A note from June, in Innsbruck et al.

 A note from June.. 

A month in Innsbruck, Austria.  And to say the experience is not what I pictured would be an understatement.  

Some contextual details for my experience are: I didn't know a soul coming here; I'm only taking 1 course which is entirely online; and, I am working my full-time job (remotely) from Innsbruck.  

Some people I've met: my sweet motherly flatmate Rita, a 40-year-old accountant from Germany (found her on Facebook); my other flatmate that only speaks German and stays cooped up in his room; Kyra and Valentina, best friends from Orlando who joined the Erasmus (study abroad) program with me but take in-person classes; Hannah and Charlotte, both in our program and came from England and love some fun; their friend Lara who came to visit; Sarah, she's a spunky Canadian; Julie, from Germany, our dedicated translator, hiker, and introvert; Savannah, also from Orlando, a gentle sweet friend; Lalo and Marco are from Mexico; and Albert, an aspiring photographer from South Africa.  

Some adventures we've had: the Swarvoski museum in Wattens (especially the "no age limit" four-story jungle gym); Hungerberg to Seegrube hike (which we pursued under the impression it would be a brief and easy 1.5-hour trek, that turned into a 4 hour up, brutal but rewarding experience we all were ill-equipped to handle); the disastrous "club" scene where we learned how 9 women should stand up and defend one another in a sea of disrespectful men (where I learned upon returning to the US I broke my foot); the European League Football Game (American football style) to watch the Raiders Tirol defeat Barcelona); the campus spot that seems to be the only place we can find to meet up and talk (its called Sixty Twenty and for some reason, no matter how respectful we can be, they do not seem to like us); the courtyard where we line danced, did the worm, and told jokes at midnight; the gelato place in the square which sells a scoop for 1.5 euros; the carnival that followed the football game (but none of us wanted to spend the money on the activities).  I took weekend trips; first to Zürich, Switzerland where I read 2 books on my kindle in 2 days while walking around the lake and old town (centering and peaceful... I learned how much I enjoyed not weighing myself down with the pressure of seeing and doing everything, but just being, and being at peace); fulfilled a full-circle nostalgic moment of having Swiss Fondue one night; and, making plans for my adventures moving forward. And second to Munich, Germany, where I finally found a gluten-free bratwurst, sat in the English Gardens to read, watched surfing in a river, listened to a violinist in a park, and continued to walk everywhere I went. 

Locations I added before and after June: London, Paris, Venice, Lake Como, Genoa, Cinque Terre, Portofino, Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Amsterdam, Zaanse Schans, Purmerend, and Volendam. 

But what I want to leave you with from this note... Don't put your dreams or adventures on an indefinite hold because you don't have the family, friend(s), or a partner to go with you.  You can do the job, save the pennies, make the smart and safe choices, but still see the world and do the big things, making friends along the way!

I'm proud of you, and I'm proud of me too, xx. 

I went to Austria and discovered the end of the world may be near?!?!

 Hello everyone! My name is Mckay and I am a student at HPU and just finished up my semester abroad in Salzburg, Austria. It was magical five months filled with adventure, laughter, self-growth, and new friends. During my semester abroad I took both biomedical courses and international office courses, and in this blog post I want to focus on a very interesting mountain located on the outskirts of Salzburg that I learned about in my "Inside Austria" course. This mountain is called Mt. Untersberg and is breathtakingly beautiful. While it features picturesque views, a quaint mountain hut that offers delicious food, and ice caves, it also comes with a harrowing tale. This tale is as follows ...

Mt. Untersberg

 

They say a mighty king is sleeping deep beneath the mountain of Untersberg. He sits at a stone table, surrounded by his court. When his long white beard will grow around the table three times, the ravens will no longer circle the mountain top, and the King will wake up, grab his sword and fight in the final battle between good and evil after which the end of the world will begin.

