Wilkommen to Liebhartsgasse!

Gruss Gott!

Well, I've got quite a bit of catching up to do! So I'll start with apartment! Once we reached the city, the process (or lack there of) that the staff had cautioned and informed us about began. They wrote on the schedule in all caps for move in time: CHAOS. and that's exactly what it was. We were dropped off in the middle of Vienna from 3 different buses at 3 different times (so not of all of our roommates were there together, I of course arrived on a bus without any roommates or R.A's) with all of our luggage on the sidewalk at the bus stop. The austrians were not happy about the 120 americans completely blocking the street but whatever. Then we had to all line up outside a McDonald's and wait for a taxi to take us to our apartment. I gave a valiant effort and recited my address in German to the taxi driver and I guess it wasn't very good...but he was very nice and we made it to the apartment! It was a fun drive and I felt like lindsey lohan in the parent trap (hopefully the only time I'll ever feel like lindsay lohan).

I live in the 16th district which is about 30 minutes by bus and walking. The apartment is adorable and I have great roommates. We dont have any couches but we have a nice dining room and two practice rooms downstairs. very convenient! We got all new ikea furniture and our landlady is this wonderful wacky woman. Her husband Herb is in a jazz band that rehearses twice a week at the apartment which is awesome. We can hear it in the dining room and enjoyed some smooth jazz during our dinner the other night. Herb is a self-taught trombone player and isn't the greatest but he plays with guys that used to be pros so I will definitely be going to a rehearsal soon because he is such a sweet silly old man and I'll definitely learn a lot :)

My r.a. is Kati from New Zealand! (how awesome right??) She is soo nice and has been so helpful. Plus her accent is awesome. She's a student at the university of vienna and lives in our apartment with us. I am cooking for myself this semester but luckily one of the girls loves cooking and made dinner the first night and a french toast breakfast the next morning. She is amazing.

We just happen to live next to a turkish bakery that has fresh bread every day. no more needs to be said about that. There is also a serbian restaurant that we went to the other night and it was sooo good. The meat was almost as good as Texas de Brazil, my favorite restaurant ever. There's also a fresh outdoor market just 15 min of a walk from my door, it looks awesome, annd of course, cafe's are everywhere. almost on every street. It's a wonderful culture and I can't wait to get into the swing of things...fresh bread in the mornings, cafe's during the day for a break, vienna phil and operas at night, going to the museums, walking the city on the weekends!