Stephansdom

Today I visited one of the most famous attractions in Vienna and maybe all of Austria, the Stephansdom. On my previous visit to Vienna, I had visited this cathedral and on both occasions the cathedral has been packed, but today it was worse than the last time. Because of the rain, almost all tourists sought refuge inside, instead of taking pictures from the outside. It was interesting to see the differences between the St. Stephens and the Votivkirche. I remember Dr. O talking about how many tourists mistake the Votivkirche for the Stephansdom and I can see how that could be a common mistake. They are a lot alike and with an untrained eye such as mine, it is very difficult to tell the difference between Neo-gothic and Gothic styles, hopefully after this trip I will be more well-versed in detecting the features of certain art forms and styles. The building of this church started in 1147, during the Middle Ages and different renovations and additions have been made throughout the following two centuries. I wanted to go up the bell tower in order to see the view of Vienna; however, the weather was very bad today and it was raining and cloudy, so I have decided to come back on another day to see the view along with the catacombs.
Back to news about my adapter blowing, I went on another mission to find an adapter today and finally after many stores I was able to find what I was looking for. I did, however, find that the people working at Cosmos, an electronic store, to be ever so unhelpful. They were sort of rude and were unwilling to help me, maybe it was because I was unable to speak to them in German. I then visited two other big chain electronic stores and was still unable to find an adapter to go from American to European. Finally on the way back to the apartment, I found a very small appliances store that sold everything from water filters to televisions. I thought it was strange that the big chain stores that would parallel Fry’s in America did not sell something as simple as an adapter. Back to the customer service, they were very slow and would just take their time with the customers ahead even if they saw that there was a very long line. I think maybe the sense of efficiency and time management is just as much of a priority here than it is back in the states. That carries into an observation I have made. Austrians and maybe Europeans in general really value their leisure time. For instance, some girls and I wanted to go out to eat so we checked in our Lonely Planet book to look for suggestions. We spent about half an hour trying to choose a place and then finding out how to get there. When we finally got there, we discovered that the restaurant has gone on summer vacation and has been closed since the middle of July and will not re-open until the end of August. It is interesting to see how their lives are not driven by the economy and consumers, how it is in America. Also for all meals they like to take their time and the waiters never bother you with the check until you ask for it. I am still not used to that yet and have found myself sitting and chatting for a very long time and still not receiving the bill, then I will remember that we have to ask for it first. It is nice that they value their company and leisure time so much and take things slowly.