Vienna! 5/19

Vienna! It's finally come! But I can't forget about Ars Electronica. I had been waiting to visit this exhibition for months, although our last day in Linz was rainy, that did not take away from the joy I had during our remaining hours. The Ars was pretty much what I had expected it to be. I was hoping to see more  " space" from the Deep Space exhibition lab, but it was still amazing! The part about the expensive carpets was also intersting. I had some cool pictures as well! The brain lab(the downstairs part) was my favorite part of the exhibtion. The 3D printing machines and design software could keep me entertained for hours, and so did the sound lab! I felt like a little kid playin Guitar Hero when I tried out the drumset; nostalgic memories!

       we ended the day in Linz with a Chinese buffet... Delicious and filling, but if was time for Vienna! The ride here was short, but I was glad because I could not have been more eager to get here. After we got to the hotel, we did not waste anytime on exploring. We jumped right into the streets! I am so amazed how every building here resembles a palace with its' detailed and sophisticated architectural design. What a place of history and magnificence! I can feel it in the air. 

Upon our journey, we stumbled upon Eurovison, which is one of the largest and most popular events in Europe! It was a free Music viewing festival with live music, food, and a great atmosphere! It is almost like a ginormous  European American idol that is hosted in Vienna; there were live bands lesson up to the   actual competition (called song  Contest), which  was later screened on a large projector at the festival for all the viewers to see. It was so intersting to get a taste of Austrian pop culture!

Linz, Austria -5/18

     The second day in Linz was amazing and fully packed. My feet hate me, my bank account hates me, but it was all well worth it. It was money and time well spent! I woke up at 8:30, I was still very exhausted from the train ride the previous day, but I was still ready to conquer Linz! I knew it was going to be a good day when I went downstairs to breakfast and saw that there was more options besides croissants and apples. 

     We stared the day off with a tour from the cutest little woman named "Daisy" , she showed us all the historical architecture within the main city area. I couldn't believe how old some of the buildings are. It's amazing to see how detailed and remarkable these buildings are. The idea that these magnificent buildings could be made without bulldozers or any high technological construction equipment is astonishing. I very much enjoyed the last section where Mozart wrote one of his pieces. I never knew that Mozart had small pox on his face, or that he was just short of 5'2. How unfortunate.

   200 Euros later, I picked up some fantastic items to bring back to the states! I'm so glad I got to experience the shops of Linz, we spent hours in them! We visited a record store right near the town Square; I picked up a few albums, for myself, my father, and one of the friends. Vinyls are one of my weaknesses. I very much enjoyed visiting the shops, each one of them had a classic Austrian feel to it. I also found an exceptional stone, senses, and crystal shop where I picked up a marvelous blend of mineral- crystals. Okenite and Stilbite. How amazing!

   We then walked to the local market  center just 15 minutes from the hotel. Unfortunately, when we got there, most of the shops were closed, so to make up for it, we went to the botanical gardens. My feet and legs were on autopilot at this point, but I wanted to get the most I could out of my last day in Linz, so I kept going! The garden was one of the most beautiful walks/ gardens I have ever seen. Hundreds of different floral species ranges from all colors of the spectrum, rare, unique, historical trees, amazing sculpture work, and so much more! I am so glad I went and forces used to keep going through the day, no matter how tired I was.  I had been on my feet and walking from 9:15 AM, then returned to the hotel at 9:30 at night. What a day. It was a day well spent with good food, lovely shops, lovely scenery, and lovely people. 

    Tomorrow is the Ars electronia, I have been waiting so long for this! I can not wait; then it's time for Vienna! There is so much to look forward to.

Linz, Austria-5/17

Switzerland was amazing , I will for sure miss it, but I will not miss the prices. I'm glad we had a few minutes to walk around the station before our train left. I I went into a little souvenir shop, I got my father a pack of Swiss pencils, for 29 franks. My wallet will not miss Switzerland.  We took a 10:40 train, and the second I stepped on the train I fell right to sleep. When I woke up, It was an amazing sight- fields of bright green, and forests with trees reaching 100 feet high. I did not mind the 7 hour train ride because the scenery was enough to keep me entertained! I wish the train could be my main form of travel no matter where i went.

   When we arrived in Linz, I could not believe how different the atmosphere was from Zurich. Linz is so much calmer, and it seems more sophisticated, maybe it's because the hotel in Linz is not in the red light district, haha.

   I recognize a lot of the city from pictures, because my group presentation was responsible for Linz and the Arz Electronica;it still feels so surreal that I am here! 

  Dinner was amazing! AND SO CHEAP! I had stuffed chicken with mozzarella, served with polanta and vegetables! Delicious! Tomorrow I am going to the botanical garden , and possibly a hike! I am way too excited. 

The Swiss Alps-5/16

Today was one of the best days of my life!!! I never imagined that I would be overlooking a mountain and observing Switzerland from above the clouds. What excited me the most was how spur of the moment it was! We had only planned it the night before, whereas most people who visit the Swiss Alps plan it months an advance. You can never put a price on experience. 160 dollars for the day was a bargain. We started off our journey to the alps on an early train, 8:35 AM! The train to Lucerne was breathtaking, it was the Switzerland scene that I have been waiting to see- bright green fields, small wooden houses with chopped logs piled high; it was like nature's own flip book. The gondola ride up to the base of the mountain reminded me a lot of my hometown in Colorado- it made me feel incredibly nostalgic. When we got there, it was very foggy, but that did not take away from the incredible elated feeling I had; Just the fact that I was at the Swiss Alps was enough for me to be happy. 

