Redemption

Last week was a bad week at school, and that's putting it mildly. In a class of 11 students I confiscated 8 phones. It seemed like every class was on a mission to give me grief. A student in one class told me I had a choice whether to be there or not. The teacher later defended him by saying that his English was bad and he was just glad of the opportunity to use the word "choice". Yes, really. Mind you, this is the teacher that a couple of weeks ago blamed the behaviour on the wind. So, I was hating Bad School more than usual. Tonight I went for a drink with a couple of other TA's. Abby and I were sitting in the pub and a girl came over to our table and offered to buy me a drink (in English). I had no idea what was going on and I was like "ERRRRRR.... what?!" as it seemed incredibly random, even for Austria. Then she started apologising and saying how bad she and her friends felt and then I realised that she was one of the students from that class! Her and the five other girls from that class felt so bad that when they saw me go into the pub, they decided to buy me a drink by way of apology. Which was really kind, I thought. Especially as it wasn't them that had been misbehaving. Either way, it was a lovely gesture.

Not a lot else to tell, I have been off today and yesterday and have spent the greater majority of my time wandering around the shops. Today I found this awesome little place that sells beads and books. Only like two of my favourite things EVERRRR. Rather than tidying up this afternoon I have made some rather fetching jewellery.

I hear there is a lot of snow in the UK. Well, from the media coverage you'd think it was some kind of frozen apocalypse. I know of several people who have had days off because of the snow, but one friend (whose information is usually quite correct) says there is actually only about two inches and that people are just being girls about it. This is probably true, and it is really the Councils who need to get better facilities for dealing with the inclement (wow, what a word!) weather. Here there has been hardly any, and what little there was has been cleared away very quickly. I think it's coming this week though, so let's see what happens. No chance of a snow day for me though!

One more thing... I sent postcards from Sofia. Apparently some of them have arrived! Even though I sent them on the side of a tram. I will never doubt the Post-Communist systems again!

Pinsch, Punsch, first of many, no doubt...

While I am not Vienna's biggest fan right now, I am rather partial to one thing- the tradition of the Christkindlmarkt. In recent years I have not got into the Christmas spirit but I think this is going to be different. Partly because I know a baby to present for, and everybody knows that this is the best part of the festive season, and partly I think because of the Christkindlmärkte. There is Punsch and Glühwein galore! So far I have had:


-orange punsch
-apple punsch
-amaretto punsch
-cherry punsch
-amaretto and cherry punsch
-raspberry punsch
-coconut punsch
-apple, cinnamon and vanilla punsch


Oh and of course some Glühwein. So far I have been very restrained and only kept one souvenir mug but I am sure that is going to change as I visit more and more markets over the coming weeks.


This week has been... interesting. The Boy arrived last Sunday and was initiated into my group of friend in true style... deceptively. During our weekend in Bulgaria we hatched a plan to deceive him. An American friend of mine can do a pretty convincing British accent (not the usual rubbish you hear!) so we decided that it would be hilarious to introduce him as Joseph, and Earl who studies at King's College London. It went remarkably well and only came unstuck when Joe realised that it was impossible to eat a burger in the manner of an Earl (ie without using hands) and when he had to explain the rules of American football. Greg was deceived good an proper though, and the whole mission was deemed a success.


Having a visitor (especially one who came armed with Cadbury's and mince pies) was lovely and I got to do touristy things like wandering around. School has been rubbish this week, to put it mildly, so we went to Demel for some coffee and cake. If I were rich (and skinny) I would go there at least once a week I think, if only to watch the people who think they're posh. Of course the cake is delish too.

When I say the best things to do in Wienna involve eating and drinking, I was not exaggerating. We have had:

-Falafel from the Naschmarkt (I am now a regular customer and the stall-owner knows who I am!)

-Centimeter

-Daquiris in some random Mexican place

-Stiegl

-Fresh pasta from a fancy stall at the Naschmarkt (cooked, yes, COOKED by me!)

-Beer and Austrian food in a lovely Brauhaus in Grinzing, which is the poshest part of the city.

Christmas shopping has commenced, and I think I have been to every market in the city. The prize for the oddest sight at a Christkindlmarkt goes to the one at Karlsplatz:

Yes, there were llamas! Not entirely sure why. I decided it would be nice to go up the Kahlenberg as it was the first thing I did on my first visit to Wienna and there is a lovely view of the whole city. After a bus ride and a bit of a route march, we finally made it to the cafe/restaurant/bar I was thinking of. A lady at the Christmas Market gave us a free biscuit and we got to taste some Schnaps too which made it all worth while. And...it snowed for the first time! There was not an awful lot, but enough to excite Boyo and me. Plenty more where that came from, I'm sure!

