Auf Wiedersehen Vienna

After my wonderful trip to Italy, I have spent the last week and a half enjoying my time in Vienna and finishing up school here. I had a final last Tuesday for my International Marketing class which seemed to go well and then the next day I began an intensive class called Cross-Cultural Communications, another marketing class. It was 5 hours Wednesday night, 7 hours Thursday during the day, 8 hours Friday, and then 4 hours Saturday, so VERY intensive! It was an interesting class, but I would have enjoyed it more in a more spread out time format. But now I'm so glad to be done with classes!

Elizabeth, Me, and Emily at the
Maria-Teresia-Platz market

I've been going to all of the Christmas markets I can to get christmas presents and to drink as much glühwein as possible! I went to the Maria-Teresia-Platz one near MuseumsQuartier with Emily and Elizabeth one night and then we met John for dinner at Vapiano's, a great Italian restaurant chain that has tons of locations in europe and even some in the US! I'm going to have to check it out in Union Square in the city. I also went to the Rathaus Christmas Market with Elizabeth and Cori last night, we had some roasted almonds, glühwein, and looked at the beautiful lights and all of the stands. Then Elizabeth and I went to Il Sestante, the Italian restaurant we used to go to often, and got pizzas and wine, it was wonderful. I went to the little one on Mariahilferstrasse and found one of the candle pyramids I had been looking for in Berlin, I was so happy! And my mom even had me pick up extra candles for the ones we have at home. I also went to the Christmas market at my favorite place in Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace, with Emily and Elizabeth one night. We bought ornaments, drank Sissi Punch, and ate crepes. It was a nice night. Three of Emily's friend from Bentley met us there too. After, we went to John's room for a birthday party for his roommate. Then we went to the Palais club, which was a very cool building and was like you were inside Schönbrunn or Hofburg Palace, and danced away at the Snoflake ESN Party with our exchange friends.

Schönbrunn Christmas Market at night

Emily, Me, Pete, and Elizabeth at the Snowflake Party

Cori, Emily, Nate, Tom, Me, Elizabeth, Evan, and John
at Stadtpark Ice Skating!

This Thursday, we went to Yamm! a vegetarian restaurant to meet Stevie's boyfriend and then Elizabeth and I went to Haus Panorama, one of the other Exchange students dorms, for a Goodbye Party. It was great to see everyone again and to say goodbye to some friends from this wonderful semester. The other night, Cori, Emily, Elizabeth and I went to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant, got a pitcher of strawberry margaritas and Elizabeth and i got fajitas to share, they were delicious, I've missed my mexican food. Then we wandered around the Christmas market near the restaurant and near Volkstheater. Today, I went to the Kunsthalle Museum and went to the No Fashion, Please! and Vanity exhibits about fashion and photography, the exhibits were really interesting and I really enjoyed them. Then I walked around and finished getting a few christmas gifts before I ran into Emily and her sister in front of the Opera. We then went to the Karlsplatz Christmas market to check it out, and there were llamas being paraded around! The market was really hoppin, with christmas concerts and lots of people eating and drinking and enjoying the atmosphere. Then we went to Stadtpark (where we may have ran across a gang meeting or a large drug deal or something) to meet up with John, Elizabeth, Cori, Nate, and Tom to go ice skating. After we rented skates, we glided onto the ice and had a great time skating. There was a band in the middle of the outdoor rink playing christmas music and there was a bar off to the side were we took a glühwein break after a few laps. It felt weird being back on skates after who knows how many years but I soon got back into it and was skating pretty fast and comfortably. It was such a perfect way to spend my last night in Vienna! Then we went to dinner (minus Tom and Nate) at Augustiner Keller. With a glass of cabernet, some frittatensuppe (the think pancakes in a beef broth soup) and some Schnitzel with my favorite german potato salad, I had the perfect austrian dinner for my last meal in Vienna. After dinner, I said goodbye, and strolled through Stephansplatz once more before I headed home.

Me & Louise popping gammas!

Cori & i in Stephasplatz with a Christmas tree smaller than us!

Rathaus Christmas market beautifully lit up

This semester was so incredible. I met friends from all over the world, took interesting classes with interesting people, travelled to so many different countries and experienced so many different cultures and cuisines. I was so blessed to have such a great group of friends to spend my semester in Vienna with and I was lucky to live in one of (if not the number one) my favorite cities I visited this semester. Vienna was amazing with the culture, the sights, the food, and the Christmas markets and lights especially. I cannot believe it has been 3 and a half months since I left New Jersey. I am sad to leave Vienna but I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends from home and to get back to Richmond. I know I will be back in Vienna one day, the city is just too amazing to not visit again. It became my home these past few months, and I will always cherish my time here.

Reuniting with Italy

As of tomorrow, I will be leaving Vienna in exactly 2 weeks. Needless to say, these past 3 months have been amazing. And my final trip that I took was definitely the icing on the cake.

Before I departed on Thursday, i spent much of the week going to classes and studying for my final on Thursday. I had my International Human Resource Management & Organizational Behavior Final that fulfills the Organizational Behavior Management class I need to take at Richmond. I think it went pretty well, but we will have to wait to hear about that.

Getting ready to
throw our coins!

Right after my final on Thursday, I arrived at the airport to fly to Rome where I was meeting Emerald and a few of her friends from Milan who decided to tag along on our trip. My flight to Rome went smoothly and I hoped on the Leonardo Express that takes you to Termini Station, which was close to my hostel, but in true Italian fashion these days, the Leonardo Express decided to stop at the station before Termini and finish its journey there. After some translating from helpful passengers, I found out I had to take the metro in order to get to Termini. Once I arrived at Termini, I walked the short walk to Hostel Alessandra Downtown where Emerald and her friends Andrew, Matt, and Nick were awaiting my arrival. After settling in, we ventured to the Trevi Fountain to see it beautifully lit up at night. After taking the traditional pictures of throwing a coin in (with the right hand, over the left shoulder!), we got some gelato nearby and enjoyed our gelato while admiring the beautiful landmark. The fountain was surprisingly not busy at all, so we decided to reenact the statue for a photo. Afterwards we headed over to Piazza di Spagna to see the Spanish Steps. We checked out the beautiful church at the top and then admired the view while singing Christmas carols. We struggled to remember the words to the 12 days of Christmas, but I somehow was able to remember them with a 10 second delay each time. It was a great way to get in the Christmas spirit since it had just became December.

