Harpenden, Durham, Edinburgh

The longer I stay in Austria, the more I realize that there are some ways in which the English language falls short.  My favorite German word of late has been the word 'fertig'.  'Ich bin total fertig' literally translates to 'I am totally finished,' a phrase which makes sense in English but lacks the essence of the phrase.  'Fertig' is finished, in every sense of the word; it is a combination of done, exhausted and overwhelmed.  And you have to say it as though you're melting into the couch at the end of the day, generally accompanied by some sort of sigh/grunt combination (the Austrians are really good at this - it sounds something like 'boaaahhhhh').  After these past few weeks, I am 100% fertig. And my body let me know that it, too, was fertig by accepting a bout of the stomach flu with barely even a fight.

Prior to my crazy 3 weeks, the entire state of Salzburg had a vacation.  Austria's breaks work somewhat like those in New England, where they take one week off in February and another around Easter, rather than two weeks back to back.  It's pretty nice, actually, especially since the different states in Austria stagger their February breaks, mostly so the ski slopes don't get overwhelmed with tourists.

For my February break I caught a cheap Ryan Air flight to London to meet up with Fleur for a few days.  Though we hadn't been apart that long, it was still incredibly nice to see her again.  And it was a welcome change to be able to stay first in her home and then in the dormitory at her college.

My trip was almost over before it began, though, due to a particularly grumpy customs lady.  I'm not sure what her problem was but the man behind me was convinced it was because I was American and "Brits hate Americans."  The man behind me, for the record, was Canadian - I'm pretty sure he's the one who actually hates Americans.  Anyway, this lady wouldn't let me into the country because I didn't have the address of where I was staying.  I had to call Fleur a hundred times, knowing full well that she was getting in on her own flight and might not pick up, in order to get her address.  The lady made the American girl behind me cry, claiming that she not only needed her return ticket booked, but had to have it printed and ready to go when she entered the country so that they knew she actually intended to leave.  Finally, another man took over the second desk in the customs area, and I quickly scooted over to his line and made it through without any problems. 

Fleur and I spent the first night in her house with her mother, sister and boyfriend, enjoying the comforts of home.  The next morning we caught the train up to Durham - her University - where I relived my college days.  It's funny how her college is so different from Bowdoin, but college students are still basically the same everywhere.

After a few days in Durham we headed up to Edinburgh for the night.  Edinburgh is a lovely city, and I wish I'd had more time to explore!  Unfortunately, we didn't - Fleur had to catch a plane out of Edinburgh early in the morning, and I had an evening flight out of Glasgow/Prestwick, which meant I had to get all the way across the country.  Luckily my friend Ali and her parents are the nicest people ever, and luckily she had booked the same flight as I had, so her parents picked me up and took us both across the country to the airport.  If I'm still here next year, I have the feeling that I'll be heading back to northern England and Scotland for a few trips!

With Fleur in front of her house

The dorm room that Fleur and I shared in Durham

The teeny tiny bed in the dorm room.

One of my first impressions of Durham.  "Fancy Dress" parties are the thing to do, apparently, which made this a fairly normal sight to the Durham students.

Delicious fish and chips

Castle

Cool building

A door picture

Door to the Cathedral

Handle on the Cathedral door

These hallways were used in the Harry Potter movies as Hogwart's hallways

Cathedral decorations

A tiny door, perfect for tiny people (like me)

Me, with the Cathedral in the background

The river where the Durham crew teams row.  They're some of the best rowers in the world.  I'm a little jealous of their gorgeous river, though it's not so gorgeous in this photo

Edinburgh Castle by night

Our cold but lovely hostel room in Edinburgh. 

Streets of Edinburgh

The castle from the ground