The German word of the day is Meistens, which translates to mostly.
I arrived into Frankfurt, Germany yesterday (August 1st) to catch a connecting flight into Vienna, Austria. I’m a little taken aback from my travels thus far because I feel educationally “behind” Europeans that I have come into contact with. Most of the plane stewards/stewardesses were fluent in multiple languages, and from one steward alone I heard German, English, French and Spanish! I knew this would happen, but most everyone that is not from the United States has been able to understand what I am saying and talk back to me in either broken or perfect English. I, on the other hand, have had to rely on the fact that locals can speak my home language. When I outright talk to locals in English it makes me feel rude, although no one as outwardly judged me as of yet.
Shopping for groceries yesterday was an adventure considering I could not understand the labeling on certain foods. One of the other students and I walked around the store for half an hour before even deciding what to buy. I ended up with bagged corn, green beans, spaghetti with tomato sauce and a Märzen. The Märzen was one label I actually didn’t have issues understanding! I also picked up my month pass for the Vienna subway, which I will take for 30 minutes Monday through Thursday to get to my classes in downtown Vienna. I have not yet been on the Wiener Linien (subway), but the process of buying the ticket (and the sights and smells!) reminded me of the rail system in Washington D.C. The pass cost 50 euro, which is worth it considering I can now take the train in and out of the city at my will.
I was a bit jet lagged after coming off of the plane yesterday, so I did the one thing that everyone told me not to do which was go to sleep early. It actually worked out for me though because this morning I woke up around 5:30AM wide awake and ready to get the day started. I decided to take an early walk down the main stretch of street in front of my building on Simmeringer Hauptstrasse. It is already bright out and warm, but nothing was going on because of the time and the fact that it is Sunday. I did see one bakery and coffeehouse that was open, and I will probably go too later today to try the local delicacies. This part of the city reminds me of any metropolis city in the states. I passed numerous stores with American trinkets and toys, shoes, bags, watches and “electronik” equipment. The only people on the streets were street cleaners and men changing out hanging newspaper stands. The only difference that I noticed being on the street was that (like I mentioned earlier) there were signs I could not read. However, by looking into the stores and studying the German phrasing it is easy to replace it with the American advertisements that I am sue are quite similar.
As the group began to arise our instructor, Kathy Stewart, informed us that we would be taking the Wiener Linien into town to check out the classroom. Our ride begins on the orange line at Simmering where we travel for eight stops to Landstraße (Wien Mitte). We than transfer to the redline and travel to Karlsplatz, our destination. Traveling the rail is quick and efficient. The infrastructure reminds me a lot of the subway in Washington D.C. because the color-coded trams are easy to distinguish. The group is warned that foreigners are often the targets of pick pocketing on trains because we tend to "let our guard down" and "converge into tight groups" rather than pay attention to the other people around us. I feel safe when I'm on the rail system and I don't know whether that is naivety or me just being really jealous that the entire United States doesn't have such an efficient rail system of our own. (Sorry Amtrak, I still love you!)
Stepping out of the rail system is an entirely different world than that of the United States. Buildings are grand, ornate and very old. When I say old I am not referring to Downtown Sacramento old, where 100-year-old buildings are considered antiques. I’m talking classical Roman palaces, Baroque churches and Gothic style cathedrals. The sight is truly astonishing. Our classroom is right next to the Theater an der Wien with its ornate fountains and grand arches that will later be the sight of a class excursion to the world-famous opera Don Giovanni. There are just not buildings like this anywhere that I can think of on the west coast.
After a brief introduction to class, a large number of students decided to eat at a cafeteria-style restaurant near the school. Don’t let the word cafeteria fool you. Both the food and white wine were delicious (Riesling!), and the restaurant had fruit, salads, pastries, meat and an extensive bier/wine selection. I had goulash over potatoes, which is basically a stew of beef, onions, vegetables and spices. I was full the rest of the day!
Unfortunately for me the heavy food and wine did not mix with the weather, which was inevitably both hot and humid. Once again I was reminded of east coast weather, where you take a shower only to be drenched by sweat as soon as you step out. (On a side note about the heat, our apartment building does not have air conditioning. I have learned that many Europeans see air conditioning as a wasteful luxury that is harmful to the environment and unnecessary. The only time that they actually “need” the air conditioning is during August, which is when this trip is taking place. So I am sucking it up and dealing.) Kathy took us on a walking to
ur of the immediate city, including a memorial for fallen Austrians during a bombing raid in WWII. Walking by the memorial many tourists would probably just see art rather than the site of more than 600 deaths, but I was told that the site actually became a sort of "tomb" because the fallen building was not excavated from the site. A bomb hit the building directly, which was seen at the time as a sort of "safe-haven" for people to run to during the bombing campaigns. The cobbled rocks that line the road have paved over the site.
After the tour of the palace, Kathy let us cool off from the sun at the Museumplatz. This area is known as a trendy or hip place for young adults and had a featured DJ playing music in a bier and wine garden. We cooled are feet in the large fountain and relaxed. Some students tried a “margarita”, which I put into quotes because it was basically a very tall shout of tequila with ice and lemon juice. The drinking culture in Vienna is quite different than in the United States. The garden was full of young adults (the drinking age is 16) who were chatting and enjoying their white wine, bier or mixed drink. It is a surprise as an American who works at a bar to see that many people drinking together and no one visibly drunk. One of the American students was impaired by his margarita (not sloppy, just noticeably drunker) and I am curious if it is a tolerance level, a mind-state of European vs. American culture towards drinking, or a little bit of both. I noticed this again at a micro-brewery the group visited called 7 Stern Brau. While there I was able to try the Rauchbier (dark and smoky), the Hempbier (hoppy lager) and some people unfortunately tried a chili bier (no thank you). Of course these biers come in different sized liters, so by the end of the excursion there were a few students that drank more than others. I felt strange while at the bar and dealing with the employees and the drunker students because I felt like we were feeding into the existing “typical American” stereotype that many Europeans have about us. It was also Sunday and after ten o’clock which meant that in many ways we were being taboo and not being observant of an Austrian custom. Sundays are generally known as quiet days in Vienna, where the general population has the day off and spends time with ones family. People do drink on these days but they restrain themselves from being too loud or pushy, which I believe is an ongoing stereotype of drunk Americans. However, the pub and waitress were extremely nice, gracious and understanding about the splitting up of checks! She even let me practice my german, which I think she either appreciated or thought was comedic.
sounds like you're having a good time so far! :) can't wait to hear more!
ReplyDeleteEverday is a new adventure and experience..enjoy!! xoxo
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