 On Saturday there was a light dusting of snow across the whole city. I didn't really take many photos as we most of the day was spent watching bad American TV and films (yay for Nightmare Before Christmas!) but this is the view from the Oberes Belvedere.

I just came home from the pub and it was falling thick and fast. Much as I do not like the cold and wet, I am secretly looking forward to the sound of it crunching underfoot. Though obviously if it is still falling I do not intend.

What else is there to tell... probably loads of things that I have forgotten because I haven't written them down straight away which was incredibly foolish of me. Must endeavour to do better next time. I mean, I could write a whole post about how terrible school has been but really, what's the point?! No, I shall save it for next time I'm in a bad mood! 

Turning a corner...

I think maybe, just maybe, things are starting to get a bit better. Perhaps this is just because I have been at Good School this week and my opinion of Austrian students is a little better, but perhaps because I am making more of an effort to think positively. I really think the break away to the East did me a lot of good. This week the following good things have happened to me:


-we got paid. Finally I could go shopping. I am now the proud owner of new boots (more than one pair but I shan't say how many for fear of being ridiculed by several people) and a new coat which is beautiful but totally impractical for somewhere as windy as Wienna. Oh, and another special needs hat.


-HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER. Yes, I realise that someone of my age should not be as excited about this but it was brilliant. Sadly my friends would not let me go in fancy dress but I still enjoyed it very much. Apart from the sad bits which I had forgotten about. But yes, I am very excited for the next part. Must read all the books again when I get home. Oh, and I know Ron has always been rather dishy in my eyes but in this film he has really buffed up. He could save me from drowning any day, hopefully with the kiss of life!


-Christkindlmärkte. The nicest thing about winter in Austria. Glühwein galore. Went to the Rathaus market on Tuesday and Schönbrunn this evening. I could spend so much money there, even just on food and drink. Stand by for more pictures as I will definitely be taking about a zillion more!

 -Süssi. This is a tiny little cafe (quite expensive) near Karlsplatz with lots of French specialities. I had some kind of chocolate orange dessert thing and some really good coffee. Definitely a good way to get out of the cold!

Another thing that could be improving my mood is that the Boy is coming to visit tomorrow. Though I am not overly enamoured by the idea of having to trek all the way to Bratislava to meet him, I am rather excited by the prospect of some Cadbury's chocolate!

That's all for now my loves, Tschussi! 

-

Post-Communist tour part 1: София

As you probably know from my most recent posts I have not been particularly happy in Wienna recently. When a friend of mine found cheap flights to Bulgaria (I think they were 57 Euros return) I jumped at the chance to go. There were 8 of us altogether; 2 Brits, 5 Americans and a German. On the whole it was a pretty good group, though obviously as the intolerant person I am, some people got on my nerves. So, we arrived at Sofia airport and were pounced on by about a million taxi drivers, all of whom seemed desperate to take us to our destination. It all seemed a bit dodgy, especially when one of them followed us to the cashpoint, but we managed to escape and find someone who looked a bit less shady. Even though we were still in the European Union (just), it was like a completely different world. Bulgarian is a Cyrillic language so I couldn't even read things and guess what they meant like a couple of the others who could read the letters. I think I will learn. So anyway... we arrived at the hostel and although it was not in the nicest area it was really good and cheap. I think the thing I liked best about the hostel was that we could play Scrabble in the lounge area. After unpacking (read: dumping stuff in the room) we decided to go out for food. We ended up in a traditional Bulgarian place:

Because we were such a large group they ended up giving us our own private room. I think it was quite a posh restaurant actually but to us it was incredibly cheap. This obviously gave us license to have a lot of wine, huuuuuge main courses and puddings. The waitress was very friendly and surprisingly understanding about how late we stayed there. When we left all the staff were waiting to go home. Story of my life, I always seem to be getting thrown out of places for staying too late, like every time I go to the Hind. Oh the Hind, how I miss thee... But back to Bulgaria. 

Not sure whose meal this was but they all looked this good!

