adventures in italy! ( & a few other places)

I realize it has been QUITE some time since I have updated-- so I apologize! Innsbruck has become my home so I've settled into a routine and tend to forget to write here! This past month has been full of hiking, trips to the lake, dinner parties, (and a little studying)....But on April 19, my wonderful mom and cousin Alison came to visit!

Austria/Germany
They didn't arrive until late Friday night around 1 am... I waited in the lobby reading a book just in case they couldn't work the intercom system. I heard a van door shut and voila! There they were! After 2 months of being away from home and my family, it was AMAZING to be able to see them! My mom looked like she had seen a ghost... she definitely misses her (favorite) daughter and roommate (hehe Lindsey!) I got 2 extra mattresses from my dorm and placed them strategically around my room so we had pathways to walk through. It was a preeeeetty tight squeeze (3 adults in one dorm room) but we made the best of it and HEY, it was free!

traditional Austrian

The next morning, I played tour guide and showed them around the town. We had apple strudel for lunch, and then continued to explore the city. For dinner, I took them to a traditional Austrian restaurant called Stifskeller. We enjoyed soft pretzels, wine, and traditional Austrian plates. On Sunday, we decided to rent a car and drive to Fussen, Germany, where the castle Neuschwanstein is. I hadn't been in a car in 2 months so it was such a tease! [side note]--- I miss my beautiful little Honda, and going wherever I want, whenever I want... here I have to either walk or wait for the bus/train at the times it is running.. not to mention everything here closes at 7pm and isn't open on Sundays!--- We visited the castle, took a tour of the inside with an........ "interesting" tour guide... he was extremely, extremely odd and creepy. Then we took a horse-drawn carriage back down to our car and drove to Mittenwald, Germany on the way back to Innsbruck. We stopped for some photos, and then continued driving home. We were pretty hungry after a long day of driving, so we went to one of my favorite restaurants (flo jos) and got burgers... good old taste of home! Monday (22nd) I had class all day, so mom and Alison went to the Swarovski crystal world and walked around the city while I studied. I wanted to introduce my family to all of the AMAZING friends I have met here, so we all met up for dinner at Vapiano! I am very blessed to have met some of the best friends here!

Neuschwanstein Castle!

Italia

Venice
Early on the 23rd, we woke up to catch our train to Venice! ( and I mean EARLY... 4 am to be exact). We took a train to Brenner (the Austrian-Italian border) for our first connection. None of us have ever really used the train system before, as I had only been on one train to Munich! We weren't really sure how it worked... and so our first few rides were very stressful, hilarious, and interesting. We arrived to the train station in Brenner at about 6:15 am... I'm not sure you can even call it a station. It was deserted, grungy, and frankly, looked like somewhere we were all about to get jumped and robbed! All the trains were littered with graffiti, and we all thought, "What the HELL did we just get ourselves into?!" No one spoke any English so we are pretty proud that we got on the right train!... the train from Brenner to Verona was less than beautiful, but luckily we all slept for a good portion of the ride. Once we arrived in Verona, we were ecstatic to see our next train! Beautifully new, clean, and spacious.... that's more like it! Also-- the scenery from Verona to Venice is stunning! Random castles everywhere, littered with wineries and sunshine! Once we got off the train in Venice, we walked to the exit and bee-lined towards the absolutely gorgeous canals!!![ Words cannot explain how blown away I was by Venice... We lucked out with incredible weather-- warm and sunny!]

our water bus port

We next hopped on a "water bus" to get to our hotel! It was so much fun! You just hop onto the bus and it stops at docks all along the canals. Our hotel was quite far away so we even got to ride on the main canal! We got off on our stop and walked through the Piazza San Marco... our hotel just happened to be on a small canal RIGHT next to it! Perfect location! We walked around for most of the day and then decided to have some wine and champagne at the hotel... we had an incredible view.. a tiny little table sitting over the canal where the gondola port was. After wine, we left the hotel to see Venice by night!

view from our hotel table

It was beautiful but so very easy to get lost! While walking, we were stopped by a gondola man. After haggling a bit with prices, we decided we would give it a whirl! It is a must-do in my opinion. You get to see all parts of the city that you cannot see by walking! There were also gondolas playing beautiful music as they floated by and it was so surreal.

my bff hot kath! what a hot date <3 td="">

what a character..

water limo, holla!

