Vienna and Venice

Wow; the only word that can describe my past week. Over the past week and a half I have traveled to places I never imagined I would. This crazy week was started by a class field trip to Vienna, Austria. We spent two full days here before traveling to Venice, Italy. Here I spent 2 full days and then a half-day. The half-day encompassed class activities in the morning and then we were free for 8 days to travel as we pleased. I choose to spend these 8 days traveling Italy. I completely fell in love with Italy and want to go back. My Italy trip consisted of Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, and ended in Rome. There is so much to write about that happened over the last week and a half, but this blog will mainly consist of  my time in Vienna and Venice.

Before leaving for my trip I had heard from many friends that Vienna was one of their favorite European cities. Therefore, I was ecstatic to experience Vienna for myself. We all hopped on a bus and rode for 3 hours to arrive in Vienna. Soon enough we arrived in Vienna, checked into our hostel, and then our professor (Jan) was showing us around the city. Vienna appeared to be very modern with new buildings and chic shopping for everyone. We eventually got into the historical district of Vienna and it was amazing. Nearly everyone has heard of the Habsburg family or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This ruling family was based out of Vienna. It was amazing to see their previous palaces and artifacts of one of the most important families in history. We ended up our class tour by entering another massive and impressive church.

Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna

The next day was a day of touring museums. Our first museum was the Imperial Treasury. In most cases I would roll my eyes about attending a museum. Most of the time I just walk through and see a bunch of old artifacts and don’t really retain much. This was not the case here! The museum was full of the Habsburg's family treasures that were left behind. We saw a plethora of beautiful jewels, statues, and other family heirlooms. There were a few artifacts that really stood out and I will remember for the rest of my life. The first was a reliquary containing a piece of the tablecloth from the last supper. Following was a reliquary containing a piece of wood from Christ’s Manger. Lastly, was a particle of the true cross. Witnessing these pieces in person was breath taking. I don’t believe I really took it all in until after I had left the museum and reflected on my experience. Throughout the rest of the museum was relics dating all the way back to the 5^th century. Most of the artifacts were approximately 1000 years old. I’m still awestruck at all the history and stories behind all of these amazing pieces I was able to see first hand.

My free time in Vienna was spent wandering the streets, exploring other churches, and napping in the lawn of the National Library. I can’t forget the food! I had a great stuffed schnitzel, amazing gelato, and delicious pizza.

After we finished up in Vienna we loaded the bus for Venice, Italy! Before getting to Venice we were able to make a lunch stop. By this time we were getting into the Swiss Alps. The views that were present here were incredible. We overlooked a crystal clear lake with snow-capped mountains in the background. You could say my meal was enhanced while sitting outside taking in the view. After declining from the Alps, we enter the Italian countryside. This was breathtaking and filled with warmth and vast beauty. Approximately 5 hours after leaving Vienna we arrived at the Venice train station. Venice is an island, therefore we had to take a train to the island. We again checked into our hostel and hit the city.

One of the views of the Swiss Alps

Trying to navigate is a feat within itself in Venice. There are not streets and no cars present. The only mode of transportation is by foot and by water. The streets are incredibly hard to following because you’re crossing a bridge every few hundred feet followed by turns in every direction. Needless to say even our professor who had been to Venice many times before got lost one day. Our first day we stopped by the Jewish Ghetto and wandered around St. Mark’s Square. The following day we made our way back to the square to take a peak inside St. Mark’s Basilica, stroll through a historical museum, and climbed to the top of the lookout tower. Our time in between was spent getting lost in Venice. As I previously said, it is pointless to try and navigate around with your map. It’s better to drop the map, get lost, and wander around the streets and canals.

Lookout tower in St. Mark's Square

I held some pigeons in Venice 

While wandering around we ran into one of the best pasta places I’ve ever been to. Dal Moro’s Fresh Made Pasta was so incredible we went back the next day. It was simple to go pasta, but was incredibly fresh and flavorful (mainly with gooey cheese and parmesan). Our last day in Venice was a half-day. We woke up, got lost on our way to the museum, and then ate more Dal Moro’s pasta. My time in Venice had come to an end, but not before jumping into the Grand Canal and spending one night drinking wine on a bridge. Venice was amazingly spectacular.

I could go on for paragraphs more about my following adventures in Italy, but will just do a brief summary of the following week. I started by spending some time in Florence. My time consisted of a walking tour, spending time taking in the views from Michelangelo Square, and a Tuscany bike tour. After Florence, was Pisa. Pisa was a quick one-day trip that primarily consisted of attempting to perfect our Leaning Tower of Pisa photos. Next was my favorite place in Europe so far. This was Cinque Terre. I spent two days here hiking, cliff diving, tanning by the beach, and exploring each of these costal villages. Lastly was 3 days in Rome. Rome was a must see that included the Coloseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, a view of the Pope, followed by gazing at the Sistine Chapel. Eventually all good things must come to an end and before long I was on my plane back to the Czech Republic.

Got my typical Pisa picture

Loved my time at the Colosseum

Reflecting on this past week has been something I would never have dreamed of. I feel so blessed to have experienced what I have to far. The adventure continues next weekend as I travel to Berlin, Germany.