My last entry ended with the trip to Melk and Krems. That was fabulous, and after that break, I was ready to go back to work that week. Things went well up until Tuesday, when my stomach started feeling weird. Wednesday was super dicey, and by Wednesday evening I was a miserable wreck. I spent the next three days sleeping very little and spending sad amounts of time curled up in a ball on my bed. I managed to get some work done from home on that Thursday and Friday, and over the weekend, but sadly I also happened to miss two of the busiest days ever at my workplace. I'm still not sure what caused Stomach Disaster 2011, but since it afflicted others at work, I'm guessing it was either shared food poisoning from the cafeteria or a bug of some sort. By the following Sunday, I was feeling much better and was actually able to take a shower for longer than 5 minutes. Looking forward to a nice warm soak, I turned the handle and waited for the water to get warm. A minute later, and the water was still ice cold. Uh oh. I checked the other taps, and there was no hot water there too. And come to think of it, last night was particularly cold in the apartment. I let my landlady know, and we determined that the water heater was kaput. While they hired an engineer, I was told I was welcome to use their shower. This is where my ongoing saga with Austrian electronics continues with a daring and epic battle involving a modern Austrian shower.
A word about my shower. It is a simple shower head in a bath tub. There is one handle for water. There's a normal looking drain. Simple. Their shower? First of all, their bathroom has two showers - a big bath tub with a shower head, and then a capsule shower. I chose the later because I was not in the mood for a bath. This shower had such a confusing number of knobs, including an in-shower radio, that I stood here a minute and tried to figure out how to turn on the shower before I actually got in. Once I was encapsulated, I turned the shower on full blast. As expected, water came out of the shower head. What was unexpected was jets of water coming out from the walls. As a I looked down at the floor, I noticed, with panic, that the water wasn't really draining very quickly. I decided to try to wash as fast as possible, but the water was rising too quickly for my comfort. So I decided to shut it off while washing and turn it on only to rinse. However, I forgot which handles turned the shower on and off, and in my confusion, I must have changed the settings. When I finally got the shower back on, water streamed out of the shower head, as expected...and from the roof of the shower, which was quite unexpected. What a confusing experience.
Later that week was my birthday, which was quite lovely and involved going out to dinner with lots of MIIS folk - several of whom were visiting for a conference. I also got to meet some IAEA inspectors, both of whom had very amusing tales. Also visiting last week was a friend from a course I took last summer. We decided to go out last weekend to Laxenburg, which is the home of summer palaces for various royals (pictures on facebook). The trip out there was really quite easy and cheap. The castle grounds were absolutely immense, which was quite surprising since they're right next to a decent-sized town. I can see why someone would build a summer castle out there - it's very pretty. After walking around, we had ice cream bars and headed back to the city. The next day, I met up with Val and her boyfriend for hot chocolate and then dinner. Her boyfriend made chicken curry from scratch, and Val made an angel food cake with strawberries. Both dishes were divine, and I was lucky enough to have lots of leftovers foisted on me. I am already scheming ways to get them to cook for me again soon...
This weekend: Budapest.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Melk and Krems
I've got to catch you up! It's been radio silence on my end because of a perfect storm of events: tragedy in Japan, trip to Melk and Krems, super increased workload because of nuclear events in Japan, food poisoning, and then lots of folks visiting Vienna/my birthday. Seriously, guys, I've been feeling guilty for *not* updating this thing, which is just sad since it's: a) not great literature and b) not that widely read. But I think it's the Swarthmore curse - forever doomed to feel guilty.
