Vienna: palaces, singing adolescents, and the headcold from hell.

Those who haven't grow tired of my antics as of yet,

Vienna was several days ago, but as I've been preoccupied with being a student the past few days, I haven't had the adequate attention span to tackle blogging. But alas, we know that the internet waits for no woman.

I must unfortunately report that last week I fell just the tiniest bit ill.. You know- fever, coughing, stomach issues.. 'twas rather glorious. But being the obscenely stubborn individual I am, I refused to let it affect my trip to Vienna. With the exception of 16 hours of sleep upon my arrival.

But I woke up the next day determined to see and experience the city; and I managed to stay out of bed for a whole 14 hours, a definite success. Did several walking tours, which merely allowed for us to witness important buildings.. The highlight of my morning was the national library. This should come as no surprise, as I am assuredly classified as a bona fide bibliophile. Words can't embody the magnificence, so pictures will just have to do-
It was truly breathtaking. I spent far too much time drooling over the books (which I regrettably did not have the rank or security clearance to touch) and then wandered around one of Vienna's many Christmas markets. It was kitschy, it was expensive, it was magical :) Wandered around with another tour guide and saw endless baroque beauty, a few more palaces. Then before I knew it, it was time to go meet someone I actually knew in Vienna!

On my last night in Budapest, I stayed up to a rather unreasonable hour talking and playing chess with 2 hostel mates, one of whom was a girl of the Austrian persuasion; Angelika, a grad student in Vienna. I mentioned that I would be visiting the next month, and we made plans to get together- which to my great surprise actually came to pass.

We met on the steps of the Volkstheatre, and from there she took me to another Christmas market. I was expecting a repeat of the touristy wonderland from earlier that day, but it was not even remotely close. Hidden in little alleyways right outside the centre of town was this small, romantic market- with twinkling lights strewn across the top like a canopy of celestial bodies. It was gorgeous, and the mulled wine and puncsh were significantly cheaper, and of course since I couldn't find a hot toddy, a few of those were deemed absolutely necessary. Anyhow, we wandered around there for a fair while, sampled a small bit of Austrian cuisine (my stomach handled it haphazardly) and she gifted my with "the best Chocolate in Austria". We then ventured back to Kitsch Central to meet some of her friends at the gargantuan market in front of town hall, and after a few hours of standing around drinking punsch-
"You can't drink gluhwein here, you must come to my village and drink it. Not in Vienna, it's bad."- Angelika
"Where is your village?" - Erin
"Far, far East. In the mountains." - Angelika
"As in, in the Alps?"- Erin
"Yes."- Angelika
"Well that sounds great, but... It might be a bit far for me."- Erin
I decided to give in to my afflicted side and head back to the hotel and get as much sleep as possible before the Vienna Boy's Choir concert in the morning. Which was wonderful, of course. Reminded me some of my days in Texas Girls Choir... I wonder if they have a director who whacks you with a yard stick and frequently gives preteens nervous breakdowns? To be discovered at a later date...

All in all, Vienna was an enjoyable time. I wish I hadn't been ill, but so is life.
And now onto things of a more present nature- Thanksgiving!

It was indeed this young adult's first time away from home (one of my many) for this holiday of gluttony and gratitude; quite a change. I did miss the traditional Indian food that usually graces the table, courtesy of my lovely step-Grandmother Elaine, but all in all I'd say it was still a successful holiday. My program set up a dinner for us at the Marriott on Thanksgiving day- turkey, ham, yams, the whole nine yards. EXCEPT mashed potatoes. I was perplexed by that, no potatoes on Thanksgiving? Where did they scavenge up the yams? But regardless, there was pumpkin pie and I was a happy camper.

I also managed to swing an invitation to an Ex-pats Thanksgiving meal on Friday evening. I came, I carved the turkey, I conquered. My friend Colleen also made one of the best apple pies I've ever had (in her oven with no temperature gauge, yeah Czech Republic!). A good time with good people.
And that's all I know. Or at least, all I'll own up to- therefore I'm going to go be a student now and complete the last two papers I have this semester so that I can be frivolous the next few weeks.

Cheers,

Erin