So, Kendal and I have just been assuming for the last week that we don't have internet in our house. Yesterday we actually asked her if she had WiFi, and lo and behold, she does. This recent development will hopefully make things go much more smoothly in the future! We'll actually be able to get our professor's emails when the information is relevant, and I'll be able to (hopefully) keep up with my blog and posting pictures.
On Thursday, I woke up to a freezing cold shower. It was so cold I would forget to breathe, and the whole time I was thinking, "What if this is how it's going to be everyday. I can't handle this EVERY day!!" Luckily the problem had to do with the remodeling going on in the house across the street and was easily resolved. The water is nice and warm now!
Class doesn't start until noon on Thursdays, so a few of us spent the half our before German, playing Go Fish. Buuut, we tried to speak only in German. Needless to say, it was quite entertaining! Right now, our German class is mostly review, but we'll start getting into new information soon. When we first got here, it was so strange to see and hear EVERYTHING in German, but this past week it has become normal not to understand anything someone says to me. I'm able to pick out more and more words and phrases, and that gives me hope! Hopefully, I won't be completely incompetent with my German the whole time I'm here!
For our Austrian History class, we took a walk around Vienna. Our professor took us to see a few different sites, but the one I enjoyed the most was Ruprechtskirche, the oldest church in Vienna. After class, our professor showed us her favorite place to get gelatto, and I ordered mine all in GERMAN! I was super psyched. I mean, not that ordering ice cream is particularly difficult, but I was pleased with that minor accomplishment! Kendal were both out with different people that night, so I got the chance to go home all by myself! Again, minor accomplishment, but now I know I can do it if I need to.
Friday was the first day since we've been here that we've actually been able to just relax and do what we want. About half our group went to Budapest (where I would love to go at some point during my stay here), and the rest of us just stayed in Vienna, so we decided to go to Schönbrunn Palace. And we spent hours there just in the gardens and at Gloriette, which stands on the hill behind the palace. We didn't actually tour the palace, since it costs money and we'll be coming back with our group later to do that. Schönbrunn's gardens are absolutely beautiful, and the view of Vienna from the hill behind it is phenomenal. I definitely can't wait to go back!
On Friday we also went to Kiersten and Lindsay's house, and the view from their back balcony is gorgeous! They live out in District 14, so it's at the edge of the city, so there are less buildings and much more greenery. Oh yeah, and Kendal and I live in District 13. For those of you that have read the Hunger Games, doesn't that totally remind you of the books!
We got to sleep in on Saturday! It was nice not having a set schedule we needed to adhere to for one. A few of us went to the Naschmarkt, Vienna's liveliest market. The Naschmarkt leads into a flea market, where I bought a few European scarves, along with a Spain soccer jersey. It's kind of fun to barter with the sellers!
After the flea market, we went to our professor's apartment so he could show us how to use the city bikes. The way it's set up to use them is pretty cool. There are bike stations all around the city, with machines so you can take a bike (the first hour is free, and every hour after that is 1 Euro), ride it, and then dock it at any other station in the city. So this is how our adventure started. We tried to use the bike station and machine right by our professor's apartment, but it wasn't working, so we took the U-bahn to a different station. It took a while for us all to get set up with accounts and everything, but once we did, we each got a bike and we rode back to our professor's apartment. (We could still dock our bikes there, even though the machine itself wasn't working). There was a problem, though. When we got to the bike station, there was only one spot left to park a bike! The rest of us didn't want to pay for the next hour, so our professor called someone about it, and they just told us we should probably book it to the next station with five open spots. At least the guy told him where it was, and it was only about six blocks away... but we only had six minutes to get there! One thing I forgot to mention is the crazy traffic and driver's here in the city. Also, bikes are counted as vehicles, so we get to ride our bikes IN the crazy traffic. It was awesome, a race against time while flirting with death to get to the next bike station. I loved it! We all rode as fast as we could and got there with a minute to spare. It was awesome!
Yesterday we had church (Stake Conference) outside of the city, so we took a train to get there. That was pretty fun. After church we went back to the Minert's apartment. We all have different Sundays in which we're supposed to cook dinner for the group, and yesterday was Kendal's and my turn. We made a classic American meal - chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans, with chocolate cookies for dessert. It was fun getting to cook! We watched the Sound of Music afterward, and our professor pointed out during the movie which places we are going to get to see this week in Salzburg. It's going to be great!
So, trying to get pictures to upload onto my blog takes quite a bit of time, so here are a select few of the pictures I've taken over the past few days. I may post the rest on facebook at some point. Enjoy!
