Day 6.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

This morning I woke up to a blinding light. I have a skylight in the roof of my bedroom. Yes it is a sky light. The sun was shining right on my face and therefore sleeping in was not an option. I was up at 9 am.

This is the blinding light that woke me up this morning. It was right on my pillow. Lovely. 

This is the skylight. You see the sky out of it. Hence the term skylight. 

Went downstairs grabbed some breakfast and then proceeded to get ready for church. The English speaking ward is at 1:30 so we left at 11:30 am to make the trek over there. It is clear across the city so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get lost if needed. We studied German on the way there and arrived without any mishaps. We got off a the wrong stop but a nice man asked us if we were heading to the church. We said yes so he told us to get back on the bus and we did. We arrived at about 1pm ready for some spiritual enlightenment. The ward was full of people from all different countries and cultures. It was really neat. After church we were starving and went in search of food and an adventure. I love adventuring. My goal is to do it more often in the USA. After that I just came home. Now I am writing emails and waiting to talk with my mother. A very relaxing day in Vienna.

Day 5.

Adventures continued.
The first Saturday in Vienna! What to do what to do. For starters I tried this thing called sleeping in. I woke up at 5 am and then willed my body back to sleep. It worked! I then proceeded to sleep until 9 am. Glorious. Upon consciousness I decided Kayla and I needed some food from the grocery store. We were off. There is a Billa located only minutes from our house so we walked. Grocery stores here are much smaller than in the USA. We bought PB&J supplies along with chocolate, bathroom soap, and frou frous. We then ventured into town. Gotta love that Subway. I mean U-Bahn.

My beautiful roomie Kayla waiting for the bus! 

Flowers at the Bus stop 

We were planning on going to the flea market but ended up at a wine and cheese tasting instead. I'll admit that I got distracted taking pictures at the park and wandered off instead of eating cheese. I think it was an excellent decision seeing as there were no crackers. The pictures turned out great. Due to requests I asked people to photograph me in the pictures as well as scenery. YOUR welcome. :]

Engaged. 

This is Chip. 

Precious children that wanted me to take their picture. 

Love these. 

Chip- "Model Krystle!" Me- "ummm..."

Second attempt. 

Third attempt- Embodying Kayla. Mika said we could try some more and that I needed to work on my modeling. I couldn't agree more haha. 

I made a wish. We will see if it comes true. 

Vienna. 

We are twins. 

After the picture taking we were off to the Albertine Museum to see the Andy Worhal exhibit which was stunning. I have seen prints of his work but never the real thing. It was the Cars exhibit that he started in 1986 but never finished due to his death in 1987. Here is one of the pieces.  I was also able to see pieces by tons of famous artists. Love Europe. I feel cultured.

I stole this pic from Jess. She was taking illegal pictures inside the museum. Love it. 

After the museum Jess and I were starving so we set of to find food. We found a subway sandwich shop. It tasted like home. Delicious. Carbonated water is disgusting in case you were wondering. What is with these people?

We then proceeded to people watch. It was hilarious and awesome and I can't wait to do it again. After my second gelato in two days we ended up on the U-Bahn to meet up with friends who didn't end up being there so we just decided to ride around and explore. It was fun. We are adventurous. I made it home safe. The end.

This will be the color of my front door. No negotiations. 

Another end to another day in Vienna. Love it.

Day 4.

Did I mention that I was trying to be adventurous while I was in Vienna? Cause I am.

Today began with our now normal subway commute to school. Schule as the German would say.

This is what my subway station looks like. Personally I think it is too pretty to be called a subway. Here in Vienna is the called the U-bahn, but somehow I don't think that quite does it justice either. Kayla and I got to school fine with no correspondence with creepy men. Huzzah. Classes were good. During photography class today we were assigned to go take pictures at the naschmarkt. I took my point and shoot camera. I have no idea why. Do not judge these pictures too harshly. I am going to go back tomorrow for the flea market they hold there on Saturdays and I will bring my real DSLR camera and take some real photos. Okay here they are. 

