Day 12.

There are not enough words to describe my Prague weekend. Try as I might I cannot do it justice.

Today I...
-Found the John Lennon Wall
-Participated in an Indian Ritual
-Joined thousands of people bridge crossing
-Created a chain
-Walked
-Made a vow to return to Prague lock in hand
-Enjoyed a free Czech concert in Old Town Square
-Bought Gelato
-Checked out of the Hostel
-Ate the best Pastries
-Laughed
-Bought ridiculous souvenirs
-Enjoyed a 4 hour bus ride home
-Showered after three days

Overall I would say that it was extremely productive.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Many many more to come.

P.S. When you go to Prague take a lock with a key. Carry it with you at all times. You will know when to use it :]

Day 11.

Today was perfect.

It rained all day. We got lost multiple times. People stared. But it was perfect.

Prague is one of the most amazing cities that I have ever been to. Plus you can't beat the night life :]

We decided to trek up to the castle and it was well worth the trip. The castle is a colabortaion of all these different types of architecture from all these different periods of history. Each ruler added what they like and gto rid of what they didn't. The cathedral was the most beautiful one I have ever seen. The St. Vitus Cathedral has the most colorful glass windows. I would know because I have been in quite a few as of late.

It was raining all day. I jumped from one umbrella to the other in an attempt to remain dry. Thank goodness I invested in a Northface before I left. It seriously saved my life today. After the castle scene we ended up getting lost. All of the guide books reccomend it and yet we didn't do it on purpose. We just saw the city like the locals. We spent two hours warming up from the rain in a local coffee shop, browsed street vendors, and walked walked walked.

William asked too many questions. We were all too loud. Everyone had their cameras out. People stared. We loved it. After finding this hole in the wall restaraunt we just sat, ate, and enjoyed each others company. Best dinner yet. We have no idea what it was called but I have a business card for the next time that I go back.

Prague. You have changed my life.

Jenny, Jana, Whitney, Maria, Ambree, and William I love you.

Now to go experience Hostel life on a Friday night. Should be interesting. I'll keep you updated.

Day 10.

Good news all. I have Internet at the hostel I am staying in.

Yes I said Hostel. Yes I am sharing a room with strangers. Be jealous.

Europe is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know that getting out of Vienna is exactly what I needed. I am seeing the world and I love it. I have been meeting people from all over the world. Brad from Australia. Steven from Connecticut. It has been pretty amazing. People live so differently than we do in the States. I love calling America the States.

I wish that I could upload some pictures for you all to see. Prague is such a beautiful city. Every style of architecture imaginable. The Cathedrals are beautiful. The streets are cobblestone. The buildings are colorful and quaint.

We went on a walking tour today with our tour guide Justin. We learned all about the history of the Czech Republic and it was super interesting. Maybe it was the way Justin dumbed it down for us but I found all three hours of the tour fascinating. So much history here. Everything has been around for so long that it is hard not to feel insignificant. He showed us the city on a broad scale and tomorrow we are going to start adventuring on our own. Prague Castle is a stop for sure.

I want to backpack through Europe. I want to go everywhere and see everything and live out of my background. Keep everything low key and uncomplicated. People are the same. They are just looking for purpose and adventure in their lives. Luckily we have Europe to come find ourselves in.

Well I am off to see the night life of Prague. Wish me luck.

PRAGUE.

I'm off for the weekend to Prague! No internet... therefore no blogging. I'll have mucho stories and adventures when I get back. Be prepared!

Day 8.

I am in Vienna for a reason. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I am thinking I am about to find out.

Day 7.

It is the end of the first week. I am officially in culture shock. It is not that I don't love Vienna it is just a touch hard for me to be away from America at the moment.

Things I miss about home:
1. My family. I missed talking to my mom on Mother's day. Epic Fail.
2. All of the signs/packaging being in the English Language.
3. When a downpour hits my umbrella is not 45 mins away.
4. My clothes. Sad but true. Why did I only bring 4 t-shirts? Who knows.
5. Everything being in English.

Surprisingly I don't miss my cell phone. I thought I would be going through withdrawals of some sort but it has been an extremely easy transition.

