Brioche and Camomile Tea

Grüss di! May have been a little fib to say I would write sooner again next time, verzeihung! So, prepare yourself for a slightly longer post than I had initially planned.

Sadly, I still do not have an Austrian accent or dialect... but if I say 'na, gehhh!', 'jö', 'sicher' or 'schau wir mal' one more time, I may end up punching myself...

My time in Austria has not only provided me with experiences I will never forget, it has also given me a home here. The thought of leaving this place honestly breaks my heart. I can't imagine my life without this amazing place anymore! I have become more confident in my language abilities, and people are patient with me despite my terrible grammar. I am honestly so grateful to the people who have listened to my broken German without laughing uncontrollably! Obviously, food has featured heavily, too... and I have found myself opting for Dinkelbrot, Volkornbrot, unsalted butter and camomile tea on multiple occasions. I feel like I have well and truly adapted in this sense! So, I still have a long way to go in the way of language and cultural understanding, but it is incredible how much you can learn in just two months.

It is simply impossible for me to write about all of my experiences on here, but picking and choosing is just such a difficult ask! Here are some of my highlights (big and small!) of the past few weeks.

1. Visiting Melk (Affectionately renamed 'Melky Way')

Another language assistant, Tiffany, is working a little way away from me in a town called Melk. So I spent the afternoon there the other week, we went for a walk around Stift Melk and ate copious amounts of cake. I am not complaining. The Stift was super pretty inside, and the sun was shining, so all in all it was a good day. We were even rebellious enough to take a cheeky selfie in the library after being shouted at by a grumpy lady, 'Keine Fotografie in der Bibliothek, bitte!!'

2. Der Naschmarkt

In my last post, I mentioned that I met an American woman at church. So, I went for dinner one evening with her and her husband, it was lovely to spend some time with them. They have a castle in their back garden, no joke. How amazing?! Anyway, we decided that we would visit the British/American food store in Vienna one day. So, one Friday afternoon we drove in to Vienna. It only takes 45 minutes from Krems, so it is ideal if you just fancy an afternoon there. We spent a couple of hours browsing the Naschmarkt (naschen means to nibble), and naschen we did. There are so many different cultures there which have come together in this explosion of flavours, smells, languages and traditions. Everyone wants you to try the falafels, dried fruit, stuffed peppers, pastries, cheeses, breads, that they have to offer...and there's no harm in trying, right!? It was such a nice experience. We stopped at a small Turkish restaurant and had some food there - it was amazingly tasty, I'm so sad that I didn't take note of them name! After this we pootled off to the English food store. It was super expensive, but I was able to get hold of some custard powder, Vimto, liquorice allsorts and cider... all the essentials. So, that evening there was a veritable feast when I got back to Krems!

3. The first experience of going 'out' in Krems...

This was a key event not for particularly good reasons, but simply for the ridiculousness of the situation! Anybody who knows me will know that I don't really do nights out. I find a quiet drink somewhere with a few good friends is more enjoyable. I have explained this to most people who have asked me 'bist du schon fort gegangen?!'... but the relentless requests to go out have kept coming, so I thought if I went once they would hör auf. So, after a couple of bottles of Magners (yes, from the food store in Vienna!), my housemate and I decided we would go to a live band/open mic night which he had heard about. It has been a running joke between us that he is such an 'old man'... I have been known to refer to him as Opa on occasion. So, after umming and arring about whether to go or not, we went. The band was really good, and we saw a few people we knew there. Anyway, it gets to 1.30, and I turn to find David.. who is nowhere to be found. My phone decides now is a good time to have no signal, and David has my pass, so if I go outside, I can't go back in. Half an hour passes, and I am one of the last people sitting there, feeling sorry for myself. Eventually, I go to get my coat, and figure he has abandoned me. Suddenly, I spot David! I explain that I had looked everywhere for him... Turns out he had fallen asleep in a corner, and only just woken up. We both laughed at the stupidness of the situation and toddled off home. So, it's fair to say nights out since have been few and far between, and the Opa jokes have continued.

4. Deutschsprachige Christen!

I am pleased to say that I have fully settled in to my church now, and feel so comfortable there. The services are usually alright to understand, and I am feeling so blessed to be part of the community there. This weekend I went along to the Jugend Gruppe a little way out of Krems. Fearing that 20 might be too old I thought I would go and see what happened.. It was such a nice evening. There was worship, games, a Bible study and food... Oh and lots and lots of friendly people. It was nice not to be the oldest person there at all, and also nice to be in with such a fun, friendly, lovely group of people!
I spent Sunday afternoon with Christine, a girl I have met through church, and her sister and sister's boyfriend. We spent the day playing board games and just generally relaxing. It was so nice to be socialising here!

5. Brioche, brioche and more brioche...

This was just one of those little things that absolutely makes your day! I had just finished cooking myself a bit of food one afternoon after work, when I heard someone call 'hello' from the hallway. Going out to investigate, I discovered my housemate's Dad with armfuls of brioche! He teaches in a bakery school, and had just finished work. So, he left us with 25 brioche rolls, a cake and some fresh bread - it was the cutest thing ever!

There are just too many things to include in here, but I feel like these are some of the main things which start to sum up some of my time here, but really they are the tip of the iceberg.
This week I am off Thursday - Tuesday (inclusive of!), so I am off to Salzburg on Friday through to Saturday evening, how exciting! Next week I will finally be reunited with my parents, who are coming to stay from Thursday to Monday. Words can honestly not come close to expressing how excited I am to see them after 2 months! Sadly, I won't be able to introduce them to the beauty that is Sturm (try this drink for sure if you are in Austria at the right time!), but Apfelstrudel, Schnitzel, Tafelspitz and a few good coffees are certainly on the menu!

Thanks for reading! And hopefully... I will write again soon!