Today is 15th August and we don´t have class, it´s a public holiday in Austria (Feast of the Assumption of Mary). I don´t want to waste my time so I am writing another blog post for you :-).

Yesterday evening was fun! DeutschAkademie organized for us – students – the monthly Stammtisch and I were there!

What is Stammtisch?

I assume that you are not familiar with this word. I had to also google it. According to Wikipedia, Stammtisch is „is an informal group meeting held on a regular basis, and also the usually large, often round table around which the group meets. A Stammtisch is not a structured meeting, but rather a friendly get-together.“ The yesterday one´s was accurately like this.  On the program was to speak German, meet like-minded people from this month classes and play board games.

Where?

Guys, I fell in love with the place, where the Stammtisch was held. It is a park, according to other guys it´s a university campus with different pubs and restaurants, playground and open-air cinema! If you want to check it by yourself, follow this address: Alser Str. 4, Vienna.

How?

I was 100 % sure I want to go when I heard about this event. I talked with my Hungarian friend Kriszti who I know from my conversation classes and she decided to join as well. We arrived a little bit later. There were already people from the Akademie and they were playing games. We sat down and soon, our new friends, an international couple (she from Romania, he from Poland) joined us. We started to chat in German, it was fun and we got to know each other better. Later, we moved to the bigger table, where another international couple was sitting (she from Ukrania, he from Russia living in Austria). We played UNO and Scrabble, drank, spoke partly German partly English and from my point of view, we had a lot of fun!

I won!

I forget to mention, that in the beginning, the ladies from DeutschAkademie, who organized this Stammtisch gave us a small challenge. Each of us had to guess, how many sweets were in the glass on the table. We had to write it down and the one who guesses the closest is the winner. And you know what? I guessed the second closest number! Woow! I won a beautiful bag with DeutschAkademie logo and 6 EUR voucher for drinks in the restaurant, where we were playing the games. Yaay!

I would like to thank you to ladies from Deutsch Akademie for this nice evening program. I hope I will have to have a chance to join again (I am thinking to continue studying at Deutsch Akademie from October or November).

Do you have experience with Stammtischs or similar get-together meetings? Let me know in comments.

Dear curious readers. In one of my previous blog-posts, I promised to share with you my 3 favorite activities, which I like to do in the free time after the language course at DeutschAkademie. Today, I am going to tell you tip number 2, the first one you can read here.

Find your way to relax on the Danube Island

I am sure you have heard about the unique Danube Island (Donauinsel), which is a long, narrow man-made island in the 22. Bezirk of Vienna perfectly made for your relaxation or studying outside of your apartment.

I live in 20. Bezirk and on my bike it takes me max 15 minutes to get there.

About the swimming: I was really lucky. The very first evening I arrived in Vienna, my friend Lenk, my roomate and me went swimming in the Danube river. We went on bikes and it was really refreshing. The swimming is possible on the side where there are no ships. Guys, the view was amazing! See the pictures! I really love metropolitan cities with all their huge buildings, bridges, parks. And this island very close to the city center in Vienna is something rare and useful.

I did not hesitate and went to see Danube Island one of the afternoons during my first week in Vienna. I took my German language homework with me and finished it sitting on the bench, outside, breathing the fresh air. People around me were running, cycling or just walking. Other people were swimming in the river or just having a picnic with family or friends.

I finished it when it was already dark all around. I took my bike and with very nice feelings left back home (plus I took a few pictures for you). I love this place!

That´s all for today. Have you ever been swimming in the Danube? Have you visited the Danube Island? Let me know in comments.

Greetings,

Petra

I am having an intensive course at DeutschAkademie for the whole of August 2018. My classes are in the morning; therefore, I have plenty of time to enjoy my afternoons in charming and smart city of Vienna. Before moving here, I have done decent research on how I could possibly spend my free time.

Summer in Vienna is amazing and great for an active lifestyle and sports lovers. Although these tips were proven in summer 2018, don´t hesitate and google similar possibilities for the time in which you are coming.

I will split all 3 tips into 3 different articles. Today I am going to tell you one, and later the second and the third. Let´s begin.

Outdoor fitness lessons and gyms for free

Last year and a half, I became more into sports and a healthy lifestyle. But moving to another city can break the habits (just to remind you, I come from the Czech Republic and you can read why I am in Vienna here). Due to the health issue with my legs, I should not run on a daily basis, just occasionally. I am a very big fan of fitness group classes, but my budget seems too tiny for the paid ones in the city like Vienna. BUT I found a perfect solution, which works for me!

