Vienna

Our one and a half day stint trip to Vienna was full of adventure, beauty and excitement. I have fallen in love with the city all over again. From its historic public buildings and monuments, to its shop lined streets and Grand Boulevard.
When we arrived, a SJSU student Dan Foley who is studying abroad in Germany came down to meet us and hang out with friends from home. He met up for us at dinner, which consisted of some traditional food of the area including a delicious soup with a crème base, pork, stuffing, and of course sauerkraut! Dinner was followed by a crème cheese dessert covered in custard served warm. The tavern was warm, but filled with laughter, and students deprived from sleep, as most had just arrived earlier that day from America.


After dinner, Michelle Hennessy, Kristyn Van Cleave, Brian Cummings and I headed out to explore the town, led by our trusty guide and my new friend Dan. We ended up in this cool place called the MQ or Museum Quarter. In a nutshell, the MW as its called is a large quad lined with museums. Inside the quad were 3 or 4 bars/restaurants and these large pink lounges and chairs and tables for seating. We arrived at the MQ around 10pm and there were probably close to 1300 people, between the ages of 18 and 35, all around the court. It was an amazing sight. We grabbed a beer and just sat around and enjoyed the evening. Around 11:45 we left the MQ and walked out to the rest of the city on the other side.


Beauty. Stunning silouettes against a dark sky. Grandeur. Historic presence and modern relevance. We continued our evening a little longer with a night tour of some of the historic buildings around the town center. It was a perfect evening. Finally we gave into our longings for sleep and headed back to the hostel.


Sunday came all too early. After breakfast, we grabbed our concert wear and headed down to St. Stephen's Cathedral. Stephansdom is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna. It is a Romanesque and Gothic building made primarily of sandstone, which is always undergoing a cleaning, due to atmospheric acid which turns the white sandstone black. We were able to participate in the service at Stephansdom, which was a unique experience. The mass was all in german, and few bits were in Latin. We used songs in both Latin and English (Regina Caeli, Rise Up My Love, Ubi Caritas & Joshua Fit the Battle), and then followed up the service with an informal concert for all who wanted to stay. We had a nice crowd stay to watch.


After changing back at the hostel Kristyn, Chris, Summer and Jordan explored the city some more. We saw so many amazing buildings. I love all the symbolism in the Architecture, and I can only imagine the day and age that accompanied their conception. What would it have been like to have been a person living when these buildings were functional public and private spaces. What would it have been like when the buildings lining the streets around the city center were still palaces and private residences filled with dukes, duchesses, princes and wealthy merchants? One can only imagine a time before their own…