I'm leaving Wien in a few hours. Right now, I'm sitting in my hostmom's kitchen. She's still in the Krankenhaus, recuperating from surgery, so my roommate and I are the only people here.
I booked a taxi to get here at 4am, which is in 1 and 1/2 hours. I'm not sleeping tonight, obviously, and I'm debating whether I should go outside and walk around.
I almost can't believe the time has come to leave this place. I can definitely see myself living here. I love Viennese culture so much.
A few things that stand out to me:
1) The Viennese are so polite. When you walk into a shop, you instantly greet and are greeted by the proprietor. When someone steps on you in the bus, they instantly say "Entshuldigung." Of course, not everyone is polite, but that's to be expected.
2) Public trans. Everyone and their grandma and their dog rides the public trans. I love it. It's not uncommon to have to duck around dogs and strollers to find a place on the metro, busses, or streetcars.
3) Like I've mentioned many times before, there's so much to do here! I hope I won't be bored too much in Indianapolis
There are more... but now it's impressions time.
...people riding the U-Bahn, clutching a can of their favorite beer in their hand...
... the man last night, who dropped part of his chocolate bunny on the bus floor, then proceeded to pick it up and eat it. I was riding the bus with Georg, an Austrian guy, and I asked him if there was a 5-second rule in Austria. He said Austrians have a 30-second rule...
... the dog pee on the sidewalks everywhere!...
... the old people wearing traditional Austrian alpine hats, men and women alike...
... speaking of old people, the older women here have very distinctive views on artificial hair color. Tonight I saw a lady with light blue streaks in her white hair...
I'm sure there are more, but I'm so scatter-brained from packing and lack of sleep that I'm not sure what I'm writing anymore. Must... not... fall... asleep...
Taxi will be here soon, and I have some dishes to wash and odds and ends to pick up.
America... here I come, Vienna... I love you so much! I'll come back again if it's at all possible!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm not officially celebrating Thanksgiving, and I had a full day of classes today, but I can still have a thankful attitude, nonetheless.
I had two presentations to give today. I only got to give 25% of that today, which means the rest is postponed til next week, and I'm bummed. I wish I could get them over with.
I have a short paper and something else due tonight, then another small paper due Sunday night, and then my large Vienna 1900 paper due Monday night.
However, Meg's coming tomorrow, so I'm not going to worry too much about them.
Also, I'm going to see Swan Lake on Monday! I'm very excited about that. It's in the Staatsoper, which is also near my house.
I'm going to take Meg to some of my favorite art museums, if she's up to it. We'll also go to the Christmas Markets.
Viennese people definitely know how to decorate their city for Christmas. Most of the major streets have large light fixtures strung across them. Near Stefansplatz, there are gigantic chandeliers and red ball lights hanging. A lot of other places have different kinds of christmas lights everywhere. Now that Thanksgiving is over, I feel that it can officially feel like Christmastime, although the Viennese have been getting into the Christmas spirit for several weeks now.
Happy Thanksgiving, a.k.a. Oppression of Native Peoples' Day!
I had two presentations to give today. I only got to give 25% of that today, which means the rest is postponed til next week, and I'm bummed. I wish I could get them over with.
I have a short paper and something else due tonight, then another small paper due Sunday night, and then my large Vienna 1900 paper due Monday night.
However, Meg's coming tomorrow, so I'm not going to worry too much about them.
Also, I'm going to see Swan Lake on Monday! I'm very excited about that. It's in the Staatsoper, which is also near my house.
I'm going to take Meg to some of my favorite art museums, if she's up to it. We'll also go to the Christmas Markets.
Viennese people definitely know how to decorate their city for Christmas. Most of the major streets have large light fixtures strung across them. Near Stefansplatz, there are gigantic chandeliers and red ball lights hanging. A lot of other places have different kinds of christmas lights everywhere. Now that Thanksgiving is over, I feel that it can officially feel like Christmastime, although the Viennese have been getting into the Christmas spirit for several weeks now.
