Blogs from Vienna, Austria, Europe - page 106

Well, I am now the proud owner of an egyptian cotton travel sheet!! Very light and comes in a tiny bag that easily slips into one of the drink pockets of my rucksack. I still can't believe that I actually managed to fit the relatively big sheet back into that dinky little bag - but I did it!!!!! On the down side I woke up with a cold sore this morning - just what I wanted. It's burning like hell and my wonder cream doesn't seem to be working either :-( My route is more or less planned, that is if I can get into the hostels I've set my heart on. It was very tough eliminating all those places that I won't possibly have the time to go to, but there is still a whole ... read more

We all got up at various times on boxing day as we all had different flights, Craig was away first 3hrs ahead of Jamie and Richard who were 4hrs ahead of me. In the end Craig got lost for 3hrs so arrived at the hostel after Jim and Rich, and when i arrived late that night I found I had some catching up to do at the hostel bar! But even the alcohol and ear plugs could not save me from the thundering roar of Rich's snore and not much sleep was to be had, what had i signed myself up for? Our first day out travelling together, and we had heard the thing to do was to ride the ring road tram to see all the sights then walk around them, so on Cosi's direction ... read more

Well, I'm home. It's good to see my family and my cats. But I'm still sort of in a Vienna mindset, and must add more pictures of it.... read more

Christmas time in Vienna is amazing. Aside from the beautifully lighted streets and various Christmas markets with the mouth watering scents of Brutwursts, roasted chestnuts and warm spiced wine, the hustle and bustle of the city on Christmas eve is extremely charming. On the 24th we walked to the Nasch market (about a 10 minute walk from the apartment), to do our Christmas dinner shopping and pick us a Christmas tree. The Nasch market is a huge permanant farmer's market. The vendors are mostly Turkish and there are Shawerma and falafel stands every few feet. It's a good place to buy vegetables, great cheese and spices. They also have homemade fresh ravioli that we have become addicted to. The Nasch market on the afternoon of Christmas eve was alive and kickin! Vienese had gathered in large ... read more

This is my last day in Vienna. My roommate, Alex, was kind enough to let me load some pictures on her computer so that I can put them on Facebook and on this blog. Unfortunately, my laptop is broken, so that is why I haven't updated in forever; I could have at the IES center, but you can't load pictures onto their computers, and I don't like posts on here without pictures ;) Today has been depressing, because it has been just a day of saying goodbye one person after the other. I love so many people here, and it is really strange to think that four months of my life could bring me so close to people, and these are people who I may never see again (although I hope that I DO see them ... read more