AYA Salzburg 2009-2010

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye!

2010-06-27T17:47:00.004+02:00

It's unbelievable how fast time flies. Strange to say, but our year in Salzburg is sadly coming to an end. But what a great year it was! We've made new friends, improved our German, traveled to countries we've never seen before, and simply enjoyed getting to know the city of Salzburg. With the 1000 year old Festung, the beautiful mountains, and the river dividing the city, I think its safe to say that we have all fallen a little bit in love with our home for the past year. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to do many fun things in Salzburg this year, including going to the salt mines, having picnics on the banks of the Salzach River, hiking up Gaisberg and Untersberg, seeing historical sights such as Mauthausen and Eagles Nest, and attending a variety of plays and operas. We also had the opportunity to travel together to Vienna in October, and, just recently, to Berlin in May. I think the most important thing, however, was getting to experience a completely different culture than what we are used to at home. Although there were definitely some challenges, such as getting used to the Austrian dialect and having stores closed on Sundays, we all acclimated to the changes and are getting very sad to leave Salzburg. All in all, it was a great year--one we will never forget!

2010-06-13T11:12:00.003+02:00

Salzburg hat endlich warmes Wetter, und die Studenten sind sehr froh! Weil es das Ende des Semesters ist, muessen wir Hausaufgabe machen und viel lernen, aber wir haben noch Zeit, Salzburg zu geniessen. Am 29. Mai, sind manche Studenten nach Mauthausen gefahren, um die Konzentrationslager zu sehen. Am 1. Juni, haben einige Studenten Nestroys "Lumpazivagabundus" im Landestheater gesehen. Alle haben es sehr lustig gefunden! Und am Freitag, haben wir ein Picknick an der Salzach gehabt, weil der Tag so schoen war. Time is flying by!

Berlin!

2010-05-27T13:00:00.009+02:00

This past weekend, we all travelled to Berlin together! We arrived Friday night, just in time for Berlin's big Strassenfest, or street festival. After sampling some currywurst, we walked around and looked at the different goods the booths had to offer. It was a great time!

Saturday morning we took a boat tour down the Spree River, and saw the various buildings of Berlin. Afterwards, we walked around the city, stopping at the Brandenburger Tor for photo ops. In the afternoon, we split up, some of us exploring the different museums on the Museum Insel and some of us exploring the different animals at the Berlin Zoo!

Sunday, a group of us stopped by the Judisches Musuem, which was an interesting but sobering experience. We also stopped by Checkpoint Charlie, which was the entryway into the American section of Berlin after World War II. The flags of the four allied powers still hang there today!

On Monday, our last day, we got a tour of the Parliament Building! We were able to walk up in the giant dome that is on top of the building, which gave us amazing views of the city. Berlin truly was a fun experience for everyone!

Berlin

2010-05-19T20:25:00.004+02:00

Die Bowling Green Studenten reisen am Freitag nach Berlin! Wir besuchen den Berliner Dom, die Museuminsel, die Reichstagsgebauede, das Theater, und mehr! Wir freuen uns, die Stadt zu sehen!

Pictures and stories from the trip to come next week!

Maifest!

2010-05-01T23:44:00.004+02:00

Today, May 1st, is a very important day in Austria! It is Austria's Labor Day, and there are many festivities throughout the country. The Bowling Green students celebrated Maifest by going to the events at the Freilichtmuseum. It is a tradition on May 1st to put a Maibaum, or May tree/May pole, in the ground. It took about 30 men in lederhosen 2 hours to get the giant tree all the way up! The tree looked to be about 70 feet tall, and had three wreaths circling around it. Once the tree was in the ground, people tried to climb up it, in order to get the prizes (pretzels in this case) that were hanging from the wreaths. The higher you can climb, the higher the honor! It was very fun for all of us to experience such an interesting Austrian tradition!

Wir fangen wieder an...

2010-04-15T16:20:00.002+02:00

Nach zwei Wochen Osterferien, fangen wir wieder an! Die Studenten haben die Ferien genossen! Einige Studenten waren am Reisen--Griechenland, London, Wien, Berlin, Polen, Italien, Deutschland, usw. Aber jetzt muessen wir wieder lernen...

