Maybe Redundant, My Christmas Card

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well I am a few days late in passing on that greeting, but it might be too early to say Happy New Year. My Christmas break has been great. If I am as productive in the second half as I have been inproductive in the first half, then it will be smooth sailing into the last 3 weeks of my semester.

Last Thursday, Janice and I took a train to Munich, Germany then a plane to Paris, France. Janice is a junior at Ohio State and is also stuyding abroad for the entire year. We decided to stay in Paris for about 5 days with a friend of mine from Wofford, Danielle, who was finishing her semester of study abroad. Luckily Danielle speaks French so we were not completely hopeless in a foreign country.

I saw the Eiffel Tower from a dozen different angles, saw the Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre Museum, went into the Notre Dame, and ate amazing crepes and chocolate. I took 350+ pics so as soon as I delete the bad ones, I will post them online for you. Aside from nearly missing our plane home, all went well.

Oh do you want to hear that story?

Well on Tuesday we left the hostel at 6:30am. So maybe I wasn't fully awake at the Lufthansa ticket counter at Charles De Gaulle Airport. Or maybe the miscommunication happened because my conversation with the employee occurred in 3 languages. (We were in France flying on a German airline, and showed him our USA passports. But I remember him saying Gate 68. Well Janice and I got through security no problem and went to Gate 68 where a plane in fact would be going to Munich. We sat and waited awhile. I never checked A) my pass to tell the boarding time B) my watch to see how close it was to our departure time and C) the screen that updates which gate you actually should board from. For future reference, make sure to do each of these and you will be fine. However I didn't so during a pause in our conversation I hear "Ms. Broadwater" being said over the loud speaker. It's not a common name in the US so it is definitely uncommon in France. I listened a second time and it was a "LAST BOARDING CALL" for the two of us. I calmly told Janice to come with me. Then when I heard the announcement say Gate 62, I sprinted, well honestly I just jogged, through the airport to get to our gate.

There was no trouble from then on and following another train ride to Salzburg and a bus ride to my dorm, I was home again. We returned on the 23rd and since then I have talked with family and friends on Skype, watched the entire season of The Office from this fall, and watched 3 movies. I celebrated Christmas by having dinner with other friends in town on Christmas Eve. Following dinner at an Indian restaurant, we went to a traditional mass service. The church was packed which is a common trend in the US as well. But where most churches I go to will bring out more folding chairs if the pews are full, it became a standing room only for those of us who got there early but not early engouh. The music and experience was overall good but I would have preferred not to stand for 1.5 hours while a priest spoke/mumbled in German phrases I don't even know in English.

On Christmas day, I met Sammy and her family, who are visiting for awhile, at the Christmas market in town. We walked around to all the shops that were selling things like candles, ornaments, wreaths, nativity scenes, and food. We went into the main Catholic church in town called the Dom and into a few other churches in the old city. It was snowing so anything to stay warm. Today I intend to be more productive in an academic sense. Goals: finish cleaning room, buy a liter of milk since stores are closed tomorrow, and read 1 of 3 books for school.

Below are two images of what downtown Salzburg looked like with the Christmas market, which officially ended yesterday. Then the other 2 are links to photo albums from Schloss Hellbrunn, a palace in Salzburg with water fountain types of tricks and things. Our professor got a personal key to everything so he could show us around just like a tour guide would. Unfortunately since working there is not his day job he mistakenly got us wet a few times. The videos show how silly and imaginative the creator of the palace and water fountains must have been. A Christmas Market was also held at Schloss Hellbrunn if you can imagine that by blurring the sets of pictures a bit.

Well I hope to post again soon. Still other things to share that I didn't get around to when they actually happened. Hope you will forgive my delay.

From Salzburg

From Salzburg

Schloss Hellbrunn Oct 31

Schloss Hellbrunn Videos Oct 31

Vienna Photos

This may not really count as a blog post. I went to Vienna back in October and am just now writing about it. My comments are included on each picture to describe the trip and make looking through the photo album interesting. Tonight I am flying to Paris and will spend about 5 days there before coming back to celebrate Christmas here in Salzburg. I enjoyed my trip to Vienna so much that I am hoping to go back over the break. It all depends on my getting enough work done to feel like I could reward myself with another trip. Hopefully I will write another post just before Christmas when I get back. If not then I will wish you now a Merry Christmas!

