Here is an update to my post yesterday so check that out here first!
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My call with my professor last night went more somber than i ever thought was possible. I’m feeling much better today than I was yesterday.
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Basically, it’s up in the air if i can even start my masters online since the degree is a lot of lab and field work (which i knew but I was under the impression that it was still possible to start online). I was recommended to think if i even still wanted to continue with the degree I’ve been fighting for THREE years now. I was asked to think about if i was to defer my enrollment, pushing this mess back even more time + can i just say I am so sick of all of this “pushing back”?? I know i’m very much not alone but seriously. all our lives have been on pause for a year now.
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So as I already felt so anxious and like the biggest turd for it taking three years for me to even get into a masters program, now no one know if I’ll even be able to start it. so my mind is beyond in the gutter. I’m questioning everything and anything about my life. I’ll be okay, just an update there.
I emailed my professor back and mentioned that I still want to continue on with my degree the best I can online.
I’m most active over on my Instagram so check that out!
I haven’t done a life update since this, where I went into a lot of detail with my future graduate school plans in Australia.
So if you haven’t read that, or haven’t been keeping up with me over on my instagram, then head here to get more of a back story on what I’m about to get into.
Gold star to those who have been keeping up with me and my life.
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Before we get into the exciting graduate school update,
What have I been up to the last month?
I live in New Jersey in the States and we have been one of the worst states with virus cases due to the close proximity to New York City. So I have been on lockdown since March 16th I think… super close to THREE MONTHS!
There have been some positives to all of this mess, I’ve gotten to spend a lot more time with my cat, my parents and my brother (I go into this a lot more here). I’ve also gotten the time to really reflect on myself and my values and how I want to be a better friend to myself. Increasing my self awareness has really helped with that!
Has quarantine given you a lot of time to self reflect?
Besides family time & self reflection I really haven’t done a terrible amount. I have been working on this blog a lot over on pinterest and also trying to keep up with all my content over on my instagram. There’s been some baking here and there, ooo and some Chloe Ting workouts!!!! fun stuff!!
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Okay, now for the exciting part.
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My Masters Degree Plan
As I’m sure so many of you can relate, the virus has altered my future and left a lot of unknowns.
Last I spoke to you guys over here I mentioned that the original plan (as of early March 2020) was to move to Tasmania, Australia this coming July to start my two years masters program by research. Of course with the current state of the world and the endless border closures/travel restrictions, there is a slight hold on all of it.
soooo how is the virus altering plans exciting you might ask?
Well, it’s not. The exciting part is that with all of the extra time I’ve had, I’ve been able to finalize my research proposal and officially SUBMIT IT to the university in Australia. This research proposal was the FINAL step to submitting my application.
This application process was super weird to me where I technically got accepted to the university in Australia last year where I was told I qualified for this degree program. But once you qualify, the next step is teaming up with a professor to be your research supervisor. Once doing that, the student (that’s me!) comes up with the research plan from scratch! My proposed supervisor, of course, helped me but it was all on me to decide what specifically I wanted to research.
If you’re familiar with the scientific research world at all, it is very rare for a student who is fresh out of their undergraduate to get to specifically propose the research they want to carry out. Typically, especially with masters programs here in the States, the student will just tag along with an already existing project that the supervisor has already planned out.
So, for example, my back up plan was to work with a professor out at a university out in California and create a masters thesis with a data set that was already predetermined. It would have been a great opportunity, and a full ride scholarship, but at the end of the day it wasn’t what I was specifically interested in researching. In Australia, and I’m almost positive New Zealand too (correct me if I’m wrong), I was told we get to choose what we want to research and from there determine if it’s feasible.
So last year I was asked:
what do YOU want to research? what are YOU interested in?
& immediately I was so overwhelmed, yet so grateful. So grateful to feel trusted and capable of creating a two year full funded research project from scratch.
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Okay, okay, I’ve completed my application and I get to come up with my own project. What does that exactly entail?
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To sum it up:
My plan is to research the baseline thermal physiology of Australian fur seals using infrared thermography. We will be using infrared thermography (heat cameras) to see how heat is transferred around their bodies in their natural habitat.
At the moment, there is barely anything known on how Australian fur seals react to thermal stress. This becomes increasingly important with the growing need of answers due to climate change. In order to predict how our ecosystems will be altered in the future, we need to first understand how it is in their natural environment.