Art work depicting the king

This tale is creepy! But also... kind cool :) Thats why when I was given the assignment to present about for my class regarding anything about Austria, I chose to present on Mt. Untersberg's legends. It was a very intriguing presentation and during my research for it, I stumbled upon a story that Miranda Waters has written from the POV of an adventurer who has roamed into the depths of the Untersberg and found the sleeping King. I read this story out loud to my classmates and they loved it. Here is the link if you would also like to give it a read https://nomadswithnotebooks.com/?p=1163

Artwork depicting the legend

A few weeks after my presentation, I learned that my classmates and I would be taking a field trip to the top of the Untersberg and hike to a gorgeous peak and also an ice cave. I was so excited!! Whether my excitement was for the gorgeous adventure that was to happen or for the possibility to see the sleeping king myself is up for debate :) 

When the day to explore the Untersburg was finally upon my classmates and I, we accessed the top of the mountain via a cable car that cost 28 euros round trip. However if you are feeling extra adventurous, you can also reach the top via hiking. *Quick side note* It is possible to reach the base of the Untersberg via public transport, if you decide to take this adventure you do not need to rent a car or Uber to do it.

Cable car you will ride to the top, the views are INSANE

Said views

Once at the top, my classmates and I embarked on a hike to a lookout, which was lead by my course instructor's husband. I am pretty sure this man was half mountain goat because when one of my classmates got a cramp, he just scooped him up and carried him down the icy mountain side that my classmates were slipping on like it was no big deal at all! For spring and early summer, the mountain top will be chilly and have snow, so be prepared with warm clothes and good shoes for hiking in the snow. 

Me at the peak of the Untersberg

Once we reached the peak, my instructor's husband then lead an optional hike to an ice cave. I had to jump on this opportunity because if I was ever going to see the sleeping king and see if the end of the world was near due to his beard growing three times around the table, this was the time! Our part mountain goat part human leader took us on about a 45 minute hike to an ice cave that has no name and is only known by locals, so I would love to tell you how to access this cave but I cannot due to the fact that it had no name, I have no sense of direction so I could not recreate the hike we took to get there, and that our hike leader spoke no English so I could not ask questions about this cave. 

Upon arrival to the entrance of the cave, I was very nervous to go inside because I am extremely claustrophobic and was also nervous to maybe see the king and to see how far his beard had grown! However, with some motivation from my friends I was able to summon the courage to enter the cave and it was unlike anything I have ever seen before. There were giant icicles that stretched from the top of the cave to the bottom and giant chunks of ice everywhere. I explored the cave for a little bit before I concluded that sadly, the sleeping king was nowhere to be found in the cave :( The beautiful views and great time with my friends made up for the disappointment though ;)

Inside of the ice cave pt 1

Inside of the ice cave pt 2

My classmates and I then hiked back to the top of the cable car and nearby mountain hut and had some delicious food and beer to celebrate the hike that we had just conquered before we rode the cable car back down. While I was not able to find the sleeping king and measure his beard and consequently confirm or deny if the end of the world was near, this was still a gorgeous way to get outside, explore the mountains surrounding Salzburg, and get exercise. I highly would recommend this adventure!

-Mckay 

My amazing host university!! FH Salzburg

Now that my semester in Salzburg is over and I am so glad that I did study abroad and chose FH Salzburg. I am majoring in Multimedia Cinematic Production and FH was the best school for my major. They have equipped studios, very good teachers, and students. Today I am going to talk about why FH was the best choice for a student studying media.

First of all, if you are majoring in cinematic production, you must know it is kind of hard to find host universities that offer classes you can take as major-required credits. However, FH has a major called Multimedia, which is completely the same as the one in HPU, and the major basically has four divided studies; Audio, Film, Media Design, and Computer Animation (3D). FH is not like US universities, but students don't have to take general education classes. Therefore students can focus on what they want to do from the first year. I took classes with students at my age but everyone knew how to use cameras, lights, and everything and I felt so behind. It was very good to know what film students in other countries do and I got more motivated.

The classes were very practical, for example, we sometimes went for shooting for all day in class. One of the most fun classes I took there was directing class, where students coordinated a short scene, directed, and edited them (You can watch my project from here https://vimeo.com/178911395). In that class, the school hired two professional actors for our projects and we even got to learn how to communicate with actors as a director. We had to think how to explain the scene to actors and not to confuse them at the same time. I found it interesting because such things cannot be learned in a classroom, and if you have these kind of knowledge, you can use them as soon as you get a job and I believe it can be your advantage.

