I've been home now for almost two full days. I left Salzburg at 4:25 am on Saturday morning, in the airport shuttle headed for Munich. My plane left Munich at 10:00 am, headed to Amsterdam. There I transfered to a plane headed to Minneapolis at 1:01, finally arriving in Minneapolis at 2:30.

My dad had asked me to bring wine back from Austria, which makes sense. I can buy it legally in Austria because I am 17, but I had forgotten that I still have another 4 years before I can legally possess alcohol in the states.

Luckily the customs officer left me off with warning after he had seen me with almost 5 liters of wine in my carry-on.

On the city-hopper between Munich and Amsterdam, I had an aisle seat. The seat next to me was empty and then an older man had the window seat. We both let the other one spread out, which made for a very comfortable flight. For the longer flight between Amsterdam and Minneapolis, I had a window emergency-exit seat, which gave me lots of leg room (which I don't really need)!

On Saturday, both Mom and Dad were waiting for me as well as my Rotary Counselor. Afterwords I went out to eat with Mom and Dad. I expected jet lag, but nope... nothing. I went to bed at 9:30 and then woke up in time for the 9 am mass at st. Joan's on Sunday. At church i saw Grandma and Grandpa and some families whom I used to babysit for. I even managed to line up two babysitting jobs!!!!

It's weird. Everything looks mostly the same, but now i can't remember how to use basic appliances, I have no social calendar, and I can't remember the language!


I expect this to be my last post, a good round number - 40. This past year has been wonderful!!!! I have learned, seen, and experienced so much!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped to make this possible!!!!!

6 days and counting before I come home!!!

I'm currently trying to cut down my amount of baggage to take home. I'm only allowed 2 bags of 23 kilos and a carry-on!!! I was able to come here with 30-or so kilos per bag, and I ended up getting more stuff here than losing it.

I was in Munich on Thursday with 2 friends from school and another exchange student from New York. It was a lot of fun! We took advantage of the Bayern Ticket, up to 5 people can take the trains all day for only 27 €. So it ended up only costing about 7€ per person!

Then on Friday, I went to Vienna for the weekend. I stayed with Kate, who had been with me in Munich, outside of Vienna. We even saw an orchestra concert of Strauss and Mozart in the Hofburg. We wanted to do the tour of the UN, but it's only available from Monday to Friday, so I might head back on Wednesday because I also need to get my Ticket fixed, which can only be done in Munich or Vienna.
They originally had me flying out of Paris and wanted me to take a train there!!!


Wish me luck in my last week! I hope I'll be able to have fun inspite of the tears!

Greetings from Slovenija!!!

I am here visiting my aunt Lucia´s relatives. They are so welcoming, even though I am not related to them by blood... but aren´t we all somehow?

I wanted to come down on Friday, after the Thursday end-of-the-year-for-the-president meeting. I took the train all the way to the border (4.5 hours!!!) before I realized I had forgotten my passport, and my student card, my VISA, and my train card weren´t enough. And so I just took the train back. While waiting for the next train, I had to sit across from 3 policemen in the train station lobby not saying anything for 1 hour!!! Then one accompanied me to the train to make sure I got on!!!

I got back to Salzburg, then at 5:oo, having been traveling for the past ten hours! I thought it wiser to travel down again on Saturday, rather than making Tanja and her family drive the hour to Ljubljana to pick me up.


Tanja, her father Stane, and her brother Alex picked me up on Saturday and then gave me a tour of Ljubljana. We then drove to their house. They live in a small town 50k outside of Ljubljana, near Ribnica.

Yesterday, we visited the northern part of Slovenia, where Bled is. It is very mountain-y there and simply gorgeous. I´ve decided that when I´m rich, I´m gonna have a summer house in Bled!

Slovenia really does have everything. From Ljubljana, one hour youŕe in the Alps with skiing, and one hour in the opposite direction is the Mediterranean Sea!!!

Tanja said that I could stay until Wednesday, because I didn´t come down on Friday.

I can count to 6 so far (thatś as far as the dice went), say hello, goodbye, please and thank you!!!

I can't believe I come home in 5 weeks, or so!
Part of me is really happy, but then Salzburg too is now my home!

