With no further ado

For my first three days in Vienna, nothing was very palpable. I went down to the Fan Zone on Friday to find it quiet and mostly empty, populated by some over-eager Aussies playing soccer on a small rectangle of netted-in turf, and a tired DJ playing 90's music for people who were neither listening nor interested. Evaldas showed up on Saturday, to stay with the same IAESTE board member I was lodging with, and we walked through the Inner Stadt a bit, managing inadvertently to skirt the crowded areas.

Then: Sunday. Walking through the centre of town, we were immediately overcome by the stench of beer, sweat, and untapped adrenaline (not unlike an engineering party, in that respect). Packs of Germans and Spaniards roamed the streets, drinking, yelling, singing, and breaking into spontaneous soccer matches outside the 14th century cathedral in the middle of Vienna. Tickets were eagerly flogged for hundreds of Euro, while hopeful and underprepared fans roamed the streets with cardboard signs, searching for something cheaper.

Evaldas left, mid-afternoon, for his job in St. Polten, and I made plans with some other trainees to meet up later and brave the Fan Zone at night. However, when 'later' arrived, our intended meeting-place was hopelessly overcome with revellers, and my ongoing cell phone-less existence (unintended now, mind you) meant that I would be alone for the rest of the evening.

Only slightly daunted, I continued around a corner, following the crush of people into the fenced and gated Fan Zone. Keep in mind, when looking at the above pictures, that this was maybe 1/8 of the available area, and that the first two photos were taken about an hour before the game actually started. I sandwiched myself between a group of Germans and a group of Spaniards, strategically placing myself in front of the Germans (who were tall), and behind the Spanish (who were short, and looked like they had the potential to get handsy). Truth be told, most of the Spain fans there were actually Austrian, and were acting the way most Canadians do when the U.S. is playing someone who actually has a chance to beat them, at a sport Canada sucks at. However, the ones near me were speaking Spanish and singing football songs, so I'm satisfied that they were legit.

The crowd noise built to a dull roar as the players' names were announced - bye the bye, hearing a thousand Germans yelling "SCHWEINSTEIGER!" and singing "Lu Lu Lu - LUCAS PODOLSKI!" in drunken unison was one of the highlights of my trip so far - and never really subsided. Both teams had their chances in the first half, though Spain probably had the better of the play, and Casillas was good when he had to be (particularly on Germany's corners). The crowd positively exploded after Spain's goal, and after Spain really came alive in the second half, everyone in the predominantly Austrian crowd was singing "Eviva Espana".

The final whistle was a stranger-hugging, grown-men-crying experience the like of which I have never witnessed. After being whisked off my feet by Spanish fans, high-fiving elated Austrian ladies, and jumping up and down for a solid minute, I realized that a) I had been standing all afternoon, b) I hadn't really eaten anything since breakfast, and c) I really didn't want to end up like the guy who was carried past me on a stretcher in the 88th minute, so I high-tailed it out of the fan zone to the nearest seat, on the steps on the Hofburg Theatre.

Seeing me sitting alone, willing my head to stop spinning, an Austrian fan wearing only red and yellow underwear came over to me.

"You are supporting Germany?", he asked (in German).

"Nein," I responded, "just resting".

"Oh," he said, "super!". He danced away.

Awake and blogging

Phew. Now that I've moved into Albert Schweitzer Haus, I should have consistent internet access. This is good, because I have a lot of catching up to do, with subjects ranging from the hellish (Austrian visa applications and IAESTE incompetance) to the satisfactory (my new residence) to the pretty sweet (my job) to the OMG MY HEAD EXPLODED (the Euro final). It will be best to devote one entry to each of these, I think, so I'll do as much as I can tonight, and in the meantime we'll all have to hope that nothing interesting happens to me for a couple of days.

Firstly, some observations about Austria, and Vienna in particular:

- contrary to what I read before arriving, people do jaywalk here; it's just that they do it with extreme hesitation, bordering on furtiveness. On my first day in Vienna, I witnessed a woman look both ways about four times, then dart into the middle of the road with her groceries, eyes half shut and fearing death all the way across a totally abandoned one way street. Young people, albeit, are a little more courageous than this lady, who was at least 65. I no longer fear arrest, and I've learned to deal with the funny looks.

