They say that new experiences abroad help you to cope with new situations, and give you new perspectives. Already today, I handled the unforeseen issues really well.
I decided not to stay at the Corinthia Towers in Prague. My dad was willing to cover me for the event, but when I found a quaint little hostel a pretty 1 km from the hotel that had private rooms for $24 US/night, that seemed a much better strategy. Knowing how my colds work, I should be recovering by Friday, and good enough to stay at the MadHouse Monday-Wednesday. Granted, that won't be the same as the weekend, but playing Scrabble all day, partying all night, and being sick? That could end horribly, and I've accepted that plans change. Though that said, I think I have a fever right now, and my colds don't usually involve fever. *shrug* - I'll pay close attention to it in the coming days. It would be nice not to be sick during the Scrabble tournament - you know, with getting really sick during this year's Nationals after seizing a two game lead halfway through the tournament, but again, I'll do what I can.
It's almost 11 PM, and I woke up at 4:45 AM, so my hope is that I will adjust a fair amount tonight. That is, if I can make this fever go down. Oh ibuprofen, you and your many uses. We'll see.
Anyway, this evening I was able to book all of my remaining bus/train rides (at good prices!), change the hostel for part 1 of Prague, and update my budget completely, so despite feeling like I am burning up, I am really happy with myself for handling this situation maturely, effectively, and intelligently.
But I did get out today and do some fun stuff!
I had a street-stand debreziner in a tasty roll, and then Matt and I headed to the north outskirts of town. There we hiked up into the Viennese vineyards, saw panoramic views of Vienna, and sat and talked for awhile, basking in the view, and enjoying the 50ºF weather! Seriously, I could've worn shorts today, but it's gonna be the warm-highlight of the trip...things are about to get colder.
On the descent from the vineyards, I took one hill a bit too quickly, got my foot stuck under a small root, and went flying. Jeans got a bit muddy, but I fortunately missed all the rocks.
The tram ride home was a fascinating glimpse into the relationship among and betwee between Austrian school children and immigrant Turkish school children - right after Matt had told me about the growing diversity and influx of immigrants into Austria.
We stopped at a supermarket on the way home, and Matt inquired as to whether I might make some guacamole (we'd been talking about health foods, fruits, veggies, etc.) Apparently Austria's avocados are from Israel, and they oxidize right before your eyes - though once you add the lime juice, the process is delayed greatly. It turned out well, and the flatmates really enjoyed it! One of them, Felix, made a zucchini soup, which was much welcomed for my sore throat. Delicious. Also had .65-Euro supermarket pizzas that were actually pretty darn good. Matt dips his cheese pizza in ketchup! I was blown away! Interestingly, Heinz ketchup is much more expensive in Vienna.
We were going to have punsche at a Christmas Market tonight, but it seemed like it would work out better for everyone tomorrow, so instead I got the productive stuff done.
OK yeah I'm not feeling so well, and I've been staring at this CPU WAY too long. ibuprofen time!
Also: just got a CS invitation in Zurich from a rather pretty girl who is brand new to CS and has no friend or references. I'm gonna assume she is legit! :)
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
What did I get myself into?
Flight summary: I didn't sleep on the flight to Dusseldorf. I slept at Dusseldorf airport for 2 hours, then boarded my flight to Vienna, and kinda slept. AirBerlin was pretty darn good for a budget airline - the food was edible, seat next to me was empty, there were entertainment systems, wine turned out to be free, and the attendants were very nice.
I found my way to my host's flat in the outer neighborhood of Simmering with no trouble. Don't be fooled by the name, it is very cold in Simmering. The building was pitch black, and the door #s were hard to read, so it took me a good 15 minutes to find the correct flat. But I did eventually! I met my host and his housemates, we talked for awhile, and then I went to sleep around midnight. Kinda fell asleep between 12 and 4, then was wide awake until 7, when I finally conked out until 1:30 PM. Shit.
Oh, and to make matters worse, my body began feeling rundown as well, after going over 50 hours with hardly any sleep. At the time I thought I was getting sick, but as I write this, I think it's just me being rundown.
So once I finally got out of the house, I did some touristy stuff. I visited Schonnbrun Palace, and St Stephen's Church. It is quite something to ascend from a downtown metro station only to see a massive church in front of you. Pretty cool moment.
