The air is cool and admittedly slightly tinged by exhaust, though when the slight breeze kicks up it simply smells like spring. A sixth floor balcony overlooking Vienna was not exactly what I was expecting from the Stepanushaus, one of the cheapest hotels in the city. It's good to have a moment to sit and collect oneself. Transitions are always hard, and the stress has certainly not been reduced by the extended nature of the thing. I managed to get more or less everything done that I wanted to do for the moveout. It was a nice change to not have to burn the apartment down to the bedrock and then scour the rubble with bleach, making a desert for the sake of a rent deposit. Nor was I expecting Luboš to go so far as to pay me for the exercise bike I was leaving, especially since I was perfectly happy to let him have it for nothing. In any case the extra cash is welcome and will completely cover my hostel bill in Prague. It's an odd feeling, carrying around ten thousand crowns in cash. Especially when I arrived in Vienna, since yesterday I didn't make it to an ATM and thus had over four hundred Euros-equivalent and I couldn't buy an ice cream cone. This has, meanwhile, been remedied. The trip was something of a trial, largely because of the need to haul around a sixty-five pound bag of assorted stuff and nonsense as well as my overstuffed backpack. The frame of the bag is already starting to go, though if my last one is any indication, it will continue to work (after a fashion) for a period which may last years. It cost me fifteen dollars, though, so I am well-satisfied with my investment.
Vienna has treated me well so far. The trip in was, as noted, somewhat annoying but one can hardly blame the city for that. The hotel is quite nice, better than my usual run, the Kriegsarchiv visit went as planned and was actually fairly useful, though I hit quite a bit of stuff that I had already found in other places. Anna and Veronika and I went out to a Czech pub here with one of Anna's friends from Prague, who was not only American, and not only from Colorado, but actually from Fort Collins. The world produces odd coincidences sometimes. I did end up sleeping for twelve and a half hours, but I felt much better today and hopefully I can keep that going. I should probably also add that it's kind of amazing if you think about it that I'm just doing some work on my laptop on a balcony in Vienna. Not bad for a small-town boy from flyover country! To which I will happily return in a little under two weeks.
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