Today has gone well. I officially have my own room now and will move in Friday evening (more on the room in upcoming posts). As the sun was shining and the wind had died down Caroline (one of the girls I'm living with until I move into my own place) and I went shopping. Yes, shopping. She had to get groceries and since I'm going to be living minutes from one of the main shopping districts in Vienna we figured I should start getting acquainted with the area.
From where Caroline lives (in the 8 district) we took the S-bahn (Vienna's street train) down to Mariahilferstrasse. As it turns out I had stayed in a pension (Bed and breakfast) just off the Mariahilferstrasse on my last trip to Vienna so I still remembered some of the sights. Caroline showed me a good cobbler and we browsed through Merkur (one of the higher-end grocery chains). I'm so glad she let me come along on her grocery shopping trip as I have very little experience buying groceries in Europe. At Merkur we looked at prices and she explained what to look for in a grocery store. She also pointed out some of the better labels and where quality could be had for a lower price (think President's Choice or Safeway Select in Canada).
After Merkur we strolled down the street and looked at the sights and sounds. Every so often there was a stand selling potatoes and chestnuts ...similar to how you see hot dog stands in Canada. I didn't think to take a picture of one, but as I have to order from these stands at least once during my stay you'll get to see one at some point.
In the evening we had Maedchenhauskreis (like a girls' small group) at Caroline's so I was able to meet two more girls from the Calvary Wien congregation. It's been a long time since I was in a small group and it was interesting to see how they're held here. On Sunday I'm planning on taking the U-bahn (subway) and attending Calvary Wien.
Here is a picture of a flower shop a few streets away from where Caroline and her friends live. This is a common sight in Austria and in Germany. I like how the flowers are out in the open thus cheering those walking past.
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1 comment:
Vienna sounds like a neat place to go shopping!
And perhaps by the time you leave you will have all of Vienna smiling!
P.S The hockey game was up in the NW with NUC and Rocky Mountain College battling it out. Tonight I'm off to another game, this time I can hopefully take some pictures that are publishable.
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