The past week went by fairly quickly, which I can attribute mostly to the fact that I'm finding more and more things to do. As of Friday, opera season is here, and there is an opera basically every night from here on out. This should guarantee that if I happen to be bored on a given night, I can always go to the opera (only 3 Euro for standing-room tickets)!
Highlights from the week:
Monday, August 31st: After German class, Emily and I went to Schoenbrunn Palace and the Zoo (the oldest zoo in the world!!!). Zoos often depress me, but I felt like I had to go, especially since this particular zoo has such history. It began as a royal menagerie for the Habsburgs in the 1750s. The palace grounds were beautiful, or as Emily put it, "outrageous."
Tuesday, September 1st: I spent the afternoon and evening in Stadtpark, sitting on the grass and talking with Dil and Emily. We spent hours discussing religion, relationships, differences between Austria and America, and many other things. How's that for intellectual life, DePauw?
Wednesday, September 2nd: I finally had some good time to reconnect with people back home. I used Skype for the first time. I was able to call home and wish my dad a happy birthday (which was actually Tuesday), talk with LC at DePauw, and was even Skyped in to hear the DePauwCappella auditions (which went very well, by the way. Our new members are AWESOME!!!).
Thursday, September 3rd: Today I went on a bike tour of the Donauinsul, a long island in the middle of the Donau (Danube) River. I experienced some quality culture shock as I rode a few miles along a nudist beach. It was very interesting to see how little shame they have in their bodies. Hundreds of middle-aged people on a Thursday afternoon...something I've never seen in America. Also, we went to get gelato after the tour, and I witnessed some public drunkenness. A man got very angry because the people at "Happy Noodles" wouldn't sell him a beer. I guess he'd had enough already. This was around 3:00 in the afternoon. He attempted to headbutt and kick one of the employees, and was eventually taken away by the Polizei.
Friday, September 4th: My German class went to the Naschmarkt, Vienna's largest market, and bought a bunch of food that we brought back to eat at IES. In the evening, we had some people over to our apartment, and it was a good night.
Saturday, September 5th: I saw my very first professional opera: Gounod's "Faust." The music was incredible (especially the baritone playing Valentin), but the staging was very awkward and inconsistent. Altogether a wonderful experience. We stood in the balcony for 3 Euro.
Sunday, September 6th: Tonight I may go to the opera again (Il Barbiere Di Siviglia). Or I might just relax at a park or at the apartment.
I love you all.
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Zoos depress me too!! The last time I went to one was in San Diego and we saw these really sad, huge tortoises who wanted to escape. I knew they wanted to get out of there. Miss you!!
ReplyDeleteThere was a sad tortoise at this zoo, too. His shell was cracked and really dry...Definitely depressing.
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