Vienna Weekend

The first weekend in May saw the STS Vienna Weekend take place; in Vienna obviously.  Majo and I decided to go together and she told me that we had to be there by 12, I told her, no, we have to be there by 1.  In the end, we went with her time and what do you know, we were the first ones there.  No one ever listens to Tyarna.  Basically we just chilled on the really comfy lounges until the others started arriving.  Soon Katrin and both mine and Majo's area reps arrived, followed by the rest of the students.  We were assigned our rooms before heading off to Schönbrunn castle.

Schloss Schönbrunn is one of the many major attractions that Vienna has to offer.  It dates well back into the 16th century and was home to the Emperor and Empress.  It is really interesting to go through and find out about the everyday life of the people who lived there.  The gardens around the Palace are also so amazing to walk through.

After Schönbrunn, we all went to an Austria restaurant for dinner before going to Siebenhirten for a traditional yodelling course.  It was a very interesting and fun filled night and it was nice to be exposed to more traditional Austrian culture.  Once we got back to the hostel, a big group of us decided to chill out on this massive couch slash bed thingy and just talk.  The area reps came around at midnight and told us to go to bed, so Eve and I went up to our room; there was just one problem, we couldn't get our key to work.  We tried for about ten minutes until one of the area reps, who was staying across the hall, came in.  At first she just laughed at us and then she tried to help as well.  She couldn't get in either though.  In the end, we ended up knocking and getting someone from the inside to let us in.

Giant Bed

Saturday morning saw us head into the centre of Vienna for a sightseeing tour and to look in St. Stephans Cathedral.  After the tour, Jarrad, Eve and I did a little bit of shopping before having pizza for lunch at an Italian restaurant.  It was really good pizza.

He's got the look

 After lunch, the group headed to Prater where we all went off in our own groups to enjoy the afternoon.  Eve, Jarrad, Elliott, Sarah and I all headed to this massive, how do I explain it? Um, it was basically a merry-go-round in the sky.  You had two people per seat thingy and I got stuck with Jarrad.  Anyway the views over Vienna were really, really nice.  While we were still on the ground though, Jarrad decided to make the seat 'swing' and the whole ride we were still swaying around like crazy while everyone else was just going around normally.  Basically he screwed us up for the whole ride; even when we got back down and were waiting to get off, our seat was still swinging around like mad.

Sunnies selfies with Jarrad

How's that for a view?

Saturday night saw our group head off to the theatre to see 'Elisabeth'.  It was a really nice musical, even though it was in German.  There were English subtitles on a screen, but they didn't really make that much sense and they were actually quite difficult to follow.  After the musical, we had a little bit of free time, so Jarrad and I went for a walk to get ice-cream before heading back to the hostel to chill out on the big bed thing again.

On Sunday, the group split up to either go to the Technical museum, or the House of Music.  I chose the House of Music and our group only had five people plus the awesome area reps who came with us. It was a lot of fun doing things around the museum and I only wish that we had of had more time.

Cool carpet

GLOW!!!!

All too soon the weekend came to an end and once again it was time to say goodbye to everyone.  The next time we will all meet is at Farewell Party in June; I am looking forward to going back to the Bad Ischl area for that.

I would also like to say Happy late Birthday to my cousin Balun and my Aunty Nic, hope you had a great day guys!!

Annnnnd, I would like to wish all of my exchange student friends who are currently in Australia a safe trip home next week and hope that you all enjoyed your time in the Land Down Under!

Until Next Post.

Adios Amigos.

Tyarna xx

Things & People - Two Different Things

People have been asking me about the things that I miss in or from Australia, so I thought that I would do a small post about those =D

The things that I miss are really quite small and insignificant when you think about them, but maybe that's only because we have them all the time in Australia, so we don't think about it.  In one of my first couple of blog posts as well, I said that I would tell everyone the things I missed once I was actually on exchange, so here goes =)

Aussie Slang -
I never realised until I left home how much Aussie slang I actually used.  I guess because everyone always used it and understood what you were saying, that you don't really think twice about it.  Over here though, I sometimes have to stop myself from using some words because people just stare at you blankly; and trust me, the hardest thing is trying to explain the meaning to phrases like "fair dinkum"or something along those lines.  There is nothing like hearing a true Aussie say G'day to you!

Target -
Yep, I miss a department store.  I never realised how much easier it was to run into Target to pick something up, whether it be a new shirt, pair of slippers, a DVD; and they were always fairly accessible, which is always a plus.

Tim Tams -
These biscuits in the forms of chocolatey goodness.  Yummmmm

Dolly Magazine -
Yep.  Very teenager-y, but I miss it.

Australian Money -
I don't even know why, but there is something about our Aussie currency that I miss.  Can't explain it.

The Beach -
I didn't really spend that much time at the beach, but the thought of knowing it was only two hours away was pretty cool and if I wanted to go for just a day, it was no problem.

My Job -
My job was really fun and I worked with some pretty awesome people as well!

Hair Straightener -
It was ditched from my suitcase on the morning I left home because "there just isn't enough room" - Mum, there is always enough room for a hair straightener.

MY Ballet Flats -
It has almost been four months and I am still not over the fact that my pair of black, pure leather, very expensive ballet flats did not get to come with me.  "They're just a pair of shoes Tyarna, buy a new pair".  Easier said than done.  Do you know how long it takes to wear in a new pair of flats?  The pain you have to go through before you can actually wear them for a significant amount of time?  I have a problem with shoes.  Cherine, please, no comment.

Shorts - 

I left soooooo many pairs of shorts at home and it has only been in the past week that it has been warm enough for shorts to be an acceptable item of clothing here.  I look forward to seeing all of my shorts again when I get home at the end of December.

Well there we go everyone, those are the things that I currently miss from home.  None of these are enough to stop me from enjoying my time here though!!  The way I see it, these are just things that I can look forward to getting home too.

Until Next Post.

Adios Amigos.

Tyarna xx