Because I have taken over 250 pictures in one week (I gave up on trying not to be "click!"-obsessed on Day 2), much of this blog will be in picture form with appropriate commentary.
My Loves:
1. Combine: Vienna during a snowfall, warm chocolate cake smothered in whipped cream, and the darling Operncafe where Michelle (my roommate) and I stopped that night.
2. Vienna's Walk of Fame! These are in the various UBahn stations and scattered around the streets of Vienna. Not Hollywood stars...composers! Bravourös!
3. My keys to the castle! Actually, these are my keys to my host family's house. The Bernthaler-Garzuly family is ancient Viennese nobility related to the Habsburgs and there is a whole ritual to abschliessen der tur. We practiced it with Hanna multiple times the first night to get the locks and keys in order. It is complex, let me tell you!
4. The Vienna First Ward--a German-speaking ward in northern Vienna! The people are beautiful! They reached out to us with overwhelming love and warmth and their testimonies I could feel strongly even through the language barrier we faced. Though I only understood a few of words in each talk, the Spirit was present and edified my soul despite the challenge of communication. The gospel is true wherever you live!
Interesting map at our bus stop on the way to church.My laughs:
1. In the UBahn station at Karlsplatz. Only in Vienna...
2. My armored horse at the Wien Museum. Yes, I am a princess. Yes, he belongs to me.
3. Our European Fine Arts teacher. We were looking at these beautiful stained glass windows from St. Stephen's cathedral in the Wien Museum. And she points at this one and says, "Here's Saint Stephen getting stoned. But he's got a halo and he's looking up to heaven so he's just fine."
4. The stairs. There are 113 stairs to our front door. At 10 pm we don't laugh much, but its fun going down in the morning. =)
My adventures:
1. Sacher-Torte. The most famous cake in the world and Vienna's pastry pièce de résistance, Sacher-Torte has a top secret recipe and ships worldwide. The Sacher Hotel cafe was high class and we four students self-consciously checked our (ahem) backpacks before being seated by a uniformed waiter. The cake was delicious, rich dark chocolate but denser than I expected. For the record, I have had Sacher-Torte at the Sacher Hotel Cafe in Vienna. Life is worth living.
2, The RauthausMy fairytale castle! Michelle and I had a photo shoot. It is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! There is an ice skating rink with beautiful lamps all around it. The architecture is breathtaking (see my very amateur collage below). Absolutely magical!
Michelle is beautiful and this shot is awesome!
Drama: it comes to me naturally ;)3. The Staatsoper. Magnificent. Il Barbiere di Siviglia played last night. We waited in line for the Stehplatze (standing room) tickets for a few hours and then watched a magnificent performance! The sets were phenomenal and the voices absolutely exquisite. Afterward we got the stars to sign our tickets. "Rosina" was from NYC and asked if we were going to see her at the Met (well...of course, the next time we are in town...).
Before
After (standing still for three hours is a wee bit tiring ;)
The box seats
View from the second floor down on the Mezzanine
Michelle and I with "Rosina"
Aly, Lucy, Kristen and I
Outside the beautiful Staatsoper
4. Orchestra. You could not get more different from the BYU Philharmonic experience, but I am in love with my "large ensemble" this semester. Every musician is over 50 years old with the exception of the conductor who is from South America. They meet in a tiny hotel and play in the "salon" which looks exactly like an old tavern room from the 1800s. It is adorable. And there are no celli, one viola, eight violins, assorted brass, a pianist, a double bass, and...an accordion player who is 100 years old. They meet to play Viennese folk songs (and at correct intervals they all sing along). It is positively delightful!
5. German. Yes, Deutsch. I would love to say it is coming right along. You see, I walked away from an interaction at a cash register the other day and thought proudly, "I spoke only German that whole conversation!" Then, I realized...she was speaking English back to me that whole conversation. Blast.
My culture differences:
1. There is no shower. Only a "baaaath." (And there is a detailed procedure for using it just like there is a ritual for the front door).
2. Our meals with our host family (once a week) are three-course affairs. We are served at the table by the housekeeper Eva (whom we love! She is our kind, patient friend who speaks almost no English but loves us regardless) and after dessert we retire to the sitting room and socialize for a few hours. That is luncheon.
3. The water is"sparkled." Regular bottled water is all carbonated. Cheers!
4. It is impolite to leave your left hand in your lap during meals.
5. There is beautiful architecture all over the city. All over. I want to take pictures of apartment buildings half the time.
6. The floors are kept very clean--in restaurants, government buildings, museums, the U-Bahn, everywhere!
7. The McCafe (McDonald's cafe) has mammoth chandeliers, wall murals, and Corinthian pillars (and the music is usually Latin).
8. There are so many musicians in this city that BY LAW you cannot practice after 10 pm and from 10-2pm on Sunday for naps. Seriously.
9. When you meet people here, they often ask your name and then your star sign. It is...interesting.
10. Everyone wears hats! Chic knits and dignified caps and flowery ones for church. Hats with tassels and pom-poms. Tweed hats and fur ushankas. I love this so much!
Before
After (standing still for three hours is a wee bit tiring ;)
The box seats
View from the second floor down on the Mezzanine 
Michelle and I with "Rosina"
Aly, Lucy, Kristen and I
Outside the beautiful Staatsoper4. Orchestra. You could not get more different from the BYU Philharmonic experience, but I am in love with my "large ensemble" this semester. Every musician is over 50 years old with the exception of the conductor who is from South America. They meet in a tiny hotel and play in the "salon" which looks exactly like an old tavern room from the 1800s. It is adorable. And there are no celli, one viola, eight violins, assorted brass, a pianist, a double bass, and...an accordion player who is 100 years old. They meet to play Viennese folk songs (and at correct intervals they all sing along). It is positively delightful!
5. German. Yes, Deutsch. I would love to say it is coming right along. You see, I walked away from an interaction at a cash register the other day and thought proudly, "I spoke only German that whole conversation!" Then, I realized...she was speaking English back to me that whole conversation. Blast.
My culture differences:
1. There is no shower. Only a "baaaath." (And there is a detailed procedure for using it just like there is a ritual for the front door).
2. Our meals with our host family (once a week) are three-course affairs. We are served at the table by the housekeeper Eva (whom we love! She is our kind, patient friend who speaks almost no English but loves us regardless) and after dessert we retire to the sitting room and socialize for a few hours. That is luncheon.
3. The water is"sparkled." Regular bottled water is all carbonated. Cheers!
4. It is impolite to leave your left hand in your lap during meals.
5. There is beautiful architecture all over the city. All over. I want to take pictures of apartment buildings half the time.
6. The floors are kept very clean--in restaurants, government buildings, museums, the U-Bahn, everywhere!
7. The McCafe (McDonald's cafe) has mammoth chandeliers, wall murals, and Corinthian pillars (and the music is usually Latin).
8. There are so many musicians in this city that BY LAW you cannot practice after 10 pm and from 10-2pm on Sunday for naps. Seriously.
9. When you meet people here, they often ask your name and then your star sign. It is...interesting.
10. Everyone wears hats! Chic knits and dignified caps and flowery ones for church. Hats with tassels and pom-poms. Tweed hats and fur ushankas. I love this so much!
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