The weather here has been less than ideal. It’s been raining off and on, mostly on, since last week and it rained all day today. So far, my rain boots and socks have been my smartest packing choices. My mom will be happy to know that I've basically finished unpacking. All empty suitcases are under my bed, now I just have a pile of... well...crap around my bed that I don't know where to put. I could probably find a place for them if I tried but...well, maybe later tonight. Because of the weather, I'm glad we have such an easy – albeit long – commute to the IES center. The only trouble with riding the subways and trams, especially when they’re packed full of people, is that you get absolutely no personal space and you’re up in everyone’s business. How do the Austrians feel about personal space and personal boundaries, you might ask? Well, the truth is that they don’t seem to believe it exists. People here have no problem putting their hand right on top of your hand when you’re holding on to a rail, or pressing their entire bodies up on you for that matter. My friend Sam seems to be a magnet for these sorts of people. One time she noticed the man behind her on the subway was stroking her hair. A little inappropriate, by our American standards at least.
Besides the unfortunate touching, the past weekend was a lot of fun. After our German test on Friday (which I got an A- on!), we went out to the area that’s referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of clubs. I’m sure you’re all smart enough to figure out why. The first club was lots of fun, they played contemporary American music and I decided to try absinthe. Mistake. It tasted awful, like nasty licorice, and even though they serve it with sugar, the sugar didn’t stop the wave of nausea which came over me every time I took a tiny sip. I finished almost half of the tiny shot of the stuff. Never again. After we left, we stopped for a quick bite, a quick beer, and long look at the Danube Canal. It looked really beautiful at night, with the buildings all lit up on either side. The next club we went to played amazing music. We got to mingle with Austrians while doing the YMCA, the Time Warp, and the Macarena. Then we learned some new German tunes with their own dance moves. Overall, a very successful night.
On Saturday, we took a bus tour through Vienna. We saw the Belvedere Palace, Hundertwasser House, the Vienna anti-aircraft tours from the 1940s, and many other cool places. At the end the bus took us up to a look-out point at the end of the Alps. We could see the entire city of Vienna, surrounded by mountains and the canal. Very picturesque. On Sunday, my friends and I went to the world’s oldest zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn, and walked around and looked at the animals. The zoo is really big, and really easy to get lost in. My favorite animals were the pandas (which I only saw for a second), the koala bear, and the owls. Sunday night we went to a local bar, where you can order sandwiches by the centimeter. Don’t worry, they provide a ruler. Monday was my friend’s birthday, so after German class we went to a delicious Italian restaurant. After that, we took the subway to a bar only a couple of stops away from our apartment. On Mondays, the specials are 0,50 Euro cocktails from 8-9, 1,50 Euro cocktails from 9-10…etc. Very economical. I’ll probably be staying in tonight, doing my German homework and catching up on some tv shows. I miss everyone and hope all is well!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Staircases and W’s
The one thing my friends and I noticed right away in Vienna is the excessive amount of stairs. They’re everywhere. I don’t know if it’s because the buildings are older or if the Viennese are in much better cardiac shape, but every day involves numerous staircases. I feel like no matter how much beer I drink, or how much strudel I eat, I’m going to come home with much better thighs than with which I arrived. Not a problem though, I’m not complaining about the staircases. Well, maybe a little. I mean, what’s wrong with an elevator now and then?
The other overly excessive thing we’ve noticed in Vienna is the amount of W’s in the German language. And the worst part is, you don’t pronounce the W’s! You pronounce them as V’s! So why can’t we just use a V instead of all these W’s? Someone please tell me.