- speaking of traffic...can you tell what this sign means? You probably can, but if not, consider that 'ein' means 'one', and 'autobahn' means 'highway', and the sign is patterned very closely after its North American counterpart. If you guessed that it means 'one way', you're not only correct, but you've managed to outdo the combined brainpower of I and Edalvas, my new Lithuanian mechanical engineering buddy (he of the borrowed laptop), since we could not figure this out over the course of an entire afternoon. Europe is making me dumb.



- fortunately, the traffic here isn't that important for me, because the public transportation system is amazing. There are five subway lines, curiously labelled U1-U6, with no U5 - I don't know why this is, yet - as well as multitudinous bus and tram lines and two separate, transfer-free trains to and from the airport. Every stop - subways, buses, you name it - has brightly lit signs announcing when the next ride is coming, and I've so far never known them to be incorrect. My hostel is closest to the U2 line (Achtung, baby!), which doesn't connect directly to the airport train I take to work, yet I can still do the 25km airport train, two subway connections, and short walk in about half an hour.

- finally, I don't have an Austrian bank account, but when I get one I hope it's at this place. And now, on with the show...

Saturday, June 28th, 12:42 pm, Vienna

FIRST LEDERHOSEN SIGHTING!

Worn seemingly unironically by a man strolling Krugerstrasse with his wife/girlfriend/lederhosen groupie on his arm. Why any sane person would choose to wear thick leather pants in summertime without being paid to do so is quite beyond me; nonetheless, I'm grateful to you, mystery lederhosen man, and sad only that I didn't have time to take a picture.

Still alive

First of all, I've now learned to always, always check the weight limit for luggage when flying somewhere - I'd assumed that my enormous suitcase would be overweight, but I had not accounted for the possibility that it might be so heavy that Air Canada/Lufthansa would refuse to carry it at all. Fortunately, through some frenzied redistribution, a $75 fee, and the disposal of my shampoo and conditioner bottles, I was able to transport both bags to Vienna, albeit with a carry-on backpack stuffed to bursting with all manner of heavy things (my shoulders almost died in the passport control line).

Anyway, once I left Pearson, my trip was uneventful. I took the fabulously quick but very expensive 'CAT' (City Airport Train) into downtown Vienna, where I met Daniel, my host for the first four days, at the train station. I slept for most of Thursday afternoon, before heading out with Daniel to watch the Russia-Spain semifinal at a nearby pub, with the rest of IAESTE Vienna. Unfortunately, Daniel's exam on Friday prevented him from staying past initial introductions, and I ended up sitting silently in the corner for most of the night while everyone around me spoke German. After the game, I struggled to find my way home from the metro through a severe thunderstorm, wearing an embarrassingly large borrowed raincoat (Daniel is tall, but he would have to gain about 100 lbs for the thing to actually fit him). My night vision, sketchy at best, was further obscured by the raindrops on my glasses, and my tiny, ineffectual map was barely useful even when I could find a light by which to read it. Eventually, after taking half an hour on what is no more than a 10 minute walk by daylight and cursing everything that is Austrian under my breath, I arrived at the apartment to find that I could not open the door, and so was forced to awaken Daniel before collapsing, soaking wet, onto my pillow, feeling more homesick and alone than I ever have before, and wondering what on earth I'd gotten myself into.

Fortunately, for my sanity and for all of you who, I'm sure, would prefer not to read about the long, dark nights of my soul for the next few months, yesterday was a vast improvement. I walked around Vienna all day, which is beautiful, though Hofburg and most of the more famous buildings are covered in Euro 2008 propoganda (they're all in the "Fan Zone", where I will hopefully head tomorrow evening for the final).

Later, I met up with some of the other IAESTE trainees for a soccer game. Oh dear. Let me tell you - playing soccer for two hours with a dozen twentysomething European guys in sweltering heat is not a way to build confidence in your footballing skills. They were very nice (and let the record show that I totally dominated the only American dude there), but I haven't played with anyone so out of my league since the Instructors vs. Campers game at soccer camp when I was 11. One of the Austrians on my team took to yelling, "Super!" at me every time I managed not to fall on my face after touching the ball. I sort of see where he was going with it, and I appreciate that he was trying to be nice, but really, dude, after a certain point you're just embarrassing both of us. All things considered though, I had a fantastic time and I'm totally going back next week.

