Einbahn

So this is an "Einbahn" sign. You probably already figured it out from the all capital lettering inside the giant arrow, but if you're slow like me it means "one-way" in German. This is how I learned:

It was day two Vienna and the streets were slightly more familiar. Even if I didn't know the street name, I could generally find a familiar building to direct my course just fine. Jessica had forgotten her backpack at our hotel from the first night and I said I'd go with her to pick it up since my new 'house' was a few blocks over. On the break in between classes we jumped on the U-bahn and set off for the hotel. We got there, realized we didn't have a key, and then had to get back to the AAIE (school) for German.

"We just have to go backwards," I said, "it'll be easy!"

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" she asked.

"Yeah. We go two corners past the park. See the Einbahn sign? We turn left there."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I live on that Einbahn street. It's nice because it runs all the way to the opera house, too."

We followed my confident sense of direction and made it safely back to class-- on the basis of following the Einbahn sign. After two hours of German class a bunch of us went sightseeing.

"See that street?" I said, " I live there, but all the way down on the other side."

"Wait...what street do you live on?" Jenny (who has had German before and actually has a German vocabulary) asked.

"Einbahn. You know...the blue one?"

Jenny stopped walking.

"That sign?" She pointed at the giant reflective one-way arrow.

"Yeah. Ein-bahn!" I say.

"Kristin, do you even know what that means?"

"No. It doesn't matter though because I just use it as my street to get home."

Jenny could barely talk she was laughing so hard. "How do you use the one-way sign to get home?"

Okay...hahaha. Kristin has no common sense. This was even funnier because there is NO street in Vienna that goes farther than a block.

"Einbahn. You know, the blue one?"

Rathaus Festival

This weekend there was a big festival at the Rathaus. Concerts, overpriced fair rides, greasy food, drunk guys taking off their pants, and dancing for everyone! We pulled out the tripods and tried to take some neat night shots.

Almdudler for everyone!! I had this my first night in Austria. It's a soda a bit like ginger ale European style. Not my favorite, but that might have been the jet lag playing tricks on my taste buds.

This was going to be a really cool picture with all of us and the Rathaus, but it's really dark. I probably shouldn't have posted it, but it took too long to upload so oh well.

Carnival Food, oh yum.

Schonbrunn Palace

Friday (May 21) a group of us went to tour 44 rooms of the legendary Schonbrunn. The rooms are incredibly ornate! Gold paneling, wood paneling, painting, expensive embroidered tapestries--all of it was in every room.
Some of the girls. All of us wished we could pull up in a carriage wearing huge ball gowns to walk down the courtyard steps in.
The "lawn" in the back was split in half by this creation. If only I were as royal as the Hapsburg family and could have a duck pond and fountain like this in my backyard.
From the top of the grounds behind Schonbrunn there's an amazing view of Vienna. I hadn't realized how huge Vienna really is until I stood on top of the hill. In front of me sprawled only part of this gigantic city--probably only half. Yet again, it was raining.

Shmetterlinghaus

Yes I took this picture, thank you very much! Our director had us take a trip to the butterfly house for photography class. It was humid and full of butterflies (...big surprise).

Me and Maria. The butterfly house does crazy things to you!

Neuschwanstein Trip: May 12- 15

Aaww...the Romantic Road in Bavaria. Beautiful is an understatement. Even in the rain, it was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Welcome to Fussen! Tourist station city to see the Disneyland castle.
After the longest and most uncomfortable night of my life on a night train through Munich, we arrived in Fussen at about nine'o'clock. It was a holiday AND before 10'o'clock in the morning which meant that nothing was open, but we finally found a bakery.

Meet the Fussen crew: me, Chip, and Breanna.

We're pretty proud of ourselves for finding and surviving our first hostel experience. The hostel was actually really cute and clean. Our roommate the first night was a 30-something Chinese woman and the second night we met this rough'n'tough bicycler from Spain. Probably the thing I'm most grateful for bringing on this trip is my hostel sheet which saved me from sleeping on other people's germs!

