Hallo!

The IGERT group made it to Austria in tact (but very tired). Our day spent traveling was relatively uneventful and everything went smoothly. All of us and our luggage arrived in Vienna safely, and we made our way to the Happy Hostel to check in. The first day was spent trying not to fall asleep, as we landed around 8:30 am, Vienna time, having gotten little or no sleep on the plane. We met up with Craig, Alan, and our Austrian host Jan for a delicious dinner at Mythos and promptly came back to the hostel to get some much-needed sleep.

Today we had another delicious meal with Craig and Alan and then split up to do some sight-seeing. A couple folks went to check out a couple of Vienna's many art museums, and the rest of us walked to St. Stephen's Cathedral (below).

Most Austrians have been very friendly to us, despite us not knowing much German. In fact, almost everyone has spoken at least some English, and we've been able to get along just fine. A couple of us even managed to figure out the underground train to get back to the hostel. Obviously, it's tricky not speaking the language, but hopefully we will pick up more as we are here longer. In any case, I'd say the first 24 hours have been spectacular, and we are all so happy to finally be here!