After the Naschmarkt for class we went back and just spent some time hanging out studying before German. I will admit learning the language is hard but I am quite enjoying it. Afterwards we ventured off planning on taking a tour of the opera house... those plans fell through so we went off in search of Gelato. I am proud to say we found some at Zanoni and Zanoni. I had this mint, cookie, and chocolate concoction and it was divine. We walked aroung Vienna eating our ice cream like real locals. We hung out in front of statues and cathedrals... you know... the usual. I was harassing Chip the whole time about being an old man while William kept trying to get Kayla and I to tell him out three favorite animals. It was a hilariously good time. We stopped in a cathedral to listen to an organist. I have never really liked it much but in an ancient cathedral it sounds pretty amazing. 

We then went in search of the English movie theatre when it started down pouring. My poor shoes. After a 1/2 hour of stressful searching we found this quaint theatre hidden away amongst some beautiful old buildings. Ah Vienna. We saw Iron Man II! It was extremely good but don't worry I won't give it away. Then we grabbed some pizza for dinner and headed towards the subway home. We caught a little bit of the Opera and then we were on our way. I love this place. I don't know if I will ever get sick of saying that. 

Auf Wiedersehen! 

Day 3 post 2.

Alright. So much to talk about. I feel like today was my first real day in Vienna. So many things happened. Here goes nothing trying to remember them all.

So this morning after waking up to David Archuletta's song "Touch My Hand" I was feeling pretty good about life. I got online, read some emails, got dressed, and then it hit me. I AM IN EUROPE. So excited. I woke Kayla up because she was still snoozing at 8:45 am and we have to be at class at 10 am. After she got ready in a hurry we ran downstairs to grab some breakfast. Let me emphasize that breakfast here is not the same as in America. Out host mom Frau Miller had quite the spread laid out for us. There was cereal and bread with jam and yogurt and fruit and orange juice all along with a pleasantly decorated table. I am thinking that Kayla and I got pretty lucky with our host family. I also feel lucky to have Kayla as my roommate. She is a really cool girl and I am excited to get to know her better. Now the word family is deceiving because really it is just us and Frau Miller. Her mom lives with us too but we don't see her that often. She is 96 years old. I was impressed. So after our scrumptious breakfast where i mistook the beautiful butter for cheese we were off on our adventure for the day- Public transit.

Vienna is such a clean city that I don't want you getting a picture of a grimy place when I saw that we took the bus and the subway to the Amerika Institute. Frau Miller accompanied us the whole way just so we wouldn't get lost on the first day. She is the best. After barely missing the bus we waited for the next one. 56B is our number. We road it to the subway station and the whole way Frau Miller was telling us all about the history of Vienna and pointing out things that we should do while we are here. I saw the zoo. I love Pandas so I will be visiting that place in the most immediate future. When we finally arrived at the Institute with some excellent suggestions for lunch Frau Miller let us go in and said, "Bye to my lovely girls!" The best. I am telling you. So public transit isn't so bad. Really. We even made it home okay. Were there some creepy guys staring us down on the subway? Ja. Did it bother me much? Nein. We are American. Everyone knows it and everyone stares. I think it is that matching backpacks that give us away. Or the fact that we are louder than everyone else, but who knows.

Our first class of the day was travel writing. We got some homework but it won't be so bad. Having a class that makes you write in your journal is kind of a good thing. Memories are important. I mean I guess that is why I am doing this blog though. That and so my Mom won't worry about me. Love you Mom! After that we had a break were we ventured out to T-mobile to buy minutes for our cell phones. Because the minutes are kind of expensive they must only be used under the most dire circumstances. After eating an apple and bun and attempting some yogurt (I just can't make myself like it) it was time for German.

German is hard. Second languages do not come easy for me but I am excited to try. I find myself much more mocitivated to learn considering everyone around me is speaking it. After receiving tons of homework from our nice yet distant teacher Frau Evelin we were off to go on adventures.

