post 5

As usual, life is amazing. Rest assured, I know my life is very very good when I am not in Vienna, but I am amazed at the things I've been able to do here so far. For example, on Saturday morning I went for a little jog through the vineyards by my home. Not too bad. Then Becca and I went to the flea market that they have on Saturdays at the Naschmarkt. I love that kind of stuff, and people were selling a WIDE variety of objects: silverware, furniture, fur coats, Pez dispensers, broken McDonald's toys, books, love letters, and more.

Hooks made from deer hooves at the flea market

Old GameBoy games

We explored all the stands and I bought a couple art books before we headed over to the MAK (the museum of applied arts). This museum was really cool and totally different from other museums I've visited so far. Instead of paintings and sculptures, they had lots of furniture, textiles, pots, architecture, and other cool stuff. I really loved the furniture and the architecture. This arcitect designed some really cool buildings that explore using vertical space.

The MAK took us all afternoon, so when we got out, it was dark outside. We decided to walk back to the Musikverein to see if there was a concert we could get standing tickets for. As it happened we were there right as the box office opened for last minute tickets, so we bought some for the orchestra performance that night. Programs cost money here, so I have no idea what they played, but it was fantastic. Don't tell Norbert, but I'm definitely more of an orchestra girl than an opera girl. During the intermission, Becca and I were sitting on the ground resting our legs when a sweet old man and his wife came and offered us their front row balcony tickets. Once we understood what he was saying, we gladly accepted and enjoyed the rest of the show sitting down.

On Sunday morning we went to church and everyone is always so nice there. We learned lots of new words and they had lunch in the gym after Sacrament Meeting, so we tried lots of new foods as well.

In honor of Mozart's birthday on Friday, the Mozarthaus Museum was free on Sunday, so Becca and I visited that after church. It wasn't the best museum I've been to, so I'm glad it was free. After that I tried my first roasted chestnut (hello, new favorite) and we went to our professors' flat for devotional.

The Jesuitenkirche

I love trees that grow in cities

Today after class we went on like, a nine hour walking tour and I froze my booty off (per usual), but we saw some very cool stuff. There's a little street where in 1212 a basilisk snuck out of a well and attacked a bunch of people until a barber's apprentice thought to hold a mirror up to it and then fill the well up with rocks so no more mythical beasts could escape from it. I really love when the line between history and legends get blurred.

Here's a picture of the story about the basilisk. Apparently they look like big chicken-dragons, not huge snakes, like Harry Potter led me to believe.

I'm pretty sure all of my digits have mild frostbite. It's supposed to get colder over the next week, and I just can't understand a) how that's possible and b) how I could wear more layers than I already do. So pray for me. But not too hard, because other than the dropping temperatures, I couldn't find one thing to complain about. Love you all and hope all is well.

post 4

First things first: my wise and kind father (a Vienna expert) informed me that I had some incorrect info in my last post. Here's his correction:

"Belvedere was the summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Not the Habsburgs (I think that is what you meant). This German is hard. But Eugene came to Vienna from Paris in the late 1600's and was a successful military commander against the Turks and was richly rewarded by the Habsburg monarchs. Belvedere is probably my favorite Vienna palace."

My dad is a good man. Thank you, Vater.

Now moving onto today. Today was Motzart's birthday and we celebrated him all day. (Side note: Austrians do not get this day off from work, and there are no festivals going on around town. Also, most Viennese people we talked to were not aware that it was Motzart's geburtstag. That would have been nice for me to know awhile ago.)

This has nothing to do with Mozart, but it's an old tree in the center of town that all the blacksmiths would hammer a nail into when they had finished their apprenticeship.

We started out on a walking tour of all the Mozart-adjacent places in the city. We visited a little theater where he performed, the home he lived in when he wrote The Marriage of Figaro (now a museum), the home he lived in before he died (now a department store), the last place he ever performed, and the church where they played his final requiem two days after his death.

A view of Stephansdom from the theater where Mozart gave concerts.

The church where they played his requiem.

We also made the trek out to the cemetary where they've placed a grave marker for him (no one knows where he was actually buried because he died in debt).

