Look at the Size of that Snail!! And other experiences in Europe.
Dan & Kerri couldn't have picked a better time to come. The month of May was a low cycle for me. I was unhappy with school, unhappy with the friends I made there, and unhappy with Graz in general. Right now it is hard to imagine being unhappy there, but I was. Living in Europe for six months as an exchange student may SOUND like a nonstop party, filled with wine, women, and song. But in reality..... wait, that's mostly how it was. It was alot of partying and going out, and beautiful European college women were everywhere. Did I mention that bars there don't actually close like they do in the US? Well they close, but not at the normal 1am or 2am where can actually get home and have a reasonable night's sleep. Noooo, they close at 6am or 8am. I'm talking sun coming up, stores opening up for the day, and you're trudging home wondering where the night went. Getting to bed at a reasonable hour requires self control, something the government there doesn't mandate.
Anyway, back on topic. I wasn't happy in May, and all the partying had a lot to do with it. I was getting tired of a vapid, void lifstyle. Some of you may be sitting in your cubicles right now wishing you could strangle me with your mouse cords, but bear with me. Partying all the time does get old. Even though as I type this I would love to be back in those European clubs filled with beautiful European college women, at that time I was really craving some intellectual stimulation. Because when you get down to it, I'm a geek. And geeks like to use their brains... occasionally.
Enter Dan & Kerri! Good friends that I've known for a long time. And anytime we get together, we have the most interesting conversations. Topics can vary greatly, but I always enjoy it. The first day they came, we went to dinner at a restaurant and stayed for several hours and several drinks. It was just what I needed.
I don't want to give the impression that the friends I made in Austria were some Eurotrash hipsters who had nothing intelligent to say. I had plenty of stimulating discussion with them too, but there was typically a limit to the depth of the conversation because of language difficulties. Probably also from lack of patience on my part....
I need to shut up and post the pictures. So no more words (besides photo captions), here's the pictures!
That's a big snail! We found it on the walking path while climbing the Schlossberg and thinking it was a rarity, decided to save it from careless feet. As we walked more, though, we saw that large snails are a common sight in Graz.
Dan & Kerri sitting on English saddles in the Western themed bar in Hungary that I mentioned earlier. Small decorating errors aside, it was a thoroughly executed approximation of an old-timey Western bar. The waiters all wore denim shirts with badges, and they even had a covered wagon in the courtyard.
See how happy it made us?? We couldn't even shut our mouths, we were so happy!!!
Sopron had even more to offer. This is the Fire Tower in the center of the city. I should point out (again) that the tower is not actually leaning. After paying a few Euros, you can climb it and see views like this:
And this:
Wait, that's not from the Fire Tower. It's from this weird wine cellar that we visited. Some travel guide recommended that we visit it and sample the wines they sell. When we went inside it was quite obvious that it was only locals there and we stuck out as tourists. Also, it appeared that they were serving wine out of large stainless steel buckets with ladles. That wasn't going to stop us from our cultural experience, though! After wandering through their seating area and finding a table away from the smokers, we ordered a liter of wine and three glasses. The wine came in a carafe and tasted like it had been open for days, maybe weeks. It had that rubbery, oxidized, slimy taste. But hey, we drank it anyway! When in Sopron, do as the Sopronis do....
I have more pictures from my travels with Dan & Kerri, but the rest are from Vienna. I'll get those up soon, but as always you are free to harass me in the comment section if I am too slow.
Anyway, back on topic. I wasn't happy in May, and all the partying had a lot to do with it. I was getting tired of a vapid, void lifstyle. Some of you may be sitting in your cubicles right now wishing you could strangle me with your mouse cords, but bear with me. Partying all the time does get old. Even though as I type this I would love to be back in those European clubs filled with beautiful European college women, at that time I was really craving some intellectual stimulation. Because when you get down to it, I'm a geek. And geeks like to use their brains... occasionally.
Enter Dan & Kerri! Good friends that I've known for a long time. And anytime we get together, we have the most interesting conversations. Topics can vary greatly, but I always enjoy it. The first day they came, we went to dinner at a restaurant and stayed for several hours and several drinks. It was just what I needed.
I don't want to give the impression that the friends I made in Austria were some Eurotrash hipsters who had nothing intelligent to say. I had plenty of stimulating discussion with them too, but there was typically a limit to the depth of the conversation because of language difficulties. Probably also from lack of patience on my part....
I need to shut up and post the pictures. So no more words (besides photo captions), here's the pictures!
That's a big snail! We found it on the walking path while climbing the Schlossberg and thinking it was a rarity, decided to save it from careless feet. As we walked more, though, we saw that large snails are a common sight in Graz.
Dan & Kerri sitting on English saddles in the Western themed bar in Hungary that I mentioned earlier. Small decorating errors aside, it was a thoroughly executed approximation of an old-timey Western bar. The waiters all wore denim shirts with badges, and they even had a covered wagon in the courtyard.
See how happy it made us?? We couldn't even shut our mouths, we were so happy!!!
Sopron had even more to offer. This is the Fire Tower in the center of the city. I should point out (again) that the tower is not actually leaning. After paying a few Euros, you can climb it and see views like this:
And this:
Wait, that's not from the Fire Tower. It's from this weird wine cellar that we visited. Some travel guide recommended that we visit it and sample the wines they sell. When we went inside it was quite obvious that it was only locals there and we stuck out as tourists. Also, it appeared that they were serving wine out of large stainless steel buckets with ladles. That wasn't going to stop us from our cultural experience, though! After wandering through their seating area and finding a table away from the smokers, we ordered a liter of wine and three glasses. The wine came in a carafe and tasted like it had been open for days, maybe weeks. It had that rubbery, oxidized, slimy taste. But hey, we drank it anyway! When in Sopron, do as the Sopronis do....I have more pictures from my travels with Dan & Kerri, but the rest are from Vienna. I'll get those up soon, but as always you are free to harass me in the comment section if I am too slow.
posted by ScottyB at
9:58 PM
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