After, I made my way down a shopping street to the Haus der Musik, as recommended by Kenji. I spent a good three hours at this interactive museum, refreshing myself on the Viennese schools of classical music, how hearing works, and trying lots of cool experiments with soundscapes, wave modulation, etc...I went fairly late, so it was pretty empty, although a big group of tourist kids caught up to me and made too much noise (I am a crotchety old person, yes), so I ended up letting them get ahead of me so I could enjoy the rest in peace. My body started to give out, so I soldiered on with ibuprofen.
Upon getting home, my host was back from his exam, and he and I + another housemate talked music, and jammed/rocked out to some SOAD. He then made an austrian soup for dinner. I hadn't eaten since the flight to Dusseldorf, so I had a can of Ottakringer and four bowls of the soup. We talked US (he recently CSed down the west coast) and Austria for a couple of hours, then the housemates and I played some Mario Kart before bed.
I was out instantly around 12:45. And then I woke up at 4:45 AM. And never fell back asleep (writing this almost six hours later). My ill-symptoms hadn't gotten any worse, and they always do if I am actually sick, so I'm pretty sure that there is no contagiousness in me - I'm just rundown. And look at the evidence - it doesn't lie.
But I made the decision to change my booking in Prague. I had 6 nights booked at a crazy party hostel, but I fail to see what good could come of staying in a party hostel during a weekend when I'm recovering from being rundown. In fact, I could potentially make things much worse. And I'm supposed to take the Scrabble tournament seriously, right?
So I changed my reservation at the hostel for Monday-Thursday, where it should be slightly tamer during the week. This of course leaves me with nowhere to stay Friday/Saturday/Sunday night. Worst case scenario: I shell out a lot of money for my own room at the Corinthia towers. Best case scenario: someone still needs a roommate. But I think staying at a calm hotel will work better than a crazy party hostel. Also, I just found out that the temperature in Prague will be below freezing, so even more reason to lay low over the weekend.
I really didn't think I'd have this much trouble adjusting. I guess it really is that much harder going East than West - I didn't have this problem in Thailand! I know I sound like I am complaining an awful lot, but I am glad I am here, and am excited for this trip. I just want to finish adjusting my Prague plans so that I can be at more peace with my updated situation. The 45 degree F weather in Vienna is just fine though, and it's only partly cloudy today - and 50!
Gotta get ready to go now - meeting up with my host downtown for some street food, and then he's going to show me a good viewpoint of the city. Maybe I'll hit up a cafe afterwards, but I want to call it an early night tonight. Gotta get my mojo back, and not let this rundown-ness turn into an actual sickness. Will update.
I found my way to my host's flat in the outer neighborhood of Simmering with no trouble. Don't be fooled by the name, it is very cold in Simmering. The building was pitch black, and the door #s were hard to read, so it took me a good 15 minutes to find the correct flat. But I did eventually! I met my host and his housemates, we talked for awhile, and then I went to sleep around midnight. Kinda fell asleep between 12 and 4, then was wide awake until 7, when I finally conked out until 1:30 PM. Shit.
Oh, and to make matters worse, my body began feeling rundown as well, after going over 50 hours with hardly any sleep. At the time I thought I was getting sick, but as I write this, I think it's just me being rundown.
So once I finally got out of the house, I did some touristy stuff. I visited Schonnbrun Palace, and St Stephen's Church. It is quite something to ascend from a downtown metro station only to see a massive church in front of you. Pretty cool moment.
After, I made my way down a shopping street to the Haus der Musik, as recommended by Kenji. I spent a good three hours at this interactive museum, refreshing myself on the Viennese schools of classical music, how hearing works, and trying lots of cool experiments with soundscapes, wave modulation, etc...I went fairly late, so it was pretty empty, although a big group of tourist kids caught up to me and made too much noise (I am a crotchety old person, yes), so I ended up letting them get ahead of me so I could enjoy the rest in peace. My body started to give out, so I soldiered on with ibuprofen.
Upon getting home, my host was back from his exam, and he and I + another housemate talked music, and jammed/rocked out to some SOAD. He then made an austrian soup for dinner. I hadn't eaten since the flight to Dusseldorf, so I had a can of Ottakringer and four bowls of the soup. We talked US (he recently CSed down the west coast) and Austria for a couple of hours, then the housemates and I played some Mario Kart before bed.
I was out instantly around 12:45. And then I woke up at 4:45 AM. And never fell back asleep (writing this almost six hours later). My ill-symptoms hadn't gotten any worse, and they always do if I am actually sick, so I'm pretty sure that there is no contagiousness in me - I'm just rundown. And look at the evidence - it doesn't lie.