Ausserdem warten wir auf Fruehling in Salzburg! Es gibt jetzt nur Regen und kaltes Wetter..kein Spass! Vielliecht naechste Woche?

Glueck Auf!

2010-03-27T13:57:00.005+01:00

Am Samstag, 20. Maerz, haben die AYA Studenten Salzbergwerk Duernberg (Hallein Salt Mines) besucht. Die Hallein Salt Mines wurde vor ueber 2,500 Jahren von den Kelten Salz aufgebaut! Die Studenten haben auch ueber Fuersterzbischof Wolf Dietrich gelernt, der die barocke Residenzstadt Salzburg aufgebaut hat, dank dem großen Salzvorkommen. Es gibt zwei lange Bergmannsrutschen in dem Bergwerk, und die Studenten haben diese Bergmannsrutschen genossen!

Hallein

"Das Versprechen"

2010-03-15T14:24:00.003+01:00

On Sunday, March 14, many of the students went to see Friedrich Duerrenmatt's "Das Versprechen" (The Promise) at Salzburg's Schauspielhaus. The play takes place in Switzerland, and tells the story of a detective, Kommisar Matthai. At the beginning of the play, a young girl is murdered, and Kommisar Matthai, who is forced to bring the terrible news to the parents, promises the mother that he will find the murderer "bei seiner Seeligkeit." Through a series of twists and turns, this Versprechen ultimately leads to the detective's own downfall.

Gluecklicherweise war das Deutsch ganz leicht zu verstehen, und alle haben "Das Versprechen" total genossen!

Wir fangen wieder an!

2010-03-01T21:01:00.003+01:00

After an exciting month off school, classes started again today. Students traveled all over during the semester break, going to places such as Amsterdam, London, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Lithuania, Turkey, Kosovo, and even all the way back to America! After a successful semester kickoff party at Dr. Guenther's yesterday, we are ready for the second semester (and hopefully spring) to begin!

Beginning of the Semester Party

Mittagessen bei Dr. Guenther:

2010-02-26T21:03:00.002+01:00

Sunday February 28: Dr. Guenther will host a Beginning of the Semester party for all the AYA students, old and new, on Sunday at 1:00. We will be welcoming six new undergraduate students, as well as enjoying specialities such as Currywurst, Borscht, Salate, and Kuchen!

"If you can walk, then you can snowshoe"

2010-01-23T13:59:00.019+01:00

Article and photos by:
Jessie Strains
Despite these words of wisdom provided by our tour guide at Nationalpark Hohe Tauern, many of those brave enough to attempt snow-shoeing in the Alps, myself included, spent a fair amount of time sitting in the snow instead of walking across the snow. Those who chose to participate in the excursion took
a bus at 8:00 Saturday morning, January 16th to the park. We viewed a short presentation about the park and then wandered out into nature to try out snow-shoeing. Our snow shoes did not look like tennis racquets for our feet, but they worked! The time not spent looking at our feet in fear of falling through the snow was spent in awe of the majestic mountains and scenery. Snow-shoeing was truly the best cure for the finals gloom that tried to settle over our group. Maybe next time we will remember snow pants and “feste Schuhe”.

...und wir fangen wieder an!

2010-01-12T20:42:00.002+01:00

Der Semester ging gestern wieder los. Nur noch drei Wochen und es ist vorbei!

Alle Studenten sind gut und gesund zurück nach Salzburg gekommen. Ein paar sind auch hier geblieben. Alle freuen sich aber, wieder in Salzburg zu sein, obwohl es nicht leicht war, Familien/Freunde zu Hause zu verlassen.

