First Couple of Days

Here I am in the most beautiful city the ganzen Weld. The city bleeds with wine and beer at every corner, tourists taking pictures (me being one of them) and cafes within view wherever you might be. It has more history behind each wall than I can learn about in only six weeks

Before we get to Wien...
Hope College’s Vienna Summer School had its 55th orientation for us in a small town called Mörbisch, one of the sleepiest little towns that I have ever been in. We searched for the local population of anyone younger than 65, but they were no where to be found. Our search only led us to the large amount of senior citizens who ran the city. This probably explained why the town shut down at 19:00, when they all went to bed.

Vienna has proved to be quite the opposite. We have spent hours walking till late in the night, ending at the local cafe with the best cup of coffee anyone has ever had. The town is full of life and there never seems to be a dull moment.

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Before I begin to tell stories, I have a little disclaimer/rant: I feel super disconnected from my real world. In other words, I only get to look at the internet once in the morning, so I feel very out of the loop.
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First 10 Stories of my first three days in Vienna, Austria
Handing the bank teller 100 American dollars and only getting 68 Euros in return. Saddest moment of the trip so far.
Dr. Hemenway giving an illegal walking tour through Vienna. He was shuffling us around the whole time and would occasionally peak above the group and scan the area for legal tour guides who might yell at him.
Seeing the Schönbrunn, the beautiful Habsburg palace. It is both beautiful and exquisite. The rosewood and walnut woodwork, which is more expensive than my house itself, was overshadowed by the ornate furniture and paintings. The history that pour through wall, piece of furniture, and picture could be seen even without the my portable, electronic tour guide.
Living in an apartment with Alex Tyra. We literally have our own flat in a apartment complex owned by our “Hausfrau” and her son. The other three girls we were supposed to live with have their own flat on the other side of the building. It is nice to come and go as we please, but I do wish we had more contact with her. Frau Mösel is the best!
Going the wrong way on the Streetcar. We made a 5 minute ride into a 30 minute ride. On the bright side, however, we got to see a different district of the vast city.
Going to the Volksoper and seeing “My Fair Lady.” The best part of the play was looking down our row and noticing that about half our group was passed out. For their sake, I’m glad that Dr. Hemenway put us in the very back.
Going to a market and bartering with a man for a watch. Knowing the time is very important and since I didn’t have a phone yet and I forgot my watch in the states, I was sure glad to have a watch. Today, though, we all got really, really cheap phones so that we will never lose each other or we can call Dr. Hemenway when (not if) we do get lost.
Swarovski shops on every corner. We haven’t gotten the guts to actually go in and look because that would just be teasing ourselves. Alex and I have settled for just window shopping. We have memorized the jewelry in each window and just in case you were wondering, today, they put a new necklace out.
Watching two guys dressed in Mozart costumes get in an all out brawl. There are men outside of the Oper trying to get people to come to it and handing out brochures. Exactly the moment that we were passing by, two of them started throwing punches. That was our entertainment for the day.
Realizing that I ONLY have six more weeks and I have SO much to see. Let the adventures begin!

So, keep reading my blog. I will do my best to keep up and to keep you entertained! Gute nacht. Schlaf gut. Bis morgen.