Vienna Pictures

I absolutely love Vienna. Yes, it is kind of an old person's town--opera, symphonies, cafes--but it has such a relaxing feeling. I love the squares, the fountains, the churches, the palaces, the streetcars, the people dressed up like Mozart trying to get you to go to concerts.... I planned on staying 3 days, but I felt ready to leave after 2 days. I was also going to go to Salzburg afterwards, but I just felt like coming back to Budapest for the weekend, so I'm back in Budapest now. Here are a few pictures from Vienna:

Only in Vienna!:



This is one of my favorite places ever--Schonnbrunn Palace with Vienna in the background. (Most of these pictures were taken with a timer, so they're not the best, but you do what you gotta do)



In front of Shoennbrunn Palace


At Shoennbrunn Palace:



This is how I picture Vienna...doesn't it look like a postcard?



Vienna City Hall (this is one of those pictures where I didn't quite place myself right in the timer picture):



This is the little pension I stayed in...it has a shower and sink in the room, but the toilet is down the hall. If you've ever stayed in one you'll know what I'm talking about!


The pension was on Kirchengasse...you can see the sign on the left in this picture (Pension Remier). The lady was really nice, it was clean, and breakfast was fun...I had almost forgotten how I actually liked eating bread with jam and swiss cheese at the same time!


If you've ever been to Vienna, I hope that you know about Zanoni & Zanoni...it has the best ice cream in Austria for sure...


This is the square in the Museum Quartier--it's kind of artsy with these fun benches everywhere.

Hungarian Efficiency and Train to Vienna

When I had my orientation at school last week I received a CEU student ID card and was told that I could get a discounted student transportation pass. I wasn't told those two things in the same sentence, but I assumed that the student ID could be used to buy the student transportation pass. I confidently went to the ticket counter at a metro station to buy the month pass, but was told that only Hungarian students get the discount. So I went to a different metro station's ticket counter, a little less confidently this time, and was told the same thing. I tried a third...no luck. I would have just bought the regular pass, but it was roughly 2.5x the cost of the student pass, so I went back to the school and asked about it. Apparently there is some special Hungarian student card (in addition to the regular ID) that only some students are eligible to get. The office that would know if you're eligible and can issue the card is only open from 1-4 every day. So I go there the next day (meanwhile I'm walking everywhere, which was probably good for me), and after telling the man at the desk that I was a law student, he said it was unlikely that I was eligible for the card, but he would check anyway. To his astonishment, I was inexplicably on the list to receive the Hungarian student card. However, I had to pay for the card (about $2) at the cash desk, which was only open from 9-1. So I go there the next day, wait in line for over 1/2 hour, pay my $2, then have to wait until the other office is open at 1 to go back and....blah, blah, blah. You get the idea... convenience is not as readily available here, but everyone seems to be okay with that and things eventually get done.

I decided to go to Vienna yesterday. I spent Fall semester 2000 in BYU's Vienna Study Abroad program and loved it. I didn't really have a plan, but I was excited about going back. While I was waiting in that long line at the the cash desk on Wednesday, I learned from a nice Turkish-German named Fahady in front of me in line that you get 60% off all rail tickets within Hungary with this special Hungarian student card that I was waiting in line to purchase, so if I'm going to Vienna, I should buy a discounted ticket to Sopron, a city near the Austria-Hungary border, then get another ticket from there. Deciding to follow his advice, I went to the train station Thursday morning, bought a ticket to Sopron, and made it there with no problem. There was 30 minutes from the time I arrived until the next train left for Vienna, so I promptly got into the ticket line, only to discover when I got to the front of the line that to buy "international" tickets I had to go out of the train station and into a separate international entrance and get in another line. So I find the other place and there was only one person in line and I still have 20 minutes until the train left. Well, that was before I waited while the ticket agent help this one woman for 35 minutes! I have no idea what was going on, but it wasn't happening very fast, and I was not happy about missing the train. Coming home today I decided I didn't care how much money I was saving, I wasn't going back through Sopron! See these locations on a map here.

Apology for Inconsistent Spacing

I was just looking back over my postings and I noticed that some are single spaced and some are 1.5 spaced or something. I have no idea why this is. To my knowledge, I haven't done anything different in each case. I will say again that all the wording on my computer that is not part of my actual blog is in Hungarian, so I guess that will have to be my excuse (By the way, does anyone know why that is that way even on my personal computer? Is it because I'm connected to a Hungarian internet connection? I am seriously a computer moron. How can I make it so that blogger shows up in English all the time? Right now, sometimes it is in English and sometimes it is not.)

In any case, I can think of several people who may be reading this who are surely seriously bothered by the inconsistency of spacing in the posts and who probably noticed this long before me but have politely not said anything. You are the same people (person) who are (is) bothered by the fact that I didn't capitalize my name when I opened my google account, meaning that my name is never capitalized when my e-mails are received or on the rare occasion that I leave posts on other blogs. Since it was brought, however, I have noticed that most people's names are not capitalized when they leave comments... Anyway, to those that are bothered, I apologize for the inconsistent format of my blog, and if I knew how to fix it easily, I would, but for now it's going to have to stay this way.

