Screw maps

I navigate by instinct alone. This strategy produces mixed results.*

The language barrier in Austria, however, has made getting lost practically a part-time job. Travelling from home to work is no problem but actually locating something in Vienna is much more difficult - primarily because every street name has a minimum of 16 syllables. Imagine someone tells you to meet at what sounds like "Mariahilfashtrassuh..." It's not even worth my time to Google map that.

What's getting me by is Vienna's excellent (and inexpensive) public transit system. I'm starting to slowly find my way around the city, stop by stop. The U-Bahn system here is as efficient as NYC's subways and clean like Boston's T but doesn't have nearly the same number of crazies as either New York or Boston. And you're free to drink on the train. I think it's pretty clear why The Economist just called Vienna the second most livable city in the world.

*If you've ever been out with me and it seemed to take hours to get to the final destination, I probably told you I just wanted to "explore" the area. I was lying to you. Apologies.