Happiness

In two months exactly, I leave Vienna. It feels slightly unreal that I have lived here for more than two months already, and looking back on it, I have enjoyed every day. I have traveled to other cities, attended concerts and performances, gone rollerblading on the Donau Insel, had Sturm and roast pork legs at local Heuriger, and of course attended class during the week at the institute.

Last Sunday morning, I attended a concert of the Wiener Philharmoniker, one of the most famous and respected orchestras in the world. The concert was held in the Vienna Musikverein, which is known as the 'center of Viennese musical culture.' The concert was one of the best I have ever been to. I was fortunate enough to get the ticket for free from a student who was traveling out of town that day on an IES-sponsored trip, so she could not attend. The ticket was in the "Stehplatz," or standing area, and although the view was not ideal and my feet were slightly fatigued after a two-hour performance, the music made it all very worth it. And even with my small musical knowledge and talent, I recognized some of the pieces they performed because they played Beethoven's 3rd Symphony and 'Ein Heldenleben' by Strauss.

This past week has been one of the busiest so far, because midterms are next week. Not only do I have a German 'prufung' tomorrow morning, and two in-class essay tests and a take-home exam next week, I have 10-15 page term papers for four classes due in the next 6 weeks. The first part of the week was spent learning the final material that will be covered on the midterm, and the second part was devoted to review. After receiving the numerous review handouts and essay guidelines, I feel confident overall about the amount of studying I need to do before the actual tests next week. For good or bad, I anticipate this weekend to be as busy as this week was. Tomorrow morning, I have my German midterm at 10am. After that, I am accompanying a friend on a class field trip to the Klosterneuburg Monastery, 45 minutes north of Vienna. We will tour the monastery for about 2 hours, and then visit a 'Heuriger' (a type of Viennese restaurant where self-made wine is served) for dinner. My friend (Kathryn) has a friend from home visiting for the weekend, so she will also get to participate in the field trip and dinner. Eating at a Heuriger is a traditional Viennese experience, because the establishment was created by Austrian Emperor Joseph II in the 18th century. When we return to Vienna, we will most likely take Kathryn's friend 'out on the town,' to one of Vienna's many clubs, or 'diskotheks.' Luckily, daylight savings time is Saturday, so we can make sure she doesn't stay out too late :)

On Sunday, the Vienna boys choir plays at 9:15am at the Hofburgkapelle. Entrance to the performance is free for Stehplatz, so we will get there at about 8:30am early to a get decent view. After the concert, Kathryn wants to take her friend to her favorite cafe, Cafe Oberlaa, which has the best hot chocolate and cakes in the city (according to Kathryn's research so far - Kathryn is a chocolate connoisseur, who specializes in hot chocolate!). Then, Kathryn and her friend are planning to go to the zoo (the oldest in the world), which will give me a break to study. However, Sunday evening we have tickets to go the Wien Rapid game (soccer) at 6pm. Our tickets are in the fans stands, so we have to get there an hour early to get good seats because its first-come-first-serve. Before the game, we will go to dinner at a local restaurant to get authentic Austrian food and beer. I am really looking forward to the game, because I go to sports events a lot in Denver, but haven't had too many opportunities for that here. Hopefully it won't be too cold, or raining.

I have the entire day Monday to study, and then have one midterm Tuesday evening and one Wednesday morning. I will go to my teaching internship both of those days, to work with the kids like I do every week, but after teaching on Wednesday, I am done with classes for the week. I am taking a field trip on Thursday morning with the older class I work with, to the Vienna Treasury, to learn how to recognize a counterfeit Euro.

Then, Thursday afternoon I am taking the train to Tubingen, Germany to visit a couple friends from Denver who are studying there. I will arrive late Thursday night and stay until Sunday morning. Halloween is not commonly celebrated here, although it is gaining popularity, but since Tubingen has a large college-age population, I may have the chance to dress up. Usually, I would be excited to come up with a creative costume for Halloween, but here I don't have as many resources or motivation. Hopefully I can think of something to wear that will be fun and not too expensive or complicated to put together.

I still cannot believe that I have less than two months left in Vienna. Next week already seems gone, and the weekend after Halloween I am going to Madrid, so that seems past as well. All these adventures are great, but there is still so much of Vienna that I haven't seen or experienced also. I was a little discouraged by the weather the past 10 days or so, because it has been consistently overcast and rainy. Today however, the skies were clear and the weather was truly enjoyable. Between finishing class in the morning, buying shoes more appropriate for the Fall weather than small flats, and studying for my German midterm tomorrow, I spent a considerable amount of time walking around outside appreciating the sunshine and cool, comfortable temperature. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the clouds don't immediately return, because I would really enjoy being able to continue exploring Vienna by foot and spending time outdoors in the city rather than in my apartment or at the institute.

I was thinking of how to conclude my post, when Kathryn (whom I am talking to on Skype at the moment about registering for classes for next semester in the US) reminded me of a very pleasant and surprising experience we had today. I met her mid-afternoon at Cafe Oberlaa for a study-break of hot chocolate and specialty cakes. We shared an Apfel Streussel and Mohn Cake, which were both very delicious (Cafe Oberlaa is famous in Vienna for its various cakes and tortes, and Kathryn is determined to try them all and choose favorites by the end of the year).

Continuing with my story, Kathryn and I had paid our bill and were in the process of leaving when we were lured in by the display cases full of truffles, cakes, and an assortment of other delicacies. We were huddled over one case, perplexed by its rich assortment of pastries, when an older man walked towards the case from behind as if he wanted to make a purchase. We quickly apologized and moved aside, but he was very nice and encouraged us to keep looking. Neither of us were planning on making a purchase, so we took a brief look at a different case and then proceeded to leave. As we walked towards the front door, the man approached us from behind, and held out two small gift boxes. Kathryn and I were both frozen with uncertainty. Clearly, he was mistaken. Why would he have a reason to give us these small gifts on a whim? He put one into my hand, and one into Kathryn's, and then wished us a good day. It is amazing how much of an impression that one simple, nice gesture made on both Kathryn and I. After that, I think we both appreciated life a little more, and like Kathryn commented, "maybe Angels really do exist."

I hope that all is well for everyone reading this, and my best wishes go out to all those who are important in my life. Today, I found out that a family member of a very good friend of mine was in an accident a few days ago and was severely hurt. Although I do value my opportunity to live in this beautiful city, I also want to send my thoughts and prayers to those whom I don't get to spend time or communicate with on a regular basis. Its amazing how easy it is to loose contact with the people who you care for in your life, and to let life fly by. So, my two cents for the day is, embrace the people who surround you now, stay close to the people whom you truly care about, and remember those who may have slipped from your everyday thoughts.

Ein schönes Wochenende und viel liebe,
Rebecca :)

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