Another update on another 2 weeks
Wow, I am pretty bad at updating this. I was going to say, "at updating this regularly," but it appears I am updating it every 2 weeks, which is pretty regular.
I guess I should start with Salzburg, which was very pretty. We got there Friday and it took forever to find our hostel but we found it after accidentally getting on the wrong bus (probably my fault) and riding out to the suburb-like areas with cute houses and then into a barren industrial area at whcih point we got off the bus and waited for one going in the other direction. I had really yummy goulash for dinner and then we went to a tavern with their own Herbstbier (fall beer, just a seasonal brew) and some weird strudel I'd never seen before that was bread-y and nutty and good. Saturday we hiked up to the castle, we're talking a hike, and toured. It was kind of expensive to get in but gorgeous views, really interesting exhibits (well the endless military exhibits did not always keep my attention) and a cool audio tour through some of the rooms including a torture chamber and the top of a tower with an amazing view. For the afternoon we paid way too much money, but it was worth it, to see the world's largest accessable ice cave. It was cold, another hike (I went hiking in the alps!) and truly amazing. Unlike other caves I've toured they did not have it lit electricly but gave everyone a caving lamp with an open flame and the guide had some flares and a brighter lamp. The cave was absolutely amazing, hard to describe, and pretty dark so my pictures didn't capture how cool it was. There were ice sheets that were thousands of years old, and formations that looked like a polar bear and elephant and such. We got back so late Sat. night that I had to sleep at my friends' apartment because they live right by the train station.
Since then, hm...class has kept me busy enough I guess. Classes are terribly easy in a disapointing way, simple work easy and not less work easy. I like my classes that are not in my majors but the polisci and econ classes are reviews of basic principles half the time which is really painful. I've actually been being quite lazy during the week, but last week I got my museum pass so now I have free access to many of the city's museums. My Vienna Past and Present class toured the treasury, which was pretty impressive, especially the 1000 yr old embroidered tapestries that were part of Charlemange's coronation set (except probably a bit younger than him and not actually used by him).
Last Friday was my roommate's 21st birthday. I would have liked to take it as a travel weekend but oh well, we had an amazing time at a bowling alley (probably the only one in the city) and then went to the Triangle, the bar district basically that I had been waiting to check out until the Austrian students got back.
Vienna has gotten cold! I had to give in to my frequent urges to go into one of the city's 6 H&Ms and buy a sweater and gloves. German class is going well, we've learned the imperative and the perfect tense and such so I can sort of maybe have conversations that are more than "I go here and I like applestrudle." Our landlord came back from Berlin and had our hot water fixed so we are really happy that we can have hot showers (before they were warm-cold-warm-cold).
This weekend I've got two daytrips, one with my history class and another to the wine region as an IES field trip. Wednesday a club here is doing u2 night which I am very excited for! Next weekend is the 4 day weekend so I'll be heading down to Venice and Florence. I'm pissed I bought a Eurorail pass cause now I am pretty much locked into going to Germany when I'd rather go to Poland. Also, apparently we have no class during midterms, which they didn't make clear to us until this week, so I could have travelled after Tues the 7th until the following monday, except I didnt know this and a friend is coming to visit that weekend. Arrrg that would also have been a time to go to Warsaw and Prague (and Terezin). And that big travel period was their excuse for scheduling the german midterm on the previous saturday thus grounding me here. Not that it's bad to be here, I love Vienna, but I would like to see certain places while they are so readily accessible. I'm probably going to Dresden though I should look through the Germany section of my Lonely Planet...I have no idea what I wrote 2 weeks ago and if I'm just repeating myself...
