austrianarmadillo.com

Blog

New Mexico Trip

Intro

New Mexico is a fascinating state. It has majestic views, cool architecture, and an intriguing history. In June 2024, I went on a trip to New Mexico with my dog Peanut. In just five days I visited Roswell, Santa Fe, and Tucumcari, plus other places along the way.

Inspiration

My inspiration for this trip originally came from three places. The first came from reading the book Lost Cities & Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest by David Hatcher Childress. Childress frequently appears on the TV show Ancient Aliens. Several years ago I decided to buy one of his books, and picked the ebook version of Lost Cities & Ancient Mysteries of the Southwest. The book is about various mysteries in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. These mysteries are often times about lost gold and abandoned ancient cities. I picked this book over his others because I figured I would easily be able to go to some of the places he mentioned, since they are in the U.S., while many of his other books are about places on other continents. The book is very fascinating and I recommend you read it. It has two whole chapters about New Mexico!

My second source of inspiration was my liking of southwestern landscapes. I like seeing both red dirt and mountains. I think another big reason why I like the southwest is because of the Road Runner and Coyote Looney Tunes cartoons. I like the backgrounds in those cartoons, which often includes big rocks, canyons, mountains, and a desert. I wanted to see the real southwest for myself. I had been on a few ski trips to New Mexico in the past, though now I wanted to return on my own to explore.

The third source of inspiration was because I knew I would be going away to Austria later that year, so I decided I should visit New Mexico while I was still living in the U.S. and had a car.

Information Gathering

I knew of that I wanted to go to Roswell and Santa Fe, in addition to stopping in Lubbock on the way there, but I did not know the order I wanted to do everything in, plus I did not know what all I wanted to do.

I wanted to go to Santa Fe because a friend of a friend recommended it to me a few months prior at our friend’s house in Lubbock. Roswell interested me too, due to it being famous for UFO related stuff.

I used a combination of Google Maps and ChatGPT to fully plan out the trip. I would ask ChatGPT for suggestions, and I would look at Google Maps to see which routes I could take and what I would be near by. I decided to go to Roswell first, stopping in Lubbock on the way there. I would spend one night there and then head to Santa Fe, where I would stay two nights. One problem though was that the drive back from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Allen, Texas, where I was living at the time, is very long. Plus I wanted to see a little bit more of New Mexico. So I decided to see what was on the way back, and was seriously considering staying another night. I also briefly considered spending that last extra night somewhere in Texas. At some point I saw the town of Tucumcari, New Mexico on the map, and I noticed that there was a state park nearby. ChatGPT mentioned that there is a Dinosaur museum in Tucumcari. I became very interested in Tucumcari, and decided to add one extra night to the trip, so that I could explore Tucumcari and have an easier drive back.

ChatGPT told me about a bunch of different places to see on the trip. I would then look them up on Google Maps to see pictures and to see how feasible it would be to visit those potential places, considering that I was limited on time. I also factored in that I would have my dog Peanut with me. Sometimes I would be leaving him wherever I would be staying at, but for stops along the way I needed places that I could bring him. The Roswell part of the trip was pretty easy to plan out, as I wouldn’t be spending much time there, and the UFO museum seemed to be the top priority. The journey from Roswell to Santa Fe had some cool options. I decided to stop by Lincoln, New Mexico and the Valley of Fires. I was also interested in the Smokey Bear National Monument. I was a bit unsure what to do during my time in Santa Fe, as in addition to the city itself, there are some cool places to both East and West of Santa Fe. I picked out two places near Santa Fe to hike at during the daytime. I would explore the city in the evenings. For the Tucumcari part, I wanted to check out the Dinosaur Museum for sure, Ute Lake State Park, and maybe another museum. It would be a tight schedule, but I could do it. I still had a few details to sort out, though I had budgeted my time and decided on the major stops.

I used a travel website, maybe Kayak, to find places to stay. I found an independent, alien themed motel to stay at in Roswell, an adobe-style house to stay in during my time in Santa Fe, and a hotel with an indoor swimming pool in Tucumcari. I booked my stays and took several days off from work. I was good to go.

Lubbock

Lubbock is kind of on the way to New Mexico, and I wanted to visit a friend plus the two former professors of mine that wrote letters of recommendation for me. I only had a few hours to spend in Lubbock, but it was enough time.

I wanted to give a gift to each of the two professors who wrote me letters of recommendation. My idea was to get some sort of fancy trail mix from a Bucky’s store along the way. I had gotten good trail mixes from Bucky’s in the past. However, I did not know where specifically a Bucky’s store would be on the way there. It turns out the only one was kind of on the outskirts of Denton, and was on the other side of the expressway plus there was a lot of traffic while I was driving by, so I didn’t stop at Bucky’s. I think instead I stopped at an Allsup’s store after a few hours of driving. The trail mix there isn’t the same as what is at Bucky’s, but whatever, it was the best I could do at that point. I bought a couple bags, and maybe one for myself, and continued onto Lubbock.

I made it to Lubbock and drove onto the Texas Tech Campus. I parked in a visitor parking lot and walked my dog for a bit. I also called Chase, a friend of mine who was living in Lubbock at the time, and told him that I was visiting professors and would like to stop by in a bit. I left my dog in the car with the windows at least partially down and walked over to the Electrical Engineering building with the gifts. I went to go look for my professor’s offices. While I was in the hallway on the second floor, a professor who I had gotten to know despite never being in one of his classes along with a staff member who I had also met before walked by. I told them it was nice to see them and that I would be going to Austria soon to attend a Computer Engineering master’s program. Texas Tech has a Computer Engineering bachelor’s program that is part of the same department as their Electrical Engineering programs, so these two gentlemen are very familiar with what computer engineering is. I then went to the department’s office. Either a secretary or perhaps one of the guys I saw in the hallway told me that Dr. Li, one of the professors that I came to visit, was out of town, so I placed a bag of trail mix in his mail box. I then went and visited Dr. Dallas, the other professor. He had just finished teaching a class that day. I gave him a bag of trail mix, we had a nice conversation, and then I left.

