I would like to say a big “THANK YOU” to DeutschAkademie for giving me the opportunity to express my thoughts about their German course and Vienna. It was such an amazing experience writing to their blog! The journey doesn’t finish here because I am very impatient to read more blog entries from other students of DeutschAkademie. I can’t wait! Are you ready?
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
When I visited Vienna for the first time, it was at the end of March. The sun was shining but it was really cold outside. Due to my outrageous love for animals, I didn’t miss the chance to take a long walk in the Vienna Zoo, known as “Tiergarten Schönbrunn”. The Schönbrunn Zoo is located in the grounds of Schönbrunn Palace. It can be reached either by car or by public transport. If you are travelling with public transport, you can take U4 metro underground line (stop at the station “Hietzing”), tramway (10, 58, 60) and bus (51A, 56A, 56B, 58A). In case you are hungry, there are various choices for food and drinks, such as Tirolergarten Tavern, Emperor’s Pavillion, Cafe Atelier Nonja, Cafe Hietzing, Jumbo Buffet, Rhino Bar Ice Cream Parlor, Beer Garden, and the Landtmann Park Cafe. My favourite one is Emperor’s Pavillion because it is in the heart of the zoo and from the terrace, you can watch flamingos, zebras, cheetahs, giant pandas, hippopotamuses, and antelopes.
I highly recommend you to visit the Vienna Zoo, when the weather is getting warmer and warmer. The reason why is double. One reason is to enjoy your walk to the Zoo without having in mind that might get a cold or flu. The second reason is that you can see the majority of animals which like to come out of their caves or hidden places when the sun is shining.
Last but not least, if you want a panoramic view of the grounds of Schönbrunn, you can ride in comfort to all of its attractions on the diesel-powered Schönbrunn Panorama Train. The stations of that train are Schönbrunn Palace, Wagenburg, Hietzinger Gate, Zoo/Palm House, Tirolergarten Tavern, Gloriette Hill, Hohenbergstraße/Tivoli, Obelisk Fountain /Schönbrunn Spa, and Meidlinger Gate. The duration of the journey is about fifty minutes.
I can’t wait for the Spring to come and go again to the Vienna Zoo! What about you?
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
Two of the most well-known shopping centres in Vienna are Donauzentrum and Millennium Tower. Both are easily accessible by the means of public transportation and many families choose them as their Saturday morning destination, for coffee, food and shopping. In this article, I will try to compare the two malls, discuss their pros and cons and decide which one maybe fits best your needs.
Donauzentrum
Donauzentrum is located in the 22nd district of Vienna. By getting off at the S-Bahn stop in Kagran (tram 25) it’s impossible not to notice the huge building on your left-hand side extended in three blocks connected with bridges. Donauzentrum has more than 100 different stores that can cover the needs of the most demanding client. It is a common destination for families, as parents can enjoy some relaxed mornings and evenings while their kids are playing safely in the big playground located within its premises. Furthermore, someone can find a huge variety of merchandise at different prices while keeping a good quality level. Donauzentrum can be divided into two main parts: first is the shopping part, where all the stores are located and second the part where restaurants and snack-bars of different types and countries can be found. I suggest you visit Donauzentrum as soon as possible, if you haven’t done so already, and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Millennium Tower
Millennium Tower is located in the 22nd district of Vienna. It’s a two-minute walk from the U-Bahn station in Handelskai. Millennium Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Vienna (171m) and a great destination for shopping and entertainment. Even though the range of merchandise can be found in Millennium tower is, of course, more restricted than Donauzentrum, it is an even greater destination if you want to have some fun. Ocean Park, located in the basement of Millennium tower can serve for this scope. Ocean Park is a small amusement park frequently visited by bowling, pool and table tennis fans. It’s a place where many children decide to celebrate their birthdays and many different types of games such as pinball, table football and much more can found. I believe it’s a place that everyone should visit at least once and a great option to spend time with friends or kids.
Which one to choose
Both! But for different reasons. If you want to combine great variety in your shopping options with food or coffee then Donauzentrum would be the best fit for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a place to have fun and laugh with your friends and combine it with good food, then Millennium tower is the place you are looking for.
