I’ve been in Vienna for over four months now, and thus there are certain things that have become a part of my routine here. I thought it fitting that, since I only have TWO more days in my favorite city, to give a list of some of the things that I will miss more than anything when I return stateside. Here they are, in no particular order.
- My professors - My professors in Vienna have been some of the best I’ve had in my college career. I am going to miss hearing those cute accents and silly little word-slips (Professor Hanreich always says at the end of class, “So, we see each uvaz layta, greetings!”). I will miss their insights and advice on what to do in Vienna and all around Europe. They were some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. My Coexistence and Conflict professor is leaving IES this year (after 10 years of teaching there), as he was recently appointed to be the Hungarian ambassador to Ireland! Most of my professors are Austrian, and we constantly were side tracked in class talking about a certain slang term or idiom (once, my education internship teacher spent about a half hour asking us about the phrase “in a funk”). These people opened up their hearts to a bunch of 19-21 year olds, and showed us their city. I don’t think I will ever be able to show them how much I appreciate them for that.
- Strassenbahns and public transportation - I use the Strassenbahn every single day to and from school. The D line is about 3 blocks from my apartment and so convenient. Vienna is known for its public transit, and rightly so. There’s basically a Ubahn stop or entrance every 5 blocks, and where there isn’t one there is a bus stop or Strassenbahn line. My commute everyday is incredible, going around the Ring and seeing all the most famous buildings in the city. I’ll especially miss the announcer’s high pitched voice announcing every stop.
- Buying my Wochekarte - I buy my weekly card for the public transportation at a Tabak across from my apartment building. Every Monday morning I was greeted by the shopkeeper, who always greeted me in his adorable nasally voice, “Grüß Gott!” and bid me Auf Wiedersehen with a sweet “Tscuss, danke!” He was oftentimes the first person I spoke to on Mondays, and he always brought a smile to my face and made my Mondays not so Monday-y.
- The Naschmarkt & Billa - I am not the biggest fan of food shopping, but the experience of food shopping in Vienna is unlike any I have had. The Naschmarkt is the giant market in the 6th district that sells meat, cheese, bread, falafel, kebabs, tea, etc. etc. etc. I’ll miss hearing the sounds of Turkish men screaming at me as I walk by “Gruß Gott Bitte Schonn!”, trying to get me to buy, or at least taste their newest delicious product. It’s unlike any other experience, and if you’re ever in Vienna, DEFINITELY visit the Naschmarkt. They also have delicious restaurants, one of which I went to with my friend Melanie the other night, and we had deeeelicious goulasch. Billa is the supermarket I usually go to. There are two right around the corner from my apartment, and there’s bound to be one on pretty much every other corner in Vienna.
- German class & the German language - Frau Summesberger has forced me to fall in love with the German language, even though it is one of the harshest, strangest language in the world. It's actually quite simple, and by the end of my time here I find German phrases coming out of my mouth. Natürlich, Tschüss, and Entschuldigung are my favorites, and I'm sure I will continue to use them in Amerika.
- Burrito Thursdays - Jared, Michael, Bailey and I have become best friends over burritos, and this is one tradition I am going to seriously miss. We have so so so much fun at Fresco Grill, and by the end of our time here all the workers knew our orders.
- Legally drinking - I know this one is kind of pathetic but I really will miss being able to go into a restaurant and ordering a drink. I'll be 21 in November, so hopefully the time will go by really, really quickly.
- My friends - I have made some of the best friends of my life over the last 4 months, and I don't know what I'm going to do not being able to see them everyday. Hopefully we can have a reunion really, really soon.
- Field trips - I never go on field trips in my classes at Fordham, so this more hands-on approach to learning was a breath of fresh air. I loved meeting my classes all over the city of Vienna, going to the cemetery, a cafe, or the Schatzkammer and learning about things relevant to what we were learning about in class.
- IES - Both the building and the people inside it have come to mean so much to me over the last 4 months. Palais Corbelli is an amazing place with beautiful architecture and incredible paintings everywhere. The people who work at IES (Kent, Kaja, Kyle, Helmut, Tobi, etc.) have all become great friends and have helped made Vienna my home away from home.
- Pastries & Desserts - No explanation necessary.
- Karaoke nights - Sing Your Song is the name of the greatest karaoke bar in Vienna. It's right off the Ringstraße and very convenient to public transportation. We had some amaaaazing nights at SYS and I'm reaaaally gonna miss getting up on the stage and belting out tunes with my best friends.
- Wasabi peanuts & Paprika Crunchips - The Naschmarkt and Billa are two of my favorite places, and stock these delicious snacks. I'm bringing some wasabi nuts home with me so hopefully they will last a while.
- Teatime with my roommates - Almost every night someone in my apartment would yell out, "I'm making tea, anyone want some?!" and we would all sit down and watch SVU and drink our tea. It's the simple things :)
- Kebaps, käsekrainers, & street food - I don't think I even need to write anything about this. D. E. L. I. C. I. O. U. S.
So... That's Vienna. Thanks for reading and looking at my photos!
