Country Hopping

Sorry for the delay in posting! Sarah and I are still traveling (we’ll be gone a total of 5 weeks!), and wifi is definitely more scarce than usual.

We are currently celebrating the Easter holiday in Innsbruck, Austria, a city nestled within the grandiose peaks of the Austrian Alps. Since we left England we’ve made stops in three different countries and seven cities:

Needless to say, it’s been one crazy ride. So far, I think my favorite part of our trip has been Austria as a whole – not only is it stunningly beautiful, but the food is fantastic (if a whole lot of sausage and kraut is your thing) and I’ve gotten the chance to get more in touch with my Austrian roots. Speaking of roots: Sarah and I got the opportunity to meet, for the first time, my distant relatives in Vienna! Truly one of the coolest experiences of this entire year abroad. It forces you to realize just how big and beautiful the web of what we call “family” stretches across the World!

Being in a VERY Catholic region of the globe these past two weeks, Sarah and I have had the privilege to celebrate Easter as we may have at home in the States with the addition tof the rich traditional practices of Austrian Catholicism. While in Salzburg earlier this week we attended Holy Thursday and Tenebrae services at the famous Salzburg Cathedral (Mozart’s home church when he was young and living in Salzburg!). We took a break from Church yesterday, then attended an Easter Sunday mass this morning at the church across the street from our Airbnb in Innsbruck. While the church was so packed we had to stand at the back, it was well worth it, as the entire service was narrated by a full-power orchestra and professional choir. Practically a free ticket to the symphony or opera! Walking back across the street to the delicious confectionary located in the bottom of our Airbnb’s building, Sarah and I agreed it was truly one of the most beautiful masses either of us had ever attended.

With that, I hope everyone has a Happy Easter! Be back soon with more updates on our travels (next stop: Italy!).

Auf Wiedersehen,

HRH

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New Words of the Week: Interrailing Edition

danke, danke schön (German) – thank you (very much, kindly)

bitte (German) – please

Kuchen (German) n. – cake

*as you can see, for the most part we’ve only learned German words; we found Hungarian and Czech much harder to pick up!

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