My Story

Why are these pictures so vienna you might ask?

Well lets see....

Getting lost.. still happening...

Dirndl and lederhosen are traditional vienna clothing

Seeing plaques of old famous people all over random streets, nbd

me just loving mcdonalds

There are random street performers everywhere, but these guys were actually good!

Seeing random protests. everywhere.

People have CRAZY baby carriages and trolly things

random deustch products that just make me laugh

Grafitti is all over vienna, it being legal in some places, but the thing is it is usually written in English
And it makes NO SENSE!! haha but i love it!

Standing by Beethovens grave. nbd

delicious foods!

Schnitzel!!

Crazy cool cars everywhere

uh... yes I play with the childrens toys at the museums...

beautiful english

Opera staircase was changed into a PIANO!! it was so sick!

All the garbage cans say weird things, like FEED ME!

in the childrens area again.... :) our hands are black cause we just stuck them
on a freezing cold ice block.

This is a real key, to a real library, that is really still used!

This one is actually in Venice, but once again the english is just terrible ha

Christmas Markets!

Sweet open elevators that I just had to play on

Cigarette dispensers. they are everywhere and everyone smokes.
So nasty.
I hate it.
I am so excited to not have this smell around me all the time!

This is the super classic dinner. schnitzel, cold potatoe salad which I actually love, and desert

Horse drawn carriages going down cobblestone streets nbd.

More great grafitti :)

Opera men. they try and sell us tickets EVERY DAY. No i do not
want a ticket to the opera!!

Workers actually wear clothes like this!! I'm not kidding. Nothing says I have a bad job
like Bright orange clothing!

Gotta love Mercedes buses

The Opera House! See it everyday!

European Man. Period. Scarf, hat, jacket, tighter ish pants, cool shoes, man bag. check

Strassenbahn

weird pictures on the ubahn

Adorable matching children! And they are everywhere too!

This guy is my favorite!!! He has been here for the last 3 months and I still laugh every time I
see him! He dances in the middle of the busiest shopping street in Vienna- to popular american music. It is hilarious! Oh and in the summer he has no shirt- and he has a six pack! bahahha

what?

Oh vienna how I love you and your oddities!

Not that I haven't loved sharing some of my more well thought out experiences with you, but can I just say that I am sooooooooo glad that I am finally done with writing up experiencing vienna assignments. You will probably be able to tell I felt that way in the last ones.... but here they are. Enjoy!

Essay 25

Place: Wien Rapid Soccer game

Location: Hanappi Stadion Huttledorf

Cost: 15€

One thing I really wanted to do while here in Vienna was go to a soccer game. I love soccer and know that it is a much bigger deal in Europe than in America, so was excited to see the difference in a local game. I found out what the local team was called, since the Austrian national team has been doing poorly, and asked who would like to go to a game with me. The stadium is right out in Huttledorf by my house, so I stopped by the ticket office one day to ask about when Wien Rapid plays. I was so excited that so many kids wanted to go as well and we bought tickets for a game. Of course on the day of the game I wore my jersey! We found our seats easily, they were right on the fourth row! Amazing! We had a clear view of the whole game and players. My favorite part of the game was seeing the most amazing goal ever- right in front of us. Ah it was beautiful! The second best part was the fans. On the goal line side of the stadium is where all the diehard fans were sitting. But they weren’t sitting. They stood the whole game and were chanting and cheering the whole time. Literally the whole game! It was so fun! I loved trying to understand what they were saying and cheer along with them. It was a really good game, intense competition with a lot of cards so it was interesting. We ended up losing in overtime, but it was so worth it! I have achieved a big goal of watching a European soccer game!

Essay 26

Place: Vienna Woods

Location: End of the U4 Heiligenstadt, then take bus 39A

Cost: free!

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than go on a hike? No other way right?! That what I did and it was one of my favorite Saturdays! The leaves have been turning yellow lately and we wanted to take the day to go into the woods and enjoy the colors. We hopped on the ubahn and then took a bus up into a party of Vienna I haven’t been to. The little town was really cute, kind of had a Salzburg feel. We got off the bus and just wandered up the road until we found a path leading into the trees. It was really narrow, but just covered in beautiful yellow leaves. We hiked and weaved our way farther up the hill and into the trees. Of the path we found a little orchard and ate some delicious grapes. We went back to the road and found another path to go up. At the bottom of this one was a little playground!! Of course we had to play on the swings and in the leaves. It was just too beautiful not too. We had a fun little photo shoot with all the leaves and then kept hiking. It felt so good to be out exercising and breathing the fresh air. We hiked higher up the mountain/hill this time and were able to get to a good lookout point. Looking back on the city was a great view. I enjoyed my day out in the famous Vienna woods, it was something that seemed a little bit like home, but had an element that was so Vienna. I love it here.

