SO, I am finally settled in after what feels like a long 2 weeks of traveling! it all started in Austria, visiting my friend Emily from St.Mikes, and also where the film The Sound of Music was filmed (personally favorite) It was so beautiful! We hiked mountains and here is one of the views of a fortress you can see from the mountains

We also did numerous activities such as touring a brewery and taking part in the Sound of Music tour, which takes you to all the places the film was filmed in Austria from the gazebo to the actually VonTrapp house. The whole time there were sing along and we had a wonderful time reliving our childhood watching this film and taking part in the tour. We also had the privilege to be on the tour with Maria VonTrapps actual granddaughter, who happens to be from Stowe, Vermont! It was great to meet her and here all about the VonTrapp house in Stowe. 

Austria also had wonderful food, mainly desserts that were so delicious. One of my favorites was the apple struddle which was surrounded by warm vanilla pudding

After coming back from Austria on Tuesday night, I had a day in Florence before leaving Thursday morning for Cologne, Germany! A friend of mine who I interned with this summer lives in cologne so myself along with 2 friends got to stay with him and get his experience of Germany. It was by far one of my favorite places, and the people were so friendly! On November 11, 2011 at 11:11 am we took part in the Carnival that begins each year on this date. It basically looked like Halloween, and as you can see by the pictures below, people filled the streets in all sorts of costumes. There was also parades and traditional German carnival songs and it was a great cultural experience to be a part of. 

The rest of the weekend, we spent exploring the city which was also full of delicious desserts. Below are just a few examples of the mouthwatering treats lining the streets. Cologne was also much more modern than Florence and even had the one drink I've truly been missing, Dunkin Donuts coffee. It was wonderful to finally get a little taste of that and experience it among one of the most up and coming German cities.

Overall, the past two weeks were amazing, and I cannot wait to head off to Rome this weekend with API to see the big city of Italy! I'll let you know how that trip goes as soon as I'm back (: hope all is well back at St.Mikes!