Hey guys!

So today was a fantastic day :). It was sunny and the sky was the perfect shade of periwinkle blue. The day started off with waking up at 11 a.m. (something I haven`t done in forever) and then deciding out of the blue to go with a couple of other exchange students to Naschmarkt. I didn`t find this out until later on but this is the most popular market in Vienna and it has existed since about the 16th century.
Here I indulged in Bakslava, Halva, Kaiser rolls, Kaiserschmarrn (a popular Austrian dessert) and much more..(unfort. for both my 15 euro a day budget and my goal to not gain weight haha)

Then when I came home I was excited to finally meet someone that was willing to spare matches. Yesterday I went on a shopping spree and bought dozens of scented candles so now they are finally lit (not all of them of course...that would be a fire hazard :P ). Anyways, now I`m enjoying the delicious strawberries I bought from there and I cannot wait to go back. Next time, we decided to actually sit at one of the many restaurants that are embedded in the market itself. I will also be taking pictures =)

I`m about to go out for sushi dinner (something I have been craving since I arrived in Vienna), but I wil def. keep you posted on any other adventures, and when I have more time, fill you in on some other things I`ve done while on exchange.
xox

(The first picture I posted is from when I went to the chocolate factory. You can choose one of a couple of dozen of different chocolates to melt in a milk-like substance...on second hand, it may have just been milk, but it tasted 100018398749328 times better haha)...doesn`t it look yummy?


Just some of the things you can purchase at the market :)..and yes, they give free samples

Scavenger hunt

On Monday we went on a Scavenger Hunt. We saw many of the sites of Vienna and also learned how to dance the Waltz and dress in traditional Austrian clothes. It was a lot of fun but there were so many things on the list that we made an executive decision and...ended it early haha. We decided to go to the top of the St. Stephen`s Cathedral instead which is in the heart of Vienna. There were between 350-400 steps to get to the top of the cathedral which overlooks the city. I felt very accomplished once I reached the destination :)
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(Pictured here is the inside of the cathedral).

All in all, it was a really nice day esepcially since I met more people (Alex from New York, Mark from Texas, Jenn from Minneapolis, Anqi from Canada - Queens uni :), Chrissoula from New York and Annie from Boston). As you can tell, US students love Austria haha. The majority of the exchange students are actually from the states followed closely by students from Canada :)

So yesterday, we went on a trip to Graz which is my favourite little Austrian town thus far. And here`s a cool fact - Arnold Schwarzenegger is actually from there

On the way to Graz we stopped at a chocolate factory called Zotter. So, being a foreigner I didn't realize that there were multiple tasting rooms, each one filled with loads of different chocolates to try. This led me to go WAAAY overboard in the first tasting room (thinking its the only one hahaa). So after me and a couple of girls were tasting round after round after round of the chocolate in that first room, we exited the room feeling slightly ...ill. And then we realized that the exit to tasting room number 1 led us to the entrance of tasting room number 2 which led to tasting room number three which led to room number 4 and so on and so on. Let's just say that by the end of the tour we were not feeling so great. The picture is of me being on cloud of nine with my chocolate haha.

Then we moved on to Graz and went on a tour of the town. It was so beautiful. Graz is known for its beautiful courtyards and each with its own history. The picture is of me and Alex in one of the courtyards with the snowman - the snowman is meant to be looking at the refelction of the clock in the pond - this is called `looking into permanence.` Anyways, I loved this, as the tour guide mentioned that it was meant to symbolize the thin line between our imagination and reality.
Afterwards, we went for dinner in the town and then didn't get home until about 11:30pm. The dinner was lovely - beer is cheaper than water here and TEA usually costs about 2.20 whereas a glass of wine is 1.80.... :)

xox