After returning from Ireland, I blinked my eyes and was already on a plane again. This time to Vienna to visit Whitney and Nikki. Getting there was an adventure in itself. While in line to board the plane, they announced that the flight was not just delayed, but CANCELED because they discovered that the wing on the plane was BROKEN. Needless to say, I was thankful they discovered this prior to takeoff. They put us on a flight that left five hours later and stopped through Frankfurt, so arriving to Vienna, I was the latest I have ever been to a date--7 hours! I was greeted by two smiling faces, a bar of chocolate, and a beer, so despite a long journey, I couldn't be happier.
Whitney and Nikki were so kind to show me around town and feed me yummy food. My eyes were popping out of my head at how interesting and beautiful everything was. Vienna is different from places I have seen before, and as former center of the Hapsburg empire, there were palaces and all things of high culture galore. I saw works by Klimt, an Austrian artist most known for The Kiss, at the Belvedere Palace. The Kiss was all over everything, from watches, to underwear, to umbrellas, but seeing it in real life was so much better!
Palace #2 I saw was the Schonbrunn. Mere college students, we did not pay to go inside, but instead explored the gardens, which involved some fence-climbing to see parts they for some reason did not want the public to go into. And look what we would have missed!
After some leisurely shopping and pretzel-bread sandwich eating we went to the Staatsopera opera house to see Arabella. Beautiful German voices sung us Arabella's story of love triangles and how hard it is to have five men in love with you at once. We were in the standing room section (oh yeah 3 euros)--our legs nearly fell off but the show certainly made up for it. There were subtitles on little screens in English so we were able to follow the plot along.
Saturday was so sunny and beautiful--a perfect day to go to the Naschmarkt! In the mile-long piles of junk you could find many treasures, from watches and jewelry, to Austrian clothing, to books, to any random item you could name. I found a skirt that I love (you know me and skirts). There was also a food section, where all the smells and colors and people gave you sensory overload.
We also went to Palace #3, the Hofburg. This palace was HUGE, and one of the many former homes of the Hapsburg family (they had to have a different palace for every season). We toured the inside as well, where you could see the imperial apartments of Empress Elisabeth.
Palace #4 is were Whitney and Nikki go to school. We all are studying with the IES program, but I am jealous to say that their school is in a PALACE. My three floors of an office complex just can't hold a candle!
Sunday was a rainy day, so we enjoyed the day in relaxing before I had to go back to Barcelona. We watched the office, chatted, and made some traditional Austrian food for dinner, such as wienerschnitzel. In the morning, Whitney and I went to Mass at Stephansdom, the main Vienna cathedral, which they later discovered was built with stones from Roman ruins. It, of couse, was big and beautiful, complete with stain glass and a big organ.
I'm back already in Barcelona (scary how quickly time is flying) and am anxiously awaiting Spring Break. Pat is coming TOMORROW and I am beyond excited. We are doing a big train trip through France, the Italian Riviera, and Switzerland. Here's our itinerary:
Saturday April 4: Montpellier to Nice, with stops in Monaco and Monte Carlo
Sunday April 5: Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy
Monday April 6: Cinque Terre, Italy
Tuesday April 7: Lugano, Switzerland
Wednesday April 8: Train through the Alps to Luzern, Switzerland
Thursday April 9: Luzern
Friday April 10: Geneva, Switzerland
April 11-13: Paris
April 13: Night train back to Barcelona!
After Spring Break, things can only go quicker, as there are just two weeks of class and finals. Then it's off to Italy for a week and home. I am loving it here so much--I'm trying to soak it all up because it is going so fast. I apologize in advance if I never come back! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment