{day thirteen}

this morning around 2 am i woke up, sitting on the toilet. so... i guess i'm a sleepwalker? after recognizing where i was i stumbled back to my room super disoriented and as soon as i stepped foot in my room this black hairball hissed at me and darted passed me out the door! tschina the nasty scared the bajeezies out of me. she's not allowed in our room.but luckily it didn't jazz me up too much and i fell back asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

well, don't worry. it's finally starting to get really cold here. so we've been forced to turn to alternatives so we can avoid being outside at all costs. today we had german and i had to read something out of the book in front of the class. most embarrassing moment of my life! (almost) if you want to have a preview of how i sounded, feel free to listen here. after german we set off for vindobona! vindobona is old vienna when the romans lived here, and there is a museum full of roman ruins. it was awesome and i learned a lot about their early civilization here in vienna. 

me being a good student.

this was under the floors of roman houses. they would pipe heat through the spaces to warm the floor. they also had walls with "pipes" they would send hot air in to accomplish the same thing. so it was kind of like living in a toaster! and this weather, a toaster doesn't seem too bad.

the roman toys in the museum!

*so, as i told you it's been getting really cold here. 2 reasons i remind you of this:

1. i finally resorted to wearing my man sweater from goodwill in public. 

2. you never want to get out of your warm bed in the morning so you keep pushing the snooze button until you realize you have 10 minutes till you have to leave and have to choose between breakfast and shower... i choose breakfast. 

this is a comparison of what the romans used to what we use now a days! pretty incredible... but i think we're a little more intelligent in the q-tip industry. 

the cold has also forced me to resort to shrouding myself in my scarves to protect from windburn/frostbite. 

i though this was a cool shot. i also found that the tree in the cemetery isn't the only one living! alas, there is another. see that ugly tower with the cool shadow on it? the man who built it had a very nagging wife. now this nagging wife had some sort of ailment where walking up the stairs was a struggle for her. so naturally, to avoid any unnecessary nagging, this man built the tallest ugliest building in vienna so when his wife started to get on his nerves he could climb the very top where his office was, hike up the ladder and pull in up and shut the "trap door" and be free from his wives nagging for as long as he pleased!

true story.

ruprechtskirche

me&alexa

i've been here before, but we came after the vindobona ruins museum as a class to hopefully get inside, but it was closed again! someday i will be inside. after we took some pictures, it was about noon. we were in luck because just around the corner was the famous anker clock. every day at noon, this clock plays music while famous people in austrian history slide across the front to the music that represents them best. it was really cool, but the coldest day of my life! i took a video, but it was 10 minutes and i figured... no one would want to spend 10 minutes hearing me complain about how cold my hands were.

here's the clock! you can kind of see how it works.

they kinda like alcohol here in vienna.

after the clock, me and alexa went on a treasure hunt, and we succeeded! we were on the lookout for an antique bookstore. unfortunately, on the way we ran into this not-so-treasurey treasure. 

this lady is always hanging out outside a store we walk by every time and startles me EVERY TIME. finally i decided to join the crowd and take my picture with her.

if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. 

we found a shakespeare bookstore, and i bought a vienna, prague, and budapest guide book! i'm so excited. but then the real treasures came. we walked into this obscure bookstore on our way home and found books all the way back from the 18th century! 

this book was published in 1805, isn't that incredible? after an hour or so exploring the assortment of books, me and alexa came back to my house to relax and unthaw before we had yet another choir rehearsal. i ended up falling asleep for two hours (yeah i know, naps in vienna=lame) and then we went and got pizza before rehearsal. we were running a little tight on time so when we finally got our pizza, it was when we should have been leaving to catch the u-bahn! i've never eaten pizza that fast, i didn't even get to enjoy it. i was kind of glad to leave though, the restaurant was full of cigarette smoke. but mostly to avoid the mean waiter who made me order mineral water. :(

luckily we made it to choir and it was in the coolest place ever!! it was like what you picture to be when you've never been here: cobblestone roads, old houses, lamps, and statues. it was so cute! and the choir was mostly old people, but i was fun. i think that's the one we're going to perform with and i can't wait!