But I made the decision to change my booking in Prague. I had 6 nights booked at a crazy party hostel, but I fail to see what good could come of staying in a party hostel during a weekend when I'm recovering from being rundown. In fact, I could potentially make things much worse. And I'm supposed to take the Scrabble tournament seriously, right?
So I changed my reservation at the hostel for Monday-Thursday, where it should be slightly tamer during the week. This of course leaves me with nowhere to stay Friday/Saturday/Sunday night. Worst case scenario: I shell out a lot of money for my own room at the Corinthia towers. Best case scenario: someone still needs a roommate. But I think staying at a calm hotel will work better than a crazy party hostel. Also, I just found out that the temperature in Prague will be below freezing, so even more reason to lay low over the weekend.
I really didn't think I'd have this much trouble adjusting. I guess it really is that much harder going East than West - I didn't have this problem in Thailand! I know I sound like I am complaining an awful lot, but I am glad I am here, and am excited for this trip. I just want to finish adjusting my Prague plans so that I can be at more peace with my updated situation. The 45 degree F weather in Vienna is just fine though, and it's only partly cloudy today - and 50!
Gotta get ready to go now - meeting up with my host downtown for some street food, and then he's going to show me a good viewpoint of the city. Maybe I'll hit up a cafe afterwards, but I want to call it an early night tonight. Gotta get my mojo back, and not let this rundown-ness turn into an actual sickness. Will update.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Why this trip?
I already mentioned that I'm trying to make more spontaneous decisions in life, and just do stuff for fun, without thinking too much about them. So that is a central theme of this trip, but there are some goals I hope to achieve.
In a sense, this is a solo trip. Yes, I will travel with Felix for 4 or 5 days, and I will see Scrabblers that I know in Prague, as well, but I am doing this journey on my own, and I want to see what happens.
See, traveling alone scares the hell out of me. I've always been convinced that I'd only have fun traveling if it was with my friends. My time in Southeast Asia last year was so amazing in part because I got to experience the whole thing with friends. But I also met lots of cool people in Bangkok, a few of whom I'm still in contact with a year later. So maybe this sentiment is true, or maybe I'm just nervous to travel by myself. I intend to find out what traveling alone is really like.
So with that in mind, I am going to try out two methods of lodging: CouchSurfing and hosteling. I will be CouchSurfing in Vienna this week, and hosteling next week in Prague. They're definitely different ways of traveling, but I am excited to see how they work out. I also plan to CS in Zurich at the end of my trip. I'll be staying with some Austrian dudes this week. Should be cool?
Anyway, I guess there isn't that much deep I hope to get out of this trip - I mostly just want to challenge myself to try taking a trip on my own, especially if I ever want to consider LIVING abroad...
That and I'm trying to envelop this idea of living a spontaneous life. This trip is possibly the most spontaneous thing I have done, so we'll see.
For now I'm just exhausted. I can't wait to be at my host's house in Vienna, so I can get a good night sleep, and start out strong Tuesday. Assuming they are open, I intend to visit Schonbrunn Palace and Haus der Musik. And eat food. That's all I got for now though.
Oh, and I'm talking with Felix right now, and it looks like we are buying tickets to Hamburg, so I'll see two German cities this trip.
OK - enough blogging, time to get ready for the flight. Thanks for following along! :)
In a sense, this is a solo trip. Yes, I will travel with Felix for 4 or 5 days, and I will see Scrabblers that I know in Prague, as well, but I am doing this journey on my own, and I want to see what happens.
See, traveling alone scares the hell out of me. I've always been convinced that I'd only have fun traveling if it was with my friends. My time in Southeast Asia last year was so amazing in part because I got to experience the whole thing with friends. But I also met lots of cool people in Bangkok, a few of whom I'm still in contact with a year later. So maybe this sentiment is true, or maybe I'm just nervous to travel by myself. I intend to find out what traveling alone is really like.
So with that in mind, I am going to try out two methods of lodging: CouchSurfing and hosteling. I will be CouchSurfing in Vienna this week, and hosteling next week in Prague. They're definitely different ways of traveling, but I am excited to see how they work out. I also plan to CS in Zurich at the end of my trip. I'll be staying with some Austrian dudes this week. Should be cool?
Anyway, I guess there isn't that much deep I hope to get out of this trip - I mostly just want to challenge myself to try taking a trip on my own, especially if I ever want to consider LIVING abroad...