Essay 27

Place: Barbiere Di Siviglia Oper

Location: Staatsoper

Cost: 4€

I attended my first opera in the Staatsoper this week. It was very enjoyable, the whole process was new to me. First we had to wait in a line starting at 5:30, for standing room tickets. At 6:00 they start selling the tickets, and around 6:30 it was our turn and we bought the tickets for the ground level standing room. We were then able to go up and put a scarf around the pole at the place we wanted to stand. Then we could leave and go get some food for dinner. We ran over to Spar for a quick bite and then ran back. The opera started at 7:30 and actually seemed to go rather fast. It was a comedy, so pretty funny. The little screens under the railings that translate are wonderful and I was able to follow what was going on the whole time. I got to hear the famous part that I recognize, the “Figaro, figaro” right at the beginning, so that was fun. By time the intermission rolled around my feet were tired. We sat all during the break and then watched until the end. I really enjoyed this opera. All operas seem to have a similar orchestral part when the singers are all singing different parts and then gradually get louder and harmonize into one loud voice. It is so powerful and stirring. I love music!

Essay 28

Place: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra: Brahms Piano Concerto #1 and Rochmoninoff Symphony dances

Location: Musikverin, standing room

Cost: 6€

Going to a Vienna Phil concert was one major thing on my list to do here in vienna. I love listening to instruments. I played flute in band and learned to love listening to classical music. I enjoy the fun of picking out the different instruments, hearing the dynamics and feeling the movement in the music. The Vienna Phil was amazing. Their sound was so clear, so in tune, that it almost felt fake. I couldn’t believe that I was actually sitting there listening to it for real. Well I was standing actually, in a very large crowd. It was more crowded than the Staatsoper and didn’t have any railings to lean on. I ended up sitting down during the second half, and actually fell asleep for a bit. Classical music is just so peaceful. I had to close my eyes to be able to picture the whole thing and listen more intently, so it was inevitable that I would fall asleep. The first half was my favorite, with the pianist. He was incredible. I love how much dynamic he can put into the music, and then just having the whole symphony accompanying him-ah. Priceless.

Essay 29

Place: Christmas Markets

Location: Rathaus, Maria-Theresai Platz, Am Hof

Cost: Free, but the food isn’t!

Weihnachtsmark, aka Christmas markets, are my most favorite nighttime activity now. Watching the lights going up over the last two weeks has got me so excited! I just love Christmas and it is so beautiful!! With everything lit up, ah it really feels like Christmas here. And with no thanksgiving to be celebrated after Halloween it is time for Christmas! There are several different Christmas markets, all around town. I have been to three so far and have enjoyed them all. My favorite thing at them is the food. AH! It just makes my mouth water! There are just stalls everywhere with pastries, meats, sweets, potatoes, it goes on and on! So naturally I had to get some. I have had the Krapfen(doughnut), scone with garlic and butter sauce, and a delicious banana and nutella waffle. I can’t wait to try more of all that is there! I am looking to buy a nativity from the Christmas market and also an ornament. Everything is so beautiful especially the hand carved or hand painted items. I cannot wait to go visit all the other markets and continue to get this holiday cheer! I feel like a little kid walking through these markets, wanting to stop and look at every booth, wanting every candy I see, loving the trees all lit up. It makes me so excited for all aspects of the Christmas season, especially being home with my family!

Essay 30

Place: Schnitzel Wednesday

Location: National Library Cafe

Cost: 6,60€

Schnitzel Wednesday occurred for the first time this week. If we would have known about this lovely café sooner it would have been a 3 month weekly affair. Alas we only just learned of it, from our Histroy Professor none the less. While on a tour of the library we walked by a little doorway where she stopped and said, “here is a little café that sells cheap schnitzel every Wednesday that is good.” So naturally we had to go. We, a group of about 10 of us, went to schnitzel Wednesday. We found our way back to the little corridor that the secret doorway to the little café was hidden in. We entered the shop, found ourselves a table and then got to the grub. The waitress lady told us that it is a serve yourself kind of place, so we told her what we wanted and paid and then were able to walk back to the kitchen to pick up the food. I got a huge schnitzel, potato salad and cake all for just 6.60. What a steal! We all enjoyed this lovely food and the atmosphere, very chill, there was even an American flag painting on the wall. Who would have guessed?! I am sad that things like schnitzel Wednesday will not be able to take place back in America.