Donauinselfest

I'll answer the questions from Rene's comment first I guess. Yes, I have lost weight while here, but I am eating plenty and drinking plenty as well. The lifestyle is a lot more active, I don't have a car, the food seems to be more natural, and I have also had a lot more time to cook for myself. I needed to lose weight anyway! Johanna is a musicology student at the University in Würzburg. I met her a couple years ago on Dr. Heidlberger's trip, as did the others on his trips, and we have kept in touch and visited a few times since then. We both share a common interest in not doing touristy type things and drinking cocktails!

This weekend I am planning on going to at least part of the Donauinselfest, a huge weekend festival on the Donau Insel in Vienna. The Donau Insel is an island about 20km long in the Danube and is a huge recreational are for the city. It's pretty much a huge park that also has night clubs, bars, and restaurants as well. More than 300 groups will be playing on the various stages throughout the weekend, and there are also going to be fireworks. You can see where it's located on the map and get an idea of what the island is like from the picture (not mine).

A Visitor From Germany

Johanna, a friend of mine from Germany, came to visit this past weekend, and we spent the weekend touring the city and catching up. She sends her greetings to those of you she knows at UNT. On Saturday night, we went to Poncho, a Mexican restaurant in the 2nd district. They have a very short happy hour, from 6-7 PM, but the cocktails are half price. The two glasses on the table are from their "Very Long Island Iced Teas," and they mix them correctly. I'll just leave it at that! I've taken quite a few pictures from Schönbrunn, but here's one more anyway! It's taken from the back of a fountain looking at the rear of the palace. I tried to talk Johanna into actually getting in the fountain to take the picture, but she didn't seem to think it was a good idea. On Sunday there was an incredibly strong thunderstorm that lasted about 1.5 hours, and we had just come on the train from Schönbrunn and were headed to the 1st district when it hit. The rain came down so quickly that some of the Strassenbahn lines were not running. We sat on the number 2 for about an hour waiting for the rain to stop and the train to continue, but even after it finished raining the train was not able to move because of flooding at the next station. We ended up getting out and walking to Cafe Landtmann for a coffee and some sweets. The next picture is me with the Burgtheater in the background, one of the oldest and most important theaters in Europe and also the former imperial court theater. The last picture is Johanna sitting by a fountain in front of the Parliament building. The fountain in front depicts Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. Cafe Landtmann, the Burgtheater, and Parliament are all located on the Ring in the 1st district.