I generally want one of the following
Gringo's Shrimp Enchilada
John D. Rockefeller burger from Your Mom's
Turkey Artichoke Sandwich from Panera Bread
Gadd Thai from Jalopy
Strawberry Fields salad from Cypress Bend
Fries from P. Terry;s
Lemonade from Chik fil a
and last but not least, a meal from Subway
i quit my rant now.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
It was gloomy and supposed to rain
So what do I do? Go to the cemetery. Zentralfriedhof to be exact. It is not named zentral for its location, but because it is Vienna's biggest cemetery. I rode the underground to the very last stop on the U3 to Simmering. There was maybe a tram to take but i decided to walk. It was a bit sketch looking, more like a regular city with car dealerships and autoshops and some places to eat, etc. Vienna is safe enough so I figured I was fine. I took a right because I felt that was the right direction and kept walking. I had written down the major street before the cemetery and the street name for if I had gone too far. After 10 - 15 minutes of walking and watching the #6 tram clearly labeled Zentralfriedhof, I arrived at the corner entrance. The older man at the entrance did not speak english but showed me on the map locations that I wanted to visit.
Assuming none of you know why I would go here, I will explain. Not only is this the largest cemetery in Vienna, it is the final resting place of tons of famous people. Famous by Austrian standards, ie incredible composers and so on. Beethoven, Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Josef Strauss, no big deal, right?
It took me awhile to wind through and find the grave of Ludwig Von Beethoven, but once I did I was so satisfied. It was very simple and understated for what it could have been. The same can be said for Mozart's. I do not know if they had input into what they wanted, but I was impressed. When I arrived at Beethoven's grave I stood in front of it for a few minutes. I didn't really want to leave or walk around much because this is what I had come for. I sat down in a patch of grass that made the third point of a triangle between the graves of Ludwigand Wolfgang, if I may call them so, and listened to what tracks I had on my iPod from each of them. I saw indian style, face up, eyes closed. It was really nice and relaxing and the perfect thing to do today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJDQMyHbSko
It started to sprinkle on me so I scooted under this tree/bush thing. After my songs ran out I got up and walked some more. There as a cathedral with a really cool dome (on the inside). The rain was a constant trickle so I walked back to the entrance. This time I got on the tram and rode it all the way home. It was a nice day.
Assuming none of you know why I would go here, I will explain. Not only is this the largest cemetery in Vienna, it is the final resting place of tons of famous people. Famous by Austrian standards, ie incredible composers and so on. Beethoven, Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Josef Strauss, no big deal, right?
It took me awhile to wind through and find the grave of Ludwig Von Beethoven, but once I did I was so satisfied. It was very simple and understated for what it could have been. The same can be said for Mozart's. I do not know if they had input into what they wanted, but I was impressed. When I arrived at Beethoven's grave I stood in front of it for a few minutes. I didn't really want to leave or walk around much because this is what I had come for. I sat down in a patch of grass that made the third point of a triangle between the graves of Ludwigand Wolfgang, if I may call them so, and listened to what tracks I had on my iPod from each of them. I saw indian style, face up, eyes closed. It was really nice and relaxing and the perfect thing to do today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJDQMyHbSko
It started to sprinkle on me so I scooted under this tree/bush thing. After my songs ran out I got up and walked some more. There as a cathedral with a really cool dome (on the inside). The rain was a constant trickle so I walked back to the entrance. This time I got on the tram and rode it all the way home. It was a nice day.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The luck you have
of which you are not even aware..
Yesterday I went on an adventure with four of my friends (Amanda, Tess, Alyssa, and Siegfried). Went to Seegrotte, which is an underground lake, former Gypsum mine. In the late 1800s through 1912 the mines were used to extract gypsum that was used in agriculture products. In 1912 they were attempting to expand that caves, but they blast opened a pocket to an underground water cave and thus the mines were flooded. Between the flooding and my tour yesterday it was once in habited by Nazis. There were remnants of a Heinkel HE 46 aircraft which the Germans built (underground and top secret of course). These planes were very narrow as they must be maneuvered through the tunnels of the mine and out the surface level.
