Ich Liebe Wien.

Saturday we went shopping with our small groups at Millenium City which was this huge complex on the outskirts of town. I wasn't too impressed. It was a smelly mall that didn't really have many interesting stores except for H&M and I was (and am still) very apprehensive about spending money at all. I doubt I'd go back, except that it DID have a movie theater, so I may have to be traveling all the way out there for New Moon or something as equally impressive ;)

That afternoon we went to the Belvedere. I think I was more impressed by this place than even the Schonnbrunn because the view of the city was beyond believable. I felt like I was looking at one of those Phil Ponder pictures where you can see every individual important rooftop of a city. Again we didn't go into anything there, but it's a place I'm going to make it back to. I really want to see the museums and the orangery, because that just sounds fun.

Later that night we went to Prater, which is the amusement park in Vienna. We looked around a little bit and then got this guy to take our picture but he tried to walk off with it and everyone else knew he was kidding but I about had a heart attack.

We went to get dinner, and we were giant fatties and got these things called "langos" which is basically just a fried piece of bread slathered in butter and garlic. But boy was that thing delicious. I would go back there just for one of those.

We went and rode the "LARGEST FERRISWHEEL IN THE WORLD" for Meredith, even though it was 7,50. And that was even the student discount price. :/ But it was worth it. We went up when all the lights were coming on, and we had really amazing scenes of the city. There was this family in the compartment with us who had a really cute set of twin boys who were running to the opposite sides to make the bucket tip. The family seemed really nice and we were surprised to find that they were from Vienna when we asked where they were from. They even took several pictures of us with their sons. Which was weird....

We found our first patch there, and hopefully we'll be able to collect several more as we go to different countries.

Sunday morning we went to mass at Stephansdom. It was glorious inside. I felt like I was in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Unfortunately I was stuck behind a column for the actual service, but we were right beside the choir and the orchestra and I was perfectly fine with it. They were spectacular. I could have listened to them all day long. And they had this glorious french horn. Sigh. Being in Vienna is making me want to be in band again.

After mass we went through the Hapsburg Complex and stumbled upon the Harvest Festival. It was like a giant Jazz Fest and I loved it. However, I couldn't understand what any booth was selling so we all stuck with giant hot dogs. It was really tasty, though the bread was really crunchy so all I ate was the meat. We got some gelato after that. I kind of feel like I've over done the gelato already. It just doesn't even sound appetizing anymore. :/

We then headed to Kahlensburg, which was atop a mountain. After catching two subways and a bus we made it to the top. This was the height of wine country. It was absolutely gorgeous. You could see for miles. Herr McVey even told us we could see to Hungary. This was definitely the upside to the day, because later on they told us we were hiking down the mountain. Whew. What a hike. The lesson learned yesterday is never stop for grape pictures, because you WILL get lost.

Eleven of us had done so, and by the time we were on our way again we had completely lost the group. We were supposed to have a devo in a vineyard, but we never saw anyone again. So not know what else to do, we just kept on walking. We walked for about an hour and a half until we found something that could lead us back into the city which just happened to be a street car. I found it a very neat way to travel. We got back to the Ubahn and finally made our way back home. After an exhausting afternoon we were ready for some food so we stopped at Venezia again for some pizza. And what an interesting dinner conversation that was. Oh well, bonding time I guess!

Today we started classes. I think they seem like they are going to be pretty fun. I love our German teacher even if he is a wee bit intimidating. I still don't think some of the things he's saying sound any different, and that might be a problem. :/ But humanities is still going well, and I'm excited about Wednesday when we get to get out of the class room and go to the Natural History museum.

After class we came back to eat lunch and everyone had completely disappeared. I can't wait to get cell phones so we can call each other. We went to La Favorita and I got tortellini quatro formaggi and it was soooo delicious. We sat there trying to decide what to do in the afternoon and finally decided upon Rathaus.

Meredith opted out of going with us because she said she had a lot to catch up on (which I do too, I can't believe how much I feel like I'm already behind!!) so Bethany, Laura, and I went out to check it out. We made it to the Rathaus stop and as soon as we made it up the steps of the Ubahn we were swarmed by these huge black dogs that looked like bears! They didn't have a leash on but we looked around and their owner was standing there watching them. Unfortunately not well enough because they attacked this other dog that was walking by with his master on a leash. It was really sad and we all almost started crying. Thus the slight problem of allowing dogs anywhere.

We finally made it to the Rathaus, which was right in front of us, but we were dumb and couldn't figure it out. We stopped in on of the courtyards and found benches that we could sit and sketch on. The building was really neat, I loved the architecture of it. My drawing is awful, but who ever said I was an artist?

When we were done with that, we decided to check out the front facade, since it's what the Rathaus is recognized for. As soon as we turned the corner we saw the circus. Yes a circus. Just sitting in front of this historic building. And it was an actual big top. Not like something in the states that is in an arena or event center. I was instantly dying to go.

While we were admiring the front, we saw these couples on segways. We heard them talking in english so I was smiling at them because the men (who were like 50) were just going around doing figure 8s not even listening to the guide. We kept walking but when we made it to the street, they came up behind us and went to a little sweets cart that was sitting there. I was still laughing at the men because they were obviously having a great time, and when they got some food I asked one of the ladies what was in what she was eating, because it looked wonderful. She offered us some and told us to take the rest of the bag. They realized we were from America as well and started asking us where we were from. They were from Phoenix and I told them I had grandparents there. One of the men whips out a business card and hands it to me. He said "Tell your grandma to come in, I'll give her a free bottle of perfume." (So Memaw or Kristy if you are reading this, you better cash in on this, this place looked SWANKY.)

I looked down at the card and it said Fine Jewelers. Hmm he had to be rich.... Well we started talking to him about the segway tour and they were all just going on and on about how much they loved it and how much they were having fun. We asked them how much it cost and they were like hmmm I dunno! So we asked the lady for a brochure and it was 70 euro. We were all standing there like Dang that's a lot of money. So then the man whips out his money clip and hands me $300. He was like here, go do it! It's such an awesome tour! And then speeds away. So we are all kinda hoping that this whole "we're not allowed to ride motorized vehicles" rule doesn't apply to segways...

After that I got this huge cannoli for 2,20 and we went on our way. We checked out the 2nd Hand store, but didn't find much except for traditional wear that we wanted, but it was pretty expensive...

Now we've been sitting in our beds for a few hours just reading, watching movies, and surfing the net.

Also while we were shopping, I learned that I could not live well in this country because they hardly have any size ten shoes. And I need my shoes!! ;)

But I do know one thing.

I Love Vienna. :)