One of my favorite skylines

As time passes, I realize how much I will miss this place. As I feel right now, I don't want to leave at all.

Contrasts

Back in Austria - ready for kick-off.

It's warm and, sunny (oh well...) and inspiring to be here again. I'm stoked about having left the winter and snow behind me for sunny days and blue skies.
Before:

After:

Winter is not over yet

This winter must be one of the coldest ones I have experienced. I cannot remember last time it was this cold.

The semester is more or less over. I have one exam left on Tuesday and then one month of freedom begins. I had an exam in global management and strategy yesterday and I managed to hand in my last paper for the semester last night, and I can feel a great feeling of relief. Many friends are leaving Austria these days and I will most likely not see some of them ever again. It is going to feel so strange and empty in one way, but it will at the same time feel good to come back and begin the second semester.

It's in the middle of the winter right now, but I have heard that Austria is beautiful in the spring.

[Jänner] (= January)

It's (almost) late January and the semester is almost over. I have two large exams, one minor exam and one deadline left before the semester break in February.

It is interesting that I after a week and a half back in Austria feel as if I never left the place at all. As the semester is reaching its end, a lot of people pack their bags to leave the country. Some to return soon for the second semester, while some are rounding up their studies at Johannes Kepler University. It's sad in a way when people you have got used to leave. You know deep inside that the chances of seeing some of your friends again are minimal, almost non-existent. It's sad, but at the same time something normal and typical in life.

It's Wednesday and I have to finish my last big paper for this semester within the coming 48 hours. Time to leave and be a little more productive.

Thank you for reading.

Merry Christmas

It's one day left till Christmas eve and the snow has covered the surroundings just as it should this time of the year. It's beautiful and it is original.

The past few weeks have been hectic and I have experienced many nice things. Not long ago I attended "Broker's Festival", a party organized by (from what I have been told) a conservative (and pretty right oriented...) youth organization in Austria - Austro Danubia.

This party was unique. The prices in the bars were adjusted after the supply and demand. Several projectors were constantly showing graphs and prices throughout the whole evening. It was a very interesting experience and I had the luck to attend the party with good company!

This party was arranged the last weekend before the Christmas holidays. A lot of people went on a ski trip the next morning and after that it was pretty much time for departure for most of us. We had one more "Stammtisch", the Asian one, and the night after that we all went out to eat at a Thai restaurant (I don't really know why we picked that place). After having said goodbye to most of my friends, I went home around eleven in the evening, and three o'clock the next morning I got up to begin my trip back home to Sweden. After almost one week back home in Sweden, I miss Austria and I am looking forward to returning. Unfortunately a lot of friends have left the country, most probably to never return again. I will miss the Americans and Canadians! Fortunately, there are still many friends left and most importantly, Nicole will be there :).

Being home means many things. Mainly it is about catching up with family. Most friends are out of town or busy with their own lives (which is something I sympathize with). The holidays are here and I will try to get some rest. Thank you for following and Merry Christmas :).

A taste of Linz

2009-10-20

Post three following my return to the city of Linz.

First of all, like I might have mentioned in the first post following my return to Linz, I see that some improvements have been made to the city since last year. There are some things I would like to underline:

• More cultural hotspots and arrangements. Since the city became the cultural capital of Europe 2009, it has become more "cultured" and less "alternative" so to speak. Linz is a heavy industrial city with a lot of concrete. Highly sophisticated Museums, buildings and improved technical solutions to the already existing infrastructure contributes to make the city less dull and more interesting.
• The tram is now running round the clock on weekends, and that is a huge help when we go out. Less taxis (that might not even show up) and more environmental transportations impresses me.
• The responsible people of the dorms and campus have realized the simplicity and smoothness of WLAN. Wireless Internet is a must in all western European cities. Period.
• Like I mentioned yesterday, I see less people with festival outfits and more people with professional appearances. More of that please.

There are however still things that I dislike, regardless of where I might find these things I might add. The following things do not impress me at all:

• Bad water. Linz is one of those cities where the water running out of the tap tastes bad. It makes the coffee taste like saltwater, it leaves unpleasant stains on surfaces and in pots, and last but certainly not least, it forces me to buy mineral water in order to not dry out. I consume about 9 liters per week.
• The cleaninglady who is supposed to clean my apartment for me. She is an urban legend, I barely see her and hear her. And of course, I don't see any work being done in my apartment! I am paying for room service but all I get is someone who empties my trash three times a week. She doesn't even change the plastic in the bin, she just empties it in her cart, slams the door and disappears. Imagine how disgusting it is to use the one and same plastic bag in the bin for over a month.
  I have been thinking of buying my own mop in order to make things a little better, but if I do that she will probably never come back.
• Stores (and other common places) that are closed on Sundays. Austrians are very catholic, and because of that they strongly believe that no work should be carried out on Sundays. I don't like that. 
  
