Week 1!

Week one complete!  It still feels a bit weird to know that I'll just be here for about 10 weeks or so, and if all the weeks go as quickly as this one did, it will all be over before I know it.  Somehow this seems like an odd mix of being on an extended vacation and actually trying to have some sort of normal routine going.  I suppose that's probably normal for a stay anywhere this length of time...not nearly enough time to feel like home...but a bit too long to just be wandering around aimlessly like you're on a trip.    

One way to help with that is the reason I'm here in the first place.  Going back to being in an office full time has actually been pretty great.  Perhaps it's also a bit novel since I haven't been working full time for about a year and a half, and I know that at the end of these 10 weeks I go back to being a student for a while, but for the summer it's a nice change of pace.  I'm interning here...with IETA...and am enjoying diving deeper into all things carbon trading this summer.  It's nice to see how all these months of environmental economics courses actually function outside of academic papers.

Also doesn't hurt that the lake is just at the end of the street...awesome for lunch breaks and after work. 

About a block the other way from the office is this giant park.

I've only been to a small portion of it I think...the map shows it continuing on quite a ways...but there is this beautiful mansion, with several other buildings behind it, and lots of sprawling lawns and manicured gardens.  

The view towards the lake from the house

Huge rose garden that is down closer to the lake, a lovely spot for enjoying my lunch hour.

Geneva itself is sort of unreal.  It's almost like being in a fancy yacht club in the middle of the mountains.  Especially now that it's hot I assume, but the lake seems to be the center of most of everyone's thoughts and activities.  There are plenty of places to rent boats, or take boat rides, swim, wake board, paddle board, etc. 

But then there's also this.  There are mountains to some varying degree everywhere you look.  Perhaps this is just somewhere that really does get the best of both worlds. 

One of the lakeside beach areas...this one is just about at the end of the street where our office is...my office mates highly suggest having a bathing suit at work, just running down there and jumping in and coming back.  It is funny that because of how highly air conditioned my office in New York was, I really don't have that many truly summery work clothes.  Even the ones I do have I used to wear with a cardigan or something while inside and just be able to take it off once I got back outside into the heat.  Not so much here...we keep the windows open to get whatever breeze we can...but with temperatures in the low 30s...it's hot.

Sitting with a view of the fountain one day this week during lunch...the wind kept shifting as we watched people run back and forth trying not to get drenched.  Hilarious.

This woman seems to have lunch hour figured out.  She's there most days...complete with her beach chair, umbrella, and fancy picnic basket.  I'm not quite this advanced.

That's about it for week one! I did sort of intend do go explore the old city this morning, but ended up enjoying whatever momentary coolness we had from the shade of our balcony here, and then ran a few quick errands.  Melting in the sun while walking around trying to soak in some meaningful history didn't seem all that appealing.  Soon though!  Can't put all this off too long. 

Alison in Geneva!

I'm finally here!  Friday morning I got up and took the train all day to Geneva, and just in time too, they started construction on the building that is attached to mine last week, pretty much gutting the thing, and by Friday morning the scaffolding had reached my window...and they start work at 6am every day...

The train winding through western Austria

A few storms once we hit Switzerland, still gorgeous though.  Actually, on my train from Zurich to Geneva which winds around the lake most of the way, there was a rainbow directly in the middle of the lake...made the rain completely worth it. 

I'm renting a room for the summer in a flat with 2 other people...and this is the view off my balcony in my room...pretty much what sold me on this place.

The view Saturday morning once the sun had come up, a bit hard to see...but that's Mont Blanc off to the right...the snow cover and clouds tend to blend in pictures.

The flat is in Thonex, which is almost to the French border east of Geneva, although still in Switzerland, but the next tram stop past mine is the border.  Thonex is mostly residential, although there is a nice shopping center just outside my apartment complex, complete with a large grocery store which is very convenient.  I'm really excited to have a large kitchen to cook in this summer.

Saturday my flatmates and I took off around the city a bit, they made sure I can find the office for my internship come Monday, and helped me get my monthly transit pass (which is a hard plastic card with a photo...so it's a bit more involved than just my paper ones in Vienna...much faster with a native French speaker to do the talking)

Beautiful buildings all around

and the Lake. Oh gosh. I cannot even fathom how many pictures I will take of this thing this summer.  I've been here less than 48 hours and I've taken an embarrassing amount already. 

We did get away from the lake a bit to wander down the main shopping street and into Parc des Bastions

The lake at sunset...which is really late here, this picture was taken about 9:45 last night, and it was still fairly light out.

One of the windsurfing schools held a summer evening outdoor party last night, so my flatmates and I and several of their friends went, it was a gorgeous night to be out, and a perfect end to my first day in Geneva!

Today I didn't have much to do and the weather is sunny and warm, so I figured it was a nice day to go wander a bit by myself and see if I can find my way around town.

Looking back at the old part of town from the opposite side of the lake I live on...perhaps a bit hard to explain with words, but Lake Geneva is crescent shaped, and the city of Geneva lies at the bottom point, so the city runs up both sides. 

The water in the lake is extremely clear, and this beautiful turquoise color

Also...these boats, as well as a few smaller ones, are all part of the public transit system here, so I took a couple back and forth to various points just to be out on the water.