Happy Thanksgiving, a.k.a. Oppression of Native Peoples' Day!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Deutsch Final
For our Deutsch final, we have to give a 10-minute oral presentation about ourselves. You know, the basics. We can take notes up with us, but we can't have it all written out. I'm going to practice here.
Grüss Gott! Mein Name ist Elisabeth Enas. Ich kommt aus den USA, aus Indianapolis. Ich studiere in Wien. Ich wohne in Wien für drei Monate.
Ich habe neun Geschwister: drei Brüder und sechs Schwestern. Ich habe ein Vater und eine Mutter. Sie wohnen in Indianapolis.
(I'll add more to this, but I'm starving, so I'm going to make myself some dinner!)
Grüss Gott! Mein Name ist Elisabeth Enas. Ich kommt aus den USA, aus Indianapolis. Ich studiere in Wien. Ich wohne in Wien für drei Monate.
Ich habe neun Geschwister: drei Brüder und sechs Schwestern. Ich habe ein Vater und eine Mutter. Sie wohnen in Indianapolis.
(I'll add more to this, but I'm starving, so I'm going to make myself some dinner!)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Winding Down, Wrapping Up
This semester is finally drawing to a close. Actually, I don't know why I said finally, because it's all gone by in a flash. I feel like I just got here and now I have to leave this lovely city.
Vienna is amazing. I've met quite a few Viennese young people who are completely unimpressed by their home city or a few who are trying to leave as soon as possible. They don't know what they've got, really. Compared to a Midwest city like Indianapolis, Vienna is a veritable wonderland of culture. There are some many museums and other things to see, everywhere!
A few things left that I want to do before I leave:
Spanish Riding School (maybe, and only because Mom wants me to...)
Christmas Markets
ride the Prater (maybe)
Albertina Museum
go to the Oper
Kunsthistoriches and the Leopold Museums (again)
drink some Punsch and/or Glühwein
check out the stores in Neubaugasse, since it is my neighborhood...
go to the first disabled persons facility in Europe (I forget what it's called)
A few traditions to wrap up:
last meal at Suma's
last meal at DeeWan's
last cup of heisse schokolade
last bus ride on 48A to Volkstheater/Thaliastrasse
last walks on Neustiftgasse, Burgasse, Favoritenstrasse, Taborstrasse, Galilegasse
last trip to Arsenal
last dance party at Mellba's
and more, of course.
Vienna is amazing. I've met quite a few Viennese young people who are completely unimpressed by their home city or a few who are trying to leave as soon as possible. They don't know what they've got, really. Compared to a Midwest city like Indianapolis, Vienna is a veritable wonderland of culture. There are some many museums and other things to see, everywhere!
A few things left that I want to do before I leave:
Spanish Riding School (maybe, and only because Mom wants me to...)
Christmas Markets
ride the Prater (maybe)
Albertina Museum
go to the Oper
Kunsthistoriches and the Leopold Museums (again)
drink some Punsch and/or Glühwein
check out the stores in Neubaugasse, since it is my neighborhood...
go to the first disabled persons facility in Europe (I forget what it's called)
A few traditions to wrap up:
last meal at Suma's
last meal at DeeWan's
last cup of heisse schokolade
last bus ride on 48A to Volkstheater/Thaliastrasse
last walks on Neustiftgasse, Burgasse, Favoritenstrasse, Taborstrasse, Galilegasse
last trip to Arsenal
last dance party at Mellba's
and more, of course.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Buda + Pest = Sehr Gut!
Last weekend, I went to Budapest. This was the one city outside of Wien that I especially wanted to visit.
Budapest is quite a convoluted city. There's a palpable mix of old Hungary as well as new multi-cultural metropolitanism.
Among the sights I saw:
Franz Lizst Museum - small museum dedicated to none other than the pianist and composer Lizst. It was in the same rooms that he stayed in when he lived in Budapest for 6 years near the end of his life. It had a collection of keyboards, most made especially for him. I touched the keys on one of them, even though you weren't supposed to. I couldn't resist.
The House of Terror - A new museum (2002) dedicated to the victims of the Nationalist Socialist party in Budapest during WWII (Arrowcross) and the Communist party after the war. (http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/index_2.html)
Memento Park - A park just outside the city walls which houses Soviet statues collected from around Hungary.