If you didn't know this... big groups have a very hard time making decisions. My favorite part of our adventure this afternoon was when we ended up sitting in the park right underneath this old palace and a statue of Mozart. I just felt like I belonged here. There is nothing like visiting a different country and having the tourist side of you fade for just a moment when you can just sit and feel settled. I loved it. I am hoping as we venture out more and more that moments like this will occur much more often.

For dinner I ate at this cute little bakery right before the place where I get on the subway. Delish. You can never go wrong with a sandwich and a pastry. I love Europe. I don't love the exchange rate for money but I love buying things to eat. Good thing I walk everywhere. Jana, Amelia, and I had a wonderful chat over dinner. It's is awesome how food makes you sit down and talk with people. Another thing I love about Europe. Food is an occasion. Dinner takes time and when you are done eating you still sit down and talk afterwards. Excellent.

Tomorrow we are planning on touring the Opera house. Possibly seeing Iron Man II. Right now I have to go study German. Oh joy. But really. I am a tiny bit excited. I am not sure I have ever been this motivated to learn in my whole life and it is an exhilarating feeling. Love you all and miss you!

Cathedral we found Tues while walking around the 8th District 

Me and my roomie Kayla. Don't mind the expressions. The sun was very bright. 

Day 3.

I can not believe that today is only day three. I feel like I have been out of the USA for so long! Alright I am about to go use public transit by myself... hopefully I don't get completely lost.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Day 2.

Vienna is the most beautiful city that I have ever been to. No negotiations.

Sleeping last night was a little bit of s struggle. I woke up at 5:30 am completely ready to start my day. Back home 5:30 am is 10:30 pm so my body basically thought it was waking up from a long nap. It was alright though because we had to eat breakfast at the hotel and be ready to check out by 8:30 am. My first Austrian breakfast was different than I am used to. It involved a lot of bread and cheese which I am pleased to announce I enjoy. Hot chocolate too! It's not everyday someone makes you that for breakfast. After finishing the continental breakfast we were off to the Austria-America Institute. It is located right in the middle of downtown Vienna right across from the Opera house! Vienna is just the coolest city. There are so many things to do and see. After a short orientation we walked over to the naschmarkt for lunch. It is this colorful open air market where you can buy fresh fruit, baked goods, desserts, or grab a bite to eat. Amelia and I ended up choosing a restaurant based on the menu. Since neither of us can read German we picked a place with pictures on the menu. I know. I know.  We are pretty bright. William and Chip joined us and it turned out that our waitress spoke Cantonese which William also speaks so he was able to snag us some water.

Side note- Okay Europeans don't drink water. Seriously what is with that? I grew up my whole life hearing "8 glasses a day!" Here people look at you strange if you just ask for regular water at a restaurant. I may get dehydrated. Sure you can have soda, juice, or heck even beer but no water!

The  place we went to was Vietnamese and I had some chicken dish. Pretty delish. Funny that I have been in Austria for 2 days and only eaten Italian and Vietnamese food. after lunch we returned to the Institute where we waited to meet our host family. Nerve racking much? Waiting to meet the person that is going to house you for the next three much takes a lot out of you.

The Institute has this deal that the last person to get picked up by there host family gets a free lunch. Lucky for Kayla and I it was us!  The lady that we are living with is great. We live out in the 13th district- mostly a residential area. We live in this cute cottage like house on Felix Street. Feel free to google earth my address.

Felixgasse 10
1130 Wien, Austira

I have my own bedroom and its great. I haven't had one of these in a while and I am going to enjoy every minute of it. Fraulein Miller cooked us a traditional Austrian dinner of wiener schnitzel. It was really good. We drank apple juice. No water. Just saying.

