The blog has moved!
Septembers update can be found at: agneswandering.wordpress.com
Enjoy :)
A
Friday, October 1, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Big Boots
I began this blog with the intent of being a good little blogger and writing copious amounts during my travels to wondrous places and on my various journeys. as is probably obvious if you've read along with me, i'm not always great at updating and although my intentions for blogging are always honest and good, i am not always good at the following through part of the blogging... and so i find myself sitting once again on the continent we call north america in the country we proudly call the united states and which, despite feeling torn between two countries and nationalities, i have grown up knowing as home. my current summer activities include being unemployed (which may sound wonderful to some but is driving me to insanity with boredom), taking a class at Clark in Worcester, and reading/writing/day dreaming/going to the gym in a feeble attempt to fill my days until i can once again throw myself into the hectic routine that has become my college experience. and as i do all of these things i have found myself pondering what is to become of the blog i have come to enjoy updating.
if i've learned anything in the last twenty one years (and i like to believe that i have learned at least a few lessons) it's that journeys and adventures come in all shapes and sizes. journeys are painstakingly planned for days and weeks and months as the excitement in the pit of ones stomach grows and joy threatens to burst the heart or they come in the form of a right turn down an unknown street on a cloudy day, camera clutched in hand, which lands you in the most unexpected and wonderful situations. i have often returned to the quote by G.K. Chesterton "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." for i think it puts simply something that those of us in goal oriented, product driven situations tend to forget. adventures come in all forms, you just have to see it that way. they do not wait for a convenient weekend or a good time. they care not for you mental or physical health and least of all if you take them. an adventure will surely find another if you are not willing to take the opportunity. now dont get me wrong, we all need to sit one out now and then, but the trick is realizing when that moment of decision comes, when everything seems to be going wrong, when it seems that you will never be out of the rut of, say, a boring summer where you seem to feel you are wasting your time, that maybe this too is your adventure, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.
"alright agnes, but where does all that leave the blog" you are surely wondering. and my answer to you may as well be an honest one: i have no idea. as i don't have any major travel plans in the foreseeable year or so the label of "travel blog" will no longer be the most appropriate. On the other hand there are so many people that i care about and who would (i think) be interested in knowing what is going on in my life and what better way to keep them updated during those times when we are too busy to communicate in other ways... so here is what i am thinking: i will attempt to write one blog entry per month for the next year. at least 12 entries. there might be more but i certainly hope there will not be less! Starting today until August 2011. I'm not sure when exactly when in the month the post will go up but I will do my best and I hope you enjoy what you read!
Please comment with your own adventures or send me an email!
Peace
A
"When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen."
— A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)
if i've learned anything in the last twenty one years (and i like to believe that i have learned at least a few lessons) it's that journeys and adventures come in all shapes and sizes. journeys are painstakingly planned for days and weeks and months as the excitement in the pit of ones stomach grows and joy threatens to burst the heart or they come in the form of a right turn down an unknown street on a cloudy day, camera clutched in hand, which lands you in the most unexpected and wonderful situations. i have often returned to the quote by G.K. Chesterton "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." for i think it puts simply something that those of us in goal oriented, product driven situations tend to forget. adventures come in all forms, you just have to see it that way. they do not wait for a convenient weekend or a good time. they care not for you mental or physical health and least of all if you take them. an adventure will surely find another if you are not willing to take the opportunity. now dont get me wrong, we all need to sit one out now and then, but the trick is realizing when that moment of decision comes, when everything seems to be going wrong, when it seems that you will never be out of the rut of, say, a boring summer where you seem to feel you are wasting your time, that maybe this too is your adventure, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.
"alright agnes, but where does all that leave the blog" you are surely wondering. and my answer to you may as well be an honest one: i have no idea. as i don't have any major travel plans in the foreseeable year or so the label of "travel blog" will no longer be the most appropriate. On the other hand there are so many people that i care about and who would (i think) be interested in knowing what is going on in my life and what better way to keep them updated during those times when we are too busy to communicate in other ways... so here is what i am thinking: i will attempt to write one blog entry per month for the next year. at least 12 entries. there might be more but i certainly hope there will not be less! Starting today until August 2011. I'm not sure when exactly when in the month the post will go up but I will do my best and I hope you enjoy what you read!
Please comment with your own adventures or send me an email!
Peace
A
"When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen."
— A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Monday, June 28, 2010
DONAU JUMP! DONAU JUMP!
When I was a kid we used to go to the Vienna Prater on a weekend afternoon with a big group of people. We would walk through the park, play on the playground, go to eat, and the best part was always getting to choose a few rides in the amusment park part of the Prater to go on. I have such fond memories of the Riesen Rad, the Liliput Bahn, and so many others. Tonight I went out to dinner with Thomas and Rosi in the Prater and had told them I was thinking about going on the Riesen Rad so they took me there too. Thomas knows just about everything about this amaying city and pointed out different landmarks and where our friends and family live as we slowly rose into the air. As we walked home we passed a ride called the Donau Jump which has always been one of my favorites. You sit in a fake log and get pulled up a steep incline just to slide down the otherside where the log breaks and you get splashed with water. Thomas asked me if I wanted to go on the ride and I said only if he came with me, not thinking for even a second this would work... it did! Rosi marched up and bought us tickets and we convinced her to come with us too so we tucked my camera into her purse and got into our own log. We chanted 'DONAU JUMP DONAU JUMP' and screamed on the way down and it was AMAZING! As totally sappy as it sounds, I relived a bit of my childhood today with two people I love dearly and am so thankful I have them!
I know that I have been terrible about updating and once again, as so often before, I would like to apologize for that! I will try to catch up on some of my adventures tomorrow but for now, it's off to bed I go.
Sweet dreams!
- A
I know that I have been terrible about updating and once again, as so often before, I would like to apologize for that! I will try to catch up on some of my adventures tomorrow but for now, it's off to bed I go.
Sweet dreams!
- A
Friday, June 18, 2010
"when i get older, i will be stronger, they'll call me freedom, just like a waving flag."
location: THE NETHERLANDS!! Leiden to be exact... with Kimmi Case!!!!
time: 0214
twelve hours on a train seems like it should be torturous, however my trip from vienna to amsterdam yesterday was really quite enjoyable. i spent a good amount of time listening to harry potter 6 on tape and staring out the window at the passing country side. i took a nap, ate my snacks, people watched, wrote in my journal, and read. although my legs were getting restless by the end of the journey, i was certainly not as antsy as i expected to be!
i arrived in leiden to find the wonderful kimmi case waiting for me at the train station which is what i had been day dreaming would happen while on the train as i couldn't reach kim by phone and was getting a little bit nervous about how we were going to find each other. we headed back to her dorm and spent the evening hanging out with her friends.
today, after sleeping in and a trip to the grocery store, we walked through the city following the leiden loper walking tour with signs about important buildings and monuments keeping us well informed. tomorrow i plan to visit a museum or two in the morning and then watch the world cup game in which holland is playing in the early afternoon. there's also a street market tomorrow! yay!
i already like this country so much! i knew i liked it here the second i realized the train was in the netherlands and have not been disappointed! it is beautiful and the language is so fun to listen too because it sounds like an odd mix of german and english. the people are friendly and it is so fun to be reunited with kim who has been studying here this past semester.
the past few days in vienna have been wonderful! on monday we headed out to paudorf to visit friedl, peter, and sarah with our hungarian friend neszta. she swung by vienna and after some confusion and a bus that stopped running 30 minutes before micha and i got to it we were able to find each other and drove out to paudorf together. although we were only able to stay for a night it was wonderful to see each other and spend time together! i learned how to make marillen knoedel (AMAZING food!) and we all told stories and laughed together.
we visited cousins and friends and spent time with thomas and rosi over the next few days. i've been watching lots of soccer and going to explore and am having a wonderful time! i realized today that i am only traveling for another eleven days which is so crazy!!! i have loved this trip but am also looking froward to home and the fourth of july! :)
i'm off to sleep so i can function and soak in this wonderful city tomorrow!
peace,
a
time: 0214
twelve hours on a train seems like it should be torturous, however my trip from vienna to amsterdam yesterday was really quite enjoyable. i spent a good amount of time listening to harry potter 6 on tape and staring out the window at the passing country side. i took a nap, ate my snacks, people watched, wrote in my journal, and read. although my legs were getting restless by the end of the journey, i was certainly not as antsy as i expected to be!
