Whew! I've finally had some time to do some light editing to the pictures from my February Break and thought I'd share...
The above 21 buggers are the great kids I was lucky enough to spend my break with. We flew from Boston to Germany and then travelled by bus down to Innsbruck, Austria, where we set up "home base". I really can't call it a vacation; I was still in "Ms. Dugan" mode for most of the time. They really are a wonderful group of teenagers. I feel they were great representatives of their high school and of American teens. However, boy, do they have a LOT of energy! Thank goodness I had 3 other fantastic teachers that wanted to go and help out.
We had the most FANTASTIC tour guide; her name was Angelika Mair. I highly suggest inquiring about her travel guide services if you're planning a trip. We stayed at the Grauer Baer right near the center of the old town, which was not too shabby, not too fancy...just right for a group of well-behaved teens. They seem to cater to the business segment, for the most part.
Yup, that's me and my travelling gnome, Cedric, on the slopes of Axum Lizum, outside of Innsbruck, Austria. Those first runs in the Alps brought real joy; however much of the trip was very bittersweet. Some of it was brought on by the recent loss of my grandfather; Grandpa loved this part of the world and spent much time in nearby Germany.
The picture below is a great example of why, several times during the week, I had the thought "HOLY COW! I'm 'boarding the Alps!"
I don't know...Cedric seems pretty at home in this part of the world. Europe, in general, seems to agree with him (and ME!). Here he is posing in front of the Olympic sign at the top of Patscherkofel, also outside of Innsbruck.
I also had some time to stroll around the streets of Innsbruck, a small city. Although I had been there before, it was still easy to find small vignettes that I had missed prior.
We were quite fortunate to be able to take a few day trips while there. By far, one of the coolest things to see was Venice, Italy during Carnival. We were there the week before Ash Wednesday, so the festivities were picking up the pace. The boat ride in was lovely, though a bit cold...
One of the neatest things to view (and, of course, take pictures of) were the people dressed up in these elaborate costumes wandering St. Mark's Square.
The kids are already talking about next year. Although I don't think we'll make it back to Europe in 2010, 2011 is not that far away and another trip may be in the works for then...we'll see.
