It'll all come out in the wash

Take a good look at this (click on the image to see a larger view) --



This is the control panel for my washer and dryer. (Sorry for the bad photo -- the kitchen is very narrow and there wasn't room to get one photo, so I had to splice some together.) Have you ever seen so many buttons?! I have yet to figure out what most of the buttons do, but at least I understand the "Start" button. As far as I can tell, this is how you wash a load of clothes:


Step 1 - Turn on the water. The knob is located next to the kitchen sink.

Step 2 - Open the door on the washer and cram your clothes in. Go ahead and add some more clothes, they will fit. And a few more things -- if you can still close the door then there's still room for more.

Step 3 - Select the cycle and temperature. This is the far right knob on the control panel. The first one is cook/multi-color. I have no idea what it means by "cook", but I haven't been able to find an alternate meaning to "Koch". Next is wash and wear and the one of the bottom is wool. Each cycle has several temperature options.

Step 4 - Add detergent and fabric softener. These both go in a drawer to the left of the control panel.

Step 5 - Close the door to the washer and press the Start button.

Step 6 - Wait. For a long time. A very long time. It will take at least an hour and a half to wash the load.

Step 7 - Now you can either run the dryer, or pull the clothes out and hang them to dry. I ran the dryer the first time (because I couldn't figure out how to open the door -- you have to turn it off ("Aus") before you can open the door) and after an hour I still had to hang the clothes. The knob on the left (with the red numbers) sets the time for the dryer and the knob on the right sets the heat (also, in red).

Step 8 - Turn right knob to Aus to turn off washer. You can know open the door to remove the clothes.

Step 9 - Turn off the water using the knob by the sink.

Now you may have noticed that I only used one of the buttons (Start). So what are all the other buttons for? Seriously folks, if you have any ideas, I'd like to know. I also haven't figured out what the settings on the bottom left side of the right knob are for.

Keep adding your questions to the previous post or sending them via email. I'll start answering them later this week.

The gentleman in the blue cardigan, please

Thank you. I have a two part question.
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Some people, and you know who you are, are under the impression that we're living the high life over here in Europe. Okay, so maybe no one is really under that impression. But you may wonder what it's like learning to live in a foreign culture. I can tell you this much -- it involves eating a lot of sandwiches. We usually have sandwiches for at least two of our meals each day.

I've tried to come up with some information about what we're doing and what life in Vienna is like, but I don't know where to start. So I want to open the floor for questions. So please, post your questions in the comment section or send me an email. (You can get my email address from my profile if you don't already have it.) If I don't get any questions, I'll just pretend like the questions came through email and I'll make them up myself. Please, for everyone's sake, don't make me do that.

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In case the title and first line confused you, they're lines from The Royal Tenenbaums.

Someone's in the kitchen

Cooking has been somewhat of an adventure since Brian and I moved into our apartment. Even before we moved to our new place, cooking was sometimes a gamble. We weren't always quite sure if what we were buying was what we thought we were buying. There was that one time I bought turkey breast when I thought I was buying chicken breast. The shear size of the poultry cuts should have been a good indication that it wasn't chicken breast because, come on, this chicken would have had to been very well-endowed. In any event, when we were in our temporary housing we had all sorts of pots and pans and measuring cups and baking dishes, so I only had to figure out what to cook, not necessarily how to cook it.

Now that we're in our own apartment we have one pot, one frying pan, and one spatula. (Yes, I actually considered taking a photo of this, but I figured you could use your imagination.) And, of course, my mixer and all of it's accessories that I blogged about last week. We also have two small plates, two bowls, six glasses, some disposable coffee cups and a 4 sets of silverware. (We shipped most of our kitchen stuff, so we've tried not to buy things that are coming on the container.)

Despite the lack of kitchen gear, I've still been trying to cook occasionally. I've used my mixer to make some homemade bread and tasty buns (click for recipes). I've made a tomato sauce and alfredo sauce for pasta. Yesterday I made a chicken and mashed potatoes (using my mixer to mash the potatoes). And as soon as I find cumin, I'm going to try Ty's taco meat recipe.
I'm looking forward to receiving the goods from the container (hopefully this week).

I think cooking will be easier once I get my measuring cups and spoons, but unfortunately, I'll still have to try to discern the chicken from the turkey.

Updated 8/13
I baked more tasty buns today and they looked so gorgeous I had to share a photo.

