Hello again.
In Vienna, Lydia, Kristin and I stayed in a nice hostel right outside the city.
We were able to take the bus to and from the hostel and took the subway and
tram each day throughout the city. I often just followed Lydia and Kristin, feeling a bit dependent as I was unable to read
the maps or understand the language, but they were wonderful guides. :)
When we first exited the subway our first morning in Vienna, we found ourselves in the center
of the city. The height and beauty of our surroundings was shocking. A large
cathedral cast a shadow over much of the historic area we were in and Mozart merchandise, tourist shops and varying forms of chocolate were
everywhere. It was windy and very cold (somewhere in the mid-twenties) but we circled
the exterior and interior of the large Cathedral and enjoyed walking among the
baroque marble and gold statues.
Kristin, Lydia and myself.
There were also dozens of horse drawn (or is it horse-drawn?) carriages in the city center. We were initially approached several times by carriage drivers and opera ticket sellers who spoke in
German. Lydia or Kristin often kindly refused, but anytime the sellers were at all in the vicinity and heard me say
anything to Lydia or Kristin, they would immediately come back and ask again in
seemingly perfect and accent-free English.
It was evident in both eastern Germany and Vienna that the European Union (EU) is
crucially important to Germany and Austria. It wasn’t until six months into my stay in the
UK that I realized the nation was apart of the EU. This might be due to the UK currently trying
to remove itself from the organization. Something about being on the pound, being an island, having a
monarchy (in addition to a Parliament) and just seeming incredibly western in
comparison to central Europe seem to be the main reasons. The EU flag flew
everywhere in Vienna and Eastern Germany. Often above the Austrian or German
flag, and always on official state buildings, museums, and sometimes, hotels.
Later that day we took a tour of the opera house after
trying the infamous ‘sachertorte’ at a café. The sachertorte is the official
desert of Vienna, a chocolate cake slice often with a gold enamel on top. At
the risk of sounding terrible, the sachertorte wasn’t too good. The three of
us agreed it was just a simple, dry chocolate cake slice.
The opera house though, was gorgeous. We took a tour in English (which I was grateful
for) and our tour group was large and
filled with tourists from all over the world.
Being backstage during the opera house tour and seeing the crew move and set up the
props and scenery reminded me of my ballet days. The opera house is used for
both ballets and operas and our tour guide shocked us all when she mentioned 800,000
costumes were available and stored at the opera house for performances.
Later that evening, we stood outside a Turkish grocery store as
Lydia and Kristin deciphered various maps. A man walked by and tied the leashes of his two large
huskies outside the Turkish grocery store before heading inside. The dogs
looked quite thin and larger than most huskies I had seen, but one fixed his or her eyes on me while the
other watched the owner in the store the whole time. It was cold out and Lydia
and Kristin continued their deliberations in German and I began to talk to the
dog staring me in the eyes as I jumped up and down for warmth. When the dog’s
owner exited the store minutes later, I was feeling particularly friendly and not too
embarrassed about my lack of German and said clearly in English, ‘I like your
dogs’ when our eyes met. Untying the leashes, he responded slowly, ‘Wolves’
before walking away.
For dinner, we ate a traditional Viennese meal at a nearby café.
Kristin and Lydia introduced an herb lemonade to me which was delicious. Almost
a bit like a lemon ginger ale. I ordered some type of boiled beef with
vegetables and potatoes which came with a delicious apple horseradish and
‘yoghurt’ herb dip. 
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