Thank you!

There are some people I have to thank for such an amazing trip. First, my fellow Wolverines who joined me on the journey-

Patrick Alger
Jacob Barnett
Christine Bertsch
Dylan Binkley
Cristabel Choong
Stephanie Clark
Sarah Dolan
Alana Epstein
Brie Farmer
Robbie Gomez
Brian Helfman
Erica Kim
Steve Kim
Norman Lam
Lixian Low
Cale Mannesto
Alex Nestorov
Elaina Peterson
Rachel Sawa
Jessie Tsai
Zach Wainwright
Trisch Wilson
Arielle Ziv

Also, a big thank you to Dr. Leslie Davis for leading our trip.

Thanks to all of you for reading!

A special thank you to the Organizational Studies Department and The Barger Leadership Institute for encouraging me to take part in the program and for supporting me in my efforts to do so.

Most importantly, a big thank you to my family for making my trip possible.

Go Blue!

Day 30: Close Your Eyes

I woke up much later than my expected time of 4:15. Around 4:35 I realized I had been sleeping on my phone and must have disabled the alarm. I sprinted through my morning routine before joining everyone for breakfast around 4:50. After one last great breakfast I said goodbye to Silvia and Jenny as Günter, Stefan and I drove to Ulm. The city is a little north of Dornbirn, about an hour north of the German border. While we were fortunate enough to be driving on the autobahn, it was raining too hard to go particularly fast. We did get to the station early, and we had enough time to say goodbye before boarding the train 10 minutes to seven. Hopefully, they will come visit us in Michigan soon!

The train ride was quite picturesque, but having stored my camera away for the trip, I have no photos to share. Our train did get a little more time with the scenery than we anticipated, as we were delayed 15 minutes getting into the airport. Once we arrived, everyone headed to the shuttle to the other terminal. Having planned enough time, I thought I was fine, but after I picked up more boarding pass and proceeded to check my luggage, I was ridiculed by the first person I encountered. Apparently, the gates close one hour before flight time here…a ridiculous rule that I would have been compliant with if only the train, and the shuttle bus went smoothly. After I was questioned for a minute or two, it took two seconds to send my bad away and then I sprinted up the stairs, showed the next person my passport and then went through customs. Every person I talked to, perhaps a half dozen by the time I got on the plane, had the exact same questions about my luggage and none of them cared about my answer. After my final security check I reached the gate in just enough time to catch another bus to the actual plane. As we crammed more and more people on the bus, it became apparent that the place was packed.

On the flight, my movie selection rivaled that of my flight to Europe: Dear John and The Young Victoria were first up, but fortunately the last movie was The Blind Side. It was an excellent film and if you haven't seen it already, I would encourage you to do so. The football aspect was nice too.

A view of Detroit from over the wing...I'm home!

After landing I had an easy journey through customs and then met parents for the ride home. It was quite an excellent month abroad.

Day 29: Photo. Finish.

I awoke a little late for breakfast, but Stefan was also tired from the night before. We all ate an excellent breakfast with delicious pastries and then relaxed for some much of the afternoon. Günter and I went to the local market to look at all the cool items for sale, but more because it was such a nice day- not too hot and not too cold. Around 1 o’clock, I took a shower, and by 2pm Stefan and I were headed to Rappenlochschlucht, the local gorge. We first met up with his friends, most of whom I already knew. With our backpacks full of sausages, ketchup and a disposable grill, we began our hike up the gorge. It is quite a beautiful place, and gives new meaning to the word damp. More specifically, every nook and cranny is wet, dark and grungy. After a few hundred steps up, we came to the lake sitting above the gorge, which we walked past in order to get to the open river area. Here we tossed our socks and shoes, and then walked through half of the knee-deep water to reach and island of rocks in the middle of the large stream. The water was really clear, but really cold, so soon after reaching the site, we started the barbeque. Using a small puddle generated by the stream, we kept several beers cold as we heated up bratwursts and sausages. Frank decided American’s knew how to grill things, so I was crowned with the title of chef for the next thirty minutes or so.

