Vienna

SO, it's been quite a while! I will sum up as best I can.

Last weekend was pretty chill. We had a going away party at this pub/bar called El Pirata for Anna, a girl from Budapest who was here for the last semester and was leaving to go home. She and I actually got to know each other pretty well in the short time we were both in Koper. So we danced all night and it was just a good time, no drama or problems or anything! love it.

Then I woke up on Saturday with big red itchy bumps all over my arms. Bed bugs, allergic reaction? We will never know! Actually, i'm pretty sure i'm just allergic to to the laundry detergent, so i just got a different brand. Fingers crossed for no more hives! Then on Sunday the other girls went to Piran, but I didn't feel well so I just stayed behind.

On Monday we had our first school related meeting at the university which was semi-helpful. There is a lot of confusion with our courses specifically, but we are working on it. David, the other canadian guy, has gone home because he couldn't sort out his course...he needed specific transfer credits and couldn't get them, so he just left. Weirddddddddd. What a waste of a trip to Europe...hang out in Koper for two weeks and then go home lol. Then monday afternoon we picked up our rental car and drove to Vienna! It was a very uneventful drive, minus the speed. Holy crap, I have never steadily traveled at 140 kph in a car for that long EVER. It was fine though, the weather was good, and by the time it was dark, we were in Austria and the highways were lit quite well. We got pretty lost once inside the city because there are an ass load of one ways and turning lanes all over the place. We stopped to ask for directions with no success, so we called the hostel and the man stayed on the phone with us for about 30 minutes guiding us street by street to the hostel. Eg. man-"is there a pretty illuminated building on your right?" Laura- "YES! there IS a pretty illuminated building..." man-"go left". He was wonderfulll. But then we got lost again after finding the hostel while looking for parking because there isn't any. AT ALL. Finally found a spot, or so we thought, and then checked in to the hostel.

It was a great place to stay! Absolutely huge, clean, and had a bar right inside of it, so we didn't even have to leave to "go out". We shared a 6-person room with a girl from brazil who LOVES canada and a guy from Japan who was hilarious. It was a fun room. The next morning we had plans to walk to city centre and wander around a bit and see stuff, but when we went to check on our car..it was gone. Fuck. Construction had started that morning, and they had failed to put up a sign on the side of the street that we parked on, sooo we got towed. Not cool. After a mild panic attack, we ran back to the hostel to ask what we should do. Luckily we had the sweetest desk clerk EVER, and he was so helpful, I don't even know how to explain how amazing he was. He called the tow company for us and asked when/how we pick up the car, then he called a bunch of other places to find out how to get there...and then since we looked to upset and frazzled, he looked at us and asked "is 10 am too early for a shot?". We all said no, and before we could turn around, there were 4 shots on the front counter waiting for us. It actually helped a lot haha. So he found out it was going to cost a small fortune to pick it up, but if we wanted to leave it there until we were leaving on thursday it would only cost 7 euro a day as opposed to the 26 we would have to pay to park near the hostel. So we left it. Stupid opel.

After all the drama, we took a LONG walk into the city centre and stopped at lots of shops on the way. Of course, the lingering cost of the tow stopped us from actually shopping for anything. Then we walked around the museum quarter and basically around that entire center area of the city, and then over to Belvedere Palace and back to the hostel. To put it into context, belvedere palace was about 5 km away from the hostel...so like that, times 4 or 5 haha. It took about 6 hours...i was tireddddd. Not to mention is was kinda cloudy and wet all day. We got back to the hostel and just crashed for an hour, and then went to a cute chinese place for dinner.

The next day we took a day trip to Bratislava in Slovakia. It is a really cute city and I would recommend it to anyone. It's not super expensive, but has all the touristy things of other major cities. Castles, churches, river side, fancy stores, cheap stores, good food, etc. Wouldn't stay more than one day, but for the afternoon it was nice. Again, got back to the hostel and crashed, had dinner at the hostel and drinks with our roommates and new friends. It was really nice...we exchanged info and will hopefully stay in contact! Wooohoo for connections in Brazil and Japan!

The next day we woke up early, checked out, and then went to Schunbron Palace. It was amazingggggg and such a nice day. We did the grand tour and then walked around the gardens SANS JACKET! how lovely. I heard it was mighty cold for you winnipegers yesterday so all i have to say is...HA.HA.HA. After the palace we went to pick up our car (ugh) and started the drive home. Again, uneventful drive, but as soon as we got in and around Koper it got sooo foggy that we could barely see the road. A bit scary, but we got through it and made it home safely.

Today I have my first class in about half and hour (finally, I know) and then tonight I think we are going to El Pirata again, but I'm not sure. Pictures from the weeks adventures will be up on facebook soon, when I am less lazy!

Title Track: The Fray