I attend BOKU, a university in Vienna that caters mostly to environmental science students, along with some forestry and landscape architecture and agriculture and all kinds of things like that. Because of this, most classes are very specified for these types of students, which is why I end up going on very interesting class trips.
I just got home from a three day class trip to Styria, which is a province of Austria that's right in the middle of the country. We started every day early with breakfast provided by our guesthaus, then drove up into the green tree-covered mountains of Styria and climbed up higher than we though we'd be able to without proper gear... the views were incredible!
We learned about how mountainous forests protect against avalanches, rock fall, and erosion -- and also learned that a plastic grocery bag from Hofer is not a good replacement for a backpack.
Here's photos!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2217393&l=683ac&id=120807213
Monday, June 2, 2008
a bike trip.
Going on exchange is always a wonderful experience, but once you get home, it's hard to express your experiences to the people who you left behind -- which is why it's so nice to have guests! And guests I have. Hester and David are officially in Austria! Well, actually, right now they're in Berlin, but yes. They came to visit!
We spent the first couple days biking around Vienna, then got all packed up at caught a train to Linz! From Monday to Friday we biked and biked and biked from Linz to Vienna along the Danube. We biked about 200 km, give or take a few for wrong turns and trips off the bike path. Our path was very nice, especially for a novice biker like myself -- smooth and paved. Unfortunately we spent most of our time battling the wind which made no sense at all -- the tour books told us that the prevailing winds traveled from Linz to Vienna! Not pleasant.
We spent 3 - 4 hours a day biking, and the other hours were spent taking numerous water/candy breaks (we had crazy hot weather!) We stayed in a variety of bed and breakfast type places, but Austrian-style... that plus the amazing views from our bikes around every corner made for a lovely trip.
The sunburns? Not so much.
Here's some photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2217384&l=4275a&id=120807213
We spent the first couple days biking around Vienna, then got all packed up at caught a train to Linz! From Monday to Friday we biked and biked and biked from Linz to Vienna along the Danube. We biked about 200 km, give or take a few for wrong turns and trips off the bike path. Our path was very nice, especially for a novice biker like myself -- smooth and paved. Unfortunately we spent most of our time battling the wind which made no sense at all -- the tour books told us that the prevailing winds traveled from Linz to Vienna! Not pleasant.
We spent 3 - 4 hours a day biking, and the other hours were spent taking numerous water/candy breaks (we had crazy hot weather!) We stayed in a variety of bed and breakfast type places, but Austrian-style... that plus the amazing views from our bikes around every corner made for a lovely trip.
The sunburns? Not so much.
Here's some photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2217384&l=4275a&id=120807213
Romania.
Apologies all around. I have discovered that I am perhaps the worst blogger in the history of the world. However, I shall continue to try.
I took a lovely trip with 20 other people to Transylvania, Romania, from May 14 - 18, and it has probably been my favourite trip thus far. The country is exploding with beautiful landscapes and fascinating culture -- definitely an experience I'd repeat.
We drove there over 14 hours on a big bus with the team members from Project Centipede, which is a group of people from the Vienna Community Church who have been to Romania over 40 times to hand out supplies to kids in schools and orphanages. We spent much of our time loading and unloading boxes, handing out candy, and playing with the kids we worked with. We taught them how to line dance, and they taught us how to really sing! We set up Easter egg hunts for them, talked with them (as much as the language barrier would allow!) and took infinite amounts of photos of them. Cameras never get old!
Here's some photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2214018&l=ecac8&id=120807213
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2214047&l=8b506&id=120807213
I took a lovely trip with 20 other people to Transylvania, Romania, from May 14 - 18, and it has probably been my favourite trip thus far. The country is exploding with beautiful landscapes and fascinating culture -- definitely an experience I'd repeat.
We drove there over 14 hours on a big bus with the team members from Project Centipede, which is a group of people from the Vienna Community Church who have been to Romania over 40 times to hand out supplies to kids in schools and orphanages. We spent much of our time loading and unloading boxes, handing out candy, and playing with the kids we worked with. We taught them how to line dance, and they taught us how to really sing! We set up Easter egg hunts for them, talked with them (as much as the language barrier would allow!) and took infinite amounts of photos of them. Cameras never get old!
Here's some photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2214018&l=ecac8&id=120807213
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2214047&l=8b506&id=120807213
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