Roma 1

Pat in Rome!

Rome.  These pictures feel like a lifetime away.  Salzburg is covered in a blanket of very wet snow that stopped all traffic and made it so that I only had two students in my first period class this morning.  In the mountains there's been even more - feet and feet of it.  It's still fresh enough, though, that I don't really look at these pictures with a fierce longing for summer...yet.

Pat and I arrived in Rome in the early afternoon.  As we flew in, the landscape changed below us, from mountainous greens to the yellows, olives, and reddish-browns that Italy is known for.  It was nice to leave rainy Salzburg and arrive in warm, dry Rome.  It was not nice, however, to have our lives flash before our eyes several times in the taxi ride from the airport to our hostel.  We picked some shuttle service that seemed less-than-legal (like many things in Rome), and watched as our fellow passengers argued heatedly in Italian, complete with dramatic hand-gesturing, with our driver.  I'm sure we got slightly ripped off, but we did make it to our hostel without having anything stolen.  Our hostel was right next to the train station, an area that is central but not too central, and shady but not too shady - much like any other train station in Europe.

After checking in and exploring our room we wandered to find some ruins.  Pat was eager to see some "old stuff" and I was excited to see what Rome had to offer.  We ended up at Trevi fountain, watching the swarms of pickpockets and tourists.

Oh hey, we found some old stuff

Rome by night

Trevi fountain

The next day started with a cup of Italian cappuccino and a baked good.  We decided to just wing it and head in the general direction of the city.  On our way, we stumbled upon some cool churches, including the one with what Pat called "Horny Moses."  Apparently some of the translations say that Moses had light coming out of his head, which somehow morphed into horns.  Michelangelo was one of the sculptors to make Moses according to the horned translation - thus, "Horny Moses."  We weren't even trying to find it; Pat just pointed up an alley and said, "Let's see what's over here."

But the best part of the day, and perhaps the trip, was the look on Pat's face when we stumbled upon the Colosseum.  We turned a corner and BAM there it was.  Pat's jaw dropped and he stood still for a solid minute before walking on.  We had read about the Rome pass, which included entry into some of the sites, and used it toward a tour of the Colosseum.  Our guide was knowledgeable, but the day was hot and I can barely remember what she said.  It didn't really matter, though - the sight of a colossal ancient architectural feat was enough.  Our tour included a tour of Palatine Hill, this time with a different guide.  It's mostly ruins, but still an awe-inspiring sight.

After our full day of touring, we wandered around near the Colosseum, where we found a little restaurant and ate some food.  The Austrians will tell you that it's good to walk around after you eat, and that's exactly what we did.  We moseyed from the Colosseum, up a few alleys, past the old gladiator training grounds, and over to a park.  The park was nothing special, but it was really cool to see masses of barefoot children playing pickup soccer.  It's a cultural difference - in America you might see the same kids playing frisbee, football or baseball. 

That night we made our way back to the hostel, exhausted and full of Italian food.  We tried to avoid our crazy Brazilian roommate and the loud Americans down the hall, and attempted to get some rest before the next day's adventures.

One of many churches we toured

The choir inside the church.  Their singing created an amazing atmosphere.

Cool marble and statues in the church

Nuns praying

Horny Moses!

Even if you can't tell from this picture, Pat was thrilled to have stumbled upon horny Moses

Students just chilling outside of the Horny Moses church

Surprise! We found the Colosseum!

Pat touched the Colosseum. 

Graffiti on the bricks of the Colosseum

Our tour guide and part of a statue in the Colosseum

Colosseum

Ruins

Shh! Pat touched the ruins in the Colosseum.

Brother/sister

People standing on the platforms where pillars should go.  Naturally, it's not allowed, but that didn't stop people from doing it.

