Sun, Crises and Insanity

On Saturday we had the first real sunny day since I got here. Vienna has been very dull and gloomy indeed. But on Saturday the sky was blue, the sun was shining and most importantly you could actually feel warmth from the sun. The temperature reached 14 and it hasn’t really been above 10 since I got here. I’ve heard of people getting depressed form such constantly gloomy weather, however, I have been enjoying the change, especially considering the worst ever heat wave was still devastating life in Adelaide when I left. Nevertheless, when the sun came out and the temperature increased, I felt an unexplainable joyous feeling. I had the song ‘here comes the sun’ by the Beetles in my head and I literally felt like singing and dancing in the streets. I was definitely standing up a little taller on Saturday. If you think my behaviour was strange, just wait until I tell you about the Austrians…

It was 14 degrees and previously deserted ice cream shops and cafes were suddenly packed. There were no free places and huge lines. Everywhere we looked there were people eating ice cream. It was amazing to see. Then again I only arrived in February; I guess the Viennese haven’t been outside for a long time. Steph and I were dragged into this ice cream daze and went out for ice cream later that night. Steph had spaghetti eis, or ice cream that looks like spaghetti, while I had Pinocchio eis, or ice cream that looks like Pinocchio.

Despite this sunshine, my wardrobe is in crisis. That’s right, forget the financial crisis, I have a clothing crisis! Given the rapid increase in temperature, I wanted to wear shorts on Saturday but sadly discovered that my favourite pair of shorts were too big. I obviously have had no need to wash or wear them since I got here, which suggests it is my size which has changed. My pants have also been falling down because my belt is now too big and is of no use whatsoever. However, I am at a loss to explain this. I am an X-File. I go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week at home, while here if I’m feeling active I might go for a short walk. I’ve been eating a fair amount of junk food due to the effort involved in cooking in a kitchen that you share with 25 other people.

Sadly, my clothing crisis does not end there. I have discovered a hole in an awkward location on one pair of pants that has rendered them inappropriate for public use. In addition, another pair of pants are missing a button in a crucial location and I have no needle or thread to reattach it. Furthermore, obviously some of my clothes were not supposed to be put in a dryer and one of my favourite jackets is now tiny and faded. On the bright side, I love the fashion here, but I would rather spend money on travel than clothes, so maybe I can inject the Australian economy when I get back and need an entire new wardrobe worth of clothes.

This brings me to another man who may have lost his insanity in Vienna – Hundertwasser. This artist is extremely popular and famous here for buildings he designed in the city. They are crazy (see the pictures). I went to the Kunsthaus (art gallery) here which is in a building designed by Hundertwasser. The inside is as crazy as the outside as the floors are uneven. I’m not sure how it passed the OH&S inspection! The gallery was filled with Hundertwasser’s artwork which looks like something you would expect to see in a move about a psychopath. Hundertwasser also has some interesting ideas about life. He spoke of wanting nature and man to co-exist and how he was looking forward to becoming ‘humus’.

Hundertwasser also spent a lot of time in New Zealand which led him to design new national flags for Australia and New Zealand. The Australian one is blue with a red semi circle at the top and one 7 pointed star underneath. Hundertwasser believed that by including Ayers Rock in the flag, Aboriginal people would be included and therefore the flag would represent all Australians. I disagree. I don’t think a piece of the landscape like Ayres Rock represents Australia anymore than the Grand Canyon represents America. It is a natural part of the landscape; it does not represent the people or the culture.

Finally, I’m not sure when I will be able to post again because I am travelling around Europe for the next month. But when I do post, expect long interesting entries as I tell you about all the new places I have discovered. Here is my planned itinerary for April:
2nd April – 5th April – university trip to Budapest – that’s me and 70 other exchange students catching a train to Budapest, Hungary and hanging out there for 3 days. Leaving at 6.30am on Friday, returning at 10pm on Sunday. I then have to pack everything for the upcoming weeks and try and get some sleep before getting up at 5am the next day!
6th April – 8th April – Go to the airport in Vienna and fly to Hanover. There I will be picked up by family (my sister in law’s sister and her family) and spend 3 days with them. I am very excited about meeting them in person for the first time, as we have been talking on the internet and phone for a long time.
9th April – 11th April – On the 9th April catch a train from Hanover to Hamburg. In Hamburg family friends who I have known for many years and last saw in 2004 will be picking me up and I will be staying with them.
11th April – 12th April – On the afternoon of the 11th, my friend Anna from UniSA will be coming all the way to Hamburg to meet me and then we will be exploring Europe together. We will be staying in youth hostels and backpacking it! On the evening of the 12th we will take a train to Berlin.
13th-14th April – Berlin
15th – Warsaw
16th and 17th – Krakow, day trip to Auschwitz
18th and 19th – Prague
20th and 21st – Munich, day trip to Disney castle Neuschwanstein
22nd and 23rd – Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia
24th and 25th – Vienna and Anna leaves.