My Europe Trip- Hallstatt

After navigating the Austrian railroad systems, we arrived in the tiny alpine town of Hallstatt. In making our Europe bucket list, one of the things we both wanted was to hike in the Alps. I added a stroll through a quintessential alpine village, and Hallstatt gave us both.

Hallstatt is this tiny little town, which happens to be one of, if not the, oldest continually inhabited locations in human history. The reason for this is a rich salt mine in the mountain above the village. They have found remains from thousand of years ago there. Since these stone age folk, the place has been used by Rome, various small kingdoms, and the Hapsbergs. They still mine the salt (which comes out pink) today, and Laura and picked up a few bottles.

Anyway, here's the town:

And here's a few pics from our stroll through the Alps:

After a few days, several bottles of great Riesling, and witnessing a genuine May Pole, we caught a bus through the Julian Alps and straight to Venice...

My Europe Trip- Vienna

Now I can't really remember why we started with Vienna. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Anyway, whatever the reason, we embarked from Portland, Oregon (Where had just moved all our belongings 4days prior), and flew almost halfway around the world to Austria with only a backpack each. We only spent a couple of days in Vienna, but it was great. Amidst wienerschitzel, extravagant cafes, various kinds of wursts, and a sea of Arians, we took in the higher points of the city.

The first stop was the Belvedere, where we got to bum around and old Hapsburg-era mansion and check out Monets.

From there we meandered over to St. Michael's church, which was built in 1147. It has since been added on to several times, though not since the mid 1400's. There I lit the first of many candles across southern Europe, and we climbed the 350 steps up one of the towers, and got a bird's eye view of Vienna.

Before we left, we went to the Haus Der Musik. It's basically the OMSI of music museums, which means it had endless rooms of crazy hands-on music sound exhibits with a Euro-punk vibe throughout. The grand finale of the museum, though, was Laura getting to conduct the Vienna Orchestra through a full piece. The orchestra was a recording on a huge projector, but it went faster or slower and got louder or softer depending on your conducting.

The next morning we hopped on a train straight into the Alps...

My Match

So, it's been a while since I've blogged, and a lot has happened.

I'll try to tell things in chronological order.

First, I matched in Oregon.

As an aside, this upcoming thursday is the 2011 match. It's so weird to be on the other end of things now. I would have been way way more nervous if I'd known just how arbitrary the whole decision making process is.

But, as fate would have it, I matched in Oregon.

Here are some pics from the celebration, which was on the top floor of the Mayo hotel in downtown Tulsa:

Here's the view from the rooftop, just outside the penthouse:

These are the other Tulsa folk who God smiled upon and matched in Portland:

Another shot of the Match Day festivities

Immediately after this party, Laura and I changed, jumped in the already packed truck, and took of for a cabin in the Ozarks. We hid out there without cell phones or indoor heating (Just a sweet fireplace) and planned our move to Portland and now possible trip to Europe.

My Tradition

First off, let me announce that Laura and I sold our Ram. Though we had our ups and downs, it was a great truck to drive, and in the end we sold it for more than we bought it. And, it was of course way better than Zach's.

So in keeping with our tradition of only owning blue vehicles, Laura and I went on an expedition to Topeka, Kansas, and came back with this:
our new old Jeep CJ7! It's rough and bare, but it's ridiculously fun to drive.
Now we have to think of a name for her...

My Family Heirloom

Tonight I was over at my parents' house, and my dad handed me this family heirloom:
This was my great grandmother's. Her name was Beatrice, she kept a spittoon under rocking chair, and she used to take me to the local grocery store to get Moon Pies.
Now, you may be wondering what in the world this is. Well, it is a printed extra long revival sermon explaining very clearly that alcohol is the tool of the devil.
Here are some excerpts I have stumbled across in my first five minutes of reading:

"The booze business is the best friend the devil has, and it is the greatest enemy the Lord has. A booze seller has locked arms with the devil... booze lies in wait for the unborn. Booze is a killer and a liar.
Yes, BOOZE IS THE BEST FRIEND THE DEVIL HAS ON EARTH."

[In response to a Pub owner saying that he sells alcohol legally and does not tolerate drunkenness in his establishment. He sells only to "decent people."]
"'Friend,' replied a Quaker, 'that is the most damnable part of thy business. If thee would sell to drunkards and loafers, thee would help to kill off that race and society would be rid of them.'"

"The booze crowd lives in the most fashionable houses in town.
The booze crowd rides in the finest cars in town.
The booze crowd sits back in their easy chairs while their patrons sweat.
The booze crowd wears the finest clothes in town.
The booze crowd eats the finest steaks.
The booze crowd's little children wear nice little warm sweaters and shoes.
...I MUST SAY JUST ONE MORE TIME- WINE IS A MOCKER!"

You can't make this stuff up.

My dream car

This was parked next to the hospital yesterday.

My Poor Patients

What not to say to the new mom who brought her 2 month old in for a checkup:

"Her name's Adelaide? That's a great name. It's what I named my dog."