What the fog?

This week I visited Steyr and Gmunden with my room mate, Euleane (from France) and went to the the Haribo Factory in Linz.  Steyr and Gmunden (both in Upper Austria) were each about an hours drive from Linz.  Steyr is an ancient 1,000+ year old city directly south of Linz and borders the Kalkalpen National Forest.  There are two rivers that run through the city and the buildings have really beautiful architecture. Gmunden is located on Traunsee (lake) and is surrounded by mountains that skiers visit in the winter.  Gmunden is also known for it's health and summer resorts.  It was foggy everywhere we went today, the usual for this time of year, so despite the fact that we couldn't see the mountains, both cities were gorgeous and full of colorful trees.

Steyr:

Gmunden:

Traunsee

City hall

Goose that followed alongside us during the whole walk:

Whenever I see sailboats, I think of my sister and her boyfriend who sail in Miami.  Sailing and fishing on the lakes of Austria is definitely a popular sport.

We saw special parking for women in the parking deck. It was closest to the exit. Chivalry?

I try and get some jogs in my schedule up to Pöstlingberg in Linz.  Last week there was a beautiful day without fog, about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and the snow capped Alpine skyline was visible:

Haribo Factory store:

In other news, Euleane and I have been temporarily fostering three 12-week old kittens.  I'm not a cat person, but they're pretty darn cute.

One Month

Two years ago, I started teaching voice and piano full-time, loving the working world, building a career, earning twice as much as I am now.

One year ago, I returned from Austria and Germany and was googling my life away researching graduate programs in schools there, while simultaneously spending countless hours every week learning German on my own before signing up for a class.  I had come back from Europe determined and in love with so many things, still hard-set on returning.

Now I'm living in Austria, teaching, speaking German, and continuing on the path of growing and bettering myself as a musician, teacher and person throughout all these experiences.  I couldn't ask for more out of life right now.  I am right where I want to be, and everything is in it's right place right here, right now.

So far, the world seems to just get smaller and bigger at the same time.

Many other peers in the Fulbright program have been taking trips every weekend (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Switzerland).   As exciting as it is to be a stones throw from these amazing places and to easily say yes to going along since it'd be less expensive, I've held back on going.  I haven't gone on the trips because a) I already have these trips planned with other people in the coming months, so therefore b) I'm trying to not go anywhere twice since c) I'd rather save that money and travel more East and South on the globe.  While there's still so much for me to see in Europe, being here has made possibilities in life bigger and more realistic, and yet I also have this sense of the world feeling even smaller, giving me even more wanderlust.  It's easy and quick adapting to a country such as Austria, and it's made me want to step outside and explore different worlds where it's harder to adapt within a culture, society, and way of life.

I crave new challenges, experiences and surroundings, and I hope I always will.  I try and almost always reflect and appreciate everything I have on a daily basis - all family and friends back home, where I am living, and what I am doing - but through the daily routine, the most I can ask myself for is to make sure I see and do something new everyday, take every opportunity given, but to also choose wisely what I do and don't do throughout my time here in order to make my future what I want it to be, as I did the past few years:

"You can't control the future, but you can control your destiny."  I look back on the last two years as a time of a lot of working, learning and saving, and it was what got me to where I am today.  While I want to live that same way during my time here (but with less working), I want my lifestyle to include more people, building of relationships and daily enjoyment and appreciativeness of the small things: the most important things in life.

Oktober

While settling into Linz, I mostly explored the city this month, as well as making a trip to Vienna with some friends, a hike in Kirchdorf an der Krems, and finally got to visit a concentration camp, Mauthausen, one of the first and biggest in Austria.

As far as teaching has been going, I've been assisting students both at the Pedagogy University (between ages 19-40) as well as teaching two classes per week at a primary and secondary school nearby; one is a group of 12-year-olds and the other 15-year-olds.  I look forward to the lectures and the students and teachers seem to enjoy my presentations.

Vienna Oktoberfest:

Schönbrunn palace in Vienna:

I went with my friend to the biggest club in Vienna, Praterdom, even though it has a reputation of having only 18-year-olds who go.  In the newspaper the day after, there was an article about the club being evacuated around the time we left because of an alleged pepper spray attack, someone had felt threatened and used pepper spray to defend themselves. The article was on the front page of the Austrian newspaper.  It's a perfect example of what "crime" and dangers may be here; sure, robberies may occur, an alleged pepper spray accident, or other small crimes, but you'd never see a headline of a school shooting or other vicious crimes that may or may not involve guns or weaponry. 

In general, Austria is a very safe country.  Many young children are often seen walking by themselves to and from school or wherever, which goes to show that even the parents do not worry about something bad happening to their children here.

Linz:

Mauthausen concentration camp: