Klagenfurt

On a very snowy day in February 2012, after being awake for 24 hours and traveling as a 20-year-old by myself halfway across the world, I arrived in the one gate Klagenfurt airport. My friend Corina who had previously studied abroad in OKC picked me up and we made our way to a little bakery. Overwhelmed does not begin to describe how I was feeling. I was surrounded by a foreign language being spoken all around me, I took the bus for the first time, and the colors and architecture were so different. I will forever be grateful that Corina became my roommate at OCU and was there to pick me up and be my guide for the next 6 months. Visiting her parents and their farm on the weekends was one of the highlights of my time in Austria. 

Returning to a place I called home 5 years later was crazy. I saw the 85 bus - the bus line that ran by my apartment building and that I chased many times. I saw the main plaza in the city center - the historic building I noticed had been painted a slightly different shade. "Yes, actually" Corina commented when I pointed out the paint job. Things were very much the same, but 20-year-old me was very different than the 'adult' I have become. It was a nice coming home feeling walking the cobblestone of Klagenfurt's beautiful city center.

Having dinner with Corina's parents was the craziest feeling. This was always such a special time for me when I lived in Austria and definitely was extra special being back. Her dad said to me "you came five years ago, now you're here, come back in 5 years with your husband and another 5 years with little kinder". Who knows what my life will look like, but I can only hope to continue visiting Austria and my favorite people there.

This restaurant was a favorite of mine while in Austria. I probably only ate out in Klagenfurt a dozen times in the 6 months I was there, but I ate here a handful! Vinegar potato salad, a dark beer, and a kind of European chicken fried chicken are my staples.

Corina and I returned to the same coffee shop we first visited 5 years previously. I was reminded how much I missed her, how much I missed small town Austria, and how much I missed Austrian desserts.

I couldn't help but notice that they added a "Cafe Angelina" across from the train station since I lived there...

Prost!

Yep, we went to THE Oktoberfest. 2017 is going to be a hard year to beat!!

We had a day to spend exploring Munich. Oh, I mean we had a day for dirndl shopping! I had heard from many people who had been to Oktoberfest that your experience was heightened if you dressed in a traditional dirndl. These dresses ain't cheap if you get the non-costumey type, but I decided that I was probably only going to be at Oktoberfest once (and I could use it as a Halloween costume for the next 10-15 years if it still fits :0). We had a fantastic traditional lunch at The Augustiner. We had been here once before - in the back way and straight to the kitchen to have a leberkase sandwich! It was fun to be back and enjoy the awesome German food and beer. 

After filling our bellies we headed across the street to a dirndl shop. Jolyne and I were casually browsing when a saleswoman asked to help. I told her what size I thought I was and she quickly put both hands around my waist, felt me up, and told me what size I was. I was carefully looking at dresses, but she picked one that I "had to try on". Once I was done up in a gaudy green satin dress with hot pink embroidery, lacy white undershit, and over-the-top green apron with even MORE hot pink embroidery she told me it was perfect. I told her I like things a bit more simple. No, she said, this was perfect. We waited til she was distracted to pick out some different ones and change! This was all quite an ordeal. Jolyne and I quickly realized we were trying on the absolute most expensive of every article - and we didn't even like them! I finally talked the sales lady down to a simple green dress and white cotton apron. Phew. We were about to check out when I spotted the sale room. How had we - Jolyne and Angelina expert deal finders - wasted an hour in Munich and not started in the sale room?! I tried on a dress I thought was too plain, but actually liked it! When I emerged from the dressing room the sale room lady plunged her hands down my top and rearranged my boobs for me. When in Munich?! She taught Jolyne the magic trick of the string on the undershirt - serious magicians in Munich! She also told us which side to tie your apron if you're single or taken. We learned more life lessons from the sale room lady than we ever could've imagined.

I started with a $125 dirndl and ended up liking the $12 plain brown one in the sale room the most! Phew. I was able to purchase two dirndls, two aprons, with one undershirt and one underskirt for the price of the dress the first lady had me trying on!

We walked through the Marienplatz and were able to see the wonderful glockenspiel chime. It goes off at 11:00 and 5:00, reenacting Bavarian traditional tales.

We loved Munich before - and love it more now!! Like a typical fair, Oktoberfest has people streaming in. There are stands for food, carnival games, and a general air of lightheartedness. 

We spent out day in the Lowenbrau tent. Once you find a seat you don't want to risk moving because you probably won't find a seat anywhere else! We were near the center of the beer tent - close to the band and surrounded by lederhosen and dirndl-clad drunk patrons!! We made friends with a lot of people around us, including an Australian and Kiwi who were making their way around Europe. Six hours and 4.5 liters a beer a piece did us in! Oktoberfest was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience (that we would all love to do again!!!)

Bucharest

Bucharest was an incredible city full of beautiful architecture, interesting  traditional cuisine, and  an active nightlife. The bustling city center and canal outside our window had glimmering lights of McDonalds, H&M, and other globally recognized names. In the same view from our wonderful 7^th floor Air B&B apartment was the Old Town, pretty much all that was left of Bucharest from what it was in the 1400s until World War II and communism. 

A majority of Romanians are Eastern Orthodox. They were building a gigantic church on the parliament grounds behind this small temple.

We walked to the Romanian Parliament building, a colossal and beautiful structure - the largest administrative building in the world. To top that, it is the heaviest building in the world at 9.0356×10⁹ lb. There were guards at all the entrances, but it still wasn't quite as strict as government buildings in the U.S. Sure this building looked big to me, but I didn't realize it was truly the largest building of its type in the world. A man at the gate - after asking first if we were German and then Polish - told us this building would dwarf the Pentagon and White House. 

One of our top meals in Europe was this traditional Romanian meal in Old Town. We sat outside and had a fabulous waiter, Dudu. We started with a single grape rose and an appetizer of pork, pork, and pork. It was fried pork skin, pork lard, cracklins, cheese from the stomach of a goat? To be honest we're still not quite sure. We were wanting cabbage rolls the whole trip because that was what we heard was traditional Romanian. Our birding guide, Florin, had also given us many pointers. Dudu said exactly what Florin had told us and guided us towards 3 dishes that we were already thinking about. He was right - they were good. We were glad to have some locals guiding us on our gastronomical tour of Romania. This was a special meal and very memorable.

A traditional Romanian meat dish topped with fried egg and a feta-type cheese. Dracula’s House Stew

Pan-fried Mutton Pastrami

This wonderful donut type dessert filled with jam and topped with a sour cream like whipped cream. Also some apple pie type bites and chocolate ganache layered dessert