Bad Ischl, Salzburg, und Wien

I think I understand how Noah felt when he built the arc. I got to Austria Thursday afternoon and it was beautiful and sunny. Friday morning, it started to rain and it didn’t stop for three full days. My good friend from school, Adam, is living in Austria this summer, so I met up with him on the train and stayed in the small town of Bad Ischl for a few days. Bad Ischl is a spa town in the southern part of Upper Austria. From 1849 to 1914 Bad Ischl was the summer residence of Emperor Franz Joseph I. In 1853, Franz Joseph got engaged to Elisabeth of Bavaria (or “Sisi” as she was often called). As a wedding present from the Emperor’s mother, the couple got a summer villa that became known as the Kaiservilla. On July 28, 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph wrote the manifesto “To my Peoples” in the Kaiservilla and in it he declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia beginning World War I. I took a tour of the villa (which was entirely in German, so luckily my friend Adam is fluent in German and translated everything for me) and the grounds. Even in the rain I could see why royalty chose this spot for their getaways. It truly is beautiful. It’s almost shocking how green everything is. I guess I’ve been so used to traveling to cities, being out in the countryside was a nice change of pace.

The best part about Bad Ischl was Saturday night. Adam took me to meet some of his friends at a bar in town. Once it started getting late, Adam, two of his friends, and I began walking home. One of his friends then announced he was hungry and wanted to stop for something to eat. I was confused wondering where he was planning on getting something to eat this late. He then turned to a café and pastry shop called Zauner. Adam had told me about this place. It was founded  in 1832 in Bad Ischl. During the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy they were appointed to be “k.u.k. Hoflieferant” or “Imperial and Royal Purveyor to the Court” aka while the royal family was visiting, they made their desserts. Anyways, the café was clearly closed. He then pulls out a key and unlocks the door. Turns out, his family owns the place. He then leads us through the empty dining room right into the kitchen and began opening refrigerators and cabinets pulling out everything from cake to ice cream to chocolate. I felt like Augustus Gloop in Willa Wonka’s chocolate factory. I’m pretty sure I ate one of everything. My favorite part was when his friend turned on the milk chocolate fountain and opened a package of freshly made wafer cookies to dip in it. I decided that heaven has to look like that kitchen.

Anyways, I made a trip to Salzburg the next day and it continued to rain and rain and rain. I really wanted to go on a Sound of Music tour because it is one of my favorite movies of all time (seriously, I can’t remember a time that I didn’t know the words to every song), but the weather ruined that possibility for me. My mood is very dependent on the weather. If it’s bright and sunshiny, I’m a happy camper. If it’s raining and cold, I have a hard time convincing myself it’s a good idea to walk outside. Feeling like a wet dog tends to put a damper on exploring new cities. My day in Salzburg was very cold and very rainy. I tried to keep positive and managed to walk around the city and see some of the sights from the Sound of Music. I also made it up to the Festung Hohensalzburg aka the Salzburg Fortress that sits atop the city. It is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. Construction began on it nearly one thousand years ago in 1077. The only time in its history that it was captured by enemy forces was in 1800 by Napoleon and it went without a fight. Pretty impressive track record if you ask me.

The next day Adam and I took the train back to Vienna. Finally, the rain stopped and the sun decided to come out for my last full day in Austria. I managed to see a lot considering how little time I really had in Vienna. I saw St. Stephen’s Cathedral (which has some of the coolest lighting I’ve ever seen in a church), St. Peter’s Church, the Hofburg Palace and Heldenplatz, and the Rose Garden. I think my favorite stop of the day was the Albertina Museum. I am a sucker for impressionist painters; Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Sisley, I love them all. Lucky for me, the Albertina Museum has an entire exhibit entitled “Monet to Picasso” and features works of many impressionist painters including all that I just mentioned. I find there is something very soothing about art museums (I’ve been missing my free entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston this semester) and I loved every minute of the several hours I spent walking the halls of the Albertina.

I made my way to the airport early the next morning via the CAT (City Airport Train, literally the most efficient airport transportation I’ve experienced ever) and flew back to France. I’m back for only a short time though. I have my last final exam tomorrow morning and as soon as I finish it I will officially be on summer vacation. How shall I celebrate you ask? I’m flying to Sevilla, Spain. Yeah, I have no complaints.

Auf Wiedersehen,
Erin