{day twelve}

well, today may go down in history as the first day i didn't take a single picture in vienna! am i becoming less touristy? noooooooo!

it's back to the old grind of classes yet again! but you know what, i don't mind too much because my classes are basically living in vienna.

german.

art.

music.

basically if you had to describe vienna in three words, those could easily be them. 

the only problem with classes is mustering up the desire and motivation to do homework when vienna is out the door and just a walk away!

my art class is probably my favorite! my professor dr. o is so great! she's from american, but she came here, fell in love with her ski instructor and has been here ever since! she has great insights and is the typical frazzled, disorganized artist. i love it! we learned a lot of cool things about the history of vienna and how it's been discovered from certain pieces of artwork. i was fascinated the whole class, and for two hours that's saying something! after classes me&paige came back to my house and did some homework. i had to write in a journal for my heart class and i felt like i was in a movie. i was sitting at my desk with the windows open, plants relishing the windowsills, looking out onto a quaint street lined with vintage brick buildings. so conducive to creative thought processes and great journal writing! we had f.h.e. and a dinner at the institute building tonight. bad news: me and paige were waiting at the bus stop for my bus and i realized i didn't have my wallet! i asked paige if she'd pay for my dinner and i'd pay her back tomorrow. half way through out bus ride i realized not only was my money in my wallet, but my transportation pass! i felt sick to my stomach. i was still able to travel from place to place since things are on an honor system here, but if i would have been caught without one it would have cost me about 110 dollars in fines! luckily prayers are answered and i was kept safe the rest of the night. anyway, i finally got to become more acquainted with some viennese people who are my age and share my beliefs! it was refreshing. i met this really nice guy name Daco (i doubt that how you spell it, but when he told me his name he said, "think taco!" so i'm spelling it Daco.) he is probably one of the nicest people i've ever met. after mingling a bit and a great lesson on having an abundant life, it was time to go home. me paige and keily walked out with one of the guys that was there. he was walking in front of us but to the side so it was kind of awkward. so i was like "hey! i didn't get a chance to meet you! i'm grace." he told me his name was oliver and we talked the rest of the way to the u-bahn station! he was so nice and friendly! but extremely sassy. he asked what station we were getting off at and i said karlsplatz. he asked if we lived there and keily was like yeah, we lived underground. and i said yeah, i live in a cardboard box. and guess what he said to me? "yeah, you look like you do." hahahahaha! maybe i should start showering every day....

naaaahhhhh 

{days ten & eleven}

SATURDAY

well, as you guess it, i had another day full of adventure and fun! today was an educational day as i like to call them. this morning we when to the kunsthistorisches (koonst-his-tor-shes) museum! i got of the u-bahn and couldn't find my way and didn't know how to pronounce the museum so i didn't want to ask anyone for help! finally, after the directions of a german fellow and my class mates i found it!

she's a beauty, yeah?

we kicked off our museum visit with the egyptian exhibits. there were endless rooms filled with ancient artifacts, sculptures, and tombs. it was so awesome! it takes you back to the time when these things actually existed. i decided i would someday like to be an egyptian princess.

i'd say i fit in quite nicely, wouldn't you?

this is what i would look like if i was an actual egyptian princess i think.

alright, get this! they used to "store" valuable written work, such as poetry, in alligators! they once found an alligator stuffed full of Sappho's poetry. we use libraries, they use alligators. yet another reason i want to be egyptian.

well, i don't know if you know this but i'm my grandma's favorite grandchild. (sorry if this comes as a shock to any of you dear sweet cousins of mine, but you should've seen it coming.) anyway, my grandma has the cutest knack of collecting hippopotamuses! they are her favorite animal. when i saw this i immediately thought of you grandma! i wish i could have taken it home with me to bring back to utah for your collection. i think it'd look quite nice on your mantel! 

if this is just the foot of a statue, can you imagine how big the actual statue must have been?

i dare say  humungous. 

me and paige goin' all egyptian on errbody.

voldymort, voldymort, oh voldy voldy voldy voldymort!

