Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 292

Austria is a pretty crazy place that is all about protecting the environment. So knowing this it is no surprise that they have six different categories for their trash. There’s paper, plastic, metal, bio (all things that were at one time living…hair, bananas, orange peels and the like), restmüll (everything that doesn’t fit into another category) and problem trash (if after restmüll you still don’t know what to do with it…it’s a problem). Those are just the six main categories, if all else fails and we can’t figure out what pile to put our trash into we can just consult the cliff notes on the back of our bathroom door. Yes, I kid you not, we have Cliff Notes to Austrian Garbage Separation hanging on the back of our door and it’s even color coded! Tuesdays ... read more

I took a great trip with my language program through the Wachau region of the Danube river valley - a region renowned for fine wine and beautiful scenery. To share some highlights: Melk - a benedictine monastary with one of Europe's oldest libraries and some interesting history. It is considered a baroque architectural masterpiece, and from the outside I consider it very beautiful. Inside is a tad overdone for my tastes - it is baroque gone absolutely berserk, dripping golden cherubs, etc. Cruise down the Danube - the Danube river valley is THE beaten path in Austria and with good reason. Misty hills are striped with vineyards and dotted with castles and roman ruins. We lucked out, and with good weather I was able to sit on the top deck and soak it all in. Duernstein ... read more

After a big night of drinking and partying, we woke up this morning to get some physical activity in, as if we haven't been doing enough walking. Most people decided to just sleep in as they were too hung over to go mountain biking. I didn't think that the course would be overly strenuous, boy was I wrong. About 12 of us went over to the bike shop where we were met by about 30 others from another tour. We all got fitted for our bikes and off we went. We all rode single file along some very easy trails and along the sides of the road. The ride was very scenic with the green mountains being topped off by the clouds and fog. We passed some kind of sheep show which might be kind ... read more

I would like to welcome you to Vienna, the city I call home for the next year of my life as I try to improve my German, immerse myself in another history and culture, and study... marine biology. "But Austria is a landlocked country," you say, adding with a chuckle that I "should be studying in AustrALia!" I like Australia. I aspire to go there one day. And, you do have a valid point - the Austrians think coming here to study without an ocean is pretty hilarious too, but - surprise! - the UniWien has a small and dedicated department of Marine Biology. You can check it out yourself at http://www.univie.ac.at/marine-biology/ if you are interested in seeing the research that they are involved in. There are other distincly positive aspects to studying in Vienna as ... read more

Here's some views from my dorm and some pictures from the first few weeks here. I have went downtown a lot because it was so nice out and the city is so pretty. The view from my dorm window is absolutely amazing. Meg and I went up to a church called Postlinberg one weekend and got some pretty good pictures since it is on top of a mountain.... read more