The gorge from above

The sausages didn't turn out too bad

Main waterfall at the foot of the gorge

Marion, me, Anna, Stefan, Lucas, Frank and Daniel

While we waited, Marian cut up a Kuhlrobbie (it’s a vegetable that looks like an onion, with the texture of an apple, and very little flavor…and yes when you ask for some more you seem to reiterate the fact that Robbie is cool). After the appetizer, much to my surprise, the main course turned out rather well, and the meet cooked thoroughly, though mostly due to Stefan’s decision to cut everything in half. All of us ate and were quite full just moments later. After cleaning up our mess we crossed the river to return to the trail back down the gorge. Once we got back to the cars we headed back to Lucas’ flat to relax for a little while. About an hour later we were back at the Toeferl’s place. The five of us went to a nearby traditional Austrian restaurant where I enjoyed one last Winerschnitzel and Kasspetzle. Afterwards we watched the European sing competition on TV while we looked at the photo albums of previous visits of the last two decades. It was then time to pack up all my things before going to bed early given our early wake up time of 4:15am.

Day 28: Waving Flag

I woke up thoroughly sore this morning, but I was hardly surprised given my attitude to working out in College. After another delicious breakfast, we waited for Stefan and Gunter to return home in the afternoon in order to go sightseeing.

Once they got home we grabbed our passports and headed to the tiny country of Liechtenstein. In order to get there we had to first drive through Switzerland. After just 20 minutes on the highway we were in one of the smallest independent nations in the world. With just over 30,000 inhabitants, and a few thousand square kilometers of space they often fail to make it onto maps and globes. Regardless, we headed through their main city and up a mountain to their castle. From their you can see the entire country, and interestingly enough they still have royalty living there. Consequently, we could not go in, but the pictures of the beautiful outside were still great.

Silvia, Stefan and I at the Liechtenstein Castle

A view of Liechtenstein from the castle

An Audi owned by the Royal family...notice the black Liechtenstein license plate

After getting back, we waited a little while before braving the rain to attend the final football match between Austria Lustenau and FC Lustenau. The event was amazing, and although the stadium was a little smaller than I had encountered, the rivalry was fierce given the importance of the match and the fact that both teams were from the same city...and the final was being played at Austria Lustenau's place. To start we were in a large food tent with many Austria Lustenau fans (people wearing green and white...not my colors). After some food, it was time for the first half, and FC Lustenau (wearing blue) scored twice even though they were underdogs. For halftime we returned to the beer tent to meet up with Sieglinde, Silvia and Jenny for an appetizer and another beer. Just twenty minutes later, it was time for the second half and quite a spectacle. The Blue Freaks lit a firework in their cheering section, and although forbidden, it was quite beautiful. Although Austria Lustenau scored once late in the half, it was not enough and FC Lustenau upset them 2-1.

Jenny and Stefan enjoying dinner

The Blue Freaks...featuring quite the light display

After the game we had more food and beer while we listened to live music. We left after filling ourselves and Stefan and I headed over to Lucas/Stefan/Fonz's flat to have drinks with his friends before heading again to the Gruner Pavilion, Stefan's favorite bar. It was much more packed this evening and when it closed down it took a half hour to get us to leave. I returned home completely wiped from lifting the day before while Stefan continued on with his friends to the place we went to the Saturday before.

Day 27: We Will Change This

Today Gunter, Silvia, Sieglinde, Jenny and I went into the mountains to visit Sieglinde's cottage. The mountain journey was great, with quite interesting roads. After thirty minutes on a gradual incline, we reached a small lot where we parked before hiking 10 minutes to her cottage. The place was quite nice, and because the weather was nice we stayed outside to enjoy desserts and coffees.

Sieglinde, Jenny and Silvia

Sieglinde's Cottage in the mountains

While Sieglinde activated the place's water, Gunter and I talked about the future of energy and the prospect of electric cars in the next decade. My German vocabulary has been extended throughout my stay in Dornbirn, but unfortunately, my grammar skills are probably worse than when I arrived.

We returned to the car just as it began to rain and raced down the mountain to return to the Toefferl's place, as Silvia thought she had left the oven on for the past few hours. She was right, but fortunately, the flat was fine and soon we were headed up the other side of the mountain to enjoy some other scenery. Our journey peaked at the base of a ski lift where we had a beer in a pub.

Sieglinde and I with the beautiful mountains in the background

Goats!

We then proceeded to drive back to meet up with Stefan as he was ending work in a little while.

Our drive down the mountain

When we returned I joined Stefan and his friend Daniel on an excursion to the fitness center. The place was quite impressive. The machines indicated how quickly you should move your muscles and the free weights were also advanced. I was exceptionally out of shape and stuggled to curl/lift half of what Daniel suggested, but had more success with the leg exercises.

Following the work out we headed to the pool on the lower floor. It was a salt water pool which featured mood lighting and controllable message jets, a wonderful way to relax after straining myself for 90 minutes or so.

