Date: May 11th, 2023
Location: Vienna, Austria
Today, I decided to wake up a little bit earlier than usual. Today was the day of our big project presentation so I wanted to be extra prepared. So, I made sure I was super quick with getting dressed and packing my bag for the day. And I made sure to eat breakfast quickly as well so that way I could go straight to work on the presentation. When I first looked at our presentation right after breakfast, I saw that we had a lot of work to do. So, I did what I do best- I sat down and got straight to work.
A bunch of other Penn Staters from my program came and went as breakfast went on and a lot of them were very surprised that I was typing away at my computer this early in the morning. But I had work to do so I made sure I kept my focus on that while saying hi to everyone and joining in conversations here and there. Eventually, two Penn State members of my group came downstairs to have breakfast and join me. We decided that we would try to leave out in a couple of minutes to go to the TU Vienna building so that way we could meet up with everyone in our project group there! I think the other two Penn State members of our group were out pretty late with some TU Vienna students so they were having a hard time getting up in the morning. But they were going to be joining us later anyways so after a while, me and the two other girls who were with me decided to go ahead and walk over to the building to get started!
Once we got to the TU Vienna building, we met up with the German student since he was already there. Then we pulled out our laptops and got straight to work! The other group members from both Penn State and TU Vienna joined us in waves, but we kept working and working on the project to ensure that we had a completed project. Since there was so much to do, I made sure I really stepped up and did everything I could to make sure that we had everything we wanted to present ready for the presentation. And after a while, we were done! Go us!
At that point, we had an hour before the presentations happened so my group and I just waited around and talked to each other to pass the time. Some people were able to step away and grab some snacks for themselves but unfortunately, I was knee deep in getting work done for the project so I couldn't go with them. But I was able to finish the slides and come up with a small explanation for some of the slides I had to talk about on stage so that was good!
Eventually it was time to present our projects to our teachers. All of the TU Vienna Students and all of the Penn State students met up in a giant lecture hall inside the building to watch everyone get on stage and present. My group was last which was both helpful and nerve-wracking at the same time. We didn't have a lot of instruction with the project so we saw the other three groups before us give completely different takes on the project and what they delivered in their presentation. But luckily, my group managed to keep their cool and with only a few technical difficulties here and there, we were able to stand up and give a great presentation!
By the time my group finished their presentation (and we all took our numerous group pictures), it was around 5:00pm. Working on the project took a lot of time so I didn't get the chance to explore Vienna as much as I wanted to. It's actually our last day here until next Friday so I was hoping to get in another museum before we left. But they were closing soon so I decided that it would be the perfect time to get some souvenir shopping done! I hadn't bought anything yet so I wanted to make sure I got everything I wanted for my parents and myself before leaving Vienna for a while. And so after we all said our good byes and congratulations for a project well done, I set out on my souvenir journey!
One of the first places I wanted to hit was a travel book store that was kind of far away. It was about a 30 minute walk each way, but I really like picking up travel books for my dad since that's something he used to do when he would travel internationally. So, I made the walk and went to the travel book store! The store ended up being pretty close to the Museum Quarter and the Cathedral I went to the other day, so it wasn't that hard to find. Though all the street signs being in a language I didn't read did make things a little difficult. But I was able to find it after just a couple minutes of looking around!
After a searching for a couple of minutes, I was able to find a great travel book in english about Vienna! I quickly bought it and went on to go to the next shop! I had to look through a few stores for a bit to find one that actually had everything I wanted. I ended up going to a really, really big souvenir shop in front of the cathedral. There, I was able to get a really nice sweatshirt that says Vienna and a keychain too! And for my mom, I picked up a Christmas ornament to add to her collection of Christmas ornaments from places people in the family have visited!
Once I finished shopping, I was feeling quite hungry. It was already 7:00pm and I hadn't eaten since breakfast so I figured now would be a good time to get something to eat. I took the long trek back to my hotel which was about 30 minutes of walking. Though once I got close to my hotel, I saw a Mexican restaurant nearby. I don't know the full story but I heard Mexico and Austria actually have a pretty good relationship! So I decided that it would be a good choice to grab something to eat there. I took a turn in front of my hotel and went straight for the Mexican restaurant. It was pretty full so I sat at the bar, ordered a drink and ordered some dinner. While I was sitting at the bar, one of my friends on the trip texted me that she was hungry too so I invited her to join me!
After a couple of minutes, she came over and joined me at the bar. We spent an hour talking and eating and swapping stories and interests and sharing what we did that day. It was a really nice relaxing time and I was happy she was able to join me. After a while, we finished eating and paid our bill and decided to grab some gelato for desert. There's a lot of gelato and ice cream places where we were in Vienna so it was pretty easy to find a place near by. We both got our gelato and enjoyed them in the restaurant. Once we were finished with our desert, we decided we'd head back to the hotel and charge our phones before deciding what our next move would be for the night.
Once I got back to the the hotel, I decided to pack up my stuff just incase I didn't have time to do it in the morning. I went ahead and packed away my souvenirs nice and neat and then I packed away all my clothes too. Then once I was all done with that, I went ahead grabbed my phone and headed back downstairs to meet my friend. We decided that we were going to join a few other members of our program that were currently at a jazz bar called Frau Mayer once she talked to our teachers about something. And so, after she finished her conversation, we headed out on our way to the Jazz Bar!
It was about another 30 minutes walk away but luckily, it was 11pm and the Metro was still working so we just took that to a nearby station. Though getting out at the station was pretty funny because all around us were gothic looking buildings and churches and that caught us really off guard. We only road the train for two stops yet it feels like we got off in Romania! Still, we managed to find our way to the Jazz bar and join up alongside everyone else. And wow, it was amazing!
Immediately when my friend and I walked in, we were floored with the atmosphere! One of the graduate student girls from Penn State was up and standing by the door, singing and playing guitar while a bunch of other Penn Staters and TU Vienna students were cheering her on! There were other patrons around listening to her sing in that open area but behind another set of doors, there was a band getting ready to play their set by the bar. It was kind of a cramped place but it was a very warm and relaxing atmosphere. I spent the next hour and a half listening to people sing and just enjoying the moment! It was so much fun! Especially the moment when the Jazz bar owner pulled out an accordion and began to sing one last song before closing.
But walking home from the bar? Significantly less fun. It was kinda chilly and the train wasn't running so we had to take that 30 minute walk back. Luckily, we ended up in an area where I knew where we were going! We were in the Museum Quarter that I visited a couple of days ago so from there, I was able to lead the charge and walk back to the hotel! Though once we got back, I was super super tired. I'm so ready for bed!
And that's it for today! I'll see you next time for the next update! Until next time!
-DD
Picture Sources (in order of appearance):
Hotel Lobby - My photo!
Statue I saw while lost - My photo!
Gothic Looking Church - My photo!
Jazz Bar! - My photo!
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