Also for those of you that use Skype, I am also on there. Over the break I would love to talk with you, see you, or chat with you. Let me know if you are interested. Otherwise, being in the dorm when most Europeans have gone home, I will be seriously deprived of human interaction. Enjoy the photos and let me know if the link doesn't work to go through the album.

Vienna Oct 24-26

Salzburg at Christmastime

Salzburg Nov 23 to Dec 6

Well I am in a pretty good mood and I thought I share with you some recent encounters and experiences I have. Hopefully I will be descriptive enough for you to imagine what life in Salzburg is like.

Verena, an Austria student living in my dorm, studies english and math to become a high school teacher. She is a fan of Twilight High School Musical. I know a bit about these 2 things having a teen sister and after hanging out with the youth girls at Hope Point Church. We decided to go see the third movie in theaters. We got a songbooklet along with our movie ticket! The songs were in english with subtitles but all of the speaking parts were dubbed over, an incredibly silly thing because it makes them sound like they are in a tunnel. It doesn't help that I have their original voice to compare it to. To cap off the night we had dinner at McDonalds near the train station. I felt completely American at that point; it was a relaxing evening.

In my last post with pictures I mentioned that the walk from the bus to my dorm is so boring that I will often run home. It is definitely less than a mile, so it's no workout. Well this morning, afraid I was going to miss the bus, I ran all the way from my dorm to the bus stop. Then I stood and waited for 5 minutes because I was early. I'll probably never time it right. But it is such a let down, when I have walked almost to the stop and then the bus comes before I get there. My bus ticket lasts until the end of January. Soon I will buy a bike and then in the spring semester I will just ride my bike everywhere and not worry about the waiting for and timing of the bus

Yesterday I went to a soccer game with 2 other American girls in my program. I am not sure how tough security is in the US for college and NFL football games. But here in Salzburg they don't take any chances. I had something confiscated from my purse. Sammy and Alison got through no problem. The female security guard pats my coat and pants, no problem. Then she pulls out of my purse a book! I brought it to read on the bus ride, which I didn't do. I was so confused, why could I not have a book. She said I might throw it at someone! Really! I mean, it was bizarre. All I could do was laugh to myself and go check it. My clementines were harmless, my water bottle never suspected, and we were given hollow chocolate santa claus figures. If I were to instigate a football brawl, I would definitely have thought to use the book.

Around Christmas time here, there is something called a Krampus that goes around with Saint Nicolas. He is an evil figure that scares kids and me. During the past 2 weeks, there have been parades and events for the Krampusse to show off their fancy scary costumes. They have sticks and hit or chase people or something of the like. Pretty harmless and entertaining if you don't end up with bruises. I have seen the Krampusse several times now. Once intentionally as I went to a parade in a small town south of Salzburg. It was pretty scary but I never got hit, just the people around me. Then I was at a restaurant eating dinner with other grad students and Krampusse came in with Saint Nicholas. They hit Kenny during our meal and I hid in our booth. Then the Krampusse came out at half time of the soccer game. I was so nervous that they would be allowed into the seating area. I don't know if my pictures really show their fierceness, but I will be glad after tomorrow when they go away for a year. They remind me of Lord of the Rings characters.

My name has evolved in Austria. Sometimes I drop the "Beth" and just go by Mary but even then I have to repeat myself. The "a" is not a normal sound they make in German. Maria is a close option but it doesn't really fit me at all. Today two little girls also waiting for the same bus I was and they asked me my name, I said Maria. They asked my mom's name, I said Theresia. Somehow even they figured I was an American, because a few questions later they asked if I speak English. Then they wanted me to say something in English. I told them their matching red jackets were cute. They asked me where each of my parents and grandparents were. I kept answering He or she is in America. They were so cute and fun to speak German with, at least I have enough vocabulary for conversation with 5-year-olds. But then again I met some Austrians at church today and over lunch we did pretty well holding up conversation, so I think it is coming along.

Krampus Video

Short blog, but the photos have descriptions

I have 30 minutes before class, plenty of time to write a blog and post some pictures for the world to see.

Birthday in Salzburg Nov 16

If you click on the picture above it will take you to a photo album. There are descriptions below the pictures so I will spare those details in this blog. Let me know if the links don't work.

Salzburg Oct 31 to Nov 21

The weather here has turned a bit cold. But somedays it is still nice out. I play it safe and wear long johns under my jeans every day. Somedays I don't bring a toboggan but then I regret it when my ears are freezing. Then other days I am wearing a long sleeve shirt and a sweater and long johns underneath jeans and I want to melt because it is so warm out. Oh unpredictable weather. It isn't too bad. Snow has only come once and although a white Christmas would be nice, I am not rushing the cold weather that will eventually come.