guardians of Kuhmunrah

night at the museum, battle of the smithsonian? anyone?

after spending a few hours in the egyptian exhibit, the art took a slight turn into the greek era! ahhhhhh i love their art. it was so incredible. the sculpting and artistry of the time is so awe-inspiring. i can't believe the talent that was so prominent in that day. 

me being a famous statue.

a shweet mosaic depicting the story of theseus and ariadne

a cool head! this place was filled with them, it was fabulous.

as we were wondering around the museum, i was almost as enthralled by the architecture as i was by the art. i figured this museum had once been a palace and later turned into a museum, as the louvre was. i asked one of the museum workers dallying in the halls what the story was. he told me that it was built as a museum and has always been a museum! he told me that the walls and rooms were all decorated particularly for the type of art that was displayed. this is one of the greek art rooms. isn't it stunning? the egyptians rooms followed suite, of course. i thought it was fascinating how timeless this museum was. 

and then we came across this. best piece of artwork ever! 

well, there was four of them and four of us so we put two and two together and...

voila! a masterpiece. 

oh just some more heads and mine.

the sculptures were enchanting in that era but the painting... now that's another story.

man or woman?

i'll let you decide.

grand staircase leading up to more and more exhibits!

alexa.paige.me&keily.

look at all the beauty they put into the design of museums!

amazing.

well, after spending a good 3-4 hours in the egyptian and greek exhibits alone, we decided to call it quits for the day (we get in free with our 'museum passes' our school gave us) we decided to catch a breath of fresh air! and boy were we regretting that after we stepped outside. it was sooo cold! but we needed to finish one of our walking tours for our class so we faced the blistering winds. we found some pretty neat facts along the way and by the end my brain was frozen solid so i'm sure it held all my knowledge in there nice and tight!

so next to llamas and trixi, moose are my favorite animals. i have a moose t-shirt, a moose sweatshirt, and today i saw my host mom has a moose mug! while on the tour i came across this little goody to add to my moose collection!

this is a turkish cannonball left over from their invasion

this is the oldest church in vienna! it dates back to the 11th century. i get to go inside on tuesday for my fine arts class and i can't wait! you can't tell in the picture, but the church is in its own little world surrounding by modern-day apartments. its the coolest thing!

well, at this point the wind had finally reached our souls and we were frigid. i had forgot my gloves that day and all i wanted to do was soak them in a bowl of soup. we decided to go to mozart's cafe for just that and man was it good! i ordered goulosh soup and it was the best thing ever. warmed me through and through. it also had the longest chili pepper in it i had ever seen! mozart's cafe ended up being me, alexa, and teancum so we decided to split a dessert. we got a cheesecake type thing covered in raspberries and strawberries. IT WAS SO GOOD. after lunch me and alexa came to my house and did "homework." ok, not really at first but then we decided we had to get it done. after finally accomplishing something we were hungry and went to alexa's part of town for some pizza. it was the best pizza i had ever had. it had ham, cheese, and tomatoes on it. and the crust was to die for. mm! it was a lot of fun and we had a really good time getting to know each other better and discussing our spring break plans.

:)

SUNDAY

well, sunday was quite lovely as well as relaxing. i leisurely got myself ready for church, had a nice breakfast, and read a little bit. (the upsides of 1:30pm church) i got to church, no problems. had nice meetings and they have a young single adults class taught by the cutest old man with the cutest german accent! then sacrament meeting came. it started as it normally does, but something didn't seem right. and then i realized i really needed to use the bathroom! just my like i was smack dab in the middle of our pew. so during the rest hymn, i shimmied passed the small family sitting on my left and made my escape for the WC. i started back up the stairs for the chapel, in a hurry to make it back before the hymn was over, and my boot gets caught the stair and i fall, flat on my face!!! right up the stairs. it kind of sounded like when you shake a mat thats been on the floor and drop it back in its spot and it makes that 'slap' sound, you know the one? i hurried and stood up and rushed back to the chapel, trying not to glance back to see it anyone had seen. i think i was clear!

so embarrassing.