The hope is that Australia will open their border to international students by September (as the Australian economy really depends on us for their economy) and go from there. Of course nothing is certain, but I’m hopeful that I will be able to move to Tasmania by September the latest. This could work out as the Australian fur seal breeding season (so when I will be collecting data in the field) wouldn’t be till October anyway. Even if I can’t get into Australia by then, we have multiple backup plans (which really helps with my anxiety).
I hope that made sense.
I have a couple more mini life updates, but I didn’t want this post to be 2098092 paragraphs long as I could really talk forever.
Thanks so much if you read all that, I know it was a lot of words. I’m sorry to anyone who has had their future altered due to this pandemic mess. It’s a hard one.
I recently sat down with Ella Jesmajian, co-founder of Honey & Roses Coffee Company, for a mini interview. As a customer of Honey & Roses, and a fellow coffee lover, I was really intrigued by the back story behind the business.
Furthermore, in a time like this, it’s reminded me how it’s extra important to shop small and shop sustainably!
Honey & Roses Coffee Co. is a coffee marketplace where you can find the highest quality coffee roasters from all around the United States. They also sell high quality, artisanal homeware along with other sustainable items, like there adorable travel cups!
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But beyond what they sell, they’ve created a community based off of coffee & travel: two of my favorite things!
So let’s learn about how Honey & Roses came to be, and maybe even where they’re going in the future.
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Tell me a little bit about the team behind Honey & Roses
At this time it’s myself and my partner Joe! We met a few years ago, as he is one of my closest friend’s husband. We are both big travelers and foodies and kept brainstorming businesses idea for fun. Somehow one day, while enjoying some Vietnamese noodles, Honey & Roses was born. Joe’s the practical one and I’m not. I come up with the ideas and he executes them unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He brings me down to earth and vice versa and that has really been the key to our success. I think having a business partnership is similar to having a successful marriage. You have to communicate constantly, trust each other, complement each others differences and have fun!
I was born and raised in NY and Joe is from England. He had spent the last five years working in finance and I have been working in the restaurant industry. I think the polar opposite career paths have helped shape our business in more ways than one and that’s been really cool to watch unfold.
Ella Jesmajian, co-founder of Honey & Roses
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What were your goals when you first started? & was there anything specific you wanted to accomplish?
We just wanted to create a really high quality product and work with people who are passionate about their craft. I had always wanted to pursue design in someway or another. So our home line and reusable bottles were influenced heavily by my desire to create our own unique product. Joe and I really just wanted to create an online community. We want to offer more than just a bag of coffee in the mail.
Which leads me into my next question of how do you pick the roasters to include in your marketplace?
It really depends. Many of our roasters were either coffee companies I had previously tried and loved. Or ones that were highly recommended to me. At this point, some roasters will reach out to us and that’s been a really gratifying shift to see. We would love to have roasters from all 50 states, so If a roaster is from a state we don’t currently carry, it heavily influences us in reaching out to try their coffee.
Let’s talk about the Honey and Roses Aesthetic: what was the main inspiration, because you clearly have an aesthetic (boho, beachy, etc.) How would you sum it up?
It’s such a blend. I would say it’s Moroccan, tropical, bohemian and contemporary. I have been heavily influenced by traveling and exploring the world. I love incorporating pieces of art and my travels in my home and office. And I think that translates to the business.
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I saw Honey and Roses did New York and San Francisco coffee festival last year, how was that?
It was awesome. We were just starting out and it was the first advertising and project we participated in. It was really gratifying to see something we were just creating come to life. You also get access to a very different customer base and it was amazing to see the real coffee drinkers, loving our newly founded brand and roasters coffee.
Would you do something like that again?
I think we would if it was safe. It was truly a blast and we learned a lot. I also have to give credit to Joe. I was in the hospital during the second festival and he handled it all on his own and never complained. It was really amazing to watch, even from a distance.
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There are a couple side projects I’ve seen stemming from Honey and Roses:Travel Blog (with recipes and other travel posts) and a go fund me page for COVID relief would you mind talking about them a bit?
We really wanted to create a community and blog from the beginning. We want to share more than just products with people and we felt like recipes would be a great place to start. We have created a few series, including coffee around the world. Highlighting a different coffee and breakfast recipe from a new country each week. This has been a really fun way to give people the experience of traveling, without leaving their homes. If you look at how Dalgona coffee spread across the globe in popularity, we hope to replicate that on a smaller scale and share fun new food and coffee recipes with our customers.
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I mean I was on it (the blog) last night and I saw one that was a maple cold foam.. I was like omg I want to try that!
