Our Tax Dollars at Work

I had quite the adventure in Vienna yesterday. I decided to go there to visit some fellow teaching assistants and take a little break from Eisenstadt. I met Lori and colleauges in a nice little restaurant. There was a girl with them who is currently doing an internship at the American embassy. She said "I'm house sitting for my boss this weekend. She told me to have friends over, we should go hang out there". Sounded like fun to me, so we walked a few blocks to the flat. I have never seen such an amazing apartment in my life! First of all, it was in the middle of the first district, which is the historic city center and outrageously expensive. The apartment was huge, with beautiful wood floors and modern furnishings. They had a gigantic American refridgerator (a rare site here) and the others exclaimed "A clothesdryer!!! I haven't seen one of those since I've been here!!". Ok, this is a luxury also available in the Studentheim I had apparently been taking for granted. The best part though- the apartment also had a terrace on the roof with a hot tub! It was soooo cool up there! We could see the famous Stephansdom (old church) a few blocks away, and all sorts of other buildings across the city. It was also quite striking how eerily quiet it was. Vienna is extremly tranquil for being such a large city. The only sound to be heard was the slight hum of the Autobahn several kilometers away. There were no horns, shouts, or other noises one would expect. Everyone suddenly decided that they were all interested in a career in foreign service, and made several jokes about the place being bugged and the possibility of there being a camera behind the mirror. I can't even imagine how much this apartment cost, but it was most likely over a million dollars. Afterwards I went to spend the night at Lori's flat, quite a treck across town into the 17th district, which definitely has lower rent! I only had to teach one hour today in the afternoon, so I had to wake up early and take a total of 6 different trains (including the Strassenbahn and subway - see itinerary below) to get back to Eisenstadt on time. I made all of my connections and taught my lesson. I think I need to go to Vienna more often.

Today's Travel Itinerary (times are approximated):

10:10 AM - Strassenbahn (Tram) from wherever the hell I was to Alser Strasse.
10:15 AM - U-Bahn (subway) line U6 to Westbahnhof (Western Train Station)
10:27 AM - Subway line U3 to Stephansplatz (location of famous aforementioned church)
10:36 AM - Subway line U1 to Südtirolerplatz
10:46 AM - Walk one block to Südbahnhof (Southern Train Station)
10:56 AM - Commuter train to Neusiedl am See (if you don't get off at this stop, you end up in Hungary)
11:19 AM - Regional Train to Eisenstadt
12:07 PM - Arrival at Eisenstadt Hauptbahnhof
12:45 PM - Teach lesson on American School System




Click on the map for the enlarged version.
Ah, the wonders of European public transportation system. Highly effective once you've mastered it, but quite complicated to beginners!