February 24th
6:00 P.M.

On Monday, a group of exchange students met up on Mariahilferstrasse (where else!) to do some ‘Faschings’/Carnival costume shopping. A group of us will be hitting up the “Ride Club” for a special Faschings party – woo, my first Viennesse club : )! (“Fat Tuesday” marks the end of Carnival.) None of us are going ‘all out’ with our costumes, but I did buy a Captain/Sailor’s hat to wear. I had completely forgotten that I would be arriving here right in the middle of Carnival, and it’s too bad I won’t have the opportunity to attend some of the traditional “Faschings balls” as I did when I was in Germany.

This morning I made my first solo-trip to my University, which involves taking the subway and then a bus, for a total travel time of approximately 30 minutes. Upon arrival at the University, I realized I actually had absolutely NO idea how to get BACK to my house, but a quick call to my “Buddy” assured me that I can take the very same bus back to the subway station ; ). I went to the University for the purpose of signing up for the ‘Welcome Heuriger’ for incoming exchange students this Friday. We will go to a wine tavern to sample traditional Austrian wine and food.

The rest of my afternoon remained empty, (and my roommate was in class), and so I decided to take the opportunity to do some exploring on my own. “When in Vienna”..why not..”do as the Viennesse do”?
I headed for Karlsplatz, in the inner city, where my guide book promised there was much to be seen. The subway station was an absolute madhouse! I battled my way through the crowds (apparently it’s a hot spot for people to stand around drinking), and up to the “Ringstrasse”. The Ringstrasse (Ring Road) was built beginning in 1857 as a replacement to the city walls of 13th century Vienna, by order of (who else?) Emperor Franz Josef I. Many important buildings lie upon the Ringstrasse, including the very first building to be opened on the new Ringstrasse project, the Staatsoper, or State Opera House (1869).

I signed up for a guided (English) tour, which took us throughout the main entrance, into the intermission rooms, into Franz Josef’s personal tea room, into the main auditorium, and even backstage! The Opera House is one of the busiest in the world, and ballet and opera performances take place seven days a week, ten months of the year. Apparently a different opera is performed each day of the week, over a certain time interval (for example, over a few weeks), so a large technical staff of about 400 people is required for the extensive scene changes that must be performed nightly.
The opera house holds approximately 2000 people for a given performance, and it turns out attending an opera may fit in my budget afterall! Standing-area tickets begin at 3 Euros a piece, and from there ticket prices go upwards to approximately 200 Euros.
The opera house is also home to the annual Vienna Opera Ball, which is held on the last Thursday of Fasching – last Thursday, in fact! The auditorium is turned into a large ball room, and attracts many prominent names in business and politics, dressed in their formal best. One of this year’s most famous guests was Nicolette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives). She came as the guest of Richard Lugner, an Austrian businessman who often brings famous celebrity guests (others have included Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton). Apparently anyone can technically attend, as long as they are willing to put forth the money for the ticket!

Upon exiting the Opera House (through the gift shop of course!), my eyes fixated on the Vienna landmark I had probably been most looking forward to seeing – the Sacher Hotel! I’m not quite sure where my fascination with this hotel, and the famous Sacher torte (cake) served within it’s Café began..but I had long since decided I must partake in this delicious Viennesse tradition. Unfortunately eating Sacher torte all alone wouldn’t have quite suited my expectations, so I merely snapped some pictures, and made the resolution to return to the Café again some day soon with some friends!

Without really taking out my map, I had hoped I might just ‘stumble’ across the domed Karlskirche, but instead found myself in the middle of the shopping district. After poking around in some way-out-of-my-budget but oh-so-lovely shops, I decided to hit-up Starbucks for a warm-up coffee, and to continue walking along the Ringstrasse, in search of more impressive buildings. Just up the street was the Hofburg, or the Imperial Palace. I strolled through the gardens, dreaming of how lovely everything will be in Spring.

Continued February 25th6:00 P.M.

Back at my residence, it was time to get ready for the evening’s Faschings party. Unfortunately my roommate was feeling under-the-weather, but instead arranged for another friend from our residence (Romain from France) to take me to the club with him, where we would meet the rest of the exchange students. Of course I had to take advantage of the opportunity of being able to drink legally in public, so I took along a can of my very first Austrian beer, Ottakringer (made in Vienna), for the subway ride. We got to the club around 8:30, very early by both Canadian and European standards, but already the club was packed with costume-clad students looking for some cheap drinks. The club had a good atmosphere, although I’m not the biggest fan of the ‘house’ and electronic music, which is so widely played over here. The ‘Finnish’ girl Henni and I continually went to the DJ to request some of our favourite Hip Hop hits, but the result was usually some crazy electronic re-mix. One unfortunate aspect of bars in Austria is that people are allowed to smoke inside. Not only does this mean you have to watch-out for lit cigarettes as people drunkenly flail their arms through the air, but you also leave the bar with your clothes and hair smelling like an ashtray. Yuck!

This morning I had to go to the University again, to collect the rest of my registration papers. This means I can finally open an Austrian bank account, and pay the rent at my residence! It’ll also save on some ATM withdrawal fees, when I can simply transfer funds between my Canadian and Austrian accounts using online banking.

In the afternoon, I headed back to the Hofburg, the ‘Imperial Palace’. The Hofburg was the residence of the ‘Habsburg Dynasty’ for over 600 years, with each new emperor contributing successive additions over time. Today, the Hofburg remains as the political centre of Vienna, and houses the offices of the President of the Austrian Republic. When buying my ticket, I was informed that the ‘Sisi Museum’ would be undergoing renovations (as of two days ago!), but if I kept my ticket I could return to the museum when it re-opens in April. Nevertheless, the rest of the exhibits, the Silver Chamber and the Imperial Apartments, remained open. An audio guide directed me through the Silver Chamber, a collection of the court’s ceremonial, dining and table decoration. After I had completed the exhibition, a quick look at the time showed that a guided tour through the Imperial Apartments would begin in just a few minutes, so I paid an extra couple of Euros and headed up the majestic Emperor Staircase into the Imperial Apartments. Turns out the extra couple of Euros was worth it – I was the only person signed up for an English-speaking tour, which gave me my own personal tour guide! Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures inside, but the personal stories of Franz Josef I and Elisabeth were very riveting, and I felt a bit like a princess (or ‘empress’) as well as I walked through the magnificent rooms. After completing the tour, I headed up the road to Stephansplatz, home of the ‘Stephansdom’, the well-known Gothic cathedral at the very centre of the city. This so happened to be the first church I’ve entered since arriving in Vienna, and boy did I pick a good one! The first stone for the church was laid in 1137, although the majority was built in the 14th century. It would definitely be an experience to attend mass there some day : )!

*A majority (if not all) churches in Europe do not have a central (or any type of) heating system. This means that the churches are absolutely freezing in winter, although refreshingly cool in summer. Bundle up!

Orientation for incoming exchange students will take place all day tomorrow and Friday, and I am looking forward to meeting the other exchange students, as well as touring the campus and other parts of Vienna. I’m really glad to have had this past week to settle in a little, learning how to get around the city (5 different subway lines!), and also re-acquainting myself with the German language and European culture. I can’t wait to update you on the Orientation, and on the upcoming, which is sure to offer more adventures!