i arrived in leiden to find the wonderful kimmi case waiting for me at the train station which is what i had been day dreaming would happen while on the train as i couldn't reach kim by phone and was getting a little bit nervous about how we were going to find each other. we headed back to her dorm and spent the evening hanging out with her friends.
today, after sleeping in and a trip to the grocery store, we walked through the city following the leiden loper walking tour with signs about important buildings and monuments keeping us well informed. tomorrow i plan to visit a museum or two in the morning and then watch the world cup game in which holland is playing in the early afternoon. there's also a street market tomorrow! yay!
i already like this country so much! i knew i liked it here the second i realized the train was in the netherlands and have not been disappointed! it is beautiful and the language is so fun to listen too because it sounds like an odd mix of german and english. the people are friendly and it is so fun to be reunited with kim who has been studying here this past semester.
the past few days in vienna have been wonderful! on monday we headed out to paudorf to visit friedl, peter, and sarah with our hungarian friend neszta. she swung by vienna and after some confusion and a bus that stopped running 30 minutes before micha and i got to it we were able to find each other and drove out to paudorf together. although we were only able to stay for a night it was wonderful to see each other and spend time together! i learned how to make marillen knoedel (AMAZING food!) and we all told stories and laughed together.
we visited cousins and friends and spent time with thomas and rosi over the next few days. i've been watching lots of soccer and going to explore and am having a wonderful time! i realized today that i am only traveling for another eleven days which is so crazy!!! i have loved this trip but am also looking froward to home and the fourth of july! :)
i'm off to sleep so i can function and soak in this wonderful city tomorrow!
peace,
a
Sunday, June 13, 2010
haying 101
location: wien
time: nine minutes to 10p
i have once again returned to my beloved city, and although i am glad to be back, it is always hard to leave maria alm and the people i love there behind.
the last few days in alm were crazy. the temperature sky rocketed (mid 90s F) and there was hay to be made, which involves major physical labor even if there are tractors to do a large chunk of the work. micha joined me for my last few days which was lovely and gave her a chance to re-meet the cousins now that we are all over the age of 10 :)
haying took about three days (at least i was only involved for three days) and consisted of raking, raking, and more raking under the glowing sun. i only sustained a tiny sunburn but we were all exhausted from the heat by the end of the day and i was quite soar the last few days!
on our last day in maria alm micha and i were mucking stalls when we realized that one of the horses had caught herself by the halter outside the stall door and was panicking. this horse already had a wound on her back leg and was pulling wildly to try to free herself. luckily our cousin and her boyfriend had just come out of the barn and micha, hanna and i were able to free the horse, however in the process my arms got a bit crushed between the horse in the door. in the moment we freed her she threw herself onto her side and fell against my arms which were inside the stall because i had been holding her head trying to calm her... all in all nothing was broken on either of us but i have a new battle wound!!
time: nine minutes to 10p
i have once again returned to my beloved city, and although i am glad to be back, it is always hard to leave maria alm and the people i love there behind.
the last few days in alm were crazy. the temperature sky rocketed (mid 90s F) and there was hay to be made, which involves major physical labor even if there are tractors to do a large chunk of the work. micha joined me for my last few days which was lovely and gave her a chance to re-meet the cousins now that we are all over the age of 10 :)
haying took about three days (at least i was only involved for three days) and consisted of raking, raking, and more raking under the glowing sun. i only sustained a tiny sunburn but we were all exhausted from the heat by the end of the day and i was quite soar the last few days!
on our last day in maria alm micha and i were mucking stalls when we realized that one of the horses had caught herself by the halter outside the stall door and was panicking. this horse already had a wound on her back leg and was pulling wildly to try to free herself. luckily our cousin and her boyfriend had just come out of the barn and micha, hanna and i were able to free the horse, however in the process my arms got a bit crushed between the horse in the door. in the moment we freed her she threw herself onto her side and fell against my arms which were inside the stall because i had been holding her head trying to calm her... all in all nothing was broken on either of us but i have a new battle wound!!
lookin' good!
i spent the rest of the morning recovering a bit and packing and then headed to the train station. we were back in wien by night and went out for a late dinner (and ice cream!!) with my godmother, renate, at the stephansplatz.
today we slept late, did laundry, went to a play with renate and her brother and his wife and then met willie (reate's husband) for a wonderful greek dinner (we are REALLY spoiled here!!!)