I got back to the car and headed over to my favorite restaurant in Lubbock, Blue Sky Texas, a burger restaurant that is just north of campus. I called Chase, told him that my visit took a little longer than expected, and that I was headed to Blue Sky. I asked him if he wanted me to get him anything from there. Surprisingly he said no. I got a burger and mozzarella sticks to-go, then stopped by my his place. We had a nice chat and then I headed to New Mexico.

The gas stations were few and far between on the way from Lubbock to Roswell, especially on the New Mexico side of that trip. I cut it close, but thankfully I didn’t run out of gas.

Roswell

Peanut and I arrived in Roswell during the evening, but no too late. It wasn’t quite dark yet. I checked into an alien-themed motel named Roswell Inn and then drove to a park to walk Peanut.

On the way back to the motel, I picked up dinner from Whataburger. I went there instead of some other restaurant for one reason: to try the legendary green chile burger, the Green Chile Double. It is found at Whataburger locations in New Mexico but not in many other places. It is a double cheeseburger with green chiles. While researching for this blog post, I found out that Whataburger has come out with a green chile burger that includes bacon, but I don’t remember there being bacon on mine, so I think it really was the Green Chili Double. I first heard about it during my short stint as a Whataburger employee in 2018, but had not tried it until I was in Rowswell, New Mexico during this trip in June of 2024. So, after almost six years, I finally got to satisfy my curiosity. The burger is good just how it comes. Normally I add extra sauce to burgers, be it ketchup, mustard, mayo, or barbecue sauce, though this time I ate and enjoyed the burger just how it comes. The green chiles have a good yet subtle taste, which I didn’t want to overpower. The Green Chilie Double is very good, and I recommend you try it at least once. Is it the best burger I’ve ever had? No, though it is a unique and good experience.

While eating dinner in the motel room I started up a movie titled Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog. I’ve called it Far from Home for short. It seemed appropriate, because it is about a boy who survives in the wilderness with his dog, and here I was, on a journey with my dog. Unfortunately, it was already after nine o’clock, and I had a busy day the next day. So, I didn’t finish the movie that night.

The next morning I went to the UFO Museum. Roswell, New Mexico is famous for being near a possible UFO crash back in 1947 and for keeping the space-alien theme going. Early on in the Museum there were several interesting displays about the incident in 1947. After that there are displays more about UFOs in general. At one point, they were playing a clip from the show Ancient Aliens, and I got to watch and listen to David Hatcher Childress, the man who most inspired me to make a trip to New Mexico. I look around a little more, and then headed to the library portion of the museum. There were quite a few interesting books there, but I didn’t have time to read them. I took a picture of several that interested me, and then headed out. I checked on Peanut, checked out of the motel, and departed for Santa Fe.

The Journey to Santa Fe

The drive from Roswell to Santa Fe was quite scenic. I did not take the most direct route there. Instead, I made a few stops in Lincoln County, New Mexico on the way to Santa Fe.

The story of Billy the Kid has interested me. A range war took place in Lincoln in 1878. Billy the Kid fought one side. Today Lincoln New Mexico has a very small population. Some of the buildings still exist. Others don’t, such as the house that Billy and his allies took cover in during a shootout, and have since been replaced by other buildings. Publicly owned and privately owned buildings are interspersed with each other, so the accessibility of buildings varies. I walked up to the courthouse and a few other buildings. I think I visited a small museum there too. I learned a bit about the range war while walking around a reading signs. Lincoln was a neat place to check out.

I stopped by the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico, but dogs aren’t allowed there so I didn’t go inside. That was okay. I continued on my journey.

Valley of Fires Recreation Area is a neat place in the western part of Lincoln County, off U.S. Highway 380. The Valley of Fires was created from lava flow thousands of years ago that has hardened into large black rocks as it cooled down. The place is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as a recreation area, and is basically a series of camp sites and a hiking trail. However it is very different from other camp site places, in that the scenery from the lava flow is quite unique. I drove around a bit, and walked around a bit in there too. It was very hot that afternoon, and Peanut was getting hot, so we didn’t walk real far. I still got some cool views though, and saw a giant black lava rock up close. I was a bit confused about the admission, because the visitor center was closed while I was there. As I was in the process of leaving, I found out that I was supposed to pay admission at a box at the front. Somehow I had missed the sign about it. I put five dollars or whatever it was into the box and then left. Next stop, Santa Fe.

Volcanic Rocks at the Valle of Fires

Santa Fe

The Adobe

I arrived at the adobe house in Sante Fe during the early evening, while there was still plenty of daylight. The adobe was actually one of several small adobe houses connected together in a small compound, in which they all shared a courtyard. There were at least three buildings in total. The owner’s house and my accomadation for the next two nights also shared a fenced-in entrance area that had a stone path and was decorated with stones and desert plants. I checked in with the owner. He was a pretty chill guy. I then went into my adobe.

The interior of the adobe had a rustic and southwestern style to it. There was a large wooden table with matching chairs, a small kitchen area, one king sized bed, a couch off to the side, a bathroom area, and a TV in a large cabinet set.

There was no air conditioning, instead windows could be open and there was some sort of machine in one of the cabinets that does something with water to cool the room down. There was a small, Native-American-style painting on a wall, and the bathroom sink looked like a stone basin with a vertical metal water pipe and spout off to the side.

The toilet room kind of looked like an outhouse, but indoors and with a toilet instead of just a hole in the ground. The bathroom area also included a shower. The floors of the adobe were hard, though with a few small mats. On the bed was a stuffed animal shaped like an Armadillo. That was a nice surprise!

The kitchen had a small refrigerator, an oven, a microwave, a sink, and a container of drinking water, along with a few pans, plates, glasses, and silverware. This place was simple, though decorated with a nice theme and it was sufficient for my stay.