First, the tragedy in Japan has pretty much been all-consuming for me. That first weekend after it happened, I had a tightness in my chest that wouldn't go away, and I couldn't stop obsessively checking the news for updates, even though each new piece of news was worse than the last. In a way, it's good that I went on the day trip to Krems and Melk, if just to forcibly get myself away from a computer. Since the tragedy, much of my time at work has been spent following the nuclear crisis there and trying to figure just what the heck is going on. The Japan mission at the VIC had a concert in the atrium to inspire donations for relief efforts, and they had volunteers accosting people (good for them - I'm glad they didn't just sit there and wait for people to go to them) on their way to lunch, asking for donations. Simultaneously, there has been a committee on narcotics meeting at the VIC, which has meant more protests (this seems to be a bi-weekly thing here) and an artistic yet ghoulish show in the atrium that drove home the point that drugs = death.
Anyway, two weekends ago, I went to Melk and Krems with Val (pictures on facebook). Melk is a beautiful and stunning abbey that houses only 30 Benedictine monks. It used to be a larger order, but, well, I suppose the monk lifestyle is not that appealing these days. I say they should give it time - I know some recent grads who might turn to that profession out of exasperation at the rest of the world's perception of the worth of their degree. When we got to Melk, as usual, we had no idea where we were going but thought we should head toward the huge abbey looming in the distance. It turns out we went the back way, stumbled upon an overgrown cellar that may have been a part of the abbey once-upon-a-time, found a path up to the back of the abbey, and then walked along the service road that snaked back around to the front entrance. Because it was winter time, guests are only allowed on the grounds by purchasing a guided tour. This was fine with me - our tour guide was pretty knowledgeable and friendly. The grounds are enormous, and I was happy to learn that half of them are used as a school. We saw no monks on our tour.
After eating lunch in Melk, we headed back to the train station with the idea we'd make our way to Krems, which is supposed to be a cute town that is a popular summer destination. At the train station, the computer allowed us to buy a ticket to Krems. OK, excellent. Now...which side of the platform do we go to? And which train do we take? No clue. After wandering a bit, we decided to ask a fellow with a bicycle. He said that we should take a bus instead. So we headed out to the bus depot, which was completely deserted, and proceeded to check every bus stall's schedule to find the bus to Krems. I thought I found it, and it said the last bus there had left 3 hours ago. Darn. We headed back to the train station as a bus pulled up, and bicycle man asked if we'd found the bus. We said no, he had a conversation with the bus driver of the bus that just pulled up, and the bus driver walked by us and said, "Yes, you want to take my bus. I leave in 20 minutes." When we got on the bus and showed him our train tickets, he looked at them, confirmed they went to Krems, said, "Bah, it's fine" and waved us on.
The bus ride was about an hour, and I'm really glad we took it. It stopped in a bunch of little towns along the way...as in, drove into the smaller streets of some of them (we had only a few inches clearance on either side). There were all sorts of wineries all over the place, and it was fun to watch the barges go up and down the Danube. When we got to Krems, we sort of freaked out and accidentally got off at the stop just prior to where we wanted to be. This meant that we ended up in the middle of a normal-looking downtown area. Krems is not supposed to be normal looking - it's supposed to be a medieval town. So we followed the signs to Information, which was closed (of course), but thankfully had town maps outside. We open the map and see an artistic rendering of red-roofed medievalness. Yes, this is what we want! Now where the heck are we in relation to this?! Val picked a direction, and lo and behold, the red roofs appeared! Thank goodness.
Krems is a quaint town - lots of small side streets, pretty architecture, and lots of shops. We had a decent time walking around it, but perhaps it's more charming in the summer time. I find all of the places we go here absolutely beautiful and fun, but I am always left thinking, "I bet this place looks gorgeous when it's blooming or summertime." The trip back to Vienna was perfect: on a train, with pastries.
Next time, I'll talk about my birthday week, my fight with a modern shower, and my trip to Laxenburg.
