Day 16: finally in VIENNA!!

We left Budapest early of course, saying goodbye to our cute host Zsofie.
I was so excited to get to Vienna. One of my mission companions lives in Vienna. Julia and I were MTC roommates (with four other amazing girls) and she was going to the Toulouse, France mission. She was actually the first sister I met. The Toulouse missionaries were on the bus with us to leave the MTC when all the Geneva missionaries were 'recalled' because our flight was cancelled. Hasty and confused goodbyes on the bus were all be got with those Toulouse missionaries but we had no clue what would happen to our missions in the future. In the middle of my mission, we were combined with Toulouse. In the first transfer where we were combined, President mixed every companionship so that we could get to know the new missionaries an learn how to work together. I was in Geneva with a french companion when Julia came to be in the other sister companionship. I was SO excited to see her again! We spent three transfers in Geneva and for 2.5 weeks in the middle we were made a trio. Those 2.5 weeks were some of the most rewarding of my mission and Julia became a best friend. I got to see much more of her in later transfers and of course, we got to finish together with all our other beloved sisters. Anyways- I can get very lost down mission-memory lane. Sorry for the digression but now you may understand why I was so excited to be in Vienna. I've seen the other sisters in Utah, but I haven't seen Julia since we parted in Heathrow airport 16 months ago.
So we drove into the city center and found parking near the tourist information center so we could plan our visit. I texted Julia and she said she could get out of work early and meet us. Yay!! After waiting impatiently through the next two hours while we explored the area a bit, finding locations of things we wanted to do, Julia was on her way to find us. It was raining and we were standing inside the museum gate for shelter when she was suddenly there and I was finally hugging her! I didn't want to let go but she could finally meet my parents.
Julia walked us through the city center, sharing some of the things she knows and we went to the city's old famous Ferris wheel. It was nice to see the city from so high and Julia was pointing out interesting things. Julia had to go to school at 5, but she invited me to come stay with her for the night. Yay!! And before she left she took us to her favorite ice cream place, which was Italian and Amazing! I had a nut mixture- which if you know me you might think WHAT?! I hate nuts in things because I don't like their texture, but I love most of their flavors. But these ice creams had no chunks- just the flavor! I got pistachio, chestnut, and Nutella, of course. Each of them were so delicious and the combination was incredible!
We happened upon a statue of Guttenburg, the man who invented the printing press. As we took a picture mom said, "we need books to be holding for the picture." So I had the funny idea to make the picture ironic- if it can even be seen in the photo; I pulled out my iPod, which has a number of my books saved. So even though I am incredibly grateful  for the invention of a printing press, I am also very grateful for the modern technologies that allow me to carry many books in my one pocket and it weighs only a few ounces.
We bought tickets for a symphony in the Golden Hall at 8, so we had time to explore more and find dinner. But first mom and I changed out of our jeans into skirt and dress so we wouldn't feel too underdressed at the concert. We found a perfect quick-food stand that sold sausages(LIKE a hot dog), Chinese noodles(cooked right on this huge flat hot-counter), and kebabs. I got a kebab(shocker), dad got a sausage and mom got noodles. We enjoyed our food with a talented accordion player in the background.
The symphony hall was very beautiful, and true to its name, very gold. It was a mostly young group of musicians, led by a young director. The music was incredible, and we were sitting only 10 rows back. We got great last-minute, half-priced, front-and-center tickets. It made for a great night. I enjoy such concerts because it reminds me of when I was in band. I didn't love playing the trumpet, cuz I was too lazy to practice, but I did love being a part of band. There is something special about adding a small part to such incredible and intricate creations of music.
After the spectacular performance we drove to find the place we had booked to check in, but I was going to stay with Julia so dad dropped off his stuff and then we drove to Julia's. We worked out a free parking situation by leaving our car at Julia's and she and I drove dad home. Then she was hungry (at 11:30 pm) so she bought food from Burger King and then she drove me out to the hills at the edge of Vienna where we parked with pretty views of the city and talked for hours.  We got back to her apartment around 2:30 and still couldn't stop chatting until after 4. And she had school in the morning at 8. I went to sleep on her very comfortable and ingeniously designed convertible couch.