So, the first thing I want to talk to you about is toilets. The first toilet we saw here was in our hotel room and it was a literal square. Like, as in made for Spongebob Squarepants. I actually and genuinely fell into the toilet the first time I used it. It was awful.
However, after we got to our apartment, I learned something about Austria. Normal houses (and not luxury hotels with toilets made for cartoon characters) have toilets with something called a "poop shelf" in them. Now, this is a literal shelf inside the toilet that your poop lands on. Then, when you've finished your business, you are supposed to use this toilet brush thing to sort of scrape all of your poop into the lower part of the toilet... And then you flush and scrub until there are no remains of your...remains. It is AWFUL. Apparently it's meant to conserve water, but really...it just is 18 different kinds of disgusting. I will take the Spongebob Squarepants toilet over this nonsense any day. But alas. I have attached photos. The next thing I want to talk about is Kebaps, where you find them, and the people you run into around them. Kebaps are a delicious type of Turkish food that can be found on almost every corner. Street vendors sell them, but they also have their own sit-down restaurants. On our first full day in Vienna, Will and I went to a sit-down Kebap shop and ordered food. I went to sit down and left the ordering to Will, since he speaks both Turkish and German and I struggle with my English conversation skills (haha.) The moment I sat down, I noticed a Middle Eastern man sitting across from me. Being :fresh off the boat," as it were, I smiled at him. Now, if you don't know, smiling at strangers is a stereotypical marker for flirty American women. Women in Europe just don't smile at people--because they know it's dangerous. Almost immediately after I sat down, this man started snapping photos of me. When I noticed this, I observed that there was another Middle Eastern man outside who appeared to be receiving the photos. (I only say this because I watched as the man turned around, looked directly at me, and then nodded at his friend.) Have any of you ever seen that movie "Taken"? Well...I almost lived it. Once I realized what was going on, I made direct eye contact with the man, and asked him what he was doing (in German, so as not to further stereotype myself as an easy target.) As soon as I spoke to him, he put his phone down, and looked away. I then got up, and stood next to Will, and told him exactly what was going on. He put his arm around me, and we sat together to eat our Kebaps. Once the Middle Eastern man saw that I was traveling with another man, he got up and left the shop with his friend in tow. Now, I am not sharing this story with you to scare you. Instead, I'm trying to spread awareness of the dangers of traveling alone as a woman. With it being the 21st century and all, one would think that traveling alone wouldn't make us easy targets, but it does. Ladies: BE CAREFUL. And for the love, do not be overly friendly with people. I am a well-traveled person, who has had much experience with people from different countries, and still--sometimes it is hard for me to remember to dial back my American friendliness. Had I not been aware of my surroundings, and direct with the people involved, something bad might have happened. You just need to remember to be proactive and aware of your surroundings. Travel in groups as much as possible. And for the love, keep the smiling to a minimum. In other news, I am completely in love with this city and everything we have experienced before. If you want to see the many pictures I've posted so far, please visit my Facebook page! I haven't figured out how to link my photo album here, yet...but I will!
1 Comment
Judy Harvey
9/19/2016 05:50:51 am
Thought I would try this. Love hearing about your trials and fun! Glad you are being careful. You'd be quite the prize to some nefarious person. Like you say--don't tempt them! Love ya.
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Mariah AllenI am a BYU student majoring in English and spending a semester interning and studying abroad in Vienna Austria. Archives
October 2016
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