Livin' the life in Innsbruck

Once we got back to Innsbruck we all were very eager to get situated and get to know the town a bit better.  We also all needed a short break from each other, so we all kept to ourselves for the most part the next two days.  I did not have class until Wednesday, so I caught up on my television shows and tried to start getting some exercise in.

I didn't have class until that Wednesday after we got back, so I took the entire day to just relax and have time for myself.  Then I had 2 days of classes, which was nice to get back into the groove of school, but I then had Friday off.  I am pretty sure I was lazy that day as well.  I walked around a bit and probably went and got food (I cannot remember as it was too long ago now).  Then Saturday, 4/6/13, Jessica, Alex, Carly, Ditta and myself ran a 5k in Innsbruck.  It was so nice to actually run the 5K and I felt very good about myself.  I ran it in about 38 minutes and after the race we got a free plant and some snacks.  That night we decided to try this restaurant called Vapiano's, which is an Italian restaurant that mainly serves pasta.  It was a very neat place because they gave us a card when we walked in and we charged everything to that card and paid at the end when we were walking out.  That is a very clever way for the restaurant to make money because it is dangerous for the customers, especially when they want to drink wine. ;)  I got a rosso pesto pasta with penne pasta.  The pasta is actually cooked right in front of you which is most interesting and I loved it.  Afterward, we went to get another drink at Galway Pub and I headed home for the night.

On Sunday I relaxed because the race took a lot out of me.  That night, however, a group of us went to a bar called Moustache and played trivia from 8-10.  It was a very fun time, even though some of the questions had to do with German history or geography.

The next week I only had 3 classes, 2 of them being 8 hours long on Thursday and Friday, so I took that time to explore the city.  I took the bus to the train station to see how much train tickets would be to Italy and to Prague and then I walked to get gelato and headed home.  It was a very nice day to go exploring and I was happy to get out of my dorm.  Thursday and Friday, however, were long dreadful days and the class was very boring!  I thought I would be interested because it was Destination Management, but the teacher was very monotone and was hard to hear. :(

On Wednesday 4/10/13, I went to get pizza at a student dorm with a bunch of people from my hall.  They have discounted pizza, beer and soda for students living in the WIST dorms every other Wednesday.  It was nice to go out with people from my dorm and not the usual people because I got to know them a lot better than I would have if I had gone with my usual crowd.  Then on Thursday we tried a mexican place we had been wanting to try called Mexicana Arriba.  I was very excited to get some chips and salsa, so Carly and I split an order and the salsa was disgusting; it tasted like curry and cinnamon. UGH.  I told the waitress and she said "Well you still have to pay for it!", so I did and I was pretty sour about it the rest of the night.  Also, she was rude when I asked for more chips, even though I just wanted my money's worth of chips!  Carly and I also split fajitas, which was decent, but not worth what we paid for them.  So, in the end, I will not be returning to this restaurant.

On Friday, 4/12/13, there was an international dinner planned that we wanted to go to, but it ended up being cancelled, so we decided to make our own dinner.  I decided I wanted to make some mac n' cheese and I found a great bacon and beer recipe.  We all went to Rossl dorm and made our food and had a great night!  The mac n' cheese ended up being delicious and two of our friends from Canada made a Canadian dish called poutine, which is french fries with gravy and cheese on top.  It was so delicious I couldn't stand it!  We ate some great food that night and socialized with some amazing people.

The next day was a beautiful day and I walked to the store and back and caught up on some sleep.  I also ventured onto the roof top of the panorama dorm, which was extremely nerve wrecking.  You have to climb the fire escape from the top floor and kind of jump to get up onto the roof.  Getting down was worse though because you feel like you are going to fall and have to be very careful where your hands and feet are; I was having a mini panic attack.

On Sunday, 4/14/13, a whole bunch of us went to Lake Baggersee.  I brought champagne and orange juice to make mimosas and everyone else brought their own type of drinks.  We also made some food for about 10 of us!  It started out with our small group of 10, then turned into 20 and then into about 30 of us!  It was a great variety of people from all around the world.  I met some new people from Denmark, Ireland and England.  I also got to know some of the Irish girls I had met on Thursday at the Mexican restaurant.  I love when I can meet new people! :)  We stayed from about 1pm-5pm and I got incredibly burnt, which I am ok with because I needed some sort of color.  Sunday was the hottest day we have had here and it was awesome being in the heat but also seeing snow on the top of the mountains.  I definitely do not see that back in Florida!

Today I had class from 9-12:15 and then again from 1:30-4:45.  Afterward I made some dinner and typed up the blog!  I am about to go for a run because I need to get back into shape!  Life here is getting so much easier and feeling more like home!  I am loving my new friends. :)