take me back!

Guten Tag! I just got back from an incredible weekend of sun and sites in Vienna, Austria. Out of the 44 students in our program, about 40 came to Vienna, which was very exciting because the last trip we all went on together was in London and Munich all the way back in January. We left the dorm Friday morning at 9am and took a bus to Vienna. After two stops (one being at this crazy amusement park-like place called Excalibur City) we made it to Vienna by 4pm. When we got there, we were all more than relieved to step off the bus to the warm air and almost perfectly clear sky. You could already tell how stoked we were that we were in warmer spring weather by the sunglasses and tanks. Granted it was only about 63 degrees when we first arrived, but hey, that’s basically 100 degrees in Prague weather! After checking into our hotel, our guides for the weekend, Zee and Jana, led us toward the town where there were plenty of shops, restaurants, bars, and bakeries. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Vienna is very modern and quite crowded. You know how I love cities that have people walking around and live music… well that’s exactly what life is like in Vienna. With designer stores all around, as well as the usual H&M, everyone was feeling quite excited for the weekend. After our walk into town, a group of us decided to find a good spot for dinner. After much walking, and after looking over countless menus (we are very picky when we are in unfamiliar cities) we settled on a cute little Italian restaurant by the river. Vienna is known for their wines, white in particular, so we immediately tried that. I have to say, the wine was quite delicious, and I’m more of a red wine kind of girl. After a great meal (well, great food, but NOT great that Vienna is on the euro) we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the night. We met up with some more people from our program and headed to some local bars, one Irish bar in particular which has a bunch of locals, as well as people visiting from other areas of Europe!

Our second day was even better than the first. We woke up to what we were told from the beginning of our time abroad was the best breakfast buffet EVER. I’ll admit it was pretty good: scrambled eggs, veggies, fruit, fresh OJ, toast, fresh jam, croissants…basically they had anything you could really want for breakfast which was nice for a change. After breakfast, we ventured out for our walking tour of Vienna. We walked by the Town Hall, which is a beautiful neo-gothic building from the 19^th Century located right near our hotel. Next, we walked by the Imperial Parliament. As we were walking, we came across a huge BMX bike competition taking place. Obviously all the girls rushed over to stare at the bikers and watch them do crazy jumps and flips. We continued on with our tour and headed to the church called Minoritenkirche. This church was amazing because we walked into a choir performing! They sounded so beautiful and it was so great to see the church, which is so old, being used today. The church is also home to a famous mosaic called “The Last Supper.” After seeing the church, our tour guides brought us back to the main center of town and we were free for the rest of the afternoon to venture around and explore the beautiful city for ourselves. Lucky for us, the weather was perfect: clear skies, high of 68 degrees. A small group of us stopped at a café for a quick bite to eat, and then we stumbled upon this open park with grass and gorgeous trees and plants. This was EXACTLY what we wanted to do. We literally sat around talking, soaking up some sun, and laughing, for about 2 hours. 

The Hundertwasser House

Laying around in the park made me so excited for the weather to heat up in Prague so we could do things like that all the time! After the park, we went to the first pub ever built in Vienna. After that, my friend Phil and I decided to branch off from the rest of the group to grab some dinner. We were suddenly craving sushi and came across this little restaurant with outdoor seating. Since it was so nice out, we decided to stick with it (risky, I know…sushi is very questionable when it is not expensive) but it turned out to be delicious, and the company was the best part. After a great meal and even better conversation, we headed back to the hotel.

Me in front of the gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace

This morning was unfortunately our last day in Vienna, and of course, it was the hottest it had been all weekend! With just a tank top and pants, I felt like I was back in Calabasas! (Well, not quite, but the weather is definitely getting me excited!) Before heading back to Prague, we stopped at two more amazing sites. Our first stop was at the Hundertwasser House, an apartment house in Vienna designed with undulating floors, a roof covered with earth and grass, and huge trees growing from inside of the rooms. The exterior of the house is not only extremely colorful, but also very intricate and detailed. I haven’t seen anything like it, and everyone was in awe! The second place we stopped at was the Schönbrunn Palace. This palace was one of the most beautiful places in Europe I’ve been to so far. From the interior of the palace (which consists of 1400 rooms and detailed wall designs and paintings) to the HUGE garden outside of the Palace, there were so many beautiful things to look at. After our audio tour of the palace, we were free to explore the rest of the estate. A group of us walked around the gardens, took pictures, and ended up at an adorable café in the back of the gardens, next to the oldest zoo in the WORLD! To think that people actually lived in such a breathtaking palace is too unreal. It literally took my breath away! After a long bus ride back, and of course one more stop to Excalibur city, we made it back to the dorms safely! I’ve got to say, Vienna has been my favorite city so far. From the weather to the sites and liveliness of the city, I truly enjoyed everything about Austria. On Friday, Jenna and I are traveling by ourselves to ROME!!!