This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Amherst chapter.
I’ve discovered how long it takes for a place to feel like home: about a week and a half. Anyone who loves summer camp probably knows what I’m talking about. Last weekend, I took my first trip out of Athens. After only a few short days, I missed the hustle and bustle of the city, the quick chatter of Greek everywhere I go, and the sight of the Acropolis on my way to class.
That said, I visited Vienna, Austria, and also loved it. I went with my roommate, Lizzy. Vienna is huge! At least all the streets, sidewalks, and buildings are massive. Everything is very grand and beautiful. Unlike Athens, the city is also located around single urban center, which was very convenient because we were there for such a short time, and the metro is really easy to use there! The starkest contrast between Vienna and Athens is the evidence of luxury and wealth. It gave us a deeper appreciation for the reality of the economic crisis in Greece.
We also realized that we look much more Austrian/German than Greek. Everyone spoke to us in German! Fortunately, our blank stares and stuttering usually cued waiters and shopkeepers to speak to us in English. For the weekend, we embraced being touristy, and saw as much as possible in a short period of time.
We checked out a lot, but there were some standout favorites:
1. The Ringstrasse, it’s an area famous for the Viennese Parliament and Christmas markets. Post-Christmas, it has a huge ice skating rink and hot wine.
2. The Friedensreich Hundertwasser Museum. Lizzy and I stumbled upon this museum as we were walking along the canal. He is a Viennese artist. His art is colorful and amazing! Even the building of the museum is one of his designs!
3. The Danube. Lizzy and I took the metro out of the city to watch the sunset there. It was so beautiful!
And of course, we ate wiener schnitzel!
On Sunday morning, I woke up and went for a run around the Schonbrunn Palace. The run included two of the longest hills I have run in recent memory. But it was definitely worth the panoramic view of Vienna and my excitement at seeing the bright yellow palace!
The weekend went by so quickly, but I couldn’t have asked for a better first abroad travel experience! Notably, right after we got back to Athens, we turned around and went right back out to watch the Superbowl. Yes, we watched the entire game. The time difference? 7 hours. And the Seahawks lost. It was brutal.
However, keeping things in perspective, the weekend outweighed the Superbowl loss…