A view from the exercise place

After getting out of the pool we showered, drove Daniel home and then joined Gunter for dinner. It was great, and after we finished our plates, Stefan and I headed out to the Gruner Pavillion to meet Frank and others. Unfortunately, the place was pretty empty, so we headed home pretty early

Day 26: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven. Seven. Seven Swimming Pools

Stefan took today off from work, and Gunter took a half day. Once he returned in the afternoon, all five of us headed to Milano Island in nearby Lindau. The island is on the Bodensee, a large lake which borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its a little like Mackinac island, but with less fudge and more ice cream. After walking around the cove to get a better look at the lake before heading into the town.

The island owner lives here

If you included Gunter's finger, all five of us made it into the photo

A nice little town

The ice cream was outstanding

After getting ice cream we returned to the car and headed back to their home. On the way we stopped at several dealerships to check out several Mercedes-Benz and Porsche products...they were quite nice, but a little out of my price range.

Gunter's new car

Later that evening we met up with their friend Sieglinde to take a trip up the mountain on the cable car. The view was great and the food was as well. It started thunder-storming as we returned down the mountain, which offered a pretty neat light show as well. We were also fortunate enough to make it back in time for Jenny to catch Grey's Anatomy which was strangely filled with Christmas music.

A view of Dornbirn from the restaurant

Not a bad place for a meal

Day 25: Kiss the Bear

Today was really hot, especially compared to the last few weeks. Jenny said it was 31 degrees, but it felt even warmer. I awoke a little late for breakfast, which like the other meals Jenny has made, was delicious.

Just a portion of today's breakfast

Afterward I took a little time to check my emails as it had been some time since I had been online. In the afternoon we went into the city for a little walk. We went to the river to put our feet in for a while. The cold water was a really nice break from the sun and it was incredibly clear, which made for a nice picture.

After we dried our feet off, Jenny and I went to the local science museum. When I was a little younger, my mom and I had gone to this museum. I remembered much of it, but it was still a great time as the place is quite modern and has interesting hands-on exhibits about energy. They also have some interesting animals and stuffed creatures to look at, making the time we spent there quite interesting.

The biggest rabbit I have ever seen

Jenny with some Wolves

After we left the museum, we walked back to the flat, but along the way we stopped for some really inexpensive ice cream. It was probably the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had! By the time we got back it was finished, and being quite hot outside, it was nice to relax indoors. After sending a few emails it was time for a barbeque. The meal was incredibly delicious as they gave me countless delicious vegetables and meats…they even had fish. I cannot describe how good it was, but it might have been one of the best meals I have had in a while!

Following dinner, Stefan and I found a pretty cheap train ticket from a nearby city in Germany to the Frankfurt Airport. While it leaves a little early on Sunday morning, it was a good price and should get me there with plenty time to spare. We had some vanilla ice cream afterwards, and then Stefan showed me interesting things related to his work. Given his technical knowledge, he has quite an interesting TV setup and can easily transfer videos he has downloaded from the internet to the TV in the other room. We watched several episodes of “How I met Your Mother,” before heading off to bed. There is a bit of a thunderstorm right now, so hopefully it clears up by morning.

Day 24: Beach Ball

I awoke this morning to join Stefan and Julia making pancakes in the kitchen. They were really good and with nutella, they were even better. After the delicious breakfast we jumped in the car to drive to a nearby mountain. Along the way we past a famous gate in the city.

After twenty minutes of climbing the mountain, and then 10 minutes searching for a parking space. We got out of the car and began to hike up the trail. Due to the holiday, and the fact that it was the first nice day of the month, tons of people were also enjoying in the fresh air. For 30 minutes we traversed the steepest trail until we reached the pub at the top. Here we rested for quite sometime, had a beer and observed the beautiful mountains. We then descended the mountain down a different path.

A view of the Austrian Alps

Stefan and I enjoying a beer

Julia!

We made it there and back

One last look at Innsbruck before heading down the mountian

On the way back we stopped at a cafe to relax after much hiking. The three of us opted for apple juice instead of another beer, particularly since Stefan had to drive. We then returned to Julia's

place for a little bit before driving back to Dornbirn.

Goodbye Innsbruck!

We got back shortly after Gunter and Silva returned from their holiday weekend in the mountains. Jenny Stefan and I shared a pizza and then chatted with their parents before bed.

Day 23: Home and Home

Today we got up around 12 o'clock and Jenny made us a nice pasta and salad. After a short lazy afternoon, Stefan and I headed to Innsbruck to visit Julia. On our way out we picked up quite a bit of cargo (a table and three chairs), before driving over/through the mountains.

