A much needed day in Badgastein.

Salzburg College has a few "days in the snow" throughout the semester in which we can choose whether we would like to ski, toboggan, snow shoe, ice skate or anything our heart desires. A few weeks ago...we were lucky enough to take a trip to Badgastein which is home to all of these activities, but also beautiful spas. I am not usually the spa type, but hey, it has been a COLD winter and I decided to choose warm baths over skiing. Upon arrival a couple of exchange students and I decided to take a gander around the town full of resorts, restaurants, cafes and lodges. Wondering down into the valley, we were pleasantly surprised (after getting a little lost) to find a small trail back up the mountain. This trail lead us over a waterfall and gave us an incredible, panoramic view of the mountains and scenery. We took many a picture and moved up the street until we stumbled upon a small, family owned ice skating rink.

The picturesque Badgastein 

Joanna and Becky walking up a road in Badgastein.

The rink had absolutely nobody skating on it which seemed a little odd…but we went to check it out and eventually three chubby little girls stumbled onto the rink, holding onto the side for dear life. We walked into a little shack on the side and were greeted happily by a small family. There were seats, two tables and a little sign that said how much the skates were. I believe they cost about three Euros…which obviously gave us the go! The couple and their young son did not speak any English, so I spoke what I could and after trying on about 30 pairs of skates, we each found winning pairs. We stumbled onto the rink, just like the little chubby girls and tried to get the hang of our once practiced sports. The little boy was very excited about our revival and also skated with us around the rink, doing twirls and showing of his prestigious skills. After a short time, we decided to go inside for some coffee and asked the lady if she had any in her small kitchen. We decided to get coffee and what looked like Linzertorte, but then she decided to just give us four huge pieces of the torte! We were very surprised and offered to pay…but she insisted that we have it. We ended up leaving some money on the table and were very surprised when she came out to the rink later to try and give it back. This experience definitely displayed the unique hospitality that one can find in Austria.

Family owned ice skating rink in Badgastein

After our nice, unexpected skating excursion, the girls and I wandered back to the spa area and spent three luxurious hours going from one warm pool to the next, to the saunas and back. After all the traveling, and hard school work we had been doing, this seemed perfect. I was honestly expecting however, to see more naked Austrians running around the pools, but little did I know, this was left for the sauna room. Each sauna had at least one man or woman fully spread out on the hot wooden seats. As an American, all I could do was look down and not glimpse to long at my friends. This cultural difference is so interesting to me. Why is the naked body so censored in the states? It’s something that each and every person has…although different in many ways. Anyway, the spa was great. There were pools both inside and outside, for children, for adults, with bubblers and even a water slide for once you get tired of sitting in hot water. 

Badgastein spa. :) One of the outside pools. This one wasn't heated which is why nobody is in it...

After the luxury, we threw ourselves back into the brisk cold in search for dinner. Since many places were touristy and expensive, we had to resort to eating kebabs which are honestly delicious. I find myself craving the combination of salty meat, sauce and vegetables quite regularly. Not the most healthy, but potentially healthier than a big mac. After dinner, we made our way to the grocery store to grab a beer (since we did not want to pay 5 euro for one) and headed down to the infamous Red Bull Competition. We waited and waited and waited, looked around, walked around and waited for this competition to start. People lined up on the street in their Red Bull garb and pushed others around vigorously trying to save their standing room. It was really quite exciting since I hadn't been to many ski events before aside from Schladming and those at Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire. I was freezing cold, but once the competition began, I found myself forgetting for a while. The trail was incredibly built through the town and went downhill for about a mile. There were jumps and obstacles in between for the skiers to show off their skills and gain points. I have never seen so many wonderful tricks in my life. These skiers were incredible and as a skier, I had never heard about this race in my life. Anyway, if anyone who reads this happens to go to Austria around the time of the next Red Bull race, I completely recommend the experience. Just dress warm!! Here is a link with more information...

http://www.redbull.com/en/events/1331579560237/red-bull-playstreets-2013

The Red Bull Playstreets 2013 Competition in Badgastein. 

