STUDY ABROAD_Poland: Vienna
After our adventures in Venice, we loaded up the bus and traveled to Vienna, Austria to spend a day and a half exploring the city and learning its history.
We visited the main square, Stephansplatz – something I recommend if you’re ever in the city. The historic buildings are beautifully structured in brick and stone with crenellations and patterns. The narrow street profiles, which once allowed carts to run place to place, are both stylistically and visually varied and interesting. We ate wiener schnitzel, a dish consisting of a large flat piece of fried meat (often pork) with boiled potatoes on the side, for lunch. It is astounding that they can get one piece of meat almost as flat as a piece of chipboard. The rest of the day was spent walking along the cobbled city streets and listening to our professors give detailed descriptions of the city’s history.
One of the most fun parts of the day were our ventures to the outer edges of the city. We visited a series of what had once been enormous natural gas containers called "the Gasometer". These structures were more than four stories tall, equally as wide, and had held enormous amounts of natural gas. However, they have since been converted into retail spaces and apartments, which are now open to the public. Reminiscent of Rome’s Coliseum, all four of them stand as enormous reminders of the city’s history.
Another interesting touring location was the Vienna University of Economics and Business. The school’s classrooms were once scattered throughout the city, but recently a decision was made to create a central campus. Many notable architects were selected to design the new buildings, the late Zaha Hadid among them. In light of recent events – which we did not know or foresee at the time – it was an unreal opportunity to see one of her many famous works in person. While we could not visit all parts of the Library and Learning Centre, we could explore the main public spaces and admire her work.
As you may imagine, the best part of travel often happens once class is over. After a full day of learning, it’s nice to explore and examine the city without a structured plan. That evening, a group of classmates and I walked to Saint Stephen’s Cathedral and read the many plaques detailing its history. The church was bombed during World War II, and was reduced to a pile of rubble with only a few pieces of the structure intact. Since then it has been rebuilt, but it is easy to tell which pieces were salvaged from the rubble and which were replaced or repaired. Many parts of the church are darkened with soot and years of dirt, while others are clean and in pristine condition.
Walking into Saint Stephen’s Cathedral was perhaps more powerful than learning about its history. It was dark outside, and the small accessible section of the church was lit almost exclusively with prayer candles, many of which were dimming and fading. A few larger candles sat among the alters of small chapels, illuminating a dozen or so people sitting throughout the pews. While this experiential view may seem inconsequential, to experience a prodigious gothic cathedral – in the midst of today’s technological age – being used as it was when it was first constructed nearly a millennia ago, was astounding. In many ways it felt like I was standing in the church a few hundred years ago, in an age we learn about but could never experience. It was flooring and humbling all at once and a moment I will never forget.
We spent a pleasurable few hours in Vienna the next morning, before once again boarding the bus to continue our journey. Bratislava was to come next on our tour.
Allison’s Recommendations for Vienna:
Saint Stephen’s Cathedral. Look inside, read the history plaques, and climb up the tower to get a panoramic/picturesque view of the city.
Try wiener schnitzel. The portions are large, so split it with a friend to best enjoy this traditional dish.
Wander the streets. As always, it’s the best way to experience the city.
See Hadid's work on the outer edges of Vienna.
Explore after dark, as some of the most amazing sights are those with brightly lit facades.
Check out the former natural gas reservoirs/ "the Gasometer". You can even visit the stores inside them.
Take lots of photos. It’s a photogenic city.