To Vienna with LOVE

This is a city I fell in love with the first time I came. My friend had tried to share her love of the city with me many years ago. Although her passion was nearly tangible and I fully believed her, I was completely unprepared for the sensation of falling in love that came.

And now I want those I have brought on Study Abroad to fall in love too. I think they are beginning....especially now that they have had a little sleep :)

Today (I'm actually writing this Saturday night), was so much fun! Part of the reason, I believe, is because we didn't have to be to the Institute until noon. That gave the students the morning to explore and/or sleep a little more.

We met and got some fun discussion going about what has been going on so far....a couple girls had an interesting time the first night with their host families. Some also had some FUN experiences to share about exploring! Mary shared a GREAT story about the 4 of them trying to order pepperoni pizza from Armenian guys that knew MANY languages, none of which were English. They ended up getting a long pepper on their pizza....and laughed their way through it. It was fun to watch them making great memories in a country I love.

Equally as wonderful for me is the time I spend reading their blogs. I know it is hard to blog DAILY (obviously since I am writing this the day AFTER), but I know it is important since we will be doing fun life changing beautiful things EVERY DAY ... soon they will all begin to run together.

Thursday night I was EXHAUSTED, to say the least. I decided to NOT make any decisions since I was NOT sitting well with life.....being up 34+ hours will do that to me. But I realized that our schedule was pretty full and they will have NO time to just wander and explore and see the beauties that surround them. Hermann said something I loved .... "get lost and maybe you'll find a treasure you will remember forever on one of the back streets of the city." I agree!!!

Thus, after discussions of their thoughts and what they were feeling about their experience thus far, we discussed our Sat/Sun plans. I had them PACKED....but wanted them to have FREE time. So we discussed it....and came up with STAYING to the plan (sort of). And a couple of them decided to stay in Vienna to explore the museums and art galleries.

So....today through my eyes: GO!!!

Our discussion ended with enough time to let them go get something to eat before our Historical City Tour --- which was AWESOME, by the way! Although I had seen ALL of what he showed us before, hearing the stories was fantastic!!!

Two of my favorite stories were from Stephansplatz. ONE was an O5 on the building. It was nondescript. In fact, it was behind something, as if not a real iconic emblem of the cathedral. But to me, not only because 5 is my favorite number, but because of the significance, it meant a lot and quickly became one of my favorite points of the day. You see, during WWII Nazi Germany invaded Austria. A resistance was formed but it obviously had to be secretive. So they put O5 on places where they would meet. The O was for Austria (spelled Österreich in German). Because the O with the two dots above is pronounce ooo.....and usually is spelled with oe they put the #5 since 'e' is the fifth letter of the alphabet. I took a pic and told them #5 was my favorite number...the tour guide, Christian, joked about being a member of the resistance. Yup....I'd have to agree. I suppose I would have been, or at least like to at least THINK I would have been.

I was soooo pleased to see that the students LOVED the inside of Stephansplatz....because I DO TOO!!!

The last piece of Stephansplatz I hadn't seen before were the breadsticks.....they were measuring sticks. Bakers had to measure their bread against these measurements and if they weren't long enough they were punished, harshly. What a cool story!!! (NOT that I approve of the consequences)

What a fun tour! Christian was wonderful....a little soft spoken, but a good tourguide.
One last part of the tour I was also not aware of on my last trip was the oldest road, dating back to Roman times.....the road today is still in the same spot, cutting through the middle of the city. But the old stones were pretty cool. It is amazing to me to think about how OLD things are....how MANY people, chariots, carriages, etc traversed over those rocks. What was life like back then? And the main road through the city ran directly next to the Hofburg Palace, where the Emperor or King lived and reigned the country. How cool is that! Things are SOOO different in Austria.

The girls all dispersed after the tour to do their own thing. I had planned to just walk around with Anita, wandering and exploring. However, the girls wanted us to hang with them...so we did and had a GREAT time. Some went to Stephansplatz to climb the tower, others didn't. We got some gelato...wandering til we found some. Then we all went to Rathaus. In the morning, Anita and I left early to do some exploring. We happened through there and their was a festival going on....cool food, Austrian gift tents. When we went back, it had turned into the Beer Festival. Oh great.....they mentioned it a couple times that I would bring them to it. They all know I do not drink!

But we had a great time...I found a gift for Spencer and they all found little gifts for friends and family  too. It was a good time. I once heard that you can tell how good something is going by the proximity of group members. The closer they are, the better things are going.  I think it is safe to say things are going pretty well. True, it is a selfie stick so we HAVE to be close, but I am soooo impressed with these young ladies. Most of them knew each other prior to coming, but it is so fun to watch them interact and get to know each other in a different place with different responsibilities. Reading their blogs shows me their personalities and their real selves. They are wonderful women and I feel privileged to have them here with me in the city that I LOVE!

