McBlog

Before I continue to discuss my trip, there are some observations that I had made during my stay in Vienna. They are amusing to me, so I figured I would share.

WEINER TENDENCIES

1. They add "Mc" to various business names. When I was walking down the busy street Mariahilfer strasse, I saw a "McSun" tanning salon and a "McFit" gym. Do they think that they sound more reputable by associating themselves with McDonald's? And why the hell would a gym choose that name? McRidiculous if you ask me.

2. Austrians all follow traffic rules very strictly. When I walk up to a side street, and there are absolutely no cars in sight, everyone still waits until the walk signal turns green. Coming from Madison where students cross streets wherever and whenever the hell we want, I was confused. Is it illegal? I don't think so. I think people just follow the rules. Europeans are never in a rush anyways.

3. Water is more expensive than beer. Damn glass bottles of water are small as hell and are nearly 3 euro. I will never take free water for granted in restaurants ever again. And free refills are a luxury people!

4. Menu translations are always amusing. Here is a recent one I snapped, Tunnyfish salad:


A lot of times we simply cannot understand the menu. It's always a gamble when you order food. You find yourself praying that you're dishing out 10 euro for something appetizing. I've been pretty lucky with my choices so far. I am really enjoying the food here. If you're a vegetarian, Vienna might not be the place for you. Meat and beer paradise.

5. Scooters are hugely popular here. I'm talking about the kind of scooter that everyone rode when we were in 6th grade (think Razor). TONS of people use them to get around the city. And not so much kids, but working adults. I've seen plenty of businessmen wearing suits who ride down the sidewalk on these scooters.





Ok so I guess I'll dive into some other updates.

-I went to Schonbrunn Palace. It was epic. It was a summer house for the Habsburg royalty. But I have to admit, it doesn't compare to Grand Beach, Michigan. Just sayin.


vs

They don't have Redamak's burgers nearby too, so i think it's obvious whose summer place is better.

-A group of us went out to the best authentic Austrian joint one night. It was called Zwölf Apostelkeller. I realized that the name is similar to Wisconsin Union's Der Rathskeller. I found out that "keller" means basement in German. It's underground, and it's like...really old. It dates back to the 1300's. We had good food, good beer, and good conversation. It doesn't get any better than that.


-NIGHTFLY: this bar a couple of people have been frequenting. It's always fun. In the 90 degree NIGHT heat, a couple strawberry daiquiris is the perfect solution. The bartender likes us so by the end of the night he gives us free drinks, like these shots he gave Michael, Stephen, and I:


-One Euro Pub: located conveniently across the street from where we live, this shady place capped one of the nights last week. It was pretty much the creepiest place I've ever been. The highlight? Intoxicated rendition of Avril Lavigne's "Skaterboi". Interesting.

-A weekend trip to Salzburg fell through, so the girls were left in Vienna for the weekend while a bunch of people went to Prague. We had a great time, going to bars...catching up on sleep..etc. The best night was when we went to MuseumsQuartier, where a ton of young people hang out on nice nights and drink, converse, relax. It's really neat because its situated in between museums, and they set up a bunch of outdoor bars. It's awesome and we had a great night.


-Finished the weekend with visits to MuMoK modern museum, which provided an oasis from the heat. We went to the Naschmarkt, Vienna's biggest farmer's market (sort of). It's the long strip of market and restaurants. Very cool. Here's a taste of it:


Once again, it's late and I'm tired. I'll update my Picasa pictures soon and try to get up to date on my posts! Hope everyone is well.

T