More Mountains

As of today, I have one month left of college! I know it seems weird to have class throughout the summer, but it hasn't been too bad, honestly. Summer hasn't even officially started yet! Yesterday I had a presentation in front of a class of entirely German students. It was very intimidating, but they were very nice about all my mistakes. This may sound weird, but the next things I have to do aren't due until July 14th, just under a month away. I have completed everything except for the papers and exams of finals week. Now I have to work up the motivation to study this far in advance.

Don't worry. I'm not just hitting the books. This past weekend, a group of us climbed yet another mountain!

Beautiful, isn't it? It was a chilly, cloudy day, but the sun came out just as we got to the peak. Then, when we reached the bottom again, we went swimming in the lake. The water was cold and refreshing. I love living so near the Alps. It makes for some amazing scenery.

BFA Update: I was looking at train/bus tickets to Kandern today. It's coming up really soon! I'm planning on arriving there sometime between August 5-8. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to prepare and raise support for the next chapter in my life!

What do you fear?

As I was journaling last night, I asked myself that question. I don't mean What are you scared of, like spiders or heights. What is the deepest fear you have, perhaps so deep you can't even admit it, because saying it out loud might somehow give it that power over you? Of course such a fear may be too personal to share, especially to post on the internet. But think about it. Once you know what you truly fear above all else, you can look at why. Why does that scare you so much? For me, looking at the reason shows me what I truly value and love in this life.
Here is an example: I fear losing control. Though it's not my deepest, most painful fear, it still has a great hold over me. I fear losing control over my mind, faculties, and actions. Even losing control over small situations is very frustrating. Perhaps that's why I'm competitive. Obviously this shows that I value my control highly. And yet, part of my faith in God means giving up control over my own life, my decisions. Because when I told God, "Here I am, send me!" I meant it. My life is not my own.
That being said, I have to find a balance between giving up control in the big picture, while still remaining in control of the smaller things. After all, self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit.

One thing I haven't minded (much) losing control of this semester was my schedule. In fact, the days when I didn't care about time have been the most relaxing and rewarding of my entire life. Sometimes this just means leaving my phone and any other timepiece at home, hopping on my bike and riding around. When I get tired of that, I'll pull out some homework or a book. When I get hungry, I'll eat. Try this sometime when you have a whole day free. You'll feel so very free.
Or when we traveled to Rome. It was difficult, but when I put my phone down, (I was using my phone as a map) we got to see so much more of the city. We didn't plan out every moment of every hour of the day. We found out the general direction of something, and we walked there. This often meant ending up somewhere else. The point of it was to enjoy the journey.

We came, we saw, we conquered!

Today I want to highlight the trips of the past two weekends: a Sunday adventure to Salzburg, and a weekend excursion to Rome. Salzburg was a last minute trip planned with Sarah and Katie. We didn't really know what to expect, or what there was to do in Salzburg, so we simply explored. That is, in my expert opinion, the best way to get to know a European city.

 This is a picture of Salzburg from above. We climbed one of the many hills surrounding the city, and saw the abbey where the real Maria von Trapp had lived, which was also used to film some parts in the film The Sound of Music. Also on the hill was a fortress, but we didn't go into it due to the outrageous cost and our outrageous thriftyness.

This unicorn statue is in the garden where several shots from the "Do-Re-Mi" song were filmed. The stairs to the left are the stairs at the very end of the song. Even if you aren't familiar with the movie, it's a beautiful garden to see. 

My favorite part about this garden was the Wisteria! 

Also, the sun came out at this point, so we relaxed there in the sunshine for a while.

For the final adventure of the day, we started climbing a random hill we found. We saw a beautiful yellow building at the top and were curious to see what it was. It was a church and abbey, with a great view of the city. But there was another path that kept going upwards, so we followed it excitedly. At one point on this mysterious trek, we had a perfect look at the city. The hill in the middle is the hill we climbed earlier, with the white fortress on top.

When we made it to the top of this trail, there was an overpriced restaurant. We were perhaps a little disappointed, but the trail we took on the way back was definitely worth it. We followed an old defense wall all the way down, and spent a good amount of time sitting on it in the sunshine as well. We did get a little lost on the way back to the train station to catch the train back home in our attempt to buy some Gelato, but we remedied that by buying a container of Gelato at the grocery store and eating it on the train ride back! I am sure all the people around us were super jealous.

After this adventure, I had two days of classes, and then a super long weekend! (We only had Thursday off for a holiday, but I never have class Wednesday or Friday anyways.) Thursday night, Katie and I got on a plane for Rome! Here's a sneak preview of the Rome trip: