Time to say good bye. Thank you for hosting us, University of Vienna-crew!
We very much appreciate the open arms you welcomed us with – hope to see everyone again soon!

Salzburg. Our experienced guide Inez, a former diplomat, helps us understand the long history of the Jewish people in this part of the country that is geographically, culturally, and overall, historically close to Bavaria, Germany.

We must make conscious efforts to remember in order to never forget the Holocaust and its victims

Our most captivating adventure so far takes us around the Imperial Castle with its many wings, courtyards, gates, and staircases. Renate, an art historian, even shows us the attic of the Palace’s oldest part. Clearly, Anthony, Maya, and Jack share Ines’ enthusiasm for these walls, roofs, floorboards, gargoyles, and the many other features that bear witness to some of Europe’s brightest and darkest hours. If only these walls could talk!

More art! This time, it is art we created ourselves to help us remember our experiences in Austria. Messages in a bottle for our future selves, if you will.

More Architectural Milestones

Schönbrunn Palace is beautiful and we learn a lot about the Habsburg family who strategically married their members to other royal families. Hm, interesting approach…

Our time at the Vienna State Opera makes for a more engaging experience and we not only get a look back stage, we step on that very stage.

Day Trip to Salzburg

At the University of Salzburg’s Department of Communication, we have not one, but three knowledgeable hosts. After a warm welcome by the Head of the Department, we listen to a guest lecture tailored to our study abroad program.

Afterwards, thanks to our third host, we gain access to some of the university’s oldest nooks and crannies, such as a reading room with maps painted on the wall during the 17th century before North America officially appeared on Europe’s radar, and another reading room with a famous globe from the 18th century.

Experiencing Art and History Throughout the Centuries

Some more time traveling via quite a few of Vienna’s fine museums. After soaking up facts and connecting the dots, we relax at a concert. Music composed by Mozart and Strauss is on the agenda.

Day Trip to Graz

We spend a day in Graz, a city in the South of Austria, where we engage with the old and the new: The history of a 500-year old house and how daily life was like for its inhabitants intrigue us. Let’s just say we now appreciate even more living in the 21st century with all its amenities.

New sights! New sounds! New experiences: We climb an architectural experiment and art gallery called “Friendly Alien.”

Art and Architecture in Vienna

Back to Vienna, we dive into Art Nouveau. It is us and only us inside the Church at Steinhof, another special place to which our tour guide Walter can open doors.

Austrian Media

In addition to visiting different Austrian television broadcasters, we are able to stop by the offices of “Der Standard”, a daily newspaper.

Visiting the Jewish Cemetery – located at the Viennese Central Cemetery – was a grounding, humbling experience. So many stories that are still untold, so many stories as many people as possible must hear about.

Our second week finds it start in a spooky part of Vienna – the catacombs of St. Stephan’s Cathedral. Our tour takes us through corridors and shows us skulls and bones from centuries past.

Willkommen in Wien – Welcome to Vienna!
Our adventures start on Monday, July 29. After moving into our dorm rooms, we have a meet and greet before we venture to the Wiener Rathauskeller for a traditional Austrian dinner which rounds off our first day very nicely.

After a rejuvenating night’s sleep, our experienced tour guide Walter shows us the oldest parts of Vienna and teaches us about their history. We are able to visit a centuries old multi-level cellar system next to Moelkersteig which is usually closed to the public.

We have breakfast at Café Central, one of Vienna’s most beautiful coffee houses, where we try Austrian pastry and bread. Afterward, we explore the city a bit more with our tour guide Walter. This time we learn about different Jewish communities that have lived in Vienna since the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Another unique experience off the beaten track awaits us: We visit St. Michael’s Church and its crypt. There are lots of stories to discover as their history goes back to Roman times and some of these stories are quite, well, spooky.

In order to see another part of the Viennese tradition, we had the chance to go to the Spanish Riding School and see the Morning Exercise there.