After our big reunion, Kelsey brought all of us back to her dorm to put our stuff down and then it was time for the big reunion: Christine, Courtney, Jamie, Monica, Jamie, and Jen, were reunited with Big Cat, Figs, Danny, Max, Robbie, Victor, Ben, Laura, and Jill. It was a very big crew and we were all really excited to spend the next 2 days together. Lucky for all of us, Figs had prepared a walking tour of Vienna that we could all go on together! At the first few buildings, we all listened to Figs read a few key facts out of his Europe book but then the rest of the day turned into walking around the main center of Vienna and the crew showing us some of their favorite places and structures. We went to the top of the Cathedral (unfortunately, I don't know the name of it) but it was incredibly high and gave us a great view of the city. Unfortunately, it seemed like a lot of Vienna was under construction because our grand view of the city was obstructed by many cranes sticking out from between the buildings. Besides the cranes though, the city reminded me of Paris a little because most of the buildings were the same height and had similar structures.
After our walking tour where we saw many of Vienna's finest monuments, including the Parliament, town hall, and the statue to fight away the plague, we headed back to the dorm to make dinner. We made an amazing dinner of chicken parmesan over noodles and sauteed vegetables. It tasted wonderful but I wasn't feeling very well so I had to lie down for a half hour and take a quick nap. After dinner and my nap, we all got ready for our first night out in Vienna. We hung out in the dorms for a little while before heading to a boat party that the Vienna school had arranged. We weren't sure if it was going to be fun or not, but it turned out to be an absolute blast. The party was on the lower level of the boat and was filled with people. We danced the night away with our huge group of friends and the DJ loved us so he played whatever we requested all night. Dancing with that many of my closest friends made me almost feel like I was back in Champaign. Overall, it was a great party. After awhile though, the fog machines became too powerful and it was hard to breath down there so around 2:30 or so, we left the boat to head back to the dorms.
We took a bus home and made it back in no time. It took awhile to figure out sleeping arrangements but by 4:00, we decided on Courtney and Torey in Big Cat's bed while he slept on the floor, Jamie and Monica in other Jamie's bed, Jen on Jill's floor, and I slept with Kelsey in her bed. We were both so tired, I fell asleep right away and didn't wake up until 11:30 the next morning. It was the best 7 and 1/2 hours of sleep I think I've ever had.
When I finally got out of bed, I showered and got ready for the day. We all left the dorms together for the second day in a row. We stopped at the donner kebab stand for lunch and munched on our kebabs on the metro all the way to the Vienna Palace which was our site seeing destination for the day. Naturally, I didn't finish the last bite so I handed it over to Big Cat who happily accepted it.
We got to the palace and walked around the gardens outside for a little bit. Even from the outside, it was very grand and the surrounding gardens were exquisite, even in the winter. It was only bushes and patches of grass but it was obvious where the flowers will bloom in the Spring and I can imagine it will be an incredible sight. It was still a bit chilly in Vienna so we decided to tour the inside of the palace. We paid a small fee to do the imperial tour of the palace while listening to audio guides which explained each room as you walked through it and gave you a good amount of history as well. It was interesting to walk through such an ornate building; I couldn't possibly imagine living there because it simply isn't practical. It's over-extravagant and though it was beautiful, I can see why people resented the nobility. It was also strange to walk around the former home of Maria-Theresa of Austria and Marie-Antoinette before she married the king of France in an arranged marriage. It's no wonder that after living in her Vienna palace Marie-Antoinette would enjoy the luxury of Versailles in Paris.
After touring the palace, we climbed the steep hill through the gardens to the fountain and the other grand building that is now a cafe. There were great views of the city from the top of the hill and we all stood around outside for awhile taking pictures before entering the cafe. Now, we had all been told that Vienna was famous for their apple-strudel so we decided to warm up in the cafe and have a quick snack. Big Cat and I split a strudel and I had a cup of tea to go with it. It really was fantastic. There is this vanilla sauce that has more vanilla flavor than ice cream but is thinner than ice cream yet thicker than milk. The strudel was smothered in this sauce and it was the perfect touch to make it better than an apple pie a-la-mode. It was wonderful.
We headed back to the dorms because the crew had a dinner to go to at their professor's house. So the 6 of us were on our own for dinner. So, the 6 of us did what the 6 of us do best: eat. What do you eat for authentic Austrian food? Schnitzel. The crew pointed us in the direction of the best Schnitzel in town and we waited just under an hour to be seated in this little, family owned and famous restaurant. After perusing their menu, I decided on potato soup (I haven't had soup in ages and I was thrilled it was on the menu), and then a small dinner salad. For the main dish, I split a Schnitzel with Courtney and it turned out to be the perfect amount of food. After dinner we headed back to the dorms and got ready to go out for our second and last night in Vienna. The crew got back soon after and joined us.
After hanging out in the dorms for a little bit, we headed to the bar that the crew has made "theirs." I honestly believe it because they were all on first name bases' with the bartenders. We ended up staying there for the remainder of the night. It was a great time, spending times with friends from home, telling stories, and laughing the night away. Before we knew it, 3:15 had rolled around and we needed to head home. The 6 of us Paris girls had a cab waiting for us to take us to the airport. We had a flight home at 6AM. So we quickly grabbed our stuff (which we had smartly packed long before going out) and said our goodbyes. It was an epic night to say the least.
I was exhausted. We made it through security and somehow made it onto the plane without falling asleep. But the second I buckled my seat belt, I was out cold. I don't remember taking off or landing because I was fast asleep. I woke up when everyone around me was leaving the plane. Approximately 2 and 1/2 hours after landing in Paris, I was back in my apartment and quickly dove into my bed for a good 4 hour nap.
Traveling to 4 countries in 7 days takes a lot out of you. I'm glad we had a chance to pack it all in but I'm really looking forward to Dublin this weekend when the only travel I have to accomplish is there and back. Oh, and side note, my goal is to collect a scarf from every country that I visit. Because this trip was so jam packed, there was absolutely no time for souvenir shopping and I came back 1 for 4. Not a good record. I plan on stepping up my game in the future.
One last piece about the weekend we got back, my friends who are studying in Rome were in Paris for the weekend. We met up and spent all of Sunday with them. We went to mass at Notre Dame, ate the real Berthillion ice cream, took pictures and climbed to the very top of the Eiffel Tower. Then we got crepes, spent a little time in my apartment and then went out for a lovely French dinner in a small bistro. It was great seeing Maggie and Gwen; Maggie was even so impressed by Paris that she might plan another trip to come visit me! It was a wonderful weekend after a crazy week. It's already Wednesday and I seriously need some sleep before Dublin. So that's what I'm going to do right now. Goodnight!
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