St. Peter's Basilica

On Friday, Matt, Andrew, Emerald, and I woke up early to go to on the tour we had booked for Vatican City. We were running a little late because we hadn't been able to find the When in Rome Tours office and once we did we found it empty with no answer to the phone or doorbell. Emerald said we should go see if we could find the tour in the Vatican Museum. After going through security, we asked the information desk if they knew where the When in Rome Tours were and miraculously he found them right away as they hadn't left the entrance yet! We literally thanked God and joined the tour. I had been to Rome with my family in 2005 (along with Florence and Venice) so this wasn't my first time in the Vatican but it was just as amazing the second time around. The statues are incredible, the mosaics are amazingly detailed, and the tapastries and paintings are truly masterpieces. I really enjoyed the room with the maps on the walls as well as the Raphael Rooms with his famous paintings. Our tour guide, Luigi was a great tour guide with interesting information and he was hysterical. He had perfect italian flowing hair and kept referring to a few people in the group who were struggling as his "friends from Denmark" and every time he would move again he would say, "We go this way!" and rush off. After the Vatican museum, we went to the Sistine Chapel, which was also even more incredible than I remembered. The amount of detail Michelangelo put into this work is truly amazing. Then we went to St. Peter's Basilica and saw Michelangelo's Pieta as well as toured the entire Basilica (which is the largest in the world). Luigi then took us down to the catacombs where there were tombs of many of the popes on display.

Me, Emerald, Andrew, and Matt at the top of the Basilica

After the tour, we decided to take the lift and then climb the 350+ stairs (which are partially in the dome, and at that point you are literally walking at a 45 degree angle) to the top of the dome. It was cool to see the dome and the mosaics that line it (fun fact: there are no paintings in the basilica only mosaics because paintings can be ruined much more easily). The top of the dome had a stunning view of Vatican City and Rome and we had a great day for it. After taking a few pictures in St. Peter's Square, we headed to a restaurant to grab some lunch. Matt and I split a caprese salad and then I had a pasta dish with a mushroom and ham cream sauce. It was all delicious. Then we made our way to Plazza Navona where there is the famous Fountain of the Four Seasons and saw the Church there. Then we went to the Pantheon, which was one of the only things I remembered well, but it was cool to see again. We then headed back to the hostel to rest up before going to dinner near Plazza della Repubblica with Nick, Brina, Bayley, and Tabb, more friends of Emerald's from Milan who had joined the trip.  I had a delicious pair salad with fresh parmesan cheese and muscles and clams with tomatoes and we all split a couple of bottles of wine. Then we went back to the hostel to get ready to go out and bar hopped in Campo dei Fiore.

Me, Matt, Andrew, and Emerald at the Colosseum

The next morning was a bit of a struggle to get up but Emerald, Andrew, Matt and I made our way to the Colosseum. It was even cooler than I remembered, and since the last time I had visited, they had excavated the middle portion of the Colosseum, which was very cool to see. It is such a massive structure it really makes an impression on you. I kept thinking about what it was like when it was complete and busy during its prime. Then we made our way to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum where we explored the ruins and the beautiful scenery. There was a great view of Rome from the top of the Palatine Hill. At the end of the Forum, it began to rain, which didn't phase us until, as we were on our way out, it began to downpour. We got soaked to the bone and made our way to a restaurant for lunch. It was very sad but our pizza was extremely sub-par at the place we ate. Then we went back to the hostel to change out of our wet clothes before heading back out to see some of the sights by night. We checked out the church near our hostel, Santa Maria Maggiore, then went back to the Colosseum, which looked very cool with a glow coming from the arches. We saw various other sights including the Arch of Constantine and the Vittoria Emmanuelle II.   Then we walked around and found pizza by the meter, where you pay by the meter and decide how much you want. I had one that was like Margherita Pizza and was delicious. Then we went back to campo dei Fiore with the rest of the group to grab some dinner. I wasn't a huge fan of the MInestrone soup there because I like it more brothy with thicker vegetables but it wasn't bad. But Emerald and I had a very cool appetizer that consisted of a pear stuffed with gorgonzola cheese with other berries, walnuts, and honey. After a crazy and late night Friday night, a late dinner, and an early flight, we stayed in and hung out in the hostel.

Me, Andrew, and Emerald in the Roman Forum

Christmas in Milan at the Duomo!

Emerald, Matt, Andrew, Nick, and I flew out early Sunday morning to Milan. After arriving in Milan, Emerald and I showered and got ready to do some sight seeing. We went to the Duomo, which is the second biggest church in Italy. It is absolutely gorgeous and has some many details on the outside. It reminded me a little bit of Stephansdom in Vienna but Stephansdom does not compare. We took the lift to the top where you got an even better view of all the beautiful details  of the church. Then we toured the inside and I lit a candle for my cousin Alex and his family. There must have been over 300 tall white candles burning, it was very beautiful. Afterwards we took pictures of the Duomo and the huge Christmas tree that was outside of it which was decorated so beautifully with white lights and white flowers that resembled lilys. Then we strolled through the Galleria, which is renowned for its architecture and saw Teatro la Scalla, Milan's famous Opera house. Then we went back to Emerald's dorm and ordered pizza with her friends Andrew (who went on the trip) and Mike, both from BC. It was nice to hang out, eat pizza, and chat, and Andrew and Mike played darts. Andrew went to go study after that but Mike came down to Emerald's room to hang out more and then I was able to meet her friend Gina. Spending time in Emerald's dorm made me realize how nice it would have been to have everyone in one dorm in Vienna, like Haus Erasmus used to be.

