I know, I know. It's been a couple weeks since my last update. In my defense I've been in places with very poor internet access.
I'm currently blogging because I'm at my internship office and the boss is almost an hour late and they have no idea what to do with me. So here I sit browsing the internet until he arrives.
Budapest has been great so far, other than the sketch train station and the pushy cab drivers.
When we arrived on Saturday the leader of the program from here in Budapest had his assistant waiting for us. We thought she would just check us in and take off, but instead she drove us all around the city. We had our own private tour and it was amazing. I'll post pictures soon (since I'm on the office computer I don't have access to them).
I've now walked across the three southern bridges between Buda and Pest, have been up to the castle and museums, been to Hero's square and up and down Vac´i street, which is a main shopping street kind of like 5th Avenue, only not quite as ritzy. It's a pedestrian only zone so it's more of an outdoor mall.
Ok, I think the boss is almost here!
P.S. forgive any typos. The keyboard here is different and it underlines almost all words in red, so I have no idea which ones are actually misspelled and which are just non Hungarian and I don't have time to read closely.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Eek, Behind Already!
I haven't blogged for a few (several) days because 1) I've actually been out and about doing awesome stuff that I will tell you about and 2) Internet has been even more hard to come by than normal. I will do my best to catch up!
I think I'm going to save my blog on the alternative walk home from class for a bit later because there is way more exciting stuff to tell you about.
First up:
MELK MONASTERY & DURNSTEIN
On our first day as a group in Vienna a Colonel in the Army gave us a tour around Vienna to show us the sights. His job for the army is to be a historian so he knows pretty much everything you could possibly want to know about Austria and Vienna. He showed up to join us for dinner on Friday, May 28th and offered to take us in his VW bus/van on a day trip out to the countryside so we would have a chance to see more than just the city.
Five of us took him up on the offer, he picked us up the next morning at 10:30 and off we went:
(me, Alecia, Laurin)
First The Colonel took us to the Melk Monastery. The pictures of it on the Wikipedia are more gorgeous than any I took, but I'll do my best.
The inside square of the monestary:
The entire monastery was gorgeous. It's up on a hill overlooking the Danube with an adorable village at its base. The entire village is historic and picturesque. It's easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.
From a window of the monastery down to the village:
Ceiling of one of the rooms:
The library was beautiful, but the nerd in me was so bummed that all of these gorgeous and ancient books were basically now decoration for tourists and were no longer read.
The beautiful church:
One of the strangest things I've ever seen. In each of the side alcoves there was a small display and area for people to pray to various saints. In this one there was a glass display case with the skeleton of an actual dead guy posing:
All of us in a gorgeous archway at the front of the monastery overlooking the river:
We hiked back to the parking lot, climbed in the van, The Colonel turned the ignition and the van wouldn't start! Luckily we were on an incline and, since it was a stickshift VW, we were able to roll it back and start it up on the roll.
We took a small road along the road through several adorable villages with cobblestone streets that just barely fit a car to Durnstein.
Me and the vineyards that were stoked to get a picture with me.
Walking through the town:
The ruins of the castle on the hill:
And the famous church tower. Apparently there's some scandal that it was painted blue. For a century it was yellow (which was referred to when used in other places as Durnstein Yellow), but when they did some repair work they found out the original color was blue and restored it to the blue. The villagers were pissed, but at least it's now accurate:
And AGAIN VW Bus refused to start and again we started it by pushing it down a slight incline. Say hello to adventurebus:
Coming up: Parliament and my birthday, Prague & Bratislava.
I think I'm going to save my blog on the alternative walk home from class for a bit later because there is way more exciting stuff to tell you about.
First up:
MELK MONASTERY & DURNSTEIN
On our first day as a group in Vienna a Colonel in the Army gave us a tour around Vienna to show us the sights. His job for the army is to be a historian so he knows pretty much everything you could possibly want to know about Austria and Vienna. He showed up to join us for dinner on Friday, May 28th and offered to take us in his VW bus/van on a day trip out to the countryside so we would have a chance to see more than just the city.
Five of us took him up on the offer, he picked us up the next morning at 10:30 and off we went:
(me, Alecia, Laurin)
First The Colonel took us to the Melk Monastery. The pictures of it on the Wikipedia are more gorgeous than any I took, but I'll do my best.
The inside square of the monestary:
The entire monastery was gorgeous. It's up on a hill overlooking the Danube with an adorable village at its base. The entire village is historic and picturesque. It's easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.
From a window of the monastery down to the village:
Ceiling of one of the rooms:
The library was beautiful, but the nerd in me was so bummed that all of these gorgeous and ancient books were basically now decoration for tourists and were no longer read.