Standard highway view

After a peaceful two hour drive, we were in the my father's hometown. We dropped off the table and chairs at Julia's new flat, and then returned to her current place to catch up on their World trip from last summer. Later, we walked through the old part of the city and even got to visit her University after a stroll through the park.

The Innsbruck Cathedral

The roof of this building is golden, but the sun today just made it look yellow

Julia's University...this building is essentially their Union

That evening, Julia made us Kaesspetzle, a popular Austrian dish. It was really good! The beer that came with it also tasted great.

Kaesspetzle

Following dinner we watched Over the Hedge in English, before falling asleep.

Day 22: Slow Loris

This morning I was not greeted by the normal breakfast crew, but instead Steve and I enjoyed a large breakfast together in the hopes of a cheaper lunch. After a full meal, I headed upstairs to pack while Steve checked his emails in the Lobby. I had quite a nice room this time around. It was also nice because I was on the first floor and could actually use the University's wifi from the across the street.

A really nice place

After packing, Steve and I took the street train from our hotel all the way to the Opera house to journey through the Saturday morning marketplace. Imagine every fruit for sale, and then invent some more and you would have half the place figured out. The other half is a yard sale without grass, and the most random electronic, porcelain and plastic goods are for sale. Steve and I looked around for a good hour, but didn't find anything of interest, so we headed to Stephenplatz for a cheap lunch.

Steve found a working type writer at the flea market

Still full from breakfast, and Steve low on euros after buying some souvenirs, we tried the local McDonald's euro menu. It tasted identical to its American counterparts.

A view of the bustling city center

After lunch, Steve headed for the bicycle rental place and I headed back to the hotel to collect my things. Steve returned from his bike ride and left for the airport a little before me. I organized my things, and left about 30 minutes later. On the short walk to the metro it began to rain harder than I could ever imagine and my luggage took on quite a bit of water. I sprinted for the station and got out of the rain while waiting for the metro. I went a few stops before getting off to catch a real train to the airport. For just 1.80 euros I was on the train for about 25 minutes and arrived at the airport with more than enough time. While on the train, I had a difficult exchange with the ticket collector, as I showed him the ticket I had just purchased, which he claimed was not good enough. It then took several minutes and some uncomfortable German/English conversation before he understood what I saying (I had my student ticket for the metro and this second ticket for the train). He finally punched my ticket and let me enjoy the pleasant rural countryside.

Upon arriving at the airport, I checked in after seeing Rachel and Dylan doing the same. They told me they had moved to an earlier flight, but having a connecting flight at the Frankfurt airport in a few hours, joining them would not be that helpful, so I decided to stick with my itinerary. As I handed my luggage over to the airline representative, he claimed my baggage was just a little too heavy. Clearly, the water weighed my stuff down too much. Consequently, I had to remove the shorts I have yet to wear from the front compartment and drag them around for the remainder of the evening.

With my carry on bag bursting at the seams, I headed to the gate. In the Vienna airport, they don't have one single security checkpoint, but rather individual ones at each gate. After waiting in line to get to the gate, I waited for some time before the flight preceding mine, to Stockholm, took off. At this point they said I had to leave and go back through security in order to wait for my excursion to Frankfurt. I repeated the security process before waiting for my first plane of the day.

Unfortunately, my plane was delayed several minutes, and we were off the ground 45 minutes after we were scheduled to leave. We landed in Frankfurt, but my hour layover had been reduced to mere minutes. As I ran through the airport from gate 28 to gate 5, my name was announced over the PA system demanding my presence at the door. I arrived just as the attendant was closing the door. She let me down the jet way...which was actually just a staircase leading to a bus. The bus drove us 10 minutes down the tarmac until we reached on 40 passenger plane quite a ways away from "Gate 5." Knowing my checked luggage was unlikely to have moved as quickly as I had, and as far as I had. I became incredibly stressed. As some relief, I had the whole row and the entire row behind me all to myself. Sure, the flight from Frankfurt to Friedrichschafen was just 30 mins, but it was still nice to recline and rest. [A side note on Airplane ettiquite in Europe: In the States, planes travel from the gate to the runway, wait in line, pause, then take off...here you drive to the runway and launch into the air without stopping.] We landed shortly after taking off and as we walked off the plane I was relieved to see my luggage exit the plane! I grabbed it from the baggage claim minutes later and met Jenny and Stefan in the waiting area.