Walking around Vienna today just made me realize how much there is that I want to learn about the culture. It is so different being here than I thought it would be. I'll admit it I miss American mainly because I understand the culture. Feeling dumb repeatedly throughout the day is never fun, but I will get there. Learning German in class is going to help me leaps and bounds. I can't wait to be able to figure this city out. One things that is just stunning is the architecture. Every building is beautiful. I can't wait to start photographing it. It has been raining of and on for the past two days so I haven't been able to really take my camera out much. The weather has been very similar to western Washington since I have arrived. I'll post pictures of my house and room once I get all unpacked.

P.S. I only can get on certain websites and the house I am staying at and Facebook is not one of them. If you would like to contact me use email. I think it will be the most efficient. krystle.wahn@gmail.com

Another great day in Vienna. Classes tomorrow. Huzzah.

Goodnight :]

Day 1 cont.

After 34 hours of no sleep I am finally going to hit the hay. I just have to wait for my dear computer to charge. Apparently I bought the wrong adapter so I have to borrow my wonderful roommate Breanna's for the evening. We went exploring today and found the coolest cathederal. They just happen to be every where in Vienna and it's pretty great. We went out to an Italian place for dinner tonight and the best part was that it was free. So far I have only spent $41 on this trip. $35 for checking a bag and $6 on a sandwich at the airport. Then after dinner we wandered aimlessly around the city. Chip and I looked like tourists to the max carrying our fat cameras but its okay because I snagged some cool shots.

Touring Vienna tomorrow! 

Viva la Vida! 

That means living the life in Spanish... maybe I should learn how to say it in German?

Day 1.

I am finally in Vienna! After all of the time prepping and planning I have finally arrived. Our day started at 5:30 am May 3rd and when we finally got off of the plane it was 8:30 on May 4th. Crazy. Remind me to never again spend that long on a plane. Except for when I come back to visit Austria again :]

The first plane was the most uncomfortable flying experience I have even had. No joke. The three hours to Chicago felt like and eternity. The seats were small and this man next to me kept invading my space with his computer and creepy WOW game. When we arrived at the Chicago airport we had to rush to our next gate for our plane that was already boarding. I had never been on a Boeing 747 but I must say I enjoyed the experience. Any plane that is going give me my own personal TV screen receives my approval. We flew from Chicago to the Washington-Dulles airport. We had a little bit longer layover there. I grabbed a sandwich for dinner and then we were off to Vienna. The seating arrangements were quite nice on the way there. I had my own seat plus the one next to me. It was super great except for the fact that I COULD NOT SLEEP. When the same movies are replayed over and over and you have watched all of them it makes a 9 hr flight seem a little bit longer. When we arrived in Vienna customs was a breeze and the calvary arrived to take us to our cute little hotel. It is so nice to arrive in a foreign country and already have the arrangements made for you. 

I had my first experience with the German language. This lady from the hotel walks up and says, "Guten Morgen." Now I know what that means but of course I completely froze as she proceeded to speak German five millions miles a minute. When she saw that we had no idea what she was saying she changed to English and gave us some excellent tips. 

Side note- One of my poor traveling companions, Ambree, lost her passport! She is still at the airport and we have yet to hear from her. Hopefully everything works out. William was so awesome at the airport suggesting we pray for her so all of us were praying in the middle of the airport. Yeah people were staring but hey we are BYU right?

So basically I am so happy to be in Vienna. I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but I have to stay awake for the next 10 hours. While is is 4 am at home it is noon here. Lovely. This city is beautiful. I can't wait to go walk around. But first I must shower seeing as I have not changed my clothes in 24 hours. Here are some pictures of my precious Hotel room! Notice Kayla has crashed... 

The view from the room

Car Ride on the way here. Yes. I am a tourist. 

I will blog again tomorrow. Much love. :]

Travel.

