*If my posts are starting to sound a bit bi-polar, it is because I am writing them throughout the day...trying to get down as many of my thoughts and impressions in the moment they occur :) Enjoy sorting through it all!*

Venice has long disappeared from the rear-view mirror of our bus. We have been traveling for a couple hours now and I have been stunned by the beautiful northern Italian countryside. I believe we drove through part of the Alps (I am not positive...it may have been another mountain range...I really need to work on my geography) and it was so gorgeous. Lush green mountains that tower over you from every direction. Amazing.

We are making our way to Vienna and I could not be more excited. I am just so content with my lot in life. We stopped at a small gas station somewhere in northern Italy and I bought salami, cheese and crackers for lunch. Sitting out on the curb, eating my little self-made cracker sandwiches, staring at the mountains, I couldn't help but heave the most contented sigh of my life. I was (and still am) so happy. It is a perfect day. The scenery is absolutely picturesque. And...man! I LOVE salami and cheese and crackers! :) It was such a wickedly fabulous combination of some of my favorite, yet relatively simple things. *yet another deep sigh of happiness*

The bus ride that should have taken a little over 4 hours ended up taking over 8! Not sure what happened...I think our bus driver is just REALLY slow. Other cars were crushing past us on the highway so...oops.

Vienna is beautiful! And SO clean! It is a breath of fresh air (literally!). I already adore it. So, Vienna and Munich as the stops I was most excited for is seeking very justified right now.

As a completely unrelated side note, George (Heather's youngest) and I have become pretty good buddies. Tonight he started holding my hand whenever we walked any where. I won't lie, I was pretty pumped to have made it into that kid's good graces ;) The photo I have included is his "Hey! No pictures!" face. He apparently does not want photographic evidence of our budding friendship ;)

We spent the evening just walking around the city, getting a feel for the layout and, of course, targeting the nearest Wiener Wurst stand for some hearty chunks of meat (all of us have been really missing meat...we hasn't really had good meat since lamb in Greece and had kind of exhausted our love of pasta and bread in Italy, hah!). We got some pretty great pictures but there is nothing too extraordinary to report.

Back at the hotel, I got my first experience with a German keyboard. I found out that all the Facebook albums I have uploaded from my phone have been set on super private (meaning, I am the only one who could view them). However, the only way to change privacy settings is through a desktop computer...which, oddly enough, I did not bring with me. Luckily there were a couple public-use computers in the lobby. As soon as I started typing I realized there was a problem. First of all, all my "y"s were suddenly "z"s and I could not for the life of me find the "@" button. I ended up having to Google (love that that is a legit verb nowadays) "How to type @ on a German keyboard" because I was so confused. I am sure I looked like a moron staring at the keyboard so intently and typing about half a word a minute. Eventually I got it all figured out though. Go me!

And that is about it.

I don't know why I am always so exhausted after a bus trip but...I am. And it is time to turn in :)

Goodnight, Vienna!