Salzburg College
Salzburg College is located in the heart of the Altstadt (Old City). The college occupies one of many 16th century town houses, on Ursulineplatz. This small square sits above the banks of the Salzach River. The buildings surrounding the square include another of Salzburg's churches and a city gate dating from around the 12th century. Somehow the buses of Salzburg manage to 'squeeze' through this gate every day! The top floors of the college provide a view of the walkways and green areas alongside the River. The five-story building includes everything for the students. Here the students find classrooms, offices, library, lounge, dining room, music practice space, photo labs and an art studio.
Ursulinenplatz provides easy access to the Salzburg public bus system and the main intersecting point of those bus lines. Commuting students use this stop to travel around the city and to their host family homes. Travel by public transportation is quite easy and one quickly becomes acclimated. This location is also a short bus ride to the train station. Salzburg's central location in Europe makes travel to other cities and countries convenient.
The European Experience
The students of Salzburg College are encouraged to travel on the weekends and those travels provide a unique part of their educational experience. While at Salzburg College, Rachael had the opportunity to travel to London, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona and Rome all during her spring semester break. The students were encouraged to make their own travel plans and arrangements. She also took trips to Poland and Vienna while there. Her first week in Europe served as both an orientation to the College and an introduction to European history and culture. Arriving in Brussels, she traveled with the current group of students, 45 in all, through Germany to Salzburg. Stopping along the way, the students visited Trier, Bonn, Cologne, the Moselle and Rhine Valleys, Heidelberg and Nuremberg. This gave everyone an opportunity to meet and experience 'culture shock' as a group.
The majority of the students attend colleges and universities in the US and attend Salzburg College for one semester. Rachael did meet one student who was attending for a second semester. The students attending the spring semester at Salzburg College represented various regions of the US and areas of study. Laura and I had the pleasure to meet several of them while in Salzburg. We had lunch with them one afternoon at the College. The food was excellent and we knew Rachael was eating one good meal a day!