Als ob die Stadt uns an schöne Weinachtszeiten erinnern wollte, hat Salzbrg für uns gestern und heute Schneewetter geleistet. Also werden die StudentInnen auf ihrem Weg zu der Universität in diesen letzten Tagen des Semesters durch eine schneebedeckte, wunderschöne Stadt laufen können.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

2009-12-17T17:01:00.008+01:00

Mother Nature has bedecked Salzburg's cityscape with a beautiful blanket of snow just in time for the holidays!
To get into the spirit, many of us gathered at Dr. Guenther's house this past Sunday (13. December) to sip Glühwein (don't worry--non alcoholic! :) ), nibble yummy cookies, cakes, and other finery, and sing a few carols in German and English. Here's a quick clip of our singing (Rebecca Arjev on guitar):

Our evening included reditions of "Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen" (Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming), "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer", and "Kling, Glöckchen."

As everyone looks forward to celebrating the holidays either here in Europe or in the U.S., we wish everyone reading this a very Happy Christmas, Fröhliche Weihnachten, and a Happy New Year!

(p.s. A few other photos from our evening of caroling can be seen by clicking the album cover in the lower right-hand corner of this page.)

Krampusläufe!

2009-11-27T16:39:00.011+01:00

Source: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

Wenn man einen Krampuslauf in Salzburg anschauen möchte, kann man gerne! Die Krampusse laufen vom Ende November bis 8. Dezember--hier ist ein kleiner Kalender mit den Terminen. (Mit freundlicher Benehmigung von Frau Dr. Stuppnik-Bazzanella)

Weitere Information zum Krampuslauf
(auf Englisch auf die BGSU Webseite/in English)

Termin-Kalender 2009

Sa 28.11.2009: Gnigler Krampuslauf mit 600 Krampusse, Hexen, Nikolos, Engerl usw. (Route: Turnerstraße, Linzerbundesstraße, Schillingshofstraße), 19.00-22.00 Uhr

So 29.11.2009: Krampuslauf der Oberndorfer Schöffleut Pass in der Altstadt (vom Toscaninihof, Alter Markt, Mozartplatz, Getreidegasse), 17.00 Uhr.

Do 03.12.2009: Krampuslauf der Grödiger Krampusse in der Altstadt (vom Siegmundstor durch die Getreidegasse), 17.30 Uhr

Sa 05.12.2009: Krampuslauf der Barmstoana Perchten und Krampusse (Linzer Gasse), 17.00 Uhr

Sa 05.12.2009: Krampuslauf der Salzburger Falkenpass (vom Bürgerspitalplatz, Getreidegasse, Alter Markt, Sigmund-Haffner Gasse, bis Festspielhaus), 17.30 -18.30 Uhr

Sa 05.12.2009: Krampuslauf auf dem Salzburger Christkindlmarkt, 17.30 Uhr

Di 08.12.2009: Maxglaner Krampuslauf, (Ab Rochushof/Rochusgasse, Franz Huemer Straße, Bräuhausstraße, bis Stiegl-Brauwelt), 18.00-21.00 Uhr

Mo 21.12.2009: Perchtenlauf auf dem Christkindlmarkt, 17.30-19.30 Uhr

WICHTIGE Grundregeln:
1) Es gibt bei diesen Läufen keine Probleme, weil Polizei normalerweise dabei sind. Aber bei privaten Läufe, kann es sein, dass die Leute hinter den Masken alkoholisiert sind--also diese Gruppen einfach total meiden. Sonst einfach sollte man ruhig aus dem Weg gehen.
2) Mädchen sollten an den Krampusstagen prinzipiell nicht spät in der Nacht allein unterwegs sein.

Verfilmung in Salzburg!/Filming in Salzburg!

2009-11-23T19:42:00.004+01:00

Above, part of the Linzer Gasse is closed for filming

This week Salzburg saw a bit of extra excitement--and not just because of the approaching Christmas/Advent season!

Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz arrived early last week to begin filming part of their upcoming movie, Knight & Day. For the majority, filming simply means a trailer-filled Kaiserplatz, a few closed streets, and the mysterious appearance of lighting apparatuses all over the city. Some lucky residents could stumble upon Tom Cruise as he sauntered the Getreidegasse for a generous publicity tour. More tenacious fans haven't hesitated to pack slim alleyways or mill around cordoned off plazas to catch a glimpse of Cruise or Diaz.