The beautiful church:
One of the strangest things I've ever seen. In each of the side alcoves there was a small display and area for people to pray to various saints. In this one there was a glass display case with the skeleton of an actual dead guy posing:
All of us in a gorgeous archway at the front of the monastery overlooking the river:
We hiked back to the parking lot, climbed in the van, The Colonel turned the ignition and the van wouldn't start! Luckily we were on an incline and, since it was a stickshift VW, we were able to roll it back and start it up on the roll.
We took a small road along the road through several adorable villages with cobblestone streets that just barely fit a car to Durnstein.
Me and the vineyards that were stoked to get a picture with me.
Walking through the town:
The ruins of the castle on the hill:
And the famous church tower. Apparently there's some scandal that it was painted blue. For a century it was yellow (which was referred to when used in other places as Durnstein Yellow), but when they did some repair work they found out the original color was blue and restored it to the blue. The villagers were pissed, but at least it's now accurate:
And AGAIN VW Bus refused to start and again we started it by pushing it down a slight incline. Say hello to adventurebus:
Coming up: Parliament and my birthday, Prague & Bratislava.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The Nibs
"Nibs" is a word I've picked up from the Seattle Four (a group of 4 cool peeps from Seattle University who decided to come on the trip together), basically just means snack or food.
Authentic Viennese food is SO RICH, but delicious.
They don't really eat breakfast here. They go for a roll or croissant and a cup of coffee. In the afternoon they all go to coffeehouses and have cappuccino and some rich pastry. It's delicious and hopefully all the walking I do will make up for it.
Oh, by the way, I've fallen in love. I might not come back to the states because we're just so freaking happy together.
Meet my new life partner, Apfelsaft Gespritzt:
It's basically just apple juice with soda water, but who knew something so simple could be so delicious? We seriously need this in the states! Except, maybe not, because it probably has a ton of cals. I'm just ignoring that.
My first Vienna sausage:
Also incredibly delicious. They take a long, hard roll, cut the end off and push it down on this metal thing that punches a hole in the middle and kind of toasts the inside, squirt some mustard in there and put a sausage in. It's amazing. I'm trying to stop myself from eating one every day for lunch from the stand around the corner from the University.
In an attempt to save some money and not eat McD's or a croissant every morning, I picked up some milk and cereal at the grocery store. At least, when I bought it I hoped it was milk and cereal.
I bought the little "milch" in case it was actually some kind of weird milk and I couldn't tell. I figured if it had a cow on it, it had to be normal milk. Turned out to be just fine! And the cereal is super delicious.
And, of course, what kind of blogger who's posting a blog on food would I be if I didn't include the best part of Vienna: the beer.
That one is pretty good, but this one, the Mai Bock, brewed at 7 Stern Brau (the biergarten I usually get my wifi at), is amazing. I'm not really a beer connoisseur, so I can't really explain it, but it's a light beer, fairly hoppy and ... wheaty? I mean, it tastes heavier like a Blue Moon, but better. That's probably a really awful description of a really delicious beer.
Coming up: an alternative walk home from class, a massive monastery and adorable village, and Parliament.
Authentic Viennese food is SO RICH, but delicious.
They don't really eat breakfast here. They go for a roll or croissant and a cup of coffee. In the afternoon they all go to coffeehouses and have cappuccino and some rich pastry. It's delicious and hopefully all the walking I do will make up for it.
Oh, by the way, I've fallen in love. I might not come back to the states because we're just so freaking happy together.
Meet my new life partner, Apfelsaft Gespritzt:
It's basically just apple juice with soda water, but who knew something so simple could be so delicious? We seriously need this in the states! Except, maybe not, because it probably has a ton of cals. I'm just ignoring that.
My first Vienna sausage:
Also incredibly delicious. They take a long, hard roll, cut the end off and push it down on this metal thing that punches a hole in the middle and kind of toasts the inside, squirt some mustard in there and put a sausage in. It's amazing. I'm trying to stop myself from eating one every day for lunch from the stand around the corner from the University.
In an attempt to save some money and not eat McD's or a croissant every morning, I picked up some milk and cereal at the grocery store. At least, when I bought it I hoped it was milk and cereal.
I bought the little "milch" in case it was actually some kind of weird milk and I couldn't tell. I figured if it had a cow on it, it had to be normal milk. Turned out to be just fine! And the cereal is super delicious.
And, of course, what kind of blogger who's posting a blog on food would I be if I didn't include the best part of Vienna: the beer.
That one is pretty good, but this one, the Mai Bock, brewed at 7 Stern Brau (the biergarten I usually get my wifi at), is amazing. I'm not really a beer connoisseur, so I can't really explain it, but it's a light beer, fairly hoppy and ... wheaty? I mean, it tastes heavier like a Blue Moon, but better. That's probably a really awful description of a really delicious beer.
