Getting Things in Order

Tuesday we had to meet up with Johanna and the other students she is in charge of to set up our phones/bank account/ and anything else we needed from the city. I had the bright idea to walk. It is a 45 minute walk but it is really easy and I did not want to mess around with the bus.

I made it there with no problems but it took forever. Then we headed over to a mall in order to register as exchange students in Austria. It went really smoothly with no issues.

On a side note: The other exchange students with Johanna are from Iceland and Finland. One of the guys from Iceland has actually lived in the US for a while and just gained residency. Where did he live you ask? Virginia Beach! I asked him if he knew were Elizabeth City was and he did! I was shocked.

I am writing this post a little late so I am having a hard time remembering everything we did that day.

I know I bought a cheap phone and a starter pack for my phone. You pay 15 Euro for it and it automatically gives you 100 minutes and 100 texts. You then set up your account online and pay 9 Euro a month for 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts. That is also only outgoing calls. Anything incoming does not count.

It is MUCH cheaper than the states.

We also stopped by a little chicken store that had what the Austrians call Kebabs. It is really just a taco with pita bread as the outside and like pineapple, chicken, ranch, lettuce, and cucumbers, on the inside. It was another great cheap meal!

Next we walked around looking for a map of Europe, a planner, tape, and some other random things we needed.

This is the Maria-Theresien Statue in the middle of Innsbruck.

We ended up at the train station to buy a student pass. You pay 20 Euro for the pass and any train in Austria is then half price for you. The card usually pays for itself the first time you use it!

BUT you have to have a photo for it. So Johanna and I walked over to a photo booth and apparently we selected the wrong option because my pictures came out super tiny!
My photo next to Matt's normal passport photo

After we took care of the train pass we went into the grocery store, which is inside the train station, to get something to drink. They have red bull mixed with coke that they sell right next to the red bull. It was very interesting.

Johanna also pointed out that a bottle of water is usually a little over one euro. A can of bier is 49 cents. Way to go Austria! Haha

We started walking again and found a little costume shop with some crazy crazy newsletters out front! Haha

Johanna also took us to a café called 360. It is on top of a seven story mall and you can see all of Innsbruck from there. It was the best view I have seen so far. I also got a hot chocolate..

not great but it was warm!!

We had an appointment at the bank to set up our accounts. Johanna is in charge of five exchange students so we all went together. It took about an hour and a half but we got it all situated for the most part.

Then Johanna, Matt, and I went to the mall for something to eat. Yet again, Amazing!

It is crazy how I am so used to the shit food in America that everything here is amazing to me. Also, I have eaten out a lot since I have been here and I have not felt sick once! Not even a stomach-ache. Usually I take at least two tums a day, sometimes more and I have not had to touch them since I have been here.

Next Matt and I went over to the grocery store to get some things for our dorms. We go to check out and I start putting things in a plastic bag I got earlier and as I am filling it up I say to Matt, “I hope this bag doesn’t break” Literally two seconds later, the handle breaks and the bag hits the floor. We are laughing like crazy.

Matt helped me find the bus stop to my dorm and then headed over to his own. I waited for about 10 minutes and then it pulls up, stops, I walk up to the door and it drives away.

WTF! I am holding 15 pounds of groceries, its cold, and its starting to get dark. So I pull out my map and decided to walk home.

Probably one of the worst ideas I have ever had.

I always know which way to go because the higher mountains are north. You cannot see mountains in the dark. I went into a Burger King to ask for directions. I got a nice “Ich spreche kein Englisch“. I see the main bus station across the street, the girl I asked for help speaks English but cant read a map.

I asked about 10 people for help and pointed to the airport on the map as where I needed to go because it is practically in my backyard and they all looked at me like I was completely nuts when I told them I was walking.

So all in all it took me two hours to walk home. But I made it, alive, and with my handle-less bag.

I get home and tell Matt what happened…

“Megan, you have to push the button on the outside of the doors to open and get on.”

That would have been vital information 2 hours earlier.