Here's a small photo drop from the past two weekends- one in Baden and one down in Graz.
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| Some pretty, small white flowers that popped up in Dobbelhof park. |
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| The tree in Dobbelhof that's older than the US. |
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| Ducks swimming in the pond and people enjoying the sun at the cafe on the far side. |
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| Crocuses popping through the grass in Dobbelhof. |
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| The city of Baden has really nice flower arrangements. |
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| Domenica and Kristin at the rooftop cafe in Graz |
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| Looking across the red roofs of Graz |
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| My Dirndl! |
Now for a bit of what I've been up to:
Last week was a pretty typical week at school. My schedule at Bad Vöslau was a bit confusing because most of the 6th and 7th forms and three English teachers were in England for a week long English course. Of course this week there are a lot of tests, end-of-the-unit wrap-ups, the 3rd form is gone on ski week and an English teacher is gone so my schedule isn't exactly "normal".
I met up with my friend Steffi in Baden, we went for coffee and got caught up. She's been busy studying for her final university exam, which she passed last week! On Friday I went down to Graz to visit my friend Kristin and meet up with some other friends down there. We went for drinks with my friend Domenica at a roof-top cafe with a great view of the red tiled roofs of the city and the Schloßberg. It was great catching up with her and Kristin, speaking German and drinking some nice refreshing Radler! That night our friend Rob came over so there was more catching up while watching a movie and drinking wine.
The big Dirndl hunt started Saturday morning, and it took going to 5 stores to find one that fit properly, was in the price range, and the right colors- clearly it ended well! Now when I go to special events here (or at Waldsee) I can wear Trachten (traditional dress). A little lesson about the Dirndl apron- it matters where you tie it! I didn't know this when Kristin was taking pictures of me in my dirndl, but now I do. If you tie the apron to the left it means you're single, if you tie it to the right you're married, if you tie it in the front-middle it either means you're confused or you're a virgin, and if you tie it the the back-middle you're either a widow or a waitress. For the foreseeable future I'll be tying it to the left.
Saturday evening we went over to have brownies and coffee with the Fuchs family in Graz. Their daughter Teresa will be spending next school year at SPASH (I helped to find them a host family in Stevens Point), so we got together to talk about Wisconsin and answer any questions they might have. They're a really great family, and I look forward to seeing them again the next time I go down to Graz! We had tickets for the Diagonale Film Festival that night, so we couldn't stay too long. The film festival is for films from or about Austria (or really films that have any sort of connection to Austria), the film that we saw,
Kuma, was about a Turkish family in Vienna. It was pretty interesting to see the combination of cultures, especially between the generations.
On Sunday I met up with my friend Babsi at my favorite coffee place in Graz (Tribeka), we caught up and talked a lot about Waldsee. We're both really looking forward to summer in Bemidji! It was basically just a weekend of catching up with friends and relaxing. Yesterday when I got home from school I continued relaxing, while sitting outside reading a book for school and drinking a beer. My neighbors cat decided to keep me company and slept on my lap in the sun. I miss my kitty at home, so it was nice to have a little cat love- a pretty perfect afternoon!
Today is my flatmate's birthday, so we might go to a Heurige tonight to celebrate. Tomorrow some of the 8th form girls are taking me to a Mexican restaurant in Wiener Neustadt in return for helping them get ready for their final oral English exam. It's going to be another sunny warm week here, so I'll be spending some time reading in the sun and walking around town!
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