***

well, after church me, paige and aly decided to go to the ballet! they played la sylphide which i had never heard of before but it was spectacular!  

me.paige&aly

just a glimpse of the opera house. 

breathtaking?

we get to go on a tour on wednesday and i cannot wait to learn the history!

alright, so let me tell you how the opera house works. they have seats throughout the theater you can pay €70+ for. OR they have 'standing room' tickets that are €3! so of course that's the route we take. here's the process:

we got there around 5pm. you go inside the opera house and wait in a roped off line with other people seeking the same seats as you. after about an hour and a half/two hours they open the doors that lead to another room and line. another 15 minutes and they let you through to buy your tickets! after that you are guided to a staircase where you wait some more until the police men clear the building of all hazards. after that you're turned loose! there are 3 rows with velvet arm rests lining the tops and metal bars separating each standing space. once you get to your spot you take your scarf and tie it around your desired seat and that's it: your guaranteed spot! once that's done you leave to check your coats and wander the halls of the opera house. no one moves it or steals your spot while you're gone, and if they do the people around get really mad and kick them out! isn't that great??

i love vienna

:)

{day nine}

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOZART!

well today was dear old wolfgang amadeus mozart's birthday. so i'm on this study abroad with a bunch of music majors so naturally we celebrated! it was so awesome, i had a lot of fun. it was fun to be with people who really admired mozart and knew things about him already because it made it more exciting for me! since it was mozart's birthday, there was no school in vienna! (cool.) we decided to go on a walking tour of mozart's life, directed by our lovely tour guide and fellow study-abroader aly keller. we started at the stephans-dom and zig-zagged our way through the streets of vienna, visiting all the places mozart left his mark. and finding a few of our own treasures a long the way!

this was outside a concert hall where mozart would perform, and people still perform his music dressed in "authentic" attire. wouldn't that be entertaining?

me&paige in this cool ally.

i live in this place!!!

mustache mirrors found up on the walls of a peculiar ally

we came across this charming courtyard

this is mozarts house! 

mozart also used to live here... but now it's a department store

look!!

mozart decided to stop by his hometown to celebrate his birthday.

we had to fight the crowds, but we finally were able to take a picture with him!

this used to be a concert hall where mozart would perform frequently. he actually performed his last public concert in this hall.

shortly before he died, mozart began to compose a song that he felt would be played at his own funeral. he died a few months later and that song was played in this church a few days after his death.

isn't it stunning?

check out this organ! 

after warming up a bit, we moseyed (and by moseyed i mean took the longest route possible) over to the mozart memorial! it was a pretty cool statue, and after some picture and a lovely performance of "happy birthday" on the violin by julia, we set foot for the cemetery!

unfortunately, by this time we were frozen solid and all we wanted was to be inside with a good lunch. we walked down the street until we came across "wienerwald" (pronounced: veenervald) and decided to give it a shot. BEST shot i have ever given. it was quite the satisfying meal accompanied by a warm venue to relax in.

*note to self: ketchup is not free here. neither is water.

lunch was divine, AND THEN we finally made it to the cemetary! it was quite the journey, a few bumps a long the way, but we made it! and it was incredibly spooky. but in a good way. i'd have to say it's probably the coolest cemetery i've ever been to. you know that part in Phantom of the Opera where christine is walking through the cemetery to see her father's grave?? that's what i felt like! minus the snow and the singing

and we found it! this is mozart's "grave". when he died, mozart was very poor and was buried in a mass grave. the graveyard keeper had a lot of respect and admiration for mozart, so with the remains of other grave stones he build him a tombstone where he thought he was buried. 

being all artsy with pinecones and other things.

a mystic pathway.

a cool tombstone.

the one tree alive in vienna.

a cryptic tree and tombstone.

can you guess which one is the real statue?

after mozarts cemetery we went to institute for waffle night!! all the locals must have found out the american's were going and none of them showed up. but it was ok with me because that meant more waffles and nutella. we hung out with the senior couple and played pool and hung out. it was a lot of fun! then i came home and went straight to bed. i was exhausted! each day i come to love vienna more and more, looking forward to the adventures tomorrow will bring.