Castle #1: the yellow castle (I can't remember the name or say it), a.k.a. where Ludwig grew up. The lion fountain in the garden was kind of funny.

Look at all of the poor tourists huddled in the waiting courtyard hall for Neuschwanstein. The rain just dumped and within seconds all of these people were trying to fit underneath cover--the three of us were laughing while we were underneath our umbrellas and poncho-fied backpacks. It was so rainy the entire weekend!!!

Cheesy, I know...but I couldn't resist!

Hey mom......I found a use for my poncho!!! :)

Neuschwanstein is SO SO big! On Thursday we walked up to Neuschwanstein but it was so cloudy that you couldn't even see the tip of the castle spires when you were standing right next to it. We decided to wait to tour until Friday, considering the weather really couldn't get any worse. I was so happy the clouds stayed away on Friday so we could actually see the castle from Mary's Bridge!
After we toured the castles on Friday we hiked all over the Alps behind the castles and had incredible views. It felt like we had the mountain all to ourselves. All of the fog covering the mountains and canyons made the woods feel like a medieval forest straight out of Brothers Grimm. This was a scene straight off of a Bavarian post card. The small yellow castle was Ludwig's childhood home and the big white one was the one he built for fun and lived 100-something days in (...before the townspeople killed him for wasting all of their money...).

so not having a computer stinks...

If it isn't obvious....I'm not posting a lot. To anyone who's frustrated at the lack of pictures and updates, I'm sorry!! My computer crashed literally the week before I left for Vienna and it still is not fixed. I don't have a computer and what little time I get on other people's computers is spent posting pictures for class (since uploading things takes FOREVER!!) I'll post as much as I can, but there's only so much you can do as a computer leech.

My Fair Lady.....in German!

So last week a few of us went to see My Fair Lady at the Volkstheater (people's theater). The neat thing about this theater is that all of the productions are done in German so that the Austrians can understand. Obviously none of us know German....so this made for quite the entertaining evening. Now I have all of the German lyrics stuck in my hand over the English ones.

For all of you who are wondering (because I was wondering until it happened)....Eliza Doolittle swears in German at the horserace!

I'm going to Neuschwanstein

I bought my first train ticket last night!! Me, Breanna, and Chip leave for Fussen, Germany tonight at 11:55. It's a night train that connects to Fussen through Munich. Tomorrow is a holiday and so we have an extra long weekend. Southern Germany should be beautiful by the Alps and I am so excited to see all of the famous crazy Ludwig castles. Unfortunately, there is a giant cloud sitting over Europe right now which means rain, clouds, and cool temperatures. This weekend trip also means that I will have even less internet than usual (my computer broke the week before I left, did I mention that?). Don't worry, I'm okay, just lost in the Alps! :)

My boot came off today!!! So far it feels okay.

Have I mentioned how much everyone smokes in Europe? At least every other person who walks by lights up. We're all convinced that we'll come home with lung cancer from all of the secondhand smoke we're inhaling.

I'm getting really good at the European attitude of showing no emotion. Normally I would feel bad, but I can't even understand what people who call out are saying and so I just walk by like an arrogant American and don't even notice. I definitely should have brought only neutral and dull colored clothes in order to blend in. Whenever I wear a bright shirt or sweater I feel like a neon lightbulb against a sea of grey grey grey. All I'm missing is a label on my forehead that says "if you didn't notice, I'm an American."

Meet Frau Hartl

Mika took these wonderful pictures yesterday of Frau Hartl. She resisted having her picture taken and made Mika learn the phrase to ask in German before she would smile for the camera. Frau Harl is the sweetest lady. Tuesday nights she makes us dinner. We had a delicious onion/garlic/clam chowdery soup, spaghetti with yummy meat sauce, and chocolate cherry ice cream with fresh whip cream. So yummy. It was nice to have a home-cooked meal.

Laundry

Yesterday Frau did our laundry. Kate (housemate from McCallister) had told us how she hangs everything up around the living room to dry...I thought that was all that she'd do.