The Castle Labyrinth - Series of tunnels underground in the Castle Hill which formed naturally and then were expanded and used, among other purposes, to shelter people during the war. We went in the evening, when they turn out the lights and give everyone kerosene lanterns to navigate the tunnels. Damp and creepy, but I liked the fountain of red wine as well as the various statues and old paintings on the wall.
Mátyás Church and the Fisherman's Bastion - famous church which was badly damaged during WWII. It was reconstructed, and the current building was finished (I think) in the 1970's. Designed in a picturesque neo-Gothic style and has a colorful tiled roof. (A church in Zagreb had one as well. I've decided that I like these a lot) The Fisherman's Bastion is situated on the cliff behind the church. It faces the Danube and gives a good view of the city and surrounding area. It's also across from the huge Parliament Building, which has over 600 rooms. Near the beginning of the 20th century, the Parliament Building used more electricity than the rest of the city.
Marzipan Museum - In the back of Buda Hilton, next to Mattias' Church. It's a small museum. If one is in Budapest and a great fan of marzipan and all that can be created out of said substance, I would recommend it. It's delightfully kitschy.
Marxim - A great pizza place with Communist decor and amazing pizza. I had the Pizza a la Anastasia, which came with Bolognese meat sauce, mushrooms and cheese. It went perfectly with the Dreher Bak I was drinking.
I went with Ann Rider, my Holocaust Lit. professor, as well as her friend and former student, Melanie. Also with us was Matt, my friend from Marian who's also studying in Wien.
We had a great time and had some delicious food. Our favorite restaurant was just a block away from our hotel. It was called Kampa and was in a cellar. They served delicious typical Hungarian cuisine (think goulash, as well as and stuffed paprika with tomato sauce). Their food was filling and quite cheap. We almost felt bad paying as little as we did. One of my meals was only about 5 euros and I had a drink, some coffee and a full entree. But I'm not complaining :) We also went to a restaurant that specialized in crepes. They had sweet crepes, savory crepes, and other things like stuffed baked potatoes. I had a crepe with mushrooms and ham for lunch and then a chocolate-stuffed crepe for dessert and I was full for a long time afterwards.
Hungary's currency is the forint. The exchange rate is about 230 forints to the euro. Therefore, it is common to receive a restaurant bill for thousands of forints. It always threw us off a little til we remembered to convert it in our heads to euros.
I would write more about Budapest, and I probably will later, but right now I have a paper to finish for Ann's class and I can only write so much in one night.
Bis bald!
Budapest is quite a convoluted city. There's a palpable mix of old Hungary as well as new multi-cultural metropolitanism.
Among the sights I saw:
Franz Lizst Museum - small museum dedicated to none other than the pianist and composer Lizst. It was in the same rooms that he stayed in when he lived in Budapest for 6 years near the end of his life. It had a collection of keyboards, most made especially for him. I touched the keys on one of them, even though you weren't supposed to. I couldn't resist.
The House of Terror - A new museum (2002) dedicated to the victims of the Nationalist Socialist party in Budapest during WWII (Arrowcross) and the Communist party after the war. (http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/index_2.html)
Memento Park - A park just outside the city walls which houses Soviet statues collected from around Hungary.
The Castle Labyrinth - Series of tunnels underground in the Castle Hill which formed naturally and then were expanded and used, among other purposes, to shelter people during the war. We went in the evening, when they turn out the lights and give everyone kerosene lanterns to navigate the tunnels. Damp and creepy, but I liked the fountain of red wine as well as the various statues and old paintings on the wall.
Mátyás Church and the Fisherman's Bastion - famous church which was badly damaged during WWII. It was reconstructed, and the current building was finished (I think) in the 1970's. Designed in a picturesque neo-Gothic style and has a colorful tiled roof. (A church in Zagreb had one as well. I've decided that I like these a lot) The Fisherman's Bastion is situated on the cliff behind the church. It faces the Danube and gives a good view of the city and surrounding area. It's also across from the huge Parliament Building, which has over 600 rooms. Near the beginning of the 20th century, the Parliament Building used more electricity than the rest of the city.