I wanted to cook a nice meal for myself while in Santa Fe, so I went shopping at a nearby grocery store, which had a wide variety of grocery items. One thing that caught my eye were the purple sweet potatoes. I like sweet potatoes a lot, I also like the color purple, and I wanted to try them, so I got two purple sweet potatoes. For the main course, I decided to treat myself to grass-fed steak, because grass is healthy for cattle and I don’t think I had tried grass-fed steak before.

Upon arriving back at the adobe with my shopping trip complete, I took Peanut for a short walk and then cooked dinner. I baked the purple sweet potatoes in the oven and cooked one or both of the steaks in a pan on the stove. I also had some bread that I had either brought with me or bought at the store. I think there was olive oil and salt already in the kitchen, and I had a seasoning, likely ground rosemary, that I had either brought with me or that was already there.

The steak and sweet potato both tasted very good. I gave some steak to Peanut, along with some dog food.

Going to a Dog Park

The next morning I took Peanut to the nearby dog park. It was a nice place and the people were friendly. One guy that I especially remember talking to was a man named Bobby Lee Martinez. He told me that he is a pilot and has seen something that might have been a UFO. I thought that was interesting, and as a result became a little bit more interested in getting a pilot’s license someday, though it might be a long time before that. I got Mr. Martinez’s name because he told me that he wrote a book, and while fictional, some parts of it were based on events in his own life. The title of his book is NEAR MISS. I looked it up on Amazon real quick and added it to a list, with the intention of reading it someday. I talked to a few other people at the dog park, mainly about that I was from Texas and was still planning out the sequence of events for the day. I wanted to go to both Bandelier National Monument and Pecos Historical Park, however I was still not sure of which to go to first. I got the impression that Pecos Historical Park would be hotter in the afternoon than Bandelier, due to there being less shade, so I decided to go to Pecos first. Peanut and I went for a walk after leaving the dog park, and then I dropped him off at the adobe and headed to Pecos.

Pecos National Historical Park

Pecos National Historical Park is known for its ruins, both Native-American and those of a Catholic church. Within the park are the ruins of structures built long ago by Pueblo people. Specifically, the remains of stones, kivas, and a large wall are there. A Kiva is basically a man-made pit in the ground that has stone walls, and originally a roof. The roofs of many of the old kivas are long gone, though one has been reconstructed at Pecos.

Luckily I showed up about twenty minutes before a free tour was scheduled to start. I had not checked the schedule before hand, and there are only a few tours per day, so I was very fortunate. There is a small museum at Pecos, and I had time to check it out. The museum contained artwork, artifacts, and displays of information about the history of the area. One thing that especially caught my eye was a large bowl with what appeared to be a swastika painted on it. The swastika is a very ancient symbol that has been used by various cultures throughout the world, especially in India, other parts of Asia, and various Native American tribes. In general it means something along the lines of “good fortune”. Since Asia and America are so far apart, perhaps the Native Americans’ use of the swastika is evidence of pre-columbian voyages to America, something that I was on the look out for during this trip.

I showed up to meeting place with a few minutes to spare, despite having looked at many things in the museum. About fifteen people were on the tour, which was lead by a pretty female park ranger. Early on in the tour we got to see some good views of the natural scenery. Then we saw various Pueblo ruins, including a somewhat distant view of what was once a large wall. The ruins of homes had been reduced to some stone-masonry squares or rectangles on the ground, showing where the walls of houses and other buildings once were. Traditional adobe buildings have to be maintained overtime, or else they eventually get reduced to their stone foundations. A highlight of the tour was getting to go inside of a kiva. Kivas were used for ceremonies among other things. The park service has rebuilt and maintains a kiva at Pecos with a rebuilt roof and ladder. One by one we got to climb down into the kiva. It was much cooler inside the kiva than outside, but not cold. It was a neat experience.

The tour then ended at the remains of what was a Catholic church. The ruins of the church are now without a roof and with only three walls instead of the original four. A maintenance or construction team was performing serious maintenance on one of the three walls while I was there. After the tour I walked around a bit on my own, exploring the place and getting additional views of the Pueblo ruins. I then went back to the visitor center.

I had heard something about there being a civil war battle field in the area, and asked a male park ranger if that was in the park. He told me no, although it is nearby. He then gave me specific information about where it was. I also briefly talked to the female park ranger who gave the tour, and she told me that park rangers get to state preferences before they are assigned, and Pecos was one of the places she wanted to go. I bought some sort of snack to enjoy later, and then headed back to the adobe house to see Peanut and eat lunch. On the way there I stopped by a roadside marker about the civil war battlefield that the park ranger had mentioned, and then continued on my way.

I checked on Peanut, ate a quick lunch with him, and then drove to Bandelier National Monument.

Bandelier National Monument

Bandelier National Monument is famous for its cliff dwellings and is kind of like a very small national park. Despite me calling it small, it is still a large place; its land area is over 33,000 acres. However, some places that are national parks as opposed to monuments have a land area of over a million acres. In addition to the cliff dwellings, there are also petroglyphs and structures made by indigenous people long ago.

I parked near the visitor center and then looked for a hiking trail. Near the center is a sign for the “Pueblo Loop Trail”, which when including the optional extension trail, is a short yet sufficient hike for seeing the main sights at Bandelier. The trail by itself is only 1.4 miles, but about midway through you can add about a mile to it by going on the “Alcove House” trail. That’s what I did, and I recommend it. This particular hike shows you many of the top highlights of Bandelier. Because there isn’t much elevation change and the total distance is less than two miles, it is an easy hike that worked well for me, since I was only spending a few hours there.

I got to see some neat things while on the hike. I saw more kivas, most if not all of which didn’t have a roof anymore, and the petroglyphs, which are basically carvings into the cliff. They might have been a bit faded, and I don’t know the meaning of the individual petrolglyphs there, but they were nice to see. The scenery was nice to see as well. However there were two things that I also especially enjoyed seeing.