I Heart Recycling

Culture shock can make it hard to appreciate the good things in a new culture. When you're missing home, it can seem like everything in your new country is backwards and terrible and everything in your home country is wonderful and easy. To help combat these thoughts, I'm going to write about some of the things I like about Vienna. Hopefully, this will give you a little insight into life in Austria and will help me to appreciate my new home. I won't promise a post on this topic every week, but I hope to do at least a couple each month. Click on the "I heart Vienna" label on the sidebar to see all of the "I heart" posts.

When I write about Europe, I always struggle to know how much background information to include. I know that many people who read this have spent time in Europe or are living in Europe. But there are also many who have never been to Europe or maybe only on a short trip. (It sure sounds like I have a lot of readers, doesn't it?) So I've decided that I will include background info and hope that it doesn't get too boring for those of you in the know. Now, let's move on.

Europe seems to be much more environmentally aware than the U.S. Maybe it's because land is at such a premium in Europe. Whatever the reason, recycling is a common part of life in Europe. And it's no different in Vienna. When I take the garbage out, this is what I see --




The one on the end is for things that you might throw into a mulch pile -- food, grass, etc. The next two (with red lids) are for "old paper" -- newspaper, cardboard boxes, envelopes, paper sacks, etc. The the other one is for "everything else." But don't let the "everything else" fool you, but it's not really for everything. Take a little walk down the street and you'll see this --



The first picture is the recycling container for glass bottle -- white (clear) and colored (green or brown). The next picture shows a container for metal things -- cans, foil, etc. -- and a container for plastic bottles. I'm not sure why these are not with the other trash containers. In addition, some bottles (and maybe glass jars) should be returned to the grocery store for a refund.

And I can't leave this out. This is a picture of the box that contains the beverage cartons (and a few outside of the box so you can see what they look like). Twice a month you place this box outside the front of the apartment where it is picked up for recycling.




Now you're probably thinking to yourself, "Is she kidding with all of this 'I heart' stuff. How could someone love all that extra work?" Well, to tell the truth, it is a bit of a chore. But I've been thinking a lot about the state of the environment and what I can do to decrease my footprint. Like a lot of people, I'm starting to realize that if we don't make some changes in our daily habits we are going to create some big problems for our children. And I want to make changes. I really appreciate that the city has made it easier for me to make this change by fostering an environment that promotes recycling and by providing the means for recycling. So even though it's a little extra work, I love Vienna because it makes recycling easier.

P.S., Sorry for the poor picture quality. It was starting to get dark, so I had to use a flash. Plus, I was trying to go unnoticed, so I snapped the picture quickly then moved on. But come on, folks, how inconspicuous can you be taking photos of trash containers! See the things I do for you, dear reader.

A new apparatus

It's been over half a week since my last post. I hope you haven't given up checking for new posts. But honestly, there hasn't be a lot to write about. I know, I know, having nothing to say has never stopped me in the past. But now I finally have something to show you.

Yesterday, I got together with the other girls from OKC and we headed down to the largest shopping center in Europe. Don't worry, Mall of America, this mall has a way to go before catching up with you.

Shopping in Europe is quite different than shopping in the U.S. Some differences aren't too bad. For example, at grocery stores you have to bring your own bag or pay for a bag. Either way, you have to bag your groceries yourself. I don't mind bringing my own bag -- I've been wanting to get away from plastic anyway. And bagging is no problem. However, here's where the next difference comes into play. Now you must carry your groceries home, not wheel your cart out to your car. This isn't too big a deal with groceries. It's pretty common to go to the store every day or two, so you're not buying a whole lot. And the store is generally pretty close to your home. But it is a problem when you spend about an hour on public transportation to get to a shopping center and can only buy as much as you can carry home.

So, what was I able to carry home? A new stand mixer! I've been wanting to get a Kicthenaid stand mixer for a while and Brian said I could buy one since we got a furnished apartment. (Or maybe I said I could buy one since we got a furnished apartment. Who can remember such minute details?) So I began my search for a Kitchenaid and finally found a few -- for about €500! (That's almost $700 for those of you who are not yet in shock.) That's when I began my search for a different brand. After some research, I decided on Bosch -- the "European alternative to Kitchenaid," according to one review at epinions.com. And here it is:

Not only is it a stand mixer, it is also a blender and a food processor! And look at all of those accessories in their neat little holder. I still haven't figured out what this is -- any ideas? I think it goes with the food processor.