Venice by far had the best gelato that I have had so far, too! MMM take me back! But we were really tired from our extremely early morning so we went to bed to be rested for our next day of travel. Our hotel had scheduled us a (free) tour to Murano island to see where all the Murano glass work is made! I am the clumsiest person alive so I was a little nervous I'd trip in the gallery and walk out owing 1.7 million dollars in broken goods. Luckily I made it out with all my pennies. We had a guide and free water taxis (or limos as I call them) taking us to and from the island, which was really fancy! The weather was absolutely perfect too, sunny and 70's, so we definitely lucked out.

Florence

We arrived at the Venice train station mid-day on Wednesday, and were relieved to see that we had a luxury train again... never underestimate these! Cherish them. It was only a 2 hour ride to Florence, but I was still a little bummed we didn't have much time to spend there... guess I'll just have to make a trip back! Our hotel was within walking distance to the train station, and it was my favorite hotel of the entire trip! So cute and authentic... and free breakfast! We dropped all of our things off in the room and then headed out! We got to see a good portion of Florence's main sites like Basilica of St. Mary, and a bunch of other historic buildings that I can't remember the names of! My favorite was this really old, cute bridge called Ponte Vecchio. We went at sunset and caught a gorgeous view of the scenery overlooking the river. 

Alison and I sitting on Ponte Vecchio

We were pretty hungry after walking around, so we stopped by this little market of stands selling food from all over the world. I got something that I would compare to... a lettuce quesadilla. Right up my alley but everyone else seemed to think I was crazy. We were eating dinner outside at these tables in a plaza area, and some homeless man came up and started pointing at us... I had no clue what he wanted so I tried to hand him my crumbs and plate... (dumb but I was confused).. then he points to my mom's BARELY eaten sandwich... and she hands it over to him! hahaha what a nice lady, I do not give away my food! (fat girl problems?) 

Best of Tuscany Tour 

where the races take place in Siena

The next morning we woke up very early to enjoy the free breakfast, packed up, and went to get on our tour bus! We had a pretty full bus but somehow getting on last allowed us to have our own rows :) we made friends with the other tourists, mostly from Australia and England. Our first stop on the bus was to Siena! A tiny medieval town that hosts the Palio horse race twice every year. The way Siena is set up is into 17 sections, all with their own mascot. Each year these districts race against each other and there is a huge rivalry between the entire town because of these divisions. It was fascinating! For this tour we had to wear our "whispers" which were these lanyards with an audio guide and an earphone attached so we could hear our guide talking... totally touristy but so helpful actually. 

heyoooo tourists are coming!

the winery we toured

 Next, we got back onto the bus and hit the road to our winery tour!!! (my fave part). We arrived at this small winery on the outside of San Gimignano. We got a tour of the area and the process, and then headed inside for our tasting and 3 course lunch. We tried 4 wines all together, one being a dessert wine. We were served bruschetta, pasta, and then salad with meat. The dessert was biscotti. All very yummy! I enjoyed my wine and the unreal view of the Tuscan countryside... looks just like I had seen in pictures, only better.

ahhh, yes. this is for real.

 Next stop was just down the road: San Gimignano, AKA Medieval Manhattan, as you can see below!

outskirts of san gimignano

We explored there for a while and then got back on the bus to go to our final stop: Pisa! The field of miracles, as they call it, was stunning! A huge grassy plaza with the leaning tower of Pisa as well as a few other gorgeous buildings. We took our MUST HAVE cheesy holding the tower pictures, and then had to book it to the train station to catch our train to the Cinque Terre!

judge me.

 This tour was definitely worth it, seeing as we packed a weeks worth of stuff into just one day! It was perfect for us and we loved it! So all three of us dragged our luggage through the massive crowds of tourists in Pisa and tried to find the train station... it was becoming a wee bit sketchy so we were nervous that we weren't going the right way. Not to mention, we had about 6 minutes before the train left and we hadn't even gotten our tickets! I almost did the #1 no-no and jumped across the tracks to get to the ticket stand in time but luckily my mom is fast as a fox and made it in time. The train was another "Brenner" situation (lol) but we made it to La Spezia, and eventually Vernazza with the help of a sweet Australian couple. 