That and I'm trying to envelop this idea of living a spontaneous life. This trip is possibly the most spontaneous thing I have done, so we'll see.
For now I'm just exhausted. I can't wait to be at my host's house in Vienna, so I can get a good night sleep, and start out strong Tuesday. Assuming they are open, I intend to visit Schonbrunn Palace and Haus der Musik. And eat food. That's all I got for now though.
Oh, and I'm talking with Felix right now, and it looks like we are buying tickets to Hamburg, so I'll see two German cities this trip.
OK - enough blogging, time to get ready for the flight. Thanks for following along! :)
So Apparently I'm Going to Europe...
I guess this is my pre-departure post...been kinda busy.
At some point in September, I decided I would take a medium-sized trip to Europe in November/December. I'd sent my friend Felix, an eternal postdoc at the U of Geneva (I think), a message saying I was thinking of coming. After talking for many hours over the next couple of days, I decided to cross the Atlantic for the first time. It's weird - looking back over the last two months, I don't even remember when I decided to take this trip. This realization is a good thing, I feel, because it shows that I'm calming down, and just doing stuff without deep reasoning, just because I can, and I should WHILE I can. So here I am at gate 101 at LAX awaiting a flight to Vienna via Duesseldorf - my first trip to Europe.
My itinerary for now:
11/26-11/30 Vienna, Austria (Bratislava, Slovakia?)
121/30-12-6 Prague, Czech Republic
12/6-12/10 Berlin, Germany (Hamburg?)
12/10-12/13 Geneva + Zurich, Switzerland
Transatlantic flights from LAX were $816. Fantastic. Unfortunately roundtrip flights to LAX proved to be extremely shitty, at almost $200. So in the end I save ~$100, but fly on "airberlin", which seems to be a low cost carrier not offering many perks. So in a sense, it was a colossal failure, as I likely could've flown something like Swiss Air from SFO for not that much more than $1100. Oh well - live and learn!
But on the bright side, I got to see my friend Sandy's new gorgeous Malibu house. This place is seriously cool, with some crazy bathrooms designed by the glassworker who built the house. We also played two games of Collins Scrabble (as a warmup for the Mind Sports Invitational Scrabble Tournament, which we will both be at). I averaged 590, and played words like TAGMEMIC, BURLESK, and BEDLAMS. Sandy then provided me with pork belly, prime rib, duck, and risotto. Consider me sated for the 11 hour long flight ahead.
The sun came out in Malibu as I was headed back to the airport, but the iconic drive down PCH is always fun.
I've arrived plenty early for my flight. I've heard horror stories about the 6kg max weight of carryon baggage, so I've checked my new pack, and brought a Scrabble bag as a carryon. I don't think they weigh tuff at the gate, and my carryon looks smaller than everyone else's anyway. On top of that, I also secured an aisle seat for the transatlantic flight. I'm not sure if it's a control freak tendency, or just a desire not to inconvenience people, but I strongly prefer aisle seats for any flight longer than an hour or two. I just like knowing I can get up whenever I need to - no need to worry about someone sleeping in the way of my ability to get up and walk around. And I'm such a crappy sleeper on planes anyway that it's no trouble if someone next to me needs to get up. I actually asked if I could get a seat in an emptier row towards the back. As of when I got the ticket, I think the lady was able to fulfill my request, but I guess we will see when I board. Unfortunately, there are no outlets on airberlin, so I'll just have one charge worth of laptop to study as many words as I can. I also have a short book to read, my phone full of music, and hopefully SOME rest. I've also heard that personal entertainment systems are only onboard some of airberlin's fleet. I'd think there would be for transatlantic, but we'll have to wait and see.
I effectively pulled an all-nighter last night, trying to pack appropriately. I bought a backpack a few weeks ago designed for, well, backpacking. My goal is to travel lighter, and more efficiently. In Asia last year, having a huge carry bag and a small backpack did NOT work. So yes, my back will get a workout for the next three weeks, but it's a great quality pack with good support, and is quite comfortable. Anyway, I finally had all my stuff packed by about 3 AM (wake up time = 5:40 AM), and then realized I'd overpacked. So I took out a shirt, some socks, a heavy hardback book :(, and some other stuff I deemed unnecessary, and got the weight down to something more reasonable, before finally getting a little rest between 4:30 and 5:30 AM. So I've been kind of a zombie today, and my nonlinear narrative in this post indicates zombification. I don't think I ever realized just how heavy my laptop is, even though it's still lighter than most PCs. There really is something to be said for getting an iPad...
