Castle Lov'in!

So I wake-up every morning to a beautiful view of the remnants of a castle on a large hill--it goes by the name Schlossberg.

Then I teleported to the Schlossberg, made the sun come out, and took a selfie with no hands...phew it was quite exhausting. 

Where I am getting at with these photos...is that this city is gorgeous! The sun has been out and about lately, so it has been nice seeing everything with a touch of sunshine. As the sun comes out, people's moods lift and there is a lot more smiling. There is a aroma of joy in the air among my fellow young travelers. So you may ask--what do they put in the water? Whatever it is, it is safe to drink, because I am still walking on two legs. But in all seriousness, what creates this happiness? Guess what? I do not have a good answer for you. For some, happiness is family and friends--others a bottle of fine-wine and even God. I have my opinions  and beliefs, but that is not my intentions of this post. I pose you with the same questions I am facing.

So we got this thing, we call the heart. Is that really referring to that meaty-thing pumping in our chest? Well let me tell you, I think I'll need a transplant after having to endure all the beauty I find in the city of Graz. Whether it be the fluttering and frolicking music or a humble-bike-repair-dude--there is so much to seek and find. The thing is, in this space we call "the heart" I am enjoying a lot of peace and stillness. Moments to stop, be quiet, and maybe smile if you got those feels. I mean sure, it cannot always be like that. There are moments when my heart races in excitement or aches in a little home sickness. Actually, let me try something:

It longs, it chases
to take me places
It beats, it races
to whom it embraces

It quivers, it quiets
in the midst of riots
It cries, it tries
despite the lies

It heals, it shows
through high's and low's
It smiles, it sows
because a heart grows

Shout-out to Graz for this poem and being so beautiful! Traveling evokes so many feelings!

Well, ciao! and tune-in next post for the next great Austrian-Adventure!

One more for everyone back home! 

Leute (people)

Clank, clank, chugga, chugga...the train glided through the Austrian Alps. My train from Vienna to Graz was a beautiful experience. Though I should have slept after being jet-lagged, I was to busy pressing my face against the cool-glass scanning the strong, sturdy mountains in the background. The snow-sprinkled pine trees covered many of the mountains (can't see in any pictures posted).

A pole photo bombing this awesome scenery. Would've been my favorite photo...

So my train ride was quite a trip! When I finally got to my last stop, I was excited to put my 90lbs of luggage in my room. There of course were complications...so I met up with an Austrian student who was designated to help me get around. She was very nice and helpful with getting me moved into my room. Of course it took like 15 minutes for us to figure out how to get Top 11. I mean what the heck does that even mean? Apparently after running around the building for about 15 minutes with the 90lbs of luggage it was on the 4th floor. Was I going to take the stairs? Noooooo...but I did and found out my room was on the other side of the building (face palm). So long story short, I took care of all the preliminary stuff after 2 days (including one day, 3 hours of walking around--lost) of staying in Graz. 

So two Americans, a Swede, and a Spaniard walk into a bar...

Yes, this is how my first bar trip in Graz played out. So I went to a pub that is known as a hangout for international students. There were a descent amount of Americans and a few Montclair Students there! Exciting! There I tried the following beers: Gösser, and Murauer. Both beers are brewed in Austria. 

....But enough about beer, I'll probably make a whole post dedicated to that later on. Let's talk about people! It was like freshmen year of college all over again. So let's make a bar graph to get a good idea of all the people I've met thus far! 

So I've met people between the nights I went out, in my apartment, and class. Maybe I will keep adding to this graph and see what happens overtime. I am just as surprised as you, that there are so many Americans here. I guess it is just that time of the year when American students decide to study in Graz, Austria.

Some people that fall under the list above are my roommates ("flatmates" for all you British-English learners). They come from Spain, Sweden, Lithuania, Texas (USA), and Saudi Arabia. Each has their own story, as does every human-being. I would like to have a little bio for each individual, but that is what Wikipedia is for. Anyway, I am happy with my roommates (flatmates) because they are all chill and lots of fun. Here is a little montage of mostly embarrassing photos:

My double roommate: "The Spanish Conquistador"

Viva la Texas! ***not a communist

Selfie with some of the neighbors...the gentleman to my right: "The Suave Swede"

"The Amazing Australian" himself. Trust me you couldn't handle a smile if I posted one.

