At Vienna

Three Months?

2005-08-16T17:08:00.000+02:00

Wow, it has been about three months since I returned to the USA. That is just one month less than my total time in Europe. These past three months have been pretty busy, yet I still cannot grasp that I am back. What I am trying to say is that Vienna became the place of my dreams. I felt at home there and now I feel as though I am missing something. One day I will return to Vienna, but until that time I will just have to make due with all the memories. Luckily Corrina took a heck of a lot of pictures while we were there. Moreover, I am able to communicate with all the great people I met there thanks to email.

Return Day

2005-05-04T06:03:00.000+02:00

Wow, in a few hours I will be on my way back to America. My time here is basically over and it feels so odd. It is like leaving my home of four months to return to another home that I have not seen in a while. I really am going to find a way to return to Vienna, at least for a vacation. Well this is it for my Europe posts. Thanks for reading up on my time abroad! Catch you on the other side.

Return Day Minus One

2005-05-03T08:33:00.000+02:00

Today is it. Today is my very last day in Vienna. I seriously cannot believe it is nearly over. Everything has simply rushed right on by. It seems like I just got here, though it really has been about four fantastic months. This past week alone has been great. Corrina, Sara, and I were able to visit a lot of sites that we had not even seen yet. We saw the Zentralfriedhof, the Natural History Museum, an opera, and so much more! Once Sara left, it really felt like my time here was done. I would love to stay here for the rest of my life, but I know I must return and catch-up with family and friends. I have to finish college too, hehe. But one day I will return to Vienna and enjoy all the good things this city has to offer.

Return Day Minus Two

2005-05-02T08:51:00.000+02:00

Only two days until I am back in America. The past few days here have been crazy, yet extremely fun. Corrina's friend Sara has been with us for a few days, and she has helped make our last week here very cool. Sadly she leaves this afternoon to return to her study abroad program in France. Once she leaves, Corrina and I will spend the rest of our time here getting ready to leave. I still can't believe my time here in fantastic Vienna is almost up.

Brewery Ambition

2005-04-28T08:31:00.000+02:00

After much thought I have decided that one day I will open my own brewery. Seriously, after enjoying real beer for four months I want people in America to have beer that isn't bread in a can of water. It may take me a while, a decade or so, but my goal is to one day start my own brewery. Anyone interested in taking part? If so let me know.

On a different note, Corrina's friend Sara is coming to Vienna for a few days. Also, I have a VWC College Facebook page now. To see it simply click on the link to the right of this post.

The Germany Trip

2005-04-27T08:58:00.000+02:00

Well Corrina and I are now back in good old Vienna. We had a pretty sweet trip through Germany. We spent the first third of our trip with my family friends in Rhineland-Pfalz. We had a great time visiting my family friends around town and taking day trips to a castle, Speyer, and Trier. They even took us to see the movie "Hitch" in English.

After our stay with my family friends, we spent four days in Berlin with our friend Jamie. We had a blast wondering around the metropolis. We got to go on top of the Reichstag, see what was left of the Wall, Check Point Charlie, Treptower Park, the Soviet War Monument, Tackeles, the 1936 Olympic Stadium, Kaiserkirche (or what was left of it), various watering holes, and some other random city sites. I really want to return to Berlin and see more!

After our all to brief stay in Berlin, we spent the remainder of our time in Lübeck. Lübeck was a pretty nice old German town. We saw a lot of medieval buildings and simply had a great time walking along its quiet streets. We even made a day trip to Kiel, which is fairly close to Denmark. Kiel is a very modern city, for it was (and still is) an important German port. Thus it was bombed back to the stone age by the Allies during World War Two. We got to see the beautiful waterfront, a nice Church, and do a little shopping.

Through our travels in Germany, we got lucky and were able to ride the high speed ICE trains. Seriously, it was like being in an airplane but far better. If you ever go to Germany, be sure to ride the rails and take an ICE train. It made the return trip to Vienna a whole lot faster and smoother.
Well it is good to be back in Vienna, but time has gone by far to quickly. My next major trip will be my flight back to America. Blah! Vienna feels too much like my home for me to want to leave it. Oh well...

Also, Corrina and I took many pictures, so stay tuned for their debut online!

Greetings from Lübeck, Germany

2005-04-24T15:13:00.000+02:00

So far our trip has been great! I'll go over all the details once I return to Vienna.

Better warm-up a fresh pot of coffee...

