Austria?! What're you doing in Austria?

After two happy years living in Los Angeles, the time has arrived for my latest relocation.  This time I move not only across the US, but to an entirely new continent, altogether* (You: "An entirely new continent").  There are many things that I will miss from Southern California: friends, family, sunshine, burritos.  But with a new city comes new, exciting discoveries, like old Austrian churches and palaces, classical music, really good coffee, and schnitzel!

My work studying lemurs and their bacteria will continue here in Vienna.  My thesis advisor relocated to a research position at the University for Veterinary Medicine, Vienna and I have followed her here.  You may be asking yourself (as many people have when told about my plans), "Are there many lemurs in Vienna"?  The answer is no, but then again there aren't many lemurs in Los Angeles either.  I will still be doing my fieldwork on wild lemurs in Madagascar and hope to head back there this coming summer.

So while I continue working towards my thesis I get the chance to explore Austria and Europe on the weekends.  Not a bad deal, right?  I will be blogging about my new life in Vienna and all of my travels.  Make sure to check back weekly for updates.  I will also be posting pictures here when available.  If anyone has any recommendations of sites to see, places to eat, or countries to see, please leave a comment below.

Cheers,

Andy

* Confused by the repetition?  This video should help.

Der New York Classic

Saw this McDonalds billboard on my way home from work.

This is for all of those Pulp Fiction fans out there:

Vincent: Yeah baby, you'd dig it the most. But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?

Jules: What?

Vincent: It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over there that we got here, but it's just – it's just there it's a little different.

Jules: Example?

Vincent: All right. Well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don't mean just like in no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's. And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?

Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?

Vincent: Nah, man, they got the metric system, they wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is.

Jules: What do they call it?

Vincent: They call it a "Royale with Cheese".

Jules: "Royale with Cheese".

Vincent: That's right.

Jules: What do they call a Big Mac?

Vincent: A Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it "Le Big Mac".

Jules: [in mock French accent] "Le Big Mac." [laughs] What do they call a Whopper?

Vincent: I don't know, I didn't go in a Burger King.

Vienna Waits For You

Hi everyone,


I've been talking about this move for some time now.  It has always appeared as some day in the distant future, with me slowly readying visas, housing, flights, and all sorts of arrangements.  Then suddenly it's October 1 and time to move out of my apartment in sunny LA.  The past month has been a blur of packing up my possessions, seeing family and friends, and a weak first attempt at learning German.


Now that I have a chance to finally look around, I find myself in a new city, at the start of a new journey.  Who knows what the coming months will bring, but be certain that you can tune in here to get your regular updates on all of my adventures in Austria and beyond...


Cheers,
Andy

MP3: Billy Joel - Vienna