The Weekend

Meine Freundin am Kaffeehaus

My first weekend in the city has been so much fun!  Or as we say here macht mir Spass!  Frau Mueller is my German teacher and she is this little old woman who treats us like her grandchildren. She speaks English with a British accent because she learned while being an Au pair in London.  Friday, our German teacher declared that we needed practice speaking German.  I thought this meant more worksheets, but I was mistaken.  Instead, Frau Mueller gets up and leaves the classroom.  We sat in stunned silence until she poked her head back in and asked if we were coming with her.  She took us to ein Kaffeehaus at the Hofsburg Palace (which is just an 8 minute walk from our palace).  We all sat down and placed our orders, auf Deutsch of course!  I had ein Einspaenner and eine Palmenhaustorte.  Both were so good.  

Deutsch Klasse

My friends and I decided to be over achievers (I know, shocking) and strike up an actual conversation with our waiter.  We asked our Keller (waiter) where the fun places to hang out at night were.  He was more than happy to show us on a map all the good local bars and clubs.  He then gave us these coupons for the club he works at.  Of course this was still a class and Frau Mueller passed out a pop quiz.  After a groan, we all read the questions and laughed.  They were questions like, what did you order?  what is your waiter's name?  did you have fun?  Needless to say it was an excellent morning.  

Friday night, my friend invited some of us over for dinner.  Afterwards we decided to head into the Inner Stadt to a music lounge we were told was good.  This lounge was a lot of fun.  American music is really big here and so we knew all the songs being performed. 

Saturday, we went to the Naschmarkt which is this big outdoor market.  It had everything!  None of us wanted to make a decision on what to get for lunch so we all bought something different and then shared.  The food was so good.  I had my first glass of Sturm as well.  Sturm is half fermented wine that is really sweet and tastes like apples.  It's really popular here because you can decide how fermented you want your wine.  My favorite thing though was this Hungarian pastry that is completely hollow.  Its a tube of dough that is baked on a wooden cylinder.  It was delicious.  After eating our way through the Naschmarkt, we found a cafe to sit at to complete our homework.  See, I can be studious while still having fun.

The girls going out

That night, we went to a dance club called Sass.  I still have the bass beat ringing in my ear.  This club played mostly techno with some hip hop thrown in.  It was a lot of fun.  The people here just danced however they wanted.  It was great because I feel like in all the clubs in the states that I've been to, the people all dance the same.  The only problem with going out at night here is that no place is smoking free.  It seems like everyone smokes.  The first thing on my to-do list for the week is to find the Austrian equivalent of Frebreeze, for my coat still smells.  

Today, I'm heading to the park to meet up with some friends.  The city has a bike renting system with the first hour being free, so we're going to investigate some of the city parks on bike.  It's guaranteed to be a good day.       

My New Home

My apartment building - I'm the 3rd floor
windows just to the left of the corner

I have the best apartment ever!  Vienna is split up into 23 districts that spiral around the first district which is called the Inner Stadt.  This is the heart of the city where all the museums and theaters are centered.  This is also where I will attend class.  And I just happen to live in the Inner Stadt!  I'm a ten minute walk to class; prime location!  The inside is so cute and European with high door handles and everything in an individual room.  My room is very big (I was one of the lucky ones).  There is plenty of room for all my stuff. 

The IES program I am apart of offers home stays (what I chose), living with other IES students, or residence halls at Wien Universitaet.  I live with a school teacher and her 11 year old daughter.  The daughter, Stephanie, decorated my room with Miley Cyrus posters as a welcome.  Not my style, but I appreciate the cute gesture.  Surprisingly, I'm on my own for the first two weeks.  They are on vacation in Egypt before school starts.  Christine, my Hausmutter, emails and texts everyday to make sure I'm ok.  The best part of my home stay arrangements though is that she does my laundry and cleans my room :) 

These first three weeks I have German class in the morning.  So far, so good.  I know more German than I thought.  I had my first successful conversation today with a native!  He might have been five and he might have laughed at my accent, but the point is he understood me!  We had the same vocabulary level.

Class is held in an actual palace.  I'm not kidding.  A gold gilded, painted ceiling, mirrored walls, baby cherub statues everywhere, chandelier palace.  It is gorgeous!  I have to walk up a grand stair case everyday.  Let's just say I've already reacted a few songs from a selection of Disney movies.  The best part though is that other people joined in.  Since the music program is so prominent, bursting into random song is not seen as weird here.  It's ok, you can be a little jealous. 

Outside of class I've just been hanging out with friends, learning about the city.  Outside of the Rathaus there is a HUGE screen set up where the city is showing free summer movies and having concerts and such.  I went to Hansel and Gretel aus Deutsch and also a concert.  Not too bad for one week.  This weekend we are checking out the Naschtmarkt (like a flea market).  I'm hoping to find a dirndl, make my stay here more legit :) 

 

oh you know, my classroom

my classmate lol

Orientation - First Few Days in Austria

Mariazell from our Hostel

Well, here I am in Mariazell which is a small village in the Alps of Austria.  It is a pilgrimage site and is known worldwide for it's gingerbread and schnapps...both of which I can tell you from personal experience are excellent!  I met my group Thursday afternoon and we loaded the buses.  A two hour drive later through some of the greenest hills I have ever seen, we were in Mariazell.  We passed the cutest houses with window boxes in full bloom. 

Paddle Boat Fun

We had meetings in the morning and then the afternoon was always free for us to explore.  Thursday night, we played an Austrian trivia game for prizes.  The Governator was the answer that won me a Milka Bar (wonderful Austria chocolate).  Friday, I went with a group to Erlausee which is a lake.  Some friends and I rented a paddle boat and then jumped into the water in the middle of the lake.  The water was freezing!  We also hiked and just hung out by the water.  It was beautiful.  That night, we had an Austrian Folk dance group come perform for us.  This group of guys in Lederhosen danced and even taught us a few steps.  We had a true Austrian party!  Most dances include drinking of some kind as a tradition.  There was even an accordion named Hans.  He taught me my first Austrian drinking song. 

Saturday we explored Mariazell and got a tour of the church from one of our Austrian professors.  She explained to us how the oldest wood statue of the Madonna is displayed in the church and how this statue granted miracles to many rulers throughout the centuries.  My favorite part of the church was this room just full of candles lit for loved ones or in thanks.  It was so beautiful.  I lit a candle for my grandmother.  The town itself was so picturesque and charming.  I saw some wonderful dirndls (the tradition dress).  That night, we learned the Viennees Waltz.  I much prefer a polka....the waltz was too slow for me.

We left Sunday afternoon to head back to the city. From the U-Bahn station where we all met the first day, we all piled into taxis and left for our individual homes.