Shooting for all day

The teachers were very helpful, too. I believe most of them used to work for well-known companies, such as Disney (!!!). I took one class called Analog Animation, and the teacher would work for Disney before. We got to see his artworks he has done before and it sure was amazing. Another class I thought was interesting was script writing class, where we wrote our own original scripts from scratch. It was my first time writing a script and found it very hard to finish even an only FIVE minute script. We got to learn the script writing format and the class was completely different from writing classes I took in Hawaii. I felt so lucky to learn from someone who worked for my dream companies. 

Like I mentioned before, students were very amazing, too. First of all they were very nice, seriously the best people ever, and they were so friendly even though I couldn't speak German (I tried but failed). Their artwork is just so amazing, I seriously couldn't tell if they were my classmates’ projects or masterpieces made by professionals. Especially 3D students were so good. They made games, anime, and characters and they all looked real! I wouldn't doubt if they were sold in a store or they were showing in a movie theatre. I would pay decent amount of money for their projects. However, the students were very modest and always trying to find ways to be better. You would be surprised by their amazing pieces once you get there.

Did I get a lot of homework? ... Yes and no. We had to finish decent amount of semester projects which you usually have to turn in by the end of the semester. However we didn't get small homework constantly, say weekly nor monthly. The only thing which was hard for me was that like I said, the students there were very experienced and have been focusing on one or two narrowed subjects for a year or two, or more, so I sometimes had a hard time catching up with them. Especially classes like 3D animation, music composition were hard. I would recommend you to be careful and think about which classes you want to take. You can always talk to professors and explain your situation. Some classes were easy and fun, but the others can be hard if you are not familiar with the topic.

Besides the fact regarding the major, school staffs there were great, they were kind and would plan events for exchange students. During the welcoming week, they would take us to the city center and showed us around. They even invited us for dinner (we didn't have to pay) to a fancy traditional Austrian restaurant, and we even got to see traditional dance/ performance there. The international office introduced us to their "buddy students" who would help us and show us around the campus. The buddy students would pick us up at the airport, too!! Although the office is kind of slow, they are so nice and I can assure you that you will love them and the school.

Puch, where the campus is located. From Google

The campus is located in very beautiful countryside. You can see breathtaking alps mountains (yes Alps are in Austria, too, not only Switzerland) and beautiful stars at night from the campus. I didn't stay on campus but the school dorm is located right next to the building where you'll have classes. The size of one room is more than enough for one person and clean. They have kitchen in each room. I had a great time living by the old town but living on campus should be very convenient mostly because you don't have to wake up early for class. However there's pretty much nothing around the campus so some of my friends stayed there would say it was kind of boring, but it's all up to you. My accommodation was located a half an hour train ride away from the campus and the train comes every half an hour or an hour at night, so it could be pretty annoying when I had classes early in the morning. Sometimes I had to leave the house one hour earlier or more than students who lived on campus. You will have fun anywhere you live in Salzburg anyways, though.

Overall, FH was perfect for me to study as a film student. The students there were very creative and they will motivate and encourage you. If you are deciding whether you should go study in Salzburg, I would say just go!! I have been thinking how to get back to Salzburg. They are all good at English and when you speak one or two words in German they will go like “AHHH!!! You are speaking German!! You learn so fast!!! Impressive!!!”. Ah how much I miss them.

Puch Campus from the school website

FH Salzburg website:  http://www.fh-salzburg.ac.at/en/

Basic Tips (visit/live in Salzburg)

It has been almost three and a half months since I got here and finally I think I am getting used to the life here. I really love it here and I don’t even want to leave. For HPU students thinking about studying in Salzburg and planning to visit Salzburg, today I would like to introduce some tips to have a good time in Salzburg, Austria.

The barn from Sixteen Going on Seventeen
  

Old Town at night

Where to go

Salzburg’s must-sees are all in the old town (Salzburg Altstadt in German). They have Mozart’s old house, his born house, Mirabell Platz, Salzburg cathedral, and so on. They are all in a walkable distance. I would say one day is more than enough to go around the old town area. If you are staying a bit longer, I recommend you to go to Hellbrunn Palace. They have the little barn used for the sixteen going on seventeen scene of the Sound of Music. It is very peaceful there and you are going to see a lot of greens and flowers. It is not far from the old town either.

