Our first week of classes at the Hochschule must have been extremely difficult, because it was immediately followed by an extended Easter break—the ideal time for a double trip to Vienna and Munich. I spent Easter weekend with another St. Edward’s student in Vienna, a city known for its architecture, cafés, and music. It did not fail to live up to its reputation, despite the unusually long winter. The trip also turned out to be a bit more of an adventure than I thought it would be for several reasons:

1) Justin Bieber apparently likes Sachertorte. One of Vienna’s specialties is Sachertorte, a special kind of chocolate cake invented in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna. Naturally, we decided to visit the Hotel Sacher and then compare their Torte with others in the city. We weren’t the only ones with that idea. Upon arriving at the Hotel Sacher, we found a crowd of a few hundred screaming girls standing outside. They were not, unfortunately, screaming about delicious chocolate cake but were instead waiting for Justin Bieber to show his face from his hotel room above.  Well, we had to battle the fangirls for our Sachertorte but we finally made it into the restaurant safe and sound! And yes, it was definitely worth it. Basically, Sachertorte is chocolate cake covered in solid chocolate, not icing, with a hint of orange marmalade in the middle. We liked the food and atmosphere at Café Demel (a competitor that we visited the next day) better, but the Sachertorte was a tie.

2) Easter Markets are incredible! Both Germany and Austria celebrate Christmas with what they call a Weihnachtsmarkt, or a Christmas market, and this tradition seems to have continued into the spring Easter Markets. We went to an Easter Market outside the beautiful Schönbrunn palace, a summer residence of the Habsburg Dynasty. There, people sold Easter baked goods, spiced wines, cheese, chocolate, delicately painted (real!) eggs, paper goods, wooden carvings, and jewelry from little booths. Oh, and don’t tell the craftsmen that you’re buying the eggs as Christmas decorations. They’ll insist that they’re Easter decorations for their Easter trees, which are just what they sound like—Christmas trees covered in Easter eggs.  I enjoyed looking at all the craftsmanship and listening to the Easter jazz band play. I even found a Viennese version of macaroni and cheese, a favorite dish that I have found very difficult to locate Germany!

3) The public transportation system was impossible to figure out. I guess you haven’t had a real adventure abroad until you get properly lost, and if that’s the case, then we had several adventures in Vienna. Unlike the German transportation system, which is very intuitive, the Austrian system made no sense to me. Stops weren’t located next to one another and busses didn’t seem to run in both directions. Plus, a lot of the main attractions were not located in the same area of town and I’m pretty sure they didn’t want tourists going from one to another in the same day. One night we wandered around for half an hour in the rain trying to find the nearest bus stop! Fortunately I made good use of my German skills asking for directions those three days.

4)      There is always something to learn about the history of Vienna. One of the people I learned the most about in Vienna was Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She’s more legend than history now, known for becoming a reluctant Empress of Austria after her marriage to Franz Joseph I. She was both reclusive, valuing her own freedom above being Empress, and enchanting. My favorite building in Vienna was Schönbrunn Palace, where she and her family spent their summers. I was also delighted to discover that a young Mozart gave a concert there, although this was before her time. In fact, we attended a Mozart concert one night at the palace where he once played. It was very beautiful—a must-do in the city so renowned for its music.

Simply put, Vienna is a gorgeous city. Its architecture, most of which is Romanesque or Baroque, is breathtaking. In Schönbrunn Palace especially, detailed work is coated in gold or silver. Everything feels as if it were meant for royalty. The palaces and cafés were my favorites but I am sure there is much more to discover in Vienna than I did during those three days. Now that I’m back though, it’s time to leave the fairy-tale world of royalty, majestic landscapes, and baroque churches and begin my studies. I might even write a few blog entries about Koblenz again since I won’t be traveling as much!