there is so much more to tell about my time in maria alm and i hope to share that all with you, but i must be off to bed! tomorrow promises to be a full day in wien and then we are off to paudorf to visit friedl, peter, sarah, and neszta!!
until next time,
a
Saturday, June 12, 2010
i knew it was love when he bit my finger...
as so often happens with horses, i have once again fallen in love... actually this little foal stole my heart, but either way, i wish more than anything in the world that i could take him with me! he is a spunky little fellow! very curious and goofy :) just my type!
if i were a horse, i would want to live here too!!!
the moment i knew it was love :)
ITCHY!
"look at me! i am sooo good at rolling!"
he loves me too!!
i will be posting a more substantial post soon, but i wanted to show you all the cutest foal in the world first :)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
they meant it when they said "no running in the barn!"
location: maria alm
time: 19:00
number of sprained wrists: only the one...
oh how the time does fly when you are pretending to be a farmer!
it's been over a week and about time i fill you in on all the adventures i have embarked on since i last sat down to write! it's been a full week for sure... i can never quite tell if time flies or crawls here because the days seem wonderfully long but they seem to pass so quickly!
the best way i can sum up all that's been going on is to write about the lessons i've learned. they are, in no particular order:
1. "when they say "don't run in the barn, they mean it!"
it's not really a written rule here, but it's something i learned the moment i started riding which was quite a long time ago. i always was told and explained to others that the rule existed because running could spook the animals who could in turn hurt themselves... two days ago i was trying to catch my youngest cousin (he just turned five) who was running around in only socks listening to headphones with the volume way too loud (we could hear it from across the garden). he ran into the barn and giggled "you can't catch me..." i gave into his game started chasing him around until he ran out the door and i slipped on something wet (despite the fact that i WAS wearing shoes) and fell as i rounded a corner, slamming into a wall. let me tell you... OUCH. i sprained my right wrist pretty nicely and gave myself a wonderful scrape on my left knee, the likes of which i haven't seen on myself in about five years. it's still oozing incase you were curious :) for those of you who don't know me and my... shall we say less than graceful ways... this might seem shocking... no need to worry! i emt-ed myself and am taking care of my wounds. for those of you who do know me well enough to know that i keep a wrist brace near me at all times, i hope you got a good chuckle :)
2. might as well bring your winter coat despite the fact that you are visiting in june... you can wear it over your bathing suit!
last week it rained and SNOWED! and this week it's boiling out and you can't leave the house without sunglasses or you will be blind... i honestly thought i was loosing my mind when i looked out the window and thought "oh look snow!" it didn't stick down here but it did accumulate in the mountains and worried everyone as the low temperatures aren't good for things trying to grow.
3. remember to put on shorts before hiking up to the pasture to feed the horses and foals.
over the past few days its fallen me to go up to the pasture to feed the two horses staying up there and their foals. it's about a twenty minute process which consists of walking through the church/grave yard with a bucket of feed, hiking up the side of a mountain for about eight minutes (i might as well crawl it's so steep), hoping the horses aren't in the far part of the pasture under the trees (they usually are), waiting for them to figure out you are there to feed them, feeding them, and then nearly falling off the side of the mountain as i scramble down. the foals are cute as can be, the scenery is, of course, breath taking, and it's good to get exercise... tomorrow i am putting on shorts before i go! i almost passed out from heat exhaustion in my jeans today. never again i tell you!
4. always have your camera with you... seriously... ALWAYS.
i didn't lug it with me up the mountain today and the foals were particularly cute... darn it!!
5. you can make perfectly lovely accompaniment music with spoons and musli
yesterday jacob came into the kitchen to practice the accordian (which he plays quite well!). his sister hanna and i were hanging around being silly and started playing spoons and glasses along with him. their dad, chirstian, came in to eat something and came out of the pantry shaking his musli in time and shouting "ja-hoo" at intervals making us all jump. we were laughing and having an uproariously good time when we saw a stranger walk towards the front door (people are always looking for someone or other to talk milk or horses or somewhere to stay) at which point christian whooped louder than ever and we played more vigorously and better than before. it was truly wonderful music... i wish i had recorded it :D our sides hurt from laughing after that and we continued about our day.
other than that i've been running around, helping as much as i can, going for wonderful bike rides, and reading/journaling when there's time. i haven't gotten the chance to horse back ride because it was raining and now it's just WAY too hot during the day but maybe soon! micha is coming out from vienna tomorrow which is super exciting! life on the farm is truly lovely but i am also really looking forward to the next part of my journey which includes: vienna, the netherlands to visit kimmi (!!!!) and then paris where i get to see ella (!!!!). all extremely exciting :)
until next time!
