Aufwiedersehen, Wien

Tonight's my last night in Vienna, and tomorrow morning I start the second half of my European adventures, the part I like to call "Where the hell am I going?" Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants spontaneity was incredibly attractive to me a month ago when I was planning (or not planning, in this case) my trip, but at the moment it's causing me a certain amount of panic. As of this morning, I didn't know where I was going to be for the night tomorrow (which town, I mean, let alone a hotel). As of now, however, my trains and hotels are booked through Monday night! (Yes, I realize that's only 3 days from now, thank you.)

Tomorrow I'm heading to Salzburg for the day, where I will traipse around following in the footsteps of those wacky Von Trapps (oh, and Mozart). From there I'll go to Berchtesgaden, a small town in the mountains best known as Hitler's playground, but which for me seems like the perfect place to relax, soak at a spa, and visit an old salt mine (why not?). I'm looking forward to getting away from city life for a couple days.

So, on to the Vienna recap.

My Favorites:

• Exploring, walking all over every inch of the old city (at least that's how it felt to me).
• Christmas markets.
• Speaking German. Or something approximating German.
• Standing room at the Staatsoper.
• Self-reflection time. Lots of it. A blessing and a curse.
• Cake, chocolate, sausage, cheese, Fanta.
• Taking pictures.
• The day it snowed and I was so excited and everyone else was talking about what horrible weather we were having.
• Bonding with The Soprano from Wisconsin.
• Doing whatever I wanted, without having to check with anybody else.

What I Learned:

• That it's not really okay to simply guess what gender German nouns are.
• That there are people who think that in America school shootings are commonplace, everyone eats Cheez Wiz, and we all love Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• That I am highly unfashionable because I do not tuck my pants into my boots. Unfortunately, when I do I look like this.
• Many ways to say "I'm drunk" in German.
• That going to a movie in English is a powerful cure for homesickness.
• That iChat is an even more powerful one.
• How to dial international phone numbers. To be honest, I'm still figuring this one out.
• That an iSight camera is very useful for doing your makeup in the mornings if you happen to break the mirror in your room.
• That Pandora doesn't work in Europe. Bummer.
• That the time difference means I always have email in the morning when I wake up. I love that.

Goodbye, Vienna. Thanks for the memories. Until we meet again...