First, the tragedy in Japan has pretty much been all-consuming for me. That first weekend after it happened, I had a tightness in my chest that wouldn't go away, and I couldn't stop obsessively checking the news for updates, even though each new piece of news was worse than the last. In a way, it's good that I went on the day trip to Krems and Melk, if just to forcibly get myself away from a computer. Since the tragedy, much of my time at work has been spent following the nuclear crisis there and trying to figure just what the heck is going on. The Japan mission at the VIC had a concert in the atrium to inspire donations for relief efforts, and they had volunteers accosting people (good for them - I'm glad they didn't just sit there and wait for people to go to them) on their way to lunch, asking for donations. Simultaneously, there has been a committee on narcotics meeting at the VIC, which has meant more protests (this seems to be a bi-weekly thing here) and an artistic yet ghoulish show in the atrium that drove home the point that drugs = death.
Anyway, two weekends ago, I went to Melk and Krems with Val (pictures on facebook). Melk is a beautiful and stunning abbey that houses only 30 Benedictine monks. It used to be a larger order, but, well, I suppose the monk lifestyle is not that appealing these days. I say they should give it time - I know some recent grads who might turn to that profession out of exasperation at the rest of the world's perception of the worth of their degree. When we got to Melk, as usual, we had no idea where we were going but thought we should head toward the huge abbey looming in the distance. It turns out we went the back way, stumbled upon an overgrown cellar that may have been a part of the abbey once-upon-a-time, found a path up to the back of the abbey, and then walked along the service road that snaked back around to the front entrance. Because it was winter time, guests are only allowed on the grounds by purchasing a guided tour. This was fine with me - our tour guide was pretty knowledgeable and friendly. The grounds are enormous, and I was happy to learn that half of them are used as a school. We saw no monks on our tour.
After eating lunch in Melk, we headed back to the train station with the idea we'd make our way to Krems, which is supposed to be a cute town that is a popular summer destination. At the train station, the computer allowed us to buy a ticket to Krems. OK, excellent. Now...which side of the platform do we go to? And which train do we take? No clue. After wandering a bit, we decided to ask a fellow with a bicycle. He said that we should take a bus instead. So we headed out to the bus depot, which was completely deserted, and proceeded to check every bus stall's schedule to find the bus to Krems. I thought I found it, and it said the last bus there had left 3 hours ago. Darn. We headed back to the train station as a bus pulled up, and bicycle man asked if we'd found the bus. We said no, he had a conversation with the bus driver of the bus that just pulled up, and the bus driver walked by us and said, "Yes, you want to take my bus. I leave in 20 minutes." When we got on the bus and showed him our train tickets, he looked at them, confirmed they went to Krems, said, "Bah, it's fine" and waved us on.
The bus ride was about an hour, and I'm really glad we took it. It stopped in a bunch of little towns along the way...as in, drove into the smaller streets of some of them (we had only a few inches clearance on either side). There were all sorts of wineries all over the place, and it was fun to watch the barges go up and down the Danube. When we got to Krems, we sort of freaked out and accidentally got off at the stop just prior to where we wanted to be. This meant that we ended up in the middle of a normal-looking downtown area. Krems is not supposed to be normal looking - it's supposed to be a medieval town. So we followed the signs to Information, which was closed (of course), but thankfully had town maps outside. We open the map and see an artistic rendering of red-roofed medievalness. Yes, this is what we want! Now where the heck are we in relation to this?! Val picked a direction, and lo and behold, the red roofs appeared! Thank goodness.
Krems is a quaint town - lots of small side streets, pretty architecture, and lots of shops. We had a decent time walking around it, but perhaps it's more charming in the summer time. I find all of the places we go here absolutely beautiful and fun, but I am always left thinking, "I bet this place looks gorgeous when it's blooming or summertime." The trip back to Vienna was perfect: on a train, with pastries.
Next time, I'll talk about my birthday week, my fight with a modern shower, and my trip to Laxenburg.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Prahahahaha
This weekend, Val, Karim, and I went to Praha, Czech Republic (photos are on facebook). We learned an expensive lesson when we discovered that train tickets are half as expensive if bought a week in advance. To ease the pain in our checkbooks, we opted to take a bus back. But first, let me tell you about the train ride there.
