The destination...

Vienna is similar to many big cities in many ways...busy, crowded, narrow, under construction, but this particular big city is often considered the most beautiful in the world.  It is amazing to be here and see the age in every building or pass castles as you drive around.  We haven't done any sightseeing yet and have been focused closer to home this week.  Next week we will certainly venture to the Inner City (Innere Stadt) where most of the tourist attractions are located.  For now, we live in the western-most suburb (District 13, there are 24 total), quite close to a large woods (Wiener Wald) that marks the edge of the city.  The city is hilly, although technically we are not in the Alps.  Our apartment is most of the way up an incline.  It is surprisingly quiet.  And since we are at the end of the building, we look out on a little side yard that seems to never be used.



The first floor, corner apartment is ours.

From the street, you go down some stairs and this is the outside door to the building

This is looking up the hill from our building door.



Standing outside of our apartment, looking down the hill toward the downtown of our neighborhood (Ober St. Veit)

Our apartment is quite charming.  We have a kitchen with a built-in eating area, with more cupboards than most.  There is a smaller bedroom and a larger one.  The living room is large and we have separated it into a living area and a working space.  The balcony is enclosed and we haven't really used it much yet.  And there is a spiral staircase into the basement, which is finished into another room, which we will probably also set up as a bedroom.  The bathroom is of good size and the toilette is a separate room, as is typical here.  There are lots of mirrors and enough storage.  We feel very lucky.

Standing just inside the front door is the hallway.  The first door to the left is the bathroom.  The second is the kitchen and the third is Matthew's bedroom.  Straight ahead is the large bedroom.  The first door on the right is the toilette and the second is the living room.  All the rooms have doors on them.  Austrians wear "house shoes" inside so the street shoes go on the rack.

 

At the doorway to the living room, the left side is the sitting / TV area and the right is our working area.  Currently there are only 2 computers set up.  We will be getting an additional couch, chair and table for this room soon.

The living room opens out onto an enclosed balcony (Loggia).  The windows open completely.  There are few bugs, so no screens.  Austrians spend much more time outdoors and love to be in and near nature. 

Standing at the entrance to the balcony and looking back into the living room.  The spiral staircase goes to the lower level and the door goes back into the main hallway.

This is Matthew's room.  He likes small spaces.

This is the big bedroom.  Carissa is currently sleeping here with us as she has been a bit nervous to be on her own quite yet.  Eventually Craig and I will probably move into the basement and this will be her room.  We will be getting a bed for her soon.

The bathroom has a nice shower and good lighting.

 

The kitchen opens to a hallway with a counter.  Then the main section opens onto the appliances, counter and eating area.  The refrigerator is "hidden" as a cabinet, the washing machine is in the kitchen (which is typical) and there is enough cupboard space for us!  Most homes do not have clothes dryers and everything is hung on a line.

 

The toilette is a very small room, and has a storage cupboard next to it.

 The spiral staircase leads to a finished lower level.  There is a patio outside.  We will probably use this room for a bedroom.

 At our apartment door, you descend half a flight to get to the (locked) outer door.  There is a bell for a visitor to ring and then we can buzz the door open to let them in.

  If you look close enough, you'll see the first box is labeled "Zirbel" and we have already received mail (from our landlord).

Wednesday we spent settling in and exploring the neighborhood.  The place has been unoccupied for several years so we chased away the resident spiders (not scary ones - small bodies with thin, spindly legs that are not at all intimidating) and needed to clean the place, especially the floors (even after mopping three times, our feet would be black after walking around).  Our friends had an internet stick which allowed us to check in with our families and do some basic jobs (like this blog).  If you know us at all, you know that we were unpacked and everything in its place in about 24 hours. 

We spent Thursday shopping.  On Thursday the stores in the shopping area stay open until 9 so this was our big chance!   We went to IKEA (pronounced ee-KAY-ah here) as well as the largest grocery store in town and another department store.  We bought pillows, dishes, pans, hangers, and lots of food.  It was so great to have our friend Angela help with all of this - it made it so much faster.  (We even went to McDonald's for dinner!)  I'm holding the Prosecco!

