Looking Like WIENers

Our good family friend, Angie, told me the definition of adventure. "It's something you're doing that you wish was happening to someone else, that will probably make a good story in a couple years." Accurate. Since being in Europe, I've been on a few "adventures." Actually, our first day in Vienna was one BIG "adventure."

First, we rode on a bus from Prague to Vienna.

We started at "A" and ended at "B." Self explanatory.

If you're curious about how the bus ride was an adventure... Czech bus drivers are like:

Well, no we didn't die. We made it to Wien safely. Once we arrived in Wien, we had to buy tickets for the public transport, so we found ourselves a "bankomat" and withdrew some Euros. Then we found a tickets kiosk and attempted to buy some tickets. Turns out the bills we got from the ATM were too big (50 euros), so we went to the nearest bakery and tried to exchange it for smaller bills, or buy a roll so we could get change.  She refused to serve us.

Discouraged, we walked our happy you-know-what's to the ATM and withdrew smaller bills. FINALLY, we bought our tickets. Then, we realized that the directions we got from Google maps was awful. At that moment, a bus driver stepped out of the bus, and stood on the sidewalk for his break. It was like a sign from God saying, "It's okay, I got you." We basked in the theoretical light coming from the imaginary gap in the clouds, and with angels singing in the background.

"Ahhhhhhhhh."

 We asked the bus driver directions to the hotel. He gladly gave them to us--in English--and we went on our way.

Once we arrived at the bus stop near our hotel, we were once again lost. After thirty minutes of wandering around we finally found it! But, the person who was supposed to meet us with the keys to our room was late. We decided to pass the time with my favorite activity: eating.

By this time were were worn out, and in my case, incredibly homesick. (Where are all the English speaking Americans? Why don't I know where I am???) So we ordered a classic: Chili cheese hotdogs with french fries. Well, Austria's version of chili cheese hot dogs. They served us hot dogs with sliced American cheese (the only thing American about the dish) with onions, pickles, hot dogs fried in grease with the french fries, mustard, ketchup, and....... wait for it...... the spiciest chili powder I've ever tasted. So there you have it, a chili cheese dog. To help with the spice, Ty decided to buy us some water. Turns out it was the most awful tasting "sparkling" water. (Sound like an adventure yet?)

Getting to our hotel was like finding refuge. This place is absolutely gorgeous.

Our hotel is basically a studio apartment with a nice kitchen, bathroom, and washing machine (no dryer). It's definitely a refuge after being out in the elements all day. And yes, I do include angry shopkeepers in the "elements" category.

I'll be posting more soon about our other adventures in Vienna. :) Thanks for taking the time to read!