Summarising one crazy year into a single blog post? Impossible, I know. However, I will try to give you an overview of the last year of my life, living as a volunteer in Austria. It will be a mix of my own experiences as well as giving you a general overview of what ESC Volunteering is and what to expect from it. For me, it was the best decision I have ever made.
– 5th of August, 2019, monday –
After missing the Flixbus, we took a very comfortable and cheap train from Bratislava to Budapest. While I could’ve been at a job interview in the Netherlands, I was putting my luggage in a locker in Budapest, on 1290 kilometer distance from this theatre. We decided to spend the first afternoon on Margaret Island. With our impeccable timing, we made it to the one fountain show with Hungarian children’s music. Four out of ten, just for the water effects, wouldn’t recommend the children’s show. We explored most of the island, before exploring our new hostel. We were very lucky this time: we had the room and bathroom for ourselves and there wasn’t any suspicious underwear under the bed or anywhere else. Unbelievable. Read more »
– 3rd of August, 2019, saturday –
The central bus station of Bratislava is, apparently, an abandoned place next to the highway in the middle of construction works. Or, that’s where the Flixbus dropped us of after announcing the central bus station. It was nearly impossible to reach the other side of the street, but after we made it, it was easy to find the hostel. We checked in and discovered our lovely room. Not too clean, a pair of someone’s underwear under the bed, what else could you ask for in a hostel? To make up for the meh-hostel, we ate at a wow-Mexican restaurant. We also discovered that beer is very cheap in Bratislava. Read more »
– 31st of July, 2019, wednesday –
We arrived the night before, tired from the day in Linz. A short walk could be nice, the weather was lovely in the evening. Just around the neighbourhood, okay? Our friend got excited to show us the city and somehow we ended up walking around Vienna for almost three hours. I had the feeling we were slightly lost and there were multiple occasions where I just wanted to sit down and wait for someone to carry me home. Believe it or not, nobody wanted to do that for me. Mean, right? Luckily I made it home all by myself.
The Wednesday was one of the most uneventful days of the trip, and that on our first day in Vienna. We didn’t leave the house until it was almost noon and met a friend for lunch. We sat at the Danube for a while, ate an ice cream (which was very eventful).
In the evening things got more exciting; “did I tell you that we got three kittens?”, our next host texted us. I couldn’t contain my excitement in the metro and transformed into a bouncy ball until we arrived. It would be an understatement to say that cuddling the kittens was awesome.
Read more »
– 28th and 29th of July, 2019, sunday and monday –
Before actually going to Linz, we spent two days in Gallneukirchen. This typically Austrian small town where nothing ever happens. A friend of ours was so kind to offer her room, while she was travelling elsewhere. We decided to take it easy, send some job applications and go for long walks. Let’s say it was a little break from an otherwise very active trip. The highlight of Gallneukirchen was drawing some ducks and hiding them all over our friend’s room. In case you’re wondering: no, we are not weird at all. Read more »
