Fine, I'll Make a New Post, Jeez!

Life hasn't been terribly exciting here in Vienna lately.  Probably because the daily lives of my cohort members and I have resembled something like the following montage:

Reading....

Taking notes on the reading.....

Passing out on the reading.

And then repeat.  So excuuuuse me if I haven't felt like updating my blog recently, sheesh!  =P

There were a few noteworthy events over the past couple of days, however.  Sadly, as I still don't have a working camera, I can't show you pictures of everything.  So, you'll just have to take my word for it.  

On Thursday, after we had our first professional seminar (which basically entailed sitting around a table learning about the history of international relations from our professor who, like all our other professors is highly qualified and AWESOME), we took a bus tour of Vienna, compliments of Webster University.  Thanks to my roommate, who does have a working camera, I can show you a few things we saw around Vienna (the rest I'll put on Facebook).

Fountain in front of the Opera House.

Me posing by the Opera House.

One of the many fabulous museums in Vienna (I think that one is the Natural History Museum).

The National Library at Hofburg.

Hofburg again.

I can't remember.... The Rathaus, maybe?

Stephansdom (Cathedral of St. Stephan).

One day, hopefully about a week from now, I will re-visit these places with a working camera and take lots of glorious pictures.   I especially can't wait to visit Hofburg and the Schönbrunn Palace.  In the meantime, you'll have to be entertained by the beauty and imagery of my witticisms.  Bear with me.

On Saturday, the ladies of cohort 2 headed out for a day of bonding.  We made our way to Naschmarkt (the biggest flea market in the city, and a must-do in Vienna), and were in awe of all the amazing food, clothing, and knick-knacks (but mostly food).  We plan on going back next Saturday and stocking up on the inexpensive, amazing food items the vendors offer, such as fresh stuffed peppers with goat cheese, fresh and local fruits and vegetables, bins of candy, fresh pastries, cheeses, meats, dried beans, exotic spices - you get the picture.  It's a festival for the senses.

After battling the crowds and making our way down the street (warning: it gets VERY crowded there), our next destination was a mall.  Somewhere.  We had heard there were a few shopping centers in Vienna, but we had no idea where they were located or how to get there.  Luckily, someone in the group speaks German (*cough* me *cough*), and went into a nearby wine shop to ask for directions.  Success was then inevitable.

After locating Mariahilferstraße, which is basically one very long street filled with every store you can imagine, we continued with the theme of the day: shopping.  Little boutiques, H&M, New Yorker, etc.  I was victorious in that I obtained what I set out to find: a scarf and a notebook.  You'd think notebooks wouldn't be hard to find, but this was the first time I've found a notebook since I've been in Europe.  They're like a freaking enigma over here, like some sort of illegal drug: everyone has one, but only the locals know where to find them.  In any case, after about five hours of perusing, we were very tired and very lost.  Luckily, it's easy to spot a U-Bahn stop in this city: it's the giant "U" sign sticking way up in the air.  

I should mention at this point that, after our shopping mission had been fulfilled, we were on a new quest: to find a place with coffees/pastries/ice cream.  This is usually the easiest thing to do in Vienna.  Unless you're actually looking for one.  After making our way to Stephansplatz via the U-Bahn, we eventually (and by eventually I mean about a half-hour later) came upon a place that did indeed have all three.  They even had Glühwein (mulled wine), which is rare to find, especially when it's not wintertime.  We filled our bellies with pastries and joy, and set out to return home (after Jenny bartered with the men dressed as Mozart sitting next to us, who were selling opera tickets.  She got a very good deal!).  I should also mention that it was around this time in the journey that I discovered the Manner candy store, wherein they sell Manner wafers (which were recommended by a friend via Facebook).  New. Favorite. Candy. 

I even found a picture on Google so I could show you.  Wafers filled with hazelnut cream.  Simple, yet brilliant.

Basically, that's pretty much all I've done lately that's worth mentioning.  Mostly I've just been catching up on reading.  The nearby park next to the Danube offers a nice change of scenery; I can bring my books and spend the afternoon reading in the lovely Vienna sun, watching speedy rollerskaters and cyclists, frolicking dogs, and the glistening blue Danube pass by.  *dreamy sigh*  

I'll leave you with that lovely image as I prance off to do more reading.  Tschüss!