K: I've discovered that the hour that comes in between 4 (the time by which I'd expected to see Alyssa in a foreign country in which neither of us has a cell phone) and 5 (when I actually saw Alyssa, thanks to transport issues in London - way to go world city) is incredibly long. It's hot in the Vienna metro. And full of stress as I contemplated what I could possibly tell Alyssa's parents in the event that I did not manage to meet up with their daughter. The wait's done though. She's got her head out the window at her hostel, and is perhaps deciding what matters more to her at the moment - that she can see stars and a good view of the city or that she's cold.

A: so I don't know if any of you have heard, but there is currently a strike going on in London that is resulting in diminished service on the tube. apparently, when the tube doesn't work properly, London is essentially broken, which can lead to entire flight crews on small Irish airlines being unable to get to work on time, and thus to my flight to Vienna being over an hour late. once I finally arrived, we headed straight to the hostel (which, incidentally, has a beautiful view of the Vienna skyline), ditched our stuff, and immediately left again. we spent the evening walking around the far western edge of Vienna, occasionally snacking, and just wandering wherever we saw something cool. the deceptive thing about Vienna at sunset is that you will be walking down the street, glimpse a beautiful building catching the sun just around a corner, and convince yourself that it is a site of some historical importance. once you turn the corner, you will realize that it is a grocery store. we managed to find the university campus, which is quite beautiful. we will both obviously be applying for research grants to study there. will SSHRC accept "because it's really pretty" on our proposals, do you think?

time for a picnic. with a chocolate bar. and, more to the point, lots of stars.