Der Bus kommt...

I returned a little while ago from a wonderful night spent in the Altstadt at Die Weisse bar. About nine of us left this evening to have a few beers and enjoy some österreichische culture. I have found that I am a big fan of dark beer here in Austria. Not only is it a little bit stronger, it's sweeter.

We knew when we left the dorm that the bus was scheduled to leave from our stop in five minutes. They all started running, and I was, predictably, the slowest one in the group. I arrived at the bus stop just as the bus closed its doors in my face--and I couldn't figure out how to press the bus's outside button so that I could board! Therefore, I was stuck navigating the bus routes of the north side of the city on my own. I eventually ended up hailing a taxi at Mirabellplatz. Luckily, that got me to the right place. The taxis here seem really nice to Americans; every taxi is an Audi or a Mercedes and they are all very clean. I guess that's just because those are German-made cars.

Today after class, a few of us headed to one of the city's main streets, Getreidegasse, for a little bit of afternoon window shopping. I was surprised to find, in today's global economy, that Europe really has very few American clothing stores. One can find H&M (it's Europe-based) and ESPRIT, but there is no Macy's, no American Eagle, and definitely no Forever 21. Apparently this is true throughout Europe. Ah well. I got some cute shoes and trendy sunglasses at H&M today. I'll need these for the weekend.

This weekend, we're going on a group trip to Munich, which is about an hour and a half north of here, just beyond the Black Forest. We're leaving for the train around 9 tomorrow morning and will be there until Sunday afternoon. I will not be able to blog this weekend, or Skype/Facebook anyone, but I'm sure when I come back, I will, as always, have a lot to say.