We then had lunch, I wound up paying 5 franks for a salad because we had a 10$ voucher for a meal. The most incredible part of the day was when we finished lunch, looked out the window, and saw nothing but blue skies. After we basked in the new weather, I saw the Alps in a completely different light. I teared up on the edge of the rail; the rail that felt like the edge of the top of the world! Never before have I been above the clouds(apart from a plane). 

The trolly down the mountain was an amazing adventure as well, and so was the boat ride back. If it were not for the boat ride, I would have never experienced Switzerland In the same way as I did. There is something about being In the middle of open waters that gives life and land a different perspective! We saw incredible Medieval castles high up on the mountains, it was like something out of a movie. Today made me see Switzerland in an entirely different way; it was the Switzerland that I was dying to see, and I did. Today was one of the best days of my life! Now it's time for Austria!

Zurich 5/15- Cabaret Voltaire, Museum Für Gestaltung

It's a rainy day, but it has been a good one! although it has been pouring on and off all day, I enjoyed today the most out of the three days we have been in Switzerland. The Museum Für Gestaltung struck me in awe, each room that we entered(containing hundreds, and even thousands of works of art) resonated with me on a different, unique level. In one the storage rooms, there were over 250,000 prints. I found the graphic print segment of the museum to be my favorite part; there were endless themes, from political graphics, to music graphics, to advertisements- with each print displaying it's own story. After touring the prints, we then entered a storage room where string puppets from the early 1900s were hanging- the atmosphere and vibrations  In this room were immediately altered in comparison to the print storage room.  All the history and dedication of hard work in that room was manifested through the string puppets and the other various works of art- the amount of history and stories behind these pieces  seemed to almost seep from the walls. It was a tad creepy, but in a good way; I could immediately feel the change in energy.

     My favorite part of the day was exploring the shops in the small alleyways near the Cabaret. Walking on the cobble stone grounds through the narrow allyways In the pouring rain was truly a remarkable experience; it felt like a whole different universe, and so did the Cabaret Voltaire! Inside the building was remarkable and extremely unexpected. The lecture about Da-Da, and the director's explanation of Da-Da's association with spiritual enlightenment was amazing. I do admit that I started to doze off towards the last half of the lecture, it was not because it wasn't  interesting - I was just very tired! I wish I could have stayed awake during the remaindered the lecture because I truly did find it remarkable. Oh well.

The second part of the "tour" in the downstairs portion of the museum was my favorite. I appreciated and admired the amount of surrealism displayed through these works of art. However,one of the most astonishing things was a picture that I took of Santiago standing in front of a painted mural in which he closely resembles one of the men.  Although it was the lighting that made the picture cast a "ghost-like" tint, it almost seems as if the picture was Santi in a previous life and that spirit created waves of orbs within the picture. 

Tomorrow we are going to visit the Swiss Alps, And I could not be more excited. More things to cross off the bucket list! 

Basel,5/14

Basel... What a day! The day started off early, I woke up around 6:30 and and was  ready to start the day! The breakfast served was simple;bread and fruit, it was refreshing and energizing for the day ahead of me! The ride to Basel seemed so short because the scenery was enough to keep me entertained, the endless fields of bright green, breathtaking  landscape and the countless midieval architectural buildings manifested the true essence of Switzerland. Once we got to the Basel School of Art and Design, I was a bit confused, because it was not what I expected the building or "campus to look like at all,until we got inside. The inside of the building was very modern with an all-white theme. I was in awe when we saw  the independent work stations for the design students on the upper floor, each student had their own workspace and computer; unlike tampa where multiple students are crowded in one room. The lectures were absolutely amazing, I felt so honored to have been given lectures by two of the most important art and design professors In the whole world! The typography lecture astonished me! the work and dedication It takes to complete tasks and projects like the ones discussed by the professors gave me great inspiration and enhanced motivation of me to work hard for my goals, no matter how tedious or complex they may be! It was so surreal to be at one of the best design schools In the world. 

    I enjoyed walking around Basel, it seemed very touristy, but I have no shame! the town Hall was absolutely beautiful, it was probably one of my favorite buildings I have seen so far. We had lunch at a nice Italian place, and I ordered a pizza the size of my face. Pizza craving=fulfilled. Although I am wiped out, I sill want to go out and explore a little bit more tonight on the town before our next big day tomorrow !

Zurich!5/12

Waking up this morning and looking at a fully packed bag with my passport on it sparked the beginning of my excitement. The thought that I was going to be In Europe in a matter of hours felt so surreal; once I got to the airport and saw the rest of the group with their bags, it finally dawned on me that in a few hours I would be on my way to a new country that I have never stepped foot in. The plane ride there was not as bad as I thought, after the lights on the plane went off I went right to sleep.

Then, the first step out of the Zurich airport felt amazing! I could automatically tell the difference between the air of Zurich compared to the US. the air here is fresh, crisp, and pure- not polluted and germ infested like the US! Switzerland is very civilized and more sophisticated than the us, which is the reason why I think the streets are clean of liter, more people take public transportation, and the street style is classy and business-like. although we only walked around for a few hours, we got to walk along the river (where the water is crystal blue), and look at the historical architectural buildings. The vibes and feel of Switzerland somewhat remind me of Colorado because of the pure green nature and cleanly environment.