Study Abroad in Vienna

Thursday, May 19:

We were up early, left the hotel at 9:00, again headed for the Inner City. We arrived at the Heldenplatz ("Hero's Square") of the Hofburg Palace of the Austrian emperors, to meet our tour guide, Marietta Rein. She is a local tour guide, a Vienna resident, who was recommended as an excellent guide. And she was all of that and more!

She took us through the grounds of the Hofburg complex, explaining the history of the Austrian emperors and of the buildings we were seeing. Then up into the center of town, explaining everything along the way, and finally ending up at St. Stephens Cathedral, the spiritual and historical center of Vienna.

We all went into the cathedral, and Marietta took us through it explaining everything in detail. The cathedral was begun in the 14th century and completed in the 15th; an excellent example of high Gothic style.

Here is the high altar:

Of special interest to our students was the side chapel where Mozart and his wife, Constanze, were married in 1792.

After the cathedral we ended our tour with Marietta Rein, and told her farewell. We all thoroughly enjoyed her engaging and lively descriptions of the Inner City and St. Stephens Cathedral. It was a great introduction to the city.

We were hungry, so we headed to a Vienna institution, the Wienerwald restaurant, where we had reservations. The Wienerwald is a sit-down, but relatively inexpensive restaurant (somewhat on the same level as Cheddars or Applebees) that specializes in grilled chicken. Everyone seemed to enjoy their food.

After lunch we all split up. Several students wanted to go back to the hotel and several wanted to stay downtown. A few of us decided to go back to the hotel via the Stadtpark (city park), home of the famous golden statue of Johann Strauss, Jr. ("The Waltz King" and composer of the "Blue Danube" waltz). Unfortunately, when we got there we found that the famous statue had been removed for renovation! Instead the city provided a copy for tourists to photograph, and we were no exception:

In the park is the Kursalon, a 19th century ballroom where Johann Strauss, Jr., and his orchestra played for thousands of waltzing Viennese.

This ended the official portion of our day. Later, several of the students have booked concerts in various performing venues around the city. The students are learning how to use the metro system, and are starting to be comfortable in traveling around the city. By the time we leave, they will be pros!