Salzburg, Austria

Although this weekend’s trip was a repeat visit for me (I had visited Salzburg three summers ago with my family), I was able to experience more of the local flavor of this town, and participate in an annual festival! Two friends and I ventured into Austria, and set out not only to see all the filming locations associated with the Sound of Music, but also to try and make some Austrian acquaintances, and see another side of the touristy, but still interesting town of Salzburg.

Upon our arrival to town, we found that there were several booths, tents, and stages set up all through old town, and were curious as to what was happening that weekend. Turns out, we picked the right time to visit, because we were able to not only see the noteworthy portions of the city (Nonnberg Abbey, Mirabell Gardens), but the weather was absolutely perfect, and the festival was in full swing the entire trip. This celebration was to acknowledge the county’s patron, Saint Rupert, in a festival called Rupertikirtag, and along with that came the Lederhosen (traditional leather or velour short and vest outfit) and dresses, as well as every size of pretzel you could imagine, numerous handicraft artisan vendors, too many bratwurst and pastry connoisseurs, and a new folk band that came in every hour playing songs throughout the day.

We were determined to make some conversation with locals, to find out about the festivities, and attempt to connect with the city from the perspective of a resident rather than a tourist. In our exploration of each of the booths, and after watching a marching band for a while, we approached a group of drum-wielding, trombone-toting band members and asked some questions of them. Turns out that the Rupertikirtag occurs each year, welcomes all the local village bands to perform, and everyone comes to Salzburg to celebrate and compete in various presentations ranging from polka dancing to musket demonstrations on the main stage. It’s the only other celebration besides Christmas that brings so many people to town.

That night for dinner, at the suggestion of our new friends, we decided to try some Austrian grub and scoot in next to the locals for a smoky, “oom-pah-pah” laced night under the Steigl Beer tent. I had an unbelievably moist half rotisserie chicken and fries, ordered after peeking at what everyone else in the tent was eating, and we had to make sure to wash it all down with the house brew, which, although we didn’t get the giant steins everyone else had, gave us a good taste of what living and passing the time in Salzburg is really like. All in all, I’d consider it a good cultural experience, and a great way to wrap up our time in town. We were able to strike up a couple of conversations, talk about what a typical weekend in Salzburg looks like, and also able to learn some German phrases. Perfect timing, though, for the festival falling on the weekend we visited.

folk dancing:
additional pictures are also updated.

