Wien, Wien, nur Du allein

Unfortunately, and as with all vacations, mine passed all too quickly. It was very refreshing to be in Scotland, but after a somewhat dreadful 32 hour train ride back to Vienna, I realized that it would be tough to break back into German after speaking and thinking in English for a little over a week. Vienna was fortunately warmer than Germany was when we left, but now with storms on the horizon we can see now that the relative warmth will not last too long. I live in the 23rd district of Vienna, which is about an hour ride to the City center using public transportation. We have three classes - Austria and the European Union, Art History with a focus on Austria, and Austrian Literature - and many, many excursions. Vienna is still the same city as I left it before, but it is interesting to see the city from a different angle. A good example is my host family's house; I would have never known there were single-family four-storey houses in Vienna if I had not lived in one. It is also interesting to note the differences between Berlin and Vienna. The public transportation in Berlin, for instance, was more developed for a city considerably larger; a particularly aggravating aspect of the Public Transpo here in Vienna is the habit of trains and street cars and trains to leave early, even before their scheduled arrival time...