Cinque Terre (Vernazza)

Upon arrival in Vernazza, I was immediately blown away by it's beauty. It is SO QUAINT! Tiny little cobblestone streets with colorful buildings, Italian flags hung everywhere, and littered with Italian restaurants and gelato shops... we continued down the one street they had which lead us straight to... the Mediterranean!!! 

the restaurant linked with our room!

 The street we were on opened up into this plaza lined with restaurants and colorful umbrellas. From every seat you have the gorgeous view of the Sea surrounded by towering cliffs. We had to go to this little restaurant to get our room key, as we booked this little apartment room. The restaurant owner was this old Italian man who was just the sweetest thing in the world. I wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home! We walked back up the street we came down on and found our apartment... little did we know it was up 4 flights of literally vertical stairs... so it was a challenge with all of our luggage! But the room was gorgeous and we all fell asleep right away.

our apartment ( top floor with window open)

The next morning, we woke up early and got our breakfast included at the restaurant linked with our room. We had omelettes and foccacia bread! Dressed in our best hiking gear, we finished breakfast, put on our backpacks, and started our hike to Monterosso! (little did we know how challenging this hike was going to be....) Somehow, it was stairs, uphill, the entire way. I'm not too sure how that even works, but it was. Stairs on stairs on stairs for 2 hours and 15 minutes... our asses are hard as rocks now, you better believe it! Luckily, the view was enough to distract me from the burn! If you look behind you you see the aerial view of Vernazza, and ahead of you, Monterosso!

  It was a win-win! Along the way, we found a random picnic table with a sign in Italian that said "please feed these unloved and homeless cats"... how sad!!! There was a barrel of cat food in the rocks so I obviously opened it and fed the kitties! (how random, right?) Eventually though, after the rocky narrow paths, vineyards, lemon tree gardens, streams, and yes, more stairs... we made it to Monterosso! We can now say we hiked from one town to another! Monterosso was a lot bigger than Vernazza, but so beautiful and authentic. We stopped and had a little Italian lunch and then took the train back to Vernazza. 

lol, where the cat food was...

 We then decided we were exhausted, so we went to a restaurant/bar on the water and ordered a few glasses of wine and some bruschetta. (ahhh, the good life!)

what a babe!

literally to die for

We found out that Vernazza was the birthplace of Pesto.... so obviously we had to try some while we were there! We trekked just a little bit up the road and went to a small restaurant recommended to us by the bartender. Our pasta was amazing and it was the best pesto I have ever had!! We spent the rest of our trip in Cinque Terre just relaxing and enjoying the magnificent views. I found a wifi hotspot and paid to sit outside and use the internet... first world problems!!!

night view :)

my best friend <3 td="">

The next morning we had to wake up and head home :( Alison had to leave early on Sunday (boo! we missed her!) The rest of the trip mom was pretty much on her own during the day as I had full days of classes and projects. We did, however, go all the way to the top of Nordkette ( the very tip top of the alps) by gondola, and came back down to the middle town of Hungerberg, and had lunch!We cooked dinner together one night, watched lots of Prison Break episodes (which she is now hooked on) and just hung out! The night before she left, my dorm threw a massive party. The party room just so happens to be directly next to my room, so there was no escaping the noise. Hopefully she got some sleep because I sure didn't! And in the morning it was basically a combination of the aftermath of a frat party and a hangover. Disgusting!

 I am so happy that mom and Alison got to come visit, it's so nice to have people from home... so if either of you are reading this: thank you and I love you! So far Italy is #1 on my visited list :) Can't wait to keep traveling! Although I miss home, I am definitely making the most of it, only 8 more weeks til I head back to the states, so crazy!

miss you all... xoxoxoxoxox

ps... my mailbox is very lonely!! i would appreciate some cards, letters, sour patch kids... you know, the usual ;) so here is my address:

CARLY ANSTINE
Höttinger Au 34 zimmer 001A
INNSBRUCK, Austria 6020

alltag in innsbruck

After all the hustle and bustle of Spring Break, it was really nice to have a week of relaxation! This past week (4-01-13) was spent just living the daily life in Innsbruck.

making the pancakes like a boss!

 I started a new class called Austrian Society and Culture this week. We learn about every aspect of Austrian life, dating from hundreds of years ago until the present. Some days we are in class putting on crazy costumes and learning about festivals, and the next we are sent out to go compare Austrian coffee shops. My favorite Austrian class so far, however, was the cooking class! We got the chance to cook a 3 course traditional Austrian meal! We had a real chef come in and demonstrate the recipes step by step. We made pancakes and soup, potato salad, wiener schnitzel, and apple strudel. (All completely from scratch!) The whole process took about 4 hours but it was the most fun I've ever had in class and even though I'm a picky eater I really liked it!

breading the schnitzel

the finished product! (yes, we made this FROM SCRATCH)

 This week was also the last igloo party, and it was half price for student night so we had to go up and say goodbye to the beautiful snow!

my faves!

We also decided that after returning from Paris, we really missed crepes. So Mathilde decided to host a crepes night for us all! We each brought our own ingredients over and concocted all kinds from maple syrup to eggs and bacon to nutella and peanut butter! I chose..................

:)

I had to counter the effect of all of this food so I made sure I trained hard all week for my 10k! The night before the race, the weather was forecasted to rain and snow, so we were all kind of dreading it. But, when we woke up, it actually turned out to be a GORGEOUS day! 50 degrees and partly cloudy! Weathermen here are apparently on Jim Flowers level. Amanda, Alex, Ditta, Jessica and I all went together. The rest of the group decided to do the 5k and I was honestly thinking about it. However, when the race started, I got a runners high and just kept going! I am so glad that I did... the path we took went mostly next to the river, and then partly on pathways through the city. Whenever I started to run out of fuel, I would just look around at my surroundings and forget that I was even tired. I ran the entire 6.2 miles without stopping once, and finished in 58:02 which is about a 9 and a half minute mile. Not too shabby for my first long race, and it leaves plenty of room for improvement since there are so  many fun races coming up! At the finish line, we were rewarded with a bag full of Tirolean produce and a cute plant :) There were also vendors set up selling baked goods, live music, and tables everywhere for people to relax and enjoy the day!

Proud of us all :)

Proof! And my lil plant!

After the race we decided to reward ourselves with my favooooorite restaurant! VAPIANO!

I wish I could eat this every day....

Yep, this post is mostly about food, I need to re evaluate my life!

But, I am so excited for this upcoming week! My mom and cousin Alison will be visiting me :) We are going to Germany, 7 stops in Italy, along with exploring Innsbruck..... check back then!

 

1 backpack, 4 days: munich & paris

Where do I start?! This past week has been so jam packed with traveling and activities that it's such a blur! But, I'll recount it as best I can... beware this may be a long one:

March 26, 2013
 We woke up early on Tuesday morning to.. SNOW! The first snow in Innsbruck-- Thank God I was leaving that morning :) I get enough snow back in Nebraska! So we took the bus to the train station and waited for our train to Munich to arrive. Somehow, miraculously, I managed to pack all of my stuff into ONE backpack... with room left over! If you know me, you know this is unheard of... I am infamously known for over-packing.

do you think they have a trolley serving chocolate frogs?!

 We then got on the train and got lucky enough to have our own compartment! This was my first train ride, ever, and I felt like I was on the Hogwarts Express haha. The ride only lasted about 2 hours, and the scenery was just gorgeous. I love living in the heart of the alps! We got off the train in Munich and walked around the city center Marienplatz. It was so gorgeous and I wanted to walk around and see everything, but it was snowy and cold so we only made a few select stops. We got to see a lot of the main buildings in Munich, including the Rathaus (the massive gothic looking building) and then we stopped for an authentic German lunch! I'm the pickiest person ever and nothing appealed to me so I went straight to the dessert menu :) I got these carmelized raisin pancakes with applesauce.... to. die. for!

my delicious meal!

