May 18, 2009
VIENNA, Austria -
Imagine a group of thirty plus individuals traveling through the bustling cities of central and Eastern Europe. Now imagine these people let loose on a foreign street with half an hour to find food before the tram departed after a four-hour bus trip and early morning breakfast. The result, a dozen running players and parents with pizza boxes and chicken on sticks on the Vienna tram.
With full stomachs, our group happily made it to the Schonbrunn Palace, built for Emperor Franz Joseph and Maria Theresa in the early 18th century. We took an hour tour through the main rooms of the palace, including the room where Mozart performed his first solo at the age of six. This was also the home of Marie Antoinette before she was married to the French court. One of the rooms was the beauty parlor of Empress Elisabeth, who regularly skipped out on family six course meals and had a scale in her room in order to keep her slender figure. She also spent 3 hours per day getting her ankle-length hair done.... And we thought we were vain. Each room was filled with a lot of fascinating history to say the least.
After viewing the main palace we moved out into the palace's "backyard" which included in the distance the Great Parterre and endless grassy fields and gardens.
We then decided to do what we traveled across the world to do: SHOP! We were let loose in the main center of Vienna near St. Stephens Cathedral after taking both the metro and the tram across town. The main decision after shopping was what to eat for dinner. Some opted for the traditional Austrian fair. One of these dishes consisted of smoked pork with sauerkraut and a very large ball of dumpling. This dumpling ball was followed by delicious crepes and apple strudel.
The group then met back up and headed back to the hotel and internet cafes.
Christine Vaughen #16 and Suzanne Haydel #14
