♪ This Means Nothing to Me.... Oh, Vienna! ♫

Last weekend, I ventured to the capital of Austria, Vienna. Anne, one of the main people involved in TEA (Teachers of English in Austria, not just a group that really, REALLY likes a cup of Earl Grey) had sent an email round the Salzburg Teaching assistants inviting us to join her for a party in Vienna. I'd kinda forgotten about this email as it had been sent in October (I think.. Or i might just be very forgetful!) but Ali reminded me and was so glad she did because I ended up having a really fun weekend!

Organized to get the train from Salzburg with Ali and we got on the big international train which travels from Munich to Budapest. Unfortunately because it was the big international train, it was packed and so we traipsed up and down the aisles for AGES before eventually deciding to split up and find our own seats. Typical! The one time I go somewhere with someone, we can't sit together! Luckily Ali found us both seats pretty near each other and the person next to her got off at Linz, so I joined her for the rest of the journey. It took around 5 hours altogether to get from home to Vienna.

FIRST IMPRESSION: Vienna = proper city! Immediately outside the train station, there's big billboards, large roads with traffic lights, tram stops and pedestrian crossing and plenty of global, well-known brand shops.

Ali and I were hungry and we saw the yellow 'M' of the Mecca of fast food. Was so tasty as I hadn't eaten for such a long time!

We went back to the train station after to meet up with the 'Tirolians': Elina, Sam, Kerry, Betsy and Suzy then we went our separate ways... Ali and Suzy were having a St Andrews get-together and I joined the other to go to Anne's house. However, as they hadn't eaten yet, I somehow ended up in the second restaurant of the evening! As I didn't REALLY feel like a second meal, I had a 'Wiener-Mädl torte' instead. White chocolate, sponge cake and vanilla creme.... HEAVEN!!!

FIRST IMPRESSION OF ANNE'S HOUSE: Amazingly massive and grand! Anne was so nice and welcoming, the first thing she said was: 'I Have one rule: Make yourself at home!'.

Met Rachel and Pavel (a Polish assistant, teaching English in Rachel's town) in the kitchen and for the rest of the night, waited for the others to arrive. Pam, Karen, Walter and ... someone who's name I've forgotten :S all arrived throughout the evening and we spent time catching up and hearing about each others experiences.

DAY 2
Woke early - lot of time to explore! We split into groups because everyone wanted to do different things and so walked towards Hofburg with the Tirolians. We passed the Rathaus, where a large but very tourist-y Christmas market was but we didn't have time to look around.





At Hofburg, we went round the Porcelain Museum and the Sisi Museum. Porcelain was pretty boring. Some facts were interesting, but after seeing one set of plates, you don't really need to see 700 other sets! :S


The Sisi museum on the other hand, was really interesting! It was amazing to walk around the living quarters of this iconic Queen and learn about her troubled history. One of my favourite items on exhibition was the syringe filled with cocaine which was used to 'cure' menstrual pains! LOL!

After this, we walked back into the town centre where we had some pizza and saw a really talented artist spray painting amazing sci-fi landscapes! His name is Joel Chavez so check him out!





After marvelling at the artists skills for half an hour while he created another work of art, we went to the Sacher Cafe. This is the place where the world famous Sachertorte was created. It's probably the poshest cafe I have EVER been in, with a cloakroom and the most polite waiters/waitresses in the world (and there was a 30 min queue outside)! The Sacher torte was delicious - I'd defo recommend a visit here.


Mmmmmmm Sachertorte!!!

On the way back to Anne's, we went round two other Chrismtas Markets - One at the Museumsquartier (Maria Theresien-Platz) and one at Spittelberg. Viele Geschenke were bought here!!!

We got back at 7 and more people arrived: lots of TEA members from all over Austria and a few second year TAs, all of whom I'd never met before. We were joined by more 1st years as well: Ali, Suzy, Emily, Nora and Lars from Salzburg. Had a few drinks, sang Christmas carols and ate food together. Really enjoyed it! Met a few cool new people and had some interesting chats! :D

SECOND IMPRESSION: Anne is THE BEST! She gave us a buffet and wine/beer, put 15 of us up for the night and made sure we were really well accommodated in general! Definitely one of the most generous people I know, especially as she didn't really know us before that weekend.