Thanksgiving Speech, roughly translated from German to English

Celebrating Thanksgiving doesn't necessarily involve the single day marked on the calendar in November. Kids are out of school by Wednesday and some adults are able to take an extra vacation day around Thanksgiving. Many of my relatives live far from my hometown of Athens. So when we come together we try to hang out as much as possible from the time of arrival to departure, often as late as Sunday. Four things have to do with celebrating Thanksgiving: Family, Food, Football, and getting ready for Christmas.

Thanksgiving is always a time to get together with family. Months ahead of time the is question arises: whose house will we celebrate at? For my dad's side we are always on the farm, at my grandparent’s house or my aunt's house. Then for my mom's side it is either her house or my uncle's house. Thanksgiving is celebrated with more than just immediate relatives; cousins, aunts, and uncles all come together.

Three different programs come on TV for Thanksgiving. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which we don't sit for 3 whole hours and watch. But it is playing in the background of our morning as we begin the Thanksgiving Day. (The other 2 programs I will mention later.)

FOOD is important to discuss with Thanksgiving. Perhaps intentionally or maybe because I’m still a youngin’ I haven't been given the responsibility of preparing a dish for Thanksgiving but the Grandmas and Aunts and Moms in my family decide among themselves who will bring what. Most of the foods we eat are only served for Thanksgiving, with the exception of some also happening for Christmas. Some of my favorites are broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole (with pecans and brown sugar preferably but marshmallows are also good), cranberry sauce (from the can and without chunks of cranberries please), mashed potatoes, and pecan pie. (Btw I think pecans are a completely foreign concept here. Thanks Mimi and Paw for sending me some to make in a pie for our dinner.) What is even better is because we have so much food, there are plenty of leftovers to keep eating over the weekend.

Thanksgiving in the South and maybe a few others places involves football. In-state rivalries heat up as people prepare to watch the college football teams battle it out. This weekend I will be tuning in via internet or somehow to watch the Auburn-Alabama game. Then others celebrate Thanksgiving not just with watching a football game, but also playing a football game. My dad's side of the family play a game of football at a nearby park at some point during the holiday. Some years are much colder than others. Hopefully you won't have snow like we are getting here in Salzburg. One particular game was videotaped a few years back by yours truly. I don't remember if I volunteered for the job or if somehow that was the nicest way for them to keep me off the field.

By Thanksgiving, Uncle Bobby (my great uncle) has the Christmas lights at his house ready to go. If you live near north Alabama and have never seen his lights, email me and I will tell you how to get there. It is a must-see. He has his lights on every night until New Years and you can see them from way off in the distance because they are Incredible! Right now I can envision being in the car as we drive around his house, listening to the music playing from his yard, and just seeing the thousands of lights and different decorations.

At some point during the day, I will have watched one of two movies that come on TV. It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th St. Both are quality; definitely watch them between now and Christmas if you get the chance. They always put me in the Christmas spirit and wrap up the perfect celebration of Thanksgiving.

Ok now how do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

Recent Events in Salzburg

The pictures from this post are not recent but I have taken them since coming to Salzburg. The one above is looking over the Salzach River to the Altstadt. I think there might be portions of the old city on both sides but the side that this shows is the side that I live on and where my classes are. On this day I sat at a bench by the river and did some homework. I was minding my own business, but also people watching when I needed a quick distraction.

All of a sudden the person rolls up to me on his bike. I flash a friendly smile and say Hello. The following conversation happens in German. He asks "How are you?" I say "good" and go back to reading so that he will see I am busy. Then he asks what I am doing and if I'm an austrian? When I say I'm from America he says, "you must be married". I smiled and said no. After a few more seconds of awkward, he says "have fun" or something like that and rides away.

I want everyone to know that I was incredibly polite. But honestly, who tries to pick up a complete stranger in a park??? Well it was funny and maybe a compliment to me, I guess.


There is a note by this fountain to tell people not to drink the water. But today when I was walking around, I say a faucet coming out of a wall basically. And it had an image of a cup, so you can drink that water. Very strange. At school I haven't seen a single water fountain. If I bring a water bottle, I fill it up in the bathroom. But I wonder why they don't just have water fountains and if that is an austrian thing, european thing, or just a salzburg university thing. ??