What to Eat

Austria has very good beer and sausages!! You can find them every where and you don't even have to choose the store. All the stands and restaurants have delicious sausages. There is a famous restaurant called Cafe Glockenspiel where you can eat traditional Austrian food such as Schnitzel. Personally I am not a big fan of Austrian food because I don’t really like potatoes, and the restaurant is a bit expensive so I actually have never been there. 

You can have Sachertorte, the traditional Austrian chocolate cake at Hotel Sacher, located outside of the old town. I love Wiener Coffee there and it goes perfectly with the cake.

However during the orientation week our coordinators told us it was the most famous place in Salzburg to eat traditional food. Other than that, around the old town, they have a good pizza restaurant called L’Osteria Salzburg. Their pizza is so good, but huge so you may want to share them with your friend. The price is not that bad either.

Since I am from Japan, and if you live in Hawaii for some years you might be in the same situation as me, I miss Asian food so much. They have some good Asian all-you-can-eat style restaurants, and one of them is near the old town. It is called Asia Kitchen and they have lunch and dinner. Lunchtime is a bit cheaper than dinner time and weekdays are cheaper than weekends. That is why I usually go there for lunch on weekdays. They have good Chinese food, some Sushi, and desserts  like ice creams and cakes.

How to Tip

They do tip in Austria, but not like America. I feel like tipping here is more lenient than in the US especially for students. I know a lot of people who never even tip. They are mostly from some other countries but there is not gonna be a problem, and they tip less than in America. Usually 10% or less. Some people just round up and give the change to waitresses. 

“keep the change” = “Passt schon”

Public Transport

The most popular public transport are train and bus. I have a semester card that I can take any train and bus with in Salzburg. It costs about 140 euros and I think there is no point buying one unless you commute to school by train/bus. If you are under 25, I recommend to get a vorteilscard, which costs only 19 Euros, and with that card you can get all the tickets 50% off. 

You can use vorteilscard card sometimes outside of Austria. When I went to Italy thanks to this card I paid only 29 Euros to Venice from Salzburg.

Usually trains come 2-3 minutes late. Trains are very clean and people would ask you if they can sit next to you. In that occasion you can say “Bitte” (please). 

Cheapest Way to Vienna

Westbahn

(Or you could try Czech Railways called České dráhy to find cheaper tickets but you have to book it earlier, and I have never tried)

Cheapest Way to Munich (Germany)

Bayern ticket

With only one Bayern ticket, you can go to Bayern State in Germany and come back to salzburg. You can also take every public transportation with that ticket within a day in the state. Munich, one of the biggest cities in Germany, is in Bayern state too, so you can go there as well. Munich has pretty buildings, shops,and Bayern Munich soccer stadium, if you like soccer. 

Safety

night view from the hill in the old town
  

I have been to different places but as far as I am concerned, Salzburg is relatively a safe country. I have never been in trouble nor gotten stolen anything. When I went for a drink to the town, I always walked home in the middle of the night but I have never felt unsafe. Of course I was with my friends, so as long as you watch yourself and keep your guy friends around you if you walk home at night, you will be okay. I think you already know every place can be dangerous if you are careless, but I don’t think you have to pay extra attention.

Language

Although their first language in Austria is German, Austrian people, especially students, are good at English. Sometimes you might get to talk with people who do not understand English completely at grocery stores and shops. Besides the fact, I don’t think it is a good idea to expect everyone to speak English because leaning your second language is way harder than you think. I don’t really speak German but I learned some words to communicate with local people.

Most of the time you will find someone who can speak English so you can live there even if you don’t speak German at all, but I want you to at least try to speak some easy words in German.

I will post one more blog about more detailed tips for living in Salzburg soon!

All the Emotions of Leaving Europe

I'm back in the United States and the culture shock and adjustment of being back is in full effect. The second half of my semester was crazy busy, full of travel, visits from home, and intense language practice. I can definitely say that this entire experience was MORE than worth it. I met more people than I could have ever imagined, made some really long-lasting friendships, forced myself out of my comfort zone by backpacking alone for 3 weeks and with a friend from home for another 3, and really enjoyed my time. This was one of the greatest moves I have made in life.