Bulgaria is another hour ahead of Austria but even though it was 1am, half of the group were not tired enough to go back to the hostel for bed so we found a club/bar. It was kind of weird (ie naked women plastered all over the walls) but it was fun so we stayed and danced to songs we hadn't heard for ages. We actually ended up going to sleep at about 6am because when we got back to the hostel we couldn't resist a quick game of Scrabble.

Next morning we were up bright and early for sightseeing. This is what we saw when we stepped out of the hostel:

As you can see, it is still very Communist looking. Having said this, they do have things like McDonalds, Subway and Starbucks just like every other capital city I've visited. Meandering through the town we came across a little market and I think it is quite a mixed up country with regards to political leanings. At one market by the cathedral I came across lots of Communist/Stalin memorabilia like this book:

and of course the obligatory furry hats for tourists such as ourselves:

However, what was slightly more alarming was the amount of Nazi/SS paraphernalia. Joe nearly accidentally bought an SS compass. There were loads of medals, uniforms, hats etc. I bought a ring with a snake on. Now I am a little scared that the snake is some kind of secret Nazi symbol but I googled it and can't seem to find any evidence for that so I think I'm safe. Funny story about the ring actually- I was trying it on and got it stuck on my fat man fingers. So I kind of had to buy it. I did do some bartering though and only paid 15 Wotsits  (the currency is actually the Lev, but we quickly christened it the Wotsit) for it which is about £7.

This is the cathedral, probably the most famous building in Sofia. It's beautiful, with lots of gold domes and fancy carvings. The weird thing was that you couldn't get anywhere near it because it was fenced off. We tried to go in in twice and each time there was a huge queue. Perhaps it's always like that but I have another theory. On the Saturday, Vladimir Putin was on a state visit, so we think people may have been queueing to meet him. The second time we went, some big shot Brazilian politician was visiting so it was probably closed for him. To be honest though I am not a huuuuuuge fan of going inside churches so I am content to have seen and photographed it from the outside

Communist prefab appartment blocks and signs in Cyrillic. My two favourite things.

There is not a whole of touristy stuff in Sofia, but there are some beautiful buildings. We went inside the Mosque which was beautiful and it was a shame we weren't allowed to take photos. The girls had to wear a robe to cover our hair. It was green and much nicer than the one I had to wear in Venice. One of the great things about the weekend was that it was so warm and sunny. Made a nice change from grey Wienna which is really getting on my nerves at the moment.

This building was marked on the tourist map as the "Tall Building". I'm not gonna lie, it was disappointingly stumpy. We visited the Lady's market which was... an experience. There were lots of peasants. I wanted to buy a headscarf as a souvenir but could not find one for love nor money! Next time. Every couple of metres there was a toothless crone trying to sell us imported cigarettes from Serbia. Also there were a lot of stray dogs wandering around. They were all mangy and scabby like the horrible cats in Rome.

We spent the evening eating more cheap food and drinking more cheap wine/beer/cocktails. We went in one really weird bar where we were not allowed to stand or sit anywhere as even the bar had been reserved. Not quite sure how that works but never mind, we went to a place where cocktails were only about £3. I had some wintry one which was delish, it was hot with apple and cinnamon. After being thrown out of this bar because it was closing we went back to the hostel and played Scrabble again (I know I know, very rock and roll!) and chatted to random people until the early hours.

Next day was mountain climbing day. Obviously I did not have sensible footwear with me. We knew it was mountain day very early on because one member of the group was exceptionally excited *coughTHEGERMANcough* and he was stomping around in his walking boots trying to wake everyone up at some ridiculous hour. It was about half an hour on the tram  to the foot of the mountain. The further out of the city we got, the further into Borat territory. As in, there were huts that looked like they were falling down and people using horses and carts to go about their daily business. The first thing we saw  when we got off the tram was what was obviously the village well. There were dozens of peasants clamouring to fill up their bottles, pots, pans, anything they could get their hands on. It was at this point that I decided that Bulgaria is a very good place to visit for cheap shopping/eating/drinking but living there would probably kill me. Actually maybe even three days there has had an adverse affect on my health- I have got a hacking cough and sound like a fully fledged crone! I know this is not very politically correct but it is funny, so sorry. Anyway... we'd heard that there was a TV tower halfway up the mountain with a nice restaurant beside it and that it was about 2 hours walk. LIES. After four hours we still hadn't found it and worked out that we were heading in completely the wrong direction. Not being able to read the signs was a big disadvantage.

lovely woods

climb every mountain...

