Ich Habe Mich Verliebt!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I think the time has come for me to say it: I have fallen in love! “How has she possibly had time to meet anyone?” you may ask, or “Who could possibly succeed in melting her cold heart?” Well, you see, it’s less of a ‘someone’ that I am in love with, and more of a ‘bunch of someones,’ or, on a bad day, you could even call it a ‘what.’ I have (very quickly) fallen in love with the wonderful city of Vienna! It wasn’t until I was wandering about Berlin (more about that later!) at 16.30 in the afternoon, in a “wintery mix” of snow and rain, desperately (and not successfully) searching for a comfortable Kaffeehaus where I could warm up over a nice Melange before meeting the rest of the IES group for dinner, that I realized it. In the short time I’ve been here, Vienna has started feeling even more like home than Pittsburgh, where I go to school, ever has (which is a tall order, since Pittsburgh is kind of awesome).

 I’m not sure if it’s the millions of wurstel, kebap, and falafel stands within a three minute walking radius from the IES Center, or the never-ending kaffeehauses, or the very simple public transportation system, or the wide array of ‘cultural activities,’ or even just the gazillions of (amazingly well-behaved) dogs you meet on the street and on the trams, but somehow Vienna has managed to make itself very near to my heart in a very short time.

Besides all of that, the Viennese people are fantastic. Though rumors abound that Austrians are standoffish and never smile, that is simply not true (well, maybe at first glance, but you know, minor details). Just yesterday I was running to catch the tram, when a slightly grumpy looking older lady (fair warning: there are a lot of those around here) got out of her seat and pressed the button to open the door so the tram couldn’t drive away, giving me the chance to jump in before it left. This simple gesture of kindness was only acknowledged with mutual nods and smiles, but it serves as just a small reminder of the general atmosphere about the city.

Vienna is filled with beautiful architecture, wonderful people, and amazing food and I can’t possibly begin to express in words how happy I am to have come here! Ich habe mich wirklich in Wien verliebt!