The St. Marxer Friedhof is the most amazing old cemetary. I know it sounds creepy, but I could have spent hours there. It was so beautiful and old and we were there right at dusk and I loved it. I took one million photos.

After the cemetary, we had to cruise home because Becca and I had tickets to see The Magic Flute (today was ALL about Mozart). We went home to grab our tickets, and we left with just enough time to make it to the theater. We are getting pretty good at the public transportation here. So we emerged from the U-Bahn station, go into the theater, and ask the usher how to find the standing room area. We figured he must be new, because he took our ticket to show to another usher. When he came back to tell us where our seats were, these were his exact words, "Go outside, go down the stairs, get on the U3. Take that to the U6, and take the U6 to the Volksoper stop. That's where you go." We were super confused until he said, "Your show is not here." We had gone to the Volkstheater instead of the Volksoper. Don't even say what you are thinking. We were so embarrassed. So we follow the man's instructions, except that there was a big demonstration going on downtown, so the U-Bahn wasn't running super well. A very nice lady told us it would be better to take a taxi since we had like, seven minutes to get across town. So we went up to get a taxi, only we realized we didn't know how to hail a cab, so we asked a police officer, and he laughed at us and told us how to take a streetcar where we needed to go instead. Loooong story short, we made it (only 20 minutes late...luckily the tickets were only a couple Euro). And it was lovely. When we got home and told Norbert the story, he said, "You do things that make me laugh."

Also, if you want to see pictures with people in them, head on over to Becca's blog. I've been using my iPhone to snap photos so that's why I'm not in any.

post 3

<3

Today marks my one week anniversary of being in Vienna. The good news is, I still love it and I haven't felt an ounce of homesickness (no offense). I love you guys, but this is a good place for me to be right now. The last couple of days we have been exploring, making new friends, and falling in love with this city more and more.

The BIGGEST news is that we finally met Liesel on Tuesday night. She is, as expected, very lovely and kind and practical. She loves flowers, her children, bridge, opera and "biological" apples (see below).

This is one of Liesel's apples. They are really old and wrinkly but they are organic, so she eats them. Becca and I tried one at lunch today with Norbert. It wasn't as bad as it looks but I'd never choose it.

Yesterday morning we toured a violin maker's shop. Her name is Henriette Lersch, and she's famous from the I'm a Mormon campaign (click the link to watch her video). She is very cool and very talented and if you are in the market for a new violin, she sells her's for around €12,000. So if you want me to pick one up for you just say the word. But really, she works mostly with professional musicians and she does more repair work than building right now. In my next life I'd like to be her apprentice.

After visiting her shop, we did a walking tour around Stephansdom for one of our classes. The tour took us in and around Stephansdom (a cathedral near our school and right at the heart of the city). We learned a lot and saw a lot. And laughed a lot, as is the case most of the time around here.

Inside Stephandom. It is huge and gorgeous and cold.

The walking tour also took us to the oldest church in Vienna (built in the 11th century), and we passed the Spanish Riding School where the horses just happened to be returning to their stables.

Here's the oldest church in Vienna

A sweet shop we passed by. Look at the little marzipan hedgehogs.

Spanish Riding School Horse. Local celebrity crossing the street.

After our tour, I'm pretty sure my feet were frost bitten, so we hopped on a train and just rode to where it took us. It was very nice and relaxing and just what we needed to recharge. We wandered until it was time for Institute. Becca and I were there a little bit early, so we made some new friends, and then we had class. They have one class taught in English, which is a Book of Mormon class. It was really great. A nice senior missionary couple teaches it and I met a girl who joined the Church in August. She was really great. There was also a girl visiting from London who we made friends with. After classes, they serve dinner and it's only one euro, so you better believe we stayed. I love the Church. You can walk into a strange building in a foreign country and emerge two hours later with a handful of new friends. It's amazing.

This morning Becca and I met one of our new friends, Sion (pronounced Shawn), for breakfast at the Naschmarkt before class. She's the girl from London and she was returning today, so we wanted to see her one more time.