So, after 4 hours of fruitless walking, Stella and I decided to call it a day and headed back down the mountain. It turned out that the others found a restaurant about 15 minutes further up but I don't care, forests and stuff tend to get a bit samey after a while. The highlight of the walk for Joe and I was definitely being greeted by a Bulgarian as we knew the correct response. I think saying "Dobry den" definitely counts as a conversation. Also on the way back down some children asked us something. When they realised we were English they said "Yes. No. Bye!" and carried on walking. It was cute.

After a hard day's excercise we went to the Ale House. Basically, you pour your own drinks at the table and pay at the end. It was good fun, esp as it was only 5 Levs (about £2.50) per LITRE!!! For the third or fourth time of the weekend, we got thrown out because the place was closing.

No need to tell you what we did after that. Except this time instead of Scrabble it was Ring of Fire. We tried to go out afterwards but because it was a Sunday none of the clubs were open, booooooooo. Still managed to stay up til 4 though.

Monday morning we did a few last bits of tourist shopping and wandering around before we had to head off to the airport to return to Wienna. Oh, to those of you whom I promised postcards: I have sent them, HOWEVERRRRRR... I doubt that they will ever arrive. After three days I had still not seen a postbox so I asked at the hostel where I could find one. The guy told me the postboxes are on the trams. I thought he was talking rubbish and that he meant they were at the tram stops. So I went outside to post them. I would never have found what I was looking if the man hadn't run after me shouting "it's next to the front door! There's a picture of an envelope! Next to the door!". It was literally a hole in the side of the tram. So if they don't reach you, I am sorry.

Now I think you are pretty much up to date on my travels and I will fill you all in on the other exciting (or not) things in my life when I have done a bit more tidying up in anticipation of the Boy's impending visit!

Blame it on the Föhn

Föhn. It's everyone's favourite topic of conversation in Austria, especially at this time of year. It's some kind of warm wind that comes from the mountains and/or the south. Apparently it can be to blame for everything. One teacher was complaining yesterday that she had a migraine because of the Föhn. It can cause colds, headaches, paranoia, anything you can imagine.I am sceptical about things like this, so imagine my surprise and disgust when a teacher used it as an excuse for a class that were misbehaving. Seriously. I have taught the class three times now. Every single lesson has been a battle with them, I lose count of how many times I have to ask them to stop talking/close their laptops/put their phones away. Today they went one step too far. I shouted at them, telling them how disrespectful it was that they were not paying attention, especially as I had gone to quite some effort to do a lesson that they would be interested in. Oh, and I should point out that during the whole lesson the teacher was sat at the back of the classroom marking homework and not offering to help me. At all. Afterwards she said "Hmmm, they were in a funny mood today. Don't worry about it, it's because of the Föhn." Yes, she actually held the weather responsible for their behaviour! I'm sorry... WHAT?! That is one of the most preposterous things I have ever heard. It is not the wind that makes them such horrible people, it's the lack of discipline. Yesterday I confronted a class about ignoring me and said that they wouldn't behave like that if the teacher was talking the the class so why do it when I'm there. I was told in no uncertain terms that they would behave like that no matter who was standing at the front. I know it makes me sound very old to moan about people who are not that much younger than me but I really do think that I am from the end of the generation who were taught good discipline. Perhaps I have been reading too many educational texts on how TV and computer games influence young people and the way they behave but the more time I spend in school, the more I believe that they definitely have a point!
That's all for now, more ranting soon!

A brief Hungarian Rhapsody

Probably the best thing about living in Austria is all the Catholic holidays which mean we get days off school. The 1st and 2nd of November are All Saints and All Souls (can't remember which way round) days. Most Austrians go and sit around in cemeteries on these days but a group of us decided to go to Budapest for a night. It only takes 3 hours to get there by coach and we only paid 16 Euros return so it was pretty good. We arrived at the coach station by 7am only to find that one person didn't have their passport. She had to get the next coach which wasn't til 11, and because he's so nice, Bill decided to wait with her. Abby and I got the coach we had intended to and just had an extra 4 hours in Budapest. Before the others arrived we went for lunch in an amazingly cheap Turkish restaurant and went for a wander down by the Parliament. We walked along the Danube to the Chain Bridge. Everything is so beautiful.

memorial for the Jews who were shot into the Danube in 1944-45

One of the best things about Hungary is that it's so cheap. Our hostel was only about 10 minutes from the city centre and it was only 8 Euros a night. Bargain! Oh, an the food and beer is also incredibly bargainous. We went to a bar just by the river on the Buda side and got a beer for less than 2 Euros! We were pretty impressed. 