Matt, Mike, Andrew, Emerald, Tabb, and Gina
with the Octopus of beer.

On Monday, we slept in a bit and then went to the grocery store to get lunch. We made mushroom ravioli with grilled zucchini on top and I put pesto on mine of course. Then we watched Crazy, Stupid Love, and Emerald fell asleep (so typical). It was nice to just hang out. In the afternoon Emerald put up pictures on Facebook while I studied for my Finance final. Then for dinner we went to an aperitivo place called Iguana with a bunch of Emerald's friends. It was nice to meet the people she always talks about. Aperitivos are very popular in Italy, and its a great deal. You pay 10 euros for a nice cocktail and then go down to the buffet where there is a variety of food options. I tried pasta, pizza, potato dishes, a green bean dish, some curry hummus, as well as other things. Then we went to La Fontanella, a pub where we got a 10 L octopus looking container with hoses of beer to share. The place also has games so we played Connect Four and Uno as well. It was a fun night.

I woke up at 5:15 on Tuesday to make my flight. I was sad to say goodbye to Emerald and her friends, who I grew to really like over the time I spent with them. When I got back to Vienna, I headed to Starbucks where I got some coffee and listened to Christmas music while I studied Finance. I took my Finance final this morning, and it feels really good to have another class over with. Now I have a final next Tuesday as well as 2 pre-assignments to do before my intensive class that goes from next Wednesday to Saturday. My next post will probably be my last, I can't even believe it. This semester has gone by so fast.

Weihnachten in Berlin

Before I get into my latest travels, I'll fill you in on what I did last week.

Thanksgiving!

Me in front of the tree at
the Schönbrunn market

Elizabeth's sister and friends came to visit her so on Monday I met up with them to go to Figmüller for dinner. Figmüller is an Austrian cuisine restaurant famous for their Wiener Schnitzel that is bigger than the plate! I had the frittatensuppe (clear beef broth soup with strips of pancakes) and a gemischter salat, one of my favorite items on austrian menus, a salad with german potato salad (potatoes in vinegar instead of mayonnaise), white cabbage, slightly pickled cucumbers, and the usual lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots. Then we went to the travel shack with Emily for a while that night. On Thursday, it was American Thanksgiving! I was feeling a bit sad about not being with my family but I ended up having a great day. During the day, Louise and I went to the Christmas market at Schönbrunn Palace, which was so beautiful. We had glühwein and walked around looking at all of the ornaments and other things being sold at the stands. Then at night, John, Emily, Louise, Elizabeth, and her sister and friends came over for a Thanksgiving feast! I had cooked turkey breast the night before and everyone pitched in with the meal. John made mashed potatoes, Emily made an apple crisp for dessert, I made green beans, stuffing, rolls, and a sweet potato casserole, and Elizabeth made some chicken to have as well. It was nice making a great meal with friends, drinking wine, and enjoying each other's company.

Brandenburg Gate

Early Friday morning, Louise and I flew to Berlin, Germany for the weekend! The title of this blogpost means "Christmastime in Berlin". Berlin was decked out for Christmas! It was definitely my kind of place. Louise and I met up with Chelsea, my roommate from the past two years from Richmond. We stayed with Chelsea's friend, Jen, who graduated two years ago from Richmond, which was so nice. She is doing a Graduate Program for a year in Berlin and staying with a host family but lives in their friend's apartment on the floor above. It was so nice being in a real home and not a hostel or a dorm. On Friday, the four of us went to a Thai restaurant nearby Jen's apartment. I had pad see ew, which was delicious and reminded me of Ginger Thai in Richmond. Then Louise, Chelsea, and I went off on our own to explore the city. Berlin is huge with a giant overwhelming u-bahn/s-bahn map but we managed to wander and find our way. We went to the Brandenburg Gate, walked to the Reichstag (Parliament building), then saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, ended up finding the incredible Potsdamer Platz Christmas Market (which had a 70 m long/12m high toboggan run), and then saw more christmas markets and the Berliner Dom (Berlin's cathedral).

Steins at the Hofbrau Haus

Friday night we had the privilege of being invited to Jen's friend's host family's house for a Thanksgiving dinner! Louise, Chelsea and I didn't realize how much we missed being in a home. It was so lovely to meet different people, talk, eat fabulous food, and drink wine in a cozy house with the fireplace going. We had all the fixings: a 30 lb turkey, gravy, stuffing, green been casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. It almost felt like home, it was such a treat. After dinner, we met up with Jen's friend Paul from the Netherlands to go to the Hofbrau Haus, a huge beer hall where you drink steins and sing german drinking songs. It reminded me so much of Munich and Oktoberfest where I had been in the Hofbrau Tent. We had steins of Radlers which is a half beer/half sprite mixture which sounds gross but is delicious and gives the beer a honey-like flavor. We were there until 2 am and then because Berlin is such a huge city, we didn't get home until 3:30 because of waiting for trains and switching lines. It really made me appreciate Vienna's size and metro system!

Louise and I in front of
Schloß Charlottenburg

Glühwein at Schloß Charlottenburg!

