Austria Journal 9-Vienna pt 2

Note from the Author: This post will be short and sweet so we can move on to more recent trips. I had to post it though, because I'm sure you were all dying to know how the rest of the Vienna excursion went. Actually, the slight streak of OCD in me is simply suffering and demands that I make sure these entries are complete...even if it takes me the next 3 years to finish. 

The second day in Vienna, we attended mass at the Minoritenkirche, a beautiful church not far from the Habsburg Palace. Afterwards, Mark and I had to go to the Kunsthistoriches (Vienna Art Museum) with our Art Class to do an independent study project. The museum was fascinating. It’s funny, I used to hate museums, particularly art museums, but I’ve since come to really appreciate them, and this one proved to be no exception. From Roman sculptures to Renoir, the museum was filled to the bursting with treasures. We spent several hours wandering around, snapping pictures and studying particular works for our independent studies (or in my case, falling asleep in front of our work…the couches were too comfortable). I analyzed a work entitled ‘Madonna of the Rosary,’ by an Italian painter named Caravaggio, in which the Blessed Mother is depicted bestowing the rosary on St. Dominic, who in turn, gives it to the people. It was a beautiful piece and if you would like to know more, you can read my paper. :P

Our Lady of the Rosary

Impressive sculpture of the battle between the centaurs and Lapiths

          So engrossing was the art museum, that we quickly lost track of time, not emerging until around lunchtime. Mark and I and a few friends discovered a small festival on the green across from the Habsburg Palace. We got tasty traditional German food and decided to go see the Schonbrunn Palace next. Located a little outside the city, this palace was the Hapsburg family's summer residence and, according to our fellow students that had visited the day before, it had beautiful gardens. Alas, we only experienced about 2 minutes within those gardens, as the trip to the palace took a lot longer than expected and we realized along the way that we had forgotten to buy our vorteil cards (passes that make all trains in Austria half price) that we needed to purchase at a specific train station in Vienna. Because of this, we hurried back to the metro after snapping a few pictures.Ah well, another day, Vienna.

Schonbrunn Palace

 The last hour of our trip was a little stressful as we rushed round via metro trying to get our vorteils, stop at a grocery store for food, and make it to the bus on time. We weaved through throngs of people gathered to see or participate in a Muslim protest march (that was interesting) but finally made it safely back to the bus where we exchanged stories and pictures with our other friends. Among these was Alex, who had gone to see the Royal treasury and glowed with details of her fun day in the city. The drive home was uneventful and relatively restful. Vienna was over. The school had successfully prepared us to travel overnight and now the next weekend was up to us.

Schonbrunn Gardens

Gazebo in the gardens

Stay tuned for "The First Free Weekend" to hear about our journey back to Vienna and somewhere else exciting!