Vienna

This has really been an up and down week for me, and a whirlwind. First things first, on Monday it was finally Holly's time back home after about 8 years of heart issues. It's really upsetting to know that when I go back to the States that little furball won't be there to meet me at the door. I know she had a good life, though, and I pretty much prepared myself to never see her again when I left in January, but it's still just really sad. I know it's going to be hard on Mom and Dad, so my thoughts are with them especially. I guess in my limited experience with death I've always dealt with it a bit differently than most, but it's a constant reminder of our own mortality. There's no way of knowing when your time will be, so it's important to make the most out of the smallest events every day and enjoy the time you're allowed. Having Holly around kind of helped me to appreciate that kind of mentality, and she really did bring a lot into all our lives. A dog can get so excited over the smallest things, and she turned otherwise mundane moments into events for all of us (coming back from school or work, going to Wawa to pick up a coffee, just walking down the street for 10 minutes, etc., etc.). It hasn't really hit me yet, but it always kind of takes time for any kind of death to really hit home for me. It's a very simple yet beautiful quote from Morgan Freeman in the Shawshank Redemption that really sums it all up: "You either get busy livin', or get busy dyin'" Hols definitely enjoyed her time with the family...she was full of life right up until the end. I don't know what I'm going to do without her getting tired of me being asleep and waking me up every day by 10 when I'm back home. I don't know if there's a "doggy heaven" out there, but I hope she's finally running free chasing down all the squirrels she wants somewhere. Miss you Bubby.

Well, before I got the terrible news from back home, I had a great weekend with Petey in Vienna. It was such a stinking hassle to get there and back, but Vienna is an amazing city. Austria is one of the few places that I can definitively say I have ancestry from, so it was back to mah roots (just kidding, but while I stick out like a sore thumb in Italy, I could definitely pass for an Austrian. It's funny, Pete has blond hair so everyone there assumes he actually is Austrian). I guess before I get into Vienna, though, I should talk a bit about our new Italian friend here, Umberto. I met him and his roommates about 2 weeks ago (on the street at about 3 AM), but he ran into some trouble with the landlord of our apartment building, so we let him stay with us for a bit until he could get some money together and find a place to stay. I might get in a little trouble for even writing that, but honestly I don't care...I'd do it all over again. He speaks a little English, but not much, so for about 4 or 5 hours each day, I'd be speaking only in Italian...I improved more in that time than I have in any single class I've had in Italian, and I learned a lot more relevant phrases and words (in the class I had here, before I dropped, we only talked about art and history...not much going on there if you want to try to have a conversation in real life). At first, I was a little apprehensive, but he turned out to be a great kid. The cultural differences were sometime hilarious (especially the differences in clothes), but at the end of the day he was still just a 21 year old kid just like the rest of us. Being around Umberto made me really realize what a great experience this semester is...I would never have been so accepting of the differences in culture, even a month ago, but now that I'm here, I can sense that my overall perspective is constantly growing. I ended up making a great friend in the end, too. He left here yesterday to go back to his hometown down South, and has really had a run of bad luck, but hopefully he can get an apartment back here in Bologna in a couple of weeks. Otherwise, I'll be relegated back to speaking Italian only when asking for directions or ordering food for the most part.

Anyway, back to the Vienna trip. My train left at about 11:45 on Thursday, and didn't get in until about 8:30 on Friday morning. The night train was really cramped (6 people in a tiny compartment), but it was also kind of cool. The lady sitting across from me brought her dog, which may sound annoying at first, but I was fine with it just in case someone tried to come into our compartment while we were sleeping to take our stuff. I didn't get much sleep, just an hour here or there, but here's a word of advice. If you ever take a night train in Europe, when it gets really late crank up the Pink Floyd on your ipod...I swear every single one of their songs is secretly about WWII, and when you're in a place like Austria...I was creeped out, but in the 'Halloween is fun' kind of way. It was the perfect soundtrack for the trip. Anyway, I managed to get about 4, maybe 5 hours of sleep on the train, and before I knew it I was in Vienna.