The weather here is beautiful. It rained on Tuesday, but only in the morning while we had more information sessions and German class, so we still got to enjoy the warm weather after. On Monday, after we registered in the city, took our first German class (HARD), went on a walking tour of Vienna, and went grocery shopping, we went down to a bar in the city center known as 1516. We took the subway with some of the other people in our apartment building. It was just like an American bar, except that the beer was better, and I wasn’t denied alcohol. I think we need to make our way to a beer garden or wine cellar soon to soak up some genuine Viennese culture. Tuesday night my friends and I went out for Chinese food. (Because that makes all the sense in the world…) We used the subway (the U-Bahn) to get to the first district, which is the center of the city, and proceeded to get lost on the – according to MapQuest – “3 minute walk” from the station to the restaurant. We got to explore some tiny side streets though, so the time wasn’t wasted. The Chinese food is better in Chicago and New Orleans, but it wasn’t bad. They’re just a little stingy with the sauces, plus pretty slow with the check. I guess they aren’t in a hurry because people only tip about 5% here. Today (Wednesday) we had our third German class. It’s making a bit more sense. Then we walked around the shopping part of the city and took a long trip to the Swarovski store. The store itself is beautiful, as well as everything in it. I couldn’t help but pick up a few tiny gifts for myself...
Tomorrow we have class at 12:30, so I get to sleep in. Right now, I’m in my friends’ apartment cooking a pizza and studying German. I’ve got a test on Friday and I don’t want to fail it! Hope everyone is doing well. Talk soon!
The other overly excessive thing we’ve noticed in Vienna is the amount of W’s in the German language. And the worst part is, you don’t pronounce the W’s! You pronounce them as V’s! So why can’t we just use a V instead of all these W’s? Someone please tell me.
The weather here is beautiful. It rained on Tuesday, but only in the morning while we had more information sessions and German class, so we still got to enjoy the warm weather after. On Monday, after we registered in the city, took our first German class (HARD), went on a walking tour of Vienna, and went grocery shopping, we went down to a bar in the city center known as 1516. We took the subway with some of the other people in our apartment building. It was just like an American bar, except that the beer was better, and I wasn’t denied alcohol. I think we need to make our way to a beer garden or wine cellar soon to soak up some genuine Viennese culture. Tuesday night my friends and I went out for Chinese food. (Because that makes all the sense in the world…) We used the subway (the U-Bahn) to get to the first district, which is the center of the city, and proceeded to get lost on the – according to MapQuest – “3 minute walk” from the station to the restaurant. We got to explore some tiny side streets though, so the time wasn’t wasted. The Chinese food is better in Chicago and New Orleans, but it wasn’t bad. They’re just a little stingy with the sauces, plus pretty slow with the check. I guess they aren’t in a hurry because people only tip about 5% here. Today (Wednesday) we had our third German class. It’s making a bit more sense. Then we walked around the shopping part of the city and took a long trip to the Swarovski store. The store itself is beautiful, as well as everything in it. I couldn’t help but pick up a few tiny gifts for myself...
Tomorrow we have class at 12:30, so I get to sleep in. Right now, I’m in my friends’ apartment cooking a pizza and studying German. I’ve got a test on Friday and I don’t want to fail it! Hope everyone is doing well. Talk soon!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Arrival!
Hi family and friends!
I’ve been in Austria since last Thursday, August 19th, and there has been a LOT going on. After arriving at the airport, myself and 4 other IES students crammed ourselves into a taxi van with a driver who spoke very limited English. He also had no knowledge of The Sound of Music, and after I mentioned Julie Andrews and sang a few bars of “The Hills are Alive,” I’m pretty sure he started driving faster just to get me out of the van. We arrived at the Hütteldorf subway station, where there was a mob of other IES students waiting to be taken to orientation in Mariazell, a small city in the northern Alps of Austria. It was a 3 hour bus ride, full of twists and turns. I knocked myself out with a Dramamine and slept the whole way. Orientation consisted of information sessions, waiting for dinner, and drinking beer. Between all that fun, we also went into the actual village of Mariazell and took a tour of a very famous church there. Catholics from all over come to this church to pray to the Mary statue which has been there for decades. When prayed to, the Mary statue is said to produce miracles. The village was very small and not many people there spoke English. We bought a bottle of their famous schnapps, which turned