Marzipan Museum - In the back of Buda Hilton, next to Mattias' Church. It's a small museum. If one is in Budapest and a great fan of marzipan and all that can be created out of said substance, I would recommend it. It's delightfully kitschy.
Marxim - A great pizza place with Communist decor and amazing pizza. I had the Pizza a la Anastasia, which came with Bolognese meat sauce, mushrooms and cheese. It went perfectly with the Dreher Bak I was drinking.
I went with Ann Rider, my Holocaust Lit. professor, as well as her friend and former student, Melanie. Also with us was Matt, my friend from Marian who's also studying in Wien.
We had a great time and had some delicious food. Our favorite restaurant was just a block away from our hotel. It was called Kampa and was in a cellar. They served delicious typical Hungarian cuisine (think goulash, as well as and stuffed paprika with tomato sauce). Their food was filling and quite cheap. We almost felt bad paying as little as we did. One of my meals was only about 5 euros and I had a drink, some coffee and a full entree. But I'm not complaining :) We also went to a restaurant that specialized in crepes. They had sweet crepes, savory crepes, and other things like stuffed baked potatoes. I had a crepe with mushrooms and ham for lunch and then a chocolate-stuffed crepe for dessert and I was full for a long time afterwards.
Hungary's currency is the forint. The exchange rate is about 230 forints to the euro. Therefore, it is common to receive a restaurant bill for thousands of forints. It always threw us off a little til we remembered to convert it in our heads to euros.
I would write more about Budapest, and I probably will later, but right now I have a paper to finish for Ann's class and I can only write so much in one night.
Bis bald!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tomorrow...
... Ann, Matt, one of Ann's former students (Melanie), and I leave for Budapest.
(!!!)
Budapest is where I've wanted to go from the beginning of this trip. I would have been sad if I hadn't been able to make it.
It's about a 3-hour train ride, which is nothing compared to Venezia or Zagreb. I'm looking forward to it. Also, I think we are renting an apartment or something like that for the weekend, so we'll be able to cook in the kitchen.
I'm not sure where all I want to go, but the Buda Castle Labyrinth and the Dreher Brewery and Beer Museum are at the top of the list. I've never been to a brewery or a real-live labyrinth before, but they both sound fun.
Other than that, there are a couple museums I wouldn't mind checking out, but I'm pretty flexible.
In Austrian news: the city is currently being overrun by a bunch of Wien Uni students who have been protesting for two weeks, but tonight is the night of their big demonstration. As I live in the student district, the students are mostly marching around me. However, my street has been pretty quiet, it's mostly the major streets a few blocks down that have seen the most protesters.
The platform of the protesters is pretty interesting. If I had been less tired (and not having to wake up at 5am to catch a train), I would have gone to join the marchers.
However, it is very late and I do have to get up early.
So, I'll update more later.
Tchuss!
(!!!)
Budapest is where I've wanted to go from the beginning of this trip. I would have been sad if I hadn't been able to make it.
It's about a 3-hour train ride, which is nothing compared to Venezia or Zagreb. I'm looking forward to it. Also, I think we are renting an apartment or something like that for the weekend, so we'll be able to cook in the kitchen.
I'm not sure where all I want to go, but the Buda Castle Labyrinth and the Dreher Brewery and Beer Museum are at the top of the list. I've never been to a brewery or a real-live labyrinth before, but they both sound fun.
Other than that, there are a couple museums I wouldn't mind checking out, but I'm pretty flexible.
In Austrian news: the city is currently being overrun by a bunch of Wien Uni students who have been protesting for two weeks, but tonight is the night of their big demonstration. As I live in the student district, the students are mostly marching around me. However, my street has been pretty quiet, it's mostly the major streets a few blocks down that have seen the most protesters.
The platform of the protesters is pretty interesting. If I had been less tired (and not having to wake up at 5am to catch a train), I would have gone to join the marchers.
However, it is very late and I do have to get up early.