 We woke up pretty early Saturday in order to get another full day of sightseeing in. We started our day at Schloß Charlottenburg, the palace in Berlin. It was very beautiful and very different from the other palaces I've seen in Europe. There was one room with the most beautifully painted ceiling with different elements coming out of it looking very 3-D and another room that Louise said looked straight out of Hoarders, with over 2,700 porcelain objects covering the walls! After touring the palace we walked around the christmas market in front of the palace where they had lots of cute gifts at the stands. Chelsea and I had apfel glühwein and Louise and I had some delicious goulash. There was also a huge Windädchen, which is a German candle holder carousel, something that reminds me of home because my mom has one that she puts out every christmas from when she traveled Germany with my dad to visit my Aunt Bess & Uncle Mike years ago. After the market, we made our way literally across the city to the East Side Gallery, which is the longest standing part of the Berlin Wall that was painted by artists in 1990. I really loved the paintings, they were so interesting and such a different form of art, in the sense that it was on such a historical landmark and casually on the street that people drive by every day. After the wall, we tried to go to the Berliner Dom to tour the cathedral but they were closed for some reason so we weren't able to. Since we couldn't tour the cathedral we wandered around a few christmas markets on our way to meet Jen for dinner. We saw some really great crafts and had a snack of the delicious roasted almonds that always smell so good in the markets. Jen took us to another beer hall/restaurant called Gaffel Haus which is a brewery in Cologne, Germany where Jen studied abroad when she was a junior. They make a specific beer that can only be called Kölsch, similar to Champagne in that it can only be called that if it comes from that region. I had a weißbier and a delicious casserole with salmon and spinach. Afterwards we walked around a few christmas markets including one called the Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market which had a beautiful huge tree decorated in white lights, with beautiful buildings surrounding the square where the market stood. Then we went to the Berliner Weihnachtszeit Christmas Market near the Rathaus (Town Hall), which was huge with an ice rink and a ferris wheel as well as all of the food and gift stands. After a late night Friday, a busy day with a lot of walking, plus some glühwein and bier, we were ready to call it a night after the last market.

Me, Chelsea, and Louise in front of the Berlin Wall

Me, Louise, and Chelsea at Gaffel Haus

Sunday Morning, we sadly said goodbye to Berlin and went on our ways. Berlin was definitely one of my favorite cities. I loved the atmosphere and everything about it (minus the largeness of the city and the difficulty figuring out the subway map haha). I'm so glad I was able to go, it was a great trip! This week I'll be busy studying for my Management and Finance finals (Management is this week and Finance is next week) and on Thursday I will be off to Rome and then Milan with Emerald until Tuesday!

Waffles, Chocolate, and Fries in Belgium!

Before I get into my trip to Belgium, I have been very busy the past two weeks with classes. Two weeks ago, I began an intensive class, European Law & Economics, which began on a Monday and I had the final the following Tuesday. That meant lots of class hours in a short period of time. I learned all about the EU and how they make laws especially concerning the single market. It was actually extremely boring and made me sure that I did not wan to go to law school...ever, so at least that was beneficial. The week that I had my final, I also had a Finance Midterm, and my final paper for my Organizational Behavior Management class, so it was quite a busy week. I wasn't able to do much in Vienna but on the bright side....

CHRISTMAS MARKETS ARE OPENING!

I went to the opening of the first christmas market at Rathaus (the town hall) where there were over 150 stalls selling food and christmas ornaments and trinkets. The Christmas markets are a dream come true, as Christmas is my favorite season of all time. I met a group of my friends and we walked around the Rathaus Christmas market, looking at all the stalls and ornaments, resisting the temptation to buy everything in sight, and with glühwien in hand of course. Each market has their own mug and you pay a deposit for the mug that you can get back if you bring it back to one of the stalls but I plan on keeping my mugs to collect them. Also one night last week, a group of us (Elizabeth, Stevie, Emily & her boyfriend who was visiting, and John) went to the Travel Shack, a bar, for the night. It was a lot of fun because the Travel Shack has all these crazy shots that you can take. We did the snuff shot using this crazy contraption and a fire shot where you swish a shot of sambucca in your mouth, they sprinkle cinnamon in, and then light it on fire and then you swallow the shot, pretty crazy! But it was a lot of fun for a different night out.

Belgian Chocolate Shop

After a whirlwind two weeks, my trip to Brussels, Belgium was much needed! (And how appropriate after my Econ class that was all about the EU as Brussels is the capital of the EU!) I met Travis, Emerald, and Tabb (Emerald's friend who is also studying in Milan) on Thursday night in Brussels. I didn't get there until late because of a class but we got up bright and early on Friday to sightsee in Brussels. We began our morning with Belgian Street Waffles in a park. Brussels has many different types of waffles, but they are all delicious! The Street Waffle has sugar on the inside while the class waffle has it on top, and the tourist waffle has the fruit and chocolate and whipped cream on top. We walked around the city and saw St. Michael's Cathedral, Parliament, Palais de Justice, Palais Royal, Grand Place, and Manneken Pis (this statue of a little boy peeing, i'm not sure why its such a popular national landmark but he had an adorable outfit on!). After our self-guided walking tour, we stopped at Chéz Leon, recommended by my DG sister Mariana who is studying in Brussels, to get Moules (aka Mussels). They were so delicious! I had them with butter and herbs and they couldn't have been any better. We stopped in a few chocolate shops to try their sampes and then we made our way across the city to the Atomium (this huge structure that looks like an atom that was made for the 1956 World Fair). We stopped for Pommes Frites on the way back and each got different types of dipping sauces. Brussels is known for the vast amount of dipping sauces that they have for their fries, and i got the pouvre flavor (spicy pepper) it was very delicious. After a quick nap in the hostel, we wandered downtown to find some dinner. We stumbled upon some sort of parade/riot where people were in 18-wheeler beer trucks and wearing lab coats which had been drawn all over as well as hats with long duck bills...we have no idea what was going on but it was insanity. We ended up finding a vietnamese restaurant for dinner, and I had a pretty good curry, shrimp, and vegetable soup. As we were in Grand Place trying to find the bar we wanted to go to, Tabb suddenly freaks out because he just saw Michael Caine (the british actor who played Alfred in the newest batman movies!). We stalked him slightly to make sure it was him before his wife started giving us weird looks. We then found Delirium, the bar that Mariana suggested that was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most variety of beer (over 2,000 and 25+ on tap!). We tried a few different kinds, Travis and I had two versions of a Xmas Beer. One was the Delirium Xmas beer which was a little spicier and another Xmas beer that was a little fruitier tasting. We bar hopped on that street after that and had a blast, ending up on Kebap street for a late night snack for Emerald and Tabb.