Now that I have burdened you with those sad and depressing thoughts let me tell you what I love about Vienna:
1. I love Public Transportation. I love love love it. I feel so "metropolitan" as my roommate Kayla puts it. I love that I can get from A to B all on my own without driving. It's grand.
2. The architecture here is amazing. Why could America not be this beautiful?
3. The people on this study abroad with me. Seriously great friends.
4. Opportunity to learn a different language. I understood what the woman at Pagro was telling me when she handed me back my change. HUZZAH. I could have danced.
5. GREEN. Everything here is green, lush, and gorgeous. Reminds me of Washington. Especially on days like today when it never stops raining.
6. The way that me and my roommate are always laughing. Everyone always stares at us. It is like these people forgot how to have a good time or something. No worries. We will remind them.
7. I can't forget the Gelato. I have had it 3/4 days. I may have an addiction.

Today I hit up school. Got some Gelato. Road around on the U-bahn. Studied some German. Found some Austrian Mormon friends at FHE. Grabbed a delicious dinner for super cheap. Overall I would say that it was an extremely productive day. Just another day in Vienna :]

Now I have to get studying for a Quiz in German tomorrow. Joy.

Guten Nacht! (aka Good Night in German)

Pictures from today! I was having a difficult time getting inspired. Hopefully tomorrow is better.

"I have Choco's. I'm so rugged." Thank you Jenny Pate. 

Ale thank you for being my model. You are lovely. 

The downpour. 

Low shutter speed and no tripod. Hmmm.

Quote.

An excellent friend shared a quote with me today. 


we make a dwelling in the evening air,
in which being there together is enough.

-wallace stevens

Tell everyone you love that you love them. 

Day 6.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

This morning I woke up to a blinding light. I have a skylight in the roof of my bedroom. Yes it is a sky light. The sun was shining right on my face and therefore sleeping in was not an option. I was up at 9 am.

This is the blinding light that woke me up this morning. It was right on my pillow. Lovely. 

This is the skylight. You see the sky out of it. Hence the term skylight. 

Went downstairs grabbed some breakfast and then proceeded to get ready for church. The English speaking ward is at 1:30 so we left at 11:30 am to make the trek over there. It is clear across the city so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get lost if needed. We studied German on the way there and arrived without any mishaps. We got off a the wrong stop but a nice man asked us if we were heading to the church. We said yes so he told us to get back on the bus and we did. We arrived at about 1pm ready for some spiritual enlightenment. The ward was full of people from all different countries and cultures. It was really neat. After church we were starving and went in search of food and an adventure. I love adventuring. My goal is to do it more often in the USA. After that I just came home. Now I am writing emails and waiting to talk with my mother. A very relaxing day in Vienna.

Day 5.

Adventures continued.
The first Saturday in Vienna! What to do what to do. For starters I tried this thing called sleeping in. I woke up at 5 am and then willed my body back to sleep. It worked! I then proceeded to sleep until 9 am. Glorious. Upon consciousness I decided Kayla and I needed some food from the grocery store. We were off. There is a Billa located only minutes from our house so we walked. Grocery stores here are much smaller than in the USA. We bought PB&J supplies along with chocolate, bathroom soap, and frou frous. We then ventured into town. Gotta love that Subway. I mean U-Bahn.

My beautiful roomie Kayla waiting for the bus! 

Flowers at the Bus stop 

We were planning on going to the flea market but ended up at a wine and cheese tasting instead. I'll admit that I got distracted taking pictures at the park and wandered off instead of eating cheese. I think it was an excellent decision seeing as there were no crackers. The pictures turned out great. Due to requests I asked people to photograph me in the pictures as well as scenery. YOUR welcome. :]

Engaged. 

This is Chip. 

Precious children that wanted me to take their picture. 

Love these. 

Chip- "Model Krystle!" Me- "ummm..."

Second attempt. 

Third attempt- Embodying Kayla. Mika said we could try some more and that I needed to work on my modeling. I couldn't agree more haha. 

I made a wish. We will see if it comes true. 

Vienna. 

We are twins. 

After the picture taking we were off to the Albertine Museum to see the Andy Worhal exhibit which was stunning. I have seen prints of his work but never the real thing. It was the Cars exhibit that he started in 1986 but never finished due to his death in 1987. Here is one of the pieces.  I was also able to see pieces by tons of famous artists. Love Europe. I feel cultured.

I stole this pic from Jess. She was taking illegal pictures inside the museum. Love it. 

After the museum Jess and I were starving so we set of to find food. We found a subway sandwich shop. It tasted like home. Delicious. Carbonated water is disgusting in case you were wondering. What is with these people?

