August 04, 2014 - I have modified the original post to remove the broken photos. Most of the text remains, except where it references the photos.
I apologize for the delay in updates. It seems that everything that could go against me - did.
My computer broke. This computer is less than 3 months old and cost me $1000. I purchased it in August. I opened the lid and found it in this state. Now, I know enough about LCD screens to recognize that as bad. But this is where it gets funny. Not more than two weeks before, one of the other girls in my group, came back from a Mexican restaurant and found her computer in the exact same state. This is the kicker: She has the same model, purchased around the same time, from Best Buy as well.
I have never purchased a Toshiba before this - and, unless they stand by their product and actually repair my computer with the warranty - I will never have another Toshiba anything again.
My final paper for International Law had been finished - but I still had a final paper for International Relations to write and research. So, I was now at the mercy of the school computer. Where Becky's computer had half the screen (thank goodness for Windows 7 snap to fit!) to work on her paper with - mine only had the top 1/4 - the rest of the screen flickered in a way in which I couldn't see anything (I could fumble the controls enough to pull up iTunes and use my computer as a $1000 crappy radio).
Let me tell you about the computer labs at the Webster campus in Vienna. Firstly - they aren't made for all day research/writing considering the wooden chairs that are provided. The campus goes in waves - the computer lab gets extremely loud at some times. Usually around lunch (which means that it is break time for me once I can no longer drown the sound out with my iPod), and it is not 24 hours. Which meant, that my writing was at the mercy of the computer lab hours (8:30-9:30p if I recall correctly, except Saturday - only til 2:30 and Sunday its completely closed). When you have a major paper to write and can only use campus computers and you have limited days to write it - it was by far the most unbelievably frustrated thing.
And - not only did I lose my ability to work at home. I lost my ability to communicate with my family and friends - and I lost my entertainment on my 12 hour journey to Bangkok.
So, Toshiba is really high on myshit list at the moment. My dad is awesome and mailed my old laptop to Bangkok (Sony rocks!) - but I was pretty much sans-computer for all of October.
So, what all did I do between my (forever ago) last entry and today?
First, I went to Prague, Czech Republic. I have to say - the whole EEC/European Union/Whatever - is making me super sad. Mostly because I don't get stamps in my passport anymore. On the other hand - you know they could make some good money at the border selling 'souvenir' passport stamps. JS.
Prague was so beautiful! I met some awesome people at the hostel. I will say - this is an observation I have made after years of hosteling: Pretty certain there are no Australians in Australia. It doesn't seem to matter where in the world I am, when I am at a hostel, there are always Australians present. Not that this is a bad thing - I actually find it quite incredible. Anyway, I took a tour of Prague, it was a great tour of the city and the castle grounds. I also splurged on a river dinner cruise the last evening, where the musician hired to entertain us thought My Heart Will Go On was an appropriate song to play on a boat -_-. I also walked by the house of Franz Kafka, it was closed which was sad to me, and I didn't have time to visit the Kafka museum, but I have been a fan of Kafka since I read the Metamorphosis so it was cool to see that.
The astronomical clock in Prague's town center was phenomenal though I would say it wasn't worth waiting around for the "show" at the top of every hour (if you stumble upon it great). Our tour guide taught us how to read the clock, though today I can not remember, I am sure it available on the internet somewhere.
What struck me most about Prague was how incredibly beautiful it was. It struck me in a bad way, because it made me realize that I was not expecting it to be beautiful. I think if you had asked me what I envisioned of the Czech Republic before going to Prague, the mentality I had probably would reflect more of a Cold-War-Era style of thinking about the Soviet Bloc. I tend to consider myself a very open-minded person, so anytime I am confronted with dealing with my own prejudices of any kind, it's always very unnerving. Mark Twain once said "Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness" and I think it most certainly rings true. Travel makes you confront your own misconceptions about the people and places outside of your walls. The process for me is unsettling because it makes me wonder what other pre-concieved notions I have about other places that I am not actively aware of. Prague was never high on my list of "must see" destinations, not for any particular reason that I knew of - but mostly because of this misconception I had that was rooted far deeper than even I knew. I am glad that my cousin, Laura, encouraged me to go - it would be a shame if I had missed it - because it is now on my list of must-return places, and quite possibly one of my favorite cities in Europe.
