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Published: March 11th 2008
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On Thursday, I attended my two classes, ran back to my dorm, ate some lunch, and then ran to the bus station. It is kind of confusing because there are two stations. Remember my mishap with Molly’s bus? Thankfully I made it with plenty of time and got on with ease. (I had purchased my ticket earlier in the week). The bus line, Student Agency, is quite luxurious and offers a movie, headphones for music, and a free beverage on the ride. There are even Czech papers available. I made it to Vienna in about 2 hours and Christian, Molly’s boyfriend, was kind enough to pick me up because Molly had class in the evening. Christian lives quite far from the city centre, but it was a pleasant little journey to his flat. He allowed me to stay with him and his roommate (who is also named Christian, but called Maestro because he is a composer). Since it was the weekend, Molly was also there. Christian and I met Molly at her class and went out for coffee and schnitzel at a famous coffee house. It was delicious! Molly had to work the next day, and we all wanted to be
ready for Molly’s birthday so we retired rather early. I slept in a sleeping bag on the floor in the hallway. The floor was a bit hard, but I was happy not to spend the money on a hostel (and save it for fabulous Viennese coffee instead!) ;-)
Molly was at work by the time I woke up (she teaches English at a kindergarten); I showered and then Christian and I went around the city to get a few groceries and a few last minute gifts for Molly. Christian lives very close to Schonbrunn Palace so I stopped to take a few pictures. I am glad that I did because in the hustle of the weekend, they were the only pictures that I managed to take. We met Molly back at the flat and they made a delicious lunch of tofu stir-fry and Mango-coladas. For her birthday, Molly wanted to go to the opera, so we got all dressed up and obtained tickets for the “standing room” section. The opera in Austria is heavily subsidized, so our tickets were only two Euros, which is about 3 dollars!!!!!!! This was especially exciting because we saw… drum roll please… Puccini’s LA
BOHEME in AUSTRIA!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!! La Boheme is the opera on which the Broadway musical RENT is based. It is brilliant and I enjoyed every minute! We even managed to secure a much-coveted table in the opera house café for coffee and wine before the show. We went out afterwards for drinks and birthday strudel but didn’t stay out too long. We were pretty tuckered out!
Saturday started rather lazily. Molly made mango-chili tofu and rice for breakfast (which was scrumptious!) and then we had a dessert (oh yes, after breakfast) of coffee and chocolate fondue. Mmmmmm! It was late in the afternoon before we were able to rouse ourselves fully and get dressed; we just managed to get to the big open market before it closed. (Vienna has a really strange law that says pretty much nothing can be open on Sundays and on Saturday the markets and stores close at 6, so you really have to be prudent with your shopping.) I got to taste falafel and hummus! Oh, happiness. I even bought baklava! ;-)
Molly and Christian have a friend who works at a chic little bar in the city, so we went there in hopes
of a free drink or snack for her birthday. The best we were able to get was happy hour, so we each had a drink and then went to a “Tex Mex” restaurant for dinner.
After the market I started not to feel so well and by the time we got to the restaurant I had a throbbing headache. I ate a small meal, but during the whole thing I felt quite miserable. I was also feeling quite homesick, which only worsened my icky feeling. Christian and Molly’s friends were so interesting and I wish I had been better able to interact with them. It was fortunate for me that Christian’s flat mate went home from his own parties early. Christian got me to a bus and gave me Maestro’s number. I told myself that I felt well enough to make it to the flat to lie down… but it was not to be. I threw up into Molly’s bag of purchases from the market and on my gloves and shirt. I crawled to the doors and sat on the ground. This would not have been so bad had someone at least asked if I was okay or if
I wasn’t by myself, but people just stepped over me and gave me odd stares. It was incredibly disheartening and I was in tears by the time I reached the apartment. I tried to call Molly, then Christian, then Maestro, but my calls would not go though, I had almost no money on my phone, and the battery was going as well. I didn’t have a key, so I was distraught at how to get in. Finally, I just pressed the buzzer to one of the flats. The door actually opened! Oh, dear God, thank you! I ran up the stairs and pounded on the door to be let in. Maestro came and let me in, but when I thanked him for letting me in the building, he was quite astonished, as he had not ever heard the buzzer. It does not, in fact, work, really at all. I still don’t know how I got in, but I offered up a sincere prayer!
I tried to wash my clothing in the sink and took a bath and then went to bed. I slept in until about 2 pm on Sunday and woke up feeling a bit better. Molly and
Christian stayed out until about 5 am singing karaoke and salsa dancing for her birthday, so they also slept in quite late as well. I decided to cut my trip a little short and got a ticket home on the afternoon bus. The bus journey was interesting in the fact that a quite drunk man rambled on in Czech for the entire 2-hour ride! At one point, the driver even pulled over the bus to yell at him! It seemed like a few other members of the bus also had a few words for him. He didn’t bother me directly, but I was pretty happy to get off that bus and away from him!
It was, in a way, good that I returned early because I was able to take care of a few errands that needed to be done, as well as some homework. I hope to visit Vienna again in a healthier personal state. I hear it is beautiful in the spring…
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