Music and Feelings

Another great day in the city and beyond! Today was a fantastic and full day, with so much to share, but I'll try to keep it brief. : )

IES prepared a bus tour for us today to give us a better overview of the size of the city, and to show us a few of the highlights that are a little more than walking distance. I was looking forward to the bus tour, because I feel like I have been walking so much, I was ready for a lazy day, but boy was I wrong! Strait away we headed Northwest into the outer distracts, than up to a viewpoint where we could see the whole city. I was shocked by how much space the city takes up!

Probably my favorite stop on the tour was at an area in the third district of Vienna that was designed by architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. There is a little park and gift shop, as well as restaurants, and several apartment buildings built in a little neighborhood complex. It is so colorful and quirky. The area is so vastly contrasted from the rest of the Vienna inner city. It's quite ingenious. Here are a couple photos:

After the bus tour we went to the Schoenbrunn Palace, which was the summer home of the Hapsburg family. The Rococo style palace, built in the 17th century, has 1,441 rooms. Imagine, almost every student at Whitman College could be in the palace with his/her own room (including bathrooms, kitchens, etc. of course). It blows my mind! The palace is huge and yellow and amazing, but even more amazing are the gardens. I attempted to capture them in photos, but it just isn't possible. Today I told my roommates that I should just quit blogging and tell you all to go to Vienna. We had a blast walking around, relaxing in the shade, singing, skipping, and enjoying refreshments in the in the cafe. 

It was a great day, but after all that walking, we were all exhausted, hungry, and ready for a shower! The night was topped off with chocolate chip cookie baking (the first time for one of my suitemates!) a game of spoons - complete with screaming, flying cards, and so much laughter - while belting songs from Wicked. I'm surprised our land lady didn't come down to shut down the festivities. It was such a great way to end our first week here, and the month of August! 

I hope everyone is well! Much love.