Finding my footing

I'm not quite sure what a "normal" week in study abroad is, because every day brings something new & exciting & challenging, but I'd say that this past week was the closest I'll probably come to "normal".

I spent the week finding my footing in this beautiful city. I can by no means pass as a local, but I can walk to the grocery store without a map, navigate the public transit system, and name 2 or 3 good coffeeshops, so I would say those are all steps in the right direction.

I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE. Every time I turn the corner, I see a beautiful church or museum or monument or coffeeshop where Beethoven or Mozart hung out & I am honestly overwhelmed by all of the beauty. Nothing is ugly here. Not even the people! They're all so intimidatingly fashionable. You know when people master the art of layering & classic-looking minimalism? Probably not. Because you don't really know what that looks like until you see the Austrians walking down the street. They also frequently harbor staring problems. And they all seem to immediately know I'm American. I'm not even wearing sneakers!!!

All fashion-insecurities aside, I appreciate the way that the Viennese incorporate beauty into everyday life. Everything, from the buildings to the desserts to the fashion, is aesthetically pleasing. And I don't think that this is out of vanity or anything negative like that, I just think that there's an attitude that encourages making everyday life exquisite. It's a wonderful thing.

I've been spending a few hours each day in intensive German class, which is generally exhausting & stimulating at the same time. It's nice to have a bit of an open schedule so that I have time to explore & get my bearings. I've gone to a few museums, eaten at some great coffeeshops & cafes, done a bus tour all over the city, and more. All of these excursions have helped me compile a short list of some of my favorite places and sights in the city:

The IES Abroad Vienna Center: Palais Corbelli

I have class in a palace. And it is amazing. It's also right down the street from my apartment (which is extremely convenient). IES doesn't actually own the palace - they pay rent to an old landlady who actually still lives in building, which I find rather funny. Sometimes you run into her walking around the palace.

The doors to enter the Palais Corbelli. It's rather unassuming from the street. 

The ceiling of the classroom where I have German. Basically all of the rooms look like this (I know - what?!!?).

Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral)

Stephansdom is located just a few blocks away from my apartment. I still haven't been inside (I'm not quite sure why - it's almost always open), but the outside is exquisite. It was built in 1147 AD. I still don't understand how buildings like this are built today with all of the fancy technological equipment we have, so the fact that this thing was erected 869 years ago blows me away.

The south side of Stephansdom.

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Museum of Art History, Vienna)

This museum has two major wings of paintings: one for Italian, Spanish, and French; another for French, German, and Netherlandish. I went on a tour with one of the art history professors who teaches at IES, and she wouldn't let us take pictures during the actual tour because she wanted us to fully experience the art without anything obstructing us. It was a nice way to be present, but on the tour itself this professor had a very specific interpretation of all the pieces of art we saw - which I didn't love. One of my favorite things about art is that every person can get something different out of the same painting. Despite this, it was a lovely museum and I'm glad I went!

The outside of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. In the center is the Maria Theresia statue, commemorating one of the most famous and beloved Habsburgs (she was also the only female Habsburg to rule). One of her daughters was Marie Antoinette.

The breathtaking double stairway entrance into the museum.

Note: I did not take the following pictures, as I was not allowed to use my camera, but got them from the Kunsthistorisches website (here). These were my favorite paintings in the museum. We have an art history matching game at home that we used to play a lot, and I'm making it one of my missions in life to see all of the paintings in the game. I think I hit a lot of them at this museum!

Madonna im Grünen Raffael

Großes Selbstbildnis (Large Self-Portrait) Rembrant

Blumenstrauß bei einer Säule (Bouquet by a Column) Jan van Huysum

Turmbau zu Babel (Tower of Babel) Pieter Bruegel

Jäger im Schnee (Hunters in the Snow) Pieter Bruegel

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library)

I now understand why Belle fell in love with the beast. This place was a dream. Sure, it cost 7 Euro to go see a bunch of books that I couldn't touch, but I brought my knitting and a book of my own and just hung out for awhile. I was so happy in there; I was just smiling to myself like a total goon. It was perfect. #librarygoals

The library has around 200,000 books, from 1501-1850 AD.

The large statue is of Charles VI, a Habsburg who ruled as Holy Roman Emperor from 1711-1740. The smaller statues in the back are of other Habsburg kings.

Hundertwasserhaus

The house with no right angles. There are trees and other plants literally growing all throughout the structure. The floors and windows are uneven, & the colors appear to be almost entirely random. Who wouldn't want to live here?!

My favorite part of this building is the shrubbery pouring out of the window on the left.

How cool are the random tiles on the concrete part towards the bottom left?!

From this view, you can see some of the big ceramic pillars. I'm so curious how on Earth this place stands.

There were plenty of other beautiful sites I saw in Vienna this week, and I still have so much more to see. While on the bus tour that traversed the whole city and up a bit into the surrounding towns, we were hit with a pretty big snowstorm. It was nothing like the one that just hit the East Coast of the U.S., but it was enough that we couldn't get great visibility of some of the sites. But no matter, I'll just have to go back!

In the Belvedere gardens with some of my friends in the midst of a snowstorm.

I have a whole new week of German intensive class starting tomorrow, & I'm trying to plan something fun for the weekend. It'll probably either be attending the Opera, visiting Prague, or traveling to Salzburg. I can't wait to see what's next on this adventure!