Read more about the movie here.
For more about Cruise and Diaz's visit, click here:

(The blogger must admit she waited a few hours outside of the Festspielhaus for the chance to sight one of them, unfortunately starstruck. Success was small and a little anticlimactic--Diaz could be seen from a large distance through a window. More interesting: the amazingly coordinated efforts of the set crew, although they moved around the cars so many times, it seemed like they were doing it just to keep busy.)

Hellbrun excursion

2009-11-07T11:57:00.003+01:00

Hellbrunn Excursion

On Friday October 30, several Bowling Green students went on an excursion for the undergraduate Art History course to the Palace of Hellbrunn on the south side of the city. Built between 1613 and 1619 by Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus, the palace is a mix between late Renaissance and early Baroque architecture, as evidenced by the unimpressive, straight staircase leading to the second floor. In the Baroque period, staircases were centrally located and grand, often having two symmetrical winding sets of steps leading to a large balcony on the second floor. The function of such staircases was to greet incoming guests with ceremony while showing the owner’s wealth.

Hellbrunn is considered a “Lustschloss” (pleasure palace) and was used as a summer getaway for the archbishop of Salzburg to get out of the hot city. Used solely as a day palace, there are no bedrooms for the guests who came to use the grounds for hunting, the favorite pastime of the archbishop. His love of animals can be seen in the many paintings, statues and fountains within the complex, as well as in the zoo he built to keep his exotic pets, which is still in use today.

Hellbrunn, which means “bright spring” in German, is most famous for the "Wasserspiele" (water games) or trick fountains that can be found throughout the grounds. The waterworks at Hellbrunn are unique in that they are the only examples of their kind to be in continuous use since their creation over 400 years ago. Though it was a cold and cloudy day, we were thrilled to see the fountains in action. Next time, though, I am taking an umbrella.

By: Rebecca Arjev

Herbstparty, 30. Oktober 2009

2009-11-02T17:41:00.007+01:00

Friday the 30th of October was the Herbstparty for all students at Dr. Guenther's house! We celebrated with a fine assortment of yummy foods, including:

homemade Käsekuchen

many different sorts of breads and cheeses

pumpkin soup complete with Kürbiskernöl (Pumpkinseed oil) and a dash of dill

Some students dressed up for the party, but fun was had by all--after sampling the smorgasbord, a group of students played a few party games, like charades and the "Name that celebrity" game, where a paper bearing a famous person's me is tacked to the back of a handful of players and they must ask yes or no questions to figure out whose name is written on the paper. "Celebrities" included Maria Theresia, die Marquise von O., and Ben Metz (another student in the program).

And there was also some lovely music provided by Rebecca, Dylan, and anyone else who wanted to sing along.
A wonderful autumnal evening--and Dr. Guenther insisted we take all that was leftover, so most folks even came away with a few extra snacks for the next few days!

Video Flashback, 10. Oktober 2009: Climbing Gaisberg/Gaisberg besteigen

2009-10-22T17:04:00.002+02:00

For more images from Gaisberg, click here

Die Zeit verfliegt! Time flies!

2009-10-18T20:26:00.003+02:00

Already two weeks have passed since most students arrived here in Salzburg, but we’ve all been so busy getting organized/settling in that the time has flown by!

In these two weeks, we’ve already:

Started—and mostly completed!--process of registering everywhere (University, dorm, Magistrate, Insurance, etc.)

Gotten our first taste of classes at an Austrian University, the Universität Salzburg.

Gone on a few adventurous geography excursions in the area. We climbed a mountain (Gaisberg) (Oct. 10), went to the top of Mönchsberg (Oct. 4) and learned what conglomerate is, and visited the many beautifully kept antique houses at the Freilicht Museum (Oct. 9) (see pictures below in right-hand column!)

Celebrated a Herbstparty (Autumn party) at Dr. Christina Guenther’s house.

Had crazy adventures of our own in magical Salzburg!

We are now gearing up to journey to Wien (Vienna) this weekend. Look for a blog update about our travels there, as well as plenty of pictures!

PS: Did we mention in snowed in Salzburg--which very rarely happens--just a few days ago (Oct. 14)? Many students commented on Facebook. What a phenomenon!