Weekly Interlude 22: Little Luxuries

Perchtoldsdorf center - so colorful!

The promptness of my blog updates is inversely proportional to how busy I am--hence the late update. Remember in September when I was writing about how difficult it was to fill my time? I knew I'd regret whining sooner or later...

A bike path in Perchtoldsdorf

My voice lessons with Jennifer are some of the high points of my week. Setting aside a (child-free) hour to dedicate solely to this craft is such a breath of fresh air. I'm not only improving my stamina and strengthening my instrument, but also learning to think about music--and singing--in an entirely different way. Some of the notions I've had my whole life about how to sing are just so counter-productive. It's exciting to change my perspective and see positive results.

Perchtoldsdorf center

I spent a bit of time with Jennifer and Lillian in Perchtoldsdorf center one day last week and took some more pictures of the town. It was a beautiful day for a walk--and a bit warm. Lillian rode her new pedal bike, and then we went to a café for lunch. It felt very luxurious, as I rarely ever eat out!

A delicious Drechsler Frühstück

On Saturday, however, I did go back to Café Drechsler with Eliza. We'd been planning for several weeks to get a "Drechsler breakfast" and then park it in the café all day. In Austria, buying just one coffee serves as your ticket to hogging a table all afternoon. We arrived around 11 a.m. and bought our Drechsler Frühstück -- scrambled eggs with ham, two rolls with butter and apricot jam, choice of coffee/tea/hot chocolate, small glass of orange juice. We sat in a little side room set away from the noise of the main café area (by default; it was the only table available at the time but turned out to be very peaceful!) and ate very slowly. I've never had such a glorious breakfast, which is extremely odd, considering how I strongly disliked eggs, ham, orange juice, and coffee before coming to Vienna in June....But I'm just going to go with it! We ended up staying until about 3 p.m., at which time we walked through a bit of the Naschmarkt and then went back to the apartment. Eliza and I keep talking about how we want another Drechsler breakfast. At 11 euros a pop, however, we need to pace ourselves.

Me as a Pants Role

Eliza as Salome

Meanwhile, Eliza and I went to that Halloween party last Thursday night. She and I definitely wore the best costumes: she fashioned a dress out of seven scarves and called herself Salome (from Richard Strauss's opera Salome), and I dressed as a Pants Role. I guess I also kind of looked like an equestrian. Either way, both were difficult to translate into Deutsch, so I ended up telling people I was Cherubino from Le Nozze di Figaro. The party was fun, though a little stressful because some people only spoke German, and I actually haven't spoken in German in a very long time. My class in August was the high point; between Musical Munchkins and Lillian, there's rarely a need for me to speak anything but basic Deutsch. This idea, ironically, has allowed me to speak more freely (perhaps I can accept now that I'll make tons of mistakes?), and my basic sentences sound more fluent than ever!

Holiday decorations in the mall

On a separate note, Christmas is the next holiday coming up in Vienna, and the city has already started to prepare. I walked into the mall in the 23rd district (right on the border of Perchtoldsdorf) yesterday and saw holiday decorations already in full swing! Musical Munchkins is also organizing a winter holiday concert, in which I'll be singing "Sleigh Ride," so needless to say, Christmas is on the brain. Which brings me to the fact that I'll be home in less than six weeks... :) 

I can't believe I've officially been living in Vienna for five months now. Where does the time go? Next thing you know, it'll be July 2014, and I'll be moving back to the U.S. But for now, I'm going to keep Livin' the Wien.

So happy at Drechsler!