Edrie

Hi All,
I wrote a chornicle of our trip. It's kinda long but if you are interested I have posted the day by day accound starting with this one.
Be warned I wrote much of this while VERY tired so gramatically it needs help, but my homework calls so I won't get the help it needs. I have also left out a ton of detail but that too will work out some day, perhaps in an addendum or maybe just in my brain. I'll post a link for pics at some point
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Travel Day 1 Bound to Austria
Wednesday:
I had planned to go to work Wednesday but didn�t end up making it. Luckily I was pretty much wrapped up at work anyway. I had wanted to call J before we left so I could give her the run down, but there wasn�t enough time.
Got to the Airport at 3:30 for a 6:15 flight. Ended up driving around to the cheap lots only to find both normal ones full. Time was running short and I was upset almost causing a bus to flatten us before we found (with the help of a Massport employee) the super secret 3rd cheap lot where we could park. They expected payment up front when we got there, but they had uniforms on so I do have hopes the car is still there when we get back.
Finally in the airport at 4pm we easily checked in and checked our luggage. The employees where very helpful this time with the check in procedure. Unlike the time we went to Spin. We had to get the box with the equipment and the guitar hand checked by a TSA employee. He was very pleasant, through and quite efficient. Looks like at least one TSA man is a nice guy.
Went through personal security in less then 15 minutes. And their guy there too was super nice, even complementing me on my smile and clothing. Then we only had to wait for a bit over an hour before the flight was boarding. We people watched mostly and after a quick call to my mom, a magazine purchase and a lovely chocolate shake ala McDonalds we were boarding the flight to Amsterdam. We were unfortunate enough to be sitting very far back in the plane. But the lucky part was that it was two seats together. Not the best plane ride. Full of the small annoyances that make getting to and from your destination more of a nightmare than it should be. S did not sleep at all on the plane but I got at least 2 hours off and on. I was determined to sleep actually knowing that if I didn�t at least get some I would be a total wreck.
Thursday:
The time in the Amsterdam airport was quick and efficient. Very clean and organized people those Dutch. We actually had to go out onto the runway to get on the plane to Vienna. Never had to do that before so it was quite exciting. That leg of the trip was run by KLM so there fore it was a much nicer experience then the previous plane. The ride was short, just an hour and a � but I managed to get a bit more sleep in then too.
Landing in Vienna was a bit bumpy but the airport had a small homey feel that was kind of amazing considering the size of Vienna. It was also clean and orderly and our luggage came out so fast it was mind blowing. Sz and her brother T picked us up in the tour van. He drove us back to the apartment where Sz�s family were letting us stay while pointing out all of the major sights of Vienna. The apartment is in the 9th district very near the University and the center of Vienna. Sz�s father owns the building and half of his children reside here. The tram runs right in front of the building but it is very quiet on the street. In the basement there is a man who restores antiques. He has a musical instrument (a base I think), which is from the Mozart museum that he is currently working on. His work fills the entrance hall giving you the feeling you are stepping into a back wing of a museum. Our apartment is on the first floor. The building is stone as are the floors, but the apartment has tile over the stone with under floor heating running between. When you first walk in there is a little hall where you can leave your coat and shoes. In front of you is a small kitchen, which is the perfect size. It has white cabinets and a very large window that looks out onto the back garden. If you turn left you enter an extension of that hallway where there is enough space for a sideboard and other various furniture. The bathroom is accessible by a door on your right. It, like the rest of the apartment, is painted a soft blue and it has an old-fashioned hipbath with a hand shower. As soon as I saw the bath I could not wait to take one. Continuing further to the left is a living room of sorts with an amalgam of left over furniture. A table and chairs, a sofa, lamps etc. Off of this room in the tiny but comfortable bedroom. I have to mention here that the windows in the apartment that face the street are tall and wide with wonderful deep sills. I am already redecorating in my mind. Here is where I would put plants and these are the curtains I would buy etc.
T took us on a tour of the building showing us his apartment and the new bathroom he was very proud of. The building in general was amazing. But Sz's sister M�s apartment was the best one. Situated in the attic it is full of light and of old wooden beams. It was also full of bits and pieces of every kind of art and general bits of interesting projects.
Sz�s dad is here to greet us. He doesn�t speak English but I can see he understands very well, though he seems to pretend not. Like all parents he is ready to make us busy but we are so tired that we have to politely put him off. He does, however, order lunch for us, as it is not around noon on Thursday. The lunch is from a place on the corner and the food is plentiful and amazing. Roasted pork with walnut stuffing, cold cabbage salad and beets. We eat and drink bottled mineral water until we are very full. The family leaves finally allowing us to rest. S falls asleep immediately almost before he hits the bed. I decide to take my bath then, as I am always too aware of the travel dirt to get any rest without washing.
A few hours later rested and washed S comes back and we head out to the market. We buy a few necessities like shaving cream and razors and a few non-necessities like local chocolate wafers and cheese. We go back to snack before meeting her sister M for dinner at a local restaurant. Sz�s sister is much like her though a bit younger. She tells us all about the bike she just bought and helpfully translates the menu for us. The decor was dark with old newspapers and full-sized door decorating the ceiling. S has a local dish blood sausage with sauerkraut and I have sptezel. We both have a very large Viennese beer. The food was very good and the monster portions made it hard to eat the whole thing which was lucky since I am supposed to be dieting, but I did a pretty good job of nearly finishing it anyway. On the way back we soaked in the neighborhood feel knowing we had eaten at a place that didn�t seem many if any) tourists.
We headed back and I told M of our tour of the building she lived in and of seeing her apartment. She asked if her apartment was messy but I told her it wasn�t. After such a full day it was a little hard to go to sleep but it was 10pm Viennese time and we were determined to get over the jet lag and get back on schedule. I had to force myself to sleep but once I did only a few random loud snores and a few trips to the bathroom could wake me up