The results of Thursday's shopping

Friday was bank day - getting an account.  We had 3 days to register in the neighborhood, which we did on Thursday and this form is necessary for everything else.  So we were able to get a bank account and register for internet service.  (This all sounds so efficient but usually takes at least two trips and a fair amount of walking.)  We also have been working on cell phones:  I have my new phone (brought from America) which now works. Carissa has an old phone from our friends, and Matthew and Craig are working on getting theirs.  But we have at least two so we can keep in touch.

Saturday is furniture day:  our friends have friends who have some extra things they are willing to let us use (single bed, table, couch, and a desk) so that will help a bit (there was only one single and one king bed when we arrived).  In a few weeks, our landlord will arrive with another king sized bed (called a "double bed" here.  Strangely enough, they don't make sheets this size so you use a couple of single size sheets!)

And that brings us to the present.  The big stress left is schools.  We will be going to the local school on Monday with hopes they will accept the kids.  Apparently this is very much up to the local principal and we hope he'll be in a good mood.  There are many factors:  whether they have room, whether they look at non-German speaking kids as an asset or a liability, whether their coffee was cold that morning.  Since it's the best match for the kids (it has a math/science track for Matthew where he won't have to try to learn 4 languages at once, only 2- German and Latin) we hope it will work.  If not, we go to plan B, which is another school a bit further away.  And of course, Craig will need to get to his office next week, and I'll need to get my work computer up and running as well. 

Now for some curiosities: (1) All the light fixtures here are very cool. Europeans in general like very modern things. (2) Everything comes in small sizes, from groceries to cars to apartments.  The largest size of flour is 1 kg (two pounds).  The largest milk is 1/4 gallon (1 liter)  The main exception is that the chocolate and the beer come in large sizes.  This place has their priorities after all.  (3) Because of the premium of space, most buildings, cupboards, closets, etc. are tall and narrow.  Those of you who are height-challenged would have a more difficult time than us.  (4) The normal size of pillows is a large square, roughly twice the size of the ones we use.  Gotta get some new pillow cases. (5)  It's almost impossible to find anything, apart from Tupperware-style storage, made of plastic.  Everything here is glass and wood.  (6).  They recycle diligently.  Our apartment complex has containers for paper, compost (kitchen and yard) and garbage.  Every neighborhood has bins for plastic containers and glass.  They collect the milk and juice boxes every two weeks from the door.  Aluminum (rarely seen) is returned for deposit. (7) Houses are plaster and it's a challenge to hang pictures on the walls without damaging the plaster.  So far, masking tape seems to work the best.  Sticky tack doesn't work at all.

I find I am more unsettled at this time and more frequently wondering what we are doing here.  The week before we left I was quite melancholy, already missing my girlfriends, Alex and Dominic, and our families.  Since arriving, I have felt a bit discouraged, questioning our sanity of undertaking this endeavor. I have perhaps put too much pressure on myself to learn German and as a result, am reluctant to try.  The efforts of daily life take much more out of me.  I've had to eat more gluten than I can really tolerate, which surely doesn't help and has made me fatigued as well. (Gluten free options are limited; Craig's vegan diet may be even more of a challenge.)  Our friend, Christof, has reminded me to be patient with myself and has been able to accurately anticipate my emotional ups and downs so his empathy is appreciated.  I know in time this will all level out.  We are so lucky to be able to do something like this.

Carissa is missing her friends.  She was able to Skype with her best friend Kaylee on Wednesday and will again this weekend.  Matthew is trying very hard but is worried, I think.  The idea of getting lost or confused at school weighs heavily on his mind. Craig, as always, is our stability in the storm.  He and I have handled the division of labor quite well:  he is doing forms, offices, accounts, phones, and all the walking that goes with that. I am handling cleaning and supplies and kids and sleeping.  I am trying hard  not to second guess all the decisions and it's best if I am unaware of all the costs of things as this is the point where it seems like hundreds of euros fly out the door every day.

Oh, just found out that the dishwasher doesn't work.  Haven't tried the washing machine yet.
I will write with next week's adventures soon.  Write me all the details of your lives too!