I guess I should start with Salzburg, which was very pretty. We got there Friday and it took forever to find our hostel but we found it after accidentally getting on the wrong bus (probably my fault) and riding out to the suburb-like areas with cute houses and then into a barren industrial area at whcih point we got off the bus and waited for one going in the other direction. I had really yummy goulash for dinner and then we went to a tavern with their own Herbstbier (fall beer, just a seasonal brew) and some weird strudel I'd never seen before that was bread-y and nutty and good. Saturday we hiked up to the castle, we're talking a hike, and toured. It was kind of expensive to get in but gorgeous views, really interesting exhibits (well the endless military exhibits did not always keep my attention) and a cool audio tour through some of the rooms including a torture chamber and the top of a tower with an amazing view. For the afternoon we paid way too much money, but it was worth it, to see the world's largest accessable ice cave. It was cold, another hike (I went hiking in the alps!) and truly amazing. Unlike other caves I've toured they did not have it lit electricly but gave everyone a caving lamp with an open flame and the guide had some flares and a brighter lamp. The cave was absolutely amazing, hard to describe, and pretty dark so my pictures didn't capture how cool it was. There were ice sheets that were thousands of years old, and formations that looked like a polar bear and elephant and such. We got back so late Sat. night that I had to sleep at my friends' apartment because they live right by the train station.
Since then, hm...class has kept me busy enough I guess. Classes are terribly easy in a disapointing way, simple work easy and not less work easy. I like my classes that are not in my majors but the polisci and econ classes are reviews of basic principles half the time which is really painful. I've actually been being quite lazy during the week, but last week I got my museum pass so now I have free access to many of the city's museums. My Vienna Past and Present class toured the treasury, which was pretty impressive, especially the 1000 yr old embroidered tapestries that were part of Charlemange's coronation set (except probably a bit younger than him and not actually used by him).
Last Friday was my roommate's 21st birthday. I would have liked to take it as a travel weekend but oh well, we had an amazing time at a bowling alley (probably the only one in the city) and then went to the Triangle, the bar district basically that I had been waiting to check out until the Austrian students got back.
Vienna has gotten cold! I had to give in to my frequent urges to go into one of the city's 6 H&Ms and buy a sweater and gloves. German class is going well, we've learned the imperative and the perfect tense and such so I can sort of maybe have conversations that are more than "I go here and I like applestrudle." Our landlord came back from Berlin and had our hot water fixed so we are really happy that we can have hot showers (before they were warm-cold-warm-cold).
This weekend I've got two daytrips, one with my history class and another to the wine region as an IES field trip. Wednesday a club here is doing u2 night which I am very excited for! Next weekend is the 4 day weekend so I'll be heading down to Venice and Florence. I'm pissed I bought a Eurorail pass cause now I am pretty much locked into going to Germany when I'd rather go to Poland. Also, apparently we have no class during midterms, which they didn't make clear to us until this week, so I could have travelled after Tues the 7th until the following monday, except I didnt know this and a friend is coming to visit that weekend. Arrrg that would also have been a time to go to Warsaw and Prague (and Terezin). And that big travel period was their excuse for scheduling the german midterm on the previous saturday thus grounding me here. Not that it's bad to be here, I love Vienna, but I would like to see certain places while they are so readily accessible. I'm probably going to Dresden though I should look through the Germany section of my Lonely Planet...I have no idea what I wrote 2 weeks ago and if I'm just repeating myself...
posted by trude at
1:31 PM
2 Comments:
Hi Trude:
KEEPING WARM:
When I was a student with IES in Wien, it got so cold that large chunks of snow covered ice floated down the Donaukanal. To keep warm, I used wool stockings in pretty colors, and fur lined leather gloves. Great investment: a Loden coat with 20% alpaca. Warm, and even sheds water. Loden is a wonderful invention! Get thee to Loden Plankl in Wien, or any one of several other shops in other areas. You should be able to get a tax refund on this expense when leaving Austria. Enjoy! Gail
By
Anonymous, at 6:23 AM
Good advice. I'm particularly concerned about the ski trip I'm going on in the Alps at the end of September. I just bought a pair of Thinsulate 3m wool gloves with lining for 3 euro at a market, and I'll probably layer those with the gloves and mittens I already bought! Scarves, especially pashmina, are sold all over the city, and those are quite handy as well.
By
trude, at 3:46 PM
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