First Impressions: Vienna, Austria

First Impressions: Vienna Visiting a country for the first time can seem rather daunting - even to those who are well traveled. I like to believe that I am well traveled for my age, with experiences that I try to use to help me when new situations in life arise. I had already traveled to Germany before, which I considered/expected Austria to be quite similar to, so I already had a picture in my mind of what I should expect during my stay in Vienna, Austria. I have to say that even with their similarities, and how prepared I initially thought I was, there were still some surprises that came up. Language is one of the main things that I noticed here in Vienna. I had expected just to hear people speaking German, even perhaps having a different accent or speaking another dialect, but that isn't the case. For our readings in Germ.299 we learned that Vienna is sort of an international hub in Europe - in the middle of eastern and western European nations. Due to this, there are many people here speaking not only German, but also other eastern European languages - and sometimes those languages are mixed as well. The people here are patient though with you, which is nice when you are trying to practice your German, or also simply trying to get information/receive assistance. They have a really great public transportation system here - very convenient! It took a little time to get used to how the trains/subways all work and how to get from one place to another while still trying to remember where you are and where you are trying to go to. However I believe that I have it down by now!! One big difference that I noticed between Austria and the US is how much they smoke here - literally everyone smokes here in Austria. This is something that I am not quite used to from back home since they are allowed to smoke also inside places/restaurants. My throat is raw and sore form this sort of environment however I will not allow that to deter me from enjoying my stay here in Vienna! The cityscape here is absolutely beautiful - very rich in architecture!!! There first couple of days I was able to explore some parts of Vienna and see some lovely sites. I am excited about the prospects of getting to see more of the city and other historical/cultural sites, as well as further developing my German language skills!!