On a side note: Red Bull was created in Austria which was something that I had no idea about before coming here! It seems so contradictory considering that Austrians pride themselves on their healthy foods…and Red bull is well….an energy drink. I see the logo everywhere I go and the company funds many sporting events worldwide. Who knew that an energy drink made in Austria in 1987 would become the bestselling energy drink in the world?

Red Bull cars! It's starting to look appealing to me...

Linz...the home of Linzertorte.

So, since I have not blogged in a LONG time...I will have to make a few while some memories are still fresh in my mind! About a month ago (maybe...I have no sense of time here) a couple of friends and I took a trip to Linz, Austria. This industrial city is about an hour from Salzburg by train and had some interesting quarks to it! We bought a very inexpensive Linz pass which included admission to many museums as well as free transportation. (Which is always a plus even though it seems like they never check…)

Origami lights at the ars electronica museum. 

Walking around the city came as a bit of a shock to me because I was not expecting the outskirts of the city to look so rundown. My friends and I tried to find a castle that was oddly located in a suburb area, but only found rundown stores with very little worthwhile architecture. After walking around for quite some time without any luck, we decided to head back to the city center. The center (Hauptplatz) was quite gorgeous, similar architecture to that of Salzburg, but no views of mountains from every place you stand. We walked into a beautiful (and huge) gothic church that had strikingly modern stained glass windows in every color. The layout of the city didn’t quite make much sense to me, possibly due to its industrial setting and history. According to my host family’s son in law, it is where Hitler attended high school and actually found himself happy in life. I was told that he put a lot of money into the city later on to build it up industrially and even got rid of some of the earlier architecture. There is absolutely no trace of Hitler’s presence in the city. Certainly not a claim to fame for Linz.

Strikingly modern stained glass in the neo-gothic cathdral 

On a lighter note, there were some incredible museums which really made the trip worthwhile. In 2009, Linz was actually voted one of the European capitals of culture. Although rundown in some parts, I can see how much it is growing. I actually found some similarities to North Adams, MA. Unique, modern art seemed to line the streets in areas which you wouldn’t expect and if I had spent more than a day there, I’m sure I would be able to experience more than a concert or two. There is a great performance hall that brings in interesting artists and a young crowd from the colleges. Perhaps my favorite museum was the “Ars Electronica,” which is an advanced technology museum that displays what the future could bring. The museum was huge and extremely interactive not only for children, but also adults. I found myself most caught up in the music and art section of the museum. They had incredible drawing boards that felt as if I were actually using paint and pencil with just a stylus….also something similar to garage band with every sound you could possibly think of. The girls and I were very interested in one display of a person like figure that you could hold when you were talking to someone on Skype. Its mouth would move with the person that you were talking to. Honestly, that freaked me out a lot…

The Skype Baby - designed  to be the physical side of skype

After spending many hours in this museum, being distracted by every interesting exhibit, the girls and I needed a coffee and cake. Not just any cake, but the Linzertorte. Just about every café was closed, but we did end up stumbling into probably the most famous café of the city and everything was delicious. Not every food cliché is up to par, but I have to say the Linzertorte is probably one of the best desserts I have had here. Just sweet enough when paired with a cappuccino.

Our delicious Linzertorte. :)

The last museum I enjoyed was the Lentos Kunstmuseum. Little did I know there would be an exhibit full of naked man paintings, drawings and sculptures, but nonetheless, it really was tremendous. The museum was modernly designed and also looked incredible from the outside. Both the Lentos Kunstmuseum and Ars Electronica light up at night and wave to each other from opposite sides of the river. They change color and give a different mood to the city. Although not as beautiful as Salzburg, Linz certainly is an interesting city and deserves a second look upon arrival.

Another photo from the ars electronica. These hands were very slowly moving. 

Ps: This is very random…but from some studies in class, I found out that Austria is GMO free which I think is pretty incredible! Who needs GMO’s anyway? The vegetables and fruit here taste so fresh and healthy year round.