Content.

Its a Tuesday. I've just eaten a wonderful dinner of fresh vegetables, bread, and curry hummus from the Naschmarkt followed by an entire Ritter chocolate bar that tastes like a popular Austrian Christmas cookie.

I colored, played trains, sang "Ms. Mary Mack" and clapped along with a delightful seven year old. Fresh apple strudel was waiting downstairs..

I chatted with a small group of students in the school library, which smelled of old books and made me feel cozy and warm.

There was a cow at school today.

Austria, you have my heart.

Productive Sunday

 Today has been a big day for me. Not only have I cut my own hair (yea, really), subsisted nearly entirely off of McVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestives, and not left my apartment, but I've actually booked my flight home.  Home. America. 'Murica. lotfhotb.

 Sunday June 3rd. New York City here I come.

 I'll be flying via Düsseldorf, the city in which my great great grandfather was born. Or someone on my mom's side of the family...I'm not sure who. I'm quite excited about the eight hour layover, as I'll have the chance to have a real lunch, and explore a bit of the city. Germany has a funny way of connecting with me. During the Holidays Pat and I had a wonderful experience in Munich and Bad Toelz, and I felt very connected to the land. It felt like home. Dad essentially picked me up when I studied abroad, and we embarked on a journey through the 'schland that took us through the south, to the far corners of the west, and upwards to Berlin. Amazing. The night we performed our last concert on AMA, Alison and I stayed in the Honeymoon Suite- this was not purposely booked for us- at our hotel in Passau. Passau is also a "hometown" of mine. Needless to say I'm excited to see what this next stop has in store for me..

Destination: Home. Via Home.

Cheers,
Muffin

Ljubljana: The Beloved City

What else to do during my break besides revisiting the 90s through Spice Girls and S Club 7 songs, and drink chai? Travel with Sergio to Slovenia of course!

We caught a train early Friday morning and travelled through the mountains of Steiermark and across the border into the stunning wooded landscape of Slovenia. The journey was long, but absolutely breathtaking. I was reminded of riding through Montana. Big, looming mountains covered with trees and navigable by narrow, winding roads.


My Slovenia journal entry starts off like this: "Slovenia....good times. FREEZING TIMES. Soaking my feet in a bowl of hot water kind of freezing times." Ya, it was pretty cold to say the least.
After finding our hostel, which was next to the American, German, and Austrian embassies (very cool), we made our way out into the Siberian tundra. Within fifteen minutes we were in a coffee shop, sipping on cheap but lovely drinks. Next we moved onto pizza. Then to a bar for a local brew.

On our second day we did a wonderful free tour of the city. This was informative and quite interesting.
Here are a few notes:

This is a statue of France Prešeren, who wrote Slovenia's national anthem, which is unique in that it describes peace among nations and not war.  Above him sits a muse that caused quite a stir with a neighbouring church, who decided to "cover" her naked torso by planting three trees to hide the statue.

The Butcher's bridge is a more recent addition to the old town, which was also designated as a car free zone not too long ago, and is meant to be an important aspect of the market area. Butchers can sell their meat and other goods here over the water. Bridges are meant to be meeting places, not just a way from point A to B. The locks are left by couples, some of whom played it safe by using combination locks instead of throwing keys into the river.

The Dragon Bridge! Ever heard of Jason and the Argonauts? Yep, right here, Ljubljana. Dragons are not to be seen as evil, but as protectors.

After a terrible earthquake in 1511, much of the city was rebuilt in the Baroque style so popular at that time, and architect Jože Plečnik's influence is prominent.

Honey liquor at the market

Inside of the main church

View of town from the castle

We warmed up with more coffee, and continued the tour while discussing local and national politics, the history of the region, and Tina's opinion on Slovenia and its neighbouring countries. This was eye opening and quite fascinating. Slovenia was part of the Roman Empire, and Habsburg Monarchy. During World War Two Slovenia was occupied and annexed by Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia, and was reunified with its western part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1991 Slovenia declared full sovereignty.




Sergio and Tina



Ljubljana is known to many as the "beloved city" as it is one letter shy of this word. I would dare say it need not this additional character, as the city is sure to capture you with its charm, beauty, and history. 

'Twas Waltz Time in Vienna

 On a complete whim I decided to attend the TU Ball with my lovely friends Robyn and Sandrine. Sandrine asked me to go on Tuesday. I thought it over, and had new shoes and a ticket in hand a day later.



Robyn and Sandrine looking stunning in red


The ticket transaction was rather funny...though I'm not sure who was laughing who.
I was a bit lost and walking around the TU campus near Karlsplatz, and got loads of looks while walking through the main buildings. They just knew I didn't belong.
After finding the right building, which was actually in the park, I walked in and pretended to know what I was doing.
"Hello, I would like to buy a ticket for the ball." Auf Deutsch. "Erasmus?" "Uhh, no" I was searching for my Ithaca ID "American?" "Yes." "IES?" This is the institute where I studied abroad, and I noticed that the ticket woman had her pen poised to place my name next on the list of IES students in attendence. Puzzled (should I say Fulbright?), I said yes and gave her my ID. The other woman giggled a bit, and my name was placed on said list. I received my ticket ten euros cheaper than the regular student discount. Bazzinga. They laughed again as I walked out, and more as I pulled instead or pushed the door open. I laughed right back.

We got ready at my apartment while sipping wine and listening to music. It felt like some Austrian remix of Prom, as no one was quite sure what to do with their hair, how to walk in their shoes, or generally what to do with themselves. Oh wait, that was just me.

We emerged from the taxi and took pictures in front of the Hofburg before beginning our royal evening.

We watched, or rather our cameras watched, the opening ceremony and dances, and we sipped more wine in one of the grand rooms. The evening passed as we walked through the palace and admired its grandeur. Everything was quite surreal.

We waltzed in the main room, salsed on the Latin floor, and watched the traditional dances of dirndl clad ball goers.

I danced in both quadrilles, one at midnight and one at two, and laughed the entire time. You see, while I understood the directions, I find it rather hard to actually dance them. Especially when you're shoulder to shoulder and tripping over ball gowns. My partners had a laugh as well, and everyone around us seemed quite confused. After the ceremonious turns, hand holding, and bowing-basically anything you've seen in a movie involving a royal court, or some sort of Shakespearean dance scene- we were swept up by a galloping frenzy in which you run underneath the arms of other couples. Next came the Viennese Waltz.
To the famous Strauss piece, you know, that one about the beautiful blue Danube. Oh, what a night. Whirling around with Strauss floating in the air was such a beautiful, surreal experience.



Let the Quadrille begin! *I'm bottom right



Unfortunately after my second round of waltzing with Sebastian (who looked young enough to be one of my students, and was oh so cute) I was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea. Talk about spinning. I thanked him for the dance, and we eventually made our way outside to the taxis.



My dance partner

 After arriving home at around 3:30am (pretty early for Viennese standards, as many people stay until past 4) the girls figured out the night bus system and we slowly morphed into tired, post ball mode. I was in bed until well past 3:00pm on Friday.

What a wonderful night!!


Friday evening I went to the Musikverein with Sergio and his two friends for a cello concert. This was absolutely gorgeous, and the perfect, relaxing, zennful night out post ball.