Vienna

On Thursday afternoon we had a wonderful tour guide show us around the historic areas of Vienna's "inner ring". Despite the continual rain, we managed to learn many things about the Habsburg family's dynasty and influence in Vienna as well as enjoy our guide's great sense of humor. I've noticed that you can tell if someone has really mastered a foreign language or not based on their ability to insert clever humor into the conversation. We walked past the opera house, through the St. Stephen Cathedral, Hofberg Palace, and through the city's shopping areas. After the tour, us students went to dinner at Centimeter, a restaurant not too far from our hotel where you can order food literally by the centimeter.

On Friday morning we had an appointment at the Diplomatic Academy here in Vienna. Though the appointment's schedule of speakers was a bit confusing, I still learned a whole lot about Austrian and European foreign policy. I especially enjoyed our lecture by the ambassador on the Danube Strategy. It was very interesting to hear about a strategy involving no direct funding or formation of supportive organizations and the ambitions for building infrastructure, furthering integration, and pursuing more trade. I'm curious to see how effective this strategy will be.

With some time available in the afternoon, our group split up for lunch in the city. I enjoyed scrumptious Italian food at restaurant that Jon Bon Jovi at at last week and Bill Cosby ate at....well at some point in time. Our group then proceeded to get things done by finding the post office, money changer, souvenir shops, and the crown jewel: Starbucks.

In the late afternoon, we all went to the Austrian federal Chancellery for a private tour. This could be equated to going to visit the White House. Because CIFE, our partner organization had a connection to the Chancellory here via an alumni, we got to walk through all of the main rooms of the building beginning with the oldest Renaissance and Baroque sections and ending in the most recent 1950's addition. Along the way, J-Rob interjected his American perspective and put things into historical context to help us realize the significance of what we are seeing. Though some people got irritated at him for "rambling", I really appreciate him taking the time to tell us things like where treaties were negotiated, where the Nazi's ended the first Austrian Republic in 1938, etc. Us girls had fun collecting free postcards with photos of each room on them along the way. Half way through the tour, we found out that the Chancellor was in the building in his office at the time. We were in the room adjoining his office, and I just kept hoping he would walk by. But, alas, he did not.

After the Chancellery, Linn (our CIFE intern who is guiding us through the field trip portion of the program) lead all of us students to a cheaper more student-friendly district of town for dinner. We had delicious Spanish cuisine that was a nice change of flavors. (Though I am still missing my Mexican food!)

Today was our free day in Austria. Once again, Randy, Clara, and I, teamed up to make the most of our time. We went to Schonbrunn first at 8:30 this morning. It is the famous summer palace of the Habsburg family built beginning in the 17th century, but finished by the famous Austria-Hungarian/ Holy Roman Empire Empress Maria Theresa. It was so ridiculously immaculate!! Our audio tour abounded with highly detailed room-by-room explanations. After that, we came back towards town and went to a Lipizzaner horse show at the Hofberg. We then went to see the Royal Treasury where the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire are housed. Though they are really the German "crown jewels", they were originally in Germany, then in Austria for several centuries, stolen by the Nazi's, then given back to Austria by the U.S. after the war where they have remained. We then decided it was time for a lunch break and found some Schnitzel (and some iced tea!!!!) at a restaurant in the inner ring of the city. After lunch and a bit of souvenir shopping, we went to the art museum where we saw all sorts of artwork. Namely, we saw German paintings from the 15th century development of portraiture onwards. We saw works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, van Dyck, and other various moderately well-known artists. As we were finishing up this museum, Randy and I began to suffer from museum fatigue, so we opted for a break. Luckily, Linn and I had planned on meeting for coffee at 4 o'clock anyways, so I knew a good place to go. Sadly, we didn't end up meeting Linn at Cafe Central, but it was a wonderful true Viennese coffee house experience. It is the oldest coffee house in Vienna and extremely beautiful inside. The waiters all wear suits and are not necessarily known for their hand and foot service. Nevertheless, they are cordial enough and serve wonderful desserts. I was quite pleased with my chocolate truffle cake thing and Viennese coffee :)

After a few quick stops in gift shops, we made it back to the hotel to get ready for the Mozart concert. At fist we thought some of the street ticket vendors were trying to scam us, so six of us reluctantly paid a deposit on student tickets for tonight. But, it turned out to be one of the best experiences on this trip so far. The concert was at the famous concert hall here in Vienna and was performed by the Mozart Orchestra of Vienna, a world-renowned orchestra here only in the summer because they are traveling in the winter. When we got there, we got our 21 Euro student tickets upgraded to second row 65 Euro tickets! I have no clue how, but it happened and it was awesome!!! All of the orchestra members dressed in traditional costume and wore Mozart wigs...I know it sounds kind of weird, but they looked so impressive and legit. The concert featured a variety of music including Symphony 40 and several pieces from his Italian operas. The conductor was really charismatic and got the audience involved and enthusiastic about the show.

We had a wonderful full, yet enjoyable and non-stressful day in the city. Thankfully Clara is a "U" expert and navigated the underground system like a pro. Randy is a superb map reader, and I am the woman with a plan. So, together we make a pretty grand team for these free days. We all like to make the most of our time in these wonderful places!!

Well, I am about to pack for the boat trip to Budapest in the morning. I'll have much more to share with you soon.