I remember visiting Salzburg several times when I was about 13 or 14. At the time I thought it was pretty much the most boring place on planet earth.
Me: "This city is wayyyyy too small. Can't we just go on a Sound of Music tour and skip everything else? Or at least can we go back to the hotel now pleeeaaassee!"
My mom: "Oh just watch out I bet you will live here one day!"
Me: "Over my dead body. And I want a Magnum cone."
Fast forward almost ten years and I can say I am happy and excited to be back! Especially now that my bratty teenage self has been replaced by my responsible English-teacher self.
The moral of this story is that mothers are always right.
I've been in Austria for about a week visiting the parentals in Mäder, Vorarlberg. I hadn't planned on updating the blog until I was officially moved in to my new diggs in Salzburg, but there's been plenty going on around here. Instead of recapping the past week, let's take a quiz.
Q. Which of the following events have taken place since I left for Austria?
a) During my eight-odd hour flight to Zurich, I did not wear any pants for about a good third of the flight.
b) I had a cyst removed from my neck shortly after arriving.
c) I made last-minuted preparations for my move to Salzburg.
d) All of the above.
A. If you picked "d," you win.
a). I'm not a fan of flying (is anyone?) but I was particularly dreading this trip as it would involve lugging some massive suitcases containing my entire life halfway around the world. By the time I had weaseled my way out of several hundred dollars worth of overweight bag fees, cleared security, and arrived at my gate, I was ready to pass out. My seat partner ended up being a nice lady traveling back to India. I returned to my seat to find that I had, along with my seat partner, been served a specially ordered Indian vegetarian meal. We were both like, Huh? Do we look related? This was certainly fine with me, the meal consisted of some sort of vegetable curry that was really quite good and significantly better than the dog food the rest of the cabin got!
And then I dropped the can of club soda I was holding onto my lap. After about five moments of sitting in soaking wet pants, I had a Lady MacGyver Moment of Inspiration. I made sure I was completely covered with the airline-provided blanket from the waist down and wriggled right out of those jeans. My seat partner is to be commended for pretending this was totally normal behavior and not raising the alarm about the exhibitionist sitting next to her.
b). The Cyst. I'd felt a pretty significant lump on the side of my neck just the day before my flight. As some of you know, my neck has been the scene of some serious crises over the years. So of course I freaked out, which had me on the way to the doctors office shortly after I arrived in Mäder. Can I just say that it really helps to have doctor friends and family in situations like these. An ultrasound confirmed that there was indeed something there, so we made plans for some more scans and tests in preparation for surgery next week to remove what I was completely sure was a positive lymph node.
I had been hoping for a somewhat less dramatic first week in Austria...Only the next day, during the biopsy, to find that what everyone (me and the doctors) thought was a lymph node was only a cyst that had filled with blood. In other words, totally harmless. Crisis averted.
c). Unlocked my phone, conferred with my landlady, applied for my Vorteilskarte....not much to report here.
d). You won.
See you next week in Salzburg, at least I hope so! Although given my track record for this week it would not be entirely unrealistic for something else to go completely haywire and for all we know my next update could be from Helsinki.
Me: "This city is wayyyyy too small. Can't we just go on a Sound of Music tour and skip everything else? Or at least can we go back to the hotel now pleeeaaassee!"
My mom: "Oh just watch out I bet you will live here one day!"
Me: "Over my dead body. And I want a Magnum cone."
Fast forward almost ten years and I can say I am happy and excited to be back! Especially now that my bratty teenage self has been replaced by my responsible English-teacher self.
The moral of this story is that mothers are always right.
I've been in Austria for about a week visiting the parentals in Mäder, Vorarlberg. I hadn't planned on updating the blog until I was officially moved in to my new diggs in Salzburg, but there's been plenty going on around here. Instead of recapping the past week, let's take a quiz.
 |
| View from Viktorsberg in Vorarlberg |
Q. Which of the following events have taken place since I left for Austria?
a) During my eight-odd hour flight to Zurich, I did not wear any pants for about a good third of the flight.
b) I had a cyst removed from my neck shortly after arriving.
c) I made last-minuted preparations for my move to Salzburg.
d) All of the above.
A. If you picked "d," you win.
a). I'm not a fan of flying (is anyone?) but I was particularly dreading this trip as it would involve lugging some massive suitcases containing my entire life halfway around the world. By the time I had weaseled my way out of several hundred dollars worth of overweight bag fees, cleared security, and arrived at my gate, I was ready to pass out. My seat partner ended up being a nice lady traveling back to India. I returned to my seat to find that I had, along with my seat partner, been served a specially ordered Indian vegetarian meal. We were both like, Huh? Do we look related? This was certainly fine with me, the meal consisted of some sort of vegetable curry that was really quite good and significantly better than the dog food the rest of the cabin got!
And then I dropped the can of club soda I was holding onto my lap. After about five moments of sitting in soaking wet pants, I had a Lady MacGyver Moment of Inspiration. I made sure I was completely covered with the airline-provided blanket from the waist down and wriggled right out of those jeans. My seat partner is to be commended for pretending this was totally normal behavior and not raising the alarm about the exhibitionist sitting next to her.
b). The Cyst. I'd felt a pretty significant lump on the side of my neck just the day before my flight. As some of you know, my neck has been the scene of some serious crises over the years. So of course I freaked out, which had me on the way to the doctors office shortly after I arrived in Mäder. Can I just say that it really helps to have doctor friends and family in situations like these. An ultrasound confirmed that there was indeed something there, so we made plans for some more scans and tests in preparation for surgery next week to remove what I was completely sure was a positive lymph node.
I had been hoping for a somewhat less dramatic first week in Austria...Only the next day, during the biopsy, to find that what everyone (me and the doctors) thought was a lymph node was only a cyst that had filled with blood. In other words, totally harmless. Crisis averted.
c). Unlocked my phone, conferred with my landlady, applied for my Vorteilskarte....not much to report here.
d). You won.
I know I won't be the only one reading this on a regular basis. You are too funny! La Mama
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