The first of two cliff dwellings that I went inside of

The first of my two favorite things to see at Bandelier were the cliff dwellings, and what made these one of my favorites was that I got to go inside of two of them. The first was near the beginning of the hike and was smaller than the second, though it also consisted of multiple rooms. Nevertheless it was neat to go inside of it. The second was perhaps the highlight of my time at Bandelier. This dwelling consisted of multiple rooms and I could comfortable stand up in a large part of it. Accessing this cliff dwelling involved going up quite a trail, some stairs, and then a wooden ladder. It was relatively high up and I had a nice view of the landscape from inside.

The second thing that I especially enjoyed seeing were the Albert’s squirrels. Albert’s squirrels are a species of squirrel whose native area includes Bandelier National Monument. They are gray in color and are known for their unique-looking ears, which can be described as tufted or tasseled. These squirrels are often found near ponderosa pine trees. I saw a few of these squirrels while on the hike.

I managed to finish the hike and get to the gift shop before it closed for the day. I got a fridge magnet that had a picture of an Albert’s squirrel on it. Fridge magnets can be good souvenirs because they take up little space and are generally inexpensive. This magnet captured the essence of my time at Bandelier with its squirrel pic. Satisfied with my time at Bandelier, I went back to Santa Fe.

Sight seeing in Santa Fe

Peanut was excited to see me when I got back and was in for a neat walk. The Cross of the Martyrs is a large white metal cross on a hill overlooking much of Sante Fe. I drove with Peanut to a park nearby the cross and let him sniff around a bit. Then I carried him up the hill to the cross.

The view from the top of the hill was fantastic and the cross was neat. I met a man from New Zealand and his wife. They offered to take pictures of me and Peanut, and the pictures turned out great. One of them is below. We chatted a bit and then went our separate ways. I enjoyed the view a bit more, then Peanut and I walked down the hill and back to my car.

Peanut and I went for a long walk the next morning in Sante Fe. We saw quite a few cool sculptures plus a cathedral that was built in the 19^th century.

Aftwerwards I packed up and we departed for Tucumcari.

Tucumcari

Tucumcari is a great place to stop while on your way from Santa Fe to Texas. There are multiple museums in Tucumcari, with my favorite being the dinosaur musuem. I checked into a hotel, dropped off Peanut, and headed over to the dinosaur musuem.

Mesalands Community College’s Dinosaur Museum and Natural History Laboratory is a neat place. There is a lot to look at. The exhibits include fluorescent minerals, bronze replicas of dinosaur fossils, casts of dinosaur footprints, bronze replicas of other fossils, and artwork. The real fossils are stored somewhere else, not on display, but the bronze replicas look very realistic. There is also a window through which you can watch paleontology professors and students work on fossils. I 100% recommend that you go to the dinosaur museum while in Tucumcari. Shown below are some of the pictures I took there.

Next I went to the Tucumcari Historical Museum. The museum had a military aircraft in its yard and a few interesting things inside to look at. I wouldn’t go all the way to Tucumcari just to see this museum, but the museum is definitely worth visiting if you are going to be in Tucumcari anyway and haven’t been to it before.

For some reason I stopped in an Alsup’s store on the way back to the hotel. I decided to get an Alsup’s burrito, which I had heard are good. There were two flavors of them, and I saw them put new ones into the case while I was there. I went up to the counter and ordered one. The woman working started reaching to give me one of the old ones, but I quickly yet politely asked for a fresh one as I pointed towards them. Thankfully she complied. I only took a few bites of the burrito that late afternoon, because I wanted to taste it while it was still warm. I then saved the rest for dinner later. The burrito tasted good. It is not the best tasting thing in the world, but it is worth trying if convenient.

I picked up Peanut and headed to Ute Lake State Park. I was hoping to do some easy hiking there and see cool views. It was further away than I thought. Also I drove extra because the first entrance I went to seemed kind of lame, so I drove partially around the lake to another entrance, which the maps posted in the park indicated had more amenities. However, this other entrance was not much better for me and Peanut. We got out and walked a bit, but it was very hot outside. I carried Peanut in order to go a little further, but after getting a view of the lake I turned around and we left. Ute Lake State Park might be fun if you have a boat, but it is not worth the trip if you are just wanting to hike around for a bit.

Thankfully I found a city park while on the way back to the hotel. Plus it was about sunset time that day, so the weather wasn’t so hot anymore. Peanut and I had a short and sweet walk through the park.

The main reason I chose the hotel that I did over the others in Tucumcari, is that it has an indoor swimming pool. Although I got back a little later than expected, I still swam in the pool for a little bit before dinner. The water was a tad chilly, though I toughed it out. I swam a few laps and then headed back to the room.

I ate dinner with Peanut in my hotel room and watched the rest of Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog. The movie is good. It is not my favorite movie, though it is worth watching at least once. Aftwerwards I briefly took Peanut outside, then I got ready for and went to bed.

The next morning I at breakfast at the hotel, which had a complimentary breakfast buffet. I usually don’t eat breakfast, however, I like to treat myself to breakfast when on vacation if it is complimentary. I then returned to the room, finished packing, and headed out with Peanut, back to Texas.

The End of the Trip

I had brought a Nintendo Switch and the game Super Mario Odyssey with me, though I never played it on the trip. I was pretty busy during the trip, exemplified by the I only watched one movie over the course of several days, during the evenings for short periods. The trip was so much fun and with such a tight schedule that videogames weren’t necessary.

I stopped by a ghost town called Cuervo. I think I made this stop as a brief detour after leaving Tucumcari to head back to Texas. It is unlike what I typically think of as a ghost town, because the houses and other buildings there look like they were built in the 20^th century as opposed to the 19^th, and it is directly off a highway, as opposed to being in some very remote area. Right after exiting Highway 40 there is an area where some trucks and drivers park in order for drivers to take a quick break. Then further there are some very dilapidated houses and what appears to be an abandoned gas station or mechanic’s shop. There is also an old church. I saw quite a few no-trespassing signs, plus I got a creepy vibe from Cuervo in general, so I did not spend much time there. I continued on to Texas.

