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!

Orientation in Mariazell

What a week! Orientation was just lovely. After I got to the airport (and embarrassed myself as a stupid looking american trying to drag all of her luggage through the airport), I met the group and hopped on a bus to our orientation hostel which is the town Mariazell. It's about 2.5 hours from Vienna, located in the alps, and just gorgeous. Everything was soo nice; the hostel (swimming pool, sauna, fooze ball tables, a bar,  classrooms, ziplines, and a lounge) the people, the views (complete with hanging flower baskets everywhere adorable houses, cows, horses and the mountains), and of course the food! 

     View from the top of the hill at the hostel. 

 Chapel at the top of the hill at the hostel.

 Renovations in the chapel


 View from the chapel


The food luckily, isn't all that different but there are a few strange things. They have cold cuts, cheese, and vegetables available for breakfast (which sounds awesome for this meat lover, but in reality is not appealing at 7:30am). But what I do love is the bread and soup! They have such fresh bread and the soups always tastes amazing. I don't know the names of things I've been eating but I'll get there. I'm slowly starting to pick up german and I have to say it is actually kind of fun! The German teacher is this lady that looks like the Russian orphan lady from Anastasia, but she is awesome. Very german and very nice. The rest of the staff are also awesome. They are so friendly and excited about their jobs which has definitely made me feel good.

The Lake

Thursday was a beautiful day; I went to the lake which was incredible (see pics below) and hiked all the way around it and then sat on the dock and enjoyed the scenery. It was very relaxing and nice to just sit and enjoy my surroundings. (there have been a lot of info sessions and I've needed to do a lot of napping to catch up from being up for 30 hours the first day) The water was crystal clear and quite cold! Being in the alps, the mornings and evenings get really cold and then the afternoons heat up to a normal summer temp.

A typical building in Mariazell

Then, I danced the night away with beginning waltz lessons and austrian bowling. Waltzing was fun but much harder than I anticipated. It's really fast and a workout. All of the boys were required to go and it was pretty hysterical. It was exactly like the scene from harry potter when they're learning to dance for the yule ball. Austrian dancing is very traditional and proper which is fun and makes me feel like a princess. You have to be asked to dance by a male and then escorted to the dance floor and make light conversation. Then you dance very very closely, I was made a demonstration by the instructor with my very very tall partner haha, and are finally escorted back to your seat. Apparently most Austrians have dance lessons in their teenage years which is really cool so all of the staff are very good at dancing.

Austrian bowling is fun but pretty hard. Instead of knocking as many pins down as you can, you have to knock down a certain number of 1's, 2's, 3's (through 9) with your team before the other team. The balls are very small and bounce when you throw them and barely knock down any pins. I can't figure out how to do it well but my team won and I did have a killer 7 one time.

On Friday, I went on a tour of the city of Mariazell. Mariazell means 'Maria', or 'the Madonna' and 'cell' because of a legend involving a monk named Magnus. This monk was traveling through this part of the alps and was followed and attacked by some robbers. He prayed to the Madonna and took out his statue of her and when he cried out to her, a crevice opened up in the rock and Magnus slipped through and was saved. On top of the hill in Mariazell is the Basilika. It's an incredible church that is quite famous. The original statue of the Madonna from the legend is adorned with a big dress and lots of gold in the middle of the alter and the church is quite ornate inside. Gold angels and trumpets everywhere, and a gigantic black organ with gold all over. For years, (and to this day) people have made pilgrimages on foot to this important church because it's in the middle of Europe. We saw about three and they come singing and carrying a crucifix.

 The Basilika at Mariazell

Bones that are stored under a crematorium behind the church. In Mariazell, people used to be buried in a cemetery but the cemetery was so close to the houses that disease would seep into the ground water and increase death in the town

                                                              A small prayer room

Another wonderful part of Mariazell is its gingerbread! We watched how the made it at Pirker's and got to try some, it was pretty delicious. I guess it's world-famous and only the owner knows the recipe. I unfortunately didn't get to try the peach schnapps that they're also famous for.

 

Friday night was a blast! They planned a traditional austrian evening for us which meant dancing! A group of men came in traditional outfits: liederhosen and hats with goat beard hair sticking up from the back :) They are crazy and do a lot of knee slapping, hopping, yodel like yelling, and smacking eachother around. They were hysterical and it was fun to watch. We learned how to do some of the dances but it was not easy. The best part was the camping skit they did. They brought in a log from a real tree, a two person saw, axes, and a real fire in a fire pit! (inside the classroom!) They sang and hacked away at this huge log. It was so crazy and so fun. They ended the night by bringing out their homemade honey schnapps (very strong) and honey bread balls. Delicious.

 Leaving the Alps and Mariazell

Guten Morgen Wien!

All I can say is:  phew, I made it! I am in the Vienna airport with all of my belongings ready to find and meet my IES group! I have to say my flights were pretty nice (minus getting at most an hour or two of sleep); I got to watch some of my favorite tv shows (new girl, king of queens, the big bang theory) bride wars, and met a very sweet, elderly German or Austrian man. He was my seat buddy but I don't know his name or anything about him because we couldn't speak each other's language so we just gestured things and smiled. It was pretty awesome getting to see some BIG austrian hills from the plane already so I can't wait to get to the alps later today!!

That's all the excitement for now, much more to come later!

Vienna's Waiting

As the great Bilbo Baggins once said, "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure." After years of dreaming about traveling the world and going on adventures, and one hectic year-  wait, let's be realistic here.. one insane year at school of studying and planning, this experience couldn't be happening at a better time. I am so grateful that I get to spend an entire semester abroad, let alone in Vienna, and can't wait to have this life-changing experience! I'll admit I'm a little nervous about throwing myself into the world as someone who (as you all know) doesn't get out much. I've never traveled alone or been out of the country before,  I can't speak German and I don't know one person in the program. But I think those things will make this trip all the more worthwhile.

I will be living in the city of Vienna and taking classes that mostly just involve learning the history of Austrian culture and going to concerts/operas/museums etc. at the IES Abroad Center, which you know, just happens to be a building that looks like a palace inside :) I have four roommates, an R.A. who is a student at the University of Vienna, and a landlady Mrs. Wurzinger. (She sounds awesomely German)

The last two weeks have been crammed with last visits, packing, practicing, and work. Packing has been way harder than I thought but thank goodness my mom is my mom because she has prepared me for everything! To prepare, I have been listening to Billy Joel's 'Vienna' for pretty much an entire year. It's an awesome song and the lyrics are just perfect, "when will you realize, Vienna waits for you" To be honest it's the morning of and it still hasn't fully hit me yet that I'm going to Austria today. I think I am so thrilled that my mind just can't handle any emotion about it whatsoever. But I'm sure it will hit me in just two hours at the airport! Speaking of, it's time to get one last warm-up in and get ready for my journey today!

I will dearly miss being in Ithaca this fall and of course all of my family and friends but don't worry, you will hear from me soon enough! After galavanting across Europe and hanging out at my European prince boyfriend's palace, I will make plenty of time to skype, email, and keep in touch!

Vienna by Billy Joel

Auf Wiedersehen and Hasta La Vista America!!