Obviously, much of Austria and Europe was occupied by the Nazis, but this was the first time I had truly felt the affects of their former presence. I think because the mine tunnels were fairly small and the save areas were only the size of a dining hall is what made the difference. The area was tight and I could just picture how the Nazis would have been running around down there. It was eery.
Back to the fun part- We were lead on a German/English guided tour and given historical facts about the mine. As we wound down to the lower levels, about 180 feet below ground, we reached the lake. It was really cool. The walls were covered in mineral deposits, so they had a subtle glow, the water was bright and clear and hyper-calcified. We took a boat tour through the caves and received more information about the area. The water is only about 4 feet deep because they continually pump (about 60,000 gallons a day) water to the surface.
Now to explain the title of the post, which until now is quite irrelevant:
The trip was tons of fun and it was great to see a more suburban area of the country. We took 1 Ubahn, 1 Sbahn, and a bus to get to the caves and the same route to return. As much fun as I had in the caves, the part of the day that impacted me the most was the Sbahn ride to the Seegrotte. The seats are grouped in 4s so I took the 5th seat across the aisle from my friends. It seems I have a knack for meeting interesting people on public transport, and this trip would follow suit. I sat next to a man, maybe in his thirties, but I could not really tell. I asked the woman across from me if she would mind taking a photo of my friends and I. She got off on the next stop. The man next to me asked if I had spoken Russian to the lady. I told him no and that I only speak English. We then had conversations about where we were from, why we were in Austria, etc. He was from Chechnya, a part of Southern Russia. He had worked as a construction Engineer in Turkey and was now working on a Petroleum Engineer degree in Vienna. He spoke Russian, Turkish, decent English, and was working on French and Arabic. He had given Chinese a shot, but did not have much success. He seemed like a nice man but he also seemed very sad. Only a few minutes into our conversation he began to tell me about Russia's multiple invasions of Chechnya and how his people were fighting for their freedom.
At first I thought it was really weird that he was telling me all of this, but I continued to listen. I asked him if he preferred living in Austria or Turkey better. I think his answer was Austria, but it didn't really matter to him, as long as he felt safe. In Russian occupied Chechnya, he said there is a constant fear, and that you must monitor everything you said because yo could be report to the police. I was sort of shocked to hear this. Clearly the secret police existed in previous times but I had no idea that this was still an issue. It was all quite sad really. He had not lived in Chechnya in many years, but this was still clearly effecting his conscious train of thought.
We got off of the Sbahn and parted ways. I didn't really pay much thought to the conversation until I was headed home that evening. This man's entire person was shaken by the current situation in his home country. His family was in a dangerous place that forced them to live in constant fear.
I guess the point of this is to appreciate the freedom that you have. We take it for granted every single day when we wake up and go about our day. Feeding our whims and saying what we please. Not everyone has this luxury, so be grateful, and compassionate to others.
http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/dec-11-1994-russia-invades-chechnya-12334058
Yesterday I went on an adventure with four of my friends (Amanda, Tess, Alyssa, and Siegfried). Went to Seegrotte, which is an underground lake, former Gypsum mine. In the late 1800s through 1912 the mines were used to extract gypsum that was used in agriculture products. In 1912 they were attempting to expand that caves, but they blast opened a pocket to an underground water cave and thus the mines were flooded. Between the flooding and my tour yesterday it was once in habited by Nazis. There were remnants of a Heinkel HE 46 aircraft which the Germans built (underground and top secret of course). These planes were very narrow as they must be maneuvered through the tunnels of the mine and out the surface level.
Obviously, much of Austria and Europe was occupied by the Nazis, but this was the first time I had truly felt the affects of their former presence. I think because the mine tunnels were fairly small and the save areas were only the size of a dining hall is what made the difference. The area was tight and I could just picture how the Nazis would have been running around down there. It was eery.
Back to the fun part- We were lead on a German/English guided tour and given historical facts about the mine. As we wound down to the lower levels, about 180 feet below ground, we reached the lake. It was really cool. The walls were covered in mineral deposits, so they had a subtle glow, the water was bright and clear and hyper-calcified. We took a boat tour through the caves and received more information about the area. The water is only about 4 feet deep because they continually pump (about 60,000 gallons a day) water to the surface.
