Day 1 in Vienna: Why I love Starbucks

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  Vienna, Austria
Saturday, November 10, 2007

Vienna is cold.  Like really really cold.  After checking into the hostel (awesome place), I set off on the U-Bahn to wander the center through wind, rain, and low temps.  Again, it was really really cold.  My jeans got soaked as I went through the Hofburg and over to the opera.  Everything was closed or charged money to get in.  I tried to get back to the train, weaving my way down a busy street that looked more like 5th Ave than Vienna...Saks, Tiffanys, Cartier, Burberry...they´re everywhere.  I kept trying to find a place to sit.  Finally, I spotted a Starbucks.  Praise the Lord!  Not exactly what I had in mind, but as I sat and drank my "premium" hot chocolate and read the NY times, I felt very happily American...and warm.

Back at Wombats, I went to the bar to try to stay up for a while to cure my jetlag.  Drinks and 5 hours later, I went to bed.  There were some awesome people at the bar, and I had a great time with this guy from NZ and these Californians studying abroad.

So I went to sleep, but the night was not over, unfortunately.  I had been told that I would be rooming with 4 "fräuleins"...I immediately thought Indiana Jones...fräulein = evil Nazi ladz, but realized that it just means young lady.  However, the former would probably be a more accuate description.  At 4 am, they came home, bellowing in German (a very angry language), profoundly drunk, and reeking of cigarettes.  I pretended to sleep through it...easier to deal with.  I was waking up at 6:30 am...I figured that was retribution enough.  They looked a lot nicer and more quiet/friendly in the morning...

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