Some highlights:
- A 9 hour bus ride, stuck up right, with constant neck issues.
- Massive group travel, ~ 150 Johns Hopkins SAIS students
- Aka, met a billion new people, I was the strange "Non SAIS-er"of the group, and I remember maybe names of five of the 70 people I met.
- Stephensplatz
- Kick-a$$ skating rink/track outside the city hall
- a small typical 'german' or 'austrian' market stand village with delicious treats
- gorgeous architecture, filled with museums, too much to see!
- Karlskirch - Rickety scaffolding brought us directly into the cupola, including a noisy stand up/temporary elevator in the middle of the church
- The Belvedere - The Kiss, Gustav Klimt
- Chocolate Cake/Sacher Torte
- Wieners
- Apple Strudel
- Pretzels
- Kunst Haus - Wien
And oh yea!! THE VIENNESE IAEA STAFF ASSOCIATION BALL! This was the basis of the trip, and was quite a blast. The event started 5pm Saturday, after an overnight busride of 9 hours arriving at 7am saturday and then a full day of sightseeing, 30 minute nap included. Aka. being a champion. 5pm cocktail hour at the city hall and an address by the staff of the mayor of Vienna. I spilled an entire glass of red wine down my beautfilly dressed self. #win. Everyone wore beautiful gowns and suits. The ball itself was held in the Hofburg Palace... kind of epic. There as an opening ceremony at 8:30 that included a few speeches then various ethnic groups came and preformed traditional dances. Then we danced! And explored... the 15 + rooms of the palace all catered to a different kind of music and dance. Just after midnight the real waltz occurred in the main ballroom and, yes, I did attempt to waltz... it was a large struggle. We stayed at the ball till 3am, stopped for food on the way home (we barely ate all day!), then slept for a few lovely hours before waking up at a normal hour to make the most of our few hours as tourists in the gorgeous city of Vienna! Fabulous weekend. Went by super quick. Despite the time crunch, I felt like I saw a good amount of the city, saw a number of its most famous pieces of art and ate some of the traditional food. No complaints! And boy, I was BEAT. Arrived back home at 5am monday morning with minimal sleep and 9 hours of class ahead of me... Was not an easy day! Vienna is definitely on the "to return to" list!
