Austrians speak German.

The Austrian country-side, which you can actually see from my friend Dominic's apartment. Dad, if you look closely you can see the wind generators in the background!

The only difference between this site and Myrtle Beach is the license plates. Oh, and the Romanian.
HOLY PRETZEL!!! They call them Bretzels. I didn't eat one, but I sort of wish I had. They had all different types!


So, Newsflash: the Austrian people are incredibly friendly and helpful. What a refresher.

On Friday, after commiserating with Rob about our hangovers, Andi and I wanted to go to Parndorf, Austria for some shopping. She needed a dress for a "prom" and graduation ceremony back in Romania, and I like helping people find clothes. We went to the Petrzalka train station, bought our tickets, talked for awhile, proceeded to help a tourist find the right bus-stop, walked outside, and watched our train pull away from the platform 2 minutes ahead of schedule. CRAP. Luckily, the next one was in 50 minutes...but what do you do for 50 minutes in an area that only has a train station and it is ridiculously cold and windy outside? You revert back to childhood and play ridiculous games inside.

For example: walking down an up escalator! Racing to the far platform! Dancing on the stairs! Singing nursery songs! All very entertaining, and passed the time surprisingly well. This time, we got to the platform 10 minutes in advance, got a seat, and waited for the train to leave the station. We learn from our mistakes. We are never helping tourists again. ;)

The train ride only took around 20 minutes, but we came to a sad realization when we got off. We were at the wrong station. The amazingly helpful station attendant told us that Parndorf has 2 stops, and we were supposed to get of at Parndorf Ort, not Parndorf. CRAP. FOILED AGAIN! He then told us which way we needed to go, how far it was, and offered to give us the cell number of a taxi service, bus assured us that walking would be more cost efficient. Well, thank you kindly!

So, we began our trek across Austria in search of Designer Outlets.

For the most part, it wasn't that difficult to get around, and the sights were quite charming. The neighborhoods reminded me a lot of the States, with well cared for landscaping and gardens, bright colors, and "Welcome", actually "Willkommen", signs on the front doors. Once we were out of the Parndorf suburb however, there was no longer a sidewalk, and the ground was a bit soggy. "We could hitchhike!" I said with a big smile, completely kidding. Andi however, decided this was a good idea, and immediately turned around and stuck her thumb out. I was nervous. However, an SUV with a guy in his 60's, a baby seat in the back, and a cross hanging from his rear-view promptly pulled over and asked us what we needed. Andi speaks a bit of German, so she asked him if he would mind dropping us off at the Outlet center. He smiled, nodded, and motioned for us to hop in.

Oh my goodness. I know my parents are having a heart attack right now.

We were successful! Not only did he drive us to the Outlet Center, but he dropped us off in front of the store! We said exchanged lots of "Danke schön!" and exited the vehicle.

It worked, but I will probably NEVER do that again. Tempting fate once is enough for me. It will make a good story for my kids one day.

The Outlet was a lot like the ones in the United States. It was pretty crowded, and the clothes were often strewn about the store hap-hazardly. The deals were pretty good, but I noticed that a lot of the prices reflected the States in the actual number, but not the currency sign. Therefore, something that cost $75, was also 75 Euros. Not really saving yourself money there. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything, but we found a great dress for Andi :).

When we got back to Bratislava, we went to Slovak Pub for some garlic soup in a breadbowl (for me) and halusky (for Andi). Deeeelish....and very warming after a very cold day.

I then did laundry. I was running out of important items. Luckily, no one was in the dormitory because of the Easter holiday, so both of the washing machines were free :). I'd been saving up my 10 crown coins for a day just like that.