Lake Como-Part Uno

So a few weeks back my teachers at my schools asked me, "You know we have fall break coming up, right?"


The answer to that was no. However, I wasn't surprised. This country uses every excuse to relax, take off from work/school, and enjoy life. Not complaining. Those happen to be three of my very favorite things.


Originally, I was going to stay home in Bregenz and just hang out/save money. I had a little discussion with my Betreuungslehrerin (my contact teacher) at my second school that went something like this:


Heidi- "You know we have Herbstferien (fall break) this next week."
Me- "Yeah, I know."
Heidi-"Where are you going?"
Me-"Well, I don't know. I will probably hang around here or head to Munich or something."
Heidi-"WHAT?!?!?! You can go to Munich anytime! You have all that time to travel. You NEED to travel."
Me-"You are right. I should." 


So that is how I decided to take a trip to the Lake Como area. It was so fabulous. I understand why the likes of Madonna, Elton John, George Clooney and Leo DiCaprio (listed in order of importance, naturally) live there.


So I'll write more about that later. But for now I just want to talk about one of the advantages of hosteling it up Europe-style. 


The people.

This is Greg. I hung out with him on Friday. He is a literacy coach from Connecticut living in Florence.

On the left is Kyle, the pro freestyle skier and catholic conspiracy theorist from Colorado. On the right is Echo (aka Pei Ching) from Malaysia but living in Bristol, England who studies town planning and is one heck of a traditional Italian dance dancer. 

Here is Cassie, who also lives and works in Bristol. Behind her is Dee, from China but studying at Rutgers in the US.

Not pictured but of equal awesomeness: Ryan, the master barista from a town outside of Melbourne, Australia with a tattoo of a caffeine molecule on his left forearm. 

I always say, traveling by yourself is great. You have instant friends at hostels that you have no obligations to. You can hang out if you want and your plans for the day align. However, you can go off and do what you please because you have no real obligation to them. It's the best.

So, that is the first thing I have to say about my trip to Como...well, Menaggio. But still.

I'll leave you with pictures of the sunrise I watched every morning from my bed.

It's ok to be jealous. I'll allow it.

Feeling right in a new home

So, earlier this evening...


it's currently 1:12 a.m. but I am not one of those annoying "It's technically tomorrow so you should say last night (insert the 'I have to be right' face)" type of girls


So, earlier this evening...


I went down to lake for the first time. I know it as "Der Bodensee". Apparently it's English name is Lake Constance, which is weird if you ask me. Anywho...the lake is wonderful. There is a long promenade lined with trees and gardens. In the water there are even ducks and swans. Which, of course, makes me plenty happy. You may or may not be aware, depending on how long you've known me, but ducks are my favorite animal. Hands down. No contest. My first word was even "duck" or so my mom says. That's not really the point here.


The main thing to see down by the water is the Seebühne, or the lake stage. I had seen pictures of it already online because when you type "Bregenz" into a google image search you will undoubtably see lots of pictures of it. Mainly because it's a big deal here. There is actually a huge opera festival held there every year in the summer. It's basically a stage on the lake. Maybe "in" is a better preposition. It's in the lake. Essentially a giant, elaborate, floating stage is what you should see in your mind's eye. 


Or right here:

Here's a picture of all the things the stage has been in years past:

Yeah. I think it's cool at least. And they just let you walk in there and walk around when it's not in use. Which, coincidentally, is how I took those pictures.

Before you get to the stage there is a gold colored modern statue that is surrounded by a shallow pool of water. This is where I had a really cool moment earlier.

So, I am walking up and begin to hear music...but not opera...so I knew it wasn't coming from the stage. Then I see that in that shallow pool of water surrounding the statue is a PIANO! In the water! With a guy playing it for the people to enjoy as they take a nice Friday evening Spaziergang along the lake at sunset. I sat down for a while and relaxed and listened. He played in kind of a Damian Rice-y/Regina Spektor-y/Kate Nash-y type vibe but fancier. It was lovely. And in that moment, I realized how happy I am to be here. I have been in Bregenz a week and already feel comfortable here. Yes, I still feel like a foreigner, but that's ok. I am one. But still, it's nice to know I can be happy in this place.

So, I'll leave you with pictures and a sideways video of the lovely piano man in Bregenz.

and bigger/zoomed

notice the ripples from him using the pedal...just too cool for school

And now that I have finished my beer and this post, I can say "Gute Nacht!" and hit the sheets.