post 6

It's been awhile...so much happens everyday here that it is daunting to try and cover everything. So I'll give you the highlights:

• The average temperature this week has been around 5 degrees Farenheit. Read this as "I am always cold." I wear two pairs of tights under my pants everyday.
• I've had a long-standing hatred for Rajon Rondo because one time after a playoff game he had to be carried off the court by his teammates. When the press asked him why, he said "The bottom of my feet hurt." But you guys, I get it now. The bottom of your feet can hurt so bad just from walking or running or standing, and you really cannot take another step. My bad, Rondo. I thought you were just being a diva.
• Despite the cold and the achy feet, I'm having the best time of my life.
• Becca and I have a knack for getting lost. On Tuesday, a simple trip to the MAK (where we've already been once before) turned into a two hour nighttime stroll/quest around district 1. And I loved it.
• I looked my would-be pickpoket in the eyes on Tuesday. I felt my backpack moving around while Becca and I were shopping for gloves and I turned around right after she had unzipped the back pocket of my bag. We stared at each other and then she dissappeared. Luckily I don't keep anything but tissues and chapstick in that pocket, so she didn't get anything.
• We came across the Holocaust memorial in the Judenplatz this week. It is beautiful and poignant and a good reminder that I have never lived through anything worth complaining about.

The Holocaust Memorial. It is made up of thousands of marble books that represent each of the 60,000 Jews taken from Austrian and placed in concertration camps or killed during the Nazis' time of power.

• On Wednesday we toured the Staatsoper. We learned that it takes €90,000 to run the Staatsoper for one year. The opera itself makes about 50% of this, and the state pays the rest. It's a big thing here though and it employs tons of people.
• We also went to the opera museum and learned that several of the former opera directors died of heart failure. I think it's a pretty stressful job.
• Clock museums are wonderful.

• "Am Hof" apparently sounds different than "Amhof" in German. We asked a woman how to find Amhof and until she understood that we were looking for Am Hof, she thought we were crazy.

• Ask an Austrian to say "Darth Vader" some day. You won't regret it.
• We went to the Freud Muesum today. I loved it because I love Freud. Believe whatever you want, but I don't think he was a pervy old man. I think he was kind of a genius (although I admit he had some weird ideas...).

The man himself

I am a girl who loves a good (clean) Freudian joke.

I also think his studies on hysteria are super interesting in trauma studies, y'all.

• Our friend from institute, Raphael, made us Kaisershmarrn and another traditional Austrian dish I can't remember the name of and we had Almdudler, which is just a really yummy soda from the Alps. Also, we found and accidentally bought the European version of American cheese and almost died from it. Woof.
• Hot chocolate is sometimes the best medicine. Actually always.