Topsy Turvy Time

St. Stephen's Cathedral 

The first week in Vienna was filled with getting to know the group of people I'm living with, orienting myself with the German language, and getting used to city noises and the time change.
The time change was probably the easiest thing to adapt to. The first day wore me out so I was able to sleep through the night. However, I live in the middle of nowhere at home and usually the only time I wake up to any noises at school is on the weekends when people are drunk and noisy. Now I've suddenly been dropped in a city where the garbage and recycling comes at 3 am every night, you hear millions of bottles being smashed simultaneously, police cars and ambulances jet through the streets at random, and dogs bark randomly at each other.
I have fallen in love not only with the city of Vienna but also the German language. I have to take a "German for Travelers" class while I'm over here. I figured that German was similar enough to English that I could get along well enough without needing to devote my energy to learning it. I was very wrong about that. Fortunately, German is similar to Spanish which helps with some things but I have found that not everyone speaks English as I had hoped. On the bright side I've rediscovered my love of languages through the process of learning German. I hadn't been fully submersed into a country of another language since tenth grade. When I travel I like to blend in so being able to actually speak the language helps a lot more with that, or at least navigating which bathroom is yours correctly (Damen - women, Herren - men). Also, turns out, we've all been greeting people informally which is not very nice. We've been saying Hallo instead of GruBs gott. Oops. 
I've come to love the people I live with in a short amount of time. It is great to have a small group to go on adventures with instead of a large group of people that are clearly tourists (again with the blending- I know). With smaller groups we can pop in and out of stores, find tables at cafes, make spur of the moment decisions, and make friends with locals more easily. 

Wiener Melange

Our first week was fueled by delicious coffee. We explored the coffee culture a bit around where we live. 
Here's an interesting tidbit - you don't need to rush at cafes in Vienna. In the states, you order drinks, then food, then you eat and you leave. You are not very welcomed to stick around for an hour without ordering anything else. Here though, you can order a single espresso (which comes with a very delightful cup of water) and just sit around for the rest of the afternoon with a book reading. No one rushes over to you or even asks if you want the bill, you're just welcomed to enjoy your day. At first this made me really uncomfortable. I sat down, I drank my coffee and I wanted to go. I felt like I was doing something wrong by just sitting there. Turns out, that's just the thing to do. Now instead of going to a library for homework we are all looking forward to grabbing a Wiener Melange and sitting down with our laptops connecting to WIFI. Also! Splitting an omelette two ways is completely acceptable! Same with just about anything else you want to share because your stipend for food is so small. 

In addition to the German language, I've found a new appreciation for street art. American definitely needs to start following this trend. Walking down a street and seeing beautiful works of art like this brightens my day immensely. 

 Belvedere Palace

 Belvedere Palace

(with Steph, Paige, Me, & Chelsea)

On Saturday, we were given a closer look at Vienna through our professor who we lovingly call Uncle Martin (behind his back).  Uncle Martin is the sweetest man who loves to show off the city where he grew up and has lived for many years. He also teaches elementary school children so he has an excellent demeanor and is excited for us to learn and explore. We had a few grimy spots on the wall that our own college professor pointed out in concern to him and our landlords. In response, Uncle Martin offered us a book of Klimt paintings he had for fifteen years to tear out and tack up so that we would have something nice to look at (we are refusing and are only holding onto the book for him as a favor, it will be given back intact at the end of our stay). Uncle Martin took us to Theresianum Academy where he used to teach. The school had been a palace for the royal family of Vienna. We then went on to the Belvedere Palace. Belvedere is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. It is the ultimate idea of what regal is. It is surrounded by a beautiful artificial pond in the front and a number of fountains and manicured lawns in the back. 

Hofburg Palace

Hofburg Palace I've probably gone by about fifteen times at this point but the largeness of does not cease to astound me. I swear one of these days I'm going to break something by staring up at all this architecture. It too was an Imperial Palace and is now used by the prime minister of Austria as his offices.  

View from the Vienna Woods

After a quick swing by a gelato place where they make the most delicious raspberry gelato I have ever dreamed of, we ventured up into the Vienna Woods. All the pictures I have of this place does not begin to do it justice. There is something so ethereal about being in a quiet place after being surrounded by people and noise for more than a week. The peacefulness filled me up an rejuvenated me for more time in the City of Dreams. 

Vanille Kirkuchen

To end our day three of my friends and I swung by a small Konditorei (a bakery specializing in cakes) and split a vanille kirkuchen and a zitrone kuchen. 

Stadionbad

The next day, Sunday, we went looking for a pool we heard about from two of our professors. What we found were some professional Austrian football players (not soccer but American football) and an expansive water park that cost only three euros to get into. It had a wave pool, diving boards, a wet bar, a lap pool, and water slides. 

All in all, it was an incredible first week. Now we're getting into the swing of classes and planning weekend excursions. 

Auf Wiedersehen! 
Yours until the end of the Internet,
Eiggam