(8) On the road again!

A great part of the Czech Republic study abroad program is the field trips to other countries and historical cities. On the morning of April 7th we loaded up on a bus and began our second field trip as a class to Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy. After the four hour long bus ride we arrived in Vienna. Once we settled in at our hostel we went to the town square, our main meeting point. We were all set free to have lunch and then met back up to head to the Imperial Treasury. This was quite the site to see. I was amazed at how much a royal outfit consisted of and wondered how much the garments would weigh.

Later we were again set free in the city to do what ever we would like. Several of us ended up going to an opera/ballet/orchestra performance. We were all so excited, because we had heard that Vienna was the place to hear music, and see performances. As soon as we entered the "concert room", we were a little worried. The scene was set up like a high school band performance. The amazing opera house we had expected, was no where in sight. Soon the small orchestra came out to perform, and while they sounded decent, it was nothing like we had originally thought it would be. Ultimately, the life lesson learned here is not to by tickets off of street vendors. Prior research is necessary when attending an opera or performance in Vienna.

Our second day in Vienna didn't start out the best. We were all excited to go to the Lipizzaner horse show. About an hour in we found out that it was just a training day. We left early from there and a group of us made our way to the National History Museum or what we liked to call the "Dinosaur Museum". I was shocked at the size of the museum and how many specimens that were on exhibit. They had every animal you could think of and more. In the "Human Evolution" exhibition you could transform yourself so I transformed into a Australopithecus africanus. A little information it gave me was "As an Australopithecus africanus, you live between 3 and 2 million years ago in what is now South Africa. You face many survival challenges... including large, dangerous predators. But living in a group with other members of your species provides some protection." The National History was my favorite part of the trip in Vienna. 

Me as an Australopithecus africanus.

 The next morning we loaded back on the bus to head to Venice where we would find out it is very easy to get lost. We settled into our hostel and quickly hit the streets. Martin lead us through the maze of streets to St. Mark's square. After a quick overview of the area we were told we had to meet back here the next morning. That meant we had to find our own way back to the hostel before the 1am curfew and back to St. Mark's square in the morning by ourselves. After wandering for about an hour and thinking we were lost and would have to sleep on the streets we magically found our way back to our hostel. A few of us got up early to explore and begin the adventure back to St. Mark's square. That afternoon we went to the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. I was blown away by the artwork and by the design of the ceilings in each room. It was very beautiful.

 

To wrap up my time in Venice I did what everyone should do just to say they did it, I went on a gondola ride. It was a short 30 minute ride but worth every cent. Venice is a beautiful city and I wish I could have spent more time there exploring. 

I've really enjoy going on these field trips with my fellow classmates and getting the opportunity to see new places all over Europe. Each one of these trips is a learning experience and I am filled with so much more knowledge. I look forward to our next day trip to Terezín!