I left Paris on May 16th, both happy and utterly heartbroken as I embarked on the next adventure - 6 solid weeks of backpacking throughout Europe. I had a plan of the first 17 days going to Lyon, Strasbourg, Fussen, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Munich, Dresden and Berlin. My long-time friend Heather from California was meeting me in Berlin to do 24 days throughout Eastern Europe; Prague, Budapest, Zagreb, Mostar, Dubrovnik, Split, Plitvic, Ljubljana, Bled, and Zurich. Although I was nervous to be on my own for the first part of the trip, I immediately made new friends in Lyon, as I was staying with a friend from Paris' family that offered their home to me. It was amazing to be able to integrate into Lyon's lifestyle with locals for a few days. Lyon remains one of my favorite cities - hence why  I visited twice in my time abroad. Backpacking by myself forced me to be comfortable on my own instead of relying on anybody. I made so many connections in the hostels - some I traveled with for a couple days, while some I just spent an afternoon with. Each of these new faces brought a different perspective to my travels and greatly impacted me. I loved being able to broaden my views and take in a wide range of ideas from all over the world. In my time alone, I hiked one of the Alps, drove on the Autoban, visited Mozart's home, went to the original castle that Disney modeled theirs after, ate apfelstrudel and spatzle, spent time in the oldest concentration camp from WWII, watched surfers go at it in the park river in Munich, and climbed more stairs that I can count.


When I arrived in Berlin I couldn't wait for my friend Heather to come. I was a little exhausted, my phone had been having issues, and I was ready for some comfort of home. She ended up missing her connecting flight in Turkey and was delayed 15 hours, but finally arrived (newly-sprained ankle and all). While the mobility was a bit of an issue and we ran into problems here and there, our trip was absolutely fantastic. Eastern Europe is less traversed than the western portion, making it less crowded and cheaper. Heather and I explored the cities on our own, venturing off the beaten path, and discovered a whole new world that we loved. My top favorite place was by far Mostar, Bosnia. The people we came across were incredibly friendly, the food was good, and the scenery was breathtaking. There is a vast contrast between Western and Eastern Mostar due to the Bosnian War of the early 1990s and wreckage is still present with bombed-out buildings and bullet casings found throughout the city. Very few people seemed to be visiting here, so the peaceful aura of the city was very different to what I had experienced in places like Paris and Berlin. This trip together included getting tattoos in Prague (sorry Mom!), relaxing at the thermal baths of Budapest, jumping into a freezing lake/waterfall in Bosnia, meeting a friend I had met on a previous stop in Bern, Switzerland, seeing famous graffiti walls, and bonding with one of my best friends.


Everyone should backpack - and do it alone at least for some time. It sounds crazy and people told me I was out of my mind, and I'll admit that I was scared. But was it worth it? COMPLETELY. I can't stress enough how much I grew in this whole experience - both from studying abroad and from traveling afterwards. This world is huge and there is so much to see, but there is also so many people to cross your path that will open your eyes in a way you didn't know could happen.


I'm already planning my return to these incredible places.

Fussen, Germany. Neuschwanstein Castle.

Fussen, Germany

The most picturesque little city, Strasbourg, France.

One of the best things about backpacking is meeting new people that become lifelong friends.

Munich, Germany

Dresden, Germany

Filbling, Austria, outside of Salzburg. Hiking in The Alps!

In the Astronomical Clock Tower in Prague, Czech Republic

My right hand companion on the second half of this trip - Heather

The Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany

Waterfalls outside of Mostar, Bosnia

The Shoes - Holocaust Memorial in Budapest, Hungary

View from our hostel in Bled, Slovenia just before dusk

View from our hostel in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Bern, Switzerland. I was lucky enough to have a friend I met previously in Nice from here to show us around.