After classes, Becca and I returned home to drop off our stuff and go to the Belvedere. Norbert was home, so we had lunch with him and then he pointed us in the direction of the museum. It took a long time to get there, but it was worth it. The building was the summer home of the Hofburgs, and it is stunning. Not to mention the art inside. The whole ground floor was filled with gorgeous impressionist stuff that I loved. And upstairs they have a big Gustav Klimpt exhibit because it's the 150th anniversary of his birth. All of the art was contextualized in the art history of Vienna, which I really loved.

One of my favorites from the Belvedere, Der Philharmoniker by Max Oppenheimer

The view of Vienna from the upper Belvedere is quite nice. You can see the spire of Stephansdom, which is pictured below.

post 2

Hallo. German lessons have started and ich liebe deutschkurs! Yesterday we had to register as official residents of Vienna, which was uneventful, except that the process took us to a new part of district 1. After we registered, we had several hours to wander and explore. Becca and I walked all over the Inerstadt, snapping photos (exciting for you guys!) and practicing our new German phrases.

Here I am by some Roman ruins downtown

We ate lunch at the technical university near our school, and we made a couple new friends. Everyone is very nice here about letting us practice our German.

The steps of the Albertina museum are painted to look like Monet's water lilies.

Last night, Norbert took Becca and I to a concert at the Musikverein, where the Philharmonic Orchestra plays almost every night. We got all dressed up and drove downtown with Norbert and his neighbor, Elisabeth, who is a very elegant woman. The concert was a solo recital by Chan Reiss, a very talented soprano. She was extremely talented, and it was very generous of Norbert to take us.

Norbert loves opera. If you want to see a happy man, watch Norbert listen to opera. It's the best. Look at this man:

(not the guy sleeping or the two women next to him, but the sweet old man so intently focused on the stage)

After the concert last night, Becca and I went upstairs to do homework and have a little toast before bed and Norbert joined us. We let him sample our hazelnut cream, which he loved (obviously). It was very nice to sit and visit with him and hear about his children and grandchildren.

I am in a very happy situation here in Vienna. Tonight we meet Liesel for the first time! We are nervous but excited!

Hallo. This post is long. Sorry.

Hallo from Wien! I debated about starting a blog because it can feel like such a chore, but I decided it is the best way to stay in touch with everyone I love without writing one million emails per week.

I will try to be brief in words and heavy on the pictures, because that’s the good stuff. Unfortunately, in the beginning I wasn’t in the habit of carrying around my camera, so pictures are in short supply right now.

I have been in Vienna about three and a half days now, although it feels like I’ve lived here much longer. Already I am loving things here and feeling very at home. I live with one other BYU student, a girl named Becca, at the Meinl’s home. So far, we have only met Norbert, the husband, because his wife, Leisel, is on a ski trip with one of their daughters and her children. Norbert is very kind. He is probably in his 70s, and he knows so much about Vienna and Austria and Europe. Today he told us that he used to give tours of Vienna when he was a student, but he got sick of everyone just calling everything “beautiful.” (Becca and I are now trying to think of more exciting words to describe everything he shows us. It’s good for our vocabulary.) Later, he started taking Americans on tours from Rome all the way up through Austria and Germany to the Netherlands. He liked this a lot more but he said it was pretty challenging. He speaks perfect English and he is very thoughtful. Our first night here he took us to dinner at a little restaurant down the street from his home. The next morning he made us breakfast before school and he showed us how to get to the Austro-American Institute (the AAIE) on the streetcar.

This is our lovely house

The first day of school was just orientation. We learned about the transportation system here and we took a little walking tour of the area around our school, including the Naschmarkt, which is an open-air market where you can buy food. As is common at those kinds of places, the vendors will flirt with you to try and get you to buy stuff. Becca and I were sampling some dried fruit and the vendor and his friends invited us to a disco. We politely declined, but they kept asking us for our phone number, and when we told them we didn’t have a phone, one of the men pulled his out and said, “Take mine!” We told him we’d come back some other time, and as we were walking away we promised each other we would never go back there again.

