Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

On Thursday 8^th, after speaking to Kathryn and going through the University course website (TISS), I realised I had missed numerous introductory lectures throughout the week. Assuming courses would start after their registration periods had ended, I hadn’t noticed that they in fact start during. Presumably students turn up, regardless of whether they are registered or on a ‘waiting list’, and hope to get a place. I resolved to get up early the next morning, go into the TU and sort everything out. I warned everyone that I wouldn’t be going to Prater-Dome that night but Marco and Federico practically dragged me out (okay it didn’t take much convincing!). Still keeping to my plan, I managed to get into university early and speak with Will Alsop’s secretary in an attempt to register on his ‘Mediterranean City’ design programme.

Prater Dome - our local haunt

Students must register for design programmes via the TUWEL system (separate to TISS). Unfortunately my account does not work, so I felt fairly cheated when the secretary told me the course was full. I continued to appeal, but ultimately all I achieved was the advice to turn up on the day and see if Alsop would accept me. Not yet securely registered on a design programme, I spoke to the secretary of Prof. Kari Jormakka who signed me on the ‘Urban Ontology’ design course. Until I know whether I can attend Alsop’s course I have to attend a bulky number of subsidiary units to ensure I achieve 30 ECTS credits (my learning agreement with Portsmouth University). Consequently, that morning I attended a lecture for a course entitled ‘Spatial and Environmental Planning in CEE Countries’ – and it’s just as exciting as it sounds!

Technische Universität Wien, known as the TU

Up close, the TU façade reveals its age

On Saturday I decided to go for my first run in Vienna. I took a route through the ‘Wiener Prater’ – a large park in the local area historically used as a hunting reserve – but after only a short while I gave in. It seems one month of limited cardio exercise combined with excessive drinking has drastically affected my fitness! Unfortunately the endeavour had me lost in the middle of the park and I had to use the Ferris Wheels of the amusement park as a point of reference to find my way back home. That night we faced a decision between two parties; one organised at the Gasometer dormitory, the other at Molkereistraße. We decided to go to both!

The Wurstelprater Amusement Park

Weiner Riesenrad (backgroud) one of Vienna's tourist attractions

Sunday was terrific, purely because of the Six Nations Rugby game. Throughout the whole tournament Loïc had been boasting that France would easily defeat England – needless to say, when England won, my victory dance felt all the more satisfying! On Monday morning, I found myself wondering the corridors of the TU, trying to find the seminar room for a course on the work of Peter Behrens (20^th century German Architect). I bumped into a similarly lost group of girls also in search of the room, and with a stroke of luck, the person we asked for directions turned out to be the lecturer of the course. We followed him through an unmarked door into the seminar room - frustratingly none of the rooms at the TU have numbers on the doors – little did I know this was just the start of a stressful process for locating all future lectures.

The course was very nearly held in German; the lecturer explained that, had there been any native German-speaking people in the class (which fortunately there wasn’t), he would have held it in German. Asking us where we were all from, he seemed even more reluctant to speak English when he found out I was from England – he explained that he would be more conscious about making mistakes – that night, whilst drinking far too much wine, I found out from Şefkat that many of the students I know here actually feel the same way (damn my impeccable English!).

One thing to be prepared for as an Englishman going on Erasmus, is the word guessing game which appears to be a favourite of the professors here; when faltering on a word, they will point at you with the expectation that you will read their mind and give them the correct word in English – usually I have to desperately shout out random words until one meets their satisfaction. Aside from these occurrences the lecturers actually speak brilliant English, and it’s rather embarrassing that they can speak so well in my language, whilst I cannot hold a conversion in theirs – especially since we are in Austria!

The rest of the week went well and the Urban Ontology course, which focuses on the potentials of Malta, seems really interesting. Surprisingly when someone asked if we should read any literature, the lecturer replied that we should just watch a few films set in Malta – so far, so good!