Mexico was amazing. The best part about the trip was that I got to spend some much needed time with my family. We spent our days lounging on the beach drinking more mango smoothies than we could keep track of. There is nothing like falling asleep in a hammock right on the ocean. Pictures will be posted soon :]

Tomorrow begins the next so called chapter of my life.  I am scheduled to arrive at the airport at 5:30 am. I cannot remember the last time I had to get up that early so it should be interesting. The goal while I am in Vienna is to blog a little something everyday. Mainly so my Mom doesn't freak out, but also so I can keep all of the people I love informed about what my daily activities are. So here goes nothing.

Adventures.

And so begins the exciting life of yours truly. I am becoming quite the jet setter you see. Tomorrow morning I am off to Mexico. Let me just give you a run down of my flight schedule over the next few weeks.

4/22- Fly Seattle to Mexico
4/27- Fly Mexico to Seattle
4/30- Fly Seattle to SLC
5/3- Fly SLC to Chicago to Washington DC to Vienna

Needless to say I will be spending plenty of time on the plane. Which I am completely okay with :]
I will be posting pictures and stories about my exciting life so don't you fret. Goodbye United States- Hello World!

Musicals.

 

My heart I will always have a place for the 5th Ave Theatre in Seattle. Last night I went to On The Town and fell in love. There is nothing like the revival of an old classic. My friend Brian Kerrick was part of the ensemble and was the best donut seller I have ever seen. You can catch up with him here at http://www.BrianKerrick.com. I highly recommend the show. Lead vocalist Jon Aaron Reid excelled in the role of Gabey. He gave a wonderful heart wrenching performance that would make any girl want to be his date at 11 o'clock.  There is a part of me that wants this theatrical life. We will see what happens over the next couple of years. 


The 5th Ave is hosting an amazing line up for next years season. It includes:


In the Heights 
A Christmas Story: The Musical 
Vanities- A New Musical
Next to Normal
9 to 5: The Musical
Guys and Dolls
Oklahoma!

Get out and support your local theatres! Click on this link and vote for the 5th Ave in a contest to renovate the historic lobby. http://www.5thavenue.org/about/votefor5th.aspx

Life Lesson #16: Never say never.

PDGA.

Do you know what this stands for???

Professional Disk Golf Association. And yes it is real. Here is a link to their website just so you know that I am not lying. If you already knew this was a sport... why did no one tell me?

I had the opportunity to play this new sport this weekend and I'll admit that I enjoyed it. It is exactly like playing golf except you throw a regulation size frisbee golf disk thingy. Let me break it down.

You aim at things that look like this... 

With disks that look like this..

.

And the goal is to look somewhat professional..

.

And then whoever gets it in the least amount of thrown wins! Sadly, I have to report that I was unable to win. No beginners luck for me, but hey I like being somewhat adventurous. 

Time.

Right now at 1:14 am I finally have some relax time to myself. All of my roommates are sleeping- thus no one will walk in on me. Finals have completely killed my brain and they are still not over.

Today's list consists of things that I am looking forward to in the future. These are not in any particular order.

1. Going to Mexico
2. Seeing my Family
3. Going to Austria
4. Forcing myself to speak a different language
5. Finishing my Sophomore year of college
6. Dating new and interesting people
7. Packing up all of my belongings
8. Finishing the Bible
9. Mango Sticky Rice
10. Sleep

I'm ready to take some time off of school. Huzzah. Goodbye real world- hello Mexico.

procrastination.

Finals week is upon us here at BYU. After two blissful days of nothing but studying and working I still feel entirely unprepared for the finals that I am about to take in less than ten hours. Econ and Civilizations might just be the death of my lovely GPA. Goodbye full scholarship hello half. You win some. You lose some. And then life goes on. Who knows I may not fail them tomorrow! We will see how lucky I get on exam questions. Maybe if I pray really really hard...

In other news today was my last day of work. I began training my replacement and I'll admit that I was mildly sad to be leaving the establishment. Not that I will miss slaving away everyday (haha its not that bad... actually it's kinda fun) but a majority of the people that I would with are moving on with their lives. Two are graduating, one is going on a mission, and the other plans to graduate in Dec. Everyone is leaving me and Kelsey behind! Hopefully the replacements are neat.