So one Sunday in Salzburg I decided to go to an English speaking protestant service that our study abroad program had listed in a packet of info we got during orientation. I walk in a bit late to the church because I missed the bus I was supposed to take.


I quickly realized I was in the wrong place because the preacher was speaking in German. Also as I looked around the congregation of 15 to 20 adults, I thought there seemed to be a lot of children. This was unexpected because the birth rate in Germany and Austria is maybe around 1.2 or so. The likelihood that so many couples in the same church would have this many kids was slim!

One toddler was walking in the aisle and went toward the stage. The preacher told the father not to worry, just let her walk around. For the service they re-enacted the birth of Moses and the Egyptian princess finding him in the river. With costumes and crowd participation and then they passed out cake to each of us.

Afterward I read a sign that the English service was being held next door. I went to that one since I was only 45 min late for it. Come to find out the German church occasionally holds a children's service. On those days the English congregation who also uses the sanctuary go to a different building.



The english service went well also. Some of the people were friendly. They announced that a student bible study was going to start that week. I have enjoyed going to that as we decided to learn about the life of Paul and then read some of his letters in the New Testament. Most of the other students have lived in Salzburg for at least a year already and the group is led by two guys who work with Campus

Crusade 4 Christ in Austria. I thought it was cool that they have it in Austria as well as in the US, since I know folks in SC that work with CC4C.

Well the weather is turning cold but it is still bearable. When it first snows, I will be sure to document it, but I hope that it is still a month or 2 away. Upcoming posts, coming to a blog near you (in my movie trailer voice): my trip to Romania, hiking down Untersberg, my trip to Vienna, and a visit to a Schloss in Salzburg.

My kind of partying in Salzburg

I am at the university typing a new blog because I have discovered the campus wireless network. If you could see me right now I am jumping up and down with joy. The internet at my dorm is so frustrating so I am glad to have this option. I try not to be too dependent on internet, email, Facebook, and the like. But I know that it is my lifeline (so to speak) to everyone in the US.

Here are just a few randoms thoughts and happenings to share:

Yesterday my roommate (she and I are in a picture together above) woke up and her first words were a question to me. I thought it was funny that she thought of this first. She asked: Have you gotten your absentee ballot? I'm not sure if she was dreaming about the election or things like that but I laughed to myself when she asked this.

On that note, I have not received an absentee ballot, which is disappointing. I comfort myself in a way by thinking that my vote wouldn't have made much difference because we have an electoral college and my homestate (Alabama) isn't a "battleground" state like Ohio. I would loved to have voted and been a part of the political process. If you are in the US and can still register or are already registered, be informed and don't forget to vote next week.

I will have to ask my roommate, Kristen, to clarify a bit, but sometimes I will make a remark. Then she laughingly responds, "that is so Mary Beth" or "that is such a Mary Beth thing to do". For example, this morning I said matter-of-factly that I plan to meet the Governor of Salzburg today at a new students event. I also told her that I'm pretty certain I saw the governor riding on her bike in the Altstadt (old city) the other day.

This Saturday is a holiday in Austria/Germany. It is roughly translated as All Saints Day. My teacher described it as a day when people go to the grave of loved ones, put new flowers there, pray. When is our equivalent holiday? I'm pretty sure I have heard of this in the US before but I couldn't think of when we celebrate it.

Lastly, the pictures I put in this post are from a dinner we had at our advisor's house. Dr. Ted Rippey and his wife Karen made chili and brownies. It was a great meal. I don't eat nearly enough meat here. Later after the dinner party, Kristen and I went out to a dance club that had an 80s theme that night. Aside from playing German 80s music that I didn't know, the American 80s music was a lot of fun to dance and be goofy to.

Intro to Salzburg

It has been awhile since my last blog and of course a lot has happened. I will try to tell the highlights but I will break it up into a few blogs over the next few days. I also want to respond to questions, comments, and kind emails that I get. I think I have finally developed a pattern in my schedule so maybe the "organization" will keep me on track with posts.



The Salzach river runs through the city and then the city is surrounded by mountains. (pictured left) I debated whether I should by a bike or a semester bus pass. Verdict went for the bus pass, so I won't get to be cool like this guy and ride around the city. On the right side of the river is the Festung (keep reading), all of the university buildings, and my dorm. The Old City is on both sides but maybe more of it is also on the right. So 90% of my time is spent on one side of the river.

