Week #5

Enjoying the sun in Vienna

            This week life has been full of magic and pasta! We left Olomouc with our bags packed for two weeks last Saturday morning and started our journey.

When I was lost..

By the sea

            First stop, Vienna Austria! After getting our rooms we meet the group outside and Jan showed us around the city. It was beautiful, clean, and nothing like what I had expected. The afternoon was still cold and it seemed as though the clouds had just followed us from Olomouc, it even rained a little during the evening. After our short tour led by Jan we were off to explore! It was very easy to get around Vienna and we had no problem getting to where we wanted to go without a map. During the afternoon we shopped, tried new foods, and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. That evening we set off to take in the night life that Vienna had to offer, but were disappointed and ended up going home fairly soon after.

Monday morning

            Day two in Vienna we each got to pick one out of three museums that we wanted to visit. The museum that I visited brought out the “little kid” side of me. It was a nature museum full of bones, plants, dinosaurs, rocks, animals and things I never knew existed! Each room was very unique in not only what they were displaying but how they displayed everything. In each room they had things you could not only look at but were interactive. We had spent a total of two hours inside and enjoyed every minute of our light-hearted pleasure going from room to room.

Because it's Spring Break!

            The next morning we packed up our things and got into a bus for a seven hour drive to Venice. It definitely was not as bad as it seems and I actually enjoyed it! I slept, listened to new music, started another book, played games and watched the clouds hanging low in the mountains as we drove past. Once again we got our rooms and settled in quickly before meeting the rest of the group outside. Jan showed us around Venice and then we were on our own again!

The freedom that they give us is something that I truly do appreciate on this trip. They do not “baby” you and it honestly makes me happy when we have to venture out to find our way back home. I’ve discovered that getting lost is never a waste of time and has made some of the best stories that I have from this trip. I’ve meet some amazing people, eaten some strange foods, and tried new things. And my advice: even though you know the way back to your hotel or hostel, take a different way home! See what else there is to see!

So bring out the bucket list and check this one off, Venice has been one grand adventure. From the daily gelato by the sea to getting lost aimlessly with friends I’m so grateful to have, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience here. I’m sad to leave, but it’s Spring break and that means tomorrow is Ireland!

Goodbye for now Venice!