It’s truly amazing. It’s such a mix between sweet and savory and really compliments a more bitter and acidic cold brew perfectly.
Anything exciting coming ahead that you can hint to? I think you mentioned maybe expanding some of the homeware?
Yeah it’s just been quite difficult with everything going on in the world and we have been hit with several delays. We are planning on expanding our home collection and improving our coffee marketplace, but it will take time and funding. We have lots of projects and ideas in the works and will be launching a kickstarter campaign in the next couple of months.
Big thanks to Ella for sitting down with me, especially with everything going on right now in the world.
I hope you guys learned something ant that it even sparked your interest to go check these guys out!
Let’s be real, making coffee at home can get intimidating. There’s so many different products and techniques to go about brewing at home. You could just go the simple route and use a keurig or another kind of machine that makes the coffee for you but where’s the fun in that?
I’m here to help make it simple.
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My method of choice is pour over. It’s as simple as it sounds: you pour hot water over coffee grinds and that’s it for the most part. Of course there are actual techniques to do the pour over method properly (like wetting the filter before hand, letting the grinds bloom, etc). If you’re interested in a detailed post about pour over techniques let me know!!
First and foremost you’re going to need to choose if you want to tackle whole beans or already pre-ground coffee. Pre-ground coffee does really decrease the flavors and quality of the coffee (in my opinion). I chose to purchase whole beans and ground them by the cup before each use.
HA! you can tell I don’t clean mine very often… oopsies.
A battery-powered, lightweight scale that precisely weighs out my preferred coffee bean to water ratio. It is a bit pricier but after the amount of people who recommended this to me I couldn’t help but want to test it out. I didn’t use one for the longest time (as you can also weigh out your beans and water by volume) but this has been a GAME CHANGER in increasing my precision.
I felt that doing pour over by volume instead of weight was really just me eyeballing how much water to use and crossing my fingers hoping it turned out okay. Furthermore, measuring coffee by volume didn’t make much sense to me (here comes my science background) because different roasts and beans of different origins have different densities. Anyway, do what makes you happy!!! This is just my methodology of choice.
The perfect, balanced cup of coffee starts with accurate tools so I can definitely recommend this grinder for you to try. It’s the perfect durable and budget friendly grinder (its only $14 right now). With the adjustable grind settings it’s helped each bean grind consistently so the flavor gets captured evenly throughout. It’s also super quiet so it helps when I’m up early in the morning for my first cup of the day.
In the past I used a different grinder without anyway to adjust the settings so I was kinda just spitballing it. As you can guess, that didn’t turn out the greatest for me as each grind was a different size and shape…… so let’s stick to a grinder with settings shall we!!!!
Don’t you just get frustrated when you can’t get the last of the coffee grounds out of your grinder?
This cheap $5 purchase has really helped me fix that issue. It’s super budget friendly and obviously aims to clean your grinder as well! Just a little tool to help you out along the way.
When I first started really caring about the quality of my coffee at home, I got a much cheaper pour over maker to start. But once the day came where my brother accidentally shattered it, I knew it was a sign to drop a bit more money to get the one that was better quality. My thought process in choosing a Chemex is that I always saw them for sale at my local coffee shops, so I guess that planted the seed.
Nonetheless, I have only good things to say about it. Chemex does sell smaller ones (like 3-cup) and also larger ones (like 8-cup). They are made of a super sturdy glass. I’ve had mine for months now and I never ran into any issues with scratches or cracks or anything. It’s just a great classic coffee maker.
5.Pour Over Filters
After trial & error, I can whole-heartedly recommend purchasing the paper filters made, in fact, for the Chemex.
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Unfortunately it seems they are sold out on amazon but I get mine at my local whole foods! These filters are super sturdy and I’ve never had them fall through or break in the middle of a pour (which has happened to me with other filters).
Also there is a much more sustainable route with reusable filters but I have yet to find one of those I like using. So any recommendations let me know in the comments!!
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There you have it! My 5 must haves to make the perfect cup of coffee at home (besides the coffee)!
*NOTE* the amazon links are affiliate links! So using them does support me and my coffee addiciton.
Let me know if you’d be interested in a detailed post of my favorite roasters and blends to enjoy at home! I did a mini one over on my instagram.
This is part two of this post about finding validation within yourself. The first post focused mostly on the first step I took on my journey for self validation: self-awareness. As you can guess, becoming aware of your thought processes and emotional reactions to things is the first step to grow beyond them.
Last night I found myself researching more into the mechanisms of why I could rely so heavily on external validation. So let’s call part two….
