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Dear Blog Readers,
Nearly two months have passed as I sit on my first flight back to Blighty since moving to Vienna. No, I haven't had enough already - it is our annual trout fishing holiday to Wales coming up with Rob & Meg...only problem is I've left my new holiday hat back at the airport (it was replacing the infamous Panama hat bought in Panama and made in China).
Enough of going back to England, let's talk about Austria! An opportunity came up at work to go on secondment to the commercial finance team in Vienna for Sky Austria. At the end of March, a whirlwind month went by where we bought and moved into a new flat before I was whisked away and moved into a serviced apartment on the outskirts of the city centre.
A serviced apartment? Well...it's basically a hotel room with a small kitchen. It's a decent set up - they clean my room every week and I can use the gym and sauna downstairs too. Even better, my door to door commute has gone from just over an hour to 19 minutes. I'm living in the
19th district - Vienna is split into districts with the 1st being the centre and then subsequent districts wheel out around this pivot point. It takes the same time to go to work as it is to be in the heart of the capital.
Options for transport are diverse...tram, train, bike and bus, and you're as likely to get knocked into by a scooter as you are a roller skater. What's better, the annual ticket sets you back just €1/day for unlimited travel in the city boundary! The trains are frequent, arrive on time and are actually comfortable! I won't be able to go back to South West Cattle Transportation again.
The Sky Austria team here is a small but great group who have really welcomed me into the fold. One guy has already spotted the frequency of my tea runs and popped a couple of jars of loose leaf on my desk. I'll bring him back some Yorkshire in return. I can't fault the finance team too - there's only 5 of us and they're picking up my Yorkshire slang (their English is already superb so we're taking it to the next level)
as I continue to learn German.
I came armed with three years of secondary school, which in hindsight was actually one year with the superb Frau Janßen followed by two years of drivel with Frau Huesenot (aka. Mademoiselle Whoseanob, she was actually French). Success so far has been reserving a table for a lunch and an encounter at music bingo which left its mark on the team. A waitress had come to offer more drinks a few times durin the evening and at the end of the night, she came over to the table and started speaking. Naturally, I assumed she was saying the equivalent of, "do you want anymore drinks?" Having observed the prior encounters, I jumped at the chance of showing off that not only had I understood what she said, my response was going to be succinct, but ultimately, the tounge of a native speaker. Proudly, I replied, "Nein, danke!" The team fell about laughing, the waitress looked stunned, for I had just enthusiastically responded to the question, "Have you all had a good time?" with, "No, thanks!"
Weekends here have been filled with activities - a BBQ and bike ride
along the banks for the Danube, hikes up into the vineyards of the 19th district, music festivals at Praterstern and wandering around the picturesque city centre. I even managed to get to Budapest on the coach for €20 return! Laura and I are adjusting to the long distance as she continues to stay in the UK. It has meant that the weekends that she has been out have been spent with quality time together.
There's plenty more to come and I'll try and keep you all posted every month or two on how things are going out here - Mum, Gran and the toilet reading collective will be pleased to hear.
Auf Wiedersehen,
Simon und Laura
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