Once Leah and Bill arrived we headed out to make the most of the cheap drinks (even though it was only about 3.30!) and went to a cocktail bar where I paid 2 Euros for a Cosmo. Actually I paid 9 Euros for 3 Cosmos but that's by the by... Because the clocks had gone back it got dark really early so we thought it was time to go for tea. We ended up at quite a nice restaurant where we got two courses of traditional Hungarian food (goulash and some other stew type thing) plus a glass of wine for about 10 Euros.

 Abby, Leah and Bill on the Chain Bridge. At night, obviously.

We wandered around the city, which is beautiful when all the lights are on, especially down by the river. I remembered a really nice bar called Szimpla that I'd been to when I was in Budapest before so we spent ages wandering around trying to find it. It's very well hidden as it's one of the numerous "ruin pubs" which just look like derelict buildings from the outside. This one has it's own brewery and the beer is amazing, and very cheap. The toilets are quite interesting though- the toilet roll is outside the cubicles (what's the point of that?!) and two of the three were just holes in the ground. Nice atmosphere in the bar though.

The next day we had breakfast at the hostel (toast with Dairylea type cheese and stone cold coffee) and then wandered in to the main square as we wanted to do the free city tour. I did it last time and it was brilliant, the guide was called Adam and told us all about his life in the Eastern Bloc. This time the guide was a tiny girl called Anna who had an awesome eastern accent. I am going to start practising so I can improve mine as I feel that this accent is an important life skill. Anyway, I saw things I'd seen before but it was nice because it wasn't chucking it down with rain this time, it was actually quite sunny.

the view of the Parliament from the Castle on the hill

After the tour, the guides told us where to go for really good but really cheap food. It was awesome! I am definitely going to try and make paprikas because it was delicious. In the afternoon we wandered around and went for a beer (again) and found the market hall which is huge and full of lots of lovely, tacky souvenirs for junk-loving people such as myself. I am now the proud owner of some stacking dolls. Oh and we had langos, which is a kind of savoury doughnut with no hole in it, covered in sour cream, cheese, chilli, basically whatever you want. Mmmmmmmmm. The only thing we didn't get time to do which was on the agenda was go to the Communist Statue Garden but next time we go we're going to do a whole Communist themed visit! I can't wait! 

Everybody say Budapest!

Herbstferien

I have had this whole week off school (not that I normally work much anyway but I'm not complaining!) It's been nice, though I haven't done very much at all. I have watched a lot of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, I have written in my journal and now it is almost up to date, though I fear I will never be able to keep on top of it properly as I am too lazy. I have got no idea how I manage to waste so much time.

I went and sat in a cafe (Demel, actually) on my own and wrote and read my book and watched people. I felt like a proper intellectual. I smiled to myself at the tourists taking photos of each other, but when my cake arrived I couldn't help but take a picture because it was so beautiful. It was quite expensive but definitely worth it, the best cake I've had in a long time. I will definitely take the Parents and the Grandparents there as a treat when they come to visit.

Although Sunday was actually Halloween, we decided to celebrate on Saturday as we'd heard there was going to be a party at the brewery in Schwechat, which is just outside Vienna. Originally I wanted to be a vampire bat as there is nothing better than wearing a cape, but sadly the fangs and cape did not arrive in time. Instead, I decided to be a panda, predominantly because they are cool, but partly because it meant I wouldn't have to buy anything.

After getting ready and painting our faces we ended up going for Chinese food, which I thought was particularly appropriate given my costume. They gave us the red carpet treatment, personally I believe this was because there was a panda in the group. We arrived at the brewery, saw that it was 10 Euros to get in and turned round immediately. After stopping for a quick drink at the "Cocktailbar" in Schwechat, possibly the most inhospitable place I think I have ever been, we headed back to Abby and Stella's where we had some beer and watched Disney films.

Sunday was another really fun day. We went to the zoo at Schönbrunn. It was quite expensive but so worth it! I forgot that I love animals. There's a baby elephant which is actually quite big now and a baby panda. Sadly it is still too young to see in actual real life, but you can watch it on a screen in its little room and it was so cute. The grown up pandas were awesome too. 

Also I have a new life plan- I am going to go and save orangutans in Borneo. Well, I probably won't, but it's a nice idea! That is about it for my week off, so I shall post this now and get back to finding another mindless American sitcom to watch...