I'M BACK.

The past few weeks have been hectic. With my practice placement presenting me with more work than ever and spending my weekends actually sight seeing in Vienna and close by countries, I have neglected my Blog posts. 

First of all, I have visited Budapest a few weekends ago, the city itself is beautiful, especially during the night time as it is well lit and looks like something off the back of a postcard. I stayed on the Pest side, which was lovely. The hostel that I stayed in, upon entrance into the hall way looked like somewhere the Adams Family would have reside. However, once we took the four flights of stairs up into the rest of the building, and entered into a high secured door, the hostel was lovely. It had a youthful vibe- creating the perfect weekend get away environment. It was perfect for all of our needs! We spent a full day in Budapest, during this time we had a guided tour, and explored some of the shops and various sights of the city. We even ventured across to the Buda side, which entailed a lot of steep walking! However the view from the top across the bridge and onto the Pest side was well worth the climb.
It felt odd when travelling home as we all referred to home as Vienna and I think that was the first time we all felt like actual Austrian citizens. Since coming home from Budapest myself and the Erasmus group have gotten a bit of a 'bug' to explore the near by countries of Vienna and so we are now researching our next adventure!

The following weekend after Budapest, my parents came to visit me in Vienna. I shown them the many sights of Vienna, and the place in which I carry out my practice placement. I think they liked to see exactly where I am living, and so when I send them a message they can begin to picture exactly what I am talking about. As they stayed with me in my apartment, I think they had the full 'non-tourist' Vienna experience.
It was great to have them to stay, and was nice to have the opportunity to show them around, what is now, my temporary country of residence.

having a home feels good

The moment I have been waiting for, for 31 days to be precise, has finally come! I now am able to say that I have a home here in Vienna. I have been living in the apartment for little short of a week now, and I have loved every second of it. From cooking dinner at ease with a kitchen, to not having to share a room with strangers, every part of it is bliss. I am now able to begin my Erasmus experience properly, as I can relax more, keep on top of my university work, and be more sociable due to having a better mind set.
The décor of the apartment itself is very unusual, but it works so well, and feels so homely! I have even made a trip to Ikea to get some things, such as duvet covers, and candles, to make it feel more mine. I feel that I will be happy here for the next 3 months. I even met the owners of the apartment, who shown me around, and told me how things work. They are such lovely people, and even gave me information about the local area.

 

Gardening and strange buildings.

On my work placement today I was helping out in the garden. Which is a few streets away from the office. Here they grow vegetables etc. The students all loved the garden, however I was gazing around and became more interested in a building I cast my eyes onto. It looked almost as of one out of a Roald Dahl book. I was amazed! Not a single window on the building was to shape, and the bizzar tower that came from the building was even more unusual! 

I asked one of the other members of staff, whom is a resident here in Wien and she told me that it heats the water for the near-by apartments and the tower helps to clean the air and reduce pollution. So not only a facinating building, but also a useful one. 

Sunday coffee

Sundays are all about being lazy. Today, after checking out from the hostel and awaiting to check into another room, we ventured out to district 1, the main centre of Wien. 

I have heard so much about sachertorte cake, and the fact that Wien is famous for it! So whilst having a Sunday coffee, it would be rude not to try some. 

I can say, it lived up to more than it's expectations- so much so I am beginning to think that a coffee and a slice of this cake may have to become a Sunday tradition.. After all, everywhere else is shut here in Wien on a Sunday. 

Move day... Into another hostel room.

Today marks the glorious day in which I have to move from one shared room, to another. 

This has meant I have had to get up at the crack of dawn and pack my life away, most of it is already still packed anyway, and move to another room within the hostel to start my next 14 days of hell. 

I wish I was packing to move into the apartment, I would move at 3am if I had to! 

However, what I have failed to mention is that the hostel makes you check out at 10am, at the latest, and you cannot check into your new room until gone 2pm. So, bring on the next few hours of being homeless in Vienna! Maybe the only food I have left will keep me company until then. 

Today, I went with the Erasmus students I have met for a bit of a sightseeing/ adventure day. We begin by going for lunch at some amazing restaurant, where you can pay what you want and eat as much as you want. The food is Pakistani, and was delicious! The atmosphere inside the place was unlike any I have ever experienced in a restaurant before. Some people where sat on cushions on the floor- others sat at odd mismatched tables. Everything was made from recycled materials and created an almost student orientated environment. I paid five euro’s as advised by some local students. This got me two plates of a main and a desert. I would highly recommend anyone that visits Vienna to take a trip to this restaurant that is so dysfunctional it works.

We then took the metro train system to the museum quarter, where we explored around a few museums and found that in the National History Museum we could enter for five euro’s (this was at a student rate). We seen several historic animals, some we weren’t even aware had existed.

A very famous, but very small statue was on show at this museum, it was called the Real Venus of Wilendorf. She was a rather peculiar statue, however symbolised beauty in the time she was created.

We then all typically finished our day with a Starbucks, nothing better when the weather is beginning to take a turn for the worst and we had all been walking for long periods of time throughout the day. I learnt a lot from the other Erasmus students about their culture and what traditions they celebrate- all of which I am willing to try out on the appropriate dates whilst here in Vienna. 

Transport in Vienna is amazing!

Transport here in Vienna is amazing, definitely better than that of the UK! 

Traveling around on the Metro is so simple, as it's all colour coded with different lines labeled 'U' and a number. Each line links to another, meaning that no matter what language you speak, through the colours and numbers you can navigate around Vienna. 

Having to travel three trains each day there and three trains home from my work placement sounds like a lot of travelling, however with this simple and fast system, it is a breeze. 

At weekends, the trains also run 24hrs and the same applied to bank holidays! Such a clever idea, saving myself lots of money when visiting some of the amazing bars Vienna has to offer of a weekend, enabling me to enjoy them more without the worry of having to keep a track of time to get home.