Mozart was born in Salzburg. (I decided to be a tourist and take a picture of his statue.) The University has a lot of international students that come here to study music. Mozartkugeln are sold in stores everywhere in Salzburg. It is a chocolate with marzipan, light and dark nougat. After checking out the link below or googling the word, let me know if I need to bring some back to the States for you to try.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Mozartkugeln-Fuerst.jpg

(Kapuzinerberg is in the background of this picture. Berg=Mountain in German)

Classes have started since my last blog post. I have a pretty full schedule but the big benefit is not having class on Friday. The extra weekend day is wonderful if I want to travel or just need a break before starting homework. Here are the classes I have: 2 types of German for non-native speakers, German Literature, Intro to Graduate Studies, Austria Current Events. Also as a graduate assistant I am working for our advisor, Dr. Ted Rippey.

I still have to decide whether or not to audit a religion or history class. Advantages would be to 1)listen to more German 2)learn new vocabulary and 3)meet local students. Last week, I sat in on History of Tourism in the 19 and 20 Century. The classes I hope to sit in on next week are New Testament and Introduction to Judaism. (Picture of the University Science building. I thought the foliage on the building looked sweet.)

This picture shows the fortress "Festung" high above the city. There is a way to get up to the fortress, which I plan to do and get a better view of Salzburg. Below and to the right of the Fortress is the Old City "Altstadt" buildings, churches and cobblestone streets.

First pictures from Salzburg

I am at a cafe that has good wireless internet. And I made the pictures a smaller file size. So YEAH they downloaded. I'm off to my first class now. Enjoy.
I love murals. Not sure why but I saw these at the airport. A couple others didn't fit in the picture but you get the idea. It is a random photo.
the bus stop picture from the airport. My lugguage was delayed so I only had to pay 2 Euro for the bus rather than who knows how much for a taxi to carry my 3 huge suitcases.
My dorm view.
A friends dorm view. She lives in the old city.

Welcome to Salzburg

I've been in town just a few days and been catching up on some jet lag and am ready to go with school this week. While I am here please send questions and I will know what exactly to talk about.

If you just want a brief synopsis: I really like Salzburg. The weather is cool 50s/60s and no rain yet. My program had orientation yesterday and we have a great group of students. My luggage got held up in Frankfurt for a few hours and was delivered straight to my dorm on Friday night. Saturday was orientation, walk around the city, and I went to the movies. I will take language tests this week and then begin classes on Wednesday.

Okay if you want more details keep reading:

There are 10 undergrad students and 6 grad students (incl. me). Some students attend other undergrad schools and maybe 4 of us grad students aren't from Bowling Green. My roommate is Kristen. She is an undergrad/junior at BG and very nice. Our room is a good size. The one really good thing is that we share a personal bathroom. The kitchen on our floor is pretty big but of course a lot of people share it.

When I first arrived, my luggage wasn't here yet. Since I just had my backpack I took the bus instead of a taxi to the dorm. My suitcases came later that evening. I officially brought the most stuff. I'm just incredibly thankful that I didn't have to pay anything to check 3 bags!!! During yesterday's orientation it was cloudy so I haven't taken any good pictures yet. The ones I will download are from the airport and the view from my window.

Last night I went to the movies with another student. We watched Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex. It was about the German terrorist group Red Army Faction. Anyone who knows a lot about this group please post your comments and correct what I think I understand about it now. The RAF lived in West Germany and seemed to be socialist or communist that were against American Imperialism in the 60s to 80s. They protested involvement in the Vietnam War and the creation and support of Israel. If it were only a protest movement I could be a understanding of their cause end of story. But they decided to rob banks, kill lots of people, bomb many buildings, and at the end of they movie they had kidnapped a man and hijacked a Lufthansa plane. It seemed to cause a huge panic in Germany. The police couldn't stop them or predict their next moves. The movie represented the confusion at that time very well. I think the group began with maybe 30 people and one by one they were killed by the police or arrested. The main four leaders were put on trial while the 2nd and 3rd generations of their group continued to kill/steal. After the Lufthansa hijacking didn't work in the groups' favor, the four men and women in jail killed themselves. Their violence without guilt or hesitation was unbelievable to me. The terrorist attacks on the US were the first I was ever really aware of on a global scale. I kept thinking throughout the movie why don't I know more about these things that happened just a few years before I was born. I wondered what my parents and grandparents heard about this in the US at that time. Did it not seem to have an impact on us in a country so far away? and Today do others around the world not seem to feel an impact on terrorist groups that exist?

Well, I will write a new post about the start of classes and include more picture this upcoming Friday. Please feel free to post here or email me with comments and questions.