So, I'll update more later.
Tchuss!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Frauke Says...
... that we should write down the little impressions that we have of places we experience so as not to lose them. I forgot that I used to do this when I traveled. I don't know how I forgot this. 'Tis important.
On Cemetery Island in Venice, we walked through a section of graves that were stacked on top of each other. I'm not sure what they're called, but there are some in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indpls. I always thought they were for cremated remains, but no one has been able to verify whether it's cremation or regular burial. Anyway, there was a little old lady decorating one. She was standing on a ladder, wearing a lot of purple. If I remember correctly, she had a purple hat, as well as a jacket and skirt in a similar shade. She had decorated much of her relative's placard with a predominately blue mosaic. Seriously, there were blue and gold tiles all over the placard. There were so many that they were encroaching on other dead people's placards. I liked it a lot.
Also, today we went to Frauke's apt for dinner. It was amazing. Any good feelings I had about Frauke were simply deepened and verified tonight. She made us amazing pizza, played her harp and sang for us, made Turkish coffee for Matt and I, brought out hats to wear, told my fortune from the grounds of coffee left in my cup (apparently I'm going to climb a mountain with a smiling girl with long blond hair sometime in the not so distant future), and she talked with me about predestination and listened to my newly discovered knowledge about bedbug mating rituals. Oh, she also played Amy Winehouse and danced and sang along.
It was all in all an excellent time. I stayed later than most everyone, because it was so nice there.
I also decided that I want to start having dinners (preferably weekly) for people at Ruthy and my house. We'll make food and eat it and maybe have deep discussions or share music or something of this nature.
Together with our excursion to the Central Cemetery earlier this morning and our afternoon excursion to the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW), both of which were very interesting, I feel that this day was a success.
I also realized that I feel at home in Wien. I didn't think it would happen, and certainly not this quickly, but I would love to live here. If I could move the people I love the most here, then I would be happy. Wien is an amazing city and it makes me sad that I only have a little more than a month here. Although I do miss people back home. A lot.
These are some mostly undirected reflections. It's almost 1:30am but I'm not particularly sleepy. I guess I'll work on homework and see if that puts me to sleep. :)
On Cemetery Island in Venice, we walked through a section of graves that were stacked on top of each other. I'm not sure what they're called, but there are some in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indpls. I always thought they were for cremated remains, but no one has been able to verify whether it's cremation or regular burial. Anyway, there was a little old lady decorating one. She was standing on a ladder, wearing a lot of purple. If I remember correctly, she had a purple hat, as well as a jacket and skirt in a similar shade. She had decorated much of her relative's placard with a predominately blue mosaic. Seriously, there were blue and gold tiles all over the placard. There were so many that they were encroaching on other dead people's placards. I liked it a lot.
Also, today we went to Frauke's apt for dinner. It was amazing. Any good feelings I had about Frauke were simply deepened and verified tonight. She made us amazing pizza, played her harp and sang for us, made Turkish coffee for Matt and I, brought out hats to wear, told my fortune from the grounds of coffee left in my cup (apparently I'm going to climb a mountain with a smiling girl with long blond hair sometime in the not so distant future), and she talked with me about predestination and listened to my newly discovered knowledge about bedbug mating rituals. Oh, she also played Amy Winehouse and danced and sang along.
It was all in all an excellent time. I stayed later than most everyone, because it was so nice there.
I also decided that I want to start having dinners (preferably weekly) for people at Ruthy and my house. We'll make food and eat it and maybe have deep discussions or share music or something of this nature.
Together with our excursion to the Central Cemetery earlier this morning and our afternoon excursion to the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW), both of which were very interesting, I feel that this day was a success.
I also realized that I feel at home in Wien. I didn't think it would happen, and certainly not this quickly, but I would love to live here. If I could move the people I love the most here, then I would be happy. Wien is an amazing city and it makes me sad that I only have a little more than a month here. Although I do miss people back home. A lot.
These are some mostly undirected reflections. It's almost 1:30am but I'm not particularly sleepy. I guess I'll work on homework and see if that puts me to sleep. :)
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