Things I have noticed and realized since being in Vienna:

• Old ladies in furs. Everywhere. Full-on, fur coats to the ground.
• Pigeons and crows do not only come in grey and black. They are various mixtures of white, tan, grey, and black. And some of them are quite handsome.
• The way it smells and feels after a frigid wind comes rushing by. Fresh, crisp, invigorating, revitalizing, and then the most subtle waftings of yummy things cooking come drifting by. As if the wind rushed every other smell away simply for this slow dance of food things just for you. Just to delight you.
• My legs are getting stronger and stronger. I like (very much) that I walk to get everywhere. That if I plan on being out all day I must carry everything with me. When I get groceries I must carry them all the way home. My legs are happier. I am healthier. I like this.
• All the towels have these little loops on them to hang them on hooks. Why don’t towels in the States have these?!
• Walking next to someone who is leading the way takes practice for someone who only used to walk for exercise. My friends here gently shift the direction, subtly leading the way. This seems like such a no-brainer, but I actually have to catch myself so as not to run  into them because I’m just not in tune with this gentle walking camaraderie just yet.
• How much I love the cold. ‘Whaaaa?!’ you ask (because you know I have lived in California all my life, mostly the southern and hottest parts, and that I usually HATE to be cold). It’s true! I love it. I love being outside in all manner of previously anxiety-inducing weather. The snow! The weird, sideways, hit you in the face, frickin’ freezing rain! The cloudy and grey days (although if too many in a row I can certainly see that I start to feel verrrrry dowwwwwn).
• Loneliness creeps into my life in ways I never could have imagined. Not just because I am very very far away from nearly every single person near and dear to me. But also  because in a place where I don’t speak the language, even when I’m with friends and even if we’re all having a wonderful time, German happens. You know how when you are learning a new language your brain (obviously) thinks quicker and more efficiently with your mother tongue? And forget about joking or being sarcastic. So, it’s the same the other way around. At some point in the night I am excluded simply because English is a second language. German is quicker and easier; my friends can more fully express and articulate in their mother tongue. Which I can understand about 5 out of 15 words. So, yeah. This is lonely at times.
• I also realize that I can understand more and more of what is said around me, so this is also awesome when “German happens.” hmmm, maybe I should make a t-shirt that says that.
• Every. Single. Thing. I eat here is fresh and delicious. Everything.
• In winter all the restaurants put up heavy blankets around the door as a temporary entry point; To keep the cold from coming into the place. This makes for lots and lots of cozy places to get in out of the weather.
• Austrians LOVE cake!
• I am falling more and more in love with this city each day I wake up here.