I hope you enjoyed my little montage of photos of some of the people I have met. It really opens you up to meet others that talk, walk, and eat differently. I have learned so much in the short time that I have been in Austria. Of course there is plenty of photos I wish that I had taken, but sometimes you just get lost in the moment (or forget your camera). When I think about it, cherishing each moment is a lot better than a picture. If a large tower of Legos represented my entire life, how would I reach the top? Each brick represents a moment that stacked on top of each other to help construct a piece of the Lego tower. Yes, sometimes I went astray and the blocks made some crazy architecture down below--but I kept building up. When I look back on the craziness that was my life, I stop and smile but continue to build up, because trust me--its a long way back down. 

So friends, family, and colleagues...remember the world that is out there and all the different kinds of blocks that were used to get you were you are. Every Lego tower can be a great Lego tower, just drop the metaphor, and remember each moment that made you...well, you! 

Bis Später! and tune-in next post for the next great Austrian Adventure! 

A day in Wien (Vienna)

As I was getting closer to my destination, Vienna International Airport (VIE), my eyes lit up as they scanned the scattered clouds of the morning sun. I pondered about the clouds, they are like the topography of the sky--but always changing and always on the move.

You can imagine at this point, this was it. I was about to land into a new life. As the landing gear hit, skidded, and rumbled--it was time to get ready.

So my first story that I have for you all starts when I was looking for the train station to go to my hostel. I first asked some man at an information booth, and after hearing my German with an American accent, he immediately began to speak English.  I was thinking to myself, "huh, it's that obvious." So I listened to his directions and I walked to what looked like a train station--with like 80 pounds of luggage. I was really confused, anything that information guy told me was completely out my head. I wandered, went up and down some elevators. Then I went up some ramp and somehow ended up back at the same guy at the information booth. I told him I walked in a circle and he explained it again. This time I proceeded and wandered to some place that ended up being a train station. I wasn't sure how to buy a ticket and wasn't sure what the guy at the info booth said. So I got on a random train. I tried to act cool and  got really nervous I would end up in another country. I got off at some stop that said "Wien Mitte"--that sounds important I thought. After some random back and forth train-taking, I ended up in Wien Mitte, again, after 30-40 minutes. I pulled out some paper and found the correct train to take--finally. So I got off at some stop that was apparently within 100 meters of the hostel. Feeling good about myself--I walked about 100 meters and found a Chinese grocery store. "That's not right"--I thought. I decided to take a detour, a very stupid decision. I wandered the streets for about 40 minutes with 80 pounds of luggage. Sweating, I stopped at a Chinese Travel Agency. The ladies inside told me that the hostel I was going to was just around the corner. By my surprise, I found the hostel in some kind of a concave entrance--so it was hidden right next to the Chinese grocery store, just where I decided to take a 40 minute detour. I wanted to straight up cry, out of frustration and joy of finding the hostel.

Chapter 2 (of this post): New friends, new places

So I check-in my hostel. It's basically a dorm that is cheap to stay at. My room had two bunk beds. I had two roommates who were from Brazil or one was from Lisbon...something like that. If I got that wrong, they spoke Portuguese and some English. Below is a selfie with my roommates in front of some big fancy building in the central area of Vienna.

I may look happy, but behind that smile is a very tired jet-lagged individual. Some other sites I visited: 

Cool row of buildings with common architecture to this area. With added fountain and statue. 

This one is the inside of St. Stephens Cathedral. Very nice!!!

Majestic horse-rider and more common architecture in the background.

So, in this area I was wandering around I also went to a Schmitterling-Garten (Butterfly garden). It was super cool and made me really happy and almost broke my camera because it was steaming hot and moist in the indoor garden. After looking at butterflies or Smitterling to my hearts content I headed back to the hostel around 4:30pm.

Later that night I went to the hostel bar. I could swear, every drink allowed more and more German to come out of my mouth. At one point in the night I spent an hour conversing with a guy from Argentina who also spoke some German. It was a lot of fun joking, drinking and talking in German all night! The bartenders smiled at me whenever I ordered in German...they were also dudes by-the-way. So it was definitely the fact I started the night speaking English then went full-on German. Viel Spass--a lot of fun!

I could also tell you guys this proud moment I had when I successfully bought a magnet and a bratwurst in German...but not at the same time, because we ain't crazy.

So, auf wiedersehen! Good bye! And tune-in next post for the next great Austrian Adventure!

P.S. Above is a picture of a "Schmitterling" in the butterfly garden --while my camera was sweating itself into brokenness.