Author Archives: tqd5061

Operas, Tours, and Aquariums oh my!

First off, I’d like to apologize for not consistently updating the blog. I have a bad habit of procrastinating unfortunately.

Now then, let’s get to the actual interesting part. During the first 3 weeks of the program, we don’t actually have classes. All we have is a 3 hour German class each day, with the level being dependent on where you placed in the testing at orientation. Consequently, we have a lot of free time during those first 21 days; this results in a hectic schedule with a lot of tours, meetings, and informational sessions. To be honest, I’m glad that they do this, because being dropped off in a new, foreign city can be overwhelming. There is so much to see and do and you won’t know where to begin…

One of the tours they offered was a bus tour of Vienna. It was mostly just an overview of some of the sites, and it gave you a general idea of places to see and go when the weather got warmer. However, the day that was chosen turned out to be incredibly foggy; nearly the same level it was when I first landed (essentially not being able to see 20 feet in front of you). This really stunk, because one of the areas they took us to was in the hills overlooking the city. I decided to go to that area the next day, which turned out to be sunny and a warmish 45-50 degrees. In order to get there, I had to go through Grinzing in the 19th district. This is one of the few areas in the city of Vienna where there are vineyards; making Vienna the only city in Europe to produce its own wine within the city limits. After you go through Grinzing, you head up into the Vienna Woods and the huge hills overlooking the city. There I got a beautiful of literally the whole city for as far as I could see.

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Another trip offered was an aquarium trip at the Haus des Meeres. It is an aquarium/sort of zoo in an old World War 2 bunker. Though the all the bunkers in Vienna were initially supposed to be destroyed, the Viennese soon discovered that the amount of explosives required to blow up these bunkers would also involve leveling several blocks around them as well. So, they decided to put them to use as munitions storage or in this case an aquarium. The best part was when you reached the top of the bunker, you could see over the city center.

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One cool thing about where I take my classes is that is right next to one of the many opera houses in the city. But, this one offers standing room tickets to all operas for either 3-4 Euros, and with that I ended up seeing my first ever opera: Don Giovanni. I very surprisingly enjoyed it. Never did I ever thing I would see an opera before studying abroad, and honestly it wasn’t high on my list of things to do before I left.  That being said, I am glad that I went, and wouldn’t necessarily be against seeing another.

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Location: Vienna, Austria

A Hectic Start

I have officially spent one week in Austria, and it is incredible. But getting settled wasn’t without a bit of difficulty. My connection flight from London to Vienna was probably one of the worst flights I’ve ever been on. The take off was rough and the plane shook about 80% of the ride there. Not that it was the pilots fault though, because the weather wasn’t too great and the fog was so thick you could cut through it with a knife. However, the landing was a memorable one. As we were descending the fog just wasn’t letting up, but I assumed once we got close to the ground it would break up. I was wrong. As I was looking out the window trying to see the city, the plane jumped a little and all the sudden I realized we had just touched down; the fog was virtually a wall of gray that went thousands of feet into the air.IMG_0531.JPG

Upon landing, I left for baggage claim only to discover that my luggage had not made it to Vienna. I filed a claim and then left to meet up with my program. After the whole airport ordeal, the group that landed early (myself included) was shuffled onto a bus. A three hour journey through Austria’s incredible countryside later, and we made it to our youth hostel in Mariazell. It was here that we spent the next four days for orientation. I think this was an important aspect of the program, because it allowed us just enough time to get to know most of the other 120+ people in the IES: Vienna program before be let loose in the city. 
By Sunday night, we had headed back to Vienna (plus my luggage which arrived Saturday afternoon) and to our new homes for the next 4 months. There are 23 districts in Vienna, and I am living in the 18th; the students in my program are spread out through multiple districts in the city, with the most living in the 5th and 6th districts. Because I am so far away from the 1st district (where I’m taking my classes), I have about a 40 minute tram ride every morning. The trade off though is that I’m living in is a Villa rather than an apartment.

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So far, the language barrier hasn’t been too much of an issue because most of the younger generation of Austrians speak at least some amount of English. I still find it a little odd not being able to understand the conversations over heard on the streets. I’ve never spoken a single sentence of German until this week, so it’s going to take me awhile to be at a conversation holding level. For example, I wanted to get cheese for sandwiches at the store. I asked if the lady behind the counter spoke English, but she said very little. So, I tried to ask for a sample slice of cheese at the grocery store like back home (because she told me all the different cheeses she had, which didn’t help at all). She yes like she knew what I meant. I then turned around to help my friend get vegetables, while I assumed the lady was cutting the cheese. When I turned back around, the lady handed me a bag which had a roll and cheese sandwich in it….
I haven’t had the time to just explore the city yet because of all the activities and crazy scheduling this first week, but I look forward to seeing all the palaces and beautiful architecture Vienna has to offer!

Location: Vienna, Austria

2 more hours till my flight to Vienna (Procrastination at its finest)

It is currently 3:45 am in London, and I am sitting here in Heathrow airport nearly 7 hours in to my 8 1/2 hour layover. I know this should have been written before I actually left, but I still have another flight and technically I haven’t “departed” for Vienna haha. My name is Theresa Deppenschmidt and I am headed to Vienna, Austria for the next 5 months! I am majoring in Psychology and minoring in History. Though slightly cliche sounding, I honestly have always wanted to travel (literally though, my dorm was covered in travel posters or pictures of foreign cities). However, the farthest place I have gone out of the country is Mexico. I have never even flown over an ocean, so the fact that I am even sitting in an airport in Europe makes me so happy. I don’t really know what to expect once I am in Vienna, but I think it will be better that way. Actually, I lied. I can’t wait to visit the bakeries, but other than that I’m trying to go in with an open mind.


Location: London - Heathrow Airport