JOURNEY HOME: Got the 1.15 train with Ali. Managed to get a comfy seat across the aisle from Ali, but think we were both too knackered/hung over to talk! I know I was knackered at least!
At Salzburg, we got on a train that went through Hallein. The trains were running slow anyway, but this train stopped at EVERY station along the line, so I ended up missing my connection at Schwarzach! I waited for 30 mins, got on the train and was soon in Saalfelden. The majority of passengers got off here (I guess coz they were school kids and probs go to the schools I teach in!) so took the taxis waiting outside. How annoying! I was going to walk all the way home, but it was soooooo cold I rang a taxi.

All in all the journey took 7 HOURS from door to door! HOW RIDICULOUS! Too long for me!

As a final note, here is a children's shop in Vienna:

My Weekend In Innsbruck

On the 27th, I went to Innsbruck for Sam's 21st Birthday Gathering. Was really good and had a fun time as I hadn't seen any of the assistants (apart from Kieran) since the induction course and I was reminded that everyone is SO nice and friendly! Elina was kind enough to put me up for the night, along with Melissa and Abi, and they were all really chatty - felt like I hadn't missed out on that much (which i thought i might have, given my lack of doing many social things!). Interesting to hear about their teaching experiences, though and how they're settling in to other parts of Austria - think we're all in a similar situation, having different styles of classes but also different outside of the school.

We went to the Christmas market and had some Glühwein - kept my cup as a souvenier! :D - then met up with Ross and Chris and went back to Elina's to get ready. Had a bit of an adventure getting to the place we were going! Chris left early to meet Sam and the others at the train station and he took them to the Hofgarten. We went with Elina there but she'd never been to the tent/bar place there! So we spent around 20 mins walking round, shouting 'SAM!!!!???' before we eventually found the right way to go. Part of that story may have been a little exaggerated... So we sat inside the tent bit of the bar for a while, freezing and eventually decided to go inside the actual building. Sam had to leave early for her train home, which was a shame, but enjoyed catching up with the other TA's Helen, Betsy, Hayley and Kerry and the other new people I'd never met before Chris and Nathan.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend and will definitely visit these people more often! I hadn't laughed so much in a long time!

A Tribute to Leslie Nielsen

On the 29th November, I heard that Leslie Nielsen had died (aged 84). This upset me tremendously. He was an utter LEGEND and his spoof films are so funny, they have determined my own sense of humour. The Naked Gun (and the original Police Squad series) made fun of American cop dramas and Nielsen's serious portrayal as the bumbling Frank Drebin made the whole thing much funnier than if he had been played in a slapstick manner. Airplane! is another classic film and although Nielsen is not the main character, his lines are probably the most memorable parts of the film. His more recent movies were a little bit of a sell-out (Spanish Movie - he has 2/3 minutes on screen) but who cares? He's AMAZING and deserves any role he wants! The comedy world will 'shirley' miss Leslie Nielsen, as will I...

My Quotes:
Airplane:
Stewardess: Surely you can't be serious?!
Doctor (Nielsen): I am serious. And don't call me Shirley

Doctor: We need to get these passengers to a hospital.
Stewardess: What is it?
Doctor: A big white building with patients inside. But that's not important right now.

Doctor: I just wanna say, Good Luck! We're all counting on you.

Naked Gun
Frank Drebin (Nielsen): Nice beaver!
Jane: Thanks! I just had it stuffed.

Frank's inner monologue: Who was this character in the hospital? And why was he trying to kill Nordberg? Did Ludwig lie to me? I didn't have any proof, but somehow, I didn't entirely trust him either. Why was the 'I Luv You' not listed in Ludwig's records? And if it was, did he know about it? And if he didn't, who did? And where the hell was I?

Police Squad!
Det. Frank Drebin (Nielsen): [running gag] Cigarette?
Various: Yes, I know.

Superhero Movie
Uncle Albert (Nielsen): Remember, with great power comes...
Rick Riker: Great responsibility?
Uncle Albert: Well, I was gonna say bitches, but if you want to be a virgin for the rest of your life...

Scary Movie 3
Agent Thompson: Sir! Step away from the window!
President Harris (Nielsen): What? Did I forget to put my pants on again?

A Realisation

There are numerous times when I really want an Xbox or a Playstation. I see the adverts for the latest games and accessories and I get a little jealous – they look so much fun!

