Happy February 29th!

Although I've only been in Vienna for half of a month, it feels like so much longer. It's strange how quickly one can become familiar with a huge, complicated city, and how easy it is to feel that the days of unfamiliarity and confusion were eons ago. So yes, you'll all be happy to hear that I'm adjusting and fitting into the city well and am starting to think of my little fifth floor apartment as home. It's so nice to know that I've got a home base to come to every night. I'm not sure how people who backpack through Europe do it -- I'd get so sick and tired of never knowing where I would be spending my next night!

As for our adventures of late...

Last weekend John, Jillian and myself decided that we'd like to hit the slopes before skiing season died away, so made last minute reservations at a Pension in Innsbruck, and left on Friday for the city nestled in the Alps! We took a train, which was about a 5 hour ride. Beautiful, though -- there's no better way to see the country you're living in than by traveling through it by train! We arrived on Friday afternoon and spent the weekend exploring and enjoying the amazing city that Innsbruck is.

On Saturday we left for a little hike through the foothills of the Alps, but somehow became more adventurous and decided to keep going until the point that it would be faster to get to the top of the mountain and take the cable car down than to hike all the way back down. It was a long trek, but six hours later we reached the top -- special thanks to Monika, a wonderful lady who showed us the easiest way to climb up the ski hill! Never will I ever climb up a ski hill in the Alps again... that was a one time deal!

On Sunday we took a bus to Stubaier Glacier, about 45 minutes from Innsbruck, and spent the afternoon skiing! It was worth going just for the views -- behind every hill and corner was a new vista! Needless to say, excessive amounts of pictures were taken. The skiing was fun as well, but I won't pretend that I took it all in stride -- forcing yourself to ski down a mountain after being off skis for six years is no easy feat. But I managed, and don't worry mom -- I didn't break anything!

Also -- Italian food here is super cheap.

Here's links for pictures!
http://uoguelph.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2193161&l=9dfff&id=120807213
and
http://uoguelph.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2193185&l=03ccf&id=120807213

Week the First.

Good evening, everyone!
I suppose that 10:58 p.m. means 4:58 p.m. for those of you at home, so perhaps good afternoon is better suited for the occasion.

For those of you who haven't heard, I've arrived safely in Vienna and am settling in to this new and very strange way of life. As soon as school starts I'm sure that life will settle into a much more steady pattern, but for the next couple days I'll still feel like I'm on vacation.

At first those of us traveling to Vienna weren't sure if we'd need as much time as we'd originally planned to settle in, but now we're very glad for the time we've given ourselves! We've already been here a week and have spent almost every day running around trying to sign up here and pay school deposits over there and register with the Viennese magistrate somewhere over here. This as well as getting over the really rotten jet lag plus trying to take everything in... it makes for a busy day!

I've had a successful first week. Not only have I moved into my very nice flat and managed to figure out how to translate the different types of meat in the fridge at the grocery store (the sticker with the giant picture of the cow on it helped), I've explored a good chunk of downtown Vienna, have experienced a true blue Viennese concert complete with ballet and opera, almost mastered the incredibly brilliant transit system here, tried real Viennese pastry, and even managed to order myself a drink off of a huge, long, complicated list of coffees that hangs in every cafe here.

I've also started a list of things I've noticed that are different about Vienna, and perhaps Europe in general. More items will most definitely be added in the future.

1. Austrians are rude. Correction: Most Austrians are rude. There are some that will help you out, but mostly they're harsh, cold, and won't even look back after bowling you over on the sidewalk. My apologies if you're Austrian, are related to an Austrian, or have feelings for an Austrian.
2. The rumours are true: everyone here smokes everywhere. My coat smells awful after just standing in a crowd while waiting for a streetcar.
3. Also, just about everyone here has a cell phone. Not that this isn't true for people in Toronto, but here it seems extreme. Today on the streetcar I saw a boy who must have been about 8 years old calling someone on his cell phone. My roommate Karin from the Netherlands just about passed out in shock when she found out that I didn't have a cell phone.
4. People in Vienna don't speak English. At all. And worse than that -- their German isn't even German! It's all twisted together and confusing and makes the last semester I spent studying German almost useless. I've tried to communicate that "Ich spreche kein Deutsch, sprechen Sie Englisch?" and they will reply, "Yes, a little," then proceed to talk to me in German.
5. Austria is obsessed with Nutella.
6. Lots of cars, no gas stations.
7. None of the 13-year-old girls here wear those stupid t-shirts that say "I'm Single" or "My Boyfriend's Out of Town" because every one here is already dressed to the nines by the time they can walk.
8. Street Meat consists of a towering pile of meat on a pole which street vendors shave off onto a bun with a large and scary knife.
9. Starbucks does not change -- it is still more expensive here than any of the other cafes I have been into in all of Vienna. Yet it was still more full than any of the other cafes. How do they do it?
10. The pastry...oh, the pastry. Cafes are at every single street corner and probably outnumber the amount of cars on the road. The piles of croissants and buns and loaves I see every morning at the bakery down the street have always disappeared by evening. Austrians must love their breads.

Goodnight!

For those who would like to see some photos, go here:
http://uoguelph.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2190968&l=59e69&id=120807213