Lost in the Supermarket

I've now been in Wien for two and a half days, so I'm starting to settle in to my new surroundings. My apartment is in Vienna's 11th district, half a block down the street from the Simmering stop of the orange line (Linie 3) of the U-bahn (Vienna's subway system). The neighborhood is a relatively uneventful, humble part of the city, but it perfectly suits my needs. There are several cheap kabob restaurants within a two minute walk and a nice cafe a block past the U-bahn stop. When Euro 2008 starts up at the end of May, I can walk two doors down to the local sports bar to soak in the action. As the next few days pass, I'm hoping I can explore the surrounding areas more thoroughly, but I'm satisfied with what I've seen so far.

One thing I learned almost immediately is that this city is not cheap. I have bled money since I arrived. The second I stepped through customs, I spent $90 on my monthly transit pass and my train ticket from the airport into the city. Though cheap meal options abound, a sit-down dinner will set you back at least 12-15 euros. I'm hoping to eat a cheap lunch (5 euro or less) everyday, while enjoying one or two real dinners each week. For breakfast and most dinners, however, I need to make do with the modest kitchen in my apartment. I have a small refrigerator, two burners, a microwave, toaster, sink, and some basic cookware, so fortunately I have enough to get by. Just as importantly, a large supermarket (at least by Viennese standards) is literally across the street. Yesterday, I went on my first supermarket adventure (and it certainly was an adventure) with John and Alex. As soon as we walked in the door, I went to grab a cart, only to find that one must insert a one euro coin before pulling a cart loose from its tether. As you can imagine, I was flabbergasted, and simply abandoned my efforts. After about 5 minutes, I realized how difficult it is to shop for a week's worth of groceries without a cart (quite the revelation), so John went back to fetch us a cart. The fun had just started though. Believe it or not, they don't teach you the word for non-dairy creamer in German-101, so we struggled through the market with only my tenuous grasp on the language and the aid of pictographic food labels. All in all, we did quite well, for much less money than I would have anticipated. In tribute to Rob's Amigos experience, my first home-cooked meal was the world famous frankfurter and scrambled eggs blue plate special.

Now that I'm settled in, you can expect more regular updates, so check in daily (we'll see how long that lasts).