A Day in the City

This morning we woke up, had breakfast on the patio, and then headed to Belvedere, where we met up with Diego. We went up the art gallery, which had several Klimt paintings and even a few Monets. (I took some illegal pictures that I'll upload later.) When we reached the top of the gallery, we could see the French gardens and the cityscape in the background. Then Steph and the kids had to go back to the house, so Diego took me to several places. On our way to the Notch Market, we passed Schwarzenberplatz (a large Russian statue and fountain), Karlsplatz (a huge cathedral with a gorgeous park), and the French Embassy. Notch Market (a festive farmer's market) consisted of various fruit and vegetable stands, international shops, and glass displays of fresh meat and fish. We ate at a little restaurant and ate kabaps (gyros), which were better than the gyros back home because they were made with fresh lamb and not the salty, processed, lamb/beef mixture. During our meal Diego taught me how to spot an American on the street:

Women- Apparently the majority of us wears too much make-up and plucks the heck out of our eyebrows.
Men- The baseball hats are a dead give away.

He also taught me proper European dining etiquette. 1) Mom...you were right. Keep both hands visible on the table. It's impolite to eat with your hands on your lap. And Dad, Diego had never heard of the "hold your fork with your left hand" rule, but as I looked around the cafe, I noticed most people were eating with their left hands. 2) If you wait for your server to bring you the check, you'll sit there forever. You're supposed to say "Receipt please" (in German of course), but I can't remember how to say it, so a waving of the hand will suffice. 3) You only have to tip about 10%. Generally, if your meal is under 10 Euro, you just round the next dollar, and the tip is covered. So if your bill comes to E 5.60, you could just give the server E 6.00 and they would keep the extra 40 cents.

We then walked to the center of the city to the famous cathedral, Stephansdom. The architecture was AMAZING. My words don't do it justice, so here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Afterwards we met up with Diego's girlfriend and some of his friends at a quiet cafe down the street from a lively flea market. I had a shot of espresso and a few sips of soda citron (soda water with a BUNCH of lemon juice). It was really interesting to converse with other college students from a different country. Even though we live in two different cultures, we still had the same taste in music and movies. They were very friendly and very funny (from what I could tell...most of the time they were speaking German). Then Diego had me lead him to the 38 Tram to take me back to Steph's house. He was testing my navigation skills, and believe it or not, I passed-- so even after that slightly extended trip from Rockbridge to Morgantown, all hope is not lost.

When I came back to the house, Steph and Steve left for a dinner party. Before they left, they both assured me that I would be safe to walk around the city by myself. Diego told me the same thing. So trusting the judgment of all three of them, I went out on a Viennese adventure. I was very apprehensive at first because my German is limited to "Hello," "Excuse me," "Please/You're welcome," and ,"Thank you." But I swallowed my fear and caught a tram back to Grinsing, where we had lunch the day before. I had remembered that there was a festival going on in all of the cathedrals across Vienna, so I walked to the church that we had peeked into the yesterday. There was a beautiful choir performing, and even though I was terribly underdressed and my hair was still a little wet, I sat down in the back row. The service was beautiful; the choir consisted of members of both sexes ranging from ages 8 to 50. The cathedral was very small and simple, but the acoustics were amazing. They spoke in German, but all of the songs were in English. As I sat there, I just marveled at the fact that we were from different cultures, speaking different languages, and living on different sides of the world, yet we were all praising the same God.

On the way back, I stopped in a little tavern and had a glass of Chardonnay. I practiced Diego's dining rules, and I made it out alive with no disgusted glances.

I love the city of Vienna. You can just feel the The streets here are lined with tall, baroque structures with elaborate cathedrals peeking through the skyline. The people here are very private, and they don't smile a lot. But they are more than willing to help you with directions if you initiate the conversation with Entschuldigung (excuse me...don't even try to pronounce it. I can hardly do it, and I've said it twenty times today). I hate to say it, but they are a lot friendlier than the Athenians.