Italia

Greetings from Austria! As I mentioned in my last post, my first week of class was cut short so I had the opportunity to travel over to Italy for a few days. I had never really been to Italy before but I've heard only good things so I was very excited for my journey.

Tuesday morning, Adam, Jacob (my friends from Cal Poly) and I set out to Italy. Our first travels included two bus rides and about 6 hours worth of driving(not bad at all, especially in comparison to what it would be from back home in the States). The drive over was rather nice, as I got a chance to see the Austrian country side and all the beauty along the way. It really is very different and certainly had a peaceful, tranquil aspect to it. Driving through here was a breeze and the bus was comfortable enough, so the 6 hours went by in a heartbeat. Before we knew it, we were dropped off in the heart of Venice, Italy.

Our rainy departure

Our sunny arrival in Venice

Now I'm assuming mostly everybody knows about Venice, but for those who don't, a quick overview: Venice is a city that sits on an island on the Adriatic Sea in North-Eastern Italy, and is over a dozen centuries old. The city is purely canal based, making it so that there are no cars in the streets and the only mode of transportation (outside of walking) is to travel by boat in the canals. After our bus dropped us off and we dropped our bags off at our hostel, we headed to the island to walk around for a bit. Now I had known beforehand that city was beautiful from the canals, etc., but I had no idea just how beautiful it was.The entire time we stayed in Venice, I simply could not get over the canals. There was seemingly a picture perfect moment at every bridge, and I could certainly understand why it's been described as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". The people were welcoming (it's a huge tourist city), the city was pretty clean and of course, there is tradition and history everywhere.

My first view of Venice

The City of Canals

While there were plenty museums and tourist attractions to see, we were perfectly content just to walk around the island and check out the buildings, canals, shops and of course, restaurants. We grabbed a late lunch before walking around, and my introduction to Italian food was splendid. After a nice little plate of Spaghetti Carbonara, we explored the city. As I said before, the sites around Venice were breathtaking. We found ourselves stopping at almost every bridge to snap a few picture and gaze at the canals. After walking around for a few hours and checking out a lot of the sites (Venice is pretty small and can be explored fairly quickly), it was time for another Italian meal, of course! This time we decided to wander off the main path to find a more authentic, less commercialized place. Turned out to be an excellent idea, as we stumbled upon a really nice little pizza joint. I got an amazing pizza and no less than 1 liter of beer (in a boot-shaped glass, naturally.) We had a wonderful time in Venice and headed to sleep for the night.

Incredibly beautiful!

The canals

See why it's already one of my favorite cities?

Chillin by the canals

Das boot and an amazing pizza

On Wednesday, we decided to make our way over to Florence. After one more good Venetian meal and a few more photos of the canals, we caught a train over to Florence. I had a friend from Cal Poly studying in Florence so I was able to crash at her place for the few days we were there. Upon our mid-day arrival in Florence, we trekked across the city trying to find a place for my friends to stay, while checking out as much as we could along the way. Just before we got to the hostel, we ran into the Duomo of Florence. I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw it. It is far and away one of the most impressive and captivating structures I've seen to date. First, it's god damn enormous. Second, it's beautiful. Third, even if you don't care much for architecture, you can still appreciate the enormous slabs of marble that cover the entire outside of the cathedral and the incredibly ornate detailing. After gazing at the building for a few minutes, I caught up to my friends and we checked them into their hostel. We grabbed a quick pick-me-up in the form of liquid gold (a pint of beer, of course) since we were finally done sprinting around the city with our bags. My friend Lanie met up with us and showed us one of her favorite local restaurants. Unsurprisingly, I got pasta and even more unsurprisingly, it was delicious. We were pretty tired from travelling around so we got some gelato (amazing) and headed in for the evening.

The Duomo at night

Chillin with Dante at the Santa Croce

The Duomo...is really big.

Thursday was some more tourist stuff. We headed back over to the Duomo and checked out the inside. It's much more bare than it used to be, as most of the items from the inside have been preserved in a museum (considering the building is over 700 years old). We took the trip up to the top of the Dome, which towers over every building in the city. The view from the top was absolutely gorgeous. It offered a 360 degree view of all of Florence and the sites from up there were simply indescribable. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining strong, making for a pretty incredible experience 375 feet above the streets of Florence. So we headed down and grabbed another amazing lunch (more pasta, if I remember correctly) and checked out the leather market of Florence, a huge market they have every day with a bunch of local vendors are artists coming out to con us tourists into buying goods we don't need (just jokin', it was really cool). I'm proud to say I didn't buy anything, though I was close to buying a sweet pair of loafers. We continued our tourist ways and walked around the city more. Another one of the main sites of Florence is the Ponte Vecchio, which is literally over a thousand years old. It's supposedly the oldest bridge of it's kind in all of Europe. The bridge is decorated with a few dozen shops (which used to be occupied by butchers and vendors back in Medieval time) and offers a great view of the Arno River. We went over to the bridge next to the Ponte Vecchio and hopped over the wall onto the columns to get a better view. Amazing, of course. Afterwards we grabbed some dinner (surprise! It was awesome) with one of Jacob's friends  and headed out to a club for the rest of the night. Shenanigans ensued, of course.