Brienz and Bern

I just returned from a peaceful and enjoyable weekend in the Berner Mitteland, three hours from our place in Lausanne. We visited Brienz and Bern, walked through the Open Air Museum, Ballenberg, outside of Brienz, and were able to sit in a German church service in Munster Cathedral in Bern among other things, but I’ll just share one story from our weekend (although there were many more, this one is my favorite). Bern was interesting, and its old town, especially from the Aare riverbank, is much more preserved and unique than I would have thought. But, my story is from our first stop in a village by the lake.
A friend of mine (Kim) and I set out on Friday morning for Brienz, Switzerland, a small town on Brienzsee (or Lake Brienz), the place where her relatives once lived. We were on an ancestry quest of sorts, looking for hints of her great-grandparents’ names, or possibly some records in the area. Although we were unsuccessful in those efforts, we deemed our trip to Brienz quite lovely, filled with unforgettable accommodations, and a unique experience.
Since we didn’t reserve a place to sleep on Friday night, it proved to be quite a tossup as far as who would take us in, because we wanted just a bed, not anything too fancy or big. It added a challenge to our trip, and a pinch of spontaneity, perhaps, to find a room day-of. Anyway, we started by inquiring at places right along the lake, which were all equally appealing because of proximity to the train station and city, but not so favorable in price range and availability. Nevertheless, we walked on, exploring and enjoying this quaint town as we ventured into the neighborhoods of the Brienz residents, and marveled at the beautiful lake that they look out on each morning, and the Alps behind that loom over the entire landscape and seem to envelop the lake and the town with cliffs and tree-covered slopes that extend right into the water. Equipped with a list of a couple more places to try, possible hotels and rooms to rent, we continued up the hillside in search of a bed. It became hard to determine which places were homes, and which were businesses, but, after being turned away at a hotel high above the middle of town, we glanced over to see a B&B sign in front of a traditional Swiss home. The side door was closed, so we walked around the deck to find a couple folding sheets in their living room. With hesitation, since we didn’t practice much German before our excursion, we inquired about a room, and they graciously showed us a little chalet nearby that was cute, but not what we were looking for. We explained that we were looking simply for a cheap bed, and after thanking her for her help, we were set on heading to the hostel outside of town. But as we were about to turn back down the hill, she beckoned us into her home and to the back patio, above which sat a small playhouse-looking chalet. It was 7 feet by 10 feet at most, and just what we wanted: a simple bunk bed. She mentioned that normally they don’t rent out this room, simply because of the size and the fact that we would be sharing the bathroom with them, but it was perfect for us. The little window looked out onto the patio and had a gorgeous view of Brienzsee, and Kim and I looked at each other and immediately took the offer. A chance to be hosted by a friendly Swiss German couple in a humble lakeside village! Our stay there was wonderful, and it was a real treat to relax on the patio, listen to Marcel (her husband) play the piano, and smell Irene’s bread baking in the oven that we just couldn’t wait to eat in the morning for breakfast. We were also able to have some time to talk with Irene and Marcel, and see what living in on a small Swiss lake is like from that side. They were so hospitable, and if I ever return Brienz someday, I would enjoy staying with the Jobins again.

My photos are also updated: see the right-hand column on this page!

I have finally arrived and begun to settle into life in Lausanne, Switzerland. After an informative, yet fascinating, 3 day tour of the city, and time on our own to explore, the 42 of us are transitioning well. Lausanne is a city of 125,000 people, and it does still feel quite large to me. Although we are getting a good sense of the layout of town, there’s still much to discover, and then, of course, determine where the best places are to grab lunch, un café du lait, or a comfy chair in which to study and spend time.

The city is on the shore of Lake Geneva, and, therefore, a little hilly. We walk an average of 45 minutes a day, either running errands, finding lunch, or venturing into another part of town, whether it be Ouchy, the waterfront, or the Vielle Ville (the old part of town with the cathedral and cobblestoned streets).

We’ve only been here for six days, but the fact that we’re not simply vacationing here really hasn’t sunk in yet. Ranging from organ concerts in the cathedral, trips to lakeside towns, and walking tours of chateaus, our itinerary has been varied and interesting. Our initial trips to the grocery store have been made, and after speaking with the employees there about choosing the best laundry detergent, our French is slowly being developed with the interactions we make during the day. I am on the lookout for a family here in Lausanne, so I can spend some time with them and really give myself an opportunity to become comfortable speaking French.

I find myself seeking out parks and time in our backyard garden at the hotel where I can relax, read, write, and reflect on the week we’ve already spent here in Lausanne. The parks are havens for me especially because I want to take full advantage of the sunny weather we’re having, and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life before we’re relegated to studying and hanging out indoors when the cooler weather arrives.

The produce and bakery items are fresh here, and when I weave through the streets on my morning “wake up the city” runs, I can see (and smell) the boulangers setting out their pastries and loaves of freshly baked breads for customers to purchase on the way to work. Our hotel does provide a continental breakfast, le petit dejeuner, shall we say, for us, and I am pleased to report that we have a wonderful array of fresh bread, aromatic cheeses, and hand-picked apples from our back garden to help start off the day well.

This video is from the organ concert held in the cathedral. It's a brand new organ, complete with 7000 pipes and 100 stops. Pretty cool when the music fills the entire church.

If you'd like to check out more pictures of mine, (including some other things I've been doing that I haven't mentioned in this post), I have a web photo album at http://picasaweb.google.com/baldjojo/September .