Home Away from Home

A few pics from my home away from home Wiener Neustadt.

Vienna

Friday we went to Vienna to celebrate Maria's birthday!! I was the only one who had ever gone so i was the navigator..imagine that?!? Luckily I remembered how to get around really easily. The cake on the left is from Cafe Sacher. It is said to be the world's classiest chocolate cake. I disagree..ha. I would put a molten from Chili's up against it anyday. According to Rick Steve's, my personal tour guide for Europe, most Americans think this cake is too dry. I agree! Also, if you go here in a group, be prepared for everyone to buy at least one thing. They frown upon the idea of sharing or ordering water instead of coffee. A piece of cake and a melange here cost around 9 euro, so like 12 dollars maybe.

#3

Do we have this in America?? Im not sure. All i know is that it smells like heaven. Unfortunately...it costs a whopping 58 euro..another words like 75 dollars ish. I wish it were mine.

Is it possible to miss someone you've never met?

This is the new book I am reading. I have had it for far to long without reading it.

Conversions

So everyone should know, if you ever travel from America to Europe your life will be a constant conversion. Why America doesn't learn in kg, meters, liters, and Celsius is beyond me. So thus far, I have felt more like a chemistry major, having to convert everything, rather than a marketing major. Below are some helpful hints for conversions...

1 kg=2.2lbs. This is for when you get on the scale and see 60kg and are like...what does that mean. Or for when the plane says you can have 22 kg only..So for us..48lbs!

1 meter = 3.28 ft. This is when someone gives you walking directions and says..yea its only 500 meters away..and you have to turn around and say can you please speak english to me..bc i have no idea what that means..(that was me my first day)

1 liter = 4 cups. Helpful for those attempting to cook. The instructions are in a different language too, so that could be hard, but I cannot attempt to explain those. It took several epic failures of rice for me to get this one straight.

Celsius to Fahrenheit. The round about conversion for this is take the celsius X 2 + around 30ish. I figured out this one really fast when I went into a sauna that was 55 celsius. No wander I was so hott. Sitting in 140 degress F, is not really my cup of tea.

Budapest

This past weekend I was able to spend some time in Budapest, Hungary. Three pics are of the view from the castle we went to. The other pic is of a melange, which is a coffee with milk and honey. The trip highlights were the turkish baths, the huge exchange student dance party, and anytime I ate. The food in Hungary really hit the spot for me. Everything I tried was great! Luckily on the trip we had one person who spoke Hungarian. He was our saving grace since none of the other 32 people could communicate with anyone. The money in Hungary was a lil bit of a challenge. I had finally gotten used to the Euro, but then had to change to the forint. We were constantly having to do math in our head to figure out how much everything cost. Im definitely glad I came on this trip, but I would not go back. My advice to anyone traveling to Europe would be to give Budapest 2 days max. Everything can be seen during that time period if you hit it hard.

Social Eating

So I realized today how far away from all my friends I am. I got done with class and was ready to call up a friend and go eat lunch..when I remembered..crap..all my friends are sleeping right now a million miles away. Luckily one of my new friends saved the day and sat with me in the caf so I wasnt a complete loner. Going into my 6th year of college and I feel like a freshman again.

This pic is of my fav lil coffee shop back home, The Edge. Amazing food, drinks, and study place.

What a lucky girl I am

A few of my favorite sights..In order from the top is St. Stephan's Cathedral in Vienna, followed by the London Eye and Tower of London. Next, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in Paris

Bagging Groceries

So I will probably talk alot on this blog about cultural differences. Not only for those who read it to learn about them, but also to remind me how easy and convenient it is in America to do just about anything. Besides find a job these days, of course. My very first day in Wiener Neustadt I had my first slight cultural altercation/misunderstanding. It was my first time to ever grocery shop in Europe and considering I know just about enough german to get my by if I was dieing, I was at a slight disadvantage. I won't bore anyone reading this with all of the details, but in case you ever do come to Austria, or Europe for that matter, be prepared to bag your own groceries, and purchase a bag to carry them out in, if you dont bring in your own. Unfortunately for me, I was unaware of the bagging your own groceries part, and being that I am accustomed to the American version of shopping, meaning bulk purchases, I had tons of stuff to purchase. It was only when the cashier starting yelling at me in German...probably including something along the lines of stupid American..did my new Austrian friend Bernie save the day and help me bag my groceries. Without him, I would not have survived my first shopping experience.

" A christian is held captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God has planned." I'm so excited to be doing this study along with the girls from church back home!

Shades of Blue

Another amazing book by Karen Kingsbury. I was introduced to this amazing author back in May of 2007, and I can't get enough of her books. This book is centered around dealing with the guilt of abortion, and the amazing peace and forgiveness that only Christ can give to people that go through these situations. Her books have a way of helping me understand how God speaks to people, and even helps me better tune into what he is telling me.

a world of first times

Finally I have arrived in Europe. My first chance to discover only a small part of God's beautiful earth. so far, I have been to Vienna, Paris, and London. With no bags, i might add. The highlights from the Vienna trip would include our amazing hostel, St Stephen's Cathedral, and the Hofburg Palace. The pic to the right is of the cathedral. Mozart was married at this church, which is pretty cool. We also went to a classical musical/opera/ballet. Not really my jam, but neat t experience at least once in a persons life.

Next, we went to Paris. The city of love some say. Highlights from Paris would include St. Chapelle, Notre Dome, The Louvre, Versailles, Orsay, The Arc de Triomphe, and of course the Eiffel Tower. St. Chapelle was built in 1242 and has stained glass windows of images from the bible from Genesis until the time of Christ. The light shinning through the windows is a symbol of God's grace shinning down to the earth. The crown of thorns is also housed here, but we didnt get to see that. The Louvre houses tons and tons of art that would have taken us 4 days to view, so we just focused on the really famous paintings and sculptures. The Orsay then follows the Louvre, housing art from the Impression era. It contains the best of Monet and Van Gogh, among many others. I liked this better than the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe is the biggest arc in the world. It was built by Napoleon and his funeral took place here. This was a neat sight to see. Versailles was quite the sight to see as well. Spring would have been a better time to go in order to enjoy all of the gardens, but we did get to see the inside of the palace. My fav Paris sight is naturally the Eiffel Tower. At the top of ever hour it sparkles and is something everyone should see once in their life.

Lastly...London! What a wonderful place to be. Such nice and helpful people with such cute lil accents. Highlights from London include going up in the London Eye, Big Ben, going to a church service at Westminister Abbey, and the Tower of London. The abbey has over 3000 tombs under it including those of 29 kings and queens, and others like the writer Chaucer, and even Charles Darwin. The Tower of London was my favorite visit. We had a great tour guide, and it was neat to see the royal jewels and to learn about all of the history that happened right where we stood. The London Eye is the worlds biggest ferris wheel.

Pictures to come soon!