Europe Post #27: Reflections of Europe

So... I still really can't believe I spent 5 whole weeks in Europe.  Overall, IT WAS AMAZING (just in case you couldn't tell from my blog posts).

Here are a few lists that really summarize how I feel.  (Lists describe me much better than paragraphs.)

What I missed about USA:
the olympics
Mexican food
a normal cell phone plan
the people
women that shave their armpits/legs
chicken and veggies
non-dairy coffee creamer
flat sheets
air conditioning
relatively accurate meteorologists
English
my entire wardrobe (as opposed to the week's worth of clothes from my suitcase)
ample wifi
my own space
getting to class in < 45 minutes
salad that wasn't pickled
NOT chemical engineering classes
cheap drinking water
a routine

What I miss about Austria:
walking a lot
hanging out with friends 24/7
biking and hiking multiple times a week
pork and eggs and potatoes in nearly every dish
chocolate and lots of dessert
no school, no stress
fun weekend trips
taking lots of pictures
beautiful architecture
a big breakfast every morning
no distractions
the countryside
no humidity
new places
doing nothing
lack of routine

Europe Post #26: Salzburg

I know.  It's been a LONG time since my last update.  It's been a crazy few weeks.

Recap:

7/31, 11 pm - arrive in Birmingham

pack for rush at Auburn

8/2, 2 pm - head to Auburn to stay at Holiday Inn for rush

8/13 - check out of Holiday Inn, bid day, return to Birmingham

pack to move into apartment

8/15 - move in Auburn apartment

8/16 - class beings

8/17 - help with weekend retreat in Valley, AL

8/18 - return to Auburn from retreat

So I'm finally settled in my apartment and "enjoying" the normality of class.

And so brings me to my blog post on Salzburg, my last weekend in Europe.  WARNING: LOTS of pictures.  We toured the city, went on the Sound of Music tour, and took a cable car to the Untersberg mountain.

Salzburg:

The lake that the SoM children fell in, from the movie:

The Untersberg:

The same lake/ mountain combo in the movie:

The glass gazebo from SoM:

Hellbrun Palace:

The trees that the SoM children climbed in:

The Lake district:

The church in which Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married in the SoM:

The church's interior:

Our tour bus:

Mirabell gardens:

Dwarf from SoM:

Do Re Me steps:

Other side (from movie):

Top of the Untersberg:

Edelweiss:

Inside Hitler's bunker, in Germany:

Mozart foot bridge, from SoM:

The stick-shift that Daddy drove all over Austria.  We only stalled out about 7 times the whole weekend!!

Auburn {round four}

I'm already getting sentimental about this being my last year at Auburn, so we will just avoid that subject entirely. Instead, we'll focus on how excited I am to finally have an apartment (And with two of my favorite people!) I didn't want to buy a lot (obviously), so I decorated my pre-furnished room with a mixture of borrowed and recycled things. I had so much fun crafting my last week home and I'm excited to live in this space for the next year!

 My great-great uncle found my headboard washed up on the beach after a hurricane some years ago. After some paint and twinkly lights behind it, this piece fits perfectly. Since I like changing things up pretty often, I painted the pallet above my bed with some chalkboard paint and now I have the option to switch out the writings! I found the vintage map of Europe in downtown Homewood  and the bird cage-photo holder at a store in Opelika. And remember this bedside table? I decided to use it as a bookshelf instead. Typical English major move.

I found the inspiration for this pallet here except I used this salvaged pallet to hang jewelry above my dresser. We added some knobs from Anthro and a little lace to dress it up. I will probably add something else to the middle row since it still looks a little bare. 

I found this picture of an old gas pump at home and knew that I wanted it somewhere in my room! The photo was taken by my wonderful grandmother and I framed it with a wooden frame from Hobby Lobby.

I also knew that I wanted some sort of collage above my desk and this is what I ended up with! The antlers were given to my mom by my great grandfather; the cross and the framed photo/poem on the right were found at antique stores. Oh, and if you are wondering about the super intense photo of the Indian…that's Chief War Eagle.

Here's to senior year, vintage photos, and turning the old into new.