Vienna, Austria (the Austrians call it Wien). This city was once the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the middle ages and even into the beginning of the twentieth century, it was a center of trade, culture, fashion, and music. Famous for its weinerschnitzel, classical concerts, and rich history, Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. We arrived by plane on Tuesday (after having to wake up at 3 am to make our flight, leaving us with plenty of rest for the day). The first thing that struck me about the city was the architecture. Everywhere you go, the buildings are covered in beautiful baroque facades, and historical cathedrals, palaces, and museums decorate the city.
Our first day was filled with a tour of the city led by Dr. Wasser, which included a tour of a church crypt housing the coffins, bones, and mummies of thousands of Viennese citizens from the middle ages. The next day we enjoyed some of the many museums in Vienna. Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of museums, so after spending the morning looking at Picassos in the Albertina and learning about the history of drugs, I wandered the city with Park exploring the streets and taking it all in. Thursday, we started at a museum of anatomical pathology, which was incredibly interesting. The museum housed wax figures, preserved specimens, skeletons, and even stuffed figures that displayed a plethora of human diseases, injuries, and disorders. The afternoon was busy with a lecture on Sigmund Freud, who lived in Vienna most of his life, at the Freud museum. While I personally consider Freud a massive fraud, it was interesting to learn about his life and gain an understanding about his works and theories. This museum was followed with a classical concert. We listened to a string quartet perform in St. Anna's Cathedral. As a classically trained pianist, I really enjoyed that experience. After all, one cannot go to Vienna without experiencing its music. For dinner, we tried the famous weinerschnitzel, fried veal, which proved to be worth all of the hype.
One of my favorite parts of the past week, both in Berlin and here, has been teaching my friend Youngjun, who is from South Korea, American slang. He is a fast learner, and has quickly incorporated words like hype, flex, drag, and fat into his vocabulary, much to the delight of everyone else. Youngjun, or Park, was my roommate this week, and we had a lot of fun cracking jokes and exploring the city together.
Friday began with an excursion to the Spanish School of Horse Riding, an institution native to Vienna and over 450 years old. As you would expect, these horses were absolutely some of the most beautiful animals I have ever seen. The Lipizzan horses and riders are chosen by a very selective process to ensure that the school maintains the highest quality over its long history. We ended the trip an the Natural History Museum of Vienna, which is one of the premier natural history museums in the world. While I may not love most museums, I tend to enjoy natural history museums, and this one was especially good.
Overall, I loved this city. It is absolutely beautiful, and feels like an older, classical version of Germany. It was also exhausting though, and I am somewhat dreading my upcoming four hour bus ride to Prague. But, as I sit here in the Deutschmeister hotel writing, I am glad for this experience, and I have loved experiencing Berlin and Vienna. I am excited to add a third capital to my list before returning to Bonn, but once I am back, I may stay awhile to recuperate.