After a lot of driving I made it back to Allen, Texas. My trip was done. However, I was in the process of moving and had to be out of my apartment the next day, so Allen wasn’t really my home anymore. I did move out in time.

Conclusion

New Mexico is a great state and I strongly recommend visiting it. I did a lot in those five days, and although I found little to no evidence of pre-Columbian voyages to America, at least in part because I mainly visited common attractions and didn’t go off trail, I had a great trip. Plus I got to spend a lot of time with Peanut. I’d like to travel to New Mexico again someday.

May 16, 2026
In Loving Memory of Peanut

Obituary

Peanut passed away on January 28th, 2026, in Graz, Austria. He was approximately 16 years old. Although his exact age was unknown, he was most likely born in either 2009 or 2010, and September 6th was celebrated as his birthday. Peanut was adopted by his master Dexter James Berend on September 6th, 2017 from his mother Christie, who had adopted Peanut from an animal shelter in Garland, Texas in April of 2011. He lived most of his life in Irving, Texas, though he also lived for significant amounts of time in the Texas cities Jefferson, Plano, and Allen, before moving with his master to Graz in 2024. He enjoyed walks, and even in his old age would often go on walks lasting over an hour. He also enjoyed car rides, dog parks, playing with toys, especially sweatbands, and most of all, spending time with his family. He is survived by Dexter, Christie, and numerous others who have enjoyed his company over the years.

February 5, 2026
My First Trip to an Austrian Christmas Market

What are Christmas markets like in Austria? I had recently found out that Christmas markets are a big deal in Germany and Austria. They are popular in Switzerland and Liechtenstein too. The German word for “Christmas market” is Weihnachtsmarkt. A Christmas market is basically a Christmas-themed market where people can go to buy sweets, drinks, and crafts. They are only in operation for about a month each year, typically from late November until the 23^rd or 24^th of December. I was intrigued to see one for myself. This year I attended a Christmas market in Austria for the first time.

My two goals were to visit a Christmas market and to buy some roasted chestnuts. I try not to buy much, but I kind of wanted to buy something at a Weihnachtsmarkt in order to get the full experience, and I had enjoyed eating roasted chestnuts in Austria before, so I figured that would be a good thing to get. I associate chestnuts with Christmas because of a Christmas song, and I can eat them so they wouldn’t be permanently taking up space in my apartment. So I had goals, now to find out where one of these markets was.

Using Google Maps and an internet search, I found out that there are actually several Christmas markets in Graz, though perhaps the main one is at a place named Hauptplatz, which is a popular square in Graz next to a large government building called the Grazer Rathaus. The Grazer Rathaus serves as Graz’s city hall. Hauptplatz is along the tram line that is nearest me, so between that convenience and its Weihnachtsmarkt likely being the main Christmas market in Graz, I bought a 1-hour bus & tram ticket and headed over there.

I made it to the Hauptplatz Christmas market and took a look around. I saw a big Christmas tree, quite a crowd, and the Rathaus with Christmas-themed projections on it. I took the pictures shown below.

The big Christmas Tree

The Grazer Rathaus and the Hauptplatz Christmas Market

I made at least two laps through the market, checking out what was for sale and looking for roasted chestnuts. I had brought cash with me because I figured many of the vendors would be cash-only. About half of the vendors were mainly selling drinks, with a drink called Glühwein being especially common. Glühwein is basically wine with some spices and fruit in it. Red wine, orange slices, and cinnamon are typical ingredients. I have not tried Glühwein, but I would like to someday. I decided to not get a drink while I was there because I only intended to be there a short time, drinks cost money, and I was there by myself, not drinking with others. Although, one drink vendor that caught my eye was the Austrian Red Cross. I normally see them driving ambulances in Graz, because here the Red Cross members are the paramedics. Maybe they were raising money for a cause. Most, if not all, of the vendors who weren’t focused on drinks were selling either crafts, decorations, or sweets. Surprisingly, I did not find anyone selling roasted chestnuts. So, I decided to get something else.

A vendor selling candied-nuts.

I found a vendor selling candied nuts, with an example being cinnamon-sugar almonds, just like those you can find in America. He mostly sold various flavors of roasted almonds, though he also sold pumpkin seeds and pistachios. The pistachios interested me. I like pistachios, these already had the shells removed, and I was curious how they would taste both cooked and with cinnamon-sugar. I bought 100 grams of the pistachios and headed back to the tram stop.

I made it back to the tram stop with a little over ten minutes to spare in regards to my ticket. I got home okay.

My dog Peanut waiting for me

Peanut was happy to see me. I took him outside for a bit and then prepared dinner. I had some of the pistachios for dessert.

The Cinnamon-Sugar Pistachios

The Christmas market was a nice experience. I’m glad I went. Next year I’ll try to go with some company and maybe I’ll drink Glühwein.

December 24, 2025
Seeing Cavalluna

May 29, 2025

Earlier this month I attended a wonderful horse show titled “Cavalluna – Grand Moments”. Cavalluna is a traveling horse show that is based in Germany though puts on performances in other European countries too, especially Switzerland and Austria. I had a busy yet entertaining day.

Why

After living as somewhat of a Vagabond in Austria for about six months, I finally found and moved into a good apartment to live in for over a year. Nearby and to the west of the apartment is a large indoor event venue named Stadthalle. Events ranging from concerts to magic shows have been hosted there. I often see posters advertising the events while I am out walking my dog Peanut. I had decided that I would go to an event at Stadthalle at some point. One day in April while walking my dog, I noticed a neat poster with a white horse on it and a purple background. It was advertising a show named Cavalluna – Grand Moments, and it was to be shown at Statdthalle in May. I decided this would be a great chance to check out Statdhalle, as horses interest me. I bought a ticket online a little under two weeks in advance. By then, to my surprise, the vast majority of the tickets were already sold out. The Saturday afternoon show, which I selected, had only single tickets left. I was going by myself, so this wasn’t an issue. The seats are arranged in somewhat of a C shape in the arena. I selected a seat that was somewhat in the middle of the C, though on the outer edge and close to the bottom of the C. I printed out two tickets to make sure I would get to go. I continued on with life as usual in Graz for the next 10 or so days.