Now to explain the title of the post, which until now is quite irrelevant:
The trip was tons of fun and it was great to see a more suburban area of the country. We took 1 Ubahn, 1 Sbahn, and a bus to get to the caves and the same route to return. As much fun as I had in the caves, the part of the day that impacted me the most was the Sbahn ride to the Seegrotte. The seats are grouped in 4s so I took the 5th seat across the aisle from my friends. It seems I have a knack for meeting interesting people on public transport, and this trip would follow suit. I sat next to a man, maybe in his thirties, but I could not really tell. I asked the woman across from me if she would mind taking a photo of my friends and I. She got off on the next stop. The man next to me asked if I had spoken Russian to the lady. I told him no and that I only speak English. We then had conversations about where we were from, why we were in Austria, etc. He was from Chechnya, a part of Southern Russia. He had worked as a construction Engineer in Turkey and was now working on a Petroleum Engineer degree in Vienna. He spoke Russian, Turkish, decent English, and was working on French and Arabic. He had given Chinese a shot, but did not have much success. He seemed like a nice man but he also seemed very sad. Only a few minutes into our conversation he began to tell me about Russia's multiple invasions of Chechnya and how his people were fighting for their freedom.
At first I thought it was really weird that he was telling me all of this, but I continued to listen. I asked him if he preferred living in Austria or Turkey better. I think his answer was Austria, but it didn't really matter to him, as long as he felt safe. In Russian occupied Chechnya, he said there is a constant fear, and that you must monitor everything you said because yo could be report to the police. I was sort of shocked to hear this. Clearly the secret police existed in previous times but I had no idea that this was still an issue. It was all quite sad really. He had not lived in Chechnya in many years, but this was still clearly effecting his conscious train of thought.
We got off of the Sbahn and parted ways. I didn't really pay much thought to the conversation until I was headed home that evening. This man's entire person was shaken by the current situation in his home country. His family was in a dangerous place that forced them to live in constant fear.
I guess the point of this is to appreciate the freedom that you have. We take it for granted every single day when we wake up and go about our day. Feeding our whims and saying what we please. Not everyone has this luxury, so be grateful, and compassionate to others.
http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/dec-11-1994-russia-invades-chechnya-12334058
Thursday, March 17, 2011
St. Patty's
Happy St. Patty's from DUBLIN! jk. I am in Vienna :(
I am sitting in the fire escape in my building read my articles for International Marketing Tourism.
Look, I am taking notes with my green pen. So in the spirit of the season. Oh well. Looking forward to consumption of green drinks later.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
My Wish
I wish that you could have felt the cool air today as I ran.
I wish that you could have seen the faces in the cafes.
I wish that you could have uttered entshuldigen.
I wish that you could have made the quick left turn up the ring.
I wish that you could have told the man that you didn't speak.
I wish that you could have lay on the grated deck.
I wish that you could have felt the sun on your skin.
I wish that you could have seen the statues the stood atop the museum.
I wish that you could have witnessed the blue of the sky.
I wish that you could have relished in the moment.
I wish that you could have.
Like I did.
I wish that you could have seen the faces in the cafes.
I wish that you could have uttered entshuldigen.
I wish that you could have made the quick left turn up the ring.
I wish that you could have told the man that you didn't speak.
I wish that you could have lay on the grated deck.
I wish that you could have felt the sun on your skin.
I wish that you could have seen the statues the stood atop the museum.
I wish that you could have witnessed the blue of the sky.
I wish that you could have relished in the moment.
I wish that you could have.
Like I did.
Lessons learned the hard way
So until now all of the restrooms or WC as they are labeled have had the picture of the man or the woman on them. Easy to figure out, right? Well, yesterday I was early for my Analysis and Decision Making in Marketing class so I decided to use the restroom because the class lasts from 4-7pm. When I arrive at the two doors there are no helpful pictures. There are two options "herren" or "damen". I was at a total loss. Herren has the word her in it and damen has the word men in it, but it also looks like dame. I chose Herren and entered. It was a little dark and smelled weird, but I was in the basement of UZA 2. I didn't see any urinals so I thought it was in the clear. I used the restroom as fast as humanly possible and then walked toward the sink. For some reason I went back to look in the last stall. Lo and behold, A URINAL. Needless to say I bolted out of there. Walked around the halls for a second and then returned to Damen to wash my hands. Luckily no one was around.
