Berlusalzvienich

I have had "Vienna" stuck in my head since I got here.

So far I love Vienna almost as much as Berlin! Yesterday I met up with my friends who go to school here, and they graciously spent their afternoon showing me the main sites. It is absolutely beautiful, and it's nice to have an insider's perspective. They took me to the Rathaus, where they show operas in the evening and have an outdoor food court and bar strip. It was really interesting, but quite cold and rainy. I seem to be travelling with the bad weather.

This morning I went to see St. Stefan's Cathedral. It is so imposing and beautiful, but as I was underdressed for the continuing cold, I hurried into a cafe. I was really lucky to find such a great place. It is local and well priced, and the food was excellent. I got the traditional Wiener Frühstück: Melange coffee with a cookie, orange juice, a soft-boiled egg, a croissant, a roll, ham, cheese, butter, and jelly. Mmm...I plan to go back there for at least one more meal while I am here!

Then I went to the Haus der Musik, which I remembering hearing about from my history teacher in high school! It's a really fantastic museum. It's so well done, and kept me very interested from start to finish. A lot of it focuses on the Viennese composers, but most of the exhibit is actually about sound and is sort of an interactive exploration of it.

There is a lot more that I want to see while I am here, but I like that it is a place where I just like being. Besides the sites, it is fun to ride the subway and just walk around and look at the amazing architecture. The shopping isn't bad either, but with a lot of self-control, I'm trying to limit it to window shopping. Will try to write again soon, but I expect to be quite busy here! As they say in the south, Wiederschauen!