Not So Current Currency

While the rest of the European Union is trying to take the meaning of the word "union" to heart and use the same currency, Hungary is lagging a little behind. The Euro will supposedly be phased in soon, but until then the country is still using the Hungarian Forint. You can find out lots of neat things about the Forint by clicking here.

One of my favorite things about the Forint is the mathematical challenge I am faced with every single time I open my wallet and try to figure out how many U.S. Dollars I am spending (the exchange rate is roughly 185 forints to $1).

While the Forint is the official currency, some people are trying to get a head start on the switch--or just cater to other European travelers or take advantage of people on the exchange rate, I'm not sure which--and list the prices in Euros. This means I not only have to know the forint to dollar ratio, but I need to know the Euro to dollar ratio (about $1.38 to 1 Euro) as well as the Euro to forint ratio (I still have no idea--maybe about 255 forint to 1 Euro?). And, FYI, it somehow never all matches up right when I figure it out...good thing there is very little math involved in law :)

IKEA!!

I have never actually been to IKEA in the U.S., but I've heard about it. I think there is even one in Utah now, which I imagine is probably pretty crowded.

Crowded took on a new meaning for me last Saturday. After moving into my apartment (more details to come), I needed to get some things ASAP--bedding, towels, etc.--and a Hungarian girl at the hostel told me that the best place to go was IKEA. Apparently everyone thinks it is the best place to go. I don't know how it is in the U.S., but the whole store is one-way. Yes, there are arrows on the floor the whole way through the huge store, and if you forgot to pick up something you already passed (or, in my case, didn't realize that you passed it) .... good luck swimming up stream through the store!

An hour and a half after arriving, I finally had everything I needed (and probably some things I didn't need). I then proceeded to find--or rather, be engulfed by--the check-out line. After waiting for over 45 minutes in the line/mob, I then had to buy my own bag for $1. I realize that it is only $1 and that now I am the owner of a fairly cool oversized blue and yellow burlap IKEA bag, but after waiting in line for so long, I wasn't in the mood to buy my own bag, as if they were doing me a favor by letting me buy their products.







I also found it interesting how IKEA did the Costco snack-bar thing. They were even selling the same things--hot dogs, pizza, ice cream...



However, other than the crowds and buying my own bag, I thought IKEA was awesome and would recommend it, especially to students.

Tribute to Mr. Rubik

Arguably one of the most well known Hungarians of all time--outside of Hungary--is Ernő Rubik, inventor of the Rubik's Cube. I doubt most people know he is Hungarian, but most people have heard of his Cube, which is supposedly the best-selling toy in the world. Lucky for him, the name he gave it--Magic Cube--didn't stick (unless he didn't want his name to become famous).

I personally have never been able to do solve a Rubik's Cube without peeling the stickers off. Therefore, I have great respect for anyone who can solve it--and as Will Smith showed us in a recent movie, this skill can be life-changing.

Anyway, all this being said, on my second day in Budapest I happened across the city's tribute to Mr. Rubik, their most famous contributor to the world market. Fitting?

Jaime's Wedding

I realize that this is taking a step back, but I thought I should include the beginning of my trip as well. Before I left for Budapest I went to my cousin Jaime's wedding in SLC. Everything about the day was great! I am so glad I was able to make it--I loved seeing Jaime so beautiful and happy. It was also good to see other family and friends. Here's a picture of all my roommates from last year in Provo.

Day 1

The computer I am using has everything on the screen in Hungarian, so hopefully I'll click all the right buttons and get this to work. I haven't figured out how to post pictures yet, but I promise I'll do that within the next week and put some pictures up here!
I arrived in Budapest yesterday after LONG layovers in Minneapolis and Amsterdam. The weather here is unexpectedly FREEZING--the high today is 56 and I don't think it has stopped raining since I got here! I'm staying in a hostel that is part of this really old building--a little creepy at first, but it's growing on me. The location is great and the staff is friendly and helpful. Most people staying here seem to be traveling from Great Britain.
Today I am going to look for an apartment and also meet with the admissions director at the school. I've given myself until Sunday to find an apartment--I don't think I could take much more than 4 nights in a row of a hostel, so hopefully I'll find something I like before then!
I already have some ideas of things I want to post on, so I think I will (uncharacteristically) write them down so I'll remember to do that in the future.

The Blogging Begins

Hello! I am new to this blogging thing, but I have been persuaded to attempt it for the next four months. Notice that I said "attempt"--I have never been very successful in this type of endeavor, but since my goal is to complete a four month trial run, I may do okay.

I'm doing this for two reasons. First, I assume (hope?) that I have friends and family who want to hear how I'm doing on a regular basis. I'll warn you up front that you may be disappointed if you check everyday (I can only think of 3 people who might do that and you probably all know who you are and could have anticipated that I wouldn't update daily), but I'll try to guarantee a weekly update (sorry for the "try," but you'll find that I often qualify my statements to give me some cushion room).

Second, it will be good for me to actually record what I do on a daily basis so that it doesn't feel like I am passing through life without purpose or direction. In other words, maybe I'll try to do more things with my life that would be interesting for other people to hear about. I may also take more pictures, which is something I always want to do but never actually do.

So, here I begin. If you have any suggestions for me along the way, I'd love to hear them. Enjoy!