Week #14 - Vaduz, Liechtenstein

         This entire week reminded me of just how extremely blessed I am. I mean truly blessed. Words cannot describe and pictures cannot do justice to the utter beauty that I am surrounded by this week. The nature that surrounds this tiny country of Liechtenstein is stupendous. The 11 villages that make up the small population of Liechtenstein are just so cute and put together and the people are all so sweet. The population of Liechtenstein is 35,000 and it only takes about 20 minutes to drive from the south tip to the north tip. That is crazy. When I drove up into the mountains to take in the gorgeous view I could see Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and the Alps within all three of those countries. So far this may be my favorite place in Europe and of course the weather has helped. It seemed like it was  the first time we had seen the  sun since Florida and sunshine brightens your day no matter where you are.

            We arrived  Monday with a quick little drive from Switzerland and on the way my bus date (Andrew, staff lighting technician) and I counted 13 castles. Fun fact: The 13^th castle is where the Prince of Liechtenstein lives and I actually hiked to it and touched the walls of a legit castle. My group that hiked there also saw the princess and her children driving into the castle. Not something you see everyday. We were able to have a really fun regional learning day which felt like the Amazing Race TV show. We were dropped off outside of Vaduz (the capitol) and had to find our way to the allocation meeting. It was a fun way to use the public transportation system and explore Vaduz. We hiked to the castle, did some shopping, enjoyed being outside, had some coffee and just relaxed.

 I was hosted alone for the first time and that was fine because my host parents were great - a couple (Bianca and Martin) in their 40’s and thankfully they spoke English pretty well. We played lots of cards after delicious dinners with good wine and conversation each night. I would take the bus to the UWP facility and back each day. The house had a gorgeous view of the Swiss Alps and I would eat breakfast outside on the porch in the brisk morning with the sun rising over the mountains! BEAUTIFUL! I stayed home sick one day and they made me lots of tea and when they came to the show they simply loved every minute of it. On Sunday we went to brunch with family (Bianca’s mom and brother were hosting students as well) and the weather was stellar. We took a hike up in the mountains and of course I ran into some other Uppies. I am in a mountain village where nobody   is moving  and I happen to run into friends. Craziness!

During the week we had a regional learning day on Monday and on Tuesday we had internal time where we did some different workshops and performing arts time. Then we had two CI days on Wednesday and Thursday. I had study abroad on Wednesday and in the evening we had a really fun cast dinner at a restaurant that sponsored a meal for us. Unfortunately, due to a nasty cold , I had to stay home on Thursday to heal up. On Friday we had a wonderful show and  a super fun after party with lots of dancing. On Saturday we all came ready for alot of rehearsal time to work hard on new music for Belgium.  Instead,  the staff surprised us with a huge celebration surprise called “Cast Appreciation Day.” All morning we laughed and cried as we watched the staff put on skits for us and tell us how much they appreciated us. We then all got to do exercises where we appreciated each other as well. The whole morning was just a feel good morning in general where we shared our love and gratitude for one another and realized how so very lucky we are. It carried on into the rest of the day and we had a great rehearsal and show and strike to top it off! The energy was so amazing yesterday and it was just what we all needed to boost us through the last 2 months. On Thursday we had our 3-month anniversary as a cast and so the day of appreciation came at the perfect time. UWP has its stuff figured out and I am so grateful to be a part of such a program.

As we head off to the Netherlands tomorrow it means we are going into our last month in Europe. After that, all we have left is one month in Mexico as Cast A 2013. Time flies when you are having fun and that phrase is made clearer and clearer as each day passes on this UWP tour. I find myself with tear filled eyes more and more as we have green room after green room and I think about how strange life will be without all of us together each and every moment of each and everyday. Live in the present and love every second is all I can do to keep my mind off of the heartache that will come in two months! So here’s to another 2 months of heaven! Netherlands, I hope your tulips are in bloom!