In and out of the Ljub

We don't actually know how to spell the name of the city we are in, so we are forced to abreviate. Or you can do as Trina does and type in ˝L's, J's and B's, Slovenia˝ to find the actual name.

We arrived in the Ljub with pouring rain and lightning (hmmm, just like all of the other cities). Please remind us of the rain in a few days when we complain about how hot it is.

The train ride was uneventful for everyone but Staci. Originally she was sitting in a compartment with three nice old ladies. They got off the train a few hours into it and two ladies around the age of a Mom and a guy about our age went into the compartment. Everything was fine until the guy came to collect their tickets. Still have no idea what they were arguing about because it was in another language, but the people and the ticket guy were exchanging words and gestures in an angry tone for a good 15 minutes. After the ticket guy gave up and left, the ˝family˝ began to exchange words. Things got heated between the guy and one of the Mom type ladies and before she knew it hitting, punching and kicking began between the two. Not sure what to do, she hudled in the corner (kind of like the duck and cover method used before) when the ticket guy walked by and saw what was happening. He began to intervine and Staci tried to escape, but he wouldn't let her, thinking she was part of this ˝family˝. Finally the guy escorted the Mom type lady and the guy elsewhere and Staci was left awkwardly with the other Mom. Staci then left the cabin.

The Ljub gave us about 4 hours of decent picture taking weather (how kind of the Ljub). Sadly, Jessica found out from a local that it had been really hot and sunny the past few weeks, which we sadly missed. The locals were happy to see the rain. Us... not so much (good thing Staci has 2 umbrellas, anyone want to rent one for a Euro?). We walked around in search of food, only to find one place open. Apparently people don't believe in working on Sundays. The place we found was ice cream... not just ice cream, but American sized ice cream! One scoop really means 3. We found this out the hard way when we ordered 2 scoops and ended up with 6. Oh well it was really cheap and yummy!

The thunder rolled in and we headed back to our hostel, which is ironically a dorm for some college. A nice dorm compared to our ˝dorms like dungeons, number 2 in 2004˝ (see Princeton Review). But these are by no means ˝Palaces˝ like those at Peperdine (see Princeton Revies). By the way, we have no idea what school it is we are staying at.

Day 2 in the Ljub (aka half of Trina's real birthday):

We woke up at 6 because our dorm room does not have walls. It is a wall of cabinents and a door. The cleaning staff actually showed up (apparently they don't normally show up) and found the best method of cleaning the bathrooms in a hurry at such an un-godly hour is to scream and slam. We decided it was time to go out and see the day that was Trina's birthday in the Ljub (tomorrow is Trina's birthday in the states, got to love the time difference!).

We went out in search of food again (apparently the Ljub doesn't believe in food) and settled for ice cream again (hey, it's dairy, we met one section of the USDA food pyramid). Not sure what to do because of the extreme weather (just because we went to school in Oregon doesn't mean we are used to/ enjoy the rain) and went to the castle. Which isn't really a castle, rather than a modern art gallery. Staci, Devin, Trina and Kelly called the art ˝terrible˝ as they too are also capabale of painting an orange line on a piece of white paper. Because of the down pour we decided to head home and made the decision to celebrate Trina's birthday in Venice (cross your fingers for no more rain) (seriously).

Best meal of the day: Ice Cream
Worst meal of the day: This country does not believe in food.
Awkward moment of the day: Walking downtown and seeing a man stare at us as he pees on a wall.

Shout outs:
-Only Jennnnnnnnnna Mathies, because she is the only one that appreciates our blog and comments.
-The weekend and work is not an excuse. We know you don't have anything better to do.

P.S. Becky, we know you are reading this from class. Seriously, what else would you be doing in there?

P.P.S. Why is the Ljub obsessed with Dragons? THEY AREN'T EVEN A ANIMAL!

The hills are aliveeee...

With the sound of musiccccc.

If you haven´t gathered already, we are in Salzburg! For those who have seen the Sound of Music, this place is historical, and for those who haven´t, this place is really pretty!

Yesterday we split into three groups.

Jessica, Melissa and Kelly woke up at the crack of dawn to explore the salt mines. They rode a mine cart 2000 meters (?) into the ground, took 2 slides (see pictures when we get back), rode a boat across the lake and went down into the earth where it was 50 degrees and full of salt! They also sported some snazzy jump suits (watch out for them on the runway at Fashion Week Fall 2012). After eating all the salt they could handle, they headed back to ground and decided to see if the hills really were alive with the Sound of Music. They weren't, hills don't sing. BUT, they did go on the Sound of Music tour and see all of the sights from the movie.

Devin and Trina went to a fish infested lake called Lake Fuschel that was absolutely beautiful. It had the clearest water they have ever seen. They decided that tanning would be the perfect relaxing day after still recovering from the Prague train (see previous entry). Would you expect anything less from Trina and Devin?

Staci, Heather and Stephanie also went to see if the hills were really alive. They wouldn't know because none of them have seen the movie, but they went on a bike tour around Salzburg. They saw locations from the Sound of Music (which were pretty, but we didn't know what they were) all from the comfort of a terribly uncomfortable mountain bike seat. We miss the beach cruisers from the previous tours.

Today:

Trina, Kelly, Devin, Jessica and Melissa decided to get the Salzburg card (shout out to Uncle John). They went to the Mozart Bridge, the Fortress, the birthplace of Mozart (kind of creepy), a boat cruise and then ended the day by going to the Stiegl brewery. They tasted all different kinds of beer, raspberry, orange, light, wheat, and elderberry (?) and got a free gift! Then they got stuck in a downpour because apparently it does that here when it gets really hot. They ran to the bus station to find the bus driver that dropped them off and he picked them up. He drove them all the way into town, stopped the bus and came to the back to ask us exactly where we needed to be dropped off. I don't know if this was because he thought we were drunk from the brewery or if he just thought we wouldn't be able to make it home by ourselves. We have yet to figure it out.

Staci, Heather and Stephanie spent the day exploring old town. They walked around and ended up on a street that was extremely packed for no reason (seriously, wayyyy to crowded). After a few hours of walking around they decided to find the oldest restaurant in Europe, which is conveniently located under a church. However, they got caught in an extreme down pour and ran into the first store they could find. After they decided to give up, they left the store (ironically the oldest bookstore in Austria) and went to buy umbrellas (sadly, Staci now has 2 umbrellas).

Best meal of the days: Hostel food, tastes just like Common Grounds and even has Cheesey Grillers (called ˝toasties˝)
Best man bag of the day: The shiny leather one with Tom Cruise's face on it.
Embarrassing moment: Melissa sliding across the crosswalk with traffic at a stop all laughing at her.

Shout Outs:
-Mary Terese. I love you.
-JanSport. Without you we would have nothing to carry our clothes. Check out their blog, which is almost as cool as ours. (www.jansportroadtrip.com)
-Dad- I left the umbrella here and it rained. Now I have 2. Ooops.
-Poiny. Are you happy now?
-JB and Sue Precious. Thanks for all the advice about Salzburg. That Salzburg card rocked.
-Bruce and Josie. What up?
-Burr parents. Sup Mason?
-Everyone's fam.
-Becky, thanks for being obsessed with us, it makes us feel special.