2005-04-14T09:57:00.000+02:00

In a mad rush to get Corrina's memory card empty for our 12 days in Germany, we've put over a hundred new photos online. Be sure to visit the photo site and look at all the new folders.

Graz and Melk

2005-04-13T22:19:00.000+02:00

Yesterday Corrina and I took a trip down to Graz, Austria for the day. Graz is a pretty cool city in the lower part of Austria known as Styria. We saw the interesting Schlossberg, with its clock tower and castle ruins. We visited the garrison museum and a medieval armory museum. The armory had well over 3,000 objects on display.

Today Corrina, Becky, and I went to Melk, Austria. I had seen the amazing monastery there when I came through Europe with my high school. However, the monastery deserved another visit. We had a rather enjoyable trip.

Tomorrow is the beginning of my trip through Germany! I will try my best to get online every so often and make some blog updates.

Germany Travel Plans

2005-04-10T14:11:00.000+02:00

Höheinöd - 15. April to 18. April
Berlin - 18. April to 23. April
Lübeck - 23. April to 26. April
leave for Vienna on the 26.

Mauthausen

2005-04-10T13:55:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I went to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp with Corrina and Becky. After a crazy trip, which included a train ride lasting two hours longer than it should and thus missing the connecting train and having to take a grand prix like taxi, we arrived at the camp at 3pm or so. The camp was remarkable. It looked more like a castle from the outside. However, it was a very dreary and depressing site. You really need to be ready before visiting such a horrific place. I could smell death in the crematory, even 60 years after the camp was liberated by the U.S. Army. You can help but hope that those responsible for the atrocities there met a brutal end at the hands of the Allied courts. After the camp we had a crazy walk in the rain to the train station, thanks to poor directions. The train home was fast, and we arrived back in good old Vienna at 9pm or so.

Still Here...

2005-04-09T08:05:00.000+02:00

So Corrina and I have decided to stay in Vienna and not go to Salzburg. Rather, we are going to take day trips to various Austrian destinations. Today we are going to Mauthausen, which was a concentration camp. Other planed day trips include going to Graz, though we still have yet to figure out the final day trip.

Over

2005-04-07T15:31:00.000+02:00

Well the program in now over. It feels like I just got here. At least some friends of Corrina and I are going to get together tonight for one last drink as a group. Hopefully we will all keep in touch and eventually meet up again in America. Until the 4th of May Corrina and I get to enjoy Europe without having to go to class. I will miss the classes, and the teachers, but I will enjoy the freedom!

Closing Down

2005-04-05T22:45:00.000+02:00

The AHA program had our going away dinner tonight. I still cannot believe that the program is almost over. There are just two more days of classes and then my in class education here is done. Seriously, it feels like I just started! At least I have about four weeks left in Europe, cause I so do not want to return! Of course I want to see everyone, but Vienna feels like home. I want to come back here! Alas I know that I must return to the US, however I wont be the same person.

Pope John Paul II

2005-04-03T18:28:00.000+02:00

I felt that the Pope deserved his own post, and thus I have done so. The Pope was one of the greatest human beings to have ever lived. May he rest in eternal peace.

One Week...

2005-04-03T18:19:00.000+02:00

Sadly my program here in Vienna ends this coming Thursday. I seriously cannot believe how fast my time here has gone. Lucky for me I still have about a month left in Europe. I have about two weeks in Vienna/Austria and about two weeks in Germany. I just hope those do not fly by!

On another note, I had a pretty good weekend. I had a good time at Bratislava on Friday. I was able to make yet another trip to the grand 1516 brewery. Today I was lucky enough to see inside a World War Two era bunker. Besides those things, I've spent a lot of time writing papers.

Draped In Silence

2005-03-31T16:09:00.000+02:00

Heh, sorry for yet another Depeche Mode reference.

Anyway, some one else from my high school class died recently. He, Brian Yerkes, died following a horrible car wreck. So please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

On a more positive note...

Some of us discovered the 1516 Brewery two days ago. The place has great Austrian beer. Also, I'm going to Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) tomorrow with Corrina and some other friends. It's literally just on the opposite side of the Danube. So by this time tomorrow I will be enjoying a nice mug of Czech beer, mmmmmmm!

Photographic

2005-03-29T13:35:00.000+02:00

Corrina added some more photos to her growing online album. Be sure to visit her album and see the three new folders (Vienna 3, Venice, and Prague).

