Brandon turns quarter of a century

Brandon turned 25 on September 25th and we had a very nice and relaxing birthday. He left work early for an interview for the master's program at the University of Applied Arts Vienna - Universitat fur angerwadte Kunst Wien. After the interview we headed to the city center,inner stadt, and were treated to dinner and drinks by Steve and Sheri Sampson. Thank you so much guys! We ate at a restaurant called Medusa - a low lit restaurant in the evening and apparent club by night. We enjoyed fancy drinks: a gimlet for me and old fashioned for Bran.... oh and the food wasn't too bad either. 

 After dinner we headed to the Sacher Hotel that is famous for its Sacher-Torte. This chocolate delicacy was recommended to me by a few people including some Europeans I worked with at Oracle Team USA. I'd like to extend a big thank you to Bev Ashworth who also recommended the dark chocolate cake and treated us as well. The legend proved true - it was delicious! We also snagged a bottle of champagne and headed home, where I outfitted the chocolate cake with 25 obnoxious candles.

The final match of the 34th America's Cup was also on September 25th. Due to the time difference, the race started at 10 pm in Austria. I decked out in my Oracle Team USA gear and we opened the champagne to watch the race. It turned out the champagne was multi-use since we also got to celebrate OTUSA win the America's Cup! 

Die Wohnung (The Apartment)

 Margaretenstraße 51 1050 Wien, Austria ‎

For a european apartment, Brandon and I lucked out. Traditionally most moderately priced european apartments are narrow and squishy. Our apartment is located on the third floor (which is called the second story since the ground floor is technically considered zero). It is found in the heart of the Margareten district - the fifth district of Wien, Austria - highlighted in the image below. The innerstaldt (inner district), located in the central heart of Wien, is the first district. The remaining 22 districts are numbered in a circular fashion with larger numbers corresponding to districts farther from the city center. 

The greatest thing about the apartment is its location. It is in the same district as Coop Himmelb(l)au - the firm Brandon currently interns at. This gives him a nice ten minute walk to and from work!

Now back to the apartment. Let me give you a little walkthrough breakdown...

When you enter, in front of you there is a walk-in pantry closet area. The door comes with a ridiculous deadbolt-bar which takes three turns of the key to open and close. 

Next is the kitchen, which is decently spacious for Europe, with a full four burner stove and OMG a dishwasher. I forgot how amazing this invention was. The bathroom goes off from the kitchen area and harbors the all-in-one washer/dryer, which of course is all in German so it looks like no clean clothes, oh well. 

Walking through double glass doors is the bedroom consisting of at least a king sized WATERBED. Yes I did say waterbed... welcome to 1986. There is a TV with cable, so we watch a lot of BBC news since it is one of the only english channels. Lastly, there is a nice sized walk-in closet, which I bought a hamper and some organizing bins for.

The most notable thing about the apartment is the strange art-deco style. Of course all the art on the walls are naked women. Some of it is even frightening.

Did I mention some were a little frightening?!

Naschmarkt

   

The Naschmarkt is my favorite thing in Vienna thus far. It is best described as every foodie's dream. The center of the strip consists mainly of permanent shops and restaurants. I consider San Francisco a pretty diverse city in terms of the different types of cultures, represented by the range of restaurants at your disposal. Vienna manages to be San Francisco times five. 

Within the relatively small Naschmarkt, you can find every type of food imaginable. Scattered throughout you find your traditional Viennese restaurants and hot dog stands where you can get your classic weiner schnitzel and sausage options. However, just as commonly you find italian, eastern/greek, indian, thai, chinese, japanese. I could eat at this market everyday I am here and never get bored. On the outward edges of the nashmarkt, line pop-up stands where you can taste and, if you wish, purchase every type of delicacy. Walking through you find a plethora of options: spices, bread, cheese, nuts and candies, meats, fresh produce, flowers, vinegar, wines, and grains.

Most days it consists of a strip of restaurants and pop up stands, however each Saturday, the size of the naschmarkt doubles, as a wonderful flea market tacts onto the southern end of the market. Be prepared to argue with people when the only german you sort-of-know are the numbers one through ten- and that's when people say them very slowly. 

  On my first trip to the flea market, I exercised some restraint and purchased a scarf, a ring, and a bottle of sturm.

   Sturm, which literally translates to storm, is wine still in the fermentation stage. This results in a cloudy (thus the storm nickname), bubbly, and sweet drink slightly less in alcohol content when compared to the finished wine product. Most sturm ranges in the 5% alcohol content, but sometimes can be found upwards of 10%. I prefer to call Sturm magical juice or unicorn liquid, and it is all too fun and easy to share between two people.