Town Hall in Grand Place with Christmas Tree (Left) & Atomium (Right)

Tabb & I with our Moules

Beers at Delirium

Emerald and I in Bruges

The next morning was a bit of a struggle waking up, but we were able to make it and hop on a train to Bruges (or Brugge), a medieval town about an hour away. It was an adorable town with canals and cute houses/shops. We wandered around seeing some of the sights which included Michaelangelo's "Madonna and Child", and Jesus's Blood (seriously...it was in a vial....) in Holy Blood Church. We ran into people that we had been talking to (in spanish for quite a while) at the bar the night before, which was very funny and ironic. We stopped for lunch at PItahuis to have some delicious gyros. Then we went to the Chocolate Museum to learn about the history of chocolate and see a life size chocolate Obama! After the museum, we headed back to Brussels for a nap. After such a crazy night the night before, we decided to lay low and grab a late dinner and then go to a movie. We went to a asian restaurant that served chinese, vietnamese, and thai food. I had a squid and vegetable dish that was delicious and a chicken, bamboo, mushroom soup that was also very good. Then we went to see 50/50 but missed the last subway back so we had to call a cab. 

in front of the Mini Melk Abbey where I visited
earlier in the semester!

On Sunday, we woke up early and went to Mini Europe, a park with miniature versions of many of the monuments in Europe. It was fun to see the sights that I've seen in a lot of my travels. We first had waffles for breakfast and then took lots of pictures in the park. Afterwards, we headed back to our hostel to grab our bags and head to the airport where we got lunch in a diner. Shortly after, I was on my way back to Vienna. It was a crazy and fun weekend and I really loved the city of Brussels and also Bruges! This weekend I will be off to Berlin to meet my roommate from Richmond, Chelsea, and will be traveling with Louise, my DG friend here in Vienna. I cannot wait to be back in Germany again, and at christmas time...I know there will be more Christmas markets! 

Mom & Dad Come to Visit

This past week I was lucky to be able to spend some time with my mom and dad. They came out Tuesday night and arrived on Wednesday morning from New Jersey. John unfortunately wasn't able to come, despite my pestering him to buy a last minute ticket.

Me and Dad at AugustinerKeller

On Wednesday, I met up with my parents after my finance class and we went to lunch at the Hofburg Cafe near Hofburg Palace. We had some austrian goulash and a few flatbreads. I really liked the austrian version of goulash, it was much more of a soup/stew. Then we went to see the Imperial Silver Collection, the Sisi Museum (of Empress Elisabeth), and the Imperial Apartments. The silver collection had the most china, silver, crystal and gold I had every seen, it was incredible. I really enjoyed the Sisi Museum for the second time. It was all about Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) and how she became an icon and her life in the palace. The Imperial Apartments were also beautifully decorated and so interesting to see the beautiful rooms they lived in with the drapery, paintings, and wall hangings. Then we went to Cafe Demel, one of the oldest cafe's in the city, to try a few cakes and coffees. We had a chocolate truffle cake as well as a cream cheese raspberry vanilla cake. They were both delicious. I had a melange and had my dad try one too, he seemed to like it. I love melanges now, they're like cafe lattes or cappuccinos but with different ratios of milk to coffee to foam. Then we walked around Stephansplatz, window shopping as well as a little actual shopping, and made our way to Onyx Bar in the Do & Co Hotel which has a fantastic view overlooking Stephansdom. I had a delicious champagne cocktail that was called Red Carpet or something fancy, and my mom had something similar whereas my dad opted for a german beer. After our drinks we went to AugustinerKeller for a typical austrian meal. It was so delicious and in a very cool atmosphere, very cave like. We had wiener schnitzel, the mixed salad with german potato salad, pumpkin soup, the beef broth pancake soup, and a beef dish. Everything was delicious with compliments of some austrian wine.

Mom, Me and Dad drinking some austrian beer

On Thursday, we woke up and headed over to Belvedere which is a palace turned into a museum near the hotel we were staying at. We walked from Lower Belvedere to Upper Belvedere, through the gardens, and then walked around the art museum looking at paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, and Gustav Klimt including his famous work "The Kiss". Then we headed to Karlsplatz and Naschmarkt for lunch. We went to Stadthaus, a fish restraunt in Naschmarkt. It was absolutely one of the best meals I have ever had. We shared a salmon carpaccio, and then shared a grilled calamari dish, a grilled mixed seafood dish, and a seafood spaghetti dish (which had all the best fish in my opinion: clams, shrimp, mussels, octopus, squid, and lobster). It was a fantastic meal. My dad was on the phone for most of lunch and our waitress yelled at him saying he couldn't actually taste how fabulous their fish soup was if he was talking on the phone. It was pretty funny. Then we went and toured Stephansdom (the huge cathedral as well as its catacombs). The catacombs were pretty cool, there were mass graves under the cathedral where you could see bones and skulls! The cathedral is a beautiful gothic cathedral and we ran into my friend Elizabeth and her dad touring the cathedral at the same time! Then we took the lift up to the top of the North Tower for a fantastic view of the city. It was so windy up there though, it was freezing! Then we made our way to Hotel Sacher, famous for the "original" Sachertorte. We tried the sachertorte, apfelstruddel and these pancakes with chocolate/hazelnut sauce in between with plums and plum sorbet, it was so delicious. Then we went to the Kunsthistoriches Museum, the fine arts museum, and toured the gorgeous building and all of its art including Monet, Caravaggio, Valesquez, Klimt, and more. There was also an exhibit that was on winter paintings which was a perfect way to get in the mood for the season. Which was also helped by the Christmas markets being set up all over the city! I cannot wait to explore them all! After the museum we went to an italian restaurant, Cantina la Norma, which was very delicious. It only had about 12 tables which made it very cosy and interesting. We had delicious pasta dishes, carpaccio, soups, and wine of course.

