Aufiderzein, Good Night

My last day in Vienna was a massive success. After meetings at the OSCE in the morning I spent the afternoon with some friends to the Schonberg palace a little bit outside of the city. It was so pretty to walk through the palace grounds with all of the leaves changing colors. Behind the palace are just these huge manicured, rolling hills with little fall-covered side paths splitting off along the way. At the top of the biggest hill is a fountain and a beautiful little cafe with big windows on all sides so you can sit inside and get a view of the grounds from all angles. We snacked on some apple struessel and kaffe Mozart (mocha espresso with chocolate liquor - highly recommend it).

After relaxing we hiked back down the hill to the labyrinth! The palace has its own intricate maze that we wandered through for a bit. I can't imagine that people actually lived in this house and whenever they got bored, you know when something cruddy was on tv, they could just go in the backyard and chill in their personal labyrinth.

One of the coolest things for sure was this crazy playground right next to the labyrinth that has an old school mirror maze with different carnival mirrors, and a bunch of climbing equipment that definitely made me miss rock climbing!

After our little foray back into childhood at the playground my friend and I found a market a little off of the beaten path not far from downtown Vienna. Everywhere we went in the market we were greeted immediately in German and people seemed a little surprised when we looked super confused and asked if they spoke English. It was so nice to get off of the main streets and into the non-tourist site, Viennese Vienna.

If I ever live in Vienna I will come back to this market every day. They had rows and rows of fresh fruits and vegetables, some of the mostly delicious freshly dried fruits I've ever had, cheese stalls with more types of cheese that I knew existed, and one of my favorites - a vinegar and oil stand with vinegars and oils made from all types of fruits and vegetables. We just walked around to every stall spending our spare Euros on taste tests of everything that looked particularly delicious. It was the perfect way to end the afternoon.

After the market we had a big group dinner. It is so strange to think that this time tomorrow we will be back in D.C.! At dinner I had my very first Austrian schnitzel and we all toasted to each other, our professor, and especially to Viego and Azra who have been like our surrogate parents for the past few weeks.

After dinner I went to the opera and it was incredible. Just being able to see inside of an opera house anywhere is always beautiful and fun, but being inside of an opera house in Vienna was doubly amazing, and then having the opportunity to see an actual opera (especially one that I have studied in class) in an opera house in Vienna absolutely topped the charts in my music nerd brain. I saw Il Barbiere de Seville by Rossini and I'm pretty sure I sat there with a big goofy grin on my face the whole time since I was so excited!

I still can't believe that this trip is actually coming to a close. It has been a wonderful and unique opportunity to get to know a culture, a people, and a specific time in history that most people do not have the chance to do. I wish I could tell you that after studying and researching in both D.C. and in the field that I would at least have a first step to solving the issues in the Balkans, but I must say that after all this I am more confused than ever. The more I learn the less I seem to know for sure. But I can't stop learning, traveling, exploring, questioning, and adventuring.

Goodbye and thanks for reading! I can't wait to see you all in person and share the rest of my photos and stories.

Until my next adventure...