Spring Has Arrived!

After not much actual winter to speak of, mostly just a few sort of vaguely cold gray months, spring has officially arrived in Vienna!  This is also our first week with the time change, and having that extra hour of daylight in the evenings is really helping to usher in the nicer weather.  

Of course we aren't without the ominous looking rainy days either, this was one afternoon recently while I was up at school...

Although thanks to the incredibly strong wind we seem to have fairly constantly around here, by the time I got home the skies were rapidly clearing so I was able to get in a nice evening walk around the first district.

One of the few tourist activities we've fit in recently was a visit to the Madame Tussaud's museum here.  I'd never been to any of them in any city, and we happened to have a discounted entry coupon which made the normally rather high ticket price more reasonable.  While they of course have many sort of standard movie stars, musicians and other celebrities, the specifically Austrian figures add a lot of fun.

Some therapy from Dr. Freud

A nice stroll around the gardens at Schönbrunn with Sisi

Clearly a huge fan of Hansi

Between these tourist activities and various events and things I seem to find myself over at Prater more often than I ever have before, and I'm certainly not complaining.  There is something oddly beautiful and slightly bizarre about this little amusement park so close to the heart of Vienna.

I'm really trying to be very conscious of the city itself these days, with no promise of being here past graduation in July I am trying to be sure I am really soaking in the city and all its beauty and not just rushing past places I've gotten so used to.

Mozart watching over Burggarten

Hofburg on a gorgeous sunny afternoon

Spring also means the Heurigen are opening back up!  While some are open year round, they are dusting off the outdoor eating spaces and I could not be more excited.  To me this is still the perfect way to spend an afternoon with friends.

Mostly though, my days are spent up at school working on my thesis and a couple other projects I have going on.  I'm enjoying having the space up there to work, and even enjoying the commute up through the woods as the leaves are more fully coming out on the trees.  

Of course it can't quite be all work all the time, the benefit of being the last people in the library in the late afternoon is that sometimes it clears out enough for a little dance break. 

I'm working now to get a draft of some major sections of my thesis turned in this week before we head off on Friday for a little Easter break road trip.  It's hard to believe it's already April, and even though I have my head pretty deep in thesis mode there are some fun trips and visitors and things coming up in the weeks and months ahead to look forward to!