We then proceeded to people watch. It was hilarious and awesome and I can't wait to do it again. After my second gelato in two days we ended up on the U-Bahn to meet up with friends who didn't end up being there so we just decided to ride around and explore. It was fun. We are adventurous. I made it home safe. The end.

This will be the color of my front door. No negotiations. 

Another end to another day in Vienna. Love it.

Day 4.

Did I mention that I was trying to be adventurous while I was in Vienna? Cause I am.

Today began with our now normal subway commute to school. Schule as the German would say.

This is what my subway station looks like. Personally I think it is too pretty to be called a subway. Here in Vienna is the called the U-bahn, but somehow I don't think that quite does it justice either. Kayla and I got to school fine with no correspondence with creepy men. Huzzah. Classes were good. During photography class today we were assigned to go take pictures at the naschmarkt. I took my point and shoot camera. I have no idea why. Do not judge these pictures too harshly. I am going to go back tomorrow for the flea market they hold there on Saturdays and I will bring my real DSLR camera and take some real photos. Okay here they are. 

After the Naschmarkt for class we went back and just spent some time hanging out studying before German. I will admit learning the language is hard but I am quite enjoying it. Afterwards we ventured off planning on taking a tour of the opera house... those plans fell through so we went off in search of Gelato. I am proud to say we found some at Zanoni and Zanoni. I had this mint, cookie, and chocolate concoction and it was divine. We walked aroung Vienna eating our ice cream like real locals. We hung out in front of statues and cathedrals... you know... the usual. I was harassing Chip the whole time about being an old man while William kept trying to get Kayla and I to tell him out three favorite animals. It was a hilariously good time. We stopped in a cathedral to listen to an organist. I have never really liked it much but in an ancient cathedral it sounds pretty amazing. 

We then went in search of the English movie theatre when it started down pouring. My poor shoes. After a 1/2 hour of stressful searching we found this quaint theatre hidden away amongst some beautiful old buildings. Ah Vienna. We saw Iron Man II! It was extremely good but don't worry I won't give it away. Then we grabbed some pizza for dinner and headed towards the subway home. We caught a little bit of the Opera and then we were on our way. I love this place. I don't know if I will ever get sick of saying that. 

Auf Wiedersehen! 

Day 3 post 2.

Alright. So much to talk about. I feel like today was my first real day in Vienna. So many things happened. Here goes nothing trying to remember them all.

So this morning after waking up to David Archuletta's song "Touch My Hand" I was feeling pretty good about life. I got online, read some emails, got dressed, and then it hit me. I AM IN EUROPE. So excited. I woke Kayla up because she was still snoozing at 8:45 am and we have to be at class at 10 am. After she got ready in a hurry we ran downstairs to grab some breakfast. Let me emphasize that breakfast here is not the same as in America. Out host mom Frau Miller had quite the spread laid out for us. There was cereal and bread with jam and yogurt and fruit and orange juice all along with a pleasantly decorated table. I am thinking that Kayla and I got pretty lucky with our host family. I also feel lucky to have Kayla as my roommate. She is a really cool girl and I am excited to get to know her better. Now the word family is deceiving because really it is just us and Frau Miller. Her mom lives with us too but we don't see her that often. She is 96 years old. I was impressed. So after our scrumptious breakfast where i mistook the beautiful butter for cheese we were off on our adventure for the day- Public transit.

Vienna is such a clean city that I don't want you getting a picture of a grimy place when I saw that we took the bus and the subway to the Amerika Institute. Frau Miller accompanied us the whole way just so we wouldn't get lost on the first day. She is the best. After barely missing the bus we waited for the next one. 56B is our number. We road it to the subway station and the whole way Frau Miller was telling us all about the history of Vienna and pointing out things that we should do while we are here. I saw the zoo. I love Pandas so I will be visiting that place in the most immediate future. When we finally arrived at the Institute with some excellent suggestions for lunch Frau Miller let us go in and said, "Bye to my lovely girls!" The best. I am telling you. So public transit isn't so bad. Really. We even made it home okay. Were there some creepy guys staring us down on the subway? Ja. Did it bother me much? Nein. We are American. Everyone knows it and everyone stares. I think it is that matching backpacks that give us away. Or the fact that we are louder than everyone else, but who knows.