And that's about it for now.  So far so good...still trying to switch my brain over into at least French pleasantries when interacting with other people...Bonjour! Merci!...all that...have said a few things in German to people...but hopefully I'll quit doing that soon.  My internship starts tomorrow, and I'm excited to get in there and find out exactly what I'll be doing for the next 2 months!

The Start to Summer

I do realize it's now officially mid-July, so technically summer has been going on for a while, but considering I was up at school nearly every day last week, this just feels like it's finally beginning.  For the past 9 years or so my summer calendar has revolved a lot around Shiloh's camp schedule, even while working it was how I chose to spend those summer weekends, so the fact that camp is already halfway finished makes this summer seem even more off somehow.  My "summer" runs from now until October 7 when classes start again, and by then the leaves are already starting to change!

This post is a bit jumpy, so be forewarned, but I feel like that's sort of life these days as I'm thoroughly enjoying my time off to enjoy Vienna, as well as sort of closing the chapter on this past season here. 

Plenty of time for sitting in the park people watching and reading...reading novels and not articles and textbooks...

Enjoying the many offerings of the international food stands at Rathausplatz

An evening of live painting...this Venezuelan artist combines live music, live dancing and painting and then auctions off these beautiful pieces. definitely a unique evening. 

And of course time to play tourist a bit...I'd never actually been inside Karlskirche, which is ridiculous since I pass here fairly regularly, but the other day a group of us finally did. 

The terrifying way to the top...that covered bit is a platform about halfway up, and then the stairs continue from there.  This setup has been there for years, but the whole thing shakes a bit and as pretty as it is, is slightly unsettling. 

Gorgeous closeup views of the frescoes though

The view from the very top

This is looking down from somewhere near the top...I actually took these pictures by holding my arm out, but I couldn't bring myself to really look down, or even look at the pictures until I was back on solid ground.

And it was finally graduation time at school! I was glad to still be in town to celebrate with all the 2013 graduates...and celebrate we did.  Whatever life choices have led to me being able to go dancing with a group of people in lederhosen and dirndl to fantastic Austrian music still astounds me a bit.  Perhaps one of these days I'll actually get a dirndl and not look quite so American... 

The beautiful reception on the terrace at school following the ceremony 

Evening drinks along the Danube canal, still definitely one of my favorite things

Enjoying the beautiful summer evening skies from all over town...trying to enjoy these long evenings where it stays light until 9:30pm...knowing full well that come December it will be pitch dark by 3:15

And finally a film at the film festival! This wasn't really on purpose I suppose, a friend and I just sort of happened to still be there when it started and thought why not watch a bit...it ended up being a musical about the story of IKEA...including a number about why IKEA furniture has names and not just letters and numbers to identify the products...in Swedish with English subtitles...totally ridiculous, a bit weird...and I laughed hysterically.

And now...thanks to my sweet and creative sister, I have graphic representation of my life starting Friday! I begin my summer internship in Geneva a week from today, and I will be there for about 2 months.  This week is mostly going to be spent running errands, doing laundry, packing, and trying to cram in some French phrases perhaps...and then Friday morning I hop on a train and watch all of Austria and Switzerland pass by my window.  Yes, they have direct flights, and they're only about an hour and a half...but what fun is that when you can sit on a train for nearly 11 hours :) I am super excited about this mini adventure for the summer!  Next post from Geneva hopefully!

A Day of Wandering

I'm still sort of getting used to not having school work to do on a daily basis.  This semester was unlike the previous two in that everything was due before the end of the semester, so there are no papers left to finish after classes ended, and really no school work left to do at all.  Not that there isn't plenty to do...I'm working on getting everything organized for the summer, finally getting to some things on my to do list that I had been putting off while school was so busy...but there is thankfully also time for just wandering around enjoying these beautiful summer days.  One day last week was ridiculously gorgeous, and turned into a bit of an impromptu park tour.  A friend and I walked all over town, basically from one park to the next, just enjoying being outdoors in this gorgeous city. 

Starting off in the Augarten which is a giant park home to both the Vienna Boys Choir and the Augarten Porcelain Manufacturer (this tour is now added to my things to do). 

The park also still has two of these flak towers left over from World War II which provide an odd contrast to the beautifully manicured English gardens and tree lined paths there. 

There's no way to really capture how huge these are, an artifact of a much different Vienna than I enjoy now. 

From there we wandered to the Rathaus for some lunch.  During the summer months the square in front of the Rathaus hosts an array of international food stands, and displays free movies at night.  The movies are generally recordings of concerts, operas, musicals etc. 

Even just walking through the streets of town is breathtaking on days like this. 

Next up...Stadtpark...I took fewer pictures in here because I tend to find reasons to be in Stadtpark multiple times per week.

One place I hadn't been since the first week I lived here (with the exception of the Christmas Market here) is Belvedere.  It is absolutely gorgeous in the summer, with all of its topiaries and fountains.

Being a nice clear day, you can see all the way across town to Kahlenberg in the distance.

On to Karlsplatz, still haven't been inside here yet, hoping to remedy that tomorrow actually.

And a perfect end to the day in one of the restaurants along the Danube Canal. 

I am glad I decided to stay here this summer, although I did miss my normal 4th of July celebrations, my sweet friends here celebrated with me...turns out this holiday is a lot more difficult to replicate than Thanksgiving, but we did our best.  We're in this weird time between the semester ending and graduation the end of next week, so we still have a few school celebrations to enjoy.  It's a bit hard to believe that next year I will be counting down towards my graduation!