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Research: The Why
Why do I need other people’s approval to feel whole?
Why do I chase after acceptance & validation?
Why does it all define me so much?
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A lot of the articles I came across started with this need for external validation stems from your childhood/early years. I am no expert (as I study marine organisms for a living, not people) but I can totally see this being correct as our early years really shape our brain’s functions and thought processes.
When you are a small child whose whole existence and well-being depends on others, rejection actually equals existential death. And since we are constantly hurt, invalidated, and rejected in many overt and highly subtle ways as children, a lot of us grow up into wounded and self-less adults whose self-perception is skewed or blurry.
Now I can’t really pin point this to coincide with my childhood but I do remember getting hurt very easily by rejection, or by being an outcast.
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A very personal life example: my work life
At first I didn’t think I ever wanted to get into this, but I feel this example genuinely encompasses how my need for approval has shaped parts of my personal life. Also, maybe some other people out there can relate to this.
I kind of mentioned the back story to this job I had earlier this year here, but I’ll give a quick run down. Basically, I had a job where I dug my self perception down a dark path. I fully let the opinions & possible thoughts of my coworkers control the thoughts and views I had of myself. Whatever opinion I thought they could’ve felt towards me, was what I felt I actually was. If I felt that they thought I was too loud that day, then I was too loud & I had to then adjust my personality to be more quiet. If I felt that they thought I was too opinionated towards something, then I would shut my mouth for the rest of that shift & the next couple shifts to come. I outcasted myself when instead I thought I was adjusting my personality to fit in.
One, they constantly need other people’s approval and validation to feel that they are a good person, to feel pleasant emotions, or to even feel alive. And two, they feel shame or guilt or anger or loneliness or anxiety or confusion or other painful emotions when someone disapproves of and invalidates them, which then often leads to dysfunctional behavior to manage all of it.
By the end of my time with this company, I lost sight of what core values I believed in. I lost sight of who I knew I was. Since I knew I didn’t complete fit in with my coworkers, it ate away at me for months & spilled over into my life outside of work too; I was an anxious mess. In order to get through each shift I would have to read a list of mantras on my phone to remind myself to keep quiet, to not be too opinionated, & to not act too overbearing.
Because of my reliance on others’ approval, I let that shape who I actually was in those four walls. Of course it is no one’s fault but my own.
It usually starts out as a logical tactic. We gain others’ approval, make them happy for a moment, and feel pretty good about ourselves. It seems like the perfect path to take—and it’s one we can continue on for many years, believing it’s reducing our anxiety about disapproval in our daily lives.
Up until this year, I didn’t realize that I was caught in a feedback loop leaning on others for their opinions and thoughts of me; I have been conditioned to aim for that validation. Each time I felt validated by my coworkers’ opinions and thoughts of me, my brain released dopamine of some sort. It felt good and rewarding so I kept going back to it and aimed for that specific feeling. I was comfortable with that feedback loop because that’s what I was used to; that was all I knew.
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But there will come a time when the constant seeking of approval—the very solution to our problems—will run its course. And that very behavior that brought us so many feelings of accomplishment will become the problem itself.
Being able to pin point my need for external validation on my more recent life experiences, makes it feel so much more real. It becomes more apparent how vital it is that I come to terms with it all now. Only from there can I grow and reshape my thought processes surrounding approval and validation.
I’m still becoming more aware of the times in my daily life, or past life, that I’ve fallen into this feedback loop. Only now am I coming to terms with how much of this can shape my day-to-day life. I’m still figuring all this out.
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So thank you for taking the time to read this. It will not be the easiest for me to open up about this.
Join me on my journey by hitting that follow button. We’re in this together.
Validation: Why do I care so much what people think?
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I’m going to be honest, I have no clue yet. I’m writing this so maybe future me can have a little journal entry to look back on. I am no expert, just another face trying to make sense of all this.
That first statement on its own was hard enough for me to say. For the longest time I was so sure that I didn’t care what people thought and that none of it mattered to me. But at the same time, it’s not black & white.
Yes, I do care what my loved ones think of me. I whole-heartedly do not want to disappoint the people I care about. I crave their approval deep down.
“When we urgently aim to please other people, we’re seeking approval of self from outside sources. And whenever we reach for something in the outside world to give us what we should be giving ourselves, we set ourselves up for disappointment.”
This quote hit me hard because I have been living it almost my whole life. I externally seek validation and get my hopes up; this makes me more susceptible to disappointment: it’s that little gut feeling I have when I feel like my instagram followers don’t like something I posted about or it’s the feelings that consumes me when my mom isn’t the happiest with me for not doing my dishes right away.
