the first snows

So I got my wish for snow, but not when I was expecting it. You see, when I first arrived in Austria I had to wear something like five layers before I could leave the apartment. Since then, I have been attempting to train myself to tolerate the cold. I have been trying to master level 3 (layers) for awhile now, and thought that I would practice today.

Well you can guess what happened. It snowed. Some Austrians said it wasn’t really snow (something in between rain and snow), but it’s still snow to me. Anf of course today had to be the day the interns asked me to join them for some punsch at the old AKH christmas markets. So boldly we went, and it was rather tolerable (thank you, training!)- at first. At 7:15pm however, we found ourselves braving what felt like a blizzard and gale force winds. And the whole time I was wondering if I was going to get frostbite, or worse, end up like the little match girl.

Obviously I survived to tell the tale, but even now my toe is numb. I have no idea when (or if) sensation will return but I would very much like for it to.

Viennese palaces

So far I have mentioned the Hofburg (location of my perfect Sunday morning), but there are also the summer and winter residences, which we visited today.

Anna-Lotta and I live, in her words, “in the periphery of Vienna”. We do live in fairly close proximity to the Vienna woods. On the plus side, this also means that we are within walking distance of Schonbrunn palace, so we’ve visited the Christmas markets there several times already. Today was my first visit to the palace gardens.



We also visited the baroque Belvedere Palace. There is also a Christmas market at this palace, where we enjoyed (as is fast becoming our staple diet) some Bratwurst and hot chocolate.

a perfect sunday morning

I have not attended very many Masses, and today was the first time that I attended one in German. I am not sure that I understood anything of what transpired during the service, and if I am fortunate to attend another, I probably still wouldn’t know when to stand/sit. It was interesting that a lot of elements that I thought were characteristic of Buddhism were featured- incense, melodious speaking. But of course there were also a lot of plagal cadences. The Viennese Boys’ choir was amazing, and I am quite sure they will be the highlight of my trip to Vienna. Anna and I had quite strange seats in the wings, so we couldn’t see the priests at all, but we had a very good view (and acoustics) of the boys.



At first I didn’t understand why cameras were prohibited, but I realised when the priests and offering bags came around that it was, in every way, an actual service and not just a performance.

Likewise, photography was prohibited at the Spanish Riding School, because it distracts the Lippizaners. But the room was very nice.



I wondered why they had such an ugly carpet, but when the horses came out I realised that it’s actually hay…? Well I’m not sure if hay usually looks like that, but it was something earthy.

It was very cold and rainy in the morning, but sky lightened in the afternoon and the weather warmed up to a comfortable chill- this is taking into account the double layer of thermals that I was wearing, and so on. I am fairly certain I accidentally started skipping at one point down this path:

Finally, Christmas markets are going to dominate any evening in Vienna. This is not as exciting for me as it is for my Finnish and Greek (warm) wine-drinking friends, but the markets do sell very beautiful ornaments. Each ball is about $40 SGD (I’m out of touch with the SGD/AUD exchange rate, sorry!). I am certain the more intricate ones would cost significantly more.

the many faces of amsa

Last night, my flat mate Annalotta and I went to the Austrian Medical Students’ Association AIDS awareness party. I would have taken photos, but nobody else was doing so and I really didn’t want to draw attention to myself as a foreigner. In any case, the bar itself was nothing special, but the music was good (the songs had lyrics). Although I’m sure it must’ve changed to more clubbing-type music after we left at ~11.30pm.

To atone for my negligence, I shall share here my souvenirs of the night:


The condom packet was actually a raffle ticket. We didn’t stay long enough to see if we’d won anything, though.

Today I discovered the whole “Vienna waits for you” side of Vienna. While my apartment is rather cozy and friendly, it is really nothing at all like the first district. Anna and I went to the city centre this afternoon, where we window-shopped. There are many things that I would really love to buy, but nothing priced in Euros is very affordable.

I’m not quite sure how we ended up wandering around the Christmas markets at Rathaus, but they were lovely. The early sunset made it impossible for me to take nice photos, but the Christmas markets were well lit enough for me to attempt a happy snap:



We finished the night by watching an Advent concert at Stephensdom.

It is almost midnight now, so I shall go to bed and upload this from my (okay, Candice’s) USB tomorrow.

the travel bug

I do not recommend contracting gastroenteritis on the dawn of 24 hours of non-stop travel. It is not a pleasant experience. Fortunately, the SQ flight attendants were absolutely wonderful and caring, and I was treated to a never-ending supply of peppermint tea and warm water. I stopped having to ask after about my 5th request for warm water.

Frankfurt airport was not as easy to navigate as I’d imagined. Perhaps it was my semi-conscious state (although I did try to be “seng mok”), but I easily bypassed the airport train station.

Whoever wrote all those Wikipedia articles on Frankfurt airport being ideal for travellers must have been joking, or had only backpackers in mind. I had barely eaten in over 24 hours, and although I packed light (yes, I really did) several times I was thwarted by the lack of escalators. Fortunately, Germans and Austrians are very kind people, and many men and women assisted me with the luggage/stairs issue.

Greetings from Vienna! Here is a photo of my host's apartment:

Edit: I did make it to the supermarket, and to the internet café, which just goes to show you that even navigational bimbos like myself are capable of remembering directions, if the situation is dire enough.

Quirky Viennese fact: Pedestrians have to watch the traffic lights at zebra crossings.

step two

Today's schedule pretty much encapsulates the essence of every Summer I've spent in Singapore:

Wake up ridiculously early. Ridiculous because the shops in Singapore only open at 10am.
Walk to the markets for wanton mee and sugarcane.
Purchase and carry home supplies (milk, bread, papaya) in the humid heat.

Janet yeemah took me shopping after lunch. Today's destination was Marina Square. We must have walked into every single shoe shop (and a couple of other shops) before we finally settled on the second pair of white shoes that we'd seen:


And of course, dinner was at Yeemah's house.

Today's completed checklist of last-minute preparations for Austria:
- Comfortable white shoes for the placement
- Instant noodles and chopsticks
- Top up SIM card