On Friday we caught a train to Salzburg, literally running after it because we bought tickets and then it was leaving 5 minutes later. The train ride was about 3 hours and we chatted and read on the way there. Once we got in we checked into our hotel and then took their advice to walk down the road to this restaurant, Zwitter, that had great austrian food. We had schnitzel and pumpkin soup and a beef dish (starting to sound a bit repetitive but they all taste so delicious and different....also this blog should clearly be a food blog because that's half of what i write about). Then we went up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress which was built in the 11th century and sits at the top of the city. It was a steep climb to get up but the views were totally worth it, they were incredible. We had a beautiful weekend for our trip so the sky was clear and we had a great view of the city and the mountains. After walking around the fortress for a while we decided to stop for a drink at the Panorama Cafe which had a beautiful view of the country behind the fortress. We got a few glühwiens to try (the hot wine that is so delicious), it was perfection. Then we headed down the fortress and went to see the beautiful Salzburg Cathedral. It had no stained glass but had little naves, each beautifully decorated. Then we walked around the old town looking at the shops and the fancy shop signs that Salzburg is famous for. We went to stiengasse to a pub for a few beers before dinner. The pub was in a cellar and was super grungy looking but the waitress was really nice and served us patte and was playing 60's American music, we were loving it. Then we went to an italian place for dinner in the old town.

Beautiful View from the top of the fortress

Mom & I with our glühwien

Dad, Me and Mom with the beautiful Salzburg lakes in the
background from the Sound of Music Tour

On Saturday, we woke up bright and early to be picked up by Bob's Sound of Music Tour. Since it was the off season, we were the only ones in the van so it was a private tour! We drove by where they filmed some of the abbey scenes, as well as stopped at the house where the filmed the lake scene and the back of the Von Trapp house, then we went to a Castle which they used to film the front of the house, as well as the yellow wall where Maria sings "I have Confidence". We also got to see the famous gazebo! We then took a trip into the lake region of Salzburg where there were beautiful views of the lakes, hills, and mountains that they show in the opening of the movie. It was a great way to see the countryside of Austria. Our Tour Guide, Rosemarie was great and told us all about the filming as well as the real Von Trapp family. I plan on watching the movie tonight to see if I recognize all the things I saw. Then we stopped in Mondsee, a little town in Salzburg with a beautiful church where they filmed the wedding of Maria and Captain Von Trapp. Then we went back to Salzburg and saw the Mirabell Gardens which were absolutely beautiful with the leaves all orange and yellow. Then we grabbed some lunch at the Salzach, where i had pumpkin soup of course and the duck with cranberry red cabbage and pumpkin dumplings which was delicious. My mom and dad opted for the burgers, missing home a bit I suppose. Then we all split a chocolate raspberry truffle cake for dessert. After that we went to Mozart's Residence and learned about his life and music and then hopped on a train to go back to Vienna. After we arrived Cori and Louise met us for a beer at the Hotel Sports Bar before we headed to a austrian restraunt, Wiebels Wirsthaus, that was so delicous. We had schnitzel, pike, venison, goose, pumpkin soups, and pancake soups as well as some austrian wine of course. Then I had to have the Bailey's tiramisu after the waiter said it was their special dessert of the night and my mom and Louise had apfelstruddel.

Beautiful Fall Colors in Schönbrunn Gardens

On Sunday, my parents and I walked around Stadtpark which is a huge and beautiful park right on the ring which was where we were staying. The fall colors were just beautiful there. Then we went to Schönbrunn Palace to see the staterooms, all beautifully decorated. Afterwards we wandered around the palace gardens where the fall colors were the most beautiful I have ever seen, it made me so happy to walk around there in the crisp autumn weather. Afterwards we went to Tenmaya for sushi near the Opera. After lunch, we went to see the Imperial Treasury which had some pretty incredible jewels, robes, and tapestries. Then we walked around the ring so I could show my parents Parliament, Rathaus (the town hall), and the University which are all beautiful buildings. Outside of Rathaus a HUGE Christmas market is being set up, I cannot wait to explore that one! Then we went back to the hotel before heading out to an Australian Bar to have a beer and then went to Huth, nearby our hotel, which has fantastic austrian food. We had schnitzel, tapfelspitz, pumpkin soup, salad, dumplings, and another beef dish and of course some austrian wine. It was all delicious and a great way to end the last night.

Me and Mom in front of Schönbrunn Palace

I was sad to see my parents go but it's pretty shocking that I will be seeing them in only 6 weeks! This week I begin my Economics Class which ends next Tuesday (its an intensive class, i don't know, classes here are weird!) But I will hopefully do something exciting to blog about in a week or two.

A Sensational Weekend in Copenhagen

Cori and I with our glüh wien and punsch

Last week on Wednesday, it was Austrian National Day, which is their holiday similar to the fourth of july because it was the day that the Nazi's and the Soviet's left Austria and Austria gained control over itself again. All of the stores were closed down and we didn't have classes so I met up with Cori and Louise to go to a museum. This was after waiting around all morning for the power to come back on in my dorm, which took about 5 hours. We went to the Kunstforum Bank Austria museum that had a Botero exibit. We then walked through Hero's Square where a big festival was going on with food stands, zip-lining, dance competitions, and a band. It was fun to see and we got waffles and glüh wien and punsch (two typical Austrian winter drinks, glüh wien is hot wine and punsch is a warm juice).