So: here are a few shots from "Pretty Praha" - you can see them all HERE and HERE
Prague was my last out-of-country excursion for the remainder of my time in Vienna.
Webster arranged for us to take a tour of the Jewish quarters in Vienna. You can see the photos of that HERE
I celebrated my birthday on September 27. I had an amazing birthday! This morning I went out to Mödling with Mom's friend's parents (keep up with me here). They gave me a tour of historic Mödling and then took me to their house for lunch. They stuffed me with the most A-MA-ZING traditional Austrian food - and all the veggies came from their garden - and fresh squeezed Lindenberry juice from their garden!
Then, they took me to a 12th century castle. Very - very Mid-evil castle! It was awesome. After, we drove to a 13th century monastery. All of this was a drive through the Austrian countryside. The leaves were beginning to turn - so the mix of greens, oranges, and yellows was spectacular! Afterwords, we went back to their place for coffee and pastries and conversation.
Kara and I went to Stephensplatz and found a cafe where Beethoven used to dine at - and had wine and desert. When we got back, it was insisted I go see Samantha - and I walked in and everyone was there - they had baked a cake and had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for me - and made me a really awesome birthday card from a Vienna city map!
I apologize for the delay in updates. It seems that everything that could go against me - did.
My computer broke. This computer is less than 3 months old and cost me $1000. I purchased it in August. I opened the lid and found it in this state. Now, I know enough about LCD screens to recognize that as bad. But this is where it gets funny. Not more than two weeks before, one of the other girls in my group, came back from a Mexican restaurant and found her computer in the exact same state. This is the kicker: She has the same model, purchased around the same time, from Best Buy as well.
I have never purchased a Toshiba before this - and, unless they stand by their product and actually repair my computer with the warranty - I will never have another Toshiba anything again.
My final paper for International Law had been finished - but I still had a final paper for International Relations to write and research. So, I was now at the mercy of the school computer. Where Becky's computer had half the screen (thank goodness for Windows 7 snap to fit!) to work on her paper with - mine only had the top 1/4 - the rest of the screen flickered in a way in which I couldn't see anything (I could fumble the controls enough to pull up iTunes and use my computer as a $1000 crappy radio).
Let me tell you about the computer labs at the Webster campus in Vienna. Firstly - they aren't made for all day research/writing considering the wooden chairs that are provided. The campus goes in waves - the computer lab gets extremely loud at some times. Usually around lunch (which means that it is break time for me once I can no longer drown the sound out with my iPod), and it is not 24 hours. Which meant, that my writing was at the mercy of the computer lab hours (8:30-9:30p if I recall correctly, except Saturday - only til 2:30 and Sunday its completely closed). When you have a major paper to write and can only use campus computers and you have limited days to write it - it was by far the most unbelievably frustrated thing.
And - not only did I lose my ability to work at home. I lost my ability to communicate with my family and friends - and I lost my entertainment on my 12 hour journey to Bangkok.
So, Toshiba is really high on my
So, what all did I do between my (forever ago) last entry and today?
First, I went to Prague, Czech Republic. I have to say - the whole EEC/European Union/Whatever - is making me super sad. Mostly because I don't get stamps in my passport anymore. On the other hand - you know they could make some good money at the border selling 'souvenir' passport stamps. JS.
Prague was so beautiful! I met some awesome people at the hostel. I will say - this is an observation I have made after years of hosteling: Pretty certain there are no Australians in Australia. It doesn't seem to matter where in the world I am, when I am at a hostel, there are always Australians present. Not that this is a bad thing - I actually find it quite incredible. Anyway, I took a tour of Prague, it was a great tour of the city and the castle grounds. I also splurged on a river dinner cruise the last evening, where the musician hired to entertain us thought My Heart Will Go On was an appropriate song to play on a boat -_-. I also walked by the house of Franz Kafka, it was closed which was sad to me, and I didn't have time to visit the Kafka museum, but I have been a fan of Kafka since I read the Metamorphosis so it was cool to see that.