Primary Lesson learned: learn German before going to German speaking country
Secondary Lesson learn: only use the WC with pictoral help!
Primary Lesson learned: learn German before going to German speaking country
Secondary Lesson learn: only use the WC with pictoral help!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Except in the order blood, tears and sweat.
This past week, for the first time, I bled, I cried and I sweated.
On Thursday we went to a ski mountain to go sledding, or sledging as the Austrians call it.
This picture is taken before we went down the mountain. We took 4 person gondolas to the top of the mountain, and from here everything went down hill. (literally and figuratively). We rode in pairs and about 3 minutes down the run Amy and I were headed straight toward a wall and then a few seconds later, BAM. Amy flies over me, the sled flies over me, and I face plant into tightly packed snow. I stand up and a few seconds later the blood starts to drip from my nose. I was basically a red leaky faucet for about 15 minutes and then held a snowball on my face. Needless to say, I was not super stoked to go down the rest of the mountain.
Once I reached the bottom I half way thought I might have broken it so I went to the bathroom to look. The left side was pretty scraped up, and this is where the tears come in. There were not a lot, but I feel they are worth mentioning. I went to the sled rental office so ask for some ice, so one of the guys took me to the Ski Patrol Office, which was closed, so we went to the lift ticket office to try and find someone. After sitting in a chair in a desolate corner for a bit, three guys showed up to talk to me. Funny thing is, none of them really spoke English. I got my bag of ice, specifically a thin trash bag filled with ice, and tried to tell them what happened. The situation was humorous and made me feel a little better.
Out of the shack, into the bar for some gulashsoup and a hot chocolate. yum.
That is all for blood and tears, now it is time for sweat.
On Saturday Alex and I went on an organized hike called 2nd International Hiking Day. There were quite a few WU students there. What we thought would be a chill hike turned into basically a run up the mountain and eventually a nice walk at a high altitude. The trip was awesome though. Stellar views, though it was a bit foggy in the distance, and the weather was so warm. I was wearing short sleeves!!!!!!! Point of the story, I sweated.
Running up the mountain
Enjoying the view from the top, squatting for some reason.
This past week, for the first time, I bled, I cried and I sweated.
On Thursday we went to a ski mountain to go sledding, or sledging as the Austrians call it.
This picture is taken before we went down the mountain. We took 4 person gondolas to the top of the mountain, and from here everything went down hill. (literally and figuratively). We rode in pairs and about 3 minutes down the run Amy and I were headed straight toward a wall and then a few seconds later, BAM. Amy flies over me, the sled flies over me, and I face plant into tightly packed snow. I stand up and a few seconds later the blood starts to drip from my nose. I was basically a red leaky faucet for about 15 minutes and then held a snowball on my face. Needless to say, I was not super stoked to go down the rest of the mountain.
Once I reached the bottom I half way thought I might have broken it so I went to the bathroom to look. The left side was pretty scraped up, and this is where the tears come in. There were not a lot, but I feel they are worth mentioning. I went to the sled rental office so ask for some ice, so one of the guys took me to the Ski Patrol Office, which was closed, so we went to the lift ticket office to try and find someone. After sitting in a chair in a desolate corner for a bit, three guys showed up to talk to me. Funny thing is, none of them really spoke English. I got my bag of ice, specifically a thin trash bag filled with ice, and tried to tell them what happened. The situation was humorous and made me feel a little better.
Out of the shack, into the bar for some gulashsoup and a hot chocolate. yum.
That is all for blood and tears, now it is time for sweat.
On Saturday Alex and I went on an organized hike called 2nd International Hiking Day. There were quite a few WU students there. What we thought would be a chill hike turned into basically a run up the mountain and eventually a nice walk at a high altitude. The trip was awesome though. Stellar views, though it was a bit foggy in the distance, and the weather was so warm. I was wearing short sleeves!!!!!!! Point of the story, I sweated.
Running up the mountain
Enjoying the view from the top, squatting for some reason.
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