The train was everything I had hoped for from a European train. We had a little compartment all to ourselves, with very comfortable seats, doors, and large windows. After a little exploring, we discovered the dining compartment. It was just so...EUROPEAN! Quaint and sophisticated at the same time. We spent the whole train ride laughing, telling stories, and giving each other a hard time. I've always thought traveling by train was the most sophisticated and easiest method, but Europe really takes it to another level.
We arrived in Prague with no plan. At all. We had no idea where the station was in relation to the hostel, and we had no Czech Kroners. It was actually a ton of fun trying to figure out everything on the fly. The information desk people were surprisingly unhelpful and claimed to not know about the metro, which was accessible on the same floor as their kiosk, just 100 yards away. The Cambio folks were much more knowledgeable but were also robbers - 15% commission on our money exchange!
We managed to get to the right station and follow directions from the hostel website on how to get to the hostel. The hostel, by the way, was clean and decent, and I have no complaints considering we only spent 4 euro per person each night. Once there, Val and I discovered two Japanese students were staying in our room. I had a nice long and meandering conversation with them in Japanese since they didn't understand English. Karim's roommates weren't back or had abandoned their beds. All we know is that when we went to sleep, he had no roommates in his room. About 20 minutes after we got up at 7am the next morning, his drunk American roommates stumbled in from their extremely late night out.
We started our first day in Prague by walking to Karluv Most (Charles Bridge). It turns out that 8am is entirely too early for the Czech and tourist populations, and we got to walk across an empty Charles Bridge. After a fortifying breakfast, to make up for the lack of dinner the night before, we went to Prague Castle. Oh my goodness - good views of the city from there, but also the castle itself was impressive. There were guards at each entrance doing the stoic we-don't-react thing, and the castle grounds were immense, with various residences, museums, and churches.
Afterward, we walked back toward the bridge with the intention of eating lunch at a restaurant overlooking the river. Instead, we stumbled upon an open air market that had roasting meat, beer, mead, grog, mulled wine, and pastries. Holy cow. There was also a stage with live folk music performances that were heavily reliant on accordions. We ate a very satisfying meal (and I picked up two pastries that made the trip back to Vienna) there and headed back over an extremely crowded Charles Bridge, which was teaming with performance artists, merchants, and tourists. From there, we walked to Old Town, which is one of the most touristy parts of Prague. We walked around a bit and then decided to stop by the hostel.
We returned to Old Town in time for the laser light show at the Astronomical clock. What a creative and beautiful show - I am so glad there are talented artists out there creating work like that. There were tons of people in the square, and after the show was over, I experienced the sensation of being crushed by a crowd for the first time. We wandered around some more and happened upon an amazing chocolate shop. I am still working through the Baileys Truffle Fudge I bought.
That evening, we went to Karlovy Lazne, which advertises itself as the largest dance club in Eastern Europe. It is five floors of dancing heaven; each floor as its own theme: top radio hits, dance music, oldies music, black music (their term, not mine), and chill music. Each floor also has its own bar. We stayed until 2am, showered the grime off, and hit the hay. The next day, I may or may not have accidentally lead us onto a highway in a bid to find the bus station, but we ended up finding our way with the help of a kind Czech woman. The bus ride was really pleasant! We had a bus attendant who got us drinks, gave us newspapers and magazines (in Czech, but it's the thought that counts), and distributed headsets to use while watching American movies that were in both English and Czech. The seats were very comfortable, and it was quite cheap (16 euro).
Today was International Women's Day, and I make a brief cameo in the movie put together by the CTBTO in its honor. There was a nice ceremony in the VIC rotunda. I was a little confused by a woman who was dressed up in a witch's costume as she restocked the candy machine, as I didn't quite understand its connection to women's day, but I believe it instead had something to do with Fat Tuesday. The world celebrates too many things!
