Let the Househunting Begin

Oh, how every day is an adventure. I spent yesterday dealing with such a bleak outlook on our future (and current!) housing situation. There was sunshine, but I wasn't out in it. There was hope, but I was having a hard time grasping it. Thank you God, for each new morning. This one brought with it a cavalier attitude. My landlady informed me that the guy downstairs is a recurring problem--it's not just us. We had lines on a few apartments to look at and the promise of  a revised list from the housing service. Life again was seeming sweet. It's amazing how quickly I can loose sight of that.  I definitely lost the battle yesterday.

So, after eating breakfast and letting the girls watch Dora (out of respect for the gent below) we headed out to view the first apartment for the day. It's important to understand before I launch into our house hunting adventures that Vienna is broken up into twenty three districts (bezirks).  The first is the city center and the 2nd-10th curve around the city center in a clockwise direction.  The ring outside of that is comprised of the 11th-20th, with 21 & 22 across the Danube (close to John's work) and the 23rd is awkwardly tacked on to the southwest of the city.  We are currently staying in the 4th district, Wieden and are looking at apartments in the first ten districts, so we'll have easy access to the overwhelming amount of things to see near the city center.  

photo credit

This first apartment we were off to see was located in the district adjoining ours--district 5: Margareten, so we decided to make a true adventure of it and took the nearly two mile walk on foot. We were discussing our chosen route and commenting on how nice the neighborhood is; there is a park around the corner from this apartment, a supermarket and a nearby U-Bahn station. This was looking good!  

Then we turned the corner. 

And there was an auto repair place. But no bother--they have to operate somewhere in the city. We walked down the street trying to figure out which door went to the apartment. All the names on the placards out front didn't match up with what we were looking for. So, I called the owner. She directed us to the 'garage looking' entrance directly across from the Auto shop. What now? She buzzed us in and told us to come to the fifth floor. As I pushed the button for the elevator and opened the door, an eardrum-bursting loud grinding sound began echoing through the dank hall and suddenly something glass burst onto the floor of the elevator. 

So, stairs it was...

 

The owner was a really nice woman who had previously worked at the UN. She welcomed us into her home-- the same one she was trying to rent, chalk full of her own possessions and loads of gigantic furniture that I couldn't imagine being moved in a month, much less a week.  She very graciously plopped us all down on sofas in her living room and offered us drinks.  This is where I started wishing the housing service had access to pictures. The place was straight-up out of the question. We toured the apartment and chatted with the owners, but there was no way we were even considering it. 

Lookee what I found, Barb!

We chalked it up to experience and headed back to the U-Bahn. John had to get some things done at work and I needed to shrug off the heebie jeebies from our first apartment viewing. So when we got to Stephansplatz (in the first district, if you're following along), the girls and I hopped off the train. There's no cure in the world like the feel of downtown Vienna. As I walked and soaked up the spirit in the streets, my mood began to soar. This is Vienna. The gorgeous intricate buildings, churches, fountains and statues at every turn. Today was beautiful and the streets were full. We walked around for a bit before stopping for a second-breakfast sandwich and then set out to locate the next apartment we would be looking at in the afternoon. Most of the streets in the area of this apartment are pedestrian walkways...which seem to loosely accept cars when necessary. The street this apartment is on is smaller than the rest and not as busy with foot traffic. The shops are mostly upscale boutiques and there are several cafe's with outdoor seating. 

These lion heads were a serious item on our list for a new place

The first thing I noticed was that this place has a Forrest green door with lion head door knockers. If the building hadn't also been gorgeous, that probably would've sold me right there. I was excited, but we still had plenty of time to waste before our appointment, so we strolled some more in an effort to check out the neighborhood and by the time I was hungry enough to eat again I was near a hot dog stand. By this time the girls had fallen asleep, so I got to eat in silence and soaked up the atmosphere. I decided to move closer to the U-Bahn station John would be meeting us at and ended up lounging in front of the Vienna State Opera House for quite a while. There was pigeon watching and people watching galore. Surprisingly, I find both of those activities equally entertaining. It was glorious. This is my kind of town. 

Quiet and quaint...and steps away from the hubbub of the city

We had just enough time after meeting up with John to grab another hot dog (for him...I'm not that gluttonous) and some ice cream for the girls. We met up with the owner of this second apartment and were absolutely charmed. We walked through the lion head doors and up the stairs to the apartment on the third floor. This building may be right in the center of Vienna, but it forms a square with a small courtyard in the center. The walls are unbelievably thick so it is easy to think you are secluded within this space. The apartment had two bedrooms, a sizable living room with a more formal dining area, a large bathroom,a small kitchen open to an informal breakfast nook...and probably the best part: a balcony spanning the length of one side of the courtyard on which I could picture morning coffee and potted herbs. The building is altbau, which means "old building", but has been fairly recently renovated. It's altbau status lends it a charming old world feel and the furniture in place is also more old fashioned. There are a few pieces that would have to go (there is an overarching floral pattern going on I would probably work on dampening), but the owner was very open to moving and removing anything in the place. He also at one point expressed how important it is for kids to have room to run (thank you God!) and this place has it.

Sleeping outside the Albertina & Staatsoper

If you can't tell, I loved the apartment. And it's not just because of the stark contrast between the two we've seen so far. We have two more appointments tomorrow to see a place about a mile from where we are now (also in Wieden) and another across the street from the Vienna State Opera House (1st District), so we'll see if I can be so easily swayed by those as well.

After hoofing it home and letting the girls cool their heels for about an hour, we all headed out on our first night out.  One of John's coworkers (whom he also knew from the Lab) was hosting a get-together for a bunch of ex-pats, old and new.  It was so nice to be in a room full of English speakers and we finally got to meet the family with girls the same age as ours I referenced earlier as our guinea pigs.  They have been here a little over a year and I'm excited that the girls have some play mates their age who speak their language. 

 After our wonderful evening, we trekked back home at an ungodly (to our adjusting bodies) hour.  We made it home around 10pm. (Consider that I've been going to sleep near 8 every night.)  All in all, I guesstimated I walked at least ten miles today.  My body is sore, but it is getting stronger.  Look out, Dad, I might actually be up for some mountain climbing soon!