Aug 30 - Day 30 in Vienna (Last Day)

I have never wanted to blog less than today. I don’t want to have to write the words I am writing now – that today is my last day in Vienna. It’s over – the physical reality of it, of being in this wonderful place, in this moment in time – and I’m not ready for it to be done! This has been the most wonderful summer, full of tons of laughs, history, cities, radler, sturm, and delicious meals. It’s been an incredible learning experience, both about myself and about this amazing city. I can’t say thanks enough to the professor and all my classmates for how special this summer turned out. It’s been more laughs and more surprising than I ever expected thanks to this awesome group!

The last day was pleasant and quite normal. No museums, no running around to the last minute things I had wanted to do before I left Vienna (Wien Museum and the Cemetery of the Nameless – I guess I just have to come back someday!) – just enjoying the last day in the city with some good friends and good times!

We ate a delicious lunch at Una, the place where we were thwarted last night. It was an amazing lunch! After that came the search for Adolf Loos’s public toilets, which I’d wanted to find for awhile. Yes, I realize they are simply a bathroom, but it’s Loos, who also did my favorite café, Café Museum! However, when we finally did find them on the Graben, I was slightly disappointed. They were below the street and didn’t look particularly cool, even with the Jugendstil designs leading down to them. However, inside, it was really awesome! As usual in Europe, you have to pay to use them (I still cannot get used to it), but I definitely found it worthwhile this time! Each toilet is a prime example of Jugendstil – the design and functionality of it are clear markers of the style. It turned out to be an only in Vienna experience!

I shopped for the rest of the day, buying last minute souvenirs and gifts. We met for our final evening as a class for a ride on the famous Ferris Wheel in the Prater, followed by a dinner of four swords at Centimeter. The ferris wheel (Riesenrad) is a major symbol of Vienna – famous from the excellent film, The Third Man (and also featured in my favorite Vienna movie, Before Sunrise!). It was built from 1896-1897 to celebrate Franz Josef I’s Golden Jubilee. It sadly burned down in 1944, but was soon rebuilt. On it, you get an amazing view of the city! It’s truly a classic symbol of Vienna, and I believe you can’t say you’ve been in Vienna unless you’ve been on it.

Following the Prater, we headed out for our last Vienna dinner. It was hilarious, fun, and delicious food that was presented to us on swords! I had my final radler and enjoyed hanging out with the group. After the dinner, a large group of us went to go hang out at the Communist Café, but we were thwarted once again – it was full! We then went to a local microbrewery and enjoyed the night out.

After returning to the dorm, I got to packing and said some goodbyes. I had my final U-Bahn ride at 5:19 a.m.

I cannot begin to describe how I feel this experience will influence me. My world has expanded to become so vast due to my time in Austria and Eastern Europe. My desire to travel and to continue learning about other cultures and their history has grown enormously. The language barrier here in Vienna – although not so bad since most people speak perfect English – has inspired me to try to obtain more of a fluency in another language, as I’m sadly limited to English and a bit of reading knowledge of French. More than anything, I want to return to Vienna someday. This is a city I can envision living in, if only I knew German! Overall, this trip has given me massive knowledge of the Habsburgs, of Austrian history, of traveling in Europe, and of my own ability to handle a foreign place and new experiences. I've also returned with a most prized possession - an Almdudler clock I purchased at the incredible Naschmarkt!

I’m going to miss being in a place with amazing museums, delicious food, and the fact that for a month I’ve been surrounded by history. Additionally, it’s not just been Habsburgs and Babenbergs and Jugendstil that has been such a major part of my Vienna experience – just the other day I took the U-Bahn to a place that deposited me to the location of the just recently renewed Kosovo independence talks. Everyday I’ve felt a part of the city, eating its food, talking to residents, and visiting sites. I’m happy to know what radler, kasekrainer, Schiele, sturm, and Almdudler mean.

Vienna is not a place that is stuck in time – it’s a living city, one that I have been lucky enough to get to know and love. Thanks for a wonderful summer.