Friday:I was messing around with my luggage, and Pete came out of nowhere at the platform and gave me a huge whack on the back. I knew immediately that we were about to have a ridiculous weekend. It was great being in Vienna, because it was a mini-version of the culture shock that I experienced when I first got to Italy. I had just gotten comfortable in Italy, and there I was in a totally new place, with a very different culture than I had experienced. Like I said in my journal, there's something vaguely familiar about Vienna, and I would compare it to a much bigger Washington, DC. It's funny how your perspective changes. After being in Bologna, I felt like I was in a modern city, but Pete wanted to show me all the "old buildings." Vienna has about 1.8 million people, almost a quarter of Austria's population, so they have a really great public transit system. I got a ticket for the weekend for 13 euros, and I could use any kind of transportation to go anywhere in that window of time. It was weird being in a place where I didn't have any grasp on the language...Pete tried to teach me but I can't even remember how to say hello in German (I guess it's just Italian overload or something). I will say this for Petey, though. For only speaking German for the couple of months that he's been in Austria, he is pretty darn close to being as good in German as I am at Italian, if not better. Pete had class until 12, so I just hung out around his apartment, which is really new and clean, basically the opposite of mine in Bologna. Also, his bed looks like something from the Mariott, but I got a prison cot and a blanket, go figure. I was starting to have doubts about whether I picked the right program or not. When he got back, we went down into the city and saw all the famous touristy things. As you know by now, my favorite thing to do in a new city is find the highest point and climb it. The first thing we did was go to Stephen's Dome, which is a really cool Gothic era church, and by law is the tallest point in the city (something they've actually honored for 600 years...take a lesson Philly). The symbol of Austria is built right into the roof, and it's got these huge spires. It was totally different than any Italian church I've seen, but it was probably my favorite building I've seen. I wasn't too terribly impressed by the famous Operahouse, however. I don't know what it was about it, but it just looked like a regular building to me. Pete told me that originally the Viennese didn't like it either, and ridiculed the architect until he killed himself. I must be part Austrian. We toured the Hofburg palace, which was a disgusting display of riches. The Habsurgs were in power for a long time, but I'm honestly shocked that the people didn't revolt. They managed to build up their riches by avoiding wars and excelling in diplomacy, so they must have been smooth talkers. The entire bottom floor of the museum was devoted to the gold and silver plates, platters, and silverware they used for their banquets. It was insane how much money they must have poured into that, but apparently they honestly believed that they were appointed by God to rule. We walked around the imperial apartments also. It's crazy there, because the President of Austria is located in the palace, so we were actually allowed inside the same building as tourists. Austria is a neutral country right now, so I guess that kind of makes sense. After the Hofburg, we went to check out the University of Wien (that's what Vienna calls itself: Wien...the jokes were too easy so I didn't even make them all weekend). We also saw the parliament building, and the Rathaus (which is the hilariously-named city hall building). Rathaus reminds me of the main building at Georgetown, except bigger, if that can give you an idea. Pete took me up to this palace called Belvedere, where you could get a great view of the entire city. Belvedere was super close to...you guessed it...a Viennese microbrewery. Happy hour started at 2 (don't worry Mom we went in at about 3:45). I had the greatest beer of my life...it was a liter of wheat beer (the mug was the size of my entire head almost), and since it was happy hour it only cost me 3 euros. I forget the name of the brewery, but it was just insane. Austrians take their beer seriously. We went to another microbrewery after walking around the city for a bit for another beer, and I got a half dunkel-half helles at this place called 1516, where they had VICTORY BEER on tap. Let me repeat that, Victory beer from Downingtown, PA. Here I am just trying to convince kids in Carlisle to drink Sly Fox, and I travel across the world to find something made in my own hometown. Talk about a slap in the face. That night, we went out to a couple of Irish bars, which were really a nice break from the whole club scene here in Bologna.

Saturday:
I had been trying to get in contact with Uncle Dennis, who is working with the embassy in Vienna right now, all day on Friday, and he gave us his address, which Pete promptly accidentally deleted, and told us to meet him at his house at 1 on Saturday for a BBQ. When we woke up, I guess Uncle Dennis' phone was turned off, and we only half remembered his address, but I decided we should try to get there anyway since it would have been a sin for me to be in Vienna and not have seen him or Aunt Marlene. Anyway, we eventually found it (it's about 45 minutes from Pete's apartment), and Uncle Dennis and Aunt Marlene proceeded to hook us up with the best meal I've had since I got to Europe of steak, antipasti, and actual vegetables (I was honestly starting to think I was getting scurvey up to that point). UD made designed his own grill when he was living in El Salvador...I'm not going to give away details and ruin his chance to make millions off of it, but it involves making your own coals and getting a nice wood flavor in the meat. I was expecting to drop in and say hello for about an hour and maybe have a hotdog or something, but we ended up staying for 5 hours listening to Uncle Dennis' stories and him telling me about all the crimes my dad committed and got away with in college (just kidding). He did give us the classic line that he told PJ and my dad told me before I went to college...I'll probably tell my kid the same thing. "Remember one thing pal, there's nothing you could do, see, or even think about doing that I haven't already done. Always remember, I know exactly what you're up to." Great freaking line to scare the bejesus out of your offspring. I had a great time seeing the Nices, they really went above and beyond anything I expected, as you'll read later. Petey and I went back with full stomachs. We went out that night to Dick Mack's again (Irish pub) and met up with Pete's German buddy that the school set him up with. She was 25 years old, and we eventually met up with her 35+ year old friend, but he had played football and turned out to be the man. We ended up at this club that was mixed between young kids going out and old divorcees, I hope at least. I guess it was kind of like a cougar bar, except there were no cougars and all the old and young people were sticking together. It was really bizarre, but it was still a fun night.