A few of us went to dinner....just walked down a road, stopped at the first place (too pricey) and they hit the second one....PERFECT! Each meal was awesome. We keep commenting that we are eating our way across Austria. There may be more truth in that statement than jest!!!

And I would be COMPLETELY remiss if I didn't mention our lunch....no, I'm not USUALLY a food picture type of gal, but these two meals? They were awesome! This polish sausage type hot dog was delish!!! Anita even said she needed to eat another one before we leave....even for breakfast!

And would you believe it if I said we ended our day with the Das Original?? It is the famous chocolate cake (more of a torte). It was ok, but not my favorite....at least I can say I have had it (another NEW for me this time around)

And so...another LATE night, but a day well spent. By the time I got home, I was exhausted! My feet hurt (I even wore my chacos instead of my birkenstocks), my back hurt, and I was SOOOOO tired. But I had to get Saturdays adventure all straightened out before I could lay down and finally SLEEP. We walked in the door ---- after walking into a pitch black entrance to the building, up two flights of stairs (thank goodness for flashlights on our phones), and put the key in the lock....only to find it wouldn't open. We tried for a good 15 minutes. Well....it may have only been 5, but it FELT like FOREVER! I finally texted the owner and even sent a video of us trying. We ended up having to pull the door toward us and THEN it would open. We thought we had it ALL figured out....I couldn't even get out this morning...what a GREAT adventure!! (I left to go get some food....found some beautiful strawberries and this feta and spinach pita-ish thing. Not really a pita, but the spinach and feta was grilled INTO the pita like dough. It was DELICIOUS....add some hummus and I was in heaven!!!

Got the adventure all worked out....and dropped into bed around 1:30 ish! It didn't take me LONG at all to fall fast asleep!

We Made It!!!

Many Hours with NO SLEEP Makes for a GREAT day in Vienna!

What a day....or two!! hahaha We began at UCA promptly at 6:15 (well, MOST were early and that made me happy---what GREAT girls)! Then it all began...well, truth be told..the mishaps began on Tuesday. First a folder was accidentally picked up by someone else creating a sense of doom in one girl. I wouldn't blame her....not something I would want to lose on the DAY before we leave!!!

Then this morning we found that one girls luggage broke last night....and the UCA shuttle never came (but we DID make our flights! !!) and girls had luggage that was way too much weight....but all is well and it was a beautiful day in Vienna! 

We took a pic before we left 

And one when we got to Vienna, and on the bus to the Institute. I will take more pics....today was just a lazy day and we were exhausted, to say the least. We arrived in Vienna at 8:40am (which was 1:40am Arkansas time).  

And now it is almost 8:00pm and I have been up for nearly 32 hours. I am SO tired! But I know if I didn't write at least SOMETHING I wouldn't write at all tonight.

We flew into Amsterdam from Atlanta. I have a new stamp in my passport....yay!!!

All I wanted was a pic of Amsterdam....or at least in the airport with "Amsterdam" in it, but no such luck. Oh well. Touching down, all we could see was clouds and rain. Oh well...we WERE there and that is cool to say. I think we were all just ready to be OFF the plane....it was only 8 hours, but that is a long time to sit in the plane.  

But as we got to Vienna I was excited to be back. All the memories of when I had come before came rushing back. I got in at midnight and it was pouring rain so it was MUCH different. I had no luggage and no place to stay. This time was MUCH more fun :)

Sophie met us and we loaded up in a big tour bus and off we went. I had forgotten about the crazy driving in the city. But I did remember the city. What fun! I think we were all just super tired!!! But it IS just as beautiful as I remember....and construction everywhere as always too. Stephensplatz is  ALWAYS under construction. I'll share pics tomorrow.

Being at AAIE (the Institute) as the LEADER this time was kind of weird and cool all at the same time. Because I was battling fiercely with being soooo tired, all I wanted to do was sit back and relax and let it all be taken care of without me at the helm. On the other hand, being on this side of the table was exhilerating. All I wanted was for the girls to be as excited as I was 6 years ago when I came. I think they ARE excited...and that is good.

Off to bed....now let's hope that I can sleep longer than 4-6 hours.

Until tomorrow......

Geering up for some FUN in Austria

I can't believe THIS WEEK is here....I have been prepping for THIS week for over a year (or more) and the day is FINALLY arriving. Wednesday we take 14 wonderful students to study Health Education in Vienna, Austria and the surrounding areas. We have LOTS of cool things planned....stay tuned for the play by play!