Guess. What. Only 5 days until beautiful Mexico!

I thought I would tempt you with a beautiful picture of our resort. :] I am so excited to be able to spend some quality time with my family before I leave the country. It will be extremely wonderful. Alright well I must get back to studying. I have a lot more to cram in my brain before my tests later on today. Much love.

Life Lesson #14: Listen to your Professors when they tell you to prepare over the whole semester. I know you probably won't, but try. Try really hard. 

tie.

So I have an issue. And it is with the MLS soccer league. Last night I went to the Real vs. Sounders game and they tied. You know what happened next? THE GAME WAS OVER!

There was no shoot out or overtime. Nothing. I mean as a fan I felt extremely dissatisfied with the conclusion. How can a professional soccer match end up in a tie???

I would have been okay with either team winning- The Real Salt Lake are fun to watch and the Sounders are from my home state, but no. Neither team won.

And that is my rant about soccer.

Engaged.

No don't you worry. It wasn't me who got engaged- it was my best friend Taylor. It was so neat to be able to be a part of the beginning of the rest of their lives. I was like a sniper in the grass, but with a camera. I have never seen my best friend happier. I am so excited for them and the journey that they are about to embark on together. 

It's strange when all of you friends get married and start having children. It leaves you wondering what you are supposed to do with your life while everyone else moves on. Sometimes I worry about the future but mostly I just try to be the best person I can me. That way when I actually meet someone that I want to spend forever with I'll feel cool enough to deserve them. 

Just because I am single does not mean I cannot love love. Here are pictures from the event :]

comliments.

This is the new Band of Horses song called "Compliments."
I love it. End of story.



I am mildly depressed because I will not be able to attend the sasquatch music festival in Washington this year. It is May 29th - 31st. I mean I know I'll be in Europe but the most amazing bands will be there. For Example:

Band of Horses
Tegan and Sara
Vampire Weekend
The Temper Trap [My favorite song is Fader- look it up]
OK Go
Laura Marling [She is a super cool acoustic chick]
Nada Surf
MGMT [This song got me into the advertising program- Electric Feel :]
The XX
City and Colour
Passion Pit [I have heard they suck live... but I would still watch them]

And so many more that are not included on this list. If you don't have tickets and are going to be in Washington during that time do yourself a favor and freaking get some. I need to live vicarious through you.

http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/

P.S. I see Owl City and LIGHTS on Monday. Stoked. Did I mention that I love music?

conference.

After this General Conference weekend I am feeling spiritually uplifted and edified. I was able to attend the Saturday afternoon session in the conference center and it was an incredible experience. Nothing like being surrounded by 21,000 of your fellow saints. I enjoyed Elder Hollands talk on avoided immoral messages. This is a quote from his talk regarding immoral thoughts.


“But we don’t have to throw open the door, serve them tea and crumpets, and then tell them where the silverware is kept!” Elder Holland said. He then humorously added, “You shouldn’t be serving tea anyway. Throw the rascals out!”


I was also able to see my wonderful brother, Kendall, who drove down to attend the Priesthood session with a bunch of boys from church. That must have been quite the trip. 6 teenage boys in a minivan for 15 hours each way. Sounds fun to me! [Except really... its doesn't haha] 


In other news HAPPY EASTER! My wonderful Aunt Liz welcomed me into her home today. I wanted to take pictures of her adorable children but I forgot to put my CF card in my camera! Story of my life. She made the classic meal of ham and cheesy potatoes and I was in heaven. Being a college student I appreciate all home cooked meals. 

After today, it is exactly two weeks until I make the trek home to Washington. I am so excited to see my family and head down to Mexico and then Austria!

Goal: Work out everyday for the next to weeks- except Sunday. 

I'll let you know how it goes. All I know is that this semester is almost over and I can't wait!

Life Lesson #13: Don't ever pretend you go to BYU when you don't.