Sunday, July 17th-Tuesday, July 19th, 2011: “Danke Schoen, Vienna, Danke Schoen”

Day 9-11: Vienna, Austria (a city with expensive/slow/or nonexistent internet)

We apologize to our loyal readers for the lengthy absence. We were 1)exhausted and 2) had no internet. We did find free internet (and 1 Euro cappuccinos and 1 Euro bags of sliced apples) at McDonald’s but were never there with enough time to write a blog entry. So now, as we sit in the Vienna airport with some time to spare before our trip to Bucharest, we will try to catch you up on the past few days. We’ll give you the Cliff Notes version.

Day 9, Sunday, July 17^th: We took a beautiful train ride from Salzburg to Vienna and arrived to a closed European city. We forgot that much of Europe takes Sunday off, including stores, restaurants, and museums. After finding our hotel, which ended up being in the Times Square of Vienna (oops, a little noisy at night), we strolled into the beautiful and old city. Our excursion was not very exciting as everything was closed, but we did get a glimpse of the old, huge buildings that made up the center of the Austrian empire. We did stumble on a temporary art project—the hammock house (any city that has modern art which encourages patrons to nap in public is okay in my book!). We took a small break and had some nice views from the third floor of the house.

Day 10, Monday, July 18^th: We had been communicating via Facebook with one of my former students, who is currently studying at the University of Vienna, to try and arrange a lunch. We thought we were meeting up on this day; however, it turns out Katie, my student, thought differently. Whoops, communication lapse. Due to this we didn’t do much in the morning but discover a cheap breakfast/internet plan—buy fresh bread at the bakery, take it to McDonald’s, buy cheap cappuccino, and enjoy the lounge like atmosphere and free internet of Viennese McDonald’s. Seriously, the nicest McDonald’s EVER. Ladies who lunch, toting their Gucci bags, were everywhere as if it were a hip place to be. Bizarre.

After not meeting up with Katie we headed back into the old city to tour the Hapsburg Imperial Apartments, Silver Collection, and the Sisi Museum (Empress Elizabeth). Both Beth and I found the Sisi Museum the most interesting of the day. Her story was a sad one and confirmed our thought that we never want to be famous. Even in a time before 24-hour media coverage and the internet, this Empress still seemed to live a life under constant watch. She was described in multiple locations as the Princess Diana of her time. Her life ended just as sadly: she was assassinated (not for anything she did or did not do politically; her assassin was actually there to kill someone else who did not show and he decided she would be an even bigger target).

By late afternoon we found ourselves in front of city hall which hosts a summer long film festival on a large screen in front of the building. They show mainly operas and symphony concerts in an effort to bring some culture to its city (we didn’t actually watch the film; we figure we have enough culture after our time in so many different countries). In addition to the huge, temporary outdoor movie theater they also have a food circus set up with many different bars and restaurants from around town serving up tasty treats including NUTELLA CREPES! Mmmmmmm.

For our dinner we headed to the outskirts of Vienna (via a variety of public transportation, as there was no straight shot ride) to visit the wine gardens. We had a very nice glass of a local red wine and of course a salt stick (something like a pretzel only a stick instead of a twist).

Day 11, Tuesday, July 19^th: Today we actually met up with Katie for lunch. Beth never had the privilege of teaching her or her younger brother George (for many of our readers you know this family from Westchester) but they are both a delight! Talk about hardworking, interested and interesting, talented, smart, and just plain sweet kids. Katie is originally from Salzburg and has lived all over the world (her Dad works for Exxon) but decided to study in Vienna like her parents. She took us to a local and traditional Austrian restaurant in the center of the city and then for a short walking tour afterwards. She really knows her city and was a great tour guide explaining the Spanish Riding School, pointing out St. Stephens, the Opera, and many other famous old buildings. She also told us about a few of the traditions of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. She is headed back to Houston today, Wednesday, and therefore had to head home and pack, but pointed us in the direction of several cool spots we went on to visit on our own. *

We finally climbed to the top of a famous old cathedral—St. Stephens in the center of the old city. This huge gothic cathedral was cool on the inside and offered 360-degree views of the city from the top of the 343-stair tower. It was a long, claustrophobic climb but well worth it. Vienna was much cooler than Rome and Florence and far less crowded—we are glad we found another opportunity to climb and hadn’t missed our chance in Italy.

We then headed to the Vienna Opera House. Sadly most of the original building was destroyed by a bomb dropped during WWII and had to be rebuilt in the 1950s. However, there were parts that were not destroyed and kept in tact through the new construction. We both loved touring the backstage area where we caught a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. Crews of 150+ people work during the 10 month opera season to change the sets up to three times a day. Talk about a production! We both have a new appreciation for opera and backstage crews.

We are headed to Brasov, Romania for the last leg of our trip. Beth lived and volunteered here for almost three years before working at Westchester. This will be my first trip. Beth looks forward to seeing old friends and I look forward to seeing yet more new sites! It should be a great last four days before we head home.

Love,

Beth and Jesse

*It was so fun to see Katie! She had been in my class as a sophomore and had come back to visit throughout her next two years at Westchester. She’s only just finished her first year of college but was grown up and is so worldly. I’m so proud to see a graduate of our IB program really using the degree to its full benefit. All her former teachers should be proud.