Our first class of the day was travel writing. We got some homework but it won't be so bad. Having a class that makes you write in your journal is kind of a good thing. Memories are important. I mean I guess that is why I am doing this blog though. That and so my Mom won't worry about me. Love you Mom! After that we had a break were we ventured out to T-mobile to buy minutes for our cell phones. Because the minutes are kind of expensive they must only be used under the most dire circumstances. After eating an apple and bun and attempting some yogurt (I just can't make myself like it) it was time for German.

German is hard. Second languages do not come easy for me but I am excited to try. I find myself much more mocitivated to learn considering everyone around me is speaking it. After receiving tons of homework from our nice yet distant teacher Frau Evelin we were off to go on adventures.

If you didn't know this... big groups have a very hard time making decisions. My favorite part of our adventure this afternoon was when we ended up sitting in the park right underneath this old palace and a statue of Mozart. I just felt like I belonged here. There is nothing like visiting a different country and having the tourist side of you fade for just a moment when you can just sit and feel settled. I loved it. I am hoping as we venture out more and more that moments like this will occur much more often.

For dinner I ate at this cute little bakery right before the place where I get on the subway. Delish. You can never go wrong with a sandwich and a pastry. I love Europe. I don't love the exchange rate for money but I love buying things to eat. Good thing I walk everywhere. Jana, Amelia, and I had a wonderful chat over dinner. It's is awesome how food makes you sit down and talk with people. Another thing I love about Europe. Food is an occasion. Dinner takes time and when you are done eating you still sit down and talk afterwards. Excellent.

Tomorrow we are planning on touring the Opera house. Possibly seeing Iron Man II. Right now I have to go study German. Oh joy. But really. I am a tiny bit excited. I am not sure I have ever been this motivated to learn in my whole life and it is an exhilarating feeling. Love you all and miss you!

Cathedral we found Tues while walking around the 8th District 

Me and my roomie Kayla. Don't mind the expressions. The sun was very bright. 

Day 3.

I can not believe that today is only day three. I feel like I have been out of the USA for so long! Alright I am about to go use public transit by myself... hopefully I don't get completely lost.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Day 2.

Vienna is the most beautiful city that I have ever been to. No negotiations.

Sleeping last night was a little bit of s struggle. I woke up at 5:30 am completely ready to start my day. Back home 5:30 am is 10:30 pm so my body basically thought it was waking up from a long nap. It was alright though because we had to eat breakfast at the hotel and be ready to check out by 8:30 am. My first Austrian breakfast was different than I am used to. It involved a lot of bread and cheese which I am pleased to announce I enjoy. Hot chocolate too! It's not everyday someone makes you that for breakfast. After finishing the continental breakfast we were off to the Austria-America Institute. It is located right in the middle of downtown Vienna right across from the Opera house! Vienna is just the coolest city. There are so many things to do and see. After a short orientation we walked over to the naschmarkt for lunch. It is this colorful open air market where you can buy fresh fruit, baked goods, desserts, or grab a bite to eat. Amelia and I ended up choosing a restaurant based on the menu. Since neither of us can read German we picked a place with pictures on the menu. I know. I know.  We are pretty bright. William and Chip joined us and it turned out that our waitress spoke Cantonese which William also speaks so he was able to snag us some water.

Side note- Okay Europeans don't drink water. Seriously what is with that? I grew up my whole life hearing "8 glasses a day!" Here people look at you strange if you just ask for regular water at a restaurant. I may get dehydrated. Sure you can have soda, juice, or heck even beer but no water!

The  place we went to was Vietnamese and I had some chicken dish. Pretty delish. Funny that I have been in Austria for 2 days and only eaten Italian and Vietnamese food. after lunch we returned to the Institute where we waited to meet our host family. Nerve racking much? Waiting to meet the person that is going to house you for the next three much takes a lot out of you.

The Institute has this deal that the last person to get picked up by there host family gets a free lunch. Lucky for Kayla and I it was us!  The lady that we are living with is great. We live out in the 13th district- mostly a residential area. We live in this cute cottage like house on Felix Street. Feel free to google earth my address.

Felixgasse 10
1130 Wien, Austira

I have my own bedroom and its great. I haven't had one of these in a while and I am going to enjoy every minute of it. Fraulein Miller cooked us a traditional Austrian dinner of wiener schnitzel. It was really good. We drank apple juice. No water. Just saying.