Going for a Walk and the Flea Market

It was now the day of the show. The weather was nice, and as usual I went for several dog walks that day. One was a long walk during the late morning and until about noon. While walking by the local Catholic parish on the way back, I noticed a flea market for kids to sell things was set up there. I had been collecting a few children’s books to learn German with. I wasn’t quite ready for them yet, because I don’t know the preterite (past) tense yet, but I will be soon. This flea market is not a regular event. For all I know it is only once a year. Seeing it as a unique opportunity to get some good children’s books, I decided that I should go. I finished up the walk, and checking the time, believed I had enough time to go to the flea market for a little bit, come home and eat lunch, and then head out in time to be a few minutes early for the show. I grabbed a 10 euro bill, and went out the door. I decided to ride my bike there to save a few minutes, even though I was close by.

I showed up to the flea market. I don’t remember the exact number, but I think there were about eight different tables set up, with a kid or two plus maybe a parent at each one. Most of the merchandise was either toys or books. I went around to different tables and looked at books. Typically I would ask the kid or adult “Was kostet das?”, which semantically means “What does this cost?”. The first book I bought was 2 euros. I paid with the 10 euro bill, and got change in euro coins. I went to other tables, and at all but one of those I bought a book. The books were all either 1 or 2 euros. In total I bought five books. I got a good mix. Three of them are picture books for little kids, one is a chapter book, and the fifth book is a nonfiction book about the earth. The chapter book is titled Die drei??? Das Geheimnis der Geisterinset. I had not heard of it before, but as a flipped through it a bit I noticed that a movie was made based on the story, the book is not too long, and it appears to be written for kids, so I figured it would be a good next step when I am done reading books for kindergarteners. I’ve included a picture of the five books. They are titled: Die drei??? Das Geheimnis der Geisterinset, Tiere aus Afrika, Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu: Coole Ninja-Abenteuer, Der Kleine Drache Kokosnuss kommt in den Kindergarten, and Kinder entdecken … Unsere Erde. I then went home.

Getting to the Show and Seat Drama

I arrived home and looked at my watch. I was gone at least 10 minutes longer than I expected, and now only had about 20 or 30 minutes to make and eat lunch. I fed Peanut some dog food. I think I ate a typical lunch for me, which was fruit (maybe a pear), nuts, cheese, and a sandwich, with water to drink. I also think I saved some of my sandwich in order to save time. I was rushed. I don’t like to rush when I eat, but this was a special occasion. Another thing I had to do that I don’t like was leave before I finished cleaning up, but whatever. I would finish cleaning up shortly after getting back. I made sure I had my two copies of my one ticket, my phone, the case of which is also my wallet, apartment keys, and ran out the door. I live maybe a half a mile away from Stadthalle, and the distance might actually be slightly less. I jogged over there, walking as I got close to the entrance. The show was scheduled for 2 o’clock, and I got in there at about 1:56, give or take a minute.

I quickly found my seat, and the show had not started yet at 2 sharp. However, there was a woman in my seat who was there with her husband and daughter. I tried to talk to them in some broken German, though the conversation soon switched to English, which the husband spoke fluently. I had the ticket for seat 70 in the back row, and he had the ticket for 73, but there was no 73, so he and his family each shifted down one place. There was no one in seat 69 or the next few seats, so I sat in it.

However, a woman and a group of girls, maybe her daughters or daughter and some friends, showed up like two minutes later. Me and the man told them the situation. I kept sitting in the seat, and one of the young girls sat on a step. The show hadn’t started yet. I told the adults near me that I would go look for an employee to talk to. I explained to an usher the situation, and offered to move seats if one is available, by typing a long sentence or two into Google Translate, showing her both the English and German versions of what I was trying to say. The usher followed me and I pointed out the seats. She talked to the man that had a ticket for a nonexistent seat. He then told me that the usher said I can take an open seat, and that there was one. I think he said the open seat was at the other very end of the row, seat 1. So, I went looking for it while the show was starting up. When I got there, that seat was occupied, but I noticed something better. I saw several rows in front of me was a group of three unoccupied seats. I asked a young woman sitting next to the three seats if they were free by pointing at a seat and saying “Ist dieser Platz frei?” and she said that they were, so I sat in the middle one. I now had quite a bit of space in an otherwise crowded venue. No one ever showed up and claimed those seats, so I was fine. I looked around a bit. While I think the typical audience members were parents and their daughters, there was quite a bit of age and gender diversity there. Cavalluna – Grand Moments was now going on.

The Show Itself

The Cavalluna show itself was neat. I think there was a story, but it was narrated in German and I hardly understood a word of it. This wasn’t an issue, as there was not much narration at all, and I was mainly there to see horses. The show included various horses and their very skilled riders, plus acrobats, dancers, music, and some sort of clown like main character, who looked like a mime in regards to face paint. There was music, which at times was pre recorded music played through the speakers, and at other times was live piano music. The lighting was pretty cool. There were colored lights which often shown blue, purple, or red, and there was a giant projection screen at the back which was on sometimes, often showing scening views. Other times it was off and so all of the focus was on the performers. The horsemen and horsewomen would do tricks such as riding while standing up, or while standing sideways. A couple of the dancers were men who can do flips. A cute bit of comedy was added to the show by the inclusion of some small creatures that I believe were ponies. Overall, the show was great. Whether you are a kid or an adult, male or female, I think you would find Cavalluna to be an entertaining show

Conclusion

Although I had to hustle to avoid being late, I had a very entertaining day. I got some good books and not only did I get to see the inside of Stadthalle, I got to see a great show.

May 29, 2025
Deciding on a School

How did I pick the university that I ended up going to? I didn’t throw darts. It was a complicated but ultimately eventful process. I got accepted into several schools, then narrowed it down to two, applied for scholarships, looked into housing options, prayed a bit, and then made a final decision.