Have a magnificent week!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
I have already talked about one of the things that I love more at DeutschAkademie. Their minimalistic classrooms (remember this post here)! In my new classroom of the A2.2 level, I discovered one more favourite spot. It’ s the grammar poster that you can see below! This poster includes some of the most important basic grammatical phenomena and rules. In detail, in this poster you can find easily and quickly:
The meaning of prepositions
Which is the prepositions’ syntax into the sentence
Which prepositions go in every case with Accusative, Dative and GenitiveThe masculine, feminine, neutral and plural articles with nouns in Nominative, Genitive, Dative and Accusative
Which verbs need Nominative, Dative and Accusative
Different types of syntax in a sentence
Which is the form of the verbs in Imperative
Two types of questions
I hope that you find this poster of DeutschAkademie as helpful as I do!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
Even though it is February and we are still in the winter session, I would like to give you some suggestions for your summer holidays! In this post, I briefly suggest you two Greek islands, just to have them in mind if you are gonna visit Greece in summer. So, let me introduce you Skiathos and Skopelos! Both islands are located in the Aegean Sea, exactly in the centre of Greece.
Skiathos island
Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades group, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia on the mainland, and west of the island of Skopelos. Bourtzi peninsula, Byzantine Church of Christ (in the castle), Holy Monastery of Evangelistria, Papadiamantis House – Museum are some interesting place to visit. If you are young and you want to party all day long, then visit Koukouniares beach, Banana beach and Lalaria.
Hint: Skiathos is extremely famous for its intense nightlife!
Skopelos island
Skopelos is one of several islands which comprise the Northern Sporades island group, which lies east of the Pelion peninsula on the mainland and north of the island of Euboea. It is part of the Thessaly region. The nearest inhabited islands are Skiathos to the west and Alonissos to the east. Skopelos combines both super green nature and blue crystal sea water! This island is suitable for families, couples and for those who want to have very relaxed and calm summer holidays.
Hint: If you have enough days for your summer holidays, take the time to visit the small neighbour island, Alonissos! The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus-Monachus) is common around that island. In 1992 the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades was created to protect these seals and other animals.
Have a nice week thinking about your next summer destination!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
In this post, I would like to recommend you the online platform of DeutschAkademie for learning and practising German. Below you can find 10 reasons to visit and attend this online German course! The benefits that DeutschAkademie offers to you with that online German course are various. Let’s begin!
1. It has been designed by experienced German teachers
2. More than 20.000 German grammar and vocabulary exercises
3. Approximately 800-hour interactive online German course
4. The exercises are structured according to the European Framework of Reference for Languages
5. Whenever you want, it is possible to control your process online
6. There is a forum where a German teacher will answer your questions
7. Clear explanations for each grammar point and grammar rule
8. It can be used as a supplement to your main German course or to help you to teach yourself German
9. There are also many chapters and lessons for improving your audio German skills
1.Picture: Audio German course and Learn German smartphone application!
10. Last but not least, it’s free!
I am looking forward to hearing your opinion about DeutschAkademie’s online German course!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
To tell you the truth, I am not that kind of person that knows super-detailed information about Art. What I mean is that I have a basic knowledge in the artistic field of painting. One visit to the Albertina Museum gave me the opportunity to learn more things not only about painters but also about their important masterpieces of Art. This museum has got various collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photography, and architecture. The current exhibitions in the Albertina Museum are “Monet to Picasso”, masterworks of architectural drawing from Albertina Museum (until 25th of February 2018), “Max Weiler. The donation” (until 18th of February 2018), and “Albertina Contemporary Art” (it’s amazing!!! until 18th of February 2018). Don’t forget to visit the classical “State Rooms”, which were the residence of Habsburg archdukes and archduchesses for around 100 years. It took me nearly 4 hours to explore all the collections and exhibitions in the Albertina Museum. This museum made me be highly thirsty for Art!
1.Picture: Before entering the Albertina Museum, which is located next to the Wiener Staatsoper!
