Vienna, Austria

An aspect I found interesting of Vienna’s geography was in the area outside of Vienna—the Wachau Valley area. This is such a beautiful area of Austria, complete with rolling hills alongside a beautiful river. The hills actually make the area what it is used for today—vineyards. Actually, we learned this area of Vienna has been growing grapes for years and years to make wine. Because of the hills, soil, and sunlight, there is the perfect environment for grape growth. This makes Austria a top wine producer of the world! The people that live in the Wachau Valley area revolve their lives around producing wine. Growing grapes and producing wine are their careers! It’s a major business for this area and the natural environment makes this possible.

My favorite academic experience in Vienna was definitely the bike tour through the Wachau Valley. At first, I didn’t think this was considered an “academic” experience. But, it definitely was! We not only rode through the beautiful countryside of Vienna and stopped to drink wine, but we also learned all about the culture of grape growing! The was one of my favorite days of the trip. I like biking in general, so biking through this gorgeous valley just made it all that more better!

My favorite extra-curricular activity in Vienna was the Prater, which is an amusement park. A group of us stopped there one night and rode a few rides! Being here reminded me so much of the United States—they were even playing U.S. music. It made me realize that no matter where are you, people are people. People, no matter where you live, enjoy many of the same joys in life. It was fun and a good bonding experience!

For meals in Vienna, I would recommend not going to a nice looking restaurant in the main area of the city! We went to a restaurant that looked fairly nice. We could tell we were not welcomed, though. The waiter seemed like he didn’t want us there after we said we did not have a reservation, but he seated us anyways. The food was a little more expensive and was not very good. Vienna is a good place to go cheap! I would recommend grabbing food at the grocery store for a dinner or going to a café or coffee shop instead! Or, I would recommend eating at the Prater to get the full experience!