Bewegt im Park alias free fitness lessons are happening all around the city, you can choose from a variety of different classes and the superb information is that they are free! Depending on your location and preferences, the website www.bewegt-im-park.at let you search for the best options for you. I personally prefer yoga, circuit training, Tabata and similar ones, as I already mentioned. They are in the German language, as well as the website, but I guess this can´t stop you. Even more, you can meet like-minded people, chat and improve your language skills. For the ones who are not able to attend afternoons, they have also few lessons in the mornings.

If you do not like group lessons, then I have one more tip for you. Free outdoor gyms are all around the Vienna. You can use them for 24 hours, 7 days per week. I personally go on my bike for at least 20 minutes (you can also run before or do roller-skating) and then I continue in the outdoor gym. Find the full list and tips how to use the machines here.

Let me know in comments if you are already in Vienna and we might go together. I will be here until January 2019 and hopefully even later. That´s all for today and soon, I will publish the other tips.

See you!

Petra

In this article, I would like to just briefly share with you an overview of my first class and the first day in this phenomenal city.

I arrived in Vienna yesterday in the evening (Sunday), therefore I call my very first day today. I had to wake up soon because I had my first class in DeutschAkademie! Yaay!

Bike, bike, bike!
I have a friend in Vienna, who lend me a bike for one week. It was unplanned, but I am so happy about this. Today was sunny, so why to waste money for public transportation when I can do something for my body and soul. Do the same! Of course, you can use the Vienna bikes, which was my initial idea and I plan to write later an article also about the biking system of Vienna.

Don´t be late!
But I was! The whole story short, I planned my trip to Deutsche Akademie by Google Maps app. It showed me 20 minutes. Ok, so I started my travel sooner, to get there on time, because it was my first lecture! But the Google Maps app does not show the proper time for bikes, I had to stop many times on red light and unfortunately, I arrived 15 minutes late, which is not polite. I felt really bad, however, Christopher, our teacher, took it in a very good way and had no problem. Therefore, remember to plan and count at least 25 minutes plus for your first day.

International group and that view!
My classmates are from every corner of the world! China, Romania, Brazil, Slovakia, Poland, Chile, and others! This is great. We are trying to avoid English and speak all the time German, during our breaks too. And that view which we have from our classroom! We are just in the city center and from our window the famous opera is visible! I am enclosing a picture, you must see this!

Intensive!
Yeah, my course is the intensive one, therefore we are having a class every day. And it will be veeeery intensive! Can´t wait to realize the step ahead at the end of the month, hopefully.

That´s all for today, let me know in comments, about what I should write in one of my next blog posts. But now I am going to do my homework ?.

„Ms. Bilikova, let me tell you that you just successfully passed your state master´s degree examination. Congratulation!“ The moment I will never forget. After six years studying at Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic, I finished. I was done. Clear. Ready to go. Ready for a new life. Where? Vienna! Why Vienna? I don´t even remember how this idea to try to live in Vienna came to my mind. Maybe because I have always wanted to live abroad, but not so far from my family. Maybe because Vienna is such a charming city.

What I knew is that even though Vienna is a multicultural city and English can be used easily in every-day life, I wanted to know the German too. But German! Four years at high school, full of protests. I did not want to study German as a second language at my high school. Not at all! I wanted to study French, but they put us all in German classes. After finishing the high school, I had to pass 2 semesters of German language at university too. Different teacher – different way of teaching. I was honestly fighting with this language a lot! Today I can just say – Thank God! These years gave me essential knowledge of German on which I can start building now, in my new chapter of life in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

It is polite to introduce myself. My name is Petra. I come from a little village in the Czech Republic. As you noticed, I recently graduated the master´s degree and I am moving to Vienna soon. I will be working as an intern there from September 2018. And I am going to take a German language course before that. I had quite limited budget when deciding if I take any language classes before it starts. Based on my friend´s recommendation I chose DeutschAkademie Wien. I have to say that even though I have not started yet, I can´t be more satisfied. The care they put into my application process. From the first info e-mails, when they patiently answered all my questions to preciseness way of putting me to class with the exact German level I need. I will be studying in DeutschAkademie from the beginning of August for 4 weeks. I like blogging, so I am going to share with you my first steps in Vienna and in DeutschAkademie. I can´t wait for it! Keep checking this blog and be part of this. I will be back soon!

With love

Petra