Cesky Krumlov Review

2005-03-27T10:39:00.000+02:00

Corrina and I got back from Cesky Krumlov around 7pm yesterday. We had a great time in the Czech Republic, much better than when we were in Prague. Seemingly everyone in the Czech Republic were very friendly and welcoming. Cesky Krumlov was full of warm and friendly locals who made us feel right at home. The town itself was rather small, but it was loaded with medieval buildings and a huge castle. We spent most of our time simply wondering around and walking along the river that snaked its way through the splendid town. The beer was fantastic, and the Eggenberg brewery restaurant was damn good. A great place for coffee is the Piazza D'Oro, the people there were the most welcoming. The hostel was ok, friendly people but way too loud! All in all I suggest that everyone needs to make at least one journey to the Czech Republic. A few days in Cesky Krumlov should be mandatory for all.

Also...
Happy Easter everyone!

Update Time...

2005-03-22T08:58:00.000+01:00

Well I've been pretty busy since last Thursday. I had a meeting with the site director on Friday, which I wont elaborate on at this moment in time. Afterwords Corrina and I went to the Belvedere with our class. It's basically a huge art museum in an old castle. Later that night we went to a professors house for some food and drinks. After which we went to see The Third Man, which is a great movie about Vienna right after the end of the Second World War. On Saturday we went to the Albertina, which is another big art museum in Vienna. That night we hung out with some friends and a enjoyed some good pizza and beer at the place right below were we live. We spent a good part of Sunday out with some program members on a hike around the out skirts of Vienna. We enjoyed some fresh wine after the hike, which is the natural thing to do in Vienna! In the evening we ate dinner at one of our friends houses and simply had a good time hanging out. So yeah, that is a pretty good account of my weekend.

Spring Break = Cesky Krumlov

2005-03-16T12:35:00.000+01:00

Last night Corrina and I reserved our spots at a hostel in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic from the 24th of March to 27th of March. I'm pretty excited about going to Cesky Krumlov over spring break since it meant to be a very beautiful and interesting medieval city. Also, the possibility of getting fine Czech beer on tap is a mighty big plus! For Easter Sunday, Corrina and I are planning to attend a Mass here in Vienna. Since we have the following Monday and Tuesday off, we might do a day trip down to Graz. With most of the arrangements made, I'm sure that I will use my Eastern Europe Railpass rather effectively.

On a different note...
I added a link to the Vienna Capitals Eishockey team site.

Another Monday

2005-03-14T10:40:00.000+01:00

Heh, it may be a Monday but I have very little to complain about. Everything is still going fairly well over here. I can't decide on where to go for my spring break. I have an Eastern Europe Railpass, but I'm not sure where I should go in Eastern Europe. I was thinking of either going to Krakow, Poland, some where in the Czech Republic, or over to Austrian side of the Bodensee. Besides that I can't think of anything else that has been troubling me. Well besides the fact I have a load of classes and the work that comes with them. Oh well, at least I'm in Vienna.

Links

2005-03-13T17:18:00.000+01:00

I updated the links section which is under the "About Me" section. Now it is far easier to access the pictures that Corrina has taken. I also added a link to the Marlin Chronicle site. I've been writing some articles for the college's newspaper in case some of you didn't know that. You should be able to find my articles online.

Vienna Capitals Eishockey!

2005-03-12T09:57:00.000+01:00

Yesterday Corrina, Greg, Julia, and I went to a hockey game. We scapled our tickets, €5 a piece. Not bad for standing room only. The game was good in the beginning, but the Vienna Capitals got blown out by the EC-Graz 99. Austrian hockey is a little bit different than North American hockey. Namely the fans at the arena are very similar to soccer fans in that they have banners, drums, horns, and a lot of team related clothing. The game itself is sort of different. There are less fights, not as much checking, and there are less shots on goal. However, the game moves insanely fast and there are a lot of stick related incidents. There was a lot of shoving in the place of fights. The game was full of rarities. Rarities such as a fan getting hit by a puck, a player's skate blade snapping in half, a penalty shot, and a few broken sticks. I also noticed some former NHLers in the Vienna lineup. Final score, Graz 7 and the Vienna 3. At least I got a Vienna Capitals hat. The game was definitely one of my favorite events since I arrived in Vienna.

Post-Budapest

2005-03-09T11:50:00.001+01:00

So yeah, about Budapest...

Budapest was a pretty cool and interesting city. I saw a lot of bullet and shell holes thanks to the Soviets. I got to drink some good beer with my professors. I was able to get a hold of two rare Cure cds, Concert and The Top. Those two cds made my day. I had some really good food, though it may have made me sick. I also was able to enjoy a good snowball fight with some friends and my German professor. In general I had a good time, though I did get sick on Sunday. Most of the people were friendly, but a few were just assholes. I really hate how the East views the West.