The Duomo

Inside

The Fresca on the ceiling...

The view from the top

Oh what up, Florence?

The Ponte Vecchio

Looking at the Ponte Vecchio

Florence at sunset

Florence at night

Friday was our last day in Florence so we made the most of it. We made a quick little hike up to San Miniato al Monte, a basilica which sits on one of the highest points in the city of Florence. According to the good people at Wikipedia, it "has been described as the finest Romanesque structure in Tuscany and one of the most beautiful churches in Italy". They weren't joking, this place was impressive. Nearly every inch of the place was decorated with something and the craftsmanship was absolutely unbelievable. Adam and I sat on one the pews and gazed around, trying to figure out how the heck they could have built something so beautiful. We toured the inside and hung outside for a while, looking at the amazing view the church offers. After more walking/eating/being tourists etc., we went to a local trattoria and grabbed our last Italian meal. It. Was. Good. Enough said. We all gathered round at Lanie's apartment and then headed out for a night on the town. Shenanigans ensued again, and let's just say we had a great last evening in Florence.

San Miniato al Monte

The inside was gorgeous

Like really gorgeous

Firenze, Italia

After about an hour and a half of sleep, we managed to drag ourselves out of bed and head over to the train station. After a few days of good fun, we departed Italia with high spirits, full bellies, empty wallets, hangovers and great experiences. It was a wonderful trip and Italy was absolutely beautiful. The cities of Venice and Florence certainly rank in the top cities I've visited this far. The architecture and natural beauty were awe-inspiring and I had a magnificent time checking out some of the oldest and most historical sites in Europe. Our trip to Italy was another perfect excursion, and I'm already looking forward to my next trip.

Stay tuned until next time, America (and whoever else is reading this)

Yours,

Eric

Life continues....

Not too much to update since Croatia. Things have been somewhat slow around here since then. For the most part I've just been hanging out with friends, checking out the clubs/parties in Graz and living it up.

However, yesterday was sadly my last day of summer. It was a little longer than most peoples and for that I'm grateful. Today I started classes, and I was in for a bit of surprise, seeing as I expected my classes to be in English. Sure enough, once the professor started lecturing, it was an hour and a half of pure German. Now I've picked up a fair amount of German since I've been here, but I'm certainly not ready to take classes in full on German. Luckily most of the students in the class are friendly and speak pretty good English so they were able to translate enough for me to get what was going on. I talked the professors after class and straightened everything out, so I think that I will be alright for the few months that I'm taking classes here. My current project is to design a hotel and parking structure in Graz. It's not like anything I've done yet so it should be interesting...

However, I lucked out on my schedule for the first week of class. It looks like I won't have anymore class past today. So you know what that means... time to travel. Tomorrow morning, a few friends and I are headed to Italy for a few days. I haven't really spent much time there so it should be pretty interesting! I'm very excited and you can expect a blog and pictures to follow soon....


Until then,

Yours truly

Eric

(Sorry for the lame post, but nothing too exciting has happened in the past two weeks!)

First trip: Croatia

Since my last post, I've been busy with working on my German and hanging out with my friends around Graz, mostly. During the week, in order to celebrate Mexico's 200th year of independence, some of the Mexican people in our group had a little get together. Wild shenanigans ensued, with most of the people from our classes coming out to party. Me and a few buddies brought some American flair to the party in the form of beer pong and flip cup. Good times all around.

Welcome to Europe, Beer Pong!

Happy Birthday, Mexico!

Some friends enjoying the festivities 

We generally like to have a good time.

This weekend however, I had a chance to do something pretty exciting. Me and a  big group of friends from my school decided to make a road trip over to Croatia to check out what's going on over there. Quick overview: Croatia is a country in Cental/Southeastern Europe which sits across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. It's history dates back thousand of years and the architecture really reflects it. Many of the buildings that I saw seemed very worn (not in a bad way, more of just an historic, preserved way). It has a Mediterranean feel to it and much of the daily life revolves around the sea and peoples interaction with it (this makes the food VERY good).

So, on a rainy Thursday after class, we all met up and were on our way. There were five total cars driving over, with about 23 people in total (this made travel somewhat difficult but everyone who came was still a lot of fun either way). Again, our group consisted of a great variety of people form around the world which always make for some fun and interesting times. I had the pleasure of driving over with a group of Finnish people. One of the best decisions I've made so far. I drove with Toni, a big, lovable teddy bear who took responsibility of us and drove the whole way, Jari, a nice, funny guy who was a great back seat partner and Ville. Now Ville, being Finnish, lives up to the name Viking. He literally drank beer the ENTIRE trip (car rides and breakfast not withheld), blasted Finnish metal during the car rides and felt that a "big juicy steak" was suitable for every meal. He even threatened to burn down an entire village we were staying if he found that any of his stuff was stolen from our hostel (it wasn't, luckily.) He also happens to be one of the most hilarious people I've ever met, so needless to say the trip over with the Fins was a blast.

