Nirvana

Last night we met our friends Ivana and Michi for dinner and a beer in the first district. We decided to try something new so we ended up at an Indian restaurant named Nirvana at Kathi's request. The food was extremely good so I will need to add Indian to my permanent food vocabulary but I learned a few things about ordering that I will need to improve on for my next visit to such a restaurant. I went ahead and ordered what they called 'der Klassiker' off the menu since I don't know anything about Indian food but when it came time to choose the amount of spice (normal, hot, or Indian hot) I mistakenly decided to go all out. Next time I will be smart enough to cool it down a level as my mouth was on fire for the rest of meal and a good part of the evening. I was sweating and using tissues like crazy. The waiter and manager even came to check on me a few times during the meal as it seems I may have been the first white person to choose the Indian hot option. The good thing was that by the time my meal was finished the stuffy nose I had for the more than a week was cured. Plus I think they put LSD in their food because I truly was in Nirvana for a good portion of the meal. So find out if there is an Indian restaurant in your neighborhood because it comes highly recommended by me. Now I am off to the zoo for a nice morning walk and visit to the animals.

1 + 2 = 3

[ Matt + this week = tired * (quiz / cold) = beer ] I have been working a lot lately to help meet some upcoming deadlines at work which in the long run will mean some nice bank statements but for now is just creating early mornings. Add in that I have a touch of a cold, after work I went and spoke (I say spoke since it's more hanging out then teaching) English with some boys I meet with once a week and then came home to quickly study for and take a quiz, I am now torn between going to bed and sharing a beer with my wife (she's not drinking one right now but I am sure she would be nice enough to drink with upon request). I won’t talk more about work since that is something I choose to mostly leave off The Movielife (nothing bad to say yet work and public blogs don't really mix) but I will add in the fact that next week will involve even earlier mornings and later evenings so I am very much looking forward to our company that will be arriving from Turkey one week from today. I’ll see them next Thursday and I'll see you all back here this weekend with hopefully a more exciting post. Until then, Prost!

Don't Be Jealous

Last night on my way home from work I stopped by a sports shop to pick up my official Team Austria 2007 World Cup sweater. I have been eyeing it in the shops all winter and decided that I had better grab one before there are none left. So check it out and try to not get too jealous. Plus, on the way home I picked up Kathi from work since I was in her neighborhood at the right time and from there we decided to have a dürüm döner kebap dinner at Schwedenplatz. Now I know some of you are really jealous. If you feel the need to get even just go to Taco Bell and tell me how awesome that is. At that point I will be the jealous one and shut up.

Kebap Stand Magic

Today I am going to share with you a little bit about the magic of a kebap stand. Kebap is a Turkish food and there are many different varieties, but in Europe you mostly see it in fast food form coming from a street side stand.


These stands are open throughout the day so a kebap is always good for a quick lunch, dinner, afternoon snack, or a late night miracle when leaving a pub. There are large numbers of these stands in Germany and Austria because of a high population of ethnically Turkish people but it's something you rarely see in the states.








The food is great and a kebap is quicker and cheaper then McDonald's (plus you don't need a car to get there) so I would have personally ate enough to financially support such a stand in Maryville if one had existed during my college days. If you have never had a kebap you should come to Europe and try one out (or better yet go to Turkey and get the real deal). Upon returning home you will be wishing there was a stand located on your corner.

At The Wheel

Last night I received my Austrian drivers license in the mail so I can now legally drive around Europe all that I want (of course I would have to steal a car first since I don't have one of my own). I traded my Missouri license, €55, and a handful of random paperwork for it. Also Kathi and I got to go on an early morning scavenger hunt a few Friday's back to finish putting together everything they were demanding. At the end we were successful and the timing was good for the trade as my Missouri license expired a few weeks ago anyways and I now plan on getting one from Florida the next time I’m stateside (I want that in-state Disney World discount). The best part of a drivers license from Austria is that it never expires, so from here on out I will always have at least one valid license wherever I go.

Welcome To The Family

As some of you have already heard Kathi's brother Peter secretly married yesterday, so I would like to officially welcome my new sister-in-law Magdalena Stadler to the family. You can read more about it and see a picture of the happy couple on Kathi's blog.

I was actually not too surprised as they are both pretty random and fun people, but I was still very excited and happy with the news. They will have a nice church wedding followed by a large celebration on the originally planned wedding date of 08/08/08 in Poland and I look forward to drinking a lot of vodka at that time (Polish tradition).

The Stadler family here in Austria is starting to look extremely international with spouses coming from the Czech Republic (Martin), Iran (Sona), Poland (Magda), and of course the United States (me). I think the family is looking forward to finally adding another Austrian to the mix this summer. That's right, I'm talking about you Gerd. I'll be there with Kärntner Blumen on.

p.s. - Magdalena, thank you for taking the Stadler name so I don't have to learn how to say or remember how to spell Niemirowicz.

Don't F**k With Chuck

There has been nothing going on in Vienna lately and I don't really have anything new to share. Kathi and I are just working our way through February, hanging out in our free time, and anxiously waiting for our March guests to arrive. Since I have no entertaining stories about my life today I thought I would just share a few Chuck Norris facts that maybe you can use to prolong your life:

(Chuck Norris, the reason there are no kangaroos in Austria)

• A study showed the leading causes of death in the United States are: 1. Heart disease, 2. Chuck Norris, 3. Cancer.
• Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
• There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.
• Chuck Norris's cowboy boots are made from real cowboys.
• Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting infers the possibility of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.
• Children wear Superman pajamas, but Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.
• Every year, during tax season, Chuck Norris sends in blank tax sheets and a picture of himself crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has never had to pay taxes.
• Chuck Norris can talk about fight club.
• The truth is, Chuck Norris has been dead for over a thousand years.....but the Grim Reaper is too scared to tell him.

The Hosts

Here is a picture of our Osttirol hosts Katharina and Harald (or Ace as I like to call him when he has on his fighter pilot ski helmet). Many thanks to them for the constant mountain invites, the sharing of their family (a super cool family), and the all around good time we always have when we hangout with them. - - - - Editor's note: the mountain in the back right corner of the picture is the Italian / Austrian border if I am not mistaken.

Team U.S.Austria

Meet Team U.S.Austria. We are a couple of nonprofessional skiers, but not too shabby, that are just living life. Up top we have Matt (me) who is improving his skills each time he hits the slopes. He loves the scenery of the Alps, wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up, and is really taking a liking to winter sports. Down low we have Kathi in a picture taken not long before she decided to properly test out her new helmet. Its quality was later approved as no bones were broken. She grew up surrounded by mountains but rarely spent any time on skis until recently. Now that she is on them she is proving that it is mountain blood that runs through her veins. Stay tuned as Team U.S.Austria hits up more slopes, maybe one near you.

Love Those Mountains

We just arrived back in Vienna after our long weekend in the mountains of Osttirol. I am really getting used to having mountains at my doorstep and I don't know how I might cope in the future if the possibility for skiing is more then just a short drive away. Besides skiing we also went sledding last night. Sledding in Austria is nothing like what I used to do in Nebraska. Instead of a short hill of only maybe 100 meters we went down a 7 kilometer path in the dark. It was definitely the most fun I have ever had sledding and that is pretty good since that standard is supposed to be set more around the age of ten. It would be alright with me if I set a new sledding-fun-standard again in the future. More to come on skiing in a few days as I am tired and should rest a bit if I hope to watch the Super Bowl (yes, it's on Austrian television) later tonight and still make it to work early in the morning.