iffy all week, with pouring rain for 10 minutes then sun and that seems to be a constant cycle during the spring. Friday I went with my friend Katherine and her host mom and host sisters to the top of the Giesberg which is a mountain the overlooks Salzburg. We drove up (thank god) but there were many hikers and bikers we saw on the way up. Hiking I could have done, but riding a bike up that incline must take months to a year to accomplish! The day wasn’t the greatest so the view of Salzburg was a little hazy, but it was still amazing to be so high up and we could make out where the school was, where our houses were etc.. There were many paragliders who would just run and jump off the side of the mountain! Even if I had a parachute like they did, I don’t think I could ever bring myself to run and jump off the side of a mountain that big! We didn’t stay long because it was kinda cold, and there was still snow at the top! It was a fun after class excursion though.

Saturday Kristen and I stayed in all day to get the massive amount of papers we had done. I can proudly say I finished my last paper this morning and now all I have left for the semester is 2 final exams! (This is why I can now blog!) Sunday our host family took us to Hohenwerfen fortress which is about a half hour outside of Salzburg by car. We packed up the kids and left early to hike up the mountain and also see a bird show they put on every day. It was a relatively easy hike, only taking 20 minutes to get to the fortress. The fortress is on a small mountain surrounded by GIGANTIC mountains. At the angle we were at for the bird show we were staring at what seemed like a wall because the mountain was so close and went up so high. It was the perfect day with beautiful sun and we didn't need a jacket most of the day. We watched the bird show with men dressed in old Austrian hunters attire bring out huge falcons and eagles and they did tricks with them like stimulating a hunt or making them catch food in the air. I saw a bald eagle for the first time! (Funny that I saw it in Europe and not the US) After the show we took a tour of the fortress which was really cool. We saw a really really reaaaaly old clock that is still working today with only minor work done to it. We got to go up to where the bell rings which is the highest point on the fortress which had an amazing view of the surrounding mountains and towns. The fortress was used as a prison at some points in its history so it had many trap doors and dungeons and things like that. The old movie, Where Eagles Dare with Clint Eastwood was filmed at this fortress. We had lunch in the sun on the lawn and had a great time with our host family! And we finally got a picture of the family which is below!

Tuesday the school took us on another field trip to Hellbrunn Palace. It was built by this king (or someone important) who was a jokester and liked to play pranks on his guests. Around the palace he built a beautiful garden with many fountains and ponds and such. However, there were water tricks set up all over the grounds that would go off during the tour and get everyone wet! And you never knew where they would come from or when they were coming! It was a fun thing to do with our group and the rain held out for our tour so it was awesome. The grounds were beautiful and already green and flowers were blooming. The other cool thing about this place was that the Gazebo from the Sound of Music is here! (They filmed the S.O.M at various places all around Salzburg, they even filmed the front and the back of the house at different palaces) I was excited to be able to go in it and run around it singing, "I am 16 going on 17...” however I guess many people before me had this idea and too many people got hurt falling off the benches so they locked it :( Oh well, it was still awesome to see it!

So that's about all I've been up to this week because of all the papers we all had. We haven't been able to get together too much... But Thursday marks (almost) the end of the semester because that's when most of all our papers are due... And finals week is the first week of May so next week should be a fun week where all of us will be able to hang out and spend some time together before we leave. The weather is looking like it's going to get nicer too! There are still many sights to see in Salzburg! Friday our host parents are taking us out to this Sushi/Chinese resteraunt for our goodbye dinner/ Sabine's birthday. No kids allowed! These next 2 weeks are going to fly by! It's so bitter sweet... I'll be home before we all know it! Love and miss you all.