I hopped off the plane at VIE...

I'M HERE!!!  I'll try not to be obnoxious with all cap words, but it's hard when everything is SO EXCITING!!!  I arrived in my hostel last night around 9:30 PM and my friend, Jessica, was awaiting me in the lobby with 1 euro boxed wine in hand.  She's so Euro sheek.  I cannot tell you how good it was to see a familiar face.  Not that my journey was horrible or anything, but I was starting to get lonely.  My flights here actually went quite well once I got past that bugger (British term I picked up last night) of an airport, Dulles.  I must first mention that the woman checking me in for United airlines informed me I could be deported back to the States once I got to Vienna because of my lack of a return  flight.  Then, my initial flight from DC to Chicago was delayed 4 and 1/2 hours!  I was upset at first, but after finishing off the first blog entry like I did, I owed it to my readers to stay cool, calm, and composed.   I managed to pull that off after a very brief moment of despair and frustration.  Nobody's perfect.   Thank god for that long layover in Chicago I was dreading, because I had to cross the universe (O'Hare) to get from my arriving terminal to the international terminal.  Needless to say, I made it on time.  I landed in Krakow, Poland around 2 PM their time and passed my time people watching and enjoying all the new and fabulous culture.  The Polish were nothing but kind and helpful to me for my brief time in their country.  And, once again in my life, I was feeling quite dwarfed by the people surrounding me. We (Clarks) must have some Polish in our blood because they were all very tall, men and women alike.  I boarded my final and last plane around 6:30.  It was a very small plane and everyone had their own row!  I've never been on a plane that was not full to the brim, and let me tell you, it was SO nice.  Of course, this wondrously spacious flight was only in the air for an hour before the plane landed in Vienna's international airport (VIE).  Question of the day: Was deportation waiting for me as I got off the plane?  No, they didn't even check my passport or put me through customs!  They did that in Krakow.  Just another lesson in not worrying about things you can't control.  I exited the plane on one of those cool flights of stairs that are carried on top of cars (Adam and Bri, you know what I'm talking about), picked up my bag and boarded the next bus to the Westbahnhof train station.  After a few minutes of brief confusion and scouring a map, I found my hostel, and here I am.  Last night was a blast!  I met tons of new people from a million different places!  It was the perfect start to the trip and I can't wait for what is ahead of me.  As far as Vienna, the city itself, it isn't as nice as I expected.  It was dark last night, and the bus mostly took back roads to get to the train station, so I might have something different to report tomorrow.    

Cheers,
 Katie