More exciting things!

Gosh I need to become more consistent at updating this...

Well here I am!  Past the halfway point already.  I can't believe how fast the time has flown by and I know it will only go quicker.

The next exciting thing that happened was....my birthday!  I can't believe I'm 22!  It was a pretty good day!  I first had to go to class and a piano lesson (but not before my RA gave me a cake. We had some for breakfast :-) ).  For lunch I went with my friends Morgan and Kendra at a Musli Bar!  It's essentially like Fruity Yogurt style...but you pick different toppings for your granola!  It was quite good.  We then walked over to the Haus des Meeres, an aquarium...with some random monkeys and birds.  It's a very interesting building, as it was used during World War II as a flak tower.  After that I took a LONG nap.  Then a bunch of my friends went out to eat in the Naschmarkt at a Sushi place.  It was absolutely delectable!  And to top off the evening, my roommate Sara MADE me an ICE CREAM CAKE!  It was absolutely epic and perfect!

That weekend, on Saturday morning, I headed over to Salzburg with 5 friends.  I have to say, it is definitely my favorite trip so far and potentially my favorite European city.  Absolutely gorgeous.  We went there by train and had a pretty nice cheap hostel.  We got to see plenty of Sound of Music sights (for free!) as well as Mozart's Birth House, the Orff Institut, and an awesome fortress.  One of our best meals was at the Augustiner Brewery.  There were beer steins that they filled up straight from the barrel!  The food was also amazing.  But the best thing was definitely the environment.  There were tons of people just having a great time, including a bunch of men drinking lots of beer in lederhosen singing drinking songs.

This week has been full of preparation for midterms...but not without seeing some great concerts!  I saw my students perform in a concert Tuesday, The Magic Flute on Wednesday, DANIEL BARENBOIM (a very very famous pianist and conductor) on Thursday, and Salome last night.  I'm actually headed out to see the opera again as soon as I finish this entry!

Also, one of the great things of this week was a traditional Palatschincken Dinner at my RA's house.  It was so nice to be in a beautiful home with a family again.  Plus, these Austrians knew how to cook.  I was quite satisfied when I left.

So what's coming up this week?  Two finals on Monday, but then I don't have class for a week!  So I'm going to be a tourist in Vienna Tuesday and Wednesday and early Thursday morning I am flying to Paris to meet up with a friend from college!  I am so pumped!