07/31 - 08/01
Having eagerly looked forward to my trip to Austria all summer, I dreaded the long flights that awaited me when I woke up early on Wednesday (07/31) morning. As I had the uncanny ability to never manage to fall asleep on planes, I thereby knew that I had a long day ahead of me. Despite this, my enthusiasm for this trip overwhelmed any negative emotions I had when I arrived at the SFO airport. Fortunate enough to have gone to the United Kingdom and Ireland the summer prior, this would be my second time ever in Europe.
I spent some of my nearly eleven hour flight to a layover in Frankfurt watching The Sound Of Music. Despite being released in 1965, the movie's catchy songs and superficial story stood the test of time, but its historical revisionism was far too blatant to ignore (read my full review under the Movies section). Following this turbulence-free yet sleepless flight, another flight would shortly land me in Vienna. Upon arriving at the apartments around 2:00 PM on Thursday (08/01), I did a bit of unpacking before joining a few students to shop at a nearby grocery store. Along with purchasing food for the week and a few cleaning supplies, I tried to no avail to find a fan for my room.
The view from my room on the third floor.
Ignoring my hunger and exhaustion, I joined Prof. Stuart and some of the class in visiting Schönbrunn Palace, one of the picturesque former residences of the Habsburg dynasty. We took the U6 subway from Burggasse to Längendeldgasse, where we then switched subways to the U4 that we took all the way to Schönbrunn. While on these subway cars, it truly dawned on me how inferior the American public transportation system compared to the Austrian system. The Viennese subway cars not only travel to countless different places across the city, but have also thus far always arrived on time for me (Caltrain could learn a thing or two from this...)!
Strolling through the grounds of the Schönbrunn Palace, I was struck by this grandiose Baroque structure, one of the many built during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. However, I was most captivated by its expansive gardens and enormous greenhouse (Palmenhaus), which provide Vienna with an escape to nature from an otherwise densely populated city. Following our time exploring the Schönbrunn complex, the group enjoyed dinner in the Brandauer Schlossbräu beer garden. After quickly devouring my meal, at the recommendation of Prof. Stuart I had the pleasure of drinking a Zwickl unfiltered beer, which did not disappoint. Soon thereafter, I quickly fell asleep upon returning back to my apartment after a long yet fantastic first day in Vienna.
The posterior face of the Schönbrunn Palace.
The Palmenhaus greenhouse on the Schönbrunn complex.
German Words of the Day: Leichtigkeit (Ease) & Schneemann (Snowman)
Provided by: Transparent Language