The rest of Friday was a blur. I was very sleepy but determined to conquer jetlag, so Becca and I explored the city a bit. The airlines lost Becca’s luggage, so we went shopping to find her some clothes she could wear until her bag came. Norbert had warned us that he wouldn’t be home when we got there that night, because he’d been invited to a bridge tournament at his friend’s house. We went to bed early and slept very soundly.

Here's our kitchen!

On Saturday morning we explored our neighborhood. For those of you who don’t know, Vienna has 23 districts, with district 1 in the center, and all the other districts fanning out from there. We live in district 19, which is very lovely. There are lots of vineyards up the hill from our home, and a large catholic chapel at the end of our street. We can be to district 1 in about 45 minutes on a streetcar, and there is an LDS meetinghouse just 10 minutes walking distance. I am already very fond of where we live.

Here's a sweet little door in our neighborhood

On Saturday afternoon, our professors were kind enough to invite us to their flat for lunch. After a couple of mishaps with the streetcar, we made it to their apartment and enjoyed getting to know our fellow students better. After lunch, we ventured to a grocery store to buy some food for next week, and then we headed back into town for the birthday of a girl in our group. Everyone ate wiener schnitzel (and I had a pretzel) and cake and then we went our separate ways. On our way home, Becca and I saw a woman dressed in a floor length white gown. Then we saw a couple and the woman was wearing a gown and the man was wearing a tux. So we decided to follow them. We knew that they were most likely going to a ball, which is still a popular tradition here in Vienna. We followed them to a museum and wandered up to the fourth floor, where we could hear a lot of voices, but no music. Then we found a program, informing us that the ball would begin in a half hour. I told Becca that we could NOT go up in our street clothes, so we waited for the elevator to go back down. There were ball attendees in the elevator, and when they heard us speak English they started to tease us. We asked if they were going to the ball and one of the boys said, “No, we are not. The Sound of Music taught you wrong, we do not wear lederhosen, these are our everyday clothes.”

Becca creeping on the ball

Upon returning home last night, we determined that we must go to a ball while we are here. We found Norbert at his desk and chatted with him and he invited us to attend a concert with his on Monday night. He also promised to take us to the Kahlenberg in the morning. We had no idea what he was talking about, but we trust Norbert, so we agreed.

This morning we went to church at the Vienna 1^st ward, which is very close to our home. Everyone was very kind, even though we don’t speak German. There was a sister from Mongolia who lives there who doesn’t speak German either (but she does understand a little bit), and she helped us find all our meetings. There was a young single adults Sunday school class, which is taught in English. The teacher was gone today so we all took turns bearing our testimony of the Book of Mormon, which was a very powerful meeting. We made friends with some of the University students who speak English, and we are planning to attend YSA Family Home Evening and Institute. They also invited us to sing in the choir, which we agreed to do, because we think it will help us learn German faster. My fondest dream right now is to learn German. Everyone is so nice here and for the most part, you can get by with English, but I would much rather be speaking in German.

After church, Norbert took Becca and I to the Kahlenberg, which is a big mountain in the Vienna Woods that overlooks all of Vienna. The view was stunning, and you could see the entire city. Norbert even pointed out where you can see Hungary. There is a Catholic chapel built up there for the Polish people who helped defend Austria against the Turks in the 1600s. There is also a private university for studying hospitality (the hotel and restaurant business). We ate lunch at a swanky restaurant with a live jazz band and a big window with the view of the city. We tried to convince Norbert to bring Liesel back for the Valentinstag (Valentine’s day) special that they were advertising for. When he asked about the price, the man thought he was asking for the three of us. He winked at Becca and I and gave us a thumbs up. It was very funny.

Me, Becca and Norbert at Kahlenburg

We drove back to Vienna by way of Klosterneuberg, which is on the other side of the Vienna Woods. It is a charming little town with a big abbey in the middle of town. The homes are so colorful and the roads are narrow and it is really lovely.

Tonight we have a devotional at our professors’ flat, and tomorrow classes officially begin at 8 AM. I will try to take more pictures this week!