Dr. Moser set some pretty high standards while we were in
Germany, always saying that the Austrians do it better. We all just laughed it
off, nodding that he had a pride of his homeland. It really became a joke that
Austria would have better pastries, the public transportation would be more
punctual and we would actually see people smile. But goodness, there is not a
statement to describe our shock when we arrived yesterday to find out that he
wasn’t lying. Vienna is absolutely breathtaking!
An early morning yesterday made for a quiet ride on the
plane. We arrived in Vienna around 10 in the morning and had just enough time
to drop our stuff off at our hotel before we went out and started our tour of
the city. We walked, talked, and tried not to drool over the beautiful
architecture. We passed many sites such as the Austrian Parliament building,
the local University, several cathedrals, the popular opera house and art
museums.
At one point during our walk, our southerness/lack of snow
experiences got the best of us and, as a class, built our newest Austrian
snow-friend, I’m sure the people passing by stared at the group of American
college kids frolicking in the snow, but we were so in the moment of laughing
and being ridiculous, not one of us looked away for a second. This is one of
the reasons that I am thankful for the wonderful group of people I am spending
my time with.
Later on, we experience what it is really like to be
Austrian. At an extremely lavish but yet not too overdone café, we were treated
to the afternoon meal of pastries and coffee. We sipped our Austrian coffee and
savored the sweet taste of the best pastry I think I have ever had. That
evening, we also ate Weiner schnitzel—a traditional Austrian dish. Everything
was superb.
This morning, however, shifted back to the discussion of
this course. We visited the Vienna Central Cemetery, which is a burial ground
for different religions. It is for public use even though there is a military
section and has many distinguished people buried there. Each religion has a separate
section and we viewed how the Jewish section was basically neglected as very
few descendants were left after the war. This is something that the city just
recognized as something they need to help take care of.
The rest of the day, we roamed the first district in search
of coffee and cute cafes. Even though the Berlin weather has seemed to follow
us, I still can’t wait to see the rest of the city!
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