Our Protein Fix (It's Important)

On Thursday after German class, Elise and I visited Anna's apartment in Margaretenstraße for lunch and a study date. We had another German exam on Friday and needed to make sure we understood directions, coffeehouse vocabulary, how to get a hotel room, and grammatical terms such as accusative versus nominative statements and how to negate sentences. Through the week, it didn't seem like a whole lot of material, but come Thursday afternoon, we were all feeling the strain a little bit when we actually realized what we were expected to learn. But, in order to prepare for our study session, Elise, Anna, and I stopped by Anna's local Billa to get lunch supplies. I decided to brave making a gnocchi pasta, and it turned out horrible. I know that I'm no cook, but this might not have been entirely my fault. It was a very cheap packet of pasta (0.59 cents...how could that possibly be delicious?) and I hadn't thought to buy any sauce to put over it, so I had one spoonful of Arrabiata from Anna's fridge. I've never had something so thick and heavy that filled me up uncomfortably within ten bites. Elise finished the rest of the pasta, which was a feat since I left a lot and it was not very tasty. I won't be making pasta anytime soon; at least not that brand. 

We studied until 4:30pm, and then headed back to the IES Palais for a meeting at 5pm about our upcoming field trip to Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. I won't say too much on that now, but the trip looks incredible and I can't wait to go! There will be more on that later...

Friday morning, after studying all evening, I woke up panicking about negating sentences at 5:40am. I stress over such ridiculous things. I made my morning porridge while studying vocabulary for my exam and we got to IES around 8:30am. We were the first ones there! While Elise and I walked from Schottentor to the Palais, we literally saw nobody. It was almost completely empty! It's really strange because generally, at rush hour, you would think there would be tons of commuters getting to work. The U-Bahn and trams seemed full, but in the center of District 1 in Vienna, hardly anybody except a few workmen were around. It was silent. Three hours from now, the place would be bustling with tourists and workers on their lunch breaks, but it's like a different, deserted city this early in the morning.

The German exam went well enough, so we'll have to wait for our results until Monday to see if we actually did okay. After the exam, which took about an hour, we still had class time left over. So our teacher handed us a sheet with written directions (in German, of course) to a Kaffeehaus where we would all meet and order a drink and pastry. I followed the directions easily (I finished the test earlier than most, so I left early) but some people got completely lost and had to call for help. Maybe they couldn't read the handwriting properly. The Kaffeehaus wasn't too far away.

It was called Palmenhaus and was so beautiful, inside and outside. Since it was a lovely day, all the tables were out on the patio overlooking a very green park. Inside, the ceilings were massive and so high up. It was like a a giant greenhouse as well. There were palm trees and exotic flowers and I think there might have even been a butterfly garden next to our table!

The outside of Palmenhaus

We all managed to find the place and order drinks in German (the waitress was instructed not to speak any English to us) before going to check out the pastries. Now, Elise and I have been very, very good here about not eating many carbs or sugars. We haven't had a single pastry or cake besides a bit of Anna's birthday cake and a gingerbread cookie back in Mariazell. However, I wasn't about to pass up a free cake, and I had been dying to try Vienna's famous Sacher Torte.

The interior of Palmenhaus (from website)

I was a bit disappointed to tell you the truth. I was ready for a decadent chocolate cake, seeing as this has been Vienna's most famous cake since 1832. The original Sacher Torte recipe is still a well-kept secret, apparently, so maybe the real one from the Hotel Sacher is better than Palmenhaus. But, the cake might have been nice, just not really my thing. It was very dry and I didn't particularly like the apricot jam filling. I should have gone for the strawberry and chocolate mousse torte. Next time, for sure. However, now I have tried Vienna's famous cake and won't be craving it again anytime soon. However, I absolutely adored this sunny brunch Kaffeehaus. I'll have to bring my aunt and mother when they (hopefully!) come visit me, because this is so their thing.

After not eating sweets or very much in general for over two weeks, Elise and I started to feel a bit ill after our cakes (she got a redcurrant and whipped cream one), so we walked it off and made our way to Danauinsel U-Bahn stop. We were going for a bike ride along the Danube River! The water was so blue and clear and it was gorgeous standing on the bridge over the middle of the river outside the U-Bahn stop. We were ready for our 6 mile bike ride, up and down hills, avoiding pedestrians and other bikers or skaters, and averting our eyes enough to miss the completely nude men and women tanning but not accidentally ride into the River. Honestly, whenever there was someone in the nude, they would turn to fully face us as we rode by. How can they feel comfortable with everything sagging and hanging out for the world to see?

Bridge view of the Danube River

The bike ride was immensely relaxing, and Elise and I both lost our stomachaches and started to grow hungry after all the physical activity. Our ride didn't seem like just six miles. It was hard work going up and down the hills! We definitely felt very fit afterwards though. There was something so serene and calming to ride past the green hills dotted with houses and cathedrals and the clear blue water, just so long as we managed to avoid the saggy old men and women-bits we came across.

This is our "workout-chic" look

After our ride, we were feeling a bit wobbly and decided we needed real food and fast. We'd heard about this pay-what-you-want Pakistani buffet in the ninth district near our house, so we set off walking from IES to it. When we finally came across the tiny little hole-in-the-wall cafe, Der Wiener Deewan, it was heaven. The buffet was filled with chicken and lamb and rice and bread and potatoes and lentils and spinach and salad. I can't even express to you how excited we both were to see chicken again, and we immediately loaded up our plates with the protein. Dad would love this place, so when he comes, I know where I'll be taking him to dinner. The best part, besides the chicken of course, is that the meal cost us whatever we wanted! So we threw down a 10 Euro note and ate as much as we could. I have found my protein place for the next four months!

Some interesting art-graffiti Elise and I sat next to as we wolfed down our delicious butter chicken and lamb