Chinese Buffet for One, Part IV

The tradition continues; no Chinese buffet is safe. I can now add Austria to the list of countries that knows and fears my gluttonous appetite for unlimited General Tso's.

I ended up in Austria because I'm still in the process of becoming a legal worker in the Czech Republic. As I've mentioned, immigrants must apply for a work visa at a Czech embassy in a nearby country. The closest options are Berlin (which I visited because friends were going for their visa appointment), Budapest, Bratislava, and Vienna. We can choose the location of our appointment, but we can't choose the date or time. I got Tuesday at 9:00 AM. But at least I had over a week's notice. Some people had only a day's notice to book bus tickets and cancel lessons.

I didn't want to miss more lessons money than I had to, so I decided to make this Vienna trip "hit it and quit it" (insert various names for Kum & Go here). My itinerary went something like this:

Monday at 11:55 PM - Bus departs out of Prague. I tried to sleep, but we made several stops and the roads got bumpy.
Tuesday at 4:30 AM - Bus arrives in Vienna. I felt surprisingly awake. I had plenty of time to find the embassy, so I took my time finding a bathroom and getting a subway ticket to the part of Vienna where the embassy is located.
By 6:30 AM, I had located the embassy and gotten a good feel for what was located nearby. I also got to see the sunrise over Vienna, which was pretty spectacular. I decided to kill time by having a look into Schönbrunn Palace. This place is vast, and because it was so early, I felt like I had it all to myself (aside from some dedicated joggers). Pictures are on Facebook, but it was basically a huge palace with a garden and the world's oldest zoo.

But seriously huge. The courtyard by #1 could fit 3 football fields.

By 8:30 AM, I was back at the embassy waiting for it to open. I met a fellow American there who was also getting his work visa (for a photography business, not teaching). He was quite nice, so we chatted while waiting for the embassy to help us. It was a lot like being at the DMV, so you can imagine how much fun that was. Plus, my lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. The process itself was not too bad. They asked me some questions like "How long do you plan to stay in Prague?", "Why did you choose to stay in Prague?", "What is your housing like?", "How do you plan to find work?", etc. It must have been difficult for the interviewer because she had to ask me the questions in English, listen to what I was saying, then translate it into Czech to record on the form, then read it all back to me in English. We had a fun moment where she asked me what I know about "taxis" and I started rambling about how you should never use them in Prague. She was very confused because she meant to say "taxes" and I was going on about how I won't use them. Oops.

After my appointment, I went in search for food. It was only 10:00 AM by this point, so no cafes were open quite yet. I finally found a doner kebab place and ordered from a nice man who spoke no English. Having found nothing else of particular interest in this part of Vienna, I decided to head back to the Palace since the sun was in full force. There were many more people here by this time, but it still felt like I had the place to myself at times. I climbed to the top of the hill overlooking the Palace, and it was beautiful. Confession: I felt like Cersei Lannister overlooking King's Landing from up there.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I was getting rather exhausted by this point, so I found a secluded bench and took a nap. I had a light sunburn on the left side of my face the next day that made me look a bit like Two-Face, but it was one of the most peaceful moments I've ever experienced.

My bus back to Prague was due to leave at 3:45 PM, so I made my way back to the bus station. I still had time to kill, so I popped in a mall next to the bus station and found a Chinese/sushi buffet. I guess I just can't break some habits.

With a full belly (and a bit of a buzz from a large beer), I boarded my bus home. I slept some more and got back to Prague around 8:30 that night. It hadn't even been 24 hours since I'd left. Although I very much enjoyed my quick trip, it did make me think a lot about how alone I am now. Of course, I enjoy the solidarity and independence more than I can say, but it's sobering to remember how far away I am from friends and family. I've been abroad for over eleven weeks now, and it still feels like I'm living someone else's reality. I'm not sure that it will ever feel normal. Maybe it's not supposed to.

-Anthony