Coming up: an alternative walk home from class, a massive monastery and adorable village, and Parliament.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Long Walk
My commute from the Academy to the law school is a little over a mile. Normally I'd be like "hell no! Where's the public transit?" but a combination of being completely baffled by the public transportation system (which I'm sure is actually quite convenient, but all in German) and the scenic walk makes me enjoy the hike every morning. I thought I'd take you along for the ride and take pictures along the way this morning.
My walk starts down this little street, which is part of Spittelberg, one of the oldest parts of Vienna and right behind the Academy:
World's smallest garage?
At the end of this road I make a right and after about a block, the Volkstheater is on the right (it's also the location of an underground station, but I have no idea where it goes or where it comes from, so as of now it's useless to me):
The entire next block is taken up by this building, which I honestly haven't figure out the name of yet:
The next block is an absolutely gorgeous park that I haven't yet seen the inside of because finding an actually open gate is nearly impossible. Oh! These sidewalk markings are INCREDIBLY important, ignore one and you'll either be run over by a cyclist or have them angrily thumb their bell at you until you move out of their way:
Across from the park is the Austrian Parliament, which we'll be visiting on my birthday (Monday, May 31st). Here's a sneak peak of where the Austrian magic happens:
I was super tempted to hop on this thing to figure out how much I've lost walking miles around this city, but then I remembered that there's no way in hell I'd weigh myself in public:
It's overcast today, but this shade is incredibly welcome most days:
Right after the park on the right is this building:
And on the left is this building:
And adorable cafe that I really want to try out but based on the fancy business looking dudes and ladies eating there I imagine it's roughly one billion euro for a cup of coffee:
Hang a right at this fine lady:
And after two blocks there is the University of Vienna Law School building that the architect says is supposed to look like a head, but really looks nothing like one (it's the glass one left on the end of the block):
My walk starts down this little street, which is part of Spittelberg, one of the oldest parts of Vienna and right behind the Academy:
World's smallest garage?
At the end of this road I make a right and after about a block, the Volkstheater is on the right (it's also the location of an underground station, but I have no idea where it goes or where it comes from, so as of now it's useless to me):
The entire next block is taken up by this building, which I honestly haven't figure out the name of yet:
The next block is an absolutely gorgeous park that I haven't yet seen the inside of because finding an actually open gate is nearly impossible. Oh! These sidewalk markings are INCREDIBLY important, ignore one and you'll either be run over by a cyclist or have them angrily thumb their bell at you until you move out of their way:
Across from the park is the Austrian Parliament, which we'll be visiting on my birthday (Monday, May 31st). Here's a sneak peak of where the Austrian magic happens:
I was super tempted to hop on this thing to figure out how much I've lost walking miles around this city, but then I remembered that there's no way in hell I'd weigh myself in public:
It's overcast today, but this shade is incredibly welcome most days:
Right after the park on the right is this building:
And on the left is this building:
And adorable cafe that I really want to try out but based on the fancy business looking dudes and ladies eating there I imagine it's roughly one billion euro for a cup of coffee:
Hang a right at this fine lady:
And after two blocks there is the University of Vienna Law School building that the architect says is supposed to look like a head, but really looks nothing like one (it's the glass one left on the end of the block):
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Start of It
Let me give you a travel tip right off the bat: READ THE AIRLINE WEBSITE BAGGAGE SECTION VERY CAREFULLY. I had read it, I thought I had read it carefully, HOWEVER, I missed something pretty important. Turned out that I could NOT stuff my giant suitcase with as much crap as would fit and just be able to pay the overages. They have a "heavy suitcase" cutoff limit ... which I was over by 20 lbs. Yea, the normal heavy overages is an extra 20 lbs, I was 20 lbs over that.
So, at LAX I had to buy a second bag, and shove 40 pounds of stuff into it and they pay for an extra bag, which is exactly the opposite of what I had wanted to do. Now I get to lug around two suitcases. So, if you learn anything from me, learn to read airline websites carefully.
The flight over was uneventful. I got the bulkhead with extra leg room, but I was still uncomfortable sitting for 10 hours. I don't think anyone is. I seriously considered sneaking into the business class seats that lay down that were right on the other side of the divider. I still think it's rude that they separate the "peons" from the richy-rich's with a giant curtain. Then again, if I was a richy-rich, I would probably appreciate keeping the riff raff away.
So, I got into Vienna just fine, grabbed a train from the airport to the city center, then a cab to where we're staying at the Austrian National Defense Academy. The academy is located at Stiftgasse 2. Well, the cab dropped me off at Stiftgasse 2, which was 2 massive locked wooden doors. Half a block down is Stiftgasse 7. That couldn't be it, so I walked back the other way and around the corner ... with no luck. And back to Stiftgasse 2 and then 7 and then 2a. Jackpot! Massive driveway doors with a little side door.
