Vienna/Venice

            The last two weeks have been very hectic!  The first week was spent as a class touring Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy and the second week we were free to travel wherever for Spring Break!  However, for this blog, I will only talk about the first week.  Our whole group went to these two cities together, which I thought was nice and a good way to get to know everyone even better!  It’s funny how traveling with people you don’t know very well, can make you close pretty fast!

            Vienna was our first stop and we stayed in the city for a couple days.  When we arrived on Tuesday, we spent some time walking around the area and seeing where and what we would be doing the next day.  I enjoyed this because we were able to familiarize ourselves with the area, and also seeing different monuments and buildings more than once helps me remember them better.  By the time we were done walking around as a group, it was late afternoon and we were free to do what we wanted for the rest of the day.  I decided to grab some coffee with one of the other girls and then go with her for supper to meet her cousin who happened to be visiting Vienna at the time!

            I enjoy the free time that we get on these trips along with the time we spend at museums and touring.  I love learning the history and seeing the different cites, however, it is nice to explore and wander on our own afterwards.  I honestly believe that this is very important in the study abroad process, because the time we spend on our own teaches us how to be more independent.  During these times, we have to learn how to navigate new cities and problem solve without the help of our professors and I believe that is very important in traveling abroad, because if we come back someday, we most likely will not have professors telling us where, how, and when to go places.  The time that we spend with the local professors on these trips are crucial as well, though, because we are shown an example of how to adapt to the cultures and travel with more ease.

            Our second day in Vienna, we started the morning by visiting a museum as a class and were able to see many different amazing pieces from past royalty.  I really enjoy seeing the outfits and different styles that have evolved over the centuries.  The amount of work and artistry that went into many of the decorations and even daily appliances and outfits is astounding.  After the first museum, we were allowed to pick between an art museum and a nature museum.  I chose the nature museum and there were so many floors and wings of different species of animals and artifacts, that it took hours just to skim.  I was in awe of how well they preserved so many different species of animals and other items.  I love going to these museums, but there is no way to possibly see and read everything in them without taking days so I have to pick and choose what I spend time on at each museum.  After the museum, a group of us ate amazing Mexican food on the street while deciding what to do next.  I try to eat the foods of the culture and country I am in; however, I can’t resist reverting back to familiar foods every now and again.

            We decided to venture across town and visit Schonbrunn Palace.  I had no idea what to expect, and I was very pleasantly surprised.  The palace was originally built as a “hunting lodge” that contains over 1,400 rooms.  The miles of gardens, walkways, and fountains that were absolutely beautiful.  We then hiked up a hill to the big fountain at the top which provided a breathtaking view of the city.  It is crazy to me to think of how well preserved and how rich the history is in Europe.  I know that we have a lot of history in the United States, however, there is just so much more that goes back much further in Europe.  Even if you visit smaller cities, they have different historical cites and there are a lot of jobs as well surrounding all this industry.  We sat on the hill for quite a while and it was nice to just take a minute and enjoy the view and appreciate where I was instead of rushing around visiting things.

            Thursday we left for Venice.  We hit a little snag and left later than planned due to one of the girls rolling her ankle on the stairs.  However, it ended working out because it rained all day in Venice that day anyway.  From the time we arrived in Venice, I was in love with the city!  All of the little islands making up Venice make it such a unique and beautiful place.  Even in the rain the city was amazing.  We settled into a hotel that was actually an old Jesuit convent and school.  I just find it fascinating that we are able to stay in such old buildings that contain so much history.  In the U.S. I feel like once a building is old, we tear it down to build a new one, however they are great about restoring and using the buildings that already exist.

            The next day we started the day off by visiting a museum and a couple churches in the Piazza San Marco and surrounding area.  Again, there is so much history and exhibits that it is almost overwhelming when trying to decide what to spend time looking at.  The museum contained so many elegant rooms with beautiful paintings and furniture that it is hard to take it all in.  It is also crazy to think about the amount of wealth and belongings that were obtained by the people in power.  If they wanted a huge ballroom or courtyard or statue, they got it.  That is just hard for me to wrap my brain around.  If someone was in a position of power, they had a lot of power and freedom to do as they pleased with vast amounts of land.

            We had the afternoon free once again to wander around on our own.  Of course we ate Italian food for lunch, followed by a Gondola ride.  The gondola ride was definitely worth the money.  It shows the beauty of the “streets” or water channels flowing in between buildings.  The gondola ride and all of the water taxis and boats around really put into perspective that although Venice is a very beautiful place, it is difficult for the people who live there.  The city survives on tourism and otherwise is a very difficult place to make a living in or even live.  There are hundreds of stairs and bridges to walk over, making it very difficult for the elderly and the handicapped. It was very eye-opening to see just how much the city does rely on tourism.  One of our professors informed us, Venice is now down to only 50,000 people when it used to contain over 250,000.

            After the gondola ride, we walked around and looked at the different buildings and ended up sitting by the sea for a while watching the local life and the tourists.  I truly enjoyed the atmosphere of Venice.  It was definitely a touristic place, but yet still contained a laid-back feeling that allowed us to relax and enjoy and appreciate the culture.

            Overall, I enjoyed both cities and am very thankful we were allowed to go there as a group.  Each city had its traits that made it unique and I appreciate how each major city in Europe has a style that they try to stick to and make the cities even more beautiful.  There are the occasional skyscrapers, but for the most part each city has stuck to one or two architectural styles.  I learned a great deal of history in each city and would definitely go back in the future!