Mika and I live on the second floor and Frau and her husband live on the third. As I was walking home from class I glanced up at Frau's window to see the dishrags that she usually hangs out to dry.

"wow...she has a lot of rags out today..." I kept looking at the colorful collection fluttering in the breeze as I walked closer and closer when it hit me.........those were not dishrags. It was my underwear!!!! I'll take a better picture next week, but Frau's daughter came over and I was too embarrassed to have her see me taking a picture of the scene outside our window.

YES, THAT IS MY UNDERWEAR DRYING FROM A FOURTH STORY WINDOW IN VIENNA FOR ALL TO SEE. Tuesdays will always keep me laughing.


Later Tuesday, our jeans made their street debut.

Church

The Vienna English-speaking ward meets at 1:30 in District 2. For Mika (my roommate) and me that means a couple stops on the U2 and then a couple stops on bus 80A. Pretty exciting process to get to church :) The ward is really diverse; although, maybe I just think that coming from a stereotypical BYU singles ward. Anyway, the ward in Vienna has an Australian Bishop, lots of Asians, Philipinos, and African Americans. The chapel leaves the side doors open during sacrament meeting (I don't think anyplace here, besides the museums, has air conditioning). I had to keep reminding myself during the three hours of church that I was with people who spoke English and I didn't have to be panicking and trying to think of something to mutter off in German.

Oh, and when the primary kids came in to sing to the moms in Relief Society I noticed a little girl on the end who had a cochlear implant!!! Turns out she just comes sometimes with her little brother (they like primary) because her family is inactive and so I couldn't talk to anyone about her implant, but it was still really neat to see!

Strauss & Cheese

We found a free food festival on Saturday which means free samples which means free lunch for us! It was kind of a no-brainer to go. Turns out it was a cheese and wine festival which meant we stuffed ourselves on gouda. A photo-op with the famed "golden Strauss statue" made for the perfect afternoon next to the Donau canal.

Beautiful Churches!

One of the most amazing things about Vienna is that you wander around into historic and beautiful places about every other door. Take Saturday, for instance. A group of us were walking around behind the Hofburg Palace and ran into not one...but two beautiful churches. This one is St. Peter's...or St. Michael's. I can't remember.

Here are some views of Vienna. The concert hall is the "Golden Hall."

Imperial View

Okay, here is the where the Hapsburgs lived and ruled Austria. It's called the Imperial Hofburg House (or something like that). IT IS HUGE!! I have yet to go inside, but there are lots of famous things here--national library, Spanish Riding School, Treasury (where the family jewels are), Museum. The grounds in the back are beautiful. You can just sit on the grass next to a giant Mozart statue and enjoy the afternoon :)

Home Sweet Home

The room with the yellow curtains is where I'll be living for the next three months. The other picture gives a back view of the Statsopera (opera house) which is right across the street from the Austrian/American Institute where classes are.

I GOT MY LUGGAGE!

I got my luggage Wednesday morning. Unfortunately it arrived from London just as we were leaving and I didn't have time to change. Yes....that meant I was in the same clothes for the third day in a row.

It feels great to be in clean normal clothes today for the first time since my arrival.

My Host

Last night was the first night in my host home. I live with an elderly couple (2 adult and moved out daughters) on Florianigasse (a street in District 8 which is near the center of Vienna).

FRAU SPEAKS NO ENGLISH. She learned it at one point or another 15 years ago, but it is clouded in such a thick accent that it is just as hard to understand as her German. Frau is VERY Austrian--all 70-some-odd years of her. Her soft wiry gray hair is nestled in a flat bun on the top of her head. Conversation is 1% English, 49% German, 48 % charades. She's very good about helping us learn the language and says everything to us in German before she helps us in another way (which usually means a game of charades). Frau's house is something I pictured in a magazine from war-torn Europe. To date, I have successfullz figured out the hand shower, ancient pull-cord toilet, and how far each door opens before it squeaks. I haven't met her husband yet.

