IES Abroad - Study Abroad in Austria

Austria was not my first choice, in fact, I wanted to go to London. However, after researching Vienna a bit more, I came to realize there's a reason why there are songs written about this place. Indeed, Vienna was nothing short of being the best city I have ever been to. Prior to studying abroad, I had never been out of the country. However, the transition from the U.S. to Vienna was not a cultural shock. In fact, the transition was more of a cultural shift. Most of the people in Vienna spoke English. Traveling to other countries was also very easy to do. I took a day trip to Slovakia via ferry and it was fantastic. IES did a great job at finding housing close to the palace (YES, palace) where classes were taught. Coming across palaces, especially on accident, in Vienna was quite the norm. I often went on jogs and found myself at yet another palace. Long story short, no amount of text box space will ever be enough to write about how amazing the experience was.

I fell in love with this city. The program was amazing. I wasn't even nervous about having no previous German experience because of how well organized and reassuring IES staff was. We were met at the airport when arriving in Vienna, and taken immediately to Mariazell for an orientation period of 3 days. The tiny town was about a 3 hour drive, and the entire stay was magical as they prepared us for living in a European city for the next 4 months. After a 3 week German intensive, I was comfortable in Vienna. Walking around was easy, using City Bike or the U-Bahn was straightforward and I always felt safe. Personally, the music is what drew me to it. Opera everywhere, symphonies, theatre-- I was in paradise, and it was all unbelievably cheap (3 euros) ! The classes I had were amazing, with teachers who were fantastic lecturers but also super understanding about creating a good work balance for us. One music history class I had went on excursions to see Mozart's apartment and Haydn's house! Independently I traveled to Zentralfriedhof to see a bunch of famous composers' graves. And another thing I liked is that IES had optional pre-planned trips! The Cultural Heritage Tour that I signed up for was a week long trip that IES already had planned out for us, so I didn't have to worry about booking hotels or budgeting for food. We visited Salzburg, Hallstatt, Cesky Krumlov, and Prague all within a week! Other trips included a day trip to Wachau, Styria or a weekend skiing in the Alps. There were always events scattered throughout the semester to provide opportunities for us to get involved in Viennese culture, whether it was taking us to the Prater (amusement park) for the day, or readying us to attend our first ever Viennese ball. Overall, the program struck a good balance: just enough structure that there was a wonderful support system, and enough freedom to live life to the fullest and keep exploring what the beautiful city of Vienna had to offer!

IES Abroad’s Vienna program, focusing on European Society and Culture, was an absolutely amazing experience. Not only did I get to learn about new subjects that aren’t offered at my home university, but I got to actually go out and see manifest examples of the material I was studying. For example, after learning about the Hapsburg royal family of Vienna in my Vienna Past and Present course, the next class period was spent visiting their national treasury in the city hosting all of the family jewels, crowns, and royal robes. This classroom and tour combination style of learning really put a new and tangible spin on the material I was learning, and made it very fun and connectable. This also gave me opportunities to see parts of the city I was living in, that I may have not known about otherwise or have been able to see. Thanks to my Music in Performance class, I learned about the least expensive way to watch one of the classic Viennese operas that are so beloved to the locals. Outside of the studying aspect of the program, IES offered many extracurricular trips such as day trips to Austria’s stunning Wachau Valley, or a weekend trip to partake in a traditional apple festival and tour the beautiful city of Graz. Both of these trips that I partook in (among the many more that IES Vienna offers) were amazing and provided insights into Austria and its people and culture. These are experiences that were so real and unique, that I definitely would not have been able to participate without the help of IES’ planning. On top of all this, the people you will meet in Vienna will become your lifelong friends. From the students you live with, to the friends in your German class, and the extremely helpful and friendly staff in the IES Vienna office. Overall, the study abroad experience was truly life changing and taught me so many life skills that will be immensely helpful in the future. IES Abroad made this all possible for me.