I got accepted into TU Graz, HSLU, USI, and Aalborg. JKU basically rejected me, though I think the main reason was that they requested additional information which I didn’t send in, as by that time I had already decided not to go there. Thankfully, I had gotten into the schools I was most interested in.

I narrowed the decision down to two schools. These two were HSLU and TU Graz. I liked HSLU primarily because of two reasons. One is that it is in Switzerland and Switzerland is not in the European Union. Despite wanting to move to a European country, I dislike the organization known as the EU. At the moment I try not to talk about politics on this blog, so I will leave it at that. Two is that I liked the two professors I talked to. Both of them were kind, welcoming, and cool. I felt a small personal connection with at least the first one I spoke to, and didn’t want to disappoint him by going elsewhere. TU Graz interested me because the degree program allows students to choose from a wide variety of electives, and Graz has relatively nice weather compared to Swiss and other Austrian cities. Both schools are good. I had a tough decision to make.

A big factor in whether I would go to a school or not was whether or not I could find housing nearby. I was bringing my dog Peanut with me, and the vast majority of student apartments in Switzerland and Austria don’t allow pets. I would likely have to live in an apartment for adults in general rather than college students specifically. I also wanted a furnished apartment. Finding a furnished apartment that accepts pets in Zurich and Graz was difficult. The first year for students in the program I was interested in at HSLU actually takes place in Zurich rather than Lucerne.

I looked around on various websites that I found via internet searches and a list of apartments provided by TU Graz. To clarify, TU Graz provided the list, not the apartments. They don’t have dorms like typical colleges in the United States do. There were a few options here and there, but of those some were either much more expensive than other apartments in the area or were far away from the respective university. I also was still considering USI, located in Lugano, Switzerland, in case I couldn’t book a place to live near HSLU or TU Graz.

The curricula of the programs were another big factor. The program at HSLU was more straight-up computer science, while the program at TU Graz is called Information and Computer Engineering, and includes a wide variety of courses to pick from, since it is basically a mixture of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there weren’t many electives in the HSLU program. It was more like here are the required classes, which basically fill up the whole schedule. There were a few electives, but of all the Computer Science courses, the only one that I was interested in was the Internet of Things course. The other courses included topics such as algorithms or cybersecurity. Those are important topics and probably have interesting aspects to them, but as a whole they don’t interest me much. I wanted to go into robotics or industrial automation. However, I wanted a Computer Science degree, so I was willing to put up with a lot of classes that I am just so-so about. Also, only the first year would be like that; the second year I would be working on a project under the guidance of a professor, so I could pick something I’d be more interested in. Plus the program at HSLU is a three-semester program, while the TU Graz program is designed for four semesters. TU Graz definitely had the more interesting program though.

At various times during the months leading up to my decision and as I got very close to making it, I would ask God to help me go where he wants me to go while I was praying. This was a big decision, and I wanted to make the right choice.

I was leaning towards HSLU, though I hadn’t finalized anything. I started looking into the visa requirements for me to go to Switzerland. I noticed that as part of the student visa I had to submit a letter from me saying that I would leave Switzerland upon the completion of my studies. While I know that there are ways to immigrate to Switzerland, as many have done it (though typically not people from the U.S.), this requirement did concern me, because I wanted to permanently move to either Switzerland or Austria. Austria has a more straightforward way for people with masters degrees to stay there after completing their studies.

I then found myself more interested in TU Graz. I found a temporary apartment for the first two months of when I would be there, and then another one for after that. I could book those places without signing a lease. Instead, I would just pay rent for a month or so.

I liked the degree program at TU Graz more, and I would have a better chance at staying in Austria afterwards than staying in Switzerland. I decided on TU Graz and booked the temporary places to live. I also submitted a form via TU Graz’s application portal to finalize with them that I would be going there. I also let the other schools know via either email or their online portals that I would not be attending.

I felt a little bad about not going to HSLU, as I had told one or both of the professors I talked to that it was my first choice. I emailed both of them explaining that I would be going to TU Graz, because I didn’t like the lack of options in picking courses at HSLU, and I am trying to emigrate to a German-speaking country, and it is difficult to move to Switzerland as an American. I then mentioned in the email “One thing I liked about HSLU is that I actually got to talk to two professors”, in order to add some positivity. Both professors emailed me back, thanking me for letting them know and that they understand.

I had made a decision. It came down to a few key factors and would have a big impact on my life. I believe I made the right decision.

For Further Reading
Applying to Schools

May 5, 2025
Applying to Schools

Did I wake up one day in Austria, with no memory of how I got here? No, and I didn’t magically get here, nor did I show up at a random school in Austria. First I had to discover various universities in the countries I was interested in, and then apply to them before their deadlines.