I am looking for their approval, and I get engulfed with disappointment in myself that I’m not perfect.
I think the biggest thing here is not only a confessional to myself, but a reminder that we are not perfect (cliche but true). Finding validation within ourselves takes time. It’s a long process.
Step One: It all starts with self-awareness.
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But the biggest first step is self-awareness & remembering that you are in control of your own life.It can make us more proactive, boost our acceptance, and encourage positive self-development (Sutton, 2016).
Self-awareness allows us to see things from the perspective of others, practice self-control, work creatively and productively, and experience pride in ourselves and our work as well as general self-esteem (Silvia & O’Brien, 2004).
Realizing that we are in control and we each have the power to reset or relearn how we see things. I’m going to start my “self validation journey” with this first step and go from there.
Join me on my journey by hitting that follow button. We’re in this together.
I tried this trend a little while ago but it was definitely something different! Basically if you haven’t seen this all over social media its Dalgona Coffee/Whipped Coffee. Theres only three ingredients and it originated in Korea I think.
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All you need is:
hot coffee (or I used hot coffee, my favorite coffee right now is Deovcion over in Brooklyn)
instant coffee (I used trader joe’s instant colombian coffee)
some sort of sweetener (I was planning on using coconut sugar but didn’t realize I was out so I used maple syrup for a more natural sweetener)
All of the recipes I’ve seen recommend equal parts of all three of those things (I did 1Tbsp each). All you do is throw it in a bowl and whip it, or if you’re lucky use an electric mixer! It took a while even with my electric mixer for the consistency to turn foamy and airy.
I used a liquid sweetener which does work but if I used normal cane sugar I easily would have gotten a thicker foam (but you do you). I was curious to see if I could take my own spin on what was going around.
I would say overall this was a successful experiment. You could easily adjust the recipe to fit your dietary preferences.
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Although, the real question is did I actually like it?
To answer it quickly: nope!
My main reasoning is the whip itself (which they say to pour it over some kind of milk and ice) is really potent. Me using hot coffee instead of hot water definitely contributed to it, but mainly it’s cause I never put sweetener in my coffee. I’m use to either black coffee or something like a flat white but I’d have it as is with just the milk and the espresso.
If sweeter, trendier coffee is your thing, then yeah try this out.
Or even if you’re super bored and looking for an easy DIY, then yeah try this out.
Let me know if you’ve tested out this trend and if you liked it below!
I am no expert but this is my take on how I make my instagram content look pretty.
For reference this is my current feed over on coffeeenut (my coffee blog). I’ve been meaning to put something like this together and there’s more room to do it on here over instagram so lets get into it!
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Photo Editing: I use the free app Adobe Lightroom. I purchased a lightroom preset over a year ago from a friend and have been obsessed with it ever since. But!! If you aren’t looking to spend anything its still a great app to get a consistent feed.
For example, when you upload a photo on the app and go into to editing it click on the three circles on the top right. This menu will pop up. As you can see there is “copy settings” so if you have a photo and you like the way it was edited you can copy all the edits to another photo within the app (or 48443 photos if you really want)! There also is “create preset” which basically means you’re creating your very own filter that you can copy the settings on in the future.
In my case since I purchased an Adobe Lightroom App filter, I would copy my preset’s settings and then go to a new photo and click on “paste settings” and this would then paste that preset onto my photo.
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Normally I would then go and adjust settings (like light, color hue & saturation) to get it the exact way I’m envisioning it. Here is just an example of some settings I mess around with.
The app is free to download and also has their own filters to use.
Okay so you got the photo, whats next?
The Feed: does it match your feed? do the colors go? do you even care if it goes? does it flow? am I overthinking this? probably.
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I’m sure there’s multiple apps to plan your instagram feed but I use Planoly.
It’s also a free app to download (gotta save that hard earned cash!!). The only thing is with this app there is a limit to the posts you can add and it refreshes every month (i think its 30 posts…). But if you’re after planning more you can pay to get some sort of premium membership.
To be honest I’ve never posted directly from the Planoly app, I just like to use it to visualize.
Okay so now it goes with your feed, what’s next?
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The Caption: Again, I’m sure there’s other ways to do this but this is the way I choose to! It took me a while to find a website/app that worked for me to get the clean spacing in my instagram captions. It’s definitely not a necessary thing but especially when I’m doing a lot of ranting I find the post much easier to read.