About to take off

Our journey to Croatia took us through Slovenia and the scenery along the drive was unlike anything in the United States. Incredibly beautiful and incredibly green. After a day of driving, we made it to our first destination in Croatia, Zadar. Though we arrived late at night, it wasn't late enough for us to grab a few drinks, check out the beach and hang out for a few hours. Weary from our travels, we headed in for a few hours of sleep.

Our arrival in Zadar

Hanging out for a bit

The next day, we got up on the earlier side to drive into town and walk around. The city of Zadar is fairly small but there was plenty of fun to be had in the hours we were there. Like I mentioned before, the buildings here had a very old feel to them. You could look around at the bricks and cobbles and just imagine how many people had walked on them before and some of the historic times they had seen. After strolling around for awhile and absorbing some scenery, we checked out a local restaurant to try some Croatian fare. Because of it's location along the Adriatic Sea, the best food to try is naturally the sea food, which turned out to be some of the best sea food I've tried. After a delicious pasta and a half liter, we headed back to the city for a few hours before heading to our next destination.

The coast in the morning

Some of the Architecture

Some of the preserved ancient structures

Try and tell me that doesn't look amazing

We decided to check out one of the many waterfalls in Croatia along the way to Split, the next city we were visiting. The Krka National Park, located a few kilometers from the town of Šibenik, contains some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. We walked through the town along the way and it turns out we arrived about 15 minutes too late to go the falls. We'd have to stop by on our way back, but in the meantime it was nice to stretch our legs and absorb some of the scenery. We left a bit disappointed, but our spirits were still high because of the beauty around us and the pleasure of the company. We got into Split in the earlier evening so we had time to check into our hostel and check out the city for a few hours. After a quick bite to eat, we grabbed a few drinks at our hostel and then went to one of the local clubs. It was a pretty fun time and we ended up staying until about 5AM or so. After another fun-filled evening, we grabbed one or two hours of sleep.

The town near the falls

A nice little port town

Me, with the Krka River behind me

Our arrival in Split

On Saturday, we explored the city of Split for a few hours. Split is generally accepted as being around 1,700 years old, so there is hundreds of years of history and culture around every corner.The winding streets and strictly masonry architecture made for a fun adventure and the city was unlike anywhere I had been in Europe to date. It had the same Mediterranean feel and the scenery and buildings really were very different and very amazing. Being a city by the sea, we had no choice but to check out the beaches. So we all wandered over to the coast and caught some rays for a few hours. The sea was nice but the beaches were mostly rocky. It was still refreshing and fun as always, and it was my first dip in the Adriatic. Afterwards, we tested some more of the local cuisine and carried on for a couple more hours.

Split during the day, with the sea in the background

The Adriatic Sea

Oh what up, Mediterranean?

Everybody happy!

Then the majority of the group left to go check out the city of Dubrovnik, while me, the Fins, another Finnish girl name Mari, a Brazilian girl named Thais, a Swedish guy named Robin and a Mexican guy named Roberto stayed behind in Split, not wanting to travel much more. (turns out it was a good decision, as the other group got lost and turned what should have been a 2 hour trip into a 9 hour disaster and ended up sleeping in the streets). So we checked out Diocletian's Palace, a 1,700 year old structure in the heart of the city that was of course, nothing short of amazing. When you look at something that old and well-preserved, it's hard not to gaze up and around you with your jaw on the floor. It really was one of the oldest and most unique things I've seen in Europe. So I picked my jaw off the cobbles and we ducked into a local restaurant to grab some more Croatia food. For whatever reason, whether it was the wine or just the generally good atmosphere and company, we couldn't stop laughing the entire meal and all of us nearly died of laughter at one point or another. Some of us headed in for the evening afterward and some of us drank an unnecessary amount of alcohol for the next fews hours. I'll leave you to guess as to what I did.

Diocletian's Palace

Some pretty amazing stuff

The next day, we grabbed a quick breakfast before embarking on our way home. Being only two cars this time, the travel was much easier and more efficient. This made it easy for us to stop at Krka again and check out the waterfalls. After a short walk, we saw what is one of the most breathtaking natural beauties I have ever or will ever see. The falls continuously step down and form one of the most incredible and unique waterfalls I ever seen. I was a bit taken aback at first by the commercial interference (we had to pay 15 bucks to get in and there were shops and cafes all around) but once I started walking around, all of that was gone. There's a trail through the woods that leads up around the falls so you get a good view of every angle of the falls. At the end, we took a dip in and swam around near the base. By far one the coolest things I have ever done. I swam over to a rock that wasn't more than 10 feet from the base of the raging waters. It literally left me speechless. If you ever get the chance to do something like this, do not hesitate. Purely amazing.

The surrounding landscape

The walk over...

How beautiful is that?

If you every find yourself in Croatia, go here.

The crew

Yea, I was that close

Be jealous of us.

So, after an overall perfect trip, I can say that Croatia is a very cool country. There's endless amounts of things to see and when you go with a group like I did, it's indescribably fun. I was glad to have started travelling around and Croatia was the perfect place to start. I loved everything about the trip and I have plenty of great pictures and memories to remind me of it. I hope you guys enjoyed reading about it (it was a long post, I know but there was a lot to say).

Until next time...

Eric