One more picture for today. Do you know how they say that everything is bigger in Texas? Well, everything is smaller in Austria. Take a look at this iron that Kim tried out at the mall.

Okay, okay -- that's not really the size of all irons in Austria. Actually, a lot of the irons are quite large. But this is a working iron. By the way, never try to iron clothes while you are wearing them! Even with a tiny iron.

New and improved

In case you haven't noticed, I've changed the format of this blog a little. Go ahead, look around. Did you notice the new banner? Of course, you did! How could you not? I must admit, I'm pretty proud of it. I bought a few pictures from iStockPhoto, downloaded The Gimp and spent a lot of time erasing part of the images and stacking layers and doing all sorts of things I had no idea I could do.

I also changed the blog template so the colors would coordinate with the banner colors. Do you like the template? I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or try another one. There is another template that has darker blues. It would look like this -- the first picture includes the banner and the second includes the sidebar:

(You can click on the images to view a larger copy. Use the Back button to get back to this page.)

What do you think? I'm going to try something a little different. I've added a poll to the sidebar and would like to get your feedback. Let's call the current template "Thisaway Blue (current)" and the alternative option "Minima Blue". (I didn't just come up with some crazy names -- these are the actual names of the templates on Blogger.) So go ahead and vote and let me know which you prefer. The poll feature is pretty new in Blogger, so if it's not working -- it doesn't look like it's working right now -- you can leave your vote in the comments. Updated 8/4: I saw info on blogger that there is a known issue with the poll, so I've removed it. Please leave your vote in the comments.

By the way, if you want to see the original photos I used for the banner, you can check out these links: Votivkirche, Hundertwasser Haus, coffee mug. The clouds and map came from other free photo sites.

Swindled by the Swedes

Last Friday, Brian and I ventured out to IKEA to buy some bedding. If you've never been to IKEA before, allow me to describe the store to you a bit. (If you have been to IKEA -- any IKEA, because they're all identical -- you can skip down to the next paragraph.) IKEA is a Swedish home furnishing super store. They specialize in "flat pack" furniture and have a very distinctive appearance. In addition to furniture, they also sell bedding, textiles, cookware, and just about anything else you would need for your home. And all at pretty reasonable prices. A lot of the store is laid out with different "rooms" -- living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc. -- where everything you might want for that type of room is set up like it would be in your home. You're guided through the store by arrows that lead you through a winding path through the entire upstairs -- living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, kid's room, bathroom (for your home, not public), and restaurant (public, not for your home) -- then back downstairs for rugs, bedding, kitchen and dining stuff (plates, cookware, etc), lighting, and pet stuff before you get to the warehouse section where you can pick up the flat pack furniture you picked out upstairs. It really is quite an ordeal to go through everything. Now that you have an idea of what IKEA is like, let's join the folks who skipped on ahead.

...

Ah, there you are. Now we can continue.

So, as I was saying earlier, Brian and I ventured out to IKEA to buy some bedding. This was our first trip to IKEA in a long, long time, so we didn't know that the stuff we were interested in was downstairs. So we started on the long and winding path through all of the furniture upstairs. By the time we got through all of the furniture and were ready to go downstairs, we were a little hungry. Lo and behold, but what is located right next to the stairway -- the IKEA restaurant! So we decided to stop for a bite. And what else do you get when you're at a Swedish furniture store, but Swedish meatballs. We each got a plate with 10 Swedish meatballs and french fries, plus three bottles of water and went to pay. And guess how much it cost? 5 euros! That's right, folks, 5 euros. For two plates of food and three bottles of water. I was stunned. I knew the furniture was a good deal, but I didn't know the meatballs would be such a good deal as well.

Brian and I were so pleased with the deal we got on the meatballs, we decided to go to IKEA again yesterday and eat lunch (as well as buy some things for the kitchen). We worked up an appetite walking through the maze of furniture to reach the restaurant. We got our meatballs and water and headed to the cashier with 4 euros in hand. (Only two bottles of water this time.) The cashier rings it up and asks for 9.90 euro. The nerve of that woman! What happened to my 1 euro meatballs? The best explanation I came up with is that there was a special last Friday.

Even though they cost more than a euro, the meatballs were still pretty tasty. Here's a picture of the half-eaten meal. (The purple stuff is black current jam, I think.)



P.S. Just kidding about all of that "not able to get on the internet" in the last post. Looks like I got you worried for nothing.