Some time to relax...

Stone work from inside a Egyptian Mustaba

Marcus Aurelies from Gladiator

Saint Stephen's Cathedral

Doing cartwheels in Paige's backyard

Guten Abend everyone -

Today was my first real low key day since taking off a WEEK ago - it doesn't seem like it's been that long, yet I have already done so much it doesn't feel like it would be possible for me to have fit so much in already. Today I went to the Constortious Museum, which was built to house the Habsburg's (royal family) collection. It was really cool. The stone from the entrance of the Egyptian mustaba was from 2,500 B.C.! I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around something being that old, especially because I can still see it and touch it today, knowing that some hands were crafting it 4,500 years ago - it's incredible. It was also cool to see a few head busts of Marcus Aurelies, we're going to see his tomb in a few days - again, soo cool. For some reason I am enjoying museums a lot more during this session than I have ever before, and I think it's because I'm hearing all the cool little stories that go along with the pieces, which make them come alive that much more. It's safe to say I am really enjoying my class. After a classy lunch of a six-nugget meal from McDonalds (I had to take a break from Billa and Spar) a couple of the second session students had a beginning German class, which was actually really interesting as well. My friends and I are still trying to put the finishing touches on our Salzburg trip this weekend, so we spent the afternoon putting that together. Then, we headed over to Paige's house for some spaghetti (and it was only a 75 cent meal, which was really nice!) and just hung out at her house since her host family is gone to Italy for the week and she's been home alone. It was nice just to sit and talk on her back porch and play in her yard. I really missed seeing grass, since I live closer to town, all I ever see is streets and buildings. It may not have been the most extravagant day ever, but it was nice just to relax and enjoy friends and not be running all over the city all day. Then we just came back and I finished watching the Sweden-Greece game with Ingrid, Sweden won, and Spain beat Russia earlier tonight, in case you were wondering :)

Some random things I've experienced:

• Grocery carts in Spar are four wheel drive.
• there's this amazing granola mix called Knusperli - I got the peach and yogurt cluster mix, and it is soo good.
• According to my friend Arin's short story, I apparently love to listen to Celine Dion.
• In football in Europe, it is customary for the players to swap jerseys and wear the other team's jersey after the end of the game as a sign of friendship and good sportsmanship.
• One handed cartwheels are really fun, but aerials (no hands) are just as scary to think about attempting here in Vienna as they are in the US (I couldn't bring myself to try one).
• Pirates of the Caribbean in German = Fluch der Karibik.
• Some Austrian TV sets are impossible to figure out.

Have a good evening, everyone! Keep commenting, I love hearing from all of you!
love, Andi