Getting There

Hey Guys! This is my first post to my "Travel" blog of Austria. This is all about the tour over here - and man, what a trek.

My first flight was from Toronto YYZ to Brussels, Belgium BRU at 6:10pm. The guy I was sitting beside hated having to look out the window, so for most of the flight all I saw was the back of some lady's chair, listening to music. They have CDs available to listen to on the in-flight menu. I thank Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams, Norah Jones and Billy Joel for keeping me sane! haha.

We arrived in Brussels at 7:30am their time. Although I so far hadn't taken a picture, I made the guy lift the window shade to grab this picture.

After 6 hours of dark, it was beautiful, just as we were flying over Ireland.

Well we landed, and my Telus phone essentially said, "Welcome to Not Canada! I'll be hibernating for 10 months now! kthxbye."

I grabbed a Starbucks Grande Noir and waited the appropriate 4 hours till the next flight. I met an American couple travelling for no good reason to Europe other than they were bored and sick of Manhattan's constant bustling streets. Good enough reason for me!

Well, the gate changed for my flight from Brussels to Vienna, Austria TWICE in half an hour. frustrating. But I boarded for my 11:10 flight.

This flight was a LOT more manageable, only an hour and a half in the air. The airline food was an Austrian spread on bread and chocolate mousse. I confusedly almost spread the mousse on the bread, and the Viennese lady beside me took pity and helped me out. Then she proceeded to talk with me for the remainder of the flight about Austrian history, culture, geography, etc. Her husband and her were flying back from a vacation in Toronto, so they took both flights the same as mine. She gave me her information and said once I got settled, they'd take me into Vienna and spend the day, make me dinner, etc, which was very gracious of them!

We landed, said our goodbyes, and then the most difficult task of the travel - getting to Graz from Vienna.

You should know, that if you're on the West end of Vienna, it's the easiest job in the world getting to Vienna. If you're on the East side you might as well curl up in a ball and cry.

It took me 2 trains, a bus, a subway tram, and then another train just to get to the train that will take me to Graz. Which was a 3 hour trek in itself. Luckily I met a Czech girl and a guy from Boston who were both travelling to Graz; good conversation. Sadly, she was going to Slovenia to visit her boyfriend, but we exchanged numbers as well for her to stop in Graz on her way back. (She's a pianist as well.)

By the time I got to Graz it was pouring rain. I got instructions to Neubaugasse 12, which is where I'm staying, and Streyregasse 3-5, which is where I had to pick up my keys. Neubaugasse is North West, Streyregasse is South East. That was a journey all in itself. 

I dropped my bags in front of my residence (which is surprisingly safe) and made it to Streyregasse in an hour, travelling through the beautiful city that is Graz. After a slight hiccup in getting my keys, I headed back to Neubaugasse and moved in. It would be about 10:30pm at this time.

Well, that's me getting here! More to come, just came back from lunch with a Frenchman, a Spaniard, and an Egyptian. Next entry is all about my residence! Pictures will start rolling in!