55-56.

Tuesday, we began our school day with another German quiz. I felt good about it. We all are discovering that German is a hard language, since nouns can be either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Remembering which gender goes with which case, etc. definitely gets difficult. Classes ended today around 1130; afterwards,  I took some alone time and ventured out into the Stephansplatz area to do a little shopping/errand-running. Here in Vienna (and Europe in general), finding time to be by myself is a daunting task. Therefore, I'm thankful for the few hours today I enjoyed at my disposal. Once back at the hotel, I met up with Ricki, Sarah, and Cari, and the four of us headed straight to the laundry-mat. This was only the second time I have done laundry here since arriving on September 9th. Not too bad. While waiting for our laundry, I was able to blog and begin one of my Bible papers. We got back to the hotel around 5, met up with Professor Mandy Horton, then set out for the Vienna Opera House to see SWAN LAKE. Standing in line for tickets was enjoyable, as we had the opportunity to converse with Professor Horton about various topics. Unsurprisingly, the ballet was absolutely beautiful. Divided into four acts, the ballet was longer than I had anticipated, but definitely worth my time. The plot was easy to follow, mostly because Ricki had informed me of the story line before the show began. Watching the ballerinas move gracefully throughout the entirety of the performance makes me a little more than jealous.

Wednesday=day 56. How crazy is that?!
After classes ended, several of us walked straight to the Cafe Sacher, a restaurant inside the Hotel Sacher, for a lovely lunch. This five-star hotel in the Innerstadt of Vienna is located next to the Opera House, most famous for its speciality: sachertorte, a delicious (typically dry) chocolate cake. I ordered goulash soup for lunch (SO GOOD) and sachertorte for dessert. Although pricey, the meal was money well spent. I suppose I didn't have high expectations for this cafe, since most restaurants in hotels are often mediocre. Kirk and I went shoe-shopping for the remainder of the afternoon. I was in search of some new black boots, since the ones I brought from home were recently disposed of. After a fun, yet unsuccessful few hours of shopping, we headed back to the hotel. Then, Ricki and I ran nearly three miles around our neighborhood. This was our first time running after dark, which I found enjoyable. If Ricki were not on this trip, I would be extremely out of shape. Having a running partner has been more than helpful! I worked on my Bible papers for a little bit after our run before heading up to the Horton's room for a relaxing movie night. I proposed the idea of a movie night a few days prior, since all  of us have been so bogged down in schoolwork. Thanks for my impeccable taste in movies (only kidding), we watched one of my favorites: The Holiday!