Gladiators outside the Colosseum

The garden of the Vestal Virgins

Me, pretending to be a Vestal Virgin statue

Pattycakes in Salzburg

Pat with his pretzel and Weissbier

Just about six months ago, Pat came to Salzburg.  The city had apparently used up its allotment of sunny days, and decided to be cloudy, damp, and cold every day.  It wasn't that big of an issue - the city's beautiful in every type of weather - except for the fact that Pat left, firmly believing that there are no mountains in Salzburg.  Even the Untersberg, the big mountain that towers over the city, couldn't be seen at all for the entire duration of his stay.

Mountains or no, we busied ourselves with the sights.  Our first stop was the Stiegl Bierkeller/garten.  The restaurant is nestled into the mountain that supports the castle, and is only open in the summertime.  It also serves Stiegl (hence the name), Salzburg's biggest local beer.  Then we wandered the city, and ended our night at another local brewery (Die Weisse) before Pat crashed from jet lag.

Our view

Pat was a little jet-lagged

Model.

Our beer selection at Die Weisse, another local brewery.  Pat and I made the rounds.  I was showing him some local culture, right?

 The next day, Pat and I continued our exploration of the city.  We wandered in and out of shops, including the infamous Christmas egg shop, before heading up to the castle.  There we enjoyed the (mountainless) views, and Pat thoroughly bested me in a crossbow challenge.  Just ask him - I'm sure he'll be glad to tell you all about it.

That night we went to the Augustinerbräu, home to my favorite Austrian beer and the best beer hall atmosphere.  We were wandering around looking for a place to sit, when I heard a chorus of 'KERRRIIIIII.'  A group of my students, accompanied by the headmaster of one of my Catholic schools, were hanging and drinking in one of the rooms of the brewery.  Things that would not happen in America #301 (other things include: Krampus, sanctioned drinking at the age of 16, and ski weeks sponsored by schools).  At first I think my students were a little shy.  Pat, naturally, can't speak any German, so everyone was forced to speak English with him.  By the second beer, though - bought by my headmaster, of course - everyone seemed to have loosened up a little.  The students were genuinely interested in hearing about American life from Pat.  They were ready to answer questions, and asked him plenty of their own.  When the lights flickered at 11, signaling closing time, a couple of my students had loosened up enough to join us and the rest of the Americans for karaoke.  I think we sang "Love Shack" by the B52s and "Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi; the former we sang with Maija and her cousin, the latter with everyone (including my students).

The next day we left Salzburg for Vienna, where we were to catch a plane to Rome.  The train ride was one of the worst of my life.  We hadn't booked seats, which isn't normally an issue, except that that particular day was the day of the Salzburg v. Vienna soccer game.  The train was filled with hooligans.  Drunken soccer hooligans, each wearing the colors of their team.  Beer cans littered the aisles, drunken men swayed from wagon to wagon, and Pat and I had no seat and no good way of finding one without wandering through the masses.  At one point we sat on the ground by the door.  We also tried to sneak into first class, but were caught pretty quickly and forced back to the ground.  Finally we waded through beer cans, drunken fans and sticky messes to the far side of the train and found a compartment where we could sit.  Shortly thereafter, we got off the train, and onto a bus to the airport.  The flight was uneventful (thank goodness) and we made it to Rome with our luggage intact.

So many Christmas eggs

Pat in a traditional hunting hat

Salzburg's roses are straight out of Beauty and the Beast

Pat on the way up to the castle

 

The view from the top.  I never get tired of taking pictures of this view - the different seasons and weather conditions make it different every time

Unicorn ring toss

Puppet museum

Pat's attempt at the crossbow

Three bullseyes

 

Clearly I wasn't as good as Pat...I did get better once I learned that you have to line up the viewfinders with the target.  That helped.

Normally there are mountains in the background

A trout for Dad.  No you cannot try to catch this one.  I'm pretty sure it's in the castle stream purposely

Horses in front of the Dom

Brother/sister

Pat in the dwarf garden

Petting the dwarves

Pat with the three students that joined us for karaoke.