Beautiful Fall Colors in Copenhagen

 Friday, Elizabeth and I woke up at 4 am to catch a 6:35 am flight to Copenhagen. We got in around 8am and met up with Travis who let us leave our bags in his room until we were able to check in to our hostel. Travis took us around to see this beautiful star shaped park near his place, the Parliament, the old Stock Exchange, the Black Diamond, a modern library that is quite famous, Stroget the famous long pedestrian shopping street and other places. We ate lunch at Magazin, a department store that has a cafeteria style restaurant and we had some ice cream too even though it was cold (Travis couldn't believe us). We went on a Canal Tour, leaving from Nyhavn (New Harbour), which was a great way to see a lot of the city. The weather was pretty chilly and foggy in the morning but it cleared up and the sun came out by the time we were on the Canal Tour. For dinner, Travis took us and Elizabeth's friend Howie and his friend from abroad Scott (who were also staying at our Hostel for the weekend) to a place near the university that had delicious food and looked like a library inside. I had a fantastic salmon with some pesto pasta. Then Travis and Elizabeth and I went to an Ice Bar, something I had wanted to do for a long time. It was pretty cool (no pun intended).  The bar, seats, tables, and glasses were all ice and the drinks were really delicious. Elizabeth and I had one that was called Passion for Jewelry that had champagne and vanilla vodka and lime juice and passion puree, it tasted really good. Then we went back to our hostel and got to bed early after getting 2 hours of sleep the night before we wanted to be rested for Saturday.

Me, Travis, and Elizabeth in the Park

Nyhavn

Beautiful Fall on the harbor in Copenhagen. 

On Saturday, we got crepes at a crepe stand for breakfast (banana and nutella, yumm!) we met Travis again and the five of us went to Amalienborg Palace to watch the changing of the guards. It was so foggy that day you could barely see the palaces (which are more like mansions). We also stopped in this beautiful church before making our way to Christiana. When we were getting on the metro to Christiana, I ran into Maya! my DG friend who I met up with in Munich, it was very funny and random. Christiana is an old army base that was abandoned and it was taken over and turned into a hippie commune with all these people living there, with their own restraunts, school, etc. It was very interesting to see it with all the graffiti and the whole atmosphere. After that we went back to our hostel to start getting ready for Sensation White.

Elizabeth and I at Sensation

Sensation White is a huge rave like concert with trance and electronic/house djs who play into the early hours of the morning. Everyone is required to wear all white. It was a lot of fun. The atmosphere is so intense and they had cool props like these globes that would drop down from the ceiling and raise back up as well as a mushroom looking thing that reminded me of the agro crag from Guts on Nickelodeon when I was a kid. There were so many people there (60,00 I believe) and it was awesome to see everyone's take on the white clothes. There were people wearing wings, masks, etc. When we got back to our hostel, I woke up around 5 am with this guy talking away about his night and we ended up talking for a half hour about how he's from Staten Island and what trips we were both taking. Elizabeth managed to sleep through the whole thing,  what a feat.



On Sunday, we had to check out by 10am. We were freaking out a bit because we hadn't heard from Howie and Scott and their stuff was locked away in a locker in our room, but as we walk out of the elevator there they are all in their white from last night. They apparently got back to the hostel around 7 am and slept on a table in the basement to avoid security. We said goodbye to them after they got their things and then we went back to Travis's to drop off our stuff for the day. Elizabeth and I went to Stroget to get some brunch and then met up with Travis again. We went to Rosenborg Castle to see the castle itself and the royal treasury. Then Elizabeth and I walked around, grabbed our bags from Travis, and got dinner on Stroget before heading to the airport and flying home to Vienna.

I loved Copenhagen, the city is beautiful.  But, it is seriously expensive. The cheapest meal is about 16 or 20 USD. Copenhagen was my second choice so I'm glad I'm actually saving a little bit of money in Vienna.

Yesterday, I had my Organizational Behavior Management class from 9am to 6pm. It was pretty rough. We did this cool simulation in the afternoon though where one person was the CEO, there were workers, Consultants and Observers. I was one of the consultants which was great because its a career I'm seriously considering so I'm glad I got to try it out. We had to advise the CEO on how to make his company more profitable with the people he has. It was interesting and definitely better than a lecture. Then we went out for Halloween with a bunch of exchange students. It was a lot of fun but I didn't have a costume. Such a shame because of the amount I have at home. I wore a blue dress though so i could have passed as a crayon with the top broken off.

Today was another holiday, All Saints Day so again no class and everything was closed. Cori and I went to get 25 minute massages. We were going to go to the hot springs too but they were more like pools rather than hot springs so we decided to skip out. My massage was a bit odd, i was not a fan. Europe is really weird but it was an experience that's for sure.

Emily, Elizabeth, Alex, Cori, Jeff, and Me

Tomorrow my parents arrive for the week! They will be here until Monday morning. I can't wait to see them and show them around my beautiful city!

Visitors in Vienna!

This week was a very busy one. Monday night I went to an L.M.F.A.O. concert with Elizabeth, Cori, and Stevie. On our way there, we ran into a bunch of our friends from the OK Program who were also going to the concert. The concert was a lot of fun. It was at the gasometer, one of the venues in vienna. It had a large standing area and then only 10 or 15 rows of standing. We had to get seated tickets because standing was already sold out but it was a great concert, we had so much fun.

On Tuesday I had another presentation for Marketing. This time we were presenting our progress on our Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt implementation project. We got really great feedback from the other students and our professor said we did a great job. On Wednesday I went on a bit of a cooking spree and bought a bunch of veggies so I made a delicious stir-fry for lunch and used the same vegetables to make a yummy risotto for dinner. Then I met up with Cori, Elizabeth, Emily, Stevie and some of our other friends at Magazine, a bar in the bermuda triangle or Bermudadreieck  (an area near schwedenplatz with cobble stone streets and tons of bars) where they had all you can drink for 7 euros from 7 to 9. Then we went to a bar called Gnadenlos which was very cave like and underground, which was pretty cool. I stayed there for a while and then met Travis, a friend from school studying in Copenhagen, at Westbanhof where he was getting off the airport bus.