6:45am - Budapest

2005-03-03T16:46:00.000+01:00

So I am off to Budapest tomorrow! I have been looking foward to this trip for a few weeks now. The hotel that I am staying at is actually a boat on the Danube River! Lets all hope that I can post some great things about Budapest once I return.

Also, can some one make sure that Ed and Pat are aware of this blog? I am not sure if they know of it or not. Thanks!

Hum...

2005-03-02T09:05:00.000+01:00

Lets see...

Last weekend Corrina and I did a lot around Vienna. We saw the Leopold Museum, which is one of the many art museums in the city. We saw the Military Museum, which was very interesting by my standards. Corrina and I also discovered an extremely cool Australian style pub (Crossfields), which has a good collection of Australian beer. Another cool place that we have come across is Pickwicks, which is a British themed bar. That place has a huge collection of beer from all over the globe. Just so it is clear, in Austria having a beer everyday is not a bad thing. Rather, most Austrians have a glass of wine or a beer (or two) at lunch and dinner...everyday. So I am not eligable for AA membership! Besides, getting drunk is such a stupid thing for anyone to do.

Budapest this Friday!

More Photos!

2005-02-27T14:52:00.000+01:00

Follow these links:

Linz

Vienna, post-Linz

Also, Corrina and I added more pictures to the orignal Vienna photo folder, so be sure to check it out.

So ... About Prague

2005-02-23T10:07:00.000+01:00

Well I was in Prague from Friday morning until Sunday night. I went with the entire program and we had a nice tour of the city. I had been there about four years ago and man did that place change! Most of the prices had gone way up and the city had a new feel to it. Thanks to the rise in prices I was not able to buy any crystal for anyone. However, I did get a cool Czech hockey jersey and a Pilsner Urquell beer glass. Mmmmm, Urquell....damn that beer was great. Seriously, a nice cold glass of that beer sure hits the spot. Good thing it can be found in the USA. I basically spent most of the trip walking around the city center, drinking some beer, shoping with Corrina and some friends, eating gulash, more beer, and playing Magic The Gathering. If any of you ever visit Prague, NEVER SPEAK GERMAN! They hate it. Try either speaking Czech or English. They hate German since its a part of their past that they look at with much anger. The Austrians and the Germans did a good amount of harm to the Czech people over many centuries.

A week from this weekend, Budapest!

Pictures At Last!

2005-02-17T16:12:00.000+01:00

Here is a link to all the pictures that Corrina has uploaded thus far. Keep the link handy for she will be adding more pictures as soon as she can. Enjoy!

Pictures

Prague tomorrow!

Silence...

2005-02-16T23:03:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I learned of some troubling news. A man I went to high school with, and had a few college classes together, killed himself over the weekend in Richmond. The news really hit me hard. Especially since this was a man who had suffered the bullshit handed out to him by many people back in high school and who had seemed to be doing far better in college. May he rest in peace.

To make matters worse, if that is possible, in the very same email I learned that a friend of mine at the Marlin Chronicle was seriously ill and in the hospital. As of right now she is said to be recovering after being near death. Keep her in your thoughts and/or prayers people.

I'm going to Prague this Friday...

Venice

2005-02-13T12:05:00.000+01:00

Not much to read huh? Mike have you been drinking too much? hehe.

Well I'm back from my trip to Venice, Italy. It was my second time there and it was just as good as the first time. Though I couldn't find the glass factory that I had visited before, but I did get a cool Italian coffee pot and a tie. The trip down was rather troublesome since the Italian railway workers descided to go on strike the very night I was on the train. I had to get off at the Austrian border at 4am at a small provical capital called Villach and pay €15 for a bus to Venice. The AHA director is trying to get some of my money back. Once I got to Venice my luck improved. I found a great hostel to spend the night and saw wondered around the city. I had a good dinner with the group I went down with. On Saturday I spent most of the day exploring the city and taking in all the grand sights. A city with out any cars is very friendly! The train ride back the night was not too bad. The train was packed and the cabin I was in was full. Luckily the train got less jammed by the time it got to Austria. Now I'm read to relax and eventually do some homework for tomorrow. Bye for now!

Comments?

2005-02-10T15:18:00.000+01:00

Where are all the comments? Is anyone still reading this blog? Hehe.

Now I'm off to Venice for two days!

P.S. I'll be posting a link to the pictures Corrina has taken thus far as soon as they're all online.