Our housemate is Kate, a 21-year old student from McCallister. Lucky for us, Kate is a German minor and serves as our personal translator. If Kate is home, Frau has Kate to help with communication. When Kate is not home, she calls her daughter Judith, or tells us she will tell us whatever whe was trying to say 'later' or 'in the morning.'

I AM IN LOVE WITH VIENNA!!!

I am so glad Frau put us in the corner room--a dream come true, really. A window is on each wall. Through one I can see down the city street all the waz to the Rathaus (beautiful city hall building) and the view from the other is purely residential. Our 'across the street' neighbors have a cactus collection. Tall ones are on the top shelf and six smaller pots sit on the bottom shelf.

Buying a Pastry

Tuesday afternoon I went with William and Whitney to try and buy a pastry. The cashier lady didn't speak English. Finally we decided on some beautiful jelly-cream filled powdered-sugar topped pastry. Whitney pointed at the window to say we wanted 2. The cashier lady said something really fast in German (that of course we didn't understand) and we just smiled and said '...uh, yeah.' She wrapped up a bag with 5 powder pastries and when we looked at her, she said something else in German (probably the same thing) and then pointed to a sign in the case. '5 for 3 pounds.' oops. Should've been more specific in our pointing. Oh well, it was a good deal and we finished them off just as fast (William: 2, Whitney: 5).

The First 48 Hours

I'm in Austria!!!!

Hopefully I can get pictures up soon, but this will have to do for now (although I am so nauseous that I can barely see the screen right now so we'll see what this entry ends up like....and my laptop is still broken).

Right from check-in Whitney and I had a funny flight. My bag ended up weighing 57 pounds--a.k.a. too much for check in. Luckily, though, Whitney's bag only weighed 43 pounds and so as we waited to check in with our passports we unzipped my bag and stuffed the heaviest things into hers. Our trick worked and by the time they tagged our bags, hers weighed 50 and mine weighed 49. As we boarded the plane to Detroit the pilot came out and announced that there was no more overhead space and we would have to check our carry-ons....great :(

We made our connection in Detroit and before too long were enjoying complimentary airplane past and chicken and a movie for connection 2 or 3. About 2 hours into our London flight we hit turbulence and I really thought I was going to lose my dinner. I never knew how strange it would be not having a set time. Jet lag is mean. We weren't in the United States, not in Europe, but still awake in the middle of the night and extremely sick. Sleeping on a plane is absolutely impossible. As of right now I have only slept a little over 6 HOURS SINCE SUNDAY NIGHT! Everything is super hazy.

Watching the sun rise and set in the same seven hours was incredible. The earth is so beautiful!

We landed in London (feeling like quite the accomplished international travelers) and started out to make connection 3 of 3. Austrian Air is a funny airline. They have vibrant green carpet and flight attendants in red polyester dresses with thick red tights and red loafers. The pilot gave his entire plane pep talk in German (...and then English) and Whitney and I just stared at each other wondering what we'd signed up for. This connection was definitely the hardest because I had never been sicker of flying in my life. My stomach was reeling, dreading what was coming, and we hadn't even taken off yet.

Two hours later we landed in Vienna and I am so glad that I will never have to step onboard a plane for 3 1/2 more months! ..........and then we went to get our luggage.......and they were MIA. Luckily, Austrian Air found that all four of our bags were still in London and they are being shipped over as I type.

A rep from the institute was waiting for us and took us to the hotel. Whitney and I walked around the city for about two hours and even bought a treat from the bakery across the street. (funny experience to be written about later) The city is so beautiful and intricate. The streets are really narrow and I sometimes didn't think the bus we were on would make it around the corner.

Currently I am nauseous beyond belief and doing everything possible to stay awake. Jet lag is a mean, mean, mean, mean thing! Hopefully a good night's rest will get me working on Vienna time.

I should really start packing...

Happy May Day! Vienna is so close and I still have so much to do. Only two more days to go and I'll be on my way!