Anyway, I'll stop this post here, but will write a separate second post now before I step on the plane...My intent is to write another travel blog while I'm in Europe. No promises, but I'll try. I finished the entire Asia trip blog...and only three months late! Feel free to bug me...
At some point in September, I decided I would take a medium-sized trip to Europe in November/December. I'd sent my friend Felix, an eternal postdoc at the U of Geneva (I think), a message saying I was thinking of coming. After talking for many hours over the next couple of days, I decided to cross the Atlantic for the first time. It's weird - looking back over the last two months, I don't even remember when I decided to take this trip. This realization is a good thing, I feel, because it shows that I'm calming down, and just doing stuff without deep reasoning, just because I can, and I should WHILE I can. So here I am at gate 101 at LAX awaiting a flight to Vienna via Duesseldorf - my first trip to Europe.
My itinerary for now:
11/26-11/30 Vienna, Austria (Bratislava, Slovakia?)
121/30-12-6 Prague, Czech Republic
12/6-12/10 Berlin, Germany (Hamburg?)
12/10-12/13 Geneva + Zurich, Switzerland
Transatlantic flights from LAX were $816. Fantastic. Unfortunately roundtrip flights to LAX proved to be extremely shitty, at almost $200. So in the end I save ~$100, but fly on "airberlin", which seems to be a low cost carrier not offering many perks. So in a sense, it was a colossal failure, as I likely could've flown something like Swiss Air from SFO for not that much more than $1100. Oh well - live and learn!
But on the bright side, I got to see my friend Sandy's new gorgeous Malibu house. This place is seriously cool, with some crazy bathrooms designed by the glassworker who built the house. We also played two games of Collins Scrabble (as a warmup for the Mind Sports Invitational Scrabble Tournament, which we will both be at). I averaged 590, and played words like TAGMEMIC, BURLESK, and BEDLAMS. Sandy then provided me with pork belly, prime rib, duck, and risotto. Consider me sated for the 11 hour long flight ahead.
The sun came out in Malibu as I was headed back to the airport, but the iconic drive down PCH is always fun.
I've arrived plenty early for my flight. I've heard horror stories about the 6kg max weight of carryon baggage, so I've checked my new pack, and brought a Scrabble bag as a carryon. I don't think they weigh tuff at the gate, and my carryon looks smaller than everyone else's anyway. On top of that, I also secured an aisle seat for the transatlantic flight. I'm not sure if it's a control freak tendency, or just a desire not to inconvenience people, but I strongly prefer aisle seats for any flight longer than an hour or two. I just like knowing I can get up whenever I need to - no need to worry about someone sleeping in the way of my ability to get up and walk around. And I'm such a crappy sleeper on planes anyway that it's no trouble if someone next to me needs to get up. I actually asked if I could get a seat in an emptier row towards the back. As of when I got the ticket, I think the lady was able to fulfill my request, but I guess we will see when I board. Unfortunately, there are no outlets on airberlin, so I'll just have one charge worth of laptop to study as many words as I can. I also have a short book to read, my phone full of music, and hopefully SOME rest. I've also heard that personal entertainment systems are only onboard some of airberlin's fleet. I'd think there would be for transatlantic, but we'll have to wait and see.
I effectively pulled an all-nighter last night, trying to pack appropriately. I bought a backpack a few weeks ago designed for, well, backpacking. My goal is to travel lighter, and more efficiently. In Asia last year, having a huge carry bag and a small backpack did NOT work. So yes, my back will get a workout for the next three weeks, but it's a great quality pack with good support, and is quite comfortable. Anyway, I finally had all my stuff packed by about 3 AM (wake up time = 5:40 AM), and then realized I'd overpacked. So I took out a shirt, some socks, a heavy hardback book :(, and some other stuff I deemed unnecessary, and got the weight down to something more reasonable, before finally getting a little rest between 4:30 and 5:30 AM. So I've been kind of a zombie today, and my nonlinear narrative in this post indicates zombification. I don't think I ever realized just how heavy my laptop is, even though it's still lighter than most PCs. There really is something to be said for getting an iPad...
Anyway, I'll stop this post here, but will write a separate second post now before I step on the plane...My intent is to write another travel blog while I'm in Europe. No promises, but I'll try. I finished the entire Asia trip blog...and only three months late! Feel free to bug me...
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