Big Update

2005-02-08T11:56:00.000+01:00

Since my last post I have done a lot. I visited the Burial Museum, which was rather morbid and extremely depressing. The Viennese pay a lot more attention to death that most cultures do. I saw a Mozart concert, which was amazing! I sat behind the musicians on the stage and had a pefect view of the entire performance. I walked around the 1st District with my European Cities class and saw many hidden sites. I attended a Baroque style mass, which had good music and was in Latin. Later that night I had a fantastic dinner at a professors house. On Friday I went ice skating with Corrina, Becky, and Aaron in front of the Rathaus. Now that was fun! Seriously, how many Americans can say they ice skated outside the Vienna Rathaus? Over the weekend I visted the Imperial Treasury and the burial vault of the Habsburg family. I also visited the museum on the history of the city of Vienna. That had a lot of interesting artifacts. Last night, I had dinner at the AHA program directors house, she prepared some of the best Hungarian food ever! Now back to enjoying this kick ass city!

P.S. I watched the entire Super Bowl in German. Damn Eagles!

Past Weekend

2005-01-31T13:14:00.000+01:00

On Friday I visited Linz with Corrina and some fellow AHA students. Linz is Austria's third largest city, but it's pretty small. We wondered around the city all day. The train ride back from Linz was cool since we shared a cabin with an Austrian college student named Nicolas. He asked us why on Earth would we bother visiting Linz. For the remainder of the weekend we explored Vienna and hiked along the hills just outside of the city. Mmmmm, Viennese wine!

Two Realizations

2005-01-26T14:25:00.000+01:00

There are two things that I have realized thus far.

1. Vienna is an unfinished city. Almost all of the Imperial buildings were never completed.
2. The wind will always blow in your face no matter which way you walk.

F.Y.I. - It's snowing again!

So...

2005-01-26T09:13:00.000+01:00

The past few days have been fairly busy. Spent most of the weekend rushing from one place to another. Corrina and I spent most of Friday exploring Vienna with friends. On Saturday Corrina and I saw some interesting churches and a cool shopping district. I'm hoping to find some books and music to bring back. On Sunday the program took all the students to Klosterneuburg and afterwords wine tasting. The hike from the monestary to the vinyard was fun and the wine was definitely worth the trip! Mmmmmm! Since Monday, I've been going to classes and not too much else. I'll probably write my piece for the Marlin Chronicle tonight.

A Better Update

2005-01-20T11:35:00.000+01:00

Now that I have some time to spare, here is a better update on my time here in Vienna. So far all is going very well. I live in Vienna's 20th District, which is next to the Donaukannal. The cannal use to be the actual Danube many generations ago. I live in a nice apartment with a great host family. They feed Corrina and I breakfast every morning and dinner on the weekends. The apartment is only a ten minute streetcar ride away from the AHA facility where I take all of my classes. The classes are pretty good so far. Hopefully the German class will help bring me up to speed in the langauge department. The food, and the beer, is really good over here. I have yet to find anýthing I wont eat or drink. Hopefully I can bring some beer back, hehe. Well time to take care of some other things, so take care until next time!

Snow!

2005-01-19T14:25:00.000+01:00

It snowed late lastnight after raining most of the day. Too bad there is not much snow, but it is a good start! So yes, Vienna finally has some snow!

Minor Thoughts

2005-01-18T13:37:00.000+01:00

So far all of my classes seem very interesting. I have some great professors who are easy to talk to and understand. All the AHA students are pretty cool, and so far we all seem to get along. A growing past time among us is going out for coffee, or beer, at night and just talking. Hopefully tonight will be just as fun as the last.

Arrived!

2005-01-15T11:26:00.000+01:00

I am here! The flight over was not too bad, but I barely slept. So far Vienna is a great city! I have already started exploring the city, the public transportation rocks! Stay tuned for more updates when I get the time.

The Start

2005-01-12T14:19:00.000+01:00

The journey begins today. I'm going to miss a lot of people, but I wont be gone for good. I'm going to go have a great time and bring back some great memories! Take care everyone!

Vienna Address

2005-01-10T17:04:00.000+01:00

If anyone needs my Vienna address please send an email to rjthompson@vwc.edu.

Welcome

2004-12-16T15:57:00.000+01:00

I've created this blog so that people can read about my overseas experiences. I leave for Vienna, Austria on January 12th, 2005. I wont be back in the US until May 4th, 2005. Until then this blog will serve as a means of providing insight to my life in Vienna. Stay tuned for future developments.