2.Picture: In one of the 20 Staterooms, which is full of ancient Greek goddesses!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
Thursday 1st of February. That day was our last lesson at A2.1 German course. We had a great time all together and we remembered funny moments of the whole course. Also, we discussed some difficult things (such as the articles of the nouns) and some other that we could only handle with the help of our beloved teacher, Isabella. She was always giving us practical tips and hints in order to help us evolve our knowledge in German. You can see my classmates but unfortunately, 4 were absent that day. I am really happy that I continue taking A2.2 German course in DeutschAkademie and I am going to have again Isabella as teacher 🙂
1.Picture: Happy until the last day!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
During the four months that I’ve been here in Vienna, I have visited a lot and different types of cafeterias. My favorites are Cafe Central, Das Loft, and Vegg Go.
Firstly, Cafe Central is one of the oldest (since 1876!!!) cafeterias in the city center of Vienna. It is located in the corner of Herrengasse and Strauchgasse (1st district). It can be reached by the metro line U3 (station “Herrengasse”), U2 (station “Herrengasse”) or by taking the buses 1A and 2A (station “Herrengasse”). Freud (psychoanalyst), Trotsky (revolutionary), Loos (architect), Zweig (writer), Altenberg (writer and poet) are some of the most famous loyal visitors of Cafe Central. Don’t miss the opportunity to have a coffee in such a historic place!
1.Picture: Cappuccino and Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce!
Secondly, if you want to have a breath-taking panoramic view of Vienna, you should go to the cafeteria Das Loft. Das Loft is located on the last floor of the Sofitel Hotel in Praterstrasse 1 (2nd district). You can go to this cafeteria by the metro line U1 and stop to the “Schwedenplatz” station. If the weather is cloudy, don’t worry! You can visit it at night and drink a cocktail while staring the Viennese nightlights.
2.Picture: It’s me enjoying my coffee!
Thirdly, in case you are vegetarian, I easily recommend Vegg Go. It’s a vegetarian and vegan bistro where you can taste soups, salads, healthy snacks, cakes, and drinks. Vegg Go is located in the shopping mall “Donauzentrum” and you can reach it by the metro line U1 (station “Kagran”). It’s not only for vegetarians but also for people who want to take a break from shopping and eat something healthy and delicious!
3.Picture: Breakfast at Vegg Go!
Have you already visited one of the above cafeterias? If not, which one will be your first choice?
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
Yesterday I got the new books for A2.2 level! The German course for the A2.2 begins on Monday 05/02. Because I am always impatient, I take a quick and swift look at the coursebook (Kursbuch) and workbook (Arbeitsbuch). There are many interesting topics, such as traveling, education, professional career, working abroad and cultural events.
1.Picture: These are the new books for the next level in German!
If you ask me what I like the most about this series of books, is the structure of the books that catches my attention. It is simple but super-detailed at the same time! There is a variety of exercises that help you build step by step your knowledge in German. You can see below in the second picture what I mean.
2.Picture: What do you think about the kind of these exercises?
These books are one of the most appropriate choices if you want to take intensive German courses, which means 1 level (i.e. A2.2) in one month in DeutschAkademie!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3
Before moving to Vienna, I visited this wonderful city for 10 days at the end of March. The weather was a little bit cold but sunny. With that kind of weather, you have the chance to explore the parks, go to the Zoo, enjoy the sun and do small trips to other cities of Austria, such as Linz, Graz or Salzburg. So, Spring is the best time of the year for visiting Vienna!
1.Picture: A sunny day at the Schönbrunner Schloss Park!
2.Picture: When it’s Spring in Vienna!
My second favorite season in Vienna is Christmas time. Although is Winter and the weather is getting colder and colder, I think that Christmas in Vienna is magical! If you go around the city, you see everywhere lights, Christmas trees, and, of course, Christmas open markets in which you can find a variety of nice presents and gifts related to the Viennese culture. Also, remember to drink a mug of steaming, hot and very sweet Weihnachtspunch. You can combine this drink with eating some roast chestnuts.
3.Picture: Christmas lights at the Wiener Rathaus!
Liebe Grüße,
With much love,
Με πολλή αγάπη,
Sofia <3