The astronomical clock in Prague's town center was phenomenal though I would say it wasn't worth waiting around for the "show" at the top of every hour (if you stumble upon it great). Our tour guide taught us how to read the clock, though today I can not remember, I am sure it available on the internet somewhere.
What struck me most about Prague was how incredibly beautiful it was. It struck me in a bad way, because it made me realize that I was not expecting it to be beautiful. I think if you had asked me what I envisioned of the Czech Republic before going to Prague, the mentality I had probably would reflect more of a Cold-War-Era style of thinking about the Soviet Bloc. I tend to consider myself a very open-minded person, so anytime I am confronted with dealing with my own prejudices of any kind, it's always very unnerving. Mark Twain once said "Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness" and I think it most certainly rings true. Travel makes you confront your own misconceptions about the people and places outside of your walls. The process for me is unsettling because it makes me wonder what other pre-concieved notions I have about other places that I am not actively aware of. Prague was never high on my list of "must see" destinations, not for any particular reason that I knew of - but mostly because of this misconception I had that was rooted far deeper than even I knew. I am glad that my cousin, Laura, encouraged me to go - it would be a shame if I had missed it - because it is now on my list of must-return places, and quite possibly one of my favorite cities in Europe.
So: here are a few shots from "Pretty Praha" - you can see them all HERE and HERE
Prague was my last out-of-country excursion for the remainder of my time in Vienna.
Webster arranged for us to take a tour of the Jewish quarters in Vienna. You can see the photos of that HERE
Then, they took me to a 12th century castle. Very - very Mid-evil castle! It was awesome. After, we drove to a 13th century monastery. All of this was a drive through the Austrian countryside. The leaves were beginning to turn - so the mix of greens, oranges, and yellows was spectacular! Afterwords, we went back to their place for coffee and pastries and conversation.
Kara and I went to Stephensplatz and found a cafe where Beethoven used to dine at - and had wine and desert. When we got back, it was insisted I go see Samantha - and I walked in and everyone was there - they had baked a cake and had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for me - and made me a really awesome birthday card from a Vienna city map!
Here are a few photos from my day in Mödling, you can see the rest HERE
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| Me at a Castle - I'd look good with a castle! |
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| Castle Lichtenstein from a distance |
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| My gracious hosts! |
My birthday gift to myself was a day trip to Salzburg for the Sound of Music Tour that weekend. Yes, it's overly touristy and campy - but it was so much fun. I highly recommend doing the tour because it gets you out of the city and into the "alive hills". Really the views were incredible. Here are a few shots, the rest are HERE
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| Do-Re-Mi Fountain |
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| Me - doing the Do-Re-Mi pose at these statues |
I took a break from my final paper writing to go on a Wine Tasting Excursion with Webster. We went way out into wine country - to Retz, which sits right on the border of the Czech Republic. It was a nice day. Photos are HERE
I also voted absentee for the first time ever - everyone I voted for won! YAY for Obama and Representative John Barrow in GA-12! Here's hoping that my ballot actually made it to the states! :-D
I finished out my time in Vienna with a trip to see The Marriage of Figaro at the State Opera House. I can't think of a better way of capping off an amazing 8 weeks in Vienna than that.
So, my first 8 weeks was filled with encounters with long-dead political heros, music, art, wine, opera, and new cultural experience. I will forever remember Vienna as smelling like fresh baked bread, and the abundance of waltz music. Vienna finds a way to make even their UBahn an experience.
So, my first 8 weeks was filled with encounters with long-dead political heros, music, art, wine, opera, and new cultural experience. I will forever remember Vienna as smelling like fresh baked bread, and the abundance of waltz music. Vienna finds a way to make even their UBahn an experience.
Kurt, waltzing in the UBahn with some other tourists
Also - for my first term in graduate school - I got straight As!
I will try to update with my time in Bangkok very soon. I have two papers to write this week, mini-papers, but still, that writing has to take priority.
