Thursday, October 10, 2013

A Walk Through the Mühlviertel Woods, A Night in Linz, & Gymnasium:

Mühlviertel: The neat wooded hill country that is now my home.
 The Forest/der Wald outside Gutau
 Evening & the Tree
 A Gasthaus made spread of Speck (ham) with garlic, onions, pickles & peppers.
 Downtown old town Linz from the former opera building.
 A rural road in Gutau's district.
 Hills & Fields
 A pleasant country to wander any afternoon.
 Linz city street from the base of the modern "Höhen-Rausch" Tower.
 Raised view overlooking the modern city, here lies the Danube River in the background.
 The massive Dome Cathedral seen from higher up.
 Gen & I visited the Höhen-Rausch Museum with our Rotary host club, including our Rotarian friend Mr. Mayr.
 Foggy morning view from the bus stop.
 A modernly occupied home in among the old castle walls of Freistadt.
 The gardens between the two old town wall defenses.
 Shaped hedges...
 ...plus flowers.
One of the several still intact towers from the original old town. 
Now home to the "Schloss (Castle) Museum"
The alley between the city gate and the way to the church.
Now for a visual tour of my school: Gymnasium Freistadt.
It has an older building,
Somehow more like "Hogwarts" to me than a high school...
With historical architecture...
As well as a newer, modern half:
Complete with enough stairs to challenge Newton Senior High on step count!
An exercise for all...
Here is the Canteen, the substitute to our full cafeterias at home, as we eat lunch after the school day.
The ever-important "football field" as here we play Fußball, being soccer not American Football.
 
 
 
My every day is spent in this pleasant land busing in on foggy mornings to a school, old itself and a mere 100 foot walk from a medieval old town. Convenient bus rides out from my host city of Freistadt can take me straight into the heart of Linz, a modern and lively European city with it's share of older architectural flavor as well. "Servus!" from Europe! 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Photo Update from the Mühlviertel & Beyond!

Presenting A Pictorial Description of My First Weeks in Gutau & Travels:

 
"We great you" = Welcome to Gutau, my 2nd home
Freistadt's old city moat/outer lawn. This is the town I go to school & Rotary in, my "host city" 
 Bridge & Tower
 Tower viewed from inside the city
 Path to the smaller church overlooking Gutau from it's hill
 Gutau from that path
 City Gate: Freistadt!
 
 A traditional Gutauer wedding procession in the central Platz
 Crowd entrance to the church with flowers held high above as they party arrives
 Late afternoon look away from Gutau
 The cannon & guard with my oldie Gen from Freistadt's "Hauptplatz"
 "Jäger" hunter party
 My host parents Gabi & Christian Dumfarth outside our home
 Linz main square from the tram line
 Main way thru Linz
 The Dome church in Linz
 Random old building in Linz
 City Center of Linz
 Traveling with the oldie :D
 Der Donau = The Danube River
 Just a princess in Salzburg
 Unicorn in Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg
 Hedge Theatre
Pegasus maybe? 
 A harpist & the statues
Lock Bridge & Salzburg Castle
The Salzach River
Mozart's Birthplace
Just a neat corner of Salzburg
Statue of a mystery person
Entrance to the "Dome" church in Salzburg
Inside the Dome
The four statues standing guard outside
Austrian Dementor?
Salzburg's big buildings
Schloss Hohensalzburg
Carriage ride in the old city
This bull reminds me of painted wooden Swedish horses
Salzach River
Schloss Hohensalzburg as seen from Mirabell Gardens 
"Come again"

Further photographic and written updates are on their way, covering all that is good and photogenic or story quality to be read. Gute Nacht from Austria!