Innsbruck, Austria

The hills are alive!


Me and Ali in front of a gorgeous view, up the mountain, behind our hotel.

The group at the Swarovski museum.


We played soccer in the pouring rain with the Alps surrounding us... we were SOAKED but lovin' it!

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Favorite Memory: Playing soccer in the rain surrounded by the Alps! We played soccer almost every night in Innsbruck, but the first night beats them all. After a long day of bus-riding, we all needed some good ‘ol play-time and headed towards the closest soccer field as soon as we could. We ended up playing against a group of Austrian boys who were more than willing to play against an American team. It was sprinkling when we started playing, but by the time we finished, it was pouring with thunder and lightning not far away. Really, it’s the best way to play soccer if you ask me. But what made it even better was that we were surrounded by the gorgeous Alps; every time we looked towards the goal or looked up from the ball we saw beautiful mountains all around. Talk about epic! Soccer + pouring rain + Alps = priceless!

Other favorite memories:
-Visiting the Swarovski plant, where all Swarovski crystals are produced. We toured their headquarters and then their famous museum (I’d never seen so much crystal before in my life!). I told myself I wouldn’t buy any crystal for myself… ha. And then I stumbled into the mega-giant-gorgeous-sparkling-dazzling crystal shop at the end of the museum. Thanks Swarovski… how convenient. Well, the good news is, my ears are definitely sparkling/dazzling/resplendent now. And mom, yours just might be too… maybe.

-Singing “The Hills are Alive” while hiking through the Alps. And I thought playing soccer in the rain and Alps was epic! A few girls and I took a short hike into the Alps one afternoon to get an awesome view of the city below and the Alps all around. On the way back down, all 5 of us broke out singing every Sound of Music song we could remember… I feel like this should have been on my “Bucket List” before I did it. I think I’m just going to add it to my list and cross it off anyways. Definitely something I wanted to do before I die.

To be continued...

Next stop: Luzern, Switzerland