School is not too different than before my EuroTour- just now we have about half the classes because of graduation tests for the 8th form. For example, Monday 3 instead of 6 classes, Tuesday 3 instead of 5, Wednesday started an hour later, Thursday no school, Friday 3 instead of 5. And then... Monday 2 instead of 6!!!

I have a lot of Math to catch up on, Italian gramman, and also British History for English class... but other than that the teachers have been saying that I don't need to make up any missed units or tests as long as I understand the material that we are now working on.

I'm currently making plans to take advantage of my last weeks in Austria.
Ljubljana, Munich, Voralberg, Graz, Klagenfurt... there are still a ton of places I still want to visit.

Proof that I haven't forgotten everything this year:
SAT math 720, reading 730, but writing 620... ah well, I can always take it a second time in the fall!

I got back from EuroTour yesterday, and I took today off of school to rest and to UPLOAD PICTURES! The trip was amazing.

Cinqueterre was my favorite because it was so picturesque. The weather was fabulous that day, although in general we were lucky because it only rained in Paris. We took a 3-4 hour hike through the five small fishing villages that make up Cinqueterre (in Genova). At the end of the hike along the coast, we add three hours break to swim in the sea and roam the town.

In Barcelona it was 32 degree Celsius in the shade, whatever that ends up being in Fahrenheit... very very hot!!!

In France, in general, I had fun because I was the only one that could really speak good french. In Paris we stayed in a hotel at the base of Sacre Coeur! The first day we took a bus tour of the city and then had the afternoon free, like we did in many cities- morning program, and then be back by diner time. Because we were in Paris for two days, we had the second day totally free!!! I went to the Louvre, Musee d´Orsay, Musee Rodin- where I hadn´t been before, up the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs d´Elysee... and the whole group went to the Eiffel Tower at night!!!

Prag was the grand finale! Although I would have preferred to have ended in Jesolo with nice weather, Prag was fun even though it was terribly cold... or at least for me who had been, just a week before, in Spain. All those heading back this summer got a certificate, and then we as a group, presented Walter and Doris, our chaperones, with a book each filled with letters from each of us and a crystal globe!

I probably ended up spending a little more than I meant to on souvenirs. but I ended up with glass from Venice, wine from Bordeaux, chocolate from Belgium, ... and fabulous memories to close my year with the exchange student.

Now I only have six weeks left! I still have a month of school, but I plan to do a bit of travelling before I leave!

Tomorrow I leave for Linz, and the Rotary District Conference. And then on Sunday, EUROTOUR!!!

Today I went for coffee with Agnes from my class... a last get together before EuroTour. Tomorrow I'll attend the first two classes though, so I'll get to say goodbye to everybody.

Also, got my English semester final back... no spelling mistakes!!! a first. Usually I spell everything with k instead of c, or use verbs from French, Italian, or German, but definitely not English.

I'm trying to think of a way to be able to post pictures on EuroTour quickly. I'm sure I'll be able to find an internet cafe somewhere.

Well then,
if nothing else,
until June 8th, when I'm back from EuroTour!

EuroTour starts in two weeks! the 19th!
First are two days in Linz at the Rotary District Conference and "alles geht's los"!!!

1st day: driving to Jesolo
2nd day: Jesolo- Venice- Jesolo
3rd day: Jesolo- Florence
4th day: Florenz- Piza- Sestri Levante region
5th day: Sestri Levante- Cinqueterre- Sestri Levante
6th day: Sestri Levante- Monaco- Aix en Provence
7th day: Aix en Provence
8th day: Barcelona
9th day: Barcelona- Bordeaux
10th day: Bordeaux- Paris
11th day: Paris
12th day: Paris
13th day: Paris- Bruges (Belgium)
14th day: Bruges- Amsterdam- southern Holland
15th day: southern Holland- Heidelberg region
16th day: Heidelberg- Prague
17th day: Prague
18th day: Prague- Linz

and I get back on the 6th of June!

The trip includes:
- traveling in a "modern ComfortBus"
- 17 days in youth hostels with a bed, breakfast, and lunch or dinner
- daytickets for the taxi boat in Venice, the train in Cinqueterre
- a tour of Montparnasse in Paris and a boat tour in Amsterdam
- city tours of Florence, Paris, and Prag

13 days and counting!!!
(after the edit of the city names, 4 days!!!)