Who wants to be on my Christmas list? :)
I went to the largest Swarovski Crystal store (which is actually two stores across the street from one another) today! Our group of about 40 exchange students got a little tour from one of the store managers. I didn't know it, but Swarovski crystals are actually artificial! This way, they can make as many as they want, I guess. The crystals have a very high iron content (I think that's the mineral), which is one of the reasons they are so unique. The special cut of the crystals is also what gives them their status. We got to look around at all of the new designs, and I even saw a Crystal purse! I don't even have enough money to put in the purse, let alone buy it! Also very interesting were the crystals that came in different colors. I had seen the clear pieces before, but there are crystals ranging from hot pink to deep blue, to even lime green! I saw a rather large statue of a cobra that was green, blue, and red. It was very pretty, but I don't know what mom would think if I brought home a sparkling snake statue to use as the centerpiece for the dining room table that cost about 6,000 Euro (9,000 bucks!!!) There were also huge statues that sold for thousands upon thousands of dollars, also which I could never afford. However, I got really excited, because some of the jewelry is actually pretty affordable. So -- those who send me care packages might just get something shiny in their stockings! Ha ha.

We also got to see where Mozart lived, died, and made his music! It was very very cool. During the walking city tour of Vienna, we passed through a beautiful courtyard that was right below St. Stephen's Cathedral in the zentrum (center in German.... I'm trying!) of the city. This courtyard and the apartments that enclosed it, belonged to an ancient order of German knights. The people who live and do business there are more like monks now, though they still call themselves knights. I thought that was so interesting!

Since we are a group of business majors, we are always interested in how much things cost. We asked our rather eccentric tour guide how much one of these apartments would run per month, and he said that in the center of town (and in most of Vienna), the housing prices are charged by square meter. For those of us not on the metric system, I think that's about a 3 x 3 space. Our guide said that in this particular part of town, one square meter would cost you at minimum around 600-700 Euro per month. $900 for a little box! You'd have to sleep standing up! (Amber made us all laugh by reminding us of the movie Coneheads, where the people all sleep standing up) Since there's no way I can afford an entire room, let alone an entire house, I now have a new phrase. To those whom I really love, instead of just saying that I love them, I will tell them that I want to "share my meter" with them.... since that's all I'd be able to buy in Vienna! :)

On a side note: In the spirit of becoming cultured and broadening my horizons, I am attempting to break down the common stereotypes that I have of other cultures! For example, I have met some friendly French people, German is actually a very pretty language to speak, my friend from London rarely eats crumpets (though he's going to bring me some after he visits his family, since I don't know what they are), etc. I have several friends from Canada, and so I'm trying to learn a little bit more about our neighbors to the north. I always thought the whole "Canada people always say eh?" thing was just made up, BUT THEY REALLY SAY IT! There is no Myth Busters proof against that! My friend Nirveen from Vancouver said it about 5 times today! :)