On Thursday, Travis and I went to il Sestante, one of the best italian restraunts that we frequent here, and got pizzas and minestronne soup. Then we met up with Cori and went to the Sigmund Freud museum. It was interesting to see his conference room where he talked to patients. The museum was not what we were expecting though. They gave us a booklet with about 25 pages of descriptions of all the pictures, certificates, and artifacts on the walls and in the rooms. Afterwards we went around the corner and grabbed cupcakes from this cute bakery that designs cakes and cupcakes. I had a tiramisu flavored one that was delicious. Then I parted ways with Travis so I could go to my management class and he went to an art museum. Then we met back up at my dorm to make chili for dinner. Finally, after a delayed flight, Emerald, my DG twin, and her friend studying with her in Milan, Dana, arrived! They quickly got ready and we had people come over to pregame before going to Praterdome, a dance club in Prater, the park/amusement park. It was such a fun night dancing and the venue was really cool. We didn't get back until 4 so we were quite tired when we woke up the next morning pretty early to do some sightseeing.

Emerald, Me, and Travis - reunited

On Friday, we woke up and grabbed a breakfast of coffee and pastries in the bakery in my u-bahn stop. Then we took the tram and u-bahn to Karlsplatz. We went inside Karlskirche, St. Charles' Church, which was very beautiful. They have an elevator that takes you up to a platform where you are able to better see the frescos. As a painter, I was loving how close we were able to get to the massive and beautiful frescos. Then you could climb more stairs to the top of the dome in order to see the fresco there and to see the view from the windows of the dome. It was very cool, minus the stairs on the way to the dome being a bit shaky.

Me and Emerald in front of Karlskirche. The beautiful frescos on the ceiling of Karlskirche.

Afterwards, we made our way to Belvedere were we took pictures in front of the beautiful Upper Belvedere and went inside to see Gustav Klimpt's "The Kiss" as well as paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, and other famous artists. We made our way back towards Karlsplatz and had a delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant on one of the side streets. Then we went to Hotel Sacher for some original sachertorte and apfelstruddel and some much needed coffee. Travis really liked the sachertorte, but Emerald wasn't as big of a fan. It definitely isn't for everyone, although I do really love it. We went inside Stephansdom and then went to Mozarthaus, the museum and apartments of Mozart. The tour was very interesting but the audio was a bit extensive. We were able to see his apartments, learn about his life, and see original sheet music for some of the operas he wrote! After a long day of sightseeing, everyone needed a nap. We went back to Erasmus to rest up. Then we made our way up to the Vienna woods where we met Cori for dinner at Reinprecht Heuriger for some sturm and a typical Austrian dinner.

Emerald and I with our sachertorte & apfelstruddel in Hotel Sacher.

On Saturday, we had another full day ahead of us. We woke up and went back towards Karlsplatz to the Naschmarkt, a huge market that always sells tons of spices, produce, etc. and on Saturdays has a big flea market as well. After browsing the many different stands, we, along with Cori and Elizabeth, went to a Pho Noodle bar for some lunch. I had duck on noodles as well as soup and tea. It was a delicious lunch. Then I tried a stuffed tomato with cheese and pesto at one of the stands and had a bite of this delicious desert that was chocolate covered nuts that Travis had bought. After Naschmarkt, we went to Schönbrunn Palace to see the imperial staterooms and the beautiful gardens. Then we made our way back to Karlsplatz again, got some street food (Emerald had a kebab sandwich, Dana had a hotdog, Travis and I split pommes (french fries) and a cheese & spinach börek which is like a pastry...essentially we had everything except noodles...which we ended up stopping for on our way back from going out that night). Then we transitioned to pastries and coffee of course at Cafe Demel, which was opened in 1786, where we had two delicious cakes, a chocolate truffle one that was to die for and a coffee flavored one which was pretty good as well. I tried the melange coffee because it was similar to a cappuccino, which is what I usually get but they didn't have, and I think I like the melange better! You make new discoveries in vienna every day. After sitting and talking until the cafe closed, we walked around and met up with Louise, Brianna, and Hannele for dinner at Fresco's which is a mexican restraunt similar to Chipotle (not the same, but as good as you'll get in europe). My taco salad, corona with lime, and chips and guacamole definitely hit the spot! Then we went back to Erasmus, rested a bit, and went out to Kaktus Bar with Louise. It was a pretty cool spot, definitely popular among the young locals. We had noodles from one of the street vendors as a snack on the way back, always delicious.

Naschmarkt produce stand & Emerald, Dana, and Travis with our cakes at Cafe Demel.

Beautiful fall colors with Schönbrunn Palace.

Travis, Me, Emerald, and Dana at the top with Schönbrunn in the background.

On Sunday, we said goodbye to Emerald and Dana. But I will be seeing Emerald again in 3 or 4 weeks in Brussels, Belgium! Then Travis and I went with Cori and Louise to Kahlenburg where there is supposed to be a great view of the city and where you can hike a bit but it wasn't a nice day and when we got to the top of the mountain it was so foggy you could barely see five feet in front of you much less a view of the city! We sat at a cafe at the top and got coffee/hot chocolate. Travis and I came back, made a risotto dinner, and then watched Bridesmaids before going to bed.

Travis leaves tonight so he was still around today for more activities. We met up with Cori at Naschmarkt and got sushi. It was really fresh fish but the sushi kept falling apart! Then Travis and I did some shopping for dinner tonight. We bought green beens and nuts as well as some fresh raviolli of different flavors. It will be a delicious dinner! I was also very excited to find good carrots, portabella mushrooms, and green asparagus there! My meals will be a bit spruced up this week.

Next time you'll hear from me, I will have returned from Copenhagen, Denmark!