On Thursday, I woke up to a freezing cold shower. It was so cold I would forget to breathe, and the whole time I was thinking, "What if this is how it's going to be everyday. I can't handle this EVERY day!!" Luckily the problem had to do with the remodeling going on in the house across the street and was easily resolved. The water is nice and warm now!
Class doesn't start until noon on Thursdays, so a few of us spent the half our before German, playing Go Fish. Buuut, we tried to speak only in German. Needless to say, it was quite entertaining! Right now, our German class is mostly review, but we'll start getting into new information soon. When we first got here, it was so strange to see and hear EVERYTHING in German, but this past week it has become normal not to understand anything someone says to me. I'm able to pick out more and more words and phrases, and that gives me hope! Hopefully, I won't be completely incompetent with my German the whole time I'm here!
For our Austrian History class, we took a walk around Vienna. Our professor took us to see a few different sites, but the one I enjoyed the most was Ruprechtskirche, the oldest church in Vienna. After class, our professor showed us her favorite place to get gelatto, and I ordered mine all in GERMAN! I was super psyched. I mean, not that ordering ice cream is particularly difficult, but I was pleased with that minor accomplishment! Kendal were both out with different people that night, so I got the chance to go home all by myself! Again, minor accomplishment, but now I know I can do it if I need to.
Friday was the first day since we've been here that we've actually been able to just relax and do what we want. About half our group went to Budapest (where I would love to go at some point during my stay here), and the rest of us just stayed in Vienna, so we decided to go to Schönbrunn Palace. And we spent hours there just in the gardens and at Gloriette, which stands on the hill behind the palace. We didn't actually tour the palace, since it costs money and we'll be coming back with our group later to do that. Schönbrunn's gardens are absolutely beautiful, and the view of Vienna from the hill behind it is phenomenal. I definitely can't wait to go back!
On Friday we also went to Kiersten and Lindsay's house, and the view from their back balcony is gorgeous! They live out in District 14, so it's at the edge of the city, so there are less buildings and much more greenery. Oh yeah, and Kendal and I live in District 13. For those of you that have read the Hunger Games, doesn't that totally remind you of the books!
We got to sleep in on Saturday! It was nice not having a set schedule we needed to adhere to for one. A few of us went to the Naschmarkt, Vienna's liveliest market. The Naschmarkt leads into a flea market, where I bought a few European scarves, along with a Spain soccer jersey. It's kind of fun to barter with the sellers!
After the flea market, we went to our professor's apartment so he could show us how to use the city bikes. The way it's set up to use them is pretty cool. There are bike stations all around the city, with machines so you can take a bike (the first hour is free, and every hour after that is 1 Euro), ride it, and then dock it at any other station in the city. So this is how our adventure started. We tried to use the bike station and machine right by our professor's apartment, but it wasn't working, so we took the U-bahn to a different station. It took a while for us all to get set up with accounts and everything, but once we did, we each got a bike and we rode back to our professor's apartment. (We could still dock our bikes there, even though the machine itself wasn't working). There was a problem, though. When we got to the bike station, there was only one spot left to park a bike! The rest of us didn't want to pay for the next hour, so our professor called someone about it, and they just told us we should probably book it to the next station with five open spots. At least the guy told him where it was, and it was only about six blocks away... but we only had six minutes to get there! One thing I forgot to mention is the crazy traffic and driver's here in the city. Also, bikes are counted as vehicles, so we get to ride our bikes IN the crazy traffic. It was awesome, a race against time while flirting with death to get to the next bike station. I loved it! We all rode as fast as we could and got there with a minute to spare. It was awesome!
Yesterday we had church (Stake Conference) outside of the city, so we took a train to get there. That was pretty fun. After church we went back to the Minert's apartment. We all have different Sundays in which we're supposed to cook dinner for the group, and yesterday was Kendal's and my turn. We made a classic American meal - chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans, with chocolate cookies for dessert. It was fun getting to cook! We watched the Sound of Music afterward, and our professor pointed out during the movie which places we are going to get to see this week in Salzburg. It's going to be great!
So, trying to get pictures to upload onto my blog takes quite a bit of time, so here are a select few of the pictures I've taken over the past few days. I may post the rest on facebook at some point. Enjoy!
Schönbrunn Palace
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| This is not Ruprechtskirche, but it's in the same part of the city |
The view from Kiersten and Lindsay's balcony
Other pictures of the beautiful city of Wien!
The pictures seriously look like scenes from different movies I have seen! Also, district 13?! *gasp* haha. Sounds like you are having a great time!!
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