• The concept of air-conditioning  appears to never have reached the Austrian nation. In a country with one of the highest smoking rates in the world where smoking indoors, both in buildings but many times also in public transport takes place, it only makes it worse. Every country has flaws, and I would most probably nag about something else and bring it up here if I was still in Sweden, but this is beyond anything else. I find it difficult to breathe at some of my lectures. The lecture halls are spartan, the furniture and equipment that has been equipped there belongs to another century. Dust flies around by the least motion, causing endless coughing, sneezing and also creating health risks. What we breathe in will eventually end up in our lungs, and getting it out from there is quite some challenge.
  A Swedish lecture hall:
  
  
  
  
  
  A lecture hall in Linz:
  
  
  
  
  

That was all I had to say for this time. In my next post, I will thoroughly go through my apartment (with images of course) and grade the different features. Thank you for reading.

Back in business

2009-10-06

Almost one month has passed since the last post and a lot of things have happened since then (as you might have guessed already). The most obvious and also most significant reason is that I have (temporarily) moved to another country (once again). I am back in Austria and I have spent the last three-four weeks to set up my new life here. My classes have begun and I am currently taking both Italian and French classes (again). The challenge now is that the courses are being held in German, and it is quite some task to understand what the lecturers are saying.
The parties are continuously taking over from one-another, the beer is cheap :D, the pubs are cozy, the weekly (sometimes daily!) football games are played with a great sense of passion and friendship and the exchange students from all over the world contribute to make this place interesting and challenging in a positive way.

Some differences have taken place since last year. The most obvious one seems to be that the Austrians have attended fashion schools, they all look much better than how I remember them, and I have seen less boys and girls in lifeless pink hairstyles, too tight and outworn jeans topped with turquoise fleece-jackets. I saw a representative from Amnesty International on my way home from campus today, and she was really struggling to attract the attention of me and my American friend Lauren, but Lauren declined abruptly by saying that she might have paid more attention to her offer if she didn't look like a gypsy. Harsh perhaps, but brutally honest at the same time.
They still seem to have a great passion for piercings, cigarettes and weed though, but I guess I can live with that. So here's the things I've seen (that are perhaps worth sharing):

The stadium of Linz where L.A.S.K (what a stupid name) plays. 

The botanic garden of Linz.

The beautiful towns/villages Hallstatt and Gmunden (Gmunden, hahaha).

The fantastic annual Oktoberfest in Munich.

Even though I have been here for more than three weeks already, I'm still trying to keep myself updated on what is happening back home. Even though I miss it sometimes and I remember many beautiful and warm things from home, I still believe that I have made the right thing. I'm back in action, one year older, a few kilos heavier and generations wiser!

Thank you for reading.

Echoes from the past

The days are getting longer and the weather is steadily improving for every week that passes. It makes it even harder to stay inside (which is a good thing I guess). The only problem is to find something interesting and decent to do outside of the house. Everybody I know is busy with their own lives. It's either work or studies, and I have no problems with that. I just need to get my ass out today. Wherever, I don't care. I just can't sit home and wait for the day to be over anymore.

I had a few acquaintances from my past yesterday, and it struck me this morning that I am pretty affected by these acquaintances, more than I thought I would be. It can be described as a reminder of how well things were twelve months ago (and during most of 2008 as a whole), and also as a reminder of how different things are now. Not to mention that I felt slightly anxious about returning to a place where all friends are gone. There will only be strangers left. Suddenly I started to feel how much I have been missing the life as a student. I started to miss my friends from university.

I cannot see any clouds on the sky today and I feel like leaving house soon. I'll see what I'll do. There are some things I need to take care of first.

Have a nice day.