Walking around Vienna today just made me realize how much there is that I want to learn about the culture. It is so different being here than I thought it would be. I'll admit it I miss American mainly because I understand the culture. Feeling dumb repeatedly throughout the day is never fun, but I will get there. Learning German in class is going to help me leaps and bounds. I can't wait to be able to figure this city out. One things that is just stunning is the architecture. Every building is beautiful. I can't wait to start photographing it. It has been raining of and on for the past two days so I haven't been able to really take my camera out much. The weather has been very similar to western Washington since I have arrived. I'll post pictures of my house and room once I get all unpacked.

P.S. I only can get on certain websites and the house I am staying at and Facebook is not one of them. If you would like to contact me use email. I think it will be the most efficient. krystle.wahn@gmail.com

Another great day in Vienna. Classes tomorrow. Huzzah.

Goodnight :]

Day 1 cont.

After 34 hours of no sleep I am finally going to hit the hay. I just have to wait for my dear computer to charge. Apparently I bought the wrong adapter so I have to borrow my wonderful roommate Breanna's for the evening. We went exploring today and found the coolest cathederal. They just happen to be every where in Vienna and it's pretty great. We went out to an Italian place for dinner tonight and the best part was that it was free. So far I have only spent $41 on this trip. $35 for checking a bag and $6 on a sandwich at the airport. Then after dinner we wandered aimlessly around the city. Chip and I looked like tourists to the max carrying our fat cameras but its okay because I snagged some cool shots.

Touring Vienna tomorrow! 

Viva la Vida! 

That means living the life in Spanish... maybe I should learn how to say it in German?

Day 1.

I am finally in Vienna! After all of the time prepping and planning I have finally arrived. Our day started at 5:30 am May 3rd and when we finally got off of the plane it was 8:30 on May 4th. Crazy. Remind me to never again spend that long on a plane. Except for when I come back to visit Austria again :]

The first plane was the most uncomfortable flying experience I have even had. No joke. The three hours to Chicago felt like and eternity. The seats were small and this man next to me kept invading my space with his computer and creepy WOW game. When we arrived at the Chicago airport we had to rush to our next gate for our plane that was already boarding. I had never been on a Boeing 747 but I must say I enjoyed the experience. Any plane that is going give me my own personal TV screen receives my approval. We flew from Chicago to the Washington-Dulles airport. We had a little bit longer layover there. I grabbed a sandwich for dinner and then we were off to Vienna. The seating arrangements were quite nice on the way there. I had my own seat plus the one next to me. It was super great except for the fact that I COULD NOT SLEEP. When the same movies are replayed over and over and you have watched all of them it makes a 9 hr flight seem a little bit longer. When we arrived in Vienna customs was a breeze and the calvary arrived to take us to our cute little hotel. It is so nice to arrive in a foreign country and already have the arrangements made for you. 

I had my first experience with the German language. This lady from the hotel walks up and says, "Guten Morgen." Now I know what that means but of course I completely froze as she proceeded to speak German five millions miles a minute. When she saw that we had no idea what she was saying she changed to English and gave us some excellent tips. 

Side note- One of my poor traveling companions, Ambree, lost her passport! She is still at the airport and we have yet to hear from her. Hopefully everything works out. William was so awesome at the airport suggesting we pray for her so all of us were praying in the middle of the airport. Yeah people were staring but hey we are BYU right?

So basically I am so happy to be in Vienna. I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but I have to stay awake for the next 10 hours. While is is 4 am at home it is noon here. Lovely. This city is beautiful. I can't wait to go walk around. But first I must shower seeing as I have not changed my clothes in 24 hours. Here are some pictures of my precious Hotel room! Notice Kayla has crashed... 

The view from the room

Car Ride on the way here. Yes. I am a tourist. 

I will blog again tomorrow. Much love. :]

Travel.

Mexico was amazing. The best part about the trip was that I got to spend some much needed time with my family. We spent our days lounging on the beach drinking more mango smoothies than we could keep track of. There is nothing like falling asleep in a hammock right on the ocean. Pictures will be posted soon :]

Tomorrow begins the next so called chapter of my life.  I am scheduled to arrive at the airport at 5:30 am. I cannot remember the last time I had to get up that early so it should be interesting. The goal while I am in Vienna is to blog a little something everyday. Mainly so my Mom doesn't freak out, but also so I can keep all of the people I love informed about what my daily activities are. So here goes nothing.