Moving to Innsbruck

After Dan and Kara's wedding, pretty much the next day I had to fly back to England. I was really quite lucky to have had such a long time between finishing my exams back in April and starting the internship/dissertation part of my Masters degree in Space Physiology and Health. Back when we visited ESA in February, we had had this cool demonstration of an analog Mars space suit, designed by the Austrian Space Forum, and it had been arranged that I could come and do some research,

and my dissertation with them at their offices in Innsbruck. So off I went, with Mummy in tow, to move to Innsbruck, Austria for 3 months. To be fair, I knew very little about Innsbruck before I went, although I had arranged some accomodation in an old monostary. I hadn't however, seen the small print that said they were only avalibale for moving in at 9am on a Friday morning, so there was so kerfuffle when I arrived at 3pm. But eventually, we got ourselves sorted, and made a trip to IKEA,

which was accessible by bus, and kitted by little room out. For the weekend, Mummy and I stayed together in a really old hotel, that was super lovely right in the middle of the square. The Maria Theresen strasse leads up to the famous Golden Adler or Golden Roof.

It is a building which houses the town hall I think, and has actual gold leaf on the roof. It's really popular and is a lovely little place to hang out in the cafes around there. We spent the weekend figuring out how to walk from my accomodation all the way to my work, where the shops were,

the train station, and all the other logistics. We spent the weekend eating gelato, and going in the little shops, and walking up and down the pretty river. Innsbruck is such a pretty little town, especially as a tourist. I don't think I would want to live there forever, but it was the perfect place to set up camp for three months and get some work done!

A walk to Pyramid Point

The day after the wedding, we had a nice wedding breakfast with the Dornbusch family, and then we took a little drive into the countryside to talk a walk up this mountain called Pyramid Point. I'm not sure really if it was a mountain exactly, but maybe more like a big cliff.

We walked through the woods, and then suddenly, it was like a beach, on top of a cliff, with a great view of the lake below. It was so pretty there, and so, so blue! It was good to be out and about after the wedding, in the fresh air. We had a nice snooze in the sand, before walking back through the forest!

Dan and Kara get married!

A few of my friends have gotten married since we all became old enough. I've been invited to just one friend's wedding, and a few relatives weddings, but this was finally my first wedding so I was so so excited for them! I got to help in the morning, getting everyone ready and sorted,

and then Mummy and I helped to clean up and feed all the girls so they were all ready in the morning. The wedding was so beautiful, and so much fun - I got a great view of the wedding ceremony, the food was wonderful, and I got to sit with some really nice people at my table. I met some of Krista's friends

who had also been unable to bring their boyfriends because they were working like Josh, so we had a nice time chatting, eating cake and dancing! It was a beautiful wedding, and they are the cutest couple, and I know they will have many years of great happiness!

Up North in Traverse City

After the pre wedding BBQ, the next day we headed over to the wedding rehersal venue - it was some big kind of estate with a whole bunch of houses, and cabins, and fun activities. A bit like an upscale Oasis place. It was also the nearest place to Snow Moon ranch, where Dan and Kara were

getting married, so it was going to be where we were sleeping for the next couple days. Before the rehersal dinner, Mummy and I daddy and I went out to explore the area we were staying in. They had a cute little gold shop and grocery store, and we just walked up and down some of the hills in the forest. The rehersal dinner was really nice, down by the water and very low key, which was nice. I was really getting excited for the wedding now!

A wedding BBQ

I had such a nice time up in Traverse City, first with Kara and her family, and then Krista and Jed came up from Detroit, and we had a grand old time, going out for lunch, running some errands for Kara with her ring, and things that just had to be done before the wedding. Two days before the wedding, the Dornbusches held a cool beach BBQ at their house. I was in charge of setting up all the food and arranging tables and such. I had a great time organising and an even better time when

everyone arrived and all the food was eaten! There were smores and everything too! The Guys are really into paddleboarding, and I even had a go at that! It was a really nice, casual way to get all the wedding activities started!

Driving up North

After a few more days with Grammie and Papa, Mummy and I drove up north to Traverse City, to go to Kara and Dan's wedding. It wasn't for a few days, but we were going early so that we could help Linda with all the last minute things and to run little errands here and there. Driving up north takes a long, long time, but it is very pretty along the way, which makes it quite worth it. We stopped along the way for some yummy ice cream at a pretty stop to break up our long drive through the countryside too!

The ships in Bay City

After my bridal shower, Rachel and Mary stayed with us, and we went out to Bay City, to visit the shops and down to the harbour. The harbour is really pretty. It is lovely and sunny there - and they have all these lovely sail boats lined up along the side. I love to take

photos of them, I have taken them many times, but they are always so lovely! We had a dinner, and did some shopping, for bridesmaid dresses. Rachel visited us in Florida first to try on dresses, and now she got to try on more here! So we shopped for a while, until sadly they had to go home!