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!