day 1... er 3?

so.... first post! guten aben! it is 7:10pm here in austria and i'm rounding out my first full good day. travel day (tuesday/wednesday) was pretty rough - i was totally sick (not sure if it was actually a bug or just nerves). the austrian air flight from DC to vienna was so amazingly kitsch it was unbelievable. first class had big purple chairs with yellow accents; economy had neon green chairs with orange accents, and every flight attendant wore head to toe red (i'm talking hats, tops, skirts, tights, and shoes). OH and they were also all hot, like in the 60s in america when you could discriminate for hotness. pretty amazing.

lucas and marc picked me up at the airport. they are the husband and son (respectively) of monika, my former aupair and surrogate sister/mother/shoulder to cry on while i am here. they live in the burbs but were kind enough to have my apartment pretty much all set up for me!

the apartment is quite different - the only shower is in the kitchen, which is immediately present upon entrance. i can't wait until someone comes to visit and i can cook them dinner while they are showering. they can even help with the soup broth if they squirt the shower head over the wall! the bed is typical austrian, as far as i can tell. no top sheet, one blanket, and one pillow. although it is unbelievably comfortable for being so utilitarian. also, the apartment holds more storage than i can ever imagine using - 4 full sized bureau/armoires, all much bigger than the one that i had in my apartment in PDX. this amazes me - space for clothing for a family of 12, but no bathtub??

my neighborhood, according to monika, is 'full of those turkish people.' but it feels really safe and there are always children yelling and causing a raucous so i guess that's a good thing? also, apparently none of the turks (is that a derogatory term?) speak english, which is good because it forces me to practice german. there is a subway stop 3 blocks away, and bus stops all around. also a really great looking farmer's-type market right by the subway stop (i haven't tried it yet, but will this weekend).

today i finally woke up feeling like i could start adventuring. i took the subway to stephansplatz (where st. stephan's cathedral is - literally. you come up the subway escalator and there it is, in it's permanently under constructed glory). the point of going there was to get a usb internet stick for use in my apartment, which i purchased, then had to immediately return because it was not compatible with macs. :( they said sometime in october. i inquired as to which day in october. they said 'sometime in october' a few more times. i think this is how it works here.

i walked around A LOT, had some coffee, did a ton of people watching, had some more coffee, walked more, went to the english bookshop (purchased milan kundera's 'identity'), ate some broth and noodles, walked more, and went to the vienna jewish museum. the first floor exhibition was under construction (a running theme), but there was a great max berger exhibit on the bottom floor, some funky hologram exhibit on the second, and literally thousands and thousands of relics on the third. it looks like they have hardly begun to unpack them, as the glass cases surround boxes of what appears to be another 4 floors worth of jewish artifacts. i wasn't allowed to take pictures and a museum employee was literally 20 steps behind me every where i went (except the kids' room, which had the entire hebrew alphabet spelled out with legos). then i got back on the subway for home and took a shower. in the kitchen.

then i went to a viennese grocery store, which is amazingly fun to do. an entire 1/6 of the store is dedicated to chocolate. also, i could not find mustard anywhere, but hangers and men's socks were readily available. they hurry you through the checkout line, make you throw everything back into your basket, then usher you to another area to bag your own groceries. i had to watch 3 or 4 people do this before i even dared attempt the process. the checkout lady was scarrrry. so i got fruits and veggies, cherry jam, spicy sausage sticks, cheese, pasta, pesto, and a bottle of champagne. the champagne is for tomorrow night, when monika and her family/friends are having me over for a special welcome dinner. i am very excited! but scared they will make me speak in german. BUT i am getting pretty good at it; i just ordered a glass of red wine like a real viennese/turkish local. yes it tastes like they put carbonation and sweet n' lo in it, but i just don't care.

i know i am forgetting a lot but i will be better about keeping up with this (in case anyone cares) :)

pictures are: monika, my kitchen shower, my fancy ass toilet, the view from my flat (a pizza parlor), and st. stephans cathedral

guten nacht my lovelies... write again soon!!