Dear readers,
May turned out to be a very busy time for me this year. First, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Vienna with my host club for four days. Afterwards, I presented my big end-of-the-year presentation in front of my whole host club. Most recently though, I was in Milan on an art trip with my school. I am still blown away by how much I saw and did in one month.
My trip to Vienna started with me waking up at four to get meet the other members of the group in town so that we could catch a bus to the airport, where we took a one-hour flight to Vienna. After a uneventful trip, we landed and after gathering our luggage, went to meet our tour guide for the whole trip. She showed us to where the buses were all parked and after everyone had piled on, we departed for our hotel, located in the center of the city, near city hall. Once we arrived, the whole group took suitcases into the hotel, where we deposited them quickly. Everyone was hungry and eager to walk to the wine cellar where we would be eating lunch. A quick pace soon had us arriving for our much-anticipated meal. All of the Rotarians enjoyed the fine Austrian cuisine of pork, potatoes, wine, and a coffee cake.
Afterwards, we had a tour of the city, visiting fancy coffehouses, stores, and a cathedral. We even saw one coffeehouse with real cats roaming freely inside and another where you could see the food being made behind a glass. If there is one thing I realized about Austrians during that trip, it is how seriously they take their coffee. Next, we all headed back to the hotel to dress up for dinner. Dinner very similar to lunch and therefore not much to talk about. However, we then went to a classical music concert that I found enthralling, despite the fact that I am usually not fond of classical. It was a wonderful day and my first impression of Vienna was a very positive one. I was very tired when we got to the hotel and even though some of the Rotarians invited me to go out with them for a drink (for me non-alcoholic) I unfortunately had to decline.
The next day I got up at the first light of dawn (eight o'clock) to start my day. We left the hotel promtly at eight thirty and met up with our tour guide so that she could take us to an amusement park where we could take a ride on the famous ferris wheel of Vienna. From the top of the ferris wheel, we had an amazing view over the whole city. Once everyone had taken their turn going up, we regrouped by the bus and traveled back to the city to continue our sight-seeing, including the world-renowned Spanish riding school, which has one of the fanciest riding halls in the world. Naturally, after so much walking around, everyone was tired and ready for something refreshing to eat. We ate lunch at a cool outdoor restraunt and afterwards, everyone was excited to head to the Schloss Schönbrunnen, which literally translates as Palace of the Beautiful Fountain. It used to be the seat of the Hapsburg dynasty until World War I. The opulence displayed there was absolutely stunning. Every room had gold-gild crown molding, huge paintings, plush carpets, and luxurious furniture. It was hard for me to imagine that anyone would actually living in a place like that. It truly a home for royalty. After I was finished seeing the palace, I joined some of the men from my club for a snack and I ended up getting one of the most delicious banana splits that I have ever had.
I then went with some of the ladies to go check out the gardens that were behind the palace. They were absolutely massive and at the end of the garden was the fountain that Schloss Schönnbrunnen was named after. I loved everything that I saw around me and almost wished I could live there but, as amazing as it all was, it was also a little overpowering. We all returned to the hotel afterwards for a well-deserved rest and to get ready for dinner and the musical afterwards. Dinner was delicious but nothing special. For me, the highlight of the evening was most definitely the musical that we went to see. The story was that of the Kaiserin Elizabeth and the tragedy of her life, her transition from being minor nobility to the Kaiserin of the Hapsburg dynasty and all the trials that came with. The acting was wonderful and I found the music absolutely phenomenal. I enjoyed it so much that I even purchased the movie so that I could go home and watch the play whenever I wanted. We all went back to the hotel around eleven-thirty and I took a shower, then climbed into bed.
On Saturday, our last full day in Austria, we took a trip outside of Vienna to see some of the country surrounding the capital. The first place we visited were the underground grottos that were about twenty minutes outside of the city. The grottos were located in old mining shafts that were closed after one of the miners struck through the wall that had been a barrier to the waters on the other side. The mining shafts were later pumped by the Nazis so that they could be used as factories to build airplanes after the war was over they were temporarily forgotten only to be discovered later and pumped out again to become the tourist attraction that they are today. They were even used in one of the scenes from The Three Musketeers. The next stop we made was in a small village where the hunting lodge of the Hapsburgs was located. It was a very nice building but the story attached to it was somewhat sad since it was where the crown prince Rudolph shot his mistress and himself. We then went to have lunch and to visit a monastery.
Afterwards, we headed to the town of Baden, which are called to playgrounds of the rich because of the fact that many wealthy people that lived in Vienna, also had vacation homes in Baden. As much as we wanted to walk around and check out the town, we were soon forced into a small coffee shop because of the inclement weather. I wasn't too disappointed though since I got to savor a delicious cake and hot chocolate while making small talk with some of the rotarians. We all took a trip to a wine cellar for a little bit of wine tasting as well and I learned the proper way to drink wine. Soon, it was time to head to the resturant for dinner. The resturant was a cute little building and dinner was accompanied by typical Austrian folk music played on an accordian. Throughout dinner we repeatedly got up to dance and sing. After dinner, most people went back to the hotel to sleep, but some of us wanted to go salsa dancing and went search for a club that we could get into. Unfortunately, because I was under eighteen, I was not allowed to go into any of the clubs that we visited. As a result, we ended up just getting drinks together before heading back to the hotel. They did manage to sneak me down to the dance floor for a couple of minutes before one of the waitresses had us kicked out because I looked too young. Despite being disappointed abut not being able to dance, I still really enjoyed my evening.
The next morning, I just wandered around Vienna waiting till it was time for us to leave for the airport. We left around eleven and got the the airport about thirty minutes later. We all got through security and then headed to get something to eat. We left Vienna around two and I finally got home around five that evening. I had such a great trip and loved the opportunity to get to know the rotarians outside of the club setting and also being able to establish a more personal relationship with so many amazing people. That is a lot for one post but I can't wait to fill everyone in on my two memorable trips to both Milan and Paris.
Your intrepid traveler,
Grace
