Vienna Now or Never

Wien Jetzt oder Nie = Vienna Now or Never.  This is the slogan used for Vienna's tourist information.

During the first week here our professor took the group on a walking tour of parts of the inner city.  At the end of the tour he told the group if anyone wanted to follow him, he would show them his favorite tree.   It seems like an odd conclusion to a tour but I went to see it.  The tree ended up looking really impressive and was very unexpected in a courtyard down some random alleyway. 

Our professor reminded us to explore the city.  Don’t only see the attractions but go down alleyways and open up doors because you never know what you will find.  His advice was inspiring and well noted :)  

During the third weekend here, my friend Diana who is also abroad visited Vienna with one other friend.  It was great to meet up for the day because it was the first time I have gotten to ‘show off’ Vienna to someone.   While my guided ‘tour’ was not extremely informative nor historically accurate, we had a great time.

I told the girls about my camera charger situation so they then made sure to take lots of picture of me!  Our first stop was Schloß Schönbrunn.  We took the Imperial Tour and saw twenty-two rooms of the palace.

To be quite honest the tour was not the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.  I don’t have much interest in hearing, “This is the room the family held small concerts.” But I thoroughly enjoyed the outdoor gardens and the walk up the hill, which brings you to a beautiful view of Vienna.

Next stop was the Nachmarket, which is a large market that takes place daily in Vienna.  On Saturday there is also a flee market!  I found myself a really old version of the children’s book of Little Red Ridinghood at the flee market.  The book in German is called Rotkäppchen and I've read the fairy tale in German class.

Buying some strawberries to eat at the Nachmarket :D

We then continued to walk around the beautiful streets of Vienna.

Parliament 

Justing having fun =)

At the end of the day we enjoyed Döner Kabaps and Schnitzel from a street vender.  So yummy and very much an Austrian experience.  

It was really great to have Diana and Dorien visit, I would love to visit them in Leiden!  Leiden is 30 minutes from Amsterdam.  This weekend they are going to a tulip show!  amazing

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On the 19th of March, I attended my first European Soccer game!  Fußball!  (The ß symbol makes a double 'S' sound.)  We cheered for Rapid Wien who played against Linz, another major city in Austria.  The teams ended up tieing zero to zero but it was still very exciting.

Moment of Silence for Japan

Kåse Bretzel: cheese pretzel as big as my head. Yum. 

We met Rapid Carly- the teams biggest fan!

Post Game Beer Tent

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My roommate Sabine and I discovered our mutual love for children.  She was an Au Pair in Canada for ten months.  She told me that many families in Vienna desire native English speakers to watch their children to expose them to English.  Sabine told me about a web site that posts jobs to University student and I found several families requesting native English speakers.   I replied to a couple families’ request and heard back from one family.  The mother of the family had actually coincidentally studyed in Champaign Urbana for a short period of time.  Small World!   I met the family and we both agreed that it was a good fit!  I have been babysitting for them ever since! 

This is a picture of me and the two girls.  Two and half and eight months.  

The mother's sister visited and I spent a day with them.  Below are two of the cousins and the picture is missing the five-month-old cousin. 

I have really enjoyed getting to know the family, I’ve always loved babysitting, and the extra money has been extremely helpful :)

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I have taken part in a couple cultural events through my language program.  My favorite was a string concert featuring mostly music composed by Strauss.

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One morning I found myself smiling at something my mom said to me in a dream I had the night before.  I was smiling because she said something that she would actually say in real life, but it was only a dream.  Then I realized you can tell that you miss your family when you get excited about merely having an encounter with them in your dream…  Love you mom!

My parents are visiting me in June!  I am so excited for their trip to Austria and Germany.  Since I've been in Vienna, I often think, "I wish my parents could see this/experience this" and then I get excited because they will!!!  This past week my mom and I found the perfect place for them to stay when in Vienna!  Its a Pension which is the name for a small hotel, it consists of just two apartments.  I went to visit this little place and found that the owner is wonderful and the rooms are great!  So mom and dad's stay in Vienna is booked!

More to come soon.
Lots of Love,
Maggie