But today I realised that not having a games console is a good thing. I was talking to Chris, and was telling him about the pianos in basement of the boarding house I live in. I’ve been there a couple of times to have a bit of a play and at the weekend, tried to teach myself Fireflies by Owl City (which is coming along quite nicely!). I enjoy doing things like this as I love music and enjoy trying to learn such an artistic, respectable skill. It was only after Chris said that I enjoy learning whereas he enjoys playing his Xbox that it hit me how great it is not to have a games console.

If I had an Xbox or a Playstation (they are the only consoles I’d want), I would ALWAYS spend my time on them! They are a great way of relaxing and keeping you entertained but at the same time, it’s a way of wasting time; you don’t gain any transferable skills from them, you don’t learn anything that can bring happiness to others and it’s scary how much time you actually spend on them without realising it. Basically, people are becoming zombies because of an addiction to simple pleasure.
Learning to play a song on the piano in comparison, takes time and practice but in return you gain a massive feeling of satisfaction and success. So if learning an art is the alternative to becoming a slave to the game, then I guess I will continue to take advantage of the pianos on offer here and stop complaining that I don’t have a console.

Fun Sunday!!

Had an extremely productive Sunday yesterday. I retuned my radio to all the fabulous Austrian pop music stations I could find, tried to play the piano for about an hour, went on a walk up the hill where I live and fixed my hard drive! Well good!
On the first day here, Gerhard told me there was a nice walk up the hill to a hermitage and I presumed he meant along a road but I deiscovered yesterday, there’s a whole hive of paths up there! All of them are scenic, woodland-y routes along earth paths and there was even a notice board with all the information about these paths on it in German and English. I followed the most obvious looking path and managed to get to the big building halfway up the mountain you can see from the centre of town. This is Schloss Lichtenberg. I would’ve carried on to the hermitage but I left the start time of my walk a little late and I wanted to watch the Arsenal-Everton match online (we luckily held onto a 2-1 lead!) so I turned round after reaching here and returned to my house.









My portable hard drive decided to break the other night. Every time I plugged it in, Autoplay wouldn’t load up and the drive didn’t appear in ‘My Computer’, only in Device Management so it was impossible to load the files stored on it. This frustrated me so much! I checked online and tried various solutions, but none of them worked. After a day or so of getting angry, throwing it against the wall etc. I had a look in the box it came in (which I’d forgotten I’d brought with me). In it was a disk and a screwdriver. Dad recommended reinstalling driver software but when I loaded disc up, there were too many file names and paths for me to know exactly which one I’d want so I did nothing. I thought I might as well have a look inside, in case there were any obvious flaws. So I unscrewed the end and pulled it out. The actual disc part was still inside. I couldn’t see anything wrong with the end bit so pushed it back in, trying to be careful not to damage anything. But when I plugged the HDD into my laptop again, the light didn’t even come on…. OOPS! :S so I unscrewed it again, pulled the end out and slid the disc bit out as well. This time I reconnected the ‘teeth’ of the disc into the slots of the end bit, plugged it all back in and it worked. Amazingly Autoplay ran straight away, ‘Panda!Panda! (G:)’ came up and I was so happy!!! Have no real idea how I fixed it, but if anyone wants me to look at their technical equipment, you know where to come in future!

Chris' Visit

Chris visited me for a whole 9 days. 9 days. THAT’S AMAZING!!! Was so happy to see him and spend time with him. The first couple of nights we stayed in my room at the HIB but as it’s a girl’s house, I felt it was a bit inappropriate for him to stay once the girls had all returned (and the teachers who live here might disagree with this… :S). Annoyingly, the internet decided to not work whilst Chris was here, so ended up watching films from the hard drive and from DVD to pass the time.
We rented an apartment in Kehlbach for the next few days. This was so nice – really wish I lived there now! The bed was hidden in a wall compartment thing and folded down on top of the sofa (HOW COOL!?)



and there was free WIFI, Austrian TV, a kitchen with proper cutlery, crockery, a MICROWAVE OVEN GRILL combi! :D and was only around 30 euros a night FOR THE WHOLE APARTMENT! I loved it! Haus Mitteregger Kehlbach

I enjoyed watching my new DVD of Coupling at the apartment , as I couldn’t really remember the episodes and they’re all really cleverly written and most of all, I enjoyed having a microwave oven. We had the best baguettes ever and could melt cheese into them coz of the microwave… fantastisch!

