Walking to the Tower

It's Thursday! I was still dealing with jet lag last night/this morning... I couldn't fall asleep until about 230am... I slept pretty well though once I did sleep, so that is good.
This morning Romy and I wound up sleeping in a bit late, but went straight to get some fish and chips, then to the conference. We sat through a few hours of presentations. We picked up on some good information and ideas, but for the most part we figured out that what we are doing at TCU is pretty ahead of the curve globally, which is pretty exciting. It is still amazing to me that so many people have no idea how to a) give a presentation and b) put a decent looking powerpoint together. I don't understand what is so hard about that....especially when we are dealing with people in education and technology.

We left the conference and rested at the hotel a bit and recharged ourselves, then head out to hit the U1 line (underground). We took it to the Vienna International Center, which is where the UN is here. We walked (far) through a beautiful park, and then to the Danube Tower. We took the tower all the way to the top. It was close to sunset, and the view was just beautiful. I was thankful for a breeze, as it was almost 90 degrees today (plus humidity, ew). The walk from the train to the tower and back was about 3 miles

We then took the Underground back to Karlplatz and found a little restaurant slightly off the beaten path, and had some fabulous Wienerschnitzel and potatos, and of course I had a beer. It was quite tastey, and I loved every bite! My feet felt like they were going to fall off on the way back to the train, then from the train back to the hotel, which is where I am right now.

I am pretty proud of myself. I have been the navigator the past two days, picking out our adventures, leading us there and back... and even figuring out the menu, despite not really knowing German. Somehow I have been able to muddle through it and know enough words, or can figure out the context well enough to not be lost at all. (Dad, aren't you proud?!)

I think in all we walked about 5-6 miles today. My shoes are really comfy, but I'm not used to walking on hard pavement all day. I'm covered in blisters and my feet want a break. They can't have one though until Sunday! :)

It was a good day. We feel prepared for our presentation tomorrow. I feel good about it and am ready to go celebrate afterwards! It will be strange having July 4th without any fireworks, but I think settling for the Vienna cityscape will do just fine as an alternative. I will make due ;)