Time for Exploring!

Hey everyone =)

I'm slowly settling into my new life in Villach, and it's been pretty great so far.

There were a few bureaucratic things to take care of in the beginning, most of which went smoothly, so I had plenty of time to explore new new home.

Whenever someone move to a new town in Austria, they have to fill out a "Meldezettl", basically let the town know they live there. Little did I know, they closed at noon on Friday, my first full day in town. So I will have to take care of that once this is posted. It should be pretty straightforward (I hope!)

Opening a bank account wasn't too difficult either. There's a bank literally across the street from me. I filled out the paperwork (never mind I don't really know financial terms in German that well) and meet with them this coming Friday to get my ATM card.

Getting a phone wasn't too bad either, though a little round about. Getting new, basic, cheap phone at a place called "Handywelt" (Cell phone world) isn't the right place though. Instead I had to go to an office/school/? supply store called "Libro". It was a bit chaotic since it was the first week of school for everyone and it was PACKED with kids scrambling to get all the exact folders and pens for each class. But now I have a pre-paid phone. Another plus is it only costs money (kind of a lot) to send texts or make calls NOT receive them.

Grocery shopping was manageable too. Even though the grocery store, Interspar, near my house is HUGE I somehow remembered enough from my few times shopping to make it out of there alive and with tasty ingredients. Its really nice to be maybe a 2-3 minute walk away, too.

Aside from a wonderful Saturday evening with Megan, a former TA who stayed in Austria, and her Austrian boyfriend and friend, I've been doing lots of wandering around Villach.

And now the fun part...pictures!

Breakfast: Tea, amazing bread, delicious cheese (Bergkaese), SPECK (like bacon but smoked and somehow even tastier)

View from the other side of my apartment. Coincidentally, those mountains also form the borders of Italy and Slovenia. I small a short train-adventure in my near future.

A view of the Hauptplatz, an area that's car-free and has lots of shops, cafes, and all sorts of cool stuff

Part of the Altstadt, the oldest part of town. I WILL check out the Stadt Museum there!

One of my favorite parts of the city so far is that it's on the Drau River, which is gorgeous. There's also (no joke!) a Gail River just a few miles away. 

For my social justice friends: Compare and contrast what you know about Sarasota benches (purposely designed to make it difficult to stretch out/sleep-- or else non-existent) with THESE in Villach.

Visiting Megan, Matthias, and Tom Saturday night was also lots of fun (and full of delicious chili). I played my first game of Risk--and won. Hope to see them again soon and can't wait to meet the TAs coming to town soon!