zell am see.

Friday morning began what ended up being a beautiful, enjoyable, and memorable last weekend in Europe! We arrived at the train station around 730am to board the train from Vienna to Zell am See, our destination for the weekend. This city is located nearly two hours from Salzburg, attracting skiers, snowboarders, and those in need of a winter-oasis type holiday. The majority of the train ride was spent dozing in and out of sleep, before we arrived around 1230. We checked into the house we'd be staying at all weekend, which was divided up into several different rooms (4-6 people per room). Since we had not eaten all day, our first objective: find food (of course)! Several of us walked to the local Hofer grocery store  and purchased ingredients to prepare chili and grilled cheese sandwiches in our room, which conveniently contained a kitchen! The food was absolutely delicious! Just being in a kitchen and preparing food (as simple as our menu seemed) was so comforting and enjoyable. I've been deprived of cooking, no doubt.

After a hearty lunch and family bonding time, most everyone climbed into bed for a short, much-needed nap. The beds were SO comfortable and we all fell fast asleep. I just sounded like a children's book author... Once we woke up, we spent the next few hours back in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the entire group (30 people) with the wonderful Professor Horton. Friday night's menu: bruschetta, spaghetti with 3 different sauces, roasted bell pepper salad, and caprese. Sarah and I were assigned the task of making the bruschetta, which turned out to be absolutely delicious. I'm pretty proud of our efforts, and this is another dish I anticipate preparing once we're back in the States! Dinner was fabulous, especially since we haven't had an authentic home cooked meal in...well...let's not discuss how long. Family bonding time occupied the rest of the night, as we conversed about different topics, including awkward/memorable first-kiss stories. We climbed in bed around 11pm. What a great day!!