Course dropped

I had a new course that began a few days ago and it was a continuing course of another one that I recently passed. Anyhow, the workload seemed very heavy in relation to the ECTS credits one would obtain by taking it. We were however asked to form groups the first lecture, and I ended up with my Norwegian friend J, a Spanish girl and an Austrian guy (who had blood running out of his nose). I told my colleagues that there was a possibility that I would drop the course due to the heavy workload, but they insisted on having me in the team anyhow, accepting that I might contribute less than the others. We received this e-mail from our Austrian colleague on Thursday:

From: "L"
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 20:35 PM
To: "J" ; "S"
Cc: "M"
Subject: ........

hey...

i'm sorry... but i'm forced to quit the course because i can not write the final exam. In the first week of february i am on a workshop and it does not really make much sense to put so much effort in a course when i may have no possibility to write the exam.

best wishes

L

... And then, shortly after that I received this hilarious e-mail from the Norwegian guy:

From: "J"
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2008 20:35 PM
To: "S"
Cc: "M"
Subject: Strategy

Okey... Now, what do we do? I'm not going to be able to write the whole case by myself!! I was even sceptical about writing half of it... Fuck. That little whore teacher. She should have given us some time to plan. Like a couple of weeks...

... And three hours later this one:

From: "J"
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 15:49 PM
To: "S"
Cc:
Subject: Re: Strategy

Faen. Jeg dropper kurset... Brenn jævla X hora! Jeg orker ikke å lese så mye for å få 3 ECTS... Det er ikke verdt det! Jeg får heller ta et ekstra fag hjemme i Norge. Så da sitter M igjen med sin egen gruppe! Haha. Stakkars...

Those of you who understand Swedish/Norwegian/Danish can probably see why I find this story funny :).

Rainy Sunday

I've actually needed to remain silent for one week, that's why I haven't posted anything since last Sunday. I have been through something significant and beautiful. It is perhaps too early to label this experience, so I'll wait.

My throat hurts and I am sick, but it's OK. This week went fast and my business courses finally begun. You can't miss your first lecture in a course here, because if you will, you lose your spot. Missing any random lecture throughout the whole course could mean a failed grade. New experiences all the time. Nevertheless: It is interesting and inspiring!

Sweden played Portugal last night at Råsunda and the game ended 0 - 0. I am proud because Sweden played well against a strong team like Portugal, but I wish we had won.



Iran is to play North Korea and one of our best players throughout history has now declared that he retires from his international football career. Ali Karimi will not be wearing the Iranian jersey. After more than 100 caps and some 40 goals he is throwing in the towel. I can understand him. He has been in the service of the national team for over a decade and the federation has not been run be proper people once during this period. He has been banned by his own federation several times for violations that don't exist anywhere else in the world. It's a huge blow for Iranian football to not be having Ali in the team anymore, but I hope that his retirement won't be in vain. I hope that people realize that this is the price we have to pay if the current kind of people are to runt one of the holiest and most appreciated assets of the Iranian people.


It's Sunday morning and I am looking forward to a rainy day consisting of studying and a walk along the Danube. I think I'll make that a routine from now on. Last week it was truly beautiful.

Fooled by the landlord

Bad news. My room was never changed. They fucked up big time here at the hotel and they offered me a bribe to shut up. They tell me that they're willing to repay me my deposit and to forget about this months' rent if I get the fuck out. This means that they are aware of their mistake. Yet they don't have the balls to admit it. I am going to run a shitstorm on them and their company. Bad publicity is never good for a hotel. I have my camera and I will document how I have been unfairly dealt with. I am too tired to tell the story but briefly: They promised me a new room today but they fucked up and now I am planning to take legal action. They are charging me for something they haven't delivered and for me that is very hard to accept. I will make noise (and perhaps make an ass out of myself), but I won't let these people ride on me and my rights without getting away with it.

Austria is a catholic country but still I've seen more strip clubs here than in Sweden. Sweden is a protestant country and the population is on top of that very secular (amen for that ;)) but still you usually don't see many places where they openly offer lapdancing and tits.

Austria is special. It is not like Germany (which I had suspected before I arrived). They have a very special accent and architecture. It's beautiful (as long as the Soviet influences are excluded).

Finally connected

After a few days of being offline I am finally found back here. I am sitting in Linz, northern Austria and I have been writing about my stay in a document. The following content is an excerpt from these reflections.

Friday, September 12 2008, ~22.00

It’s a few minutes past 7 am and I am sitting in Linz. The first night was horrible due to a huge mistake by the people that were to handle my accommodation upon my arrival. They gave me the keys to a double room with no kitchen, a shared bathroom (with some asshole that I haven’t met yet) and they expect me to live and study here. The whole situation becomes even more bizarre when I look at the marketing fliers and the information they provided us with before we even came here. They promised Internet connection, kitchens and single rooms with private WC and bathroom. I tried to complain, with the help of some Austrian students, but the moron behind the counter wasn’t too keen on helping me out. The only answer the idiot could give was that a change was impossible at that time, I would have to wait until Monday. Great.

