This week I've managed to get to know most of Vienna via train, foot and bike. I love the fact that there are so many bike paths and bike rental stations here, it makes sight-seeing much easier. I rented a bike on Monday for several hours, and rode around "the Ring" which is a road that circles around the Inner part of the city where the opera house, Stephansdom, museums and touristy sights are. It was so much fun but wow am I out of shape! If you want to ride your bike, you can't just take a relaxing stroll around the city on the paths, at least not in this part of town. The bikers here mean serious business and fly by dinging their bell to alert you. In the parts without bike lanes, you ride on the street and you better be moving as fast as traffic, obeying traffic lights and using hand signals! Here I am riding happily on my bike and the bike lane ends. CRAP. I gotta ride with traffic now. In rush hour. So I'm pedaling as fast as I can breathing in the dry air, struggling to keep up, as the muscles in my thighs are giving in and my butt hurting from the "cushioned" seat that feels like a rock. Traffic started getting heavy and I was not about to try and weave in and out of traffic, but I tried for about a block and lost my flip flop, so I had to stop turn around and get it. Total mess. All I could think was "wow good thing I don't have a big American flag flying in the wind on my bike." Then I would surely be honked and laughed at. So I just walked with my bike the rest of the blocks until the bike path returned. I'll be taking a bike to class every morning because there isn't a train (U-bahn) or street-tram (S-bahn) that can connect me so I'll be walking or biking on the small side streets, so I'll definitely be getting my exercise since there aren't any mountains nearby to climb! I was told that the last of the alps actually ends in Vienna which is a pretty sight but nothing grand, it looks more like Sugarloaf or smaller.
I've met some interesting people while out this week. If the Erasmus students don't go out in the evenings, I try and at least go to a cafe/bar to get out and watch one of the World Cup games. For some reason, I feel very comfortable sitting alone. And at each place after about fifteen minutes, someone always comes up and starts chatting. I guess a girl sitting alone seems to be an open invitation to come up and start a conversation. But they've all been interesting people, all Austrian, and I get an opportunity to carry on the conversation in German and ask them about themselves and opinions of the U.S. and so on. They're always so surprised and intrigued when I tell them I'm from the states, whether they've visited the U.S. or not. Many people have these expected preconceived notions and comments about America and Americans:
-the typical "Americans are fat and lazy" (but they all laugh and are aware that these are only stereotypes, which stem from all the Fast Food chains and the fact that we are unable to walk to our destinations)
-that we see a lot of famous people
-U.S. spends billions of dollars on wars and "nothing" and always like to get involved in world affairs
-the debt that the U.S. has
-Americans are open-minded and friendly
-America has no culture
-why you can't drink alcohol until 21
-Americans think the world is theirs
-knowing an American who knows a second language aside from English is always surprising
-Americans don't know their geography
I could go on and on but those are just an expected few on the list that each person names. In the end, the people I meet always have many questions to ask and are obviously interested and intrigued for a reason despite any prejudices or stereotypes they may have (I always remain neutral and never take sides.) The conversation always ends with them seeming to have a different perspective or learned something new. I remember meeting people last summer who had radical opinions about the States until they had the chance to visit the country, which is when their minds completely changed (for the better.) The states is definitely a whole different world away from any other place on the globe, naturally, but Austria, and Europe, is much more liberal and democratic. All in all, the conversations are always insightful and give me a feeling of American pride and appreciation for the U.S. I am very complimentary of Austria and refer to it as "my second home" which they enjoy and are surprised to hear. Although I seem to have the same redundant conversation with a person every night, at least the types of people I've talked to have kept it interesting. This week I've met: a Russian bartender who worked in Ocean City, MD for several years, a Tennis sports columnist who travels back and forth to NYC, a teacher in an Austrian elementary school, and a business man who is a professional palm reader (http://www.alcazane.de)
Last night I got a $10 ticket to see the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Vienna Opera House (Wien Staatsoper.) My seat was great, I had a box seat on the side in the third row, partially obstructed view but if I stood I had a view of almost the whole stage. Not bad at all for the money. The lead singer was an American who is friends with a teacher I worked with last summer (I found out on Facebook) and the coloratura soprano, Zerbinetta, reminded me so much of my voice teacher, Brooke, back home. The color of her voice was so similar and her looks were too. The set onstage was beautifully creative and unique, and the opera house itself was full of gold and mirrors inside with Renaissance architecture. I'm seeing a 5.5 hour opera by Wagner on Wednesday, hopefully I'll be able to sit through it for that long. The box seat ticket I got for that was $15 with an even better view than the last. Only in Europe can you see an opera for that cheap.
I'll be posting pictures soon!
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