Hanging on the edge in Bled, Slovenia

Our last day - Zurich, Switzerland

The famous Plitvic Lakes Park in Croatia

The City of Mozart

Old Town in Salzburg (World Heritage)

It’s been only two weeks since I got here in Salzburg, but I am completely in love with this beautiful city in Austria already. Can you even imagine that now I am staying in the town where Mozart was born and raised? I am walking the streets where he used to walk around and am seeing buildings where lots of his masterpieces were made…like is this even real? My dorm is only a 10 minutes walk away from Mozart’s birth place, and the town itself is a World Cultural Heritage. They have a bunch of pretty buildings and streets including cathedrals and palaces where the sound of music was filmed (although I found out the movie is not that popular here in Salzburg), and that is where we hang out.

People are very nice, too. To be honest, before I came here, I was scared of being judged just because I am Asian. Obviously there are less Asians, however, people would not care, they would still talk to me and give me beautiful smiles. Since the national language in Austria is German, sometimes I cannot communicate with local people, but most of them are pretty good at English so I think there would be no problem living in Austria without knowing German. However, I always feel bad that I cannot speak their language because they are so nice and I want to thank them in their own language. For the reason, I regret that I did not study German beforehand. Hopefully I will be able to speak a little bit before I leave here.

Düsseldorf

Everything is pretty

I was born and raised in Japan, and I have only lived on “islands” (Japan and Hawaii) so this experience is completely new to me. It may sound silly but I still cannot believe that I am in a continent that has a lot of countries inside. I got a layover in Germany when I flew here, so I got to spend a day in Düsseldorf. When I saw Rhine River, I remembered that I studied about the river in a small classroom in Japan. It felt so magical that I was actually seeing the river with my own eyes, not with a geography textbook. 

Being in TWO different countries at the same time!!!

Since I came here, I have met a lot of people from different countries. Some of them were originally refugees. They are all open minded and likeable and have various ways of thinking. I am sharing a kitchen with about 30 students from different colleges/countries, and there is always someone I get to talk with. Having a deep conversation with them is now my favourite time of the day.

I hang out with people from my dorm floor every night

Salzburg Cathedral

Every time I tell people that I go to a school in Hawaii, they get all jealous and ask me why I left Hawaii. Yes I do miss beautiful Hawaiian beaches and mountains, sunny days, and tight nice hugs. However, the life here is as exciting as the one in Hawaii. I can feel the history just by walking around the streets and every time I imagine how many people have come here and been amazed by this beautiful city throughout the centuries, I feel like I want to cry (I did actually, for several times) and I am so happy to be one of those tons of people.

Leaving Salzburg... For now!

It is with mixed feelings that I am now back at Hawaii Pacific University.
As excited as I am to be back, I am also sad to leave behind so many new friends and lovely Salzburg itself.

As an update, my Robot Kinematics partner, Martin, and I won the robot tower building challenge, for the tower which can be seen in the image below:

A feat which earned us a case of beer, which can freely be drunk on school premises.
This, and many other things have made me realise just how large the cultural differences are between America and Europe. I had noticed it during my first two semesters at HPU, but for some reason it just became more clear to me while I was on study abroad in Austria.

Here is the view from my dorm room, with the FH on the right:

 Of course, one of many benefits I would have to mention to anyone considering going to FH Salzburg on study abroad is the incredible convenience of living on campus once it starts snowing. It got quite cold at times, but with a 20 meter walk from the dorm door to the FH door, it was always possible to go there to study.
...Which we did a lot! It has been an intense semester, but also very rewarding, and full of friendly, helpful classmates. Here an unsuspecting classmate and I are studying for our final exam in Parallel Computing:

Here is the FH from the front:

As a final remark on my study abroad experience at FH Salzburg in Austria, I would say that it is one of the best decisions I ever made, and I would encourage anyone interested in the programs they offer to go there! I absolutely loved it!
If you are still in doubt, here is a photo I took one morning on my way to buy groceries:

Well, I have to get back to work now, since I only just arrived back. The semester in Austria is different from the one in America, therefore I had my last exam on Friday, Feb. 5th, hopped on a plane to Denmark to change my bags on Feb 6th, and got on the plane for Honolulu at an ungodly hour on Feb. 8th.
No rest for the weary, for the semester here is already full under way, and I have some catching up to do :)

Alles Gaude, Elisabeth