I can’t believe that it has already been two weeks! Time is going so fast and I really don’t want it to. This was another really great, busy week.
The number one highlight though was I got to talk to Mom, Lindsey and Michelle!!! It was great to talk to them. J
This week we toured the Hofburg Palace, their dish and sliver museum, and the Sisi museum. Sisi was a princess who was absolutely obsessed with her physical appearance. She had her own homemade exercise equipment. She also had floor length hair that took a whole day to wash then brush out. We also got to see the Imperial family’s dish collection and all I can say is that I am glad I don’t have to do their dishes! There were so many different plates, bowls and cups that it had its own museum.
We got to go to another opera this week! Well, actually an operetta (a short opera). And this time we could actually see the whole stage, which was great. We saw Die Fledermaus or in English “The Bat”. It was comedy which made it very entertaining. It was a matinee, so we got out of German class! Woohoo! Afterwards Rachel (my 2nd cousin), Allissa(Fun person), Daniel(the only boy other than Zac), Zac(the best husband ever) and I all went to our favorite ice cream place then off to St. Rupert’s. It wasn’t quite as grand as some of the other churches we have gone to but it was still pretty neat.
Other cool thing we got to do this week was tour the crypts of the Stephansdom. This is where they buried most of the dead from the plagues. So in some places you can look into these side rooms and all that is left is a large pile of bones. It was pretty cool and a little creepy! At the end of the tour, our tour guide shut off the lights for a couple of seconds, now that was scary!
My favorite thing we did this week was going to the Musikverein and listening to the Wiener Akademische Philharmonie. Or in English, we went to the Golden Music Hall and listened to the Vienna Academic Philharmonic Orchestra! First of all, the music hall was beautiful. Even the ticket to get in was beautiful. It was decorated in gold, and the sound was absolutely amazing! I have never heard such great acoustics. On New Year’s Day the Vienna Philharmonic plays a concert in that hall which is then broadcast all over the world. I know what I will be watching this New Year’s Day. J
On Friday we went to the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum. It is huge! Good thing I now have a year long pass so I go back as many times as I want while I am here. In this museum, there are so many great painters. I will, be honest, I really don’t know much about art and before now I really didn’t care too much about great painters. But getting to see their work in person brings a whole new perspective. On Friday I saw original pieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, Van Dyke, and many many more. It was so amazing. It is so different seeing the paintings in real life as opposed to out of a book. I have a new appreciation for art. I loved it and I can’t wait to go back! That night we were going to go to an institute activity outside but it has been rainy and cold all weekend so we went to the institute building and waffles instead!! YAY! They were great. There is a senior American missionary couple that runs the institute. They made us the waffles and they were so good. I miss foods like that.
Once a week we have dinner with our host family. It was funny. The lady we live with doesn’t have that great of English so sometimes it gets a little tricky trying to communicate with her. So she walks into the dining room and I asked her what I thought was a pretty simple question, “How are you?” She gives me this blank stare then says “in twenty years, I understand student’s English, except for you.” HAHA! So I don’t know if I have some funky St. Johns accent or I just can’t speak clear English. I guess Zac will have to do all the talking from now on. She is so funny! She brings out this nice soup, then a really nice salad, then fish sticks. It was great! And sorry Mom I forgot to bring my camera down to get a picture with her. We don’t really ever see her except at our once a week dinners.
Saturday was super fun!!! We got up early and went to this outdoor market called the Naschmarkt. On Saturdays it turns into a giant flea market. You could probably find anything there. There were tons of people selling tea sets. If I had a way to get one back to the states I would totally buy one. Scarves are huge over here. There were tons of people selling those as well as the Austria soccer jerseys so of course Zac and I had to get a soccer jersey! I really want to go back because the stuff changes all the time. Later that night one of the other host family’s let us have a party at their house! We had so much fun! We danced, talked, and ate a ton of really good Austria bread, spreads, and cakes. Afterwards, it took Zac and I a hour and forty-five minutes to get home. Public transportation is great, but it sure can be slow.
On Sunday, we went to church at the international ward. It was great that it was in English. Zac and I didn’t even have a chance to go to Sunday school before they roped us into substituting in the nursery. J It was fun, but weird because all the little kids can speak German and English. It is funny that we come half way across the world and we still end up in the nursery!
Happy Fourth of July! And to those of you making snow cones, good luck! Sorry, I don’t want to trade you places. J The German word of the week is “Schnurrbart” or “Mustache”.
P.S. Pictures coming on Facebook soon!
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