I'll be moving into my new place (apartment? dorm? room? I'm not sure what to call it yet) on Monday, and hopefully internet access won't be too difficult to obtain there. In the meantime, I've got to get this laptop back to the Lithuanian exchange student I borrowed it from, so I'm promising more (including, hopefully, pictures) in a few days.

Getting my Carmen Sandiego on (an explanation)

Okay, so. I'm back in Toronto for two more days, after which time I will set off to Austria to live the exciting life of an intercontinental aerospace engineer. For those of you who weren't aware, what follows is a brief summary of my May and June. For those of you whom I've lived with, traveled with, or forced to listen to endless series of plans and recaps, consider it a pleasant, none too taxing, pictoral recap. Or don't read it at all and go check out this guy, who has actually traveled the world and has stolen no major historical monuments (that I'm aware of).

School ended as April did - messily and not as soon as I'd hoped (also, at the same time). Shortly afterward, I headed to Quebec, to meet my sister. The city looked like this:

Cannons and history abounded, and I practiced my abysmally rusty French with my sister, who looked like this:

From there, it was on directly to Nova Scotia, by way of train, bus and automobile. After road encounters with Senior Teenyboppers, Angry Frenchmen, Annoying Schoolchildren, an Acadian Lothario/Wannabe, and the Friendliest Haligonian Ever, I discovered that Antigonish county looks like this:

while Halifax looks like this:

and this:


Back to Toronto, then, for about a week, during which I caught and recovered from a cold, received final confirmation of my job in Austria (way to be on the ball, IAESTE!), moved out of my house, and packed for Cuba, which looked like this:

this:

this:


and, most importantly, like this:

Then back to Toronto for graduation:
and, the next day, back to Victoria, which looks much the same as it always does, only with more condos.

This summer, hands down, wins: most kilometres traveled, most dolphins swum with, most rum punch drunk, most lobster eaten, most non-school related sleep lost, most diplomas earned, most German learned, and is in serious contention for most good times. More from Vienna, if and when I arrive. I promise I'll actually write something next time.

Still hooked

It is with a heavy heart that I (belatedly) report that Steve Novick, candidate for the U.S. Senate in Oregon, has narrowly lost the Democratic primary there. Novick first came to my attention a month or so ago, and only because Wonkette mentioned him in a post. The only reason they mentioned him at all, I think, was the same reason the story caught my interest - dude is 4'9'' and has a hook for a hand.

Seriously. He's like a pint-sized, New Jersey-born, Oregonian pirate.

Then I found out that he also has a firm grasp of the issues, a decade-long board membership on the Oregon Environmental Council, a degree from Harvard Law which he earned after dropping out of junior high to start college at 14, and easily the best political commercial I've ever seen.

It would be hard not to love this guy even if he was a moron (he opened a beer with his hook), but instead he's erudite, self-deprecating, and funny. In other words, I have a big old crush on a tiny, hobbit-like politico, and I'm sad he won't get a chance to run in the general.

But I haven't given up hope entirely. Leaders of failed senate campaigns from Oregon get nominated for Vice-President all the time, right? Obama/Novick '08!

Maybe if they were in Sanskrit...

On the bus, somewhere between New Glasgow and Antigonish:

Acadian Kid: Hey man, you want a newspaper?
Bored Twentysomething: Sure, what have you got?
AK: Man, I've got the Chronicle and the Metro.
BT: Thanks.

Several minutes pass

BT: Hey, you want this back?
AK: No, man, I'm too busy reading letters from girls.
BT: quizzical look
AK: You know how to get girls, man?
BT: uh...no.
AK: You write them notes. Chicks love notes. Can't get enough of them.
BT: Huh.
AK: You know what else girls love? You know the other way to get chicks?
BT: ...no?
AK: Baby pictures, man. Show 'em baby pictures.
BT: Do you just carry them around with you, then?
AK: If I'm going away for a while. Like, I was just away for 5 months, so I brought a stack of baby pictures with me.
BT: (stifling laughter) So, did they work?
AK: Man, are you kidding? Look at all these notes I got!