Post Hofburg Palace Adventures

We've done such much this past week this may be a really long update, you've been warned. We're on week two of German..it's going well and I'm getting more comfortable using it in public, ha. The other day some guy on the street asked me directions, so I felt pretty good that he thought I knew what I was doing (although I did successfully give him correct directions). But anyways, the ball was last night! I spent the beginning of this week searching for a dress. I ended up getting a teal one from Peek & Cloppensburg, so it worked out. I did get lost in the city, but the Ubahn system makes it so easy to get found again so that worked out okay. But anyways, the dress I got was about an inch too long so I searched the city for safety pins, only to find out Tobi had about 100 in his office at IES, ha. So we pinned my dress, then hemmed it literally five minutes before we left for the ball.
But before I update you on the ball, I need to talk about Wednesday night.
I found out the Glenn Miller Orchestra was playing at the Vienna Konzerthaus, which made me pretty excited. (Side note: I once had a fish named Glenn, that is how much I love Glenn Miller.) So Megan, Nick and I went ot the Konzerthaus, and got soup in the fancy restaurant there, then got some student rush tickets. We were kind of in the nosebleed section, but it wasn't bad for the price, plus that Konzerthaus is gorgeous. So many chandeliers and everything, it was beautiful. The band was great, I loved every minute of it.
The next night was the Technical University Ball. We had a teaching internship meeting at 5pm that night, and the ball started at 830, so we were all in a bit of a rush. I went over to Hannah and Rachel's to get ready, and we ended up leaving around 9:30. We missed the opening ceremonies, but no big...the ball was AMAZING. Number one, it was in a palace. Number two, there were about five rooms with different styles of dancing, all with live music.  A grand ballroom for waltz and jazz, another for slow waltz, one for world music, one for salsa, and one for swing with a combo playing. Everyone there looked amazing, and could actually dance.
     I went walking through all the rooms with Kristen, and got asked to dance by an Austrian in the jazz room, so that was fun. I don't think I learned his name but he plays trombone and piano, so that was cool.

We stayed until around 2am, then took a taxi home...er, to HAnnah and Rachels. We all slept there and got up at 8ish to get the Ubahn to some Kaffeehaus for German class. We got lost, but asked for directions and found it okay. We ordered in German and all that jazz, and had a fantastic breakfast. Now I'm back in my apartment, trying to upload photos to facebook, because I should've done that a while ago.

Wiener Konzerthaus

 Glenn Miller Orchestra

 Hofburg Palace...where the TU Ball was

 Friends in the lobby of the palace

 Grand Ballroom

 The other waltz room

 Grand ballroom during an Austrian line dance...people made tunnels with their hands and other couples danced underneath through the whole room

 German class at the Kaffeehaus the next morning

 I don't know how to flip this, but some of us at the ball.

In other news I really want to go to Porgy and Bess, a jazz club downtown. It's expensive but sounds fun...I'm thinking birthday outing there.


I think that's enough for now...I really need to catch up on some sleep;)
-Alyssa