School started and I’m well-adjusted

It has been too long since I last posted! We got internet installed at our flat and I am finally settled in. We’re in the third week of classes and I really enjoy them. We have a group presentation due at the end of the semester for Microeconomics and my group has decided to investigate Ottakringer Brewery (a local Viennese brewery in the 16th district) – should be a good time.

Last weekend I had an opportunity to visit Budapest, Hungary with some friends from Webster Universtiy. Budapest is breathtaking, especially at night. The Parliament on the Danube River is made mostly of gold and cost over a billion dollars when it was built hundreds of years ago! The Basilica boasts another incredible, riverside view, along with several beautiful bridges spanning the Danube. On the other hand, it was a sobering experience to see the poverty in that city. The homeless in America have it tough; the homeless in Budapest are lucky if they are alive tomorrow.

Here is a picture of me in the castle over-looking the Danube, with Parliament in the background:

Back in Vienna, I’m still searching for a job, which is posing to be quite a challenge. Apparently it’s pretty hard to find a job in a major world city, without a work visa, when you barely speak the language…who knew!? Anyway, life continues, and an amazing life at that. Here are some pictures from my recent adventures. Feel free to click them and check out the album on Photobucket.

Schönbrunn Tiergarten (The oldest zoo in the world)

Haus des Meeres (The Vienna aquarium)

Wiener Riesenrad (The Vienna Ferris Wheel)

Schönbrunn Palace (Vienna Summer Home)
This is the Gloriette at the top of the hill overlooking Schönbrunn Palace

Vienna Update

New Years Eve was awesome. Just imagine – you’re surrounded by non-English speakers, shooting rockets at midnight in a small mountain town . . . crazy! I spent the days after that visiting friends in Altenmarkt and Salzburg (see photos of these cities below). In Salzburg, I had a chance to visit the Museum of Modern Art, where we took a very funny photo…you’ll have to email me to see that one. Next move was onto Vienna.

Today I kept myself busy running errands in the 6th district of Vienna, where I live now. The flat (apartment as they are called in USA) is incredible. The ceilings are very high with arches over the doorways and beautiful wood floors. The building was built more than 500 years ago.

A while back my roommate Albrecht ordered some nice furniture, which arrived today. After rearranging the furniture and hanging some paintings on the wall, the flat is finally starting to get that lived-in look. Austrian bank account open – check! Start job search – check! I am ready for Orientation at Webster University tomorrow!

Altenmarkt im Pongau, Austria

Click the pictures to view the entire album.

More of Salzburg

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Salzburg, Austria

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And So the Journey Begins

It still hasn’t hit me yet – I’m leaving the country, my home, for an entire year.  School kept me distracted until I arrived in Connecticut, where my parents kept me busy moving a house-full of stuff into their new home.  Christmas Eve was a very nice break and a chance for me to see a lot of my paternal family.  I played Santa again this year for my younger cousins’ entertainment; Finn, who’s four, was hesitant to sit on Santa’s lap.  His older sister Dani pointed out that “Santa” looks a lot like Eric.

Here I sit at JFK airport waiting for my 9pm flight to Heathrow, pondering what the next year of my life might entail.  I will arrive tomorrow around 2pm…err, 14:00 in Vienna where my buddy Albrecht will collect me.  I haven’t heard for certain yet what the plan is for New Year’s Eve (Sylvester, as the Austrian’s call it) – most likely either Budapest, Hungary, or with the Künßberg family in Radstadt and Altenmarkt.