"Because I've been on some other planet So come pick me up... I've landed"

Hey all!

It's been a long 24 hours, but I'm so glad we're here! I've walked around a bit, grabbed some pizza (I was relieved it tasted the same) and beer. I move to my dorm tomorrow, which I am thoroughly excited for! I glimpsed the Gasometers on the taxi ride to the hotel, and they looked very cool.

Megan and I landed in London right on time. The flight went well, cramped per usual, but I slept a bit which was nice. I ended up sitting by an elderly gentlemen who happened to be the director of admissions for the Graduate Design Program at NCSU. We discussed movies, art, actors, directors, Vienna, and grad school. It reminded me how much I enjoy connection, even if it was only for  7 hours. The first thing I did when I landed was grab a coke, which cost 1.5 pounds for 500 mL. I might be weaning myself off caffeine...

Our flight from London to Vienna was delayed for about an hour. Megan and I stared and stared at the gate/departure board for a solid 50 minutes. Our gate just read "Please wait." The terminal we were at, which we had to take a bus to, and apparently air conditioning was not available, didn't include your gate information on the ticket, and would be displayed 30 minutes before departure. Unfortunately, some gates were a 25 minute walk away, and for instance our gate opened at 8:30 and closed at 8:45. It was a stressful situation, but we power walked to our gate, boarded, then passed out. The flight attendants with the Austrian airline wore bright red, skirts, shirts, vests, hose, and shoes. Quite an eyeful. My seat was by a young British child, who I quickly bonded with. He even beat my high score on Doodle Jump.

Megan and I were convinced by a very sketchy, Turkish cab driver, even though he didn't have a meter, to take a taxi rather than a bus. I'm positive we paid more than other cab drivers, but we were too tired to really care, and my two pieces of luggage each weighing over 30 lbs...WHY DID I PACK SO MUCH...were cumbersome and hard to manage. He drove terribly, but after a trip to New York, I'm nearly certain it's a prerequisite to become a taxi driver. He did in the end, get us to our hostel, with a stern warning about prostitutes, which wasn't really necessary.

The hostel is adorable. Other than having to push a button every 30 seconds in the shower, I'm quite enamored. There are two buildings across this tiny street from each other. There's this huge, rounded turquoise door that lets you into the building we're staying in. The hardware is really pretty too. The stairs are slippery through, fell carrying my luggage and thought I'd broken my elbow. Our room has 4 bunk beds in them, and most of the beds are full. There's an atrium garden for each building, and it's this little bubble of peacefulness. There was also the German version of Settlers of Catan, which I found amusing.

I'm snuggled up in bed, since it's nearly 10 here. The long day has left me a little weary, but excited. We're waking up early to check into our dorms across town. My friend Nick arrives also tomorrow! I seriously need a big hug.

Sweet dreams chickadees.

Auf nach Wien heute

Today's the day! It's very surreal that less than 15 hours I'll be in Wien! My plane leaves around 6, so I plan on sleeping for the duration of the flight; the ability to sleep anywhere has always been my super power. I'll wake up in London, hop a plan to Wien, then a bus to Westbanhof, and a short walk to our hostel.

It's undetermined how often I'll post, but there'll always be a lot of pictures.

Best wishes my friends,

Carson