The First 5 Days

Austria from the plane window

Prater Theme Park/Vienna view from the giant ferris wheel

Our group in front of the Cathedral in Vienna

Eating lunch with our new friends in Vienna

Group picture in front of the Mozart Memorial,Vienna.

O the balcony of Schönbrunn Castle (Vienna)

Prague

Our first five days have been filled with extensive traveling, but many new sites and friends. Yesterday we all arrived safely in Altenburg, and everyone is enjoying their family stay.
The first city we visited was Vienna. Although we were skeptical at first due to our exhaustion, the city turned out to be beautiful in better weather and with full stomachs. We only loved the city more as soon as we met the students from the school we visited. They gave us a tour of their school which is a technical/business higher education school, and then they also took us around the city to show us some of the night life. The next day we continued our tour, and were excited to hear that our friends wanted to meet up with us again before we had to leave. Their warm welcome made us feel as though we had been friends for longer than three days and we were truly sad to leave. As we said our goodbye's, many of us commented on how the Altenburg students would have a difficult time living up to the kindness and hospitality we had already experienced.
In only three short days, we toured much of the first district of Vienna, and Schönbrunn castle(the home of Sissi and Franz). Our hostel was very nice, and we enjoyed the time to get to know each other as a group. However, as we traveled on yesterday for approximately 10 hours on the trains, we all looked foreward to a homecooked meal.
In the middle of the day, about halfway to Altenburg we stopped in Prague for a few hours. The weather was a little colder than we expected, but nice because we could walk around without getting too hot. We only had a short amount of time, but some people in the group managed to hike up to the castle. The picture above shows a view from the bridge that we crossed filled with tourists, vendors, and musicians. After an exhausting fifth day, we made it to Altenburg with high hopes for our next experiences.
Today we became more acquainted with the school in Schmölln, which lies about 10 minutes outside of Altenburg. We presented them with our official school present, and some of our students gave their presentations on our town and area. We later went to a small reception with the mayor of Schmölln, which was broadcasted on the local tv station. Everyone seems to be happy with their host families, and have already contacted our friends in Vienna. We are all hoping that our entire stay is as unforgettable, and so far everyone we have met has been so selfless and hospitable. We are truly greatful.


GAPP 2011, Day 6. -Ellen Körner