Sunday:
When we woke up, Pete really wanted to check out the Habsburg summer home, so that's what we did. It made the Hofburg palace seem like it was the size of my own house. Ridiculous. There was a huge arch that was about a 20 minute climb up a hill in the back that was built solely for aesthetic purposes. Pete said its been called the Versailles of the East, and I believe him. There was also a zoo, and we saw this big Rhino just chillin. I could be wrong, but I think it was the first rhino I've ever seen, so there you go. We headed back toward his house, and went to this really cool coffee shop. It was one of my favorite places that I've been in Europe. It was old and smokey, and reminded me of the corner food joints you see in Philly and Delco. It was great. You can order a coffee and sit around for hours, and the coffee shops there kind of serve as the peoples' living rooms...definitely a great place for the exchange of ideas. We were both tired, so we did stay for about an hour and a half, and I updated my personal journal, looking like a true Wiener. If I lived in Vienna, I'd be in that exact coffee shop almost every single day.  I really wanted to try a wienershnitzel and apple strudel before I left, so Pete and I splurged and went to one of the more famous restaurants in town. There were a ton of tourists, but like I always say...I don't care, I am one. For some reason, there was just a crazy amount of Italians in Vienna last weekend, even though Pete said that was the first time he's ever noticed any Italians. It was good to leave Bologna and still be around my people. Anyway, the shnitzel was the shnitz, and I had literally the best potato salad I've ever tasted in my life. Seriously, I was freaking out. It was, dare I say, outrageous. All those jokers making the PA dutch stuff back home need to book a flight to Vienna and take notes. I had found out earlier that I needed to send a security check to the FDIC for my internship, and Uncle Dennis had graciously offered to let me stay at his house for the night on Sunday and then go into work with him on Monday to get my fingerprints taken at the embassy, or else I would have had to go to the consulate in Florence this week in Italy. Thank God I just happened to be in Vienna that weekend, and that Uncle Dennis was willing to help me out, or else I don't know that my internship would be happening this summer. I got to his house around 10, filled out some forms, and got to sleep.

Monday:
My last day in Vienna. The fingerprints turned out to be a bigger hassle than Uncle Dennis had originally expected, I think, since nobody was around the office and it took a while for my fingers to register on the machine, but he was a good sport about it. He showed me around the embassy, which was cool. I couldn't even drive into the area in a car, I had to get out and get a separate security check. I was happy to oblige that, though...I want our officials to be safe overseas. I got to check out the building that he runs too, which is about 10 minutes away, and almost jammed the elevator which would have been a great way to show UD how much I appreciated what he was doing for me. Eventually, I ended up getting my fingerprints done by an Austrian member of the US secret service, who had pictures up of him and AHNAWLD in his office, which was great. I thanked Uncle Dennis for everything he and Aunt Marlene had done for me, and met Pete down at Stephen's Dome at about 3. My train was leaving at 7, so we decided to get one final beer at another microbrewery (I got a dunkel...which was the second or 3rd greatest beer I've ever had (ahh what does it matter, I drank my top 5 beers of all time this weekend alone...gotta love them German speaking breweries). Then, we went to the naschmarkt...which is like an outdoor version of the Reading Terminal Market except maybe possibly better. It was AWESOME, although I kept hyping up Bologna's market district to Petey (I've been hyping up Bologna's food for months to get him to come visit...I hope when he realizes I've been lying he doesn't get too upset). I got a pork knuckle, which is the upper part of a pig's leg that they fry. It's like a giant turkey leg on steroids. I vowed I would eat a hotdog too, and I did against my better judgment. They actually take a roll, cut a hole in the middle, pour the mustard (schenf? I think that's their word for it) in the middle, and give you a foot-long hotdog, which is basically a giant sausage there. Epic level of deliciousness...I was even able to finish it even though I was so full from the pork knuckle. Afterwards, it was time to hop on the train. I met a couple of nice people who wanted to know all about America and my thoughts on 9/11, and before I knew it, I was back in Bologna.

Dad, you have to go to Vienna, if only for the potato salad. It was great...not my favorite place so far because Venice just mocks anybody who is foolish enough to live anywhere else, but it's right up there. Just a totally different flavor than Italy. Speaking of Italian flavor, though, I've got a hot date in the Italy's capitol tonight, so I better get moving. Updates from Rome next week hopefully.