Hi everyone! So I realize this is a day late, but last night I was so tired, so I just went to bed haha I'm going to try to remember what I did yesterday and relay that to you guys then I'll post again for what I did today!
So yesterday we got up and Deanna and Jessi had showed up! They got in early in the morning and so Tate brought them over to the house. So we all got dressed and Maria fixed us a wonderful breakfast of like bread and nutella and yogurt :) We started the day off by walking to St. Stephen's Cathedral which is basically in the heart of Vienna. It was packed but we got to go inside for a minute just to look around, but its very close to our house so I think I'm going to come back for mass sometime before I leave. Vienna is a Roman Catholic country, so the churches and catholic holidays are recognized and businesses close for the day and such.
After we checked that out briefly, we walked to lunch, which was Tate's choice, a kebab place called Sababa. It was like greek and Mediterranean food which was delicious! I got some chicken pita thing that was only 5,40 euros! But funny thing, the girl who is extremely picky, Natalie... she ordered something and when it came she looked at it and turned her nose up and refused to eat it. So she was sitting next to Tate, so he offered to take her to get pizza... which I'm now realizing is THE ONLY thing she likes. SO that was stupid we were all looking at her because she's being ridiculous! She didn't even try it!!!
Anyways after we ate, we walked to the Amerika Institut which is where we usually meet for class or whatever. There we had a little orientation to the program which was so boring... we learned about transportation around the city and what we are supposed to be provided food-wise by our host families and a bunch of other random rules of thumb for our visit. We also have to fill out this paper that establishes residency in Vienna, and we have to go turn it in to some office on Friday.
So after we got out of that boring thing, we got on the trolley which is basically a slowish tram above ground that runs on rails on the road. Like next to the cars. It's kinda interesting actually I've never seen anything like it and I'm not quite sure how it works with the traffic patterns and stuff. We rode that to a U-Bahn stop and went underground to then ride that to Simmering which is on the outskirts of the city. Did I mention that the U-Bahn (the subway or metro of Vienna) works on a honor system? Like you buy a pass for the U-Bahn and you don't have to go through any turn styles or anything you just get on it and ride whereever you want as often as you want and as long as you have that pass on you, your fine! But if your caught without your pass, and people with badges come around and will ask you to see it, then you have to pay a 100 euro fine right then and there!
So we rode to Simmering to go to the art store called Boesner's. Tate and everyone from every other year of this trip hyped it up so much for the awesome sketchbooks and pens, but I was kind of let down... I didn't think it was that great, it was just a huge art store. But I did get a sketchbook, planner and a few pens that I really like. I don't know I guess I just thought it would be nicer or have a huger selection but it didn't haha
Anyways, after that we were all pretty tired, but we still had to go to the grocery store to get food for dinner tonight, because we are going to an outdoor concert and we needed to pack a picnic but the stores are closed today because it's Corpus Christi, which Mom you should know about... its a Catholic Holiday and so Austria views it as a national holiday. So we rode the U-Bahn back to near our house then went to the grocery store (you have to pay to use a cart here and for the bags to carry your groceries!) then we came home finally!
When we got home we had a few minutes to rest (at this point it's about 6:15) then Maria had dinner ready! All four of us ate with her, her husband and one of her sons Moke (his name is really Franz but his nickname is Moke, pronounced Mee-o-kee) and he is a character! He is about 6'7" tall and he has these longgggg dredlocks that he said he has been growing for 12 YEARS! He's basically a hippie but very nice and friendly and speaks english pretty well. Maria made this HUGE dinner! We sat down and she brought over a vegetable soup that was really good :) so we all ate soup and bread for a while and it was really good and I was just about full... but then, she took away the soup and we realized that it was just the appetizer!! She then brought over peas and corn, some kind of baked pumpkin, potatoes, salad (all these veggies are from her garden!) and pork!! So we all ate that and then after we were done the main course... her husband poured us all shots of vodka!!! Apparently, here they drink schnopps or vodka after dinner and it helps burn off the food in your stomach so you don't feel as full and can eat more food!!! Then we had chocolate and apricot ice cream and these cookies that are made in Austria! hahah So basically it was the biggest meal ever and it was all sooo delicious!
So by this time its like 9 or later so we went to bed hhaha
phewwwww another post about what I did today coming later tonight or maybe tomorrow... I have to go now so we can go to the outdoor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performance!! I love you look for another post from me soon!
Oh and congrats to Matt on having his Senior Project chosen for him to present!! Yayy Matt!!
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