3 months later..

Tuesday. We had the second part of our German final: the oral exam. Everyone did excellent, and our professor was impressed with how well we pronounced certain phrases. Afterwards, we took a class trip to the Kunsthalle Wien, a museum for contemporary art, featuring "1989", an exhibition focusing on the opening of the Iron Curtain, which ushered in the Cold War. This exhibit showcases the everyday lives of the Soviets during this time period. Although very interesting, it was hard for me to remain focused at the museum because of how utterly drained/exhausted I was. I've been going non-stop for the past few months, and it's finally starting to hit me! After a good hour or so at the Kunsthalle Wien, we went back to the hotel for a quick lunch before beginning the process of packing. I also managed to get in a quick nap before heading out for the night to the Christmas Markets at the Schonbrunn and the Belvedere with Meghan, Ricki, Sarah, and Morgan! We returned to the hotel and met up with everyone in the Horton's room to hang out and begin compiling a list of tips and favorite restaurants, hostels, tours, etc. for next year's group of "Wieners." 


Today (Wednesday) was our official "packing" day, meaning we had the entire day to do as we pleased. Several girls and I decided we wanted to take a daytrip to Hallstatt, a village in upper Austria nearly four hours away from Vienna. Because of this, we woke up around 530am and boarded a train soon after. We had a good 3-4 hours inside the village, which is absolutely breath-taking. I will upload pictures in the next few days! Our time was spent eating at a local cafe (of course) and then perusing the small, picturesque village, located near the Hallstatter See (a beautiful and expansive lake). We arrived back in Vienna around 640 and headed straight to Vapiano's to meet up with everyone else for our last dinner together in Vienna, our beloved home for 3 months. Then, we went to "Zanoni Zanoni" for our final helping of gelato. Yes, I do realize it's nearly freezing outside, but we couldn't leave here tomorrow without enjoying gelato one final time! While in the Stephansplatz area, we also ventured into the Stephansdom for the last time :( Once back at the hotel, we all went up to the Horton's room to converse for a bit and say our good-byes to them (at least for a few days) because they are on a different flight than the rest of our group. Now, I'm just doing some last minute "to-do's" before going to bed for my last time in Vienna.


Sorry this blog has been so concise and ambiguous. I wanted to blog once more before we fly back to America. We leave tomorrow from the hotel at 630am and arrive back in Nashville around 630pm (and we gain 7 hours). Our longest flight is from Munich to Charlotte (10 hours and 10 minutes); it should be quite an experience. I have mixed emotions right now. Although I'm thrilled to go home and see my family and friends for the first time since September, I am also sad to leave behind the life I've known (and grown to love) for three months. I highly anticipate coming back to Europe in the near future, but it's still sad leaving this behind. Time has FLOWN by, and I feel like just yesterday I was rolling my suitcases into our hotel for the first time on September 10! Time for me to get some sleep (let's hope I actually get some rest and i'm not too anxious). I'll be seeing you all so soon in America!! 

day 81.

Monday was a long, productive, and draining day! From 8am-noon, we were at school taking both our German and Humanities finals for the semester. Both went well; I'm usually too critical of myself anyway, so hopefully I did ever better than I anticipate. Afterwards, Sarah and I ventured out for a few last Vienna sight-seeing adventures. First, the Leopold Musuem, which houses one of the largest collections of modern Austrian art, featuring artists such as Gustav Klimt and Richard Gerstl. Our main priority was to see the featured exhibition on Edvard Munch. I enjoyed viewing his artwork even more than I assumed. Although he is most famous for "The Scream," some of my favorites by him include, "The Sick Child" and the "Weeping Nude." After time well spent at the Leopold, we went to the Opera House for an official guided tour, which was very interesting and informative. I've seen 4 performances at the Opera and I wish I had time to see 10 more :)

For dinner, 15 of us went to our favorite authentic Thai restaurant for Erin's birthday! I ordered my favorite: chicken pad thai. Then, on to Cafe Hawelka with Brett, Kirk, Matt, and Sarah to enjoy our last taste of their  delicious/famous plum-filled pastries. We also began preparing for our German oral exam. The requirement for the second part of our exam was to prepare a 1-3 minute speech describing ourselves, our personality, family, friends, and hobbies. After a busy, but packed day of exams, museums, tours, eating, etc., I finished the night off by catching up on my blog and finished preparing for the next morning's exam.

Sorry if it seems like my blogs have gotten progressively shorter. There's so much I could say about each  passing day, but time continues to escape me. Are you surprised? Me either :)