And finally, this evening I received an email entirely in German from my landlady. I believe she is inviting me to her 50th birthday party. Isn't that sweet? And..wait, I just got another email from her. Also in German. I think this is updated details on the location. I'm probably not going to be in town that weekend, but it would have been nice to go...even if I don't speak German...
The train was everything I had hoped for from a European train. We had a little compartment all to ourselves, with very comfortable seats, doors, and large windows. After a little exploring, we discovered the dining compartment. It was just so...EUROPEAN! Quaint and sophisticated at the same time. We spent the whole train ride laughing, telling stories, and giving each other a hard time. I've always thought traveling by train was the most sophisticated and easiest method, but Europe really takes it to another level.
We arrived in Prague with no plan. At all. We had no idea where the station was in relation to the hostel, and we had no Czech Kroners. It was actually a ton of fun trying to figure out everything on the fly. The information desk people were surprisingly unhelpful and claimed to not know about the metro, which was accessible on the same floor as their kiosk, just 100 yards away. The Cambio folks were much more knowledgeable but were also robbers - 15% commission on our money exchange!
We managed to get to the right station and follow directions from the hostel website on how to get to the hostel. The hostel, by the way, was clean and decent, and I have no complaints considering we only spent 4 euro per person each night. Once there, Val and I discovered two Japanese students were staying in our room. I had a nice long and meandering conversation with them in Japanese since they didn't understand English. Karim's roommates weren't back or had abandoned their beds. All we know is that when we went to sleep, he had no roommates in his room. About 20 minutes after we got up at 7am the next morning, his drunk American roommates stumbled in from their extremely late night out.
We started our first day in Prague by walking to Karluv Most (Charles Bridge). It turns out that 8am is entirely too early for the Czech and tourist populations, and we got to walk across an empty Charles Bridge. After a fortifying breakfast, to make up for the lack of dinner the night before, we went to Prague Castle. Oh my goodness - good views of the city from there, but also the castle itself was impressive. There were guards at each entrance doing the stoic we-don't-react thing, and the castle grounds were immense, with various residences, museums, and churches.
Afterward, we walked back toward the bridge with the intention of eating lunch at a restaurant overlooking the river. Instead, we stumbled upon an open air market that had roasting meat, beer, mead, grog, mulled wine, and pastries. Holy cow. There was also a stage with live folk music performances that were heavily reliant on accordions. We ate a very satisfying meal (and I picked up two pastries that made the trip back to Vienna) there and headed back over an extremely crowded Charles Bridge, which was teaming with performance artists, merchants, and tourists. From there, we walked to Old Town, which is one of the most touristy parts of Prague. We walked around a bit and then decided to stop by the hostel.
We returned to Old Town in time for the laser light show at the Astronomical clock. What a creative and beautiful show - I am so glad there are talented artists out there creating work like that. There were tons of people in the square, and after the show was over, I experienced the sensation of being crushed by a crowd for the first time. We wandered around some more and happened upon an amazing chocolate shop. I am still working through the Baileys Truffle Fudge I bought.
That evening, we went to Karlovy Lazne, which advertises itself as the largest dance club in Eastern Europe. It is five floors of dancing heaven; each floor as its own theme: top radio hits, dance music, oldies music, black music (their term, not mine), and chill music. Each floor also has its own bar. We stayed until 2am, showered the grime off, and hit the hay. The next day, I may or may not have accidentally lead us onto a highway in a bid to find the bus station, but we ended up finding our way with the help of a kind Czech woman. The bus ride was really pleasant! We had a bus attendant who got us drinks, gave us newspapers and magazines (in Czech, but it's the thought that counts), and distributed headsets to use while watching American movies that were in both English and Czech. The seats were very comfortable, and it was quite cheap (16 euro).
Today was International Women's Day, and I make a brief cameo in the movie put together by the CTBTO in its honor. There was a nice ceremony in the VIC rotunda. I was a little confused by a woman who was dressed up in a witch's costume as she restocked the candy machine, as I didn't quite understand its connection to women's day, but I believe it instead had something to do with Fat Tuesday. The world celebrates too many things!