It really pissed me off because the whole trip had gone perfectly well with no delays and smooth transports. The city of Vienna was beautiful (the little I got to see from it) and Linz seems like a cozy place, not far away from other interesting places in Europe.
I am hoping to solve this matter as soon as possible and to have them cut my rent
(maybe even compensate me financially). The room is dirty and it smells really bad because of indoor smoking. I didn’t want to use my own sheets in that bed because if I would, the stench of cigarettes would probably never leave. I am going to have to deal with this room for another three nights.


---------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, September 13, 09.30

I’ve had breakfast and it was OK, nothing more. I think I can deal with it for a year. I also took that shower I was talking about and I feel much better now. I’ll probably pass out later in the afternoon, I practically had no sleep last night. The bed has no sheets (I brought my own), but it really smells awful in here. I don’t want my sheets fucked up by this dirty bed.

I found a computer with internet access 30 minutes ago and I paid a little to log on into my inbox. I found the room reservation document, the room confirmation and an e-mail from one of the responsible people at the international office. I was right, they fucked up and not me. It says that we both have reserved one single room respectively. The manager and his turkeyneck secretary show up on Monday morning and they gave me a hard time last night for calling them and reminding them of their incapability and lousiness. The fuckers didn’t understand that I, after an eight-hour trip, was exhausted and that I (with my deal and deposit) expected what I was entitled to. I won’t let this incident pass unnoticed. I am supposed to report about my studies to people back home and I will make sure to pull the right strings so that this hotel (or whatever the fuck it is) gets some bad publicity. This is totally unacceptable.

Enough. I have two nights left in this shithole, and hopefully they’ll hand me my right room on Monday.
Today we’re going out to explore the city a little bit. We need to purchase some stuff for our stay here (I have to wait, I don’t even have a kitchen and a refrigerator at the moment).

---------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, September 13, 13.09

I came home a while ago after some shopping and a late lunch. We went to buy some dairies, bread and fruit. After that we were really hungry and the smell of pizza lured us into a Turkish place with Italian ambitions. What a terrible idea that was.

I was looking at the menu and I felt that I wanted something with vegetables. I ordered the Pizza Gemüse (Pizza with Vegetables). The image on the menu (I fall into this trap every time) illustrated a juicy pizza with fresh vegetables. I got a dry one with a little cheese and a lot of broccoli. The broccolis never appeared on the image and the vegetables from the image never appeared on my pizza. Now I know at least one place to avoid next time I’m hungry.

I’m tired but bored at the same time. Classes begin on Tuesday, and I am more or less a prisoner in this hotel until my room is rearranged. We are going out in an hour or so, just to take a walk, see more of the city and probably buy important stuff we might need. We were talking about getting a second hand refrigerator because people obviously enjoy stealing food at this place (surprise?).

Anyway, we saw some funny things downtown. A few nuns, a titty-wagon and funnylooking people. I couldn't take shots at all of them but I managed to catch the nuns and the pornotruck.



---------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, September 14, 15.39

It’s a rainy, cold and sleepy Sunday in Austria. I woke up pretty late, had a light breakfast and prepared myself for a public tour on the tram. We caught the tram sometime around 12 and we came home sometime around 15.00. We went to the both ends of the line to see how the city looks like outside the core (which is the only thing we had seen before our trip). It was nice and cozy at one end, but completely different at the other end where the university is located. It looked like some old eastern bloc city with only gray houses and no signs of joy whatsoever. We saw another porno club called Moulin Rougue and it looked very much like the original!

Yesterday afternoon we had no clue what to do. We sat and talked about various uninteresting things and we tried to make time go faster. Both of us are looking forward for the studies to begin so that we can focus on something instead of chasing something that occupies our minds. We are in the same situation today, and we don’t really know what to do for the last hours of this day. We have to get up early in the morning tomorrow, so going out is not on our agenda. We went out both the night we arrived but also last night with a Dutchman and a Norwegian guy. It’s really nice to meet people from other countries and to make new friends.
Tomorrow I’ll hopefully get the problem regarding my room reservation solved (I am really really really hoping that it will be fixed!!!). We are going to be picked up tomorrow morning for an introduction to our new campus and course enrollment.