When we finally arrived at my apartment - as good as the Viennese public transit is, the airport is still a pretty hefty journey from anything - Conor was practically a zombie. I could completely relate and remembered how a few months ago I was in the same position as him. After a tasty typical Viennese breakfast, Conor tried to catch up on the sleep he was missing. It is interesting to think that while flying through time zones, you can either gain or lose actual hours of your life. I mean, when flying to Vienna, you technically lose 6 hours of your life because of the advance in time. When we fly back to Canada, we will technically be gaining 6 hours, but not really because the world in fact has not stopped. Something to think about…
Anyways, I let Conor sleep for a little bit, but in order to fully maximize his time in Europe we had decided that we would go to Innsbruck for the weekend, leaving Friday afternoon. I definitely lost girlfriend points that day because not only did he just fly 9 hours to Austria, I was sticking him on a 5 hour train ride - on the same day. I had not bought seat reservations for the train so for the first hour we were separated. With a screaming 3 year old across the aisle from me, I don’t think Conor used the time to catch any shut eye. We were quite impressed with this kid’s endurance. Not only did she not sleep the whole time to Innsbruck, I am pretty sure she screamed 80% of the time. I don’t know who I felt worse for, her or her poor dad.
Innsbruck
We finally arrived in Innsbruck and very conveniently found our hotel directly across the street from the Bahnhof (train station). I seem to always arrive to places at night, and therefore have no clue what my surroundings look like. It was only until the next morning that you realize Innsbruck is a valley surrounded by the Austrian Alps – very cool. Being the qualified tourist that I am now, I know the benefit of sightseeing tours. I know how lame the tourists look in the bus, but seriously, it is so worth it. We found one that stopped right outside our hotel that was more like a hop-on, hop-off bus. We jumped on that and were able to see the Olympic ski jump (Innsbruck hosted the Olympics twice) and skating complex. We decided to de-board the bus at Schloss Ambras and do some touring. Conor has this thing with medieval castles so I am glad that he got to see one up close.
At lunch I was able to use my fantastic A1 level German skills to tell the server that Conor was allergic to nuts. She looked at me like I was crazy because why in the world would there be nuts on a pizza – lesson to all, there are pine nuts in Pesto – a key trigger in Conor’s nut allergies. We sat and ate looking at the famed Innsbruck Goldenes Dachl or, ‘Golden Roof’. I am not exactly sure why it is so famous, it wasn’t that entrancing. We took a little wander through the town and saw the Imperial Palace, Annasäule and what appeared to be a mini Arc de Triumphe.
Upon my request, we headed to the Swarovski Kristall Welten that afternoon. Conveniently they have a shuttle bus that leaves from Innsbruck – obviously at a ridiculous cost but it was worth it. We arrived and did the whole tour, saw that big Swarovski grass head with the water coming out of his mouth (I will put pictures up), and of course took a little stroll through the shop. We had a great dinner that night at the ‘Piano Bar’ in the heart of Innsbruck.
Sunday morning, our last day in Innsbruck, we took the Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen (A gondola type thing) to the top of one of the mountains surrounding Innsbruck and the Inn (the name of the river) valley. I saw the snow at the top of the mountain, so I wore a jacket, pants and shoes. The genius that I was with is apparently convinced that all countries other than Canada must feel like summer. He went up the mountain in shorts and flip flops. Needless to say, I was somehow colder than him when we got to the top. After a quick photo shoot and mediocre Schnitzel, we headed back down and to the train station to catch our train. That was the end of Innsbruck weekend.
Conor in Vienna
I have not been able to show Conor around to any places in Vienna yet because I have been working. I have decided that I would take him to the Schönbrunn Zoo and the Belvedere. I send him out on adventures, and I wish I could see the expression on his face when he saw St. Stephans Cathedral for the first time. Still, every time I walk by it I am blown away. Having Conor here is like seeing Vienna again for the first time. For someone who has not been fortunate to travel outside North America, Austria is a pretty good starting point. Conveniently his aunt and uncle are in Vienna right now, so he had some travel buddies yesterday and again today. We met up with them last night and were treated to dinner. They gave us extensive tips for Prague and Italy, as we are heading to those places next week – in fact, on Friday.
In an attempt to convert Conor to the cult of culture that I am now a part of, we are going to the ballet of Romeo & Juliet tonight at the Staatsoper. I am looking forward to it and I honestly think that he is too.
It’s all over
Tomorrow is my last day of work. I have been asked to hand over my key card and ‘handy’ (cell phone), which I am actually sad to do! The past 16 weeks have flown by, and I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience this Euro-adventure. I have been let in on the secret that my colleagues are planning a little good bye party for me. I may not have redone the whole marketing concept at BAWAG, but I have definitely improved their English -something that a lot of people have expressed thanks to me for. If that is the mark that I leave, than at least I will be remembered for something! Part of my co-op report was to summarize, on one page, the company I worked for, the working environment, my goals and how this experience has affected me. On 1 page. I would not even be able to do that in a 30 page report. The skills I have adapted and memories that I have will never leave me. I wish I could hug everyone who has helped me along the way, but it might be awkward as Austrians have a tendency to formally shake hands even in situations where a hug would be way better suited. I had an awkward hug-hand shake yesterday upon saying good-bye to a colleague…
Italy
Although we are both going home on the same day, Conor’s Euro-trip is just beginning and mine is coming to an end – In Italy. I seemed to have forgotten this whole part of my trip because I have been so wrapped up in Austria. Our Italian adventure commences on Friday when we leave for Venice. We have booked one hostel so far, Absolut Venice. We are sleeping in an 8 bed mixed dorm (Conor is WAY thrilled…). Other than that, our sleeping arrangements are non-existent and train tickets have yet to be purchased. I have let go of my organizational and controlling way and am becoming sceptical about this whole ‘Go with the flow’ attitude. We may be sleeping on a park benches (Joking dad).
I will try to update my blog regularly, but I am not making any promises. I do promise though to let you all know I am in fact alive and enjoying life!! 19 days until I touch back down in Canada… At least I am not coming back from Mexico :)
My last post seemed to stir up some low-key controversy with the comment I made about friendship. In my opinion, a blog is a place to express all feelings and experiences at the exact time it is being written. Throughout my travels, I have made some mental notes about what I want to include in my posts, but it is mostly ad-lib writing and I use random thoughts that pop into my head. When I wrote that post last week, I was having a bummer day and that is how I felt at that exact moment. I am glad I wrote it because I want to remember the struggles and pleasures of living abroad. I do miss ALL my friends and family terribly, and I am immensely looking forward to my return to Halifax for summer and then Tremblant for the end of August. At that specific time last week in my blog, I just wanted to give a shout out to the people who let me know I was missed. I cannot begin to explain how much that was appreciated.
I will be making a one night appearance in Tremblant on May 16th. It is a Saturday night, so I assume you will know where to find me...
