Hallo!
Today was definately a fun day! It was "Parliment/Government Day" for out group, so we got to learn all about the Austrian political system. I actually learned a lot (who knew!?). First, we had a lecture from a historical author about the history of Austrian political systems. We heard about everything from the Hapsburg regime to the forming of Austria as we know it today (it's been about the same since the early 20's). Apparently, Austria has several major parties, but the two main ones are called the Red and the Black (Conservatives/Religious and the Democratic Socialists). Austria has elections much like we have in America, but even when one party wins, that party doesn't really get the full control. They still have to work VERY closely with the other party. The lecturer also said that it would be like having two CEOs of a company. Can you imagine -- having George Bush and Hilary Clinton sitting next to eachother in the board room of a company? He said this often meant very heated discussions in the parliment room!

After the lecture, we actually got to go into the Parliment building, which was absolutely beautiful! We sat in the seats where the "deputies" go to work during the year, saw the imperial meeting room, and heard a lot more about it. A lot of the building was destroyed during the war from bombings, but the imperial meeting room, which had a huge ceiling made of Bohemian glass, was not hurt at all! It was absolutely beautiful!

I was introduced to my new favorite drink today! There is a cute little coffee/bagel shop right across the street from our university. It is the "original" bagel shop in Vienna, and is called The Roast. They have this hot fruit tea, and let me just say, that it was AMAZING! Tonight we are having a Welcome Party for all of the exchange students.