I never thought that I would enjoy Austria as much as I did, but this Eastern European break from Florence was just what I needed. The weeks seem to be flying by as we are traveling, focusing on our artwork and trying new things. For the midterm break in our term we decided to leave Italy behind us and travel to Austria and Hungary. They were each beautiful in their own way, but I think Vienna is more my type of place at least when it comes to traveling.
In Vienna we tried to make it to as many museums and attractions that we could. After taking an 11 hour over night bus, we only went to the Albertina Museum in the afternoon. This was a museum filled with everything from Van Gogh, to Picasso to Piet Mondrian. They were magnificent and some pieces that I had never seen before. Another museum that we visited was the Belvedere and this was possibly one of my favorite things we did on our trip. When we walked the grounds into the palace, there were pieces by Ai Weiwei that were amazing. I have never seen any of his controversial pieces in person so I was awe struck just by the name recognition and then hit again with the concept. The piece that left my jaw on the pavement was in the pond in the front of the palace. A lotus flower, symbolizing peace, made out of life circles of life jackets in the fight for the refugees. This museum was also full of portraits by famous artists, but they are mainly known for their Gustav Klimt works. I have learned about Gustav in many different classes, but standing in front of an actually piece painted by him was the perfect way to start my morning. His style is so distinct that you are able to see it from a mile away. Some of the other attractions that we did while in Vienna was visit the outside of St. Stephans cathedral, ride the Ferris wheel in Prater amusement park, and enjoy endless meals along the street walks. Vienna was amazing, and I could not have asked for a better place to explore endless museums filled with masterpieces. I hope to one day make it back and see the modern museums that we just didn't have time for this trip. Until next time, ciao!