My school search began in the summer of 2023. At that time I knew I wanted to be a master’s student in another country, though I didn’t even know what country. I did have a few ideas however. The countries I was considering included Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and a few others. I wanted to study either computer science, or something very similar such as software engineering. I have a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering,
but found myself more interested in computer programming. I also wanted the peace of mind in knowing that I had a degree that is obviously programming heavy, more so than electrical engineering. I used ChatGPT and internet searches to look for schools. Once I found out about a school, I would visit its website to see what programs it actually has and what the admission requirements are. I used Apple Notes to keep notes about schools, as there was a lot to remember. Within the main Apple Note I used, I categorized the potential universities by country. Although it would be over a year before I left America, I was excited, and knew that I had to pay attention to application deadlines. It would soon be time to start applying,
and I might have to take a standardized test or two before I apply.
I would be taking two standardized tests soon. The first was the TOEFL, an English language exam. Although this wasn’t required by many schools since I had a degree from the U.S., it could help make the application process smoother in some cases, and I thought getting a really high score would make me look good compared to other applicants. The second was the GRE. The GRE can be thought of as the SAT for grad school, even though it is made by a different organization. Besides helping with admissions, I wanted to do well on the GRE because I thought I could have done better on the ACT and SAT back when I was in high school. I didn’t do bad on those, but I could have done better, as I didn’t study as much as I could have. Now I had a shot to study hard. ETS makes both the TOEFL and the GRE. I studied hard for both of those, and am glad I did. The TOEFL was not as easy as I thought. I thought it would be a simple test of whether or not I could speak English, but it was really more of an exam about essay writing, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension. The listening comprehension section would have gotten me by surprise if I hadn’t studied and learned strategies for it. The GRE was tough, but I prepared well for it.
Some schools require letters of recommendation from college professors. Thankfully most of the schools I was most interested in did not. I didn’t have terrible relationships with my professors at Texas Tech, but I certainly could have done a much better job of connecting with them. Thankfully, I did a decent job, and so had a few that I could count on. I reached out to two of them and they both said they’d be willing to write me letters.
I had identified several schools that I was very interested in. The first of these with an approaching application window and deadline was Technische Universität Graz, more commonly referred to as TU Graz. Some of the master’s programs at TU Graz require completing an admission procedure in order to be admitted, which essentially means I would have to apply between October 15^th and December 15^th, and the number of study places, spots in the program, is limited to 30 new students. All of their master’s programs that I was interested in had an admission procedure. Since my bachelor’s degree is in Electrical Engineering, not Computer Science, and I would be competing for 1 of only 30 spots, I decided to apply for admission to the program named Information and Computer Engineering, which I call Computer Engineering for short. Computer Engineering is a hybrid of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. One thing that particularly appealed to me about this computer engineering program was the fact that it is very elective based, in which I would get to pick my classes from a wide range of subjects. To be exact, there are ten subjects, which can be thought of as categories. They range from Signal Processing to Software Technology. A student picks one of these as a major and one as a minor. Although I didn’t have to decide on a major at that time, I was interested in the Robotics & Intelligent Systems major. TU Graz does not ask for letters of recommendation for admission, but a letter of motivation written by the applicant is required, so it was good to have a specific interest to mention. I was sure to give it my best effort. The letter consisted of an introduction, a paragraph about my interest in the program, a paragraph about my value as a candidate, and a conclusion which includes a thank you. In the interest paragraph I talked about robotics and computer programming, and briefly mentioned a few other subjects. I also said that I am learning German and would like the opportunity to live in a German-speaking country. Additionally I said “Austria in particular is a great country, and I would love to contribute to its technological advancement”. The value as a candidate paragraph consisted of me mentioning some relevant successes I’d had, along with saying that I’d like to research robotics with one TU Graz’s professors. I showed my draft of the letter to my parents, made at least one revision, and then applied.
I considered applying to the Robotics, Process, and Control program at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, though I did not because I though either a computer science or computer engineering degree would have broader appeal with employers, in case I ended up not going down the robotics route, and because ETH Zurich had recommended either scores or percentiles for the GRE, which I did not meet. I did well on the GRE, but ETH Zurich is a very prestigious university and so they have extremely high standards. A third reason was that they required letters of recommendation, which although I knew I could get, I wanted to save asking for those from the two professors for only when I really needed them. I thought that my letters would be wasted in applying at ETH Zurich, since I didn’t have the recommended GRE scores.
Moving on, the second university that I applied to was Hochschule Luzern, which goes by HSLU for short. HSLU is in Lucerne, Switzerland. HSLU and TU Graz were my two favorites, so I was especially sure to apply in time. This time the letter was more about computer science rather than computer engineering, so I talked about web and mobile application development instead of robotics. However, I did mention internet of things, a subject that is similar to robotics. I mentioned Game Shrew, the iOS app I made, in the introduction, which I had done in the TU Graz motivation letter as well. Of course, I talked about Switzerland instead of Austria. HSLU allowed me to submit my TOEFL scores has part of the application, so I did that, wondering if they would be impressed or not. I applied in December of 2023. A professor from HSLU reached out to me. He set up an interview with me via a video call. The interview went well, though during the interview he mentioned that he looked at my LinkedIn profile. In my mind I was like “uh oh”, because I don’t use LinkedIn much and so don’t update my profile often. Apparently nothing on it scared him away, because he seemed interested in me becoming an HSLU student. He then set up a second interview, this time with me and himself again plus another professor. That interview went well too.
The third university I applied to was Università della Svizzera italiana. This school is called USI and is in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Their main campus is in the city Ticino. I initially became interested in USI because it is a Swiss university that accepts GRE scores, though the Artificial Intelligence Specialization of their Informatics program interested me a lot because it includes a robotics course. I wrote the letter of motivation largely be reusing and modifying content from my previous two letters. One big difference was that I broke up the interest paragraph into two paragraphs. The first was largely the same as that of my HSLU letter, though I said it would be cool to learn Italian in Ticino, in place of talking about German of course. I mentioned robotics and data analytics in the second interests paragraph. I also wrote two paragraphs instead of one for the value as a candidate section. The first of those is about future plans so I said I want to become a robotics software engineer, and in the second value as a candidate paragraph I said I would like to work with a professor to research either robotics, machine learning, or computer vision & pattern recognition.
I applied to two other master’s programs. One was the Master of Science in Computer Engineering programme with a specialization in AI, vision, and sound at Aalborg University in Denmark. The other was Master’s degree program in Computer Science at Johannes Kepler University Linz. I wrote letters of motivation for both of those. As usual, I based them off of the ones written for the schools I had previously applied to, making necessary changes. I worked on the JKU letter while I was sort of watching the Super Bowl at my dad’s house. Upon applying however, I found out that JKU Linz doesn’t accept letters of motivation during the application process. I’m not sure how I didn’t notice that beforehand, but whatever.
There were a few other schools that I was thinking about, though at this point I had already applied to all of my favorite schools, and those other schools had deadlines more in the future, so at least for now I was done applying.

I managed to apply to the universities which most interested me before their application deadlines. Prior to this I did a good job studying for and taking both the TOEFL and the GRE. I could now relax a bit, since I was done with application deadlines for now, but I still had to wait to find out if I was admitted, and I had a while before I would actually move to another country to attend one of those universities.

February 27, 2025