Vienna! (plus arrival details) - Day 1 update
I'm in Vienna! I'm still homeless though, which is TEH LAME, but my hostel is alright. The internet at it is kind of screwed up, though - I can use Gmail for free, but if I try to navigate away from the page, I have to pay. That also applies to Skype/AIM. So now I'm at a coffee shop that I'd only really been to once before, but Catherine came here all the time last year, and it's got free internet. So yay!
The trip was okay. Takeoff and landing were great from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, though I didn't sleep AT ALL on the plane. I did, however, get to watch Batman Begins and Sex and the City (the movie), so that was fun. Also, I like that Northwest has on-demand movies/music, whereas when I flew United, it was tough luck if you turned to the movie half an hour in.
Then I had a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam, where I had planned on sleeping. BUT! the waiting benches there are divided into individual chairs with armrests, unlike at MSP, so I couldn't lay down anywhere if I didn't want to be on the floor. So that was extremely uncomfortable, ad I was still really tired.
And then the plane to Vienna was on the runway for half an hour before we took off, and I basically slept on the plane the whole time, waking up to eat and go to the bathroom. When we were landing, the attendant came by and woke me up, and I kinda freaked out, because in my mind - WHY would the flight attendant wake me up, unless there was something really bad/scary happening?!! But it was fine, and I just had to put my seat up, and in the end I was just startled awake, which isn't too embarrassing.
In Vienna, I screwed up my transportation and took the expensive train to the city center, even though that's not actually where I needed to go. So then I had to figure out how to get to the westside train station, because that's where they have big lockers where I could store my luggage. So I got to lug around my two heavy bags (49 and 44 lbs, plus a 22 lb backpack) through TWO subway stations with construction. AND they're working on the west trainstation, so I was confused, because it looks really different than it did last time, and it was night and I was exhausted. AND THERE WERE STAIRS. And I had my bags. Uuuuuggggghhhhhh. Not fun. But I had sever kind Austrians help me out for the little sets of 3 or 4 stairs, which was really nice and unexpected. And all the other stairs I had to deal with were down-only (the escalators only went upward. Pfft.)
In the process, though, I got an U-Bahn (subway) map, since I had misplaced the one I had, and I got to the hostel safe and sound. And now I have a Vienna street map as well. AND there are a couple of other English TA's in the hostel (they came together and know each other already), so at least I'm not completely alone in that regard. They have no idea what they're doing, either, teaching-wise.
So, today I need to find an apartment, but I'm still waiting for some email replies. I got up at 7 this morning, and it's 11:46 now. I also need to get some cheap groceries for the next couple days, and maybe I'll go to H&M and get a belt and a big black handbag, so I can ditch my ugly khaki purse I've had for....4 years(?).
That's life for now. Part of me is really glad to be back - I'm trying to hit up old places I recognize to make myself feel like I actually know what I'm doing here, but it's really weird seeing all of these places and having memories about them without having Sadie, Catherine, or Emily here with me. There's been a lot of times already when I just want to turn to someone and make a snarky comment or say, "Remember when...." but instead I just have to be satisfied with a little smirk to myself. It's kind of lonely. And I'm wondering if this was the right choice for me or not. But it's only Day 1, and I'll probably feel better about it all once I have a place to live and have been to my schools.
The trip was okay. Takeoff and landing were great from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, though I didn't sleep AT ALL on the plane. I did, however, get to watch Batman Begins and Sex and the City (the movie), so that was fun. Also, I like that Northwest has on-demand movies/music, whereas when I flew United, it was tough luck if you turned to the movie half an hour in.
Then I had a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam, where I had planned on sleeping. BUT! the waiting benches there are divided into individual chairs with armrests, unlike at MSP, so I couldn't lay down anywhere if I didn't want to be on the floor. So that was extremely uncomfortable, ad I was still really tired.
And then the plane to Vienna was on the runway for half an hour before we took off, and I basically slept on the plane the whole time, waking up to eat and go to the bathroom. When we were landing, the attendant came by and woke me up, and I kinda freaked out, because in my mind - WHY would the flight attendant wake me up, unless there was something really bad/scary happening?!! But it was fine, and I just had to put my seat up, and in the end I was just startled awake, which isn't too embarrassing.
In Vienna, I screwed up my transportation and took the expensive train to the city center, even though that's not actually where I needed to go. So then I had to figure out how to get to the westside train station, because that's where they have big lockers where I could store my luggage. So I got to lug around my two heavy bags (49 and 44 lbs, plus a 22 lb backpack) through TWO subway stations with construction. AND they're working on the west trainstation, so I was confused, because it looks really different than it did last time, and it was night and I was exhausted. AND THERE WERE STAIRS. And I had my bags. Uuuuuggggghhhhhh. Not fun. But I had sever kind Austrians help me out for the little sets of 3 or 4 stairs, which was really nice and unexpected. And all the other stairs I had to deal with were down-only (the escalators only went upward. Pfft.)
In the process, though, I got an U-Bahn (subway) map, since I had misplaced the one I had, and I got to the hostel safe and sound. And now I have a Vienna street map as well. AND there are a couple of other English TA's in the hostel (they came together and know each other already), so at least I'm not completely alone in that regard. They have no idea what they're doing, either, teaching-wise.
So, today I need to find an apartment, but I'm still waiting for some email replies. I got up at 7 this morning, and it's 11:46 now. I also need to get some cheap groceries for the next couple days, and maybe I'll go to H&M and get a belt and a big black handbag, so I can ditch my ugly khaki purse I've had for....4 years(?).
That's life for now. Part of me is really glad to be back - I'm trying to hit up old places I recognize to make myself feel like I actually know what I'm doing here, but it's really weird seeing all of these places and having memories about them without having Sadie, Catherine, or Emily here with me. There's been a lot of times already when I just want to turn to someone and make a snarky comment or say, "Remember when...." but instead I just have to be satisfied with a little smirk to myself. It's kind of lonely. And I'm wondering if this was the right choice for me or not. But it's only Day 1, and I'll probably feel better about it all once I have a place to live and have been to my schools.