SALZBURG: DAY TWO September 7th, 2008

The best idea we have ever had. Everyone one else had been up to the Castle above the city. Everyone but us. We were saving it for the right moment. And I am so glad we did. It worked out so well. Sunday morning, we got up at about 5:00 am, and set out from our hostel. We wanted to see the sun come up on this city that we all had fallen in love with. What better place to see it from than the castle overlooking it? We got to the gates of the castle at the absolute perfect moment: some random kid, dressed like a skateboarder (perhaps an angel is disguise) had a key around his neck and was letting himself in. Caitlan just boldly stepped in front of him and said Danke! and pushed past him, because he was turning to lock it behind him. He disappeared and he never saw another soul the whole hour and a half we were in the castle. It was still quite dark, and we wound our way up the hill, and through the maze to almost the highest point. The city lay below us in the darkness, still sleeping. It was extremely quiet with a light breeze. Perfect. We sat down on the wall, or rather up on the wall, and waited. Scroll down for a progression of the sunrise.

Yeah, those are my feet dangling over a 750 year old castle wall high above the most beautiful city in the world at sunrise on a September Sunday. Wunderbar!

Caitlan, Liz and Christi, sitting on the wall in anticipation of the beauty that was about to be unveiled with the rising sun.

This is the city in those few magical early morning moments when you are not certain wether it is still night or already day. I guess they call that dawn. I searched the whole day to find a postcard like that. But my picture just was better.

Me, standing on, well, I don't know what exactly, enjoying the morning breeze.
Caitlan and Liz contemplating the sight.
Liz wanted that little flower...even if it meant hanging off a sheer-100 ft. drop wall for it.

Liz and her little blue flower. Sucess.

The pink church is the oldest in the town. It is in Mozartsplatz.
No caption necessary.
Christy and the Castle
What a morning!
The Castle Kapelle

Caitlan pumping from the cool dragon head well
So beautiful it makes you want to cry.

That looks like a nice spot for tea, eh?

Caitlan, Liz and I on a pile of cannon balls.
This Church across the river had the front doors wide open and you could see down the isle to the Tabernacle from where we were. You can't see it in the picture, though.

Going for a walk around 9 am Sunday morning. John Paul is taking the picture, and Brendan looking up.
Painting in the Parish church of mulln. If you can make it out, it is kinda dark, there is a random foot right under Veronica's veil. I have no idea, but there must be a story.
The interior of the Salzburg cathedral
Stopped by the parish church of Mulln across from the Augusteiner as we wandered early Sunday. It was built in 1450. Mass was about to begin.
Count them - one, two three, four, five organs! We were treated to a high Mozart Mass on Sunday, with a half orchestra, a choir of one hundred voices, and two organs playing!

The cuppola of the Salzburg Cathedral

Liz looking cute as usual
Look familiar? It is in Sound of Music...the Nunnberg convent.

The courtyard of the Nunnberg convent where Maria VonTrap was a postualant!

Grapes and Tomatoes on a stucco wall with a small fresco of Our Lady. Just stating the obvious.

Absolutely no more gelati. You can do it. Be strong.

I have definitely found my new favorite substance in the world, and its name is Gelati. There was a great little gelati shop in Salzburg. The Italian brothers there made it. They greeted you with a boisterous "Buon giorno, principessa!" and then they sang you an Italian song while scooping a generous protion of tiramisu gelati. I mean, how can a girl not fall in love with a guy singing to her in Italian while handing her gelati?

John and John Paul sharing the blue squishy pillow

Munchen September 6th 2008

Andrea and Liz look as puzzled as I am trying to remember what Caitlan is describing. In the background are Sr. Monica, my room-mate Laura Smolek, and Sr. Faustina.

Okay, this one has a story. Yes, this is a close up of a random guy's 3-day-no-shave-scruffy-chin. He was an Italian street violinist, and quite good. I was enjoying it immensely. I took out my camera to get a picture of him, and, while the shutter clicked, he sidled up to me and got right up in my face and stopped his violin and yelled: Paparazzi! (sp?) And then he laughed good and hard at my jump in alarm. He was a little creepy but really fun.


Apparently Cinncinati was one of the sister-cities of Munich.

Fr. Seraphim began Civ I class (twice) with directions on how to get to his two favorite places in Munich: the Berkenstock shoe store and this Hot chocolate shop. 22 Flavors. I had Pistachio. It was quite good, I have to admit. The place was pretty quirky.

This was in a yellow Cathedral, name started with a K----, when i remember I will correct this. (It is horrible to forget, but sometimes you just pop in and out of a church in like ten minutes and it is hard to remember. And my brain is completely gone anyway. Four classes and two quizzes and a paper today - can you really expect my memory to be sharp?)
It was really a treat, though. Nobody told us about it but it was a real treasure, probably my favorite stop in all of Munich. The picture competly does injustice to the Rococco stylation in the plaster everywhere.
I didn't expect to see surfers in Munich! Right past the bridge, the water created a really awesome wave that apparently took some real skill to navigate on surfboard

Watched a bunch of English chaps getting really into their game of Cricket. I still don't get that game, even after watch the better part of it. But it is still fun to watch.

Caitlan and John and I wandered about in the English Gardens for a better part of the afternoon. Next time someone goes to Munich, my advice is: bring a bathing suit. The river was amazing. Right here it was shallow, and we were later kicked out by a scolding old lady who told us that it was a fishing only area. But in other places it was like 5 feet deep, and with a very strong but calm current that swept you along quite quickly. It was awesome.
The counter-clockwise clock tower. Like something from Alice in Wonderland.

Yeah, that would be the toddler Kalpaikgan kids tipping up those steins!
Some folk musicians at the Haufbrau Haus
Fr. Brad demonstrating the twist-your-beer-stein-around-your-neck-in-convolutions-to-make-sure-you-are-still-sober move.
Inside the Haufbrau Haus

Yum! Does that not look delicious! Some unkown meat wrapped in pig intestines served in a fish bowl! That is why you drink beer with your meal.
Forget pints...it comes in liters! Except for the picture, I had to use two hands to drink it, it was so big. Don't worry, I didn't drink the whole thing. Only about 2/3. I got Radler, which, the guys said was a girl beer, but that suited me fine. It was the first beer I have ever had that I loved. It is half lemonade, that may be part of it. Definitely my recommendation in the future.
Caitlan taking in some of that Haubrau.
Philip. And his trophies. I really don't know this kid much, except that he is not the Canadian croquet champion that he was originally introduced to me as. But this picture was so cute.
Fr. Brad teaching us a German drinking song!

A beautiful stauary of the agony in the garden
Such beauty. This was a side altar in St. Michael's I think.
The famous Clock tower in the Munich Plaza. We happened to walk through right as noon struck, so we got to watch the little men dancing around for some minutes. Mitch Vogrinc is in the top of the tower, but I doubt you can see him. Another beautiful organ. I must have taken more pictures of organs than of people. But I can't help it. They are so nice to look at.
The plain Gothic interior of the Munich Cathedral

The Munich Cathedral, the former parish of B16 back when he was Josef Ratzinger. Not the prettiest ever on the interior, but that is beause the whole thing was pretty much blown away in WWII and they didn't restore the art.
The statue of Our Lady in the Munich city clockenspeileplatz - Clock tower plaza.
My Patron Saint smiling at me: I don't remember her name, but she is apparently patroness of single women. It isn't really funny, but it is, you know? I didn't think I would be so inclinded to burst into laughter at the sight of incorupt remains of a saint, but that is what happened to me. I mean, doesn't she look quite happy to be single?
FUS people milling after Mass