Throughout Chris’ stay, I learnt a lot about where I live. For example, I now know the city bus is cheaper than a numbered bus at only 80 cents a trip, I know how to get to the airport for whenever I need to come home and I finally explored the rooms to the boarding house and saw the table tennis room, the piano room (AMAZING!) and the common room, where there’s a free table football game and a pool table, which didn’t have it’s balls with it. I could not think of a good way of phrasing that end bit…

Thanks to Chris as well, I watched lots of films! We watched X Men, Dark House, Orphan, House Of Wax and House on Haunted Hill within the week, all of which I really enjoyed. I’ll probably give them (defo Orphan) a review on my other blog, so check that out. Also got Chris back into Supernatural! Well happy coz I’ve just got back into it and want to keep watching it. Still only on series two though…

Our last weekend together til Christmas was as follows: spent Friday back at mine and went to Salzburg on the Sat. Stayed at Turnerwirt again (slightly nicer room this time) and went to Shamrock in the evening again. We managed to bump into two really nice British people, Martin and Lil (I think that was their names), who joined our table and were good to talk to. They were only in Salzburg on a weekend break but they seem to have enjoyed it immensely. Adela and Manuel turned up later and joined us for a drink, but by this time it was time to head back to the hotel as Chris’ flight was early in the morning.
It was very upsetting leaving Chris and we were both emotional sheep, bleating like there’s no grass left in the world. But it won’t be long before I see him again…

My Birthday weekend!

WOOOP!!!!
So I turned 21 on Saturday the 30th this year. Slightly gutted I spent it abroad and not with the fabulously outrageous drunken party-goers at home but I still had a very nice night out, albeit a slightly more respectable one than my last couple of birthdays.

Chris came to visit for the week and he flew to Salzburg on Fri 29th, so I decided to meet him and we'd spend the night in a hotel somewhere. We stayed at 'Hotel Turnerwirt' - was comfortable and cosy, with free wifi and a computer and wasn't too expensive (around €55 for a double room) but was a bit far from the town centre, so had to get a bus in (although buses were from right outside every 5/10 minutes!).

We went to Shamrock and was so happy to see Nick, Mary and Rachel there! Had a really good catch up with them all whilst drinking mucho Bacardi und Cola and doing shots! As it was near Halloween, they had a lot of spooooky shots on offer so me, Chris and Nick did quite a few between us, with Rachel also having a few. She was an honorary Brit for the night! A couple of Mary's friends appeared, Adela and Manuel, who both seemed really nice and somehow got the bar to sing 'Happy Birthday!' Overall, I had a really good night and we had a hot dog from an Imbiss on the way back and then got in a taxi!

Here's a couple of pics:






On my actual birthday, I realised quite how much i'd spent in the bar... €60! :O can't believe it! But it was my birthday night out so I don't really care. Went for a walk round Salzburg. I found a 'Pound Shop' ('Euro' shop doesn't have the same ring to it) where I bought a spare mug, some forks and a pair of scissors! ESSENTIALS! So I was happy, although Chris looked in disgust at my cheapo side! Went to McDonalds for lunch (v. Austrian, I know) and then made way back to hotel. Think Chris wanted to listen to Chesterfield game on the hotel’s computer so I watched some Austrian TV and learned that The Simpsons voiced by Germans is WRONG.

Went out for a Chinese in the evening, where I got a free bottle of wine! Well impressed! :) We were gonna go to Rockhouse for the night (a gig venue/bar place) but I was confused by the entrance price. I was ushered to the people behind the desk by the bouncers and when I asked about going to the bar side they said it would cost 28 – 42 euros! I didn’t understand what was going on and repeated that we only wanted to go to the bar but the guys didn’t seem to understand. WELL RANDOM! So we walked back towards Shamrock...Met Rachel on the way and decided to try somewhere new - O’Malley’s. Would you have guessed that it was also an Irish bar?! AND it was next to Shamrock! Here it was very rowdy and loud but luckily we found a table in the non-smoking section so we weren’t being choked by fumes! Eventually we went home and the next day, me and Chris returned to Saalfelden.

Excellent birthday all in all just can't wait for the celebrations at home!