- a
time: 19:00
number of sprained wrists: only the one...
oh how the time does fly when you are pretending to be a farmer!
it's been over a week and about time i fill you in on all the adventures i have embarked on since i last sat down to write! it's been a full week for sure... i can never quite tell if time flies or crawls here because the days seem wonderfully long but they seem to pass so quickly!
the best way i can sum up all that's been going on is to write about the lessons i've learned. they are, in no particular order:
1. "when they say "don't run in the barn, they mean it!"
it's not really a written rule here, but it's something i learned the moment i started riding which was quite a long time ago. i always was told and explained to others that the rule existed because running could spook the animals who could in turn hurt themselves... two days ago i was trying to catch my youngest cousin (he just turned five) who was running around in only socks listening to headphones with the volume way too loud (we could hear it from across the garden). he ran into the barn and giggled "you can't catch me..." i gave into his game started chasing him around until he ran out the door and i slipped on something wet (despite the fact that i WAS wearing shoes) and fell as i rounded a corner, slamming into a wall. let me tell you... OUCH. i sprained my right wrist pretty nicely and gave myself a wonderful scrape on my left knee, the likes of which i haven't seen on myself in about five years. it's still oozing incase you were curious :) for those of you who don't know me and my... shall we say less than graceful ways... this might seem shocking... no need to worry! i emt-ed myself and am taking care of my wounds. for those of you who do know me well enough to know that i keep a wrist brace near me at all times, i hope you got a good chuckle :)
i might never shower again...
last week it rained and SNOWED! and this week it's boiling out and you can't leave the house without sunglasses or you will be blind... i honestly thought i was loosing my mind when i looked out the window and thought "oh look snow!" it didn't stick down here but it did accumulate in the mountains and worried everyone as the low temperatures aren't good for things trying to grow.
3. remember to put on shorts before hiking up to the pasture to feed the horses and foals.
over the past few days its fallen me to go up to the pasture to feed the two horses staying up there and their foals. it's about a twenty minute process which consists of walking through the church/grave yard with a bucket of feed, hiking up the side of a mountain for about eight minutes (i might as well crawl it's so steep), hoping the horses aren't in the far part of the pasture under the trees (they usually are), waiting for them to figure out you are there to feed them, feeding them, and then nearly falling off the side of the mountain as i scramble down. the foals are cute as can be, the scenery is, of course, breath taking, and it's good to get exercise... tomorrow i am putting on shorts before i go! i almost passed out from heat exhaustion in my jeans today. never again i tell you!
4. always have your camera with you... seriously... ALWAYS.
i didn't lug it with me up the mountain today and the foals were particularly cute... darn it!!
5. you can make perfectly lovely accompaniment music with spoons and musli
yesterday jacob came into the kitchen to practice the accordian (which he plays quite well!). his sister hanna and i were hanging around being silly and started playing spoons and glasses along with him. their dad, chirstian, came in to eat something and came out of the pantry shaking his musli in time and shouting "ja-hoo" at intervals making us all jump. we were laughing and having an uproariously good time when we saw a stranger walk towards the front door (people are always looking for someone or other to talk milk or horses or somewhere to stay) at which point christian whooped louder than ever and we played more vigorously and better than before. it was truly wonderful music... i wish i had recorded it :D our sides hurt from laughing after that and we continued about our day.
other than that i've been running around, helping as much as i can, going for wonderful bike rides, and reading/journaling when there's time. i haven't gotten the chance to horse back ride because it was raining and now it's just WAY too hot during the day but maybe soon! micha is coming out from vienna tomorrow which is super exciting! life on the farm is truly lovely but i am also really looking forward to the next part of my journey which includes: vienna, the netherlands to visit kimmi (!!!!) and then paris where i get to see ella (!!!!). all extremely exciting :)
until next time!
- a
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