Tanz in Dusseldorf!

A friend I studied with here in Vienna who is also from the States, had some friends traveling with a dance company from Philadelphia to participate in the Tanzmesse in Dusseldorf last week.  Since it's still summer break around here, we decided to head up there for a few days and see them and enjoy this new city a bit.

It was cold and raining the entire first day we were there, so much of that was spent visiting with her friends, but we did get a picture perfect day on Wednesday to spend running around town.

The Rhine river, with lots of restaurants and bars set up along its banks

Looking down Königsallee

Frank Gehry designed three buildings along the harbor here, each with different materials for the facade.

Dusseldorf is also known for its Altbier, and the old part of the city is dotted with these breweries.

And some mustard to go with the beer, Löwensenf has a shop and a little museum which allows you to taste each of their 30 varieties of mustard.

Little Haribo packets on our pillows instead of mints!

Thursday morning we headed toward the edge of town to visit Benrath Palace and the gardens around there.  Dusseldorf had some really strong storms back in June and many parks are still closed as they work to clean them up and repair the damage.  Luckily a section of these particular parks were open.

Of course the main purpose of this trip was to see dancing, which we did, but it was nice to also get to see the city a bit as well.  Back in Vienna we've had about 3 full consecutive days of cold rain now, so I'm looking forward to this weather pattern moving on so we can enjoy the outdoors again.  Things are definitely switching into fall mode around here, the food and movie festival at the Rathausplatz is finished and is being dismantled, clearing space for the next thing.  Our attention is turning quickly towards the grapes in the vineyards, anxiously awaiting harvest time and all the fun that brings.  It's amazing that summer is rapidly ending, but I have some exciting travel and things on the calendar to look forward to as well!  

Sun and Rain

We seem to be stuck in a bit of a weird weather pattern this summer.  Either it is very sunny and very hot, or it is cool and raining, and we don't seem to have much in the middle.  I suppose I should have expected this a bit, even though I was in Geneva last summer, the few days I was in Vienna in August it was unseasonably cool and raining.  This weather pattern has sort of dictated our daily activities, especially since most of us aren't working actual jobs at the moment so our days are a bit more flexible and weekdays and weekends are a bit interchangeable.  

Gorgeous sunny days, perfect for walking around the grounds at Schönbrunn. 

And a few warm summer nights, perfect for rooftop gatherings with friends.

I've also had the opportunity to play tourist a bit and do some specifically summer activities I hadn't before, including a trip out to Tichy.  This particular ice cream parlor is only open during the summer months.

Tichy is known for their Eismarillenknödel, which is a ball of vanilla ice cream with apricot jam in the center and then rolled in crushed hazelnuts, and it's super delicious.

And of course night walks with friends, one of my very favorite things in any season.

But this has come to be a fairly familiar sight most days, big thunderclouds roll in sometime in the afternoon or evening

Belvedere

The roses still enjoy the rain

The sky adds a bit of an ominous flair to everything.  Sadly this has also often messed with our plans to see the free movie at the Rathaus in the evenings, outdoor movies tend to be more enjoyable when you aren't getting soaked.

Another thing about August in Vienna is that all the locals seem to be on vacation and the tourists have taken over.  I seem to fluctuate between apparently looking enough like a local to be stopped and asked for directions and just embracing a tourist persona to do some of these activities.  I did finally make it into the crypt in Stephansdom, and while you aren't allowed to take photos I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have managed to anyway.  I definitively confirmed that rooms filled with piles of bones underground are not exactly my thing.

As we're rapidly approaching mid-August I'm still job searching, sending out as many CV's as I can and trying to be patient as many offices are all on holiday until the end of the month.  Thankfully also still working on another project to keep my mind engaged, and trying to enjoy the city and a bit of travel when I can! 

Venice and Istria

As part of my family's trip over here for graduation, we had decided that we would take a little vacation outside of Vienna as well.  After some discussion with them as well as a few friends, we chose to start with a couple days in Venice followed by a week in Croatia, sticking to Istria this time.  While we did do some sightseeing, the purpose of this trip in our minds was mostly relaxation and some good food and wine.  Check, check, and check.  

We took the night train from Vienna to Venice the day after graduation, arriving early Sunday morning just in time for the thunderstorms to clear and give us a beautiful sunny day.

View from the balcony off of St. Marks.  We also happened to be up here during Sunday mass, so the sounds of the choir were echoing through the upper parts where we were as well.

It certainly wouldn't be a trip with these two without numerous guidebooks and maps, although really it's just something they enjoy rather than any sort of necessity or anything we actually follow.

The Grand Canal

I took this photo while we were wandering around, only later realizing that the flower boxes in this photo are outside the breakfast room at our hotel, and our room is the balcony just past them.

Looking out from the Doge's Palace

Walking across the Bridge of Sighs

We only stayed in Venice for one night, but that gave us two pretty full days to wander around before we got in the car to head to Croatia.

I'm fortunate enough to have a wonderful friend, Jelena, who is from Istria and who I had been home with before.  She is back working there now, so she helped arrange absolutely everything for us as well as give us plenty of suggestions for activities and food each day.  Plus it was an added treat for me to be able to hang out with her some during this trip too.  We rented an apartment near Umag which served as our home base as well as a car to get around, making everything super easy and accessible.

Rovinj

Sunset in Novigrad

As an added bonus, another friend who is still studying at Modul is home for the summer and his family owns a marvelous restaurant in Poreč.  

Luka treated us to a delicious fish lunch before showing us around town a bit.

One of the highlights of Poreč is the Basilica, parts of which date back to the 4th century.  

This tile mosaic floor is part of the original 4th century section.  

Another gorgeous sunny day.

That evening, after visiting with Jelena's parents for a while at their house, we decided to go to Grožnjan to hear some of the live music festival.  This is about 9:30pm and we're still getting the purple sunset all around.

Oddly enough, the band this particular night was playing country music.  So here we are on this hilltop town in Croatia and it sounds a bit like we might be in Nashville instead.  Somehow it works.

The next day we drove down south a bit and took the ferry boat to Brijuni.  While Brijuni is comprised of 14 islands, we just visited the largest one.  The islands have been in the hands of various countries throughout the years, as well as Tito's summer residence, but it is now a national park and resort.

A sort of safari park, home to many animals that were gifts to Tito from around the world.

The water is the most amazing progression of colors, and quite warm.

The view of the sunset over the harbor at dinner that night, back near Umag.

And finally just a lazy beach day.  Honestly if we'd done this the first day we might never have left to see anything else.  All of us would have been very happy to have stayed another week or two and gone swimming every day.

The pool at our rental house, with the sea in the distance.

Finally a proper truffle dinner under the gorgeous ruins to cap everything off!

I really cannot thank this one enough.  We joke how it pays to have friends with masters degrees in tourism, but it really is fantastic to be able to not only see where your good friends come from, but to also share that with my family as well.

Looking through these photos makes me wish the weather would clear up a bit around here, we're stuck in this hot thunderstorm pattern at the moment.  It is probably helping a bit with my productivity I suppose, focusing on finishing up a couple projects and job searching of course!