And finally, this evening I received an email entirely in German from my landlady. I believe she is inviting me to her 50th birthday party. Isn't that sweet? And..wait, I just got another email from her. Also in German. I think this is updated details on the location. I'm probably not going to be in town that weekend, but it would have been nice to go...even if I don't speak German...
Thursday, March 3, 2011
How to Use a German Washer/Dryer
Step 1: Stare at unit in confusion, trying to remember the instructions Sarah gave to my jet-lagged befuddled brain the day I got here.
Step 2: Give up shortly after losing staring contest with unit.
Step 3: Grab computer, place on top of unit, open up google translator.
Step 4: Translate some words.
Step 5: Try turning dial to appropriate-looking spots. See digital display come up with minutes. Try to alter minutes. Suddenly, an RPM display shows up and am instead altering the RPMs.
Step 6: Panic. Try pushing another button to affect the timer. Get different display settings popping up in digital display.
Step 7: Really panic. Start turning dial wildly in a fit of confusion. Notice that the settings re-set when dial is turned. Become calm.
Step 8: Finally get the gist of how the machine works.
Step 9: Unit begins working. Pray that it is cleaning, not drying, my clothes.
Step 10: 70 minutes later, return to unit. Clothes are damp! And smell clean! Success!
Step 11: Repeat steps 4-8 to figure out the drying setting.
Step 12: Return 120 minutes later to find clothes dry.
In other news, I started P90X this week, and it is daily torture. I say at least 5 times per workout, "He's trying to kill me," and "These people are f-ing insane!" And you know what? I'm right on both counts. I am sore every day in new places, and I don't think the soreness will stop any time soon. Doing this with Val has been great because we've been giggling throughout at the P90X dude (who says some of the corniest things) and at ourselves as we flail like fish out of water on the floor while the fitness professionals on disc look elegant and strong. Today was yoga, and not only do I suck at it, but I suck spectacularly and entertainingly, with all sorts of falling over ungracefully.
Tomorrow, we're going to Prague, so I'm sure I'll have stories to tell after that. For now, I'm going to sit..and try not to move too much..and wish the soreness away...
Step 2: Give up shortly after losing staring contest with unit.
Step 3: Grab computer, place on top of unit, open up google translator.
Step 4: Translate some words.
Step 5: Try turning dial to appropriate-looking spots. See digital display come up with minutes. Try to alter minutes. Suddenly, an RPM display shows up and am instead altering the RPMs.
Step 6: Panic. Try pushing another button to affect the timer. Get different display settings popping up in digital display.
Step 7: Really panic. Start turning dial wildly in a fit of confusion. Notice that the settings re-set when dial is turned. Become calm.
Step 8: Finally get the gist of how the machine works.
Step 9: Unit begins working. Pray that it is cleaning, not drying, my clothes.
Step 10: 70 minutes later, return to unit. Clothes are damp! And smell clean! Success!
Step 11: Repeat steps 4-8 to figure out the drying setting.
Step 12: Return 120 minutes later to find clothes dry.
In other news, I started P90X this week, and it is daily torture. I say at least 5 times per workout, "He's trying to kill me," and "These people are f-ing insane!" And you know what? I'm right on both counts. I am sore every day in new places, and I don't think the soreness will stop any time soon. Doing this with Val has been great because we've been giggling throughout at the P90X dude (who says some of the corniest things) and at ourselves as we flail like fish out of water on the floor while the fitness professionals on disc look elegant and strong. Today was yoga, and not only do I suck at it, but I suck spectacularly and entertainingly, with all sorts of falling over ungracefully.
Tomorrow, we're going to Prague, so I'm sure I'll have stories to tell after that. For now, I'm going to sit..and try not to move too much..and wish the soreness away...
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