There’s a first time for everything and while Greg and I have transited many times through Europe, we have never actually been. That is until work decided to send me for training in Vienna, Austria! I have been working at the Embassy since November as the Small Grants and HIV Coordinator, but there’s always more to learn and more skills to acquire. My job is to work with local Ugandan nonprofits who are receiving grant money from the United States government. I help them through the process and make sure the money is being spent correctly, which involves traveling to all the different regions of Uganda and meeting the groups in person. I’ll write a blog post later on all my fun adventures with work.
The training was for the first week of May, but what fun is all work and no play, so Greg and I decided to head over a few days early. Lucky for us, Greg’s mom also had to work in Europe so we set a plan to meet up in Austria, and travel to Salzburg (about 2 hours outside of Vienna). Landing in Austria was a bit of a shock to our systems. We were coming from beautiful 75-degree weather and landed where it was only in the low 40’s. Going out to Salzburg there was still snow on the mountaintops, yikes. However, the countryside was beautiful, the food was delicious, the beer was way more flavorful than Uganda’s, and family is always good company.
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| Beautiful views in Salzburg. |
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| Look, there's actually snow! |
Our first day’s plans changed when we realized many things don’t open until May 1st and we were still in April. So we drove over to Germany (just a short way down the road!), went to a Salt Mine, and had a few beers along the way. We also stopped at a beer distributor and were in complete shock at how cheap good beers there really are. We walked away with our own handpicked 6-pack for about $6. It was AWESOME! We saw Mozart’s birthplace, we walked all around Mirabell Palace and Gardens, crossed Makartsteg which is a bridge filled with locks, looked at but didn’t climb up to the Salzburg Fortress, and had fun wandering the many side streets of Salzburg.
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| Kate & Greg at Hofbräu Kaltenhausen in Salzburg. |
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| Greg & Katie having a beer at Hofbrauhaus Berchtesgaden in Germany. |
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| We might have driven a little out of our way to go to Fucking, Austria. |
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| Katie & Greg at Mirabell Palace and Gardens with the Salzburg Fortress in the background. |
After Salzburg, we headed back to Vienna and got to go to the Spanish Riding School to see the beautiful horses. Here we watched as they demonstrated the haute école or “high school” movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known as the “airs above the ground.” While it was interesting and fun to see, it was a little long and not something any of us felt the need to go back to.
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| We weren't allowed to take pictures of the horses during the show, but here they are in their homes. |
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| Enjoying Kate's last day in Vienna with us. |
Unfortunately, our return to Vienna also meant that I had to start training and Kate had to leave us for work. Greg, on the other hand, got to wander the city during the days and pub hop as he liked. Thankfully classes didn’t go too late and we still got to hang out in the evenings. We also lucked out and had another couple from Kampala who were also in for the training. It was nice to have friendly faces to meet up with after work and go to dinners that didn’t take over an hour just to get your food. One night we got to try out a pitchfork of meat and another night the boys decided to sample all seven beers at 7Stern Bräu (7 Stars Brewery).
One of our last nights in town, Greg found a Hot Rod Tour Wien, which is where you drive go-karts through the city! That’s right, a 2-hour, hot rod self-drive tour through Vienna’s wide streets and historic neighborhoods. It was beyond amazing and we had a total blast! There’s no real training before you hit the streets and are driving a go-kart around the beautiful sites and of course other much larger cars! Being able to breathe and have a driver’s license seems like enough qualification for them. After we got our helmets and took a few test drive laps around the garage, we set off for the tour. I don’t think I have ever seen Greg as happy before as he was driving around in his little hot rod. Afterward, we found this awesome bar with great beers from around the world to help us reflect on our amazing trip.
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| Driving around in our Hot Rod's! |
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. We had one last day to take in the sights, admire the beautiful architecture, and be served delicious food and beer in a timely manner before we had to head back to Kampala. While the fairy tale eventually had to end, we had an amazing first trip to Europe and can’t wait to make it back someday. For all our fun pictures throughout Austria, check out our SmugMug.
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| Enjoying our last day at Schönbrunn Palace. |
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