We then had a few hours to kill before our flight, so we headed to Starbucks to get some wonderful coffee and wifi! Once we were satisfied, we hopped on another train to Munich's airport. Their security is so much less strict than in the US! For one, I got to keep my shoes on! And 2-- They let you bring in drinks from the outside. I was disappointed, however, to find out that since I have a visa and am traveling in the Schengen area, I won't be getting any stamps on my passport :( Our flight left Munich around 8:30 pm on Air France. It was only a one hour flight and very comfortable!

Munich Rathaus

Oh how I've missed you :)

We arrived in Paris at about 10pm. We were all so exhausted and just ready to sleep! But, we still had to figure out how to get from the airport to our hostel. Mathilde (an MCI student I met in class) is from France, and was in Paris visiting her boyfriend. She so graciously offered to show us around for the few days we were there! And let me tell you, we would have been LOST without her! She recommended that once we arrive at the airport, we take the RoissyBus to the Opera in the center of Paris and then take the Metro from there to our hostel. I have never, ever, ever used public transportation seeing as in Omaha it is non-existent. So, this experience was a tad overwhelming to me at first. We got off the RoissyBus at about midnight, and were dropped off in the middle of an unfamiliar city. After watching Taken, I must admit I was a little on edge wandering Paris at night with my luggage, clearly looking like a tourist. Luckily a nice French man helped us get on the right Metro train (who says the French are assholes?) and we made our way to the hostel. Now the hostel... a completely new story....

I have always disliked the word hostel, just because it sounds scary and is the name of a horror movie. But, that's where every student stays when they travel Europe and I hadn't heard anyone complain about it so I figured it must be alright. We booked this hostel off of hostelworld.com, and it had a high rating and cheap prices (sounds perfect to me!). We were only staying at this hostel for one night, because Pella, a Marriott employee, got us rooms at the Paris Marriott for cheaper than hostel prices for the next two nights. Upon arrival... it was... interesting.... to say the least. Pella and I shared a room, and Adam had a private room down the hall. It wasn't bad by any means... but it was clearly not what I was expecting! The only power outlet was hanging from the ceiling, there was no heating, and the bathroom shower head had nothing holding it up so if you wanted to shower, you had to hold it over your head. Because the bedding was, well, questionable... Pella and I literally put on all of our clothes for warmth and slept with our coats as blankets and our scarves as pillows. As rachet as this place was, I'm really glad we stayed there cause we got the biggest laugh out of it! It was definitely an experience I wouldn't trade. 

Our beautiful Hostel bathroom!

 Although I only slept maybe 3 or 4 hours, I was up and ready for the start of my Parisian adventure :)

Lovely twin beds squashed together with grandma sheets.

March 27, 2013
Day one of Paris! We woke up early, dressed as French-looking as possible, and Mathilde was waiting for us in the lobby of the hostel. We packed up everything and took the metro to the Marriott where we checked in and dropped our luggage off. The metro ride was the most crowded and claustrophobic ride ever! Parisians don't go to work until 9 or 10 am, so we were right during "rush hour" and when you think more people couldn't squeeze in the metro-- believe me, they can. We then went to Montmartre! One of my favorite places.... we walked around these cute little cobblestone streets and looked at the shops and took in the city. We saw Moulin Rouge and had a French breakfast of hot chocolate and croissants on Pigalle.

We saw the Le Mur des Je T'aime ( or the I love you wall!) It has "I love you written in over 300 languages!

"I love you" Wall <3 br="">

We walked up to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Church of the Sacred Heart)... It had a FANTASTIC view of the city, and was even more beautiful inside! There was an actual church service going on while we were in there which was really cool. We then walked down and continued to explore Montmartre. We grabbed lunch at an authentic creperie!

We all ended up getting bacon, egg, and cheese crepes.  I ended up picking out all of the "bacon" because it was actually just ham. But it was delicious and we met other American tourists there! After lunch we stopped by some alleyways that had souvenir shops and I grabbed a few things. 

 Next, we walked to Les Galeries Lafayette, which is a HUGE designer mall... definitely made me sad that I'm a broke college student. But it was GORGEOUS inside! We went there to go to LaDurée to get the best tasting macaroons I've ever had. I got lemon, chocolate, and salted caramel. Really regretting not bringing a box back with me to Innsbruck. We went up to the roof of the mall as well to get a spectacular 360 view of all of Paris.

you don't even understand how good these were.

