First real notes from abroad
Well... we've been packing alot of adventures into our first week here in Wien. Through not being able to sleep plus drinking too much home-brewed coffee + the Mokkas and Melanges (very yum and very caffeinated espresso drinks here) we've had plenty of time to explore!
One thing that has become incredibly obvious is how much respect people have for eachother and their services. For instance, everything is on an honor system basis, it seems... buses, trolleys, metro, newspapers... even the toll roads! it's crazy. When we rented the car to drive to Lienz, Sean asked the rental lady "So, will we drive through a toll booth and just show them our pass?" to which she giggled and explained that there are no toll booths or stops or anything on the autobahns.. just occasionally cops will pull you over to check. We saw no cops the entire 4 hrs on the autobahn, btw. For the newspapers (zeitung), you simply grab a paper from the bag or stack and then deposit coins into this little cup that says simply "Danke".
Crazy. I love it.
Oh, and everything is either a really amazing old OLD building with ornamentation and scuptures everywhere.. or it's a cube -- a very simple, plain cube. We just went to the MOMOK (museum of modern art) and it's a giant, 8 floor cube of art. More info about that one later...
What else, everyone has been very kind...oh, and the panhandlers as we would call them are panhandling opera, ballet and symphony. Kinda nice for a change. Most people do not speak any English or might just know a few words so we definitely need to learn quickly. We've been going to the store below our apartment daily and then returning home with the food to spend hours looking at the labels to find out what we bought :) Being able to read has come quickly - at least enough to get by. Symbols are really universal, of course - at least between the US and Euro. Speaking and listening are taking me more time, but Amanda's doing just fine and Sean is close behind her. Fortunately, most vendors are quite patient and we're quickly learning the ropes (i think).
Snow fell softly last week for just one night and it's starting up outside the window again. Vienna is most beautiful at night, I think.. though difficult to photograph. There's a quiet vibrancy that takes over the city when it's dark and the statues take precedence over moving people because they're lit and we're not. I've been resisting the desire to photograph ever step of my walks, because I could... both of our apartments are in THE center of Vienna. it's unbelievable, really. I'll instead try to photograph specific places and blog about them as the come up....
Tonight, Sean and I will hold our first "meeting" to discuss what's coming up while we're abroad in terms of lectures, shows and ops. Time will fly, I'm sure.
Oh, and one other thing... when it's holiday, it's really holiday. We're all having to learn the value and meaning of holiday, waiting, patience, leisure, etc. That your convenience may at the expense of another's convenience, etc. Stores close at 6pm and are never open on holidays or sundays. None of us have cellphones... Transportation ends early. Even artists take the holidays off! anyway... more later....tuesday's another holiday so more time for discovery and blogging!
p.
One thing that has become incredibly obvious is how much respect people have for eachother and their services. For instance, everything is on an honor system basis, it seems... buses, trolleys, metro, newspapers... even the toll roads! it's crazy. When we rented the car to drive to Lienz, Sean asked the rental lady "So, will we drive through a toll booth and just show them our pass?" to which she giggled and explained that there are no toll booths or stops or anything on the autobahns.. just occasionally cops will pull you over to check. We saw no cops the entire 4 hrs on the autobahn, btw. For the newspapers (zeitung), you simply grab a paper from the bag or stack and then deposit coins into this little cup that says simply "Danke".
Crazy. I love it.
Oh, and everything is either a really amazing old OLD building with ornamentation and scuptures everywhere.. or it's a cube -- a very simple, plain cube. We just went to the MOMOK (museum of modern art) and it's a giant, 8 floor cube of art. More info about that one later...
What else, everyone has been very kind...oh, and the panhandlers as we would call them are panhandling opera, ballet and symphony. Kinda nice for a change. Most people do not speak any English or might just know a few words so we definitely need to learn quickly. We've been going to the store below our apartment daily and then returning home with the food to spend hours looking at the labels to find out what we bought :) Being able to read has come quickly - at least enough to get by. Symbols are really universal, of course - at least between the US and Euro. Speaking and listening are taking me more time, but Amanda's doing just fine and Sean is close behind her. Fortunately, most vendors are quite patient and we're quickly learning the ropes (i think).
Snow fell softly last week for just one night and it's starting up outside the window again. Vienna is most beautiful at night, I think.. though difficult to photograph. There's a quiet vibrancy that takes over the city when it's dark and the statues take precedence over moving people because they're lit and we're not. I've been resisting the desire to photograph ever step of my walks, because I could... both of our apartments are in THE center of Vienna. it's unbelievable, really. I'll instead try to photograph specific places and blog about them as the come up....
Tonight, Sean and I will hold our first "meeting" to discuss what's coming up while we're abroad in terms of lectures, shows and ops. Time will fly, I'm sure.
Oh, and one other thing... when it's holiday, it's really holiday. We're all having to learn the value and meaning of holiday, waiting, patience, leisure, etc. That your convenience may at the expense of another's convenience, etc. Stores close at 6pm and are never open on holidays or sundays. None of us have cellphones... Transportation ends early. Even artists take the holidays off! anyway... more later....tuesday's another holiday so more time for discovery and blogging!
p.
posted by DOUBLE VISION | 9:10 AM
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