I use hashtagie. I found this website by googling ways to get the spaces in my captions (gotta love it!!). I’m pretty sure the website has a couple different offerings but I go here. Super straightforward to use and super easy to copy and paste over to the instagram app.
The Extras: A more recent thing I’ve gotten myself into is using extra symbols and cute fonts throughout my captions and stories.
This is another free app but you can purchase more fonts within the app. Once you open it, it’s clear with how to add the fonts to your normal keyboard. Again, not a necessity but a fun little touch!
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Once I go through these steps I would then post, cross my fingers and hope for the best!
Let me know if you’d be interested in a part two or if you have an tips yourself! Also check out my instagram here.
I’m sure I’m not alone in losing a job during this time. I don’t exactly have a direction for this but here I go.
The other day I had a call with my manager at Lululemon (if you saw this post, I go more into my work life and such). I started out as a seasonal hire and then they asked to extend my contract till May (yayyy!!). Before the pandemic, it was spoken about that depending on when I was leaving for grad school in Tasmania (more on that here), my contract would extend even further. But at that time I didn’t know exactly when my research would start over in Australia.
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It didn’t even cross my mind that there was a possibility that my contract would not get extended. Pretty naive of me, especially with everything going on, but it didn’t cross my mind that I would lose that part-time job of mine. But of course, as the title of this states, I did lose the job. It’s of course sad that I will not get to actually work at that store again with the closures being maybe till June/July. The hope was for me to transfer from my current store to one in Tasmania if they are hiring.
Anyway, I found some articles that might give you hope if you are going through a similar situation. Sending you a massive hug.
“It’s easy to get stuck in the past and what shoulda-woulda-coulda happened, but didn’t. Doing so only perpetuates destructive emotions that fuel anger, self-pity and a sense of powerlessness. Focus on the future, and on what you need to do to set yourself up as well as possible on the job front, in how you are budgeting your money, and in your relationship with those who can help you find a new job. What you focus on expands, so focus on what you want, not on what you don’t”
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Don’t let your job status define you
“Sure, losing your job is a very personal experience, but don’t take it too personally. Who you are is not what you do. Never was. Never will be. Research by psychologist Marty Seligman found that the biggest determinant between those who succeed after setbacks of any kind is how they interpret them. People who interpret losing their job as a sign of personal inadequacy or failure are less likely to ‘get back on the horse’ in their job hunt than those who interpret it as an unfortunate circumstance that provided a valuable opportunity to grow in self-awareness, re-evaluate priorities and build resilience. You define who you are, not your job or a company’s decision whether or not to employ you. Don’t take it as a personal rejection against you”
Especially with the economy right now, as hard as it can be, it’s important to step back and remember that you are most definitely not the only one.
More posts coming soon. Just needed to get this off my chest. Comment anything below if you actually read this. Thanks.
When visiting Austria this past summer, Salzburg was one of the main stops. Besides the attraction of “Sound of Music” tours and filming locations, the Hohensalzburg Castle was pretty hard to miss; It overtakes the Salzburg skyline.
The fortress was built in the eleventh century, under the rule of the Archbishop at the time. The castle only went under siege once, in the German Peasant’s War in 1525. By the 19th century, Hohensalzburg was made a staple tourist attraction. It is known as one of the largest and best preserved castles of 11th century Europe.
At the time, I sadly only had my iphone for taking photos so I apologize for the quality.
To make it to the castle you have two options: hike or take the tram. To save money, my family and I hiked (yes, I mean hike. the pathways/stairs get very steep at the top). Although, the steepest part is at the end; so, even if you take the tram, which goes almost to the top, you will have to hike up the steepest part (which thankfully had spread out steps to help hold your grip).
There was some signs showing us where to go, but at times it was guessing (& thinking, well ok I know I’m going to head up somehow…).
A good tip is knowing that there is an admissions fee to enter the fortress grounds. I don’t remember it being that reasonable, especially if all travelers are adults.
After admissions there is, in fact, another steep hill, and a few staircases!!! (Yay!! time to treat yourself to some Austrian pastries!!!!!) The path opens to a large court with a gift shop, restrooms, etc.
Upon entering the very top, there is a few museum-type exhibits going into the history of the fortress (the lines get long but move quick).
The top has multiple 360 viewing areas. The amount of photo opportunities even on a cloudy day is insane.
I recommend leaving yourself a lot of time to explore all the rooms and viewing areas. The views are worth every broken sweat. Times like this, only make me want to explore European castles to the fullest extent possible.
