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. 

First week of my work placement, complete. It has been such a challenging and yet fun week all at the same time! The language barrier has appeared to be an issue at times, however I am learning fast- I have even decided to take up a German language course to improve.

After a long working week, I decided a Starbucks treat was in order. It wasn't until I sat down that I realised what the Barista had done to my cup, it is safe to say that this made my day.

Last night we went out to some bars with our Erasmus friends! Such a great time and even better people. Cannot wait to make many more memories with these people over the next semester. 

In the past few days there has been a heavy, tiring schedule. Non of the less we have seen some amazing sights of Vienna- even had a guided tour around the city!
The history of this place is so fascinating, and we have learnt a lot about the traditional festivals here in Vienna and the meanings behind them.

We even had the pleasure of seeing one of Mozart's many apartments he lived in during his time in Vienna.

So, finally managed to get back online, at the second hostel- which is hell.
25 more nights here and counting, however finding a flat was a success and we move in on the 30th of September, then let the true Vienna lifestyle commence.