Stefan drove as caught up on what had happened since his visit to the States last Summer. We were on the road for just 40 minutes before we arrived at his Flat in Dornbirn. From there we enjoyed the end of a local football game on TV while I tried a beer and some very nice Schapps that Stefan spoke highly of. Afterwards, we walked five minutes around the corner to a local bar that Stefan's friends were already enjoying. After some drinks and dancing, the place closed around 2. We then waited for a free shuttle to take us five minutes down the road to Conrad Sohm, the local party place. After another mix of familiar and new music, Jenny and I shared a cab with others back to the city around 3:15.

Day 21: HAGS

Today we got to sleep in an extra hour, as Zach requested our exam be moved to 10am. This led us to study over breakfast, the hour before the test. It ended up being fairly straight forward, and no one in our group seemed to struggle with the questions. After the test we filled out quite a comprehensive evaluation before meeting to get one last lunch together. Our entire group and most of the week’s teachers journeyed by U-bahn and then by bus to the Summer Palace hilltop.

Christine and Steph with the Summer Palace in the background

Our Restaurant on the hilltop above the Summer Palace

The view was absolutely beautiful, and the goulash was excellent as well. After eating most of us headed to the museum area and the Winter Palace to see the Austrian Royal family treasurers- wardrobes, scepters, crowns, etc.

The square in front of the Museum

These items were quite intricately crafted, and unlike anything I had seen before. Additionally, the place featured a nail the museum claims came from the cross Jesus was nailed to!

Two different crowns of the Royal Family

We then returned to the hotel so those with early flights in the morning could pack. I had some time to rest before the evening’s festivities.

Our entire program met up at 8:15pm for a nice final meal together. Leslie and Kostanza, our guide from the University came along with us. I tried the white wine again and was pleasantly surprised. When all of us had finished eating, and with little left in our glasses, we went around the room and each of us offered our thank yous, jokes and farewells for the summer. Some where better than others, but it was generally a good time.

Alana, Steph, and Christine celebrating our last dinner in style

We then took the metro to a well-known club in Southern Vienna. Initially content with the 8€ cover price, we headed downstairs into a room that was so smoky, you’d think the place had caught fire. We also quickly discovered the place was having a special rock and roll night, and the scene was a little darker than we expected/had dress for/were interested in trying. We left not long after arriving, and found cheap taxis back to the hotel. Others then had a drink at the hotel (yes, the front desk is also a bar!), and a few tried a local place to dance. I stayed up with those who were leaving at 3:50am for their flights. It was an expensive and less-than-ideal ending to an otherwise amazing social life the past few weeks.

Day 20: Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack!

This morning we woke up with expectation of another long day of class. We quickly realized we would only be enjoying 90 minutes of a lecture before having th e remainder of the morning to relax. After learning about the laws and freedoms related to EU taxes, we retruned to the hotel to nap for a little while before heading to the dinning center to have one last delicous lunch at the University.
Following lunch we took the metro to one of the furthest stops and then rode a bus for an extended period of time. The long trip was worth it, as we were treated to a visit to a hydro electirc plant. We learned quite a bit about the functioning of the plant, and even got to journey 30+ meters underground to see the 6 turbines the have at the plant.

A river level view of the hydro-plant

Austria is fourtunate in that the Danube drops 150 meters from the time it enters the border with Germany to the point where it reaches the Slovakian/Hungary border. This allows them to have 10 (potentially 11 in the future) hydro electric plants along thier portion of the river. This means they can prodcue 20% of the country's electricity off entirely renewable resources!

Here is one of the 6 turbines, from a bottom perspective...we were about 32 meters below the river.

Our entire group got hard hats to protect us from the evil lurking the basement known only as...condensation.

After the trip to the power plant, we headed home to grab a bite to eat.

Christine and Steph were a little tired on the way back

Pat, Steph, Christine, Erica, Robbie and I went to the local pub for some sandwiches. They were quite good, and afterwards we enjoyed some dessert before Rachel, Nest, Elaina and Sarah came and took our table.

Afterwards a few went out, but with our exam in the morning, Steph, Christine and I stayed in their room and studied for a few hours. Around 10 o'clock we headed to the local McDonald's, as Steph wanted to get a McFlurry with toblerone chocolate. It was quite a walk, but a good study break. On the way back we caught the street tram, which made the journey much shorter.

The S-bahn by day...the Night Bus from Harry Potter 3 by dark

Upon returning, we studied for a little bit longer before going to sleep around one in the morning.