out to be the most disgusting and bitter tasting drink EVER. The next day, we went to a lake in the middle of the alps and a few friends and I rented an electric boat to ride around in for an hour. It was really beautiful and serene. That night, IES surprised us with a bunch of Austrian men dancing in their lederhosen. They were like steppers, Austrian style. On Sunday we came back to Vienna and took taxis to our apartment. Aside from the mold in the fridge, the apartment is beautiful. Its very large and roomy. I live in the 17th district of Vienna, right across from a grocery store (that takes Visa!) and a pharmacy, so I’m pretty much set. The district is beautiful; lots of cafés to sit in and people watch. Today was our first day of the German Language Intensive, so we took the public transportation system to the IES center, which is located in a palace in the 1st district. The public transportation system is really simple…unless you rely on someone who doesn’t really know where they’re going to lead…then problems arise. But enough about that! It’s about a 30 minute commute from my apartment to the center, so it’s not too bad. We took a walking tour of the 1st district today, and my friends and I also found our way to a linens store so we could replace the old, uncomfortable ones on our beds. Later we went grocery shopping, and the prices seem to be a lot cheaper than at home. That might just be because they’re Euros though, and I don’t really convert them to dollars in my mind. I just charge it. The wine and beer is really good, and very cheap. I bought a bottle of wine for 2 Euros today, and it felt very weird being able to just buy wine. I don’t feel old enough yet! Tonight we ventured downtown to a bar in the 1st district, and had some beer and just hung out. It was a lot of fun, but we have ANOTHER information session tomorrow at 9am, so we needed to come home early. I’ll post soon!
Auf Wiedersehen!
I’ve been in Austria since last Thursday, August 19th, and there has been a LOT going on. After arriving at the airport, myself and 4 other IES students crammed ourselves into a taxi van with a driver who spoke very limited English. He also had no knowledge of The Sound of Music, and after I mentioned Julie Andrews and sang a few bars of “The Hills are Alive,” I’m pretty sure he started driving faster just to get me out of the van. We arrived at the Hütteldorf subway station, where there was a mob of other IES students waiting to be taken to orientation in Mariazell, a small city in the northern Alps of Austria. It was a 3 hour bus ride, full of twists and turns. I knocked myself out with a Dramamine and slept the whole way. Orientation consisted of information sessions, waiting for dinner, and drinking beer. Between all that fun, we also went into the actual village of Mariazell and took a tour of a very famous church there. Catholics from all over come to this church to pray to the Mary statue which has been there for decades. When prayed to, the Mary statue is said to produce miracles. The village was very small and not many people there spoke English. We bought a bottle of their famous schnapps, which turned out to be the most disgusting and bitter tasting drink EVER. The next day, we went to a lake in the middle of the alps and a few friends and I rented an electric boat to ride around in for an hour. It was really beautiful and serene. That night, IES surprised us with a bunch of Austrian men dancing in their lederhosen. They were like steppers, Austrian style. On Sunday we came back to Vienna and took taxis to our apartment. Aside from the mold in the fridge, the apartment is beautiful. Its very large and roomy. I live in the 17th district of Vienna, right across from a grocery store (that takes Visa!) and a pharmacy, so I’m pretty much set. The district is beautiful; lots of cafés to sit in and people watch. Today was our first day of the German Language Intensive, so we took the public transportation system to the IES center, which is located in a palace in the 1st district. The public transportation system is really simple…unless you rely on someone who doesn’t really know where they’re going to lead…then problems arise. But enough about that! It’s about a 30 minute commute from my apartment to the center, so it’s not too bad. We took a walking tour of the 1st district today, and my friends and I also found our way to a linens store so we could replace the old, uncomfortable ones on our beds. Later we went grocery shopping, and the prices seem to be a lot cheaper than at home. That might just be because they’re Euros though, and I don’t really convert them to dollars in my mind. I just charge it. The wine and beer is really good, and very cheap. I bought a bottle of wine for 2 Euros today, and it felt very weird being able to just buy wine. I don’t feel old enough yet! Tonight we ventured downtown to a bar in the 1st district, and had some beer and just hung out. It was a lot of fun, but we have ANOTHER information session tomorrow at 9am, so we needed to come home early. I’ll post soon!
Auf Wiedersehen!
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