After the galerie, we went to Opéra Garnier, and then started our walk to the Eiffel Tower :)! Once we got off the metro, and the tower was in sight, I got SO EXCITED! I probably took 50 pictures, was a bit excessive and obnoxious, but... it's the Eiffel Tower!!! 

We took numerous photos and then headed over to go up! Adam and Pella took the elevator, while Mathilde and I took the stairs. And by stairs... I mean thousands, and thousands, of stairs. Like, my ass still hurts. But hey, I can now say I CLIMBED the Eiffel Tower :) It was a gorgeous view from above! It was starting to get dark though, so it got pretty cold pretty fast.

It is so magical, I love it.

After leaving the Eiffel, we decided to go grab some dinner. We walked around some side streets for a bit just exploring and looking for a nice place to eat. We eventually found a little French restaurant we all agreed on. Mathilde and shared cheese and bread, how Parisian of us! Pella got creme brulee and the boys got steak. 

After dinner we went to see Notre Dame! I am so glad we went at night because it was literally breathtaking! There was also a church service going on inside so we got to hear all of the beautiful singing and watch some of the service on the big screen.

Notre Dame, hello hunchback!

After Notre Dame we went to Hôtel de ville, which was the Parisian city hall, and then decided to head home as we had been walking around for 12 hours straight!

We came home to the MUCH APPRECIATED Courtyard Marriott :) See the difference??

March 28, 2013

Parisian adventure day 2. We started off by visiting the famous Arc de Triomphe! This was another site where we had to climb infinite stairs except this time, it was a spiral staircase. The view from the top however, was worth the burn my calves felt (and still feel). 

 

Next, we went to one of my favorite parts of Paris, called Le Marais. It was soooo cute! Tiny little cobblestone streets with unique shops and little restaurants. We stopped at a place called Creperie Suzette. (We are kind of obsessed with crepes if you can't tell). I ordered a nutella and banana crepe, and then Adam and I split the honey nut crepe. (Probs gained about 50 lbs on this trip, but so worth it). 

every girl's dream right here.

this happened.

 I am drooling just looking at this picture again. I wish I could eat this every day. Next we saw Centre Georges Pompidou, and then trekked over to Place de la Concorde. I really liked this place because you had a view of the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées, and the Louvre! 

 We walked through the stunning Le jardin des Tuileries and made our way to the Louvre! I was not looking forward to paying to go into a museum... and we actually lucked out! Since I had my passport on me with my Austrian visa and am under 25 years old, I got in free :) (EU students pretty much get anything free)! This was hands down my favorite thing we saw in Paris. I could have (and will someday) spend the entire day in the Louvre. I got to see the Mona Lisa and thousands of other famous paintings and statues that are too gorgeous to even describe. It was an overwhelming experience.

sup, Mona?

 We stayed at the Louvre until it closed, and then headed over to Pont des Arts, more commonly known as the love lock bridge. It was a-mazing. So cool to see so many people in love leave their mark in Paris! 

i just love love!

This is when our wonderful perfect guide Mathilde had to leave us to go home :( We seriously wouldn't have gotten to see half of the sites if it wasn't for her. It was so great to do the touristy and non-touristy things, which we couldn't have done without her! We decided we were hungry so I FINALLY GOT TO GET CHIPOTLE!!!!!!! It had literally been exactly one month (yes, I counted) since I had it last and I was shaking and so incredibly happy and ecstatic when I got off the metro and saw the sign. I sprinted. Yes, embarrassingly enough, SPRINTED, inside. It was so worth it... although now I have to go through the whole withdrawl process again.

words can't describe my happiness.

Weirdly, no one else wanted to eat Chipotle (crazy people) and so they headed off to another restaurant while Pella and I made our way back to the hotel. Two girls wandering around Paris at night... probably not the safest thing but we figured out the multiple metro stops all on our own and managed to not get taken! This was the most jam packed, culture filled, amazing experiences of my life and I am so glad I got to see Paris! I am truly blessed for this experience and can't wait to keep traveling!