Here it is:
Grand, ain't it? It's pretty gorgeous.
The view from my room is equally beautiful and quaint.
My first meal in Vienna was less than exciting - Chicken nuggets at McDonald's. I apparently arrived over a holiday weekend (which, I have been told, is like Easter and Christmas combined) and EVERYTHING that wasn't a chain was shut down. So, McDonald's for dinner and Starbucks for breakfast the next morning.
Yea, McDonald's in Vienna. I should be shot for the sacrilege, but check out how freaking fancy this McD's is!
And this just made me giggle:
So, at LAX I had to buy a second bag, and shove 40 pounds of stuff into it and they pay for an extra bag, which is exactly the opposite of what I had wanted to do. Now I get to lug around two suitcases. So, if you learn anything from me, learn to read airline websites carefully.
The flight over was uneventful. I got the bulkhead with extra leg room, but I was still uncomfortable sitting for 10 hours. I don't think anyone is. I seriously considered sneaking into the business class seats that lay down that were right on the other side of the divider. I still think it's rude that they separate the "peons" from the richy-rich's with a giant curtain. Then again, if I was a richy-rich, I would probably appreciate keeping the riff raff away.
So, I got into Vienna just fine, grabbed a train from the airport to the city center, then a cab to where we're staying at the Austrian National Defense Academy. The academy is located at Stiftgasse 2. Well, the cab dropped me off at Stiftgasse 2, which was 2 massive locked wooden doors. Half a block down is Stiftgasse 7. That couldn't be it, so I walked back the other way and around the corner ... with no luck. And back to Stiftgasse 2 and then 7 and then 2a. Jackpot! Massive driveway doors with a little side door.
Here it is:
Grand, ain't it? It's pretty gorgeous.
The view from my room is equally beautiful and quaint.
My first meal in Vienna was less than exciting - Chicken nuggets at McDonald's. I apparently arrived over a holiday weekend (which, I have been told, is like Easter and Christmas combined) and EVERYTHING that wasn't a chain was shut down. So, McDonald's for dinner and Starbucks for breakfast the next morning.
Yea, McDonald's in Vienna. I should be shot for the sacrilege, but check out how freaking fancy this McD's is!
And this just made me giggle:
Hallo!
So, it's almost June of 2010, nearly a full year since I last blogged about my housing assignment for law school (which turned out pretty well, actually).
I ended up not blogging because I waited for so long and had too much to blog. I just couldn't figure out a way to catch up. But, really, my first year of law school wasn't that exciting. It was my life and it's changed my life irrevocably, but there's not much to tell about it. I did a lot of reading, there was some personal drama, I met a lot of very awesome people, I missed my family and friends back home, I did pretty well, I drank not very often but quite a bit when I did, and then it was over.
Why am I picking it back up? Well I'm currently studying abroad in Vienna for four weeks and then doing an internship in Budapest for six weeks and this here bloggy blog will be like a diary of sorts that I can look back at and remember the times when I was walking down cobblestone streets and drinking amazing beer instead of doing nothing but reading in our dungeony law library.
And off it goes ...
I ended up not blogging because I waited for so long and had too much to blog. I just couldn't figure out a way to catch up. But, really, my first year of law school wasn't that exciting. It was my life and it's changed my life irrevocably, but there's not much to tell about it. I did a lot of reading, there was some personal drama, I met a lot of very awesome people, I missed my family and friends back home, I did pretty well, I drank not very often but quite a bit when I did, and then it was over.
Why am I picking it back up? Well I'm currently studying abroad in Vienna for four weeks and then doing an internship in Budapest for six weeks and this here bloggy blog will be like a diary of sorts that I can look back at and remember the times when I was walking down cobblestone streets and drinking amazing beer instead of doing nothing but reading in our dungeony law library.
And off it goes ...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Housing
Application to Housing Office:
(rough summary of essay)
I would prefer to have a studio. I tend to get stressed out around other people and think it would be best for my success in law school if I was able to have my own space. If a studio isn't available, as few roommates as possible would be preferred (i.e., the two bedroom apartment option). As few roommates as possible is very important to me, with none being the top preference. Blah blah blah PLEASE GIVE ME A STUDIO!
Response from Housing Office:
Congratulations! We have assigned you to the 4 bedroom house with three other roommates!
(rough summary of essay)
I would prefer to have a studio. I tend to get stressed out around other people and think it would be best for my success in law school if I was able to have my own space. If a studio isn't available, as few roommates as possible would be preferred (i.e., the two bedroom apartment option). As few roommates as possible is very important to me, with none being the top preference. Blah blah blah PLEASE GIVE ME A STUDIO!
Response from Housing Office:
Congratulations! We have assigned you to the 4 bedroom house with three other roommates!
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