Vienna/Venice Class Trips

European Travels

Backpacking through Europe has definitely proven to be much more exhausting than I thought. I never imagined traveling could be so draining yet rewarding. This past week and a half I spent it visiting three different countries and five cities in Europe. While it was amazing and I loved every single minute of it, I was a bit relieved to get back to my home base in Olomouc so I could get some proper rest and not be living out of a backpack anymore.

Let me just start by touching on the class trips first.

Vienna, Austria

The first stop was Vienna, Austria. This stop was a class trip so it was nice to not have to pay for anything but my meals and any shopping I did. We stayed in Vienna from Thursday, April 17 to early Saturday morning at a cute little hostel called “Happy Hostel.” The staff there was very nice and the rooms were very cozy and homey.

Anyways, since it was a class trip we had the opportunity to visit amazing historical places. These included: the Hofburg Palace which also houses the Imperial Treasury, the Imperial Silver Collection, Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum where Empress Elizabeth used to reside. We also visited the Museum of Natural History and Arts.

Hofburg (Imperial) Palace

Until 1918, the Hofburg, also known as the Imperial Palace, was the center of the gigantic Habsburg Empire. The grounds were built up majestically by the Habsburg emperors – from the 13th century to the most recent addition from around 1900. Today, the Hofburg Palace is the official seat of the Austrian President and it is absolutely breathtaking. 

Imperial Treasury

The Imperial Treasury is considered to be the most important treasury in the world and is located in the oldest part of the Imperial Palace. As I walked through this treasury, the only thing that was running through my mind was how the heck did one family get so rich?! There was so much gold, silver, and bronze everywhere my eyes didn’t even know where to wander first.

Everything was absolutely beautiful…unlike anything today. Since both the palace and the treasury were so huge and there was so much wealth everywhere, it was difficult for me to process that one family owned everything I was seeing at one point in time. It was just incredible to see it all and think that just like the Habsburgs had had it all one day, they also lost it all and now many of their belongings are being displayed in this treasury.

Imperial Silver Collection/Imperial Apartments/Sisi Museum

We also got to see the imperial silver collection which consisted pretty much of all the luxurious dishware the Habsburgs owned. While it seemed ridiculous and unnecessary to own such expensive dishes, cups, forks, spoons, etc. it was extremely beautiful and I guess a very important part of the society back then. Owning such possessions signified class, elegance and wealth. Many of the pieces were actually gifts to Maria Antionette or Maria Theresa.

The imperial apartments were very interesting. It was fascinating to see the Conference Room where ministers and the crown council held their meetings, or the office of Emperor Franz Joseph where he spent a lot of his time, or the various rooms for the officers of the imperial household. I was also able to see the living room and bedroom of Elisabeth and couldn’t help but get instantly jealous of everything she had.

On that note, the Sisi Museum was the best part. This museum is located inside the Imperial Apartments and it highlights everything on Empress Elizabeth. Since I had an audio guide for this, I was able to get all the details and stories behind everything I was seeing. That was neat.

One of the things I cannot forget is how obsessed Elisabeth was with being slim. She was 5’8” and only weighed about 98lbs! That’s ridiculous! While she would go on strict diets, she also indulged in many pastries too. She kept her slim figure by exercising A LOT! In fact, she had some workout equipment in her bedroom that she used daily for hours. She also used strawberry masks for her face and would undergo hair masks that took a whole day because of how long her hair was.

Museum of Natural History

This museum is one of the largest, oldest, and most noteworthy natural history museums in the world. It was completed in 1889 and today it houses a collection of about 30 million specimens and artifacts. When I heard there would be Egyptian artifacts and mummies being displayed, I was instantly excited!

I took TONS of pictures as I was walking through every room because I found everything just so amazing.

Not just the Egyptian part of it, but everything else as well.

Needless to say, it was gigantic. It took me a whole three hours to explore and I’m pretty sure I didn't even get all of it.

Exploring Vienna

Vienna is gorgeous! There’s so much green everywhere…I just loved it.

The parks are breathtaking,

I saw tons of people riding bikes here, and I got to see the Mozart statute.

It was refreshing to just walk down the streets and take it all in.

Venice

Venetian Ghetto

The Venetian Ghetto was the area of Venice in which Jews were forced to live under the Venetian Republic. This was the first Ghetto and was instituted in 1516, though political restrictions on Jewish rights and residences existed before that date. Today, the Ghetto is still the center of Jewish life in the city and while we there we actually got to see many Jews there with their curls and everything. Although I couldn’t believe I was standing in the same spot that many Jews who were prosecuted had once stood, it was a neat experience to see this.

St. Mark’s Square/Basilica

St. Mark’s Square, or Piazza San Marco (as it’s known in Italy), is the main public square of Venice.

 Here, you will find many street vendors,

tourists,

restaurants, but also the St. Mark’s Basilica which is the most famous of the many churches of Venice and one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in the world.

It was amazing to be able to go inside, especially because it was Palm Wednesday so I was able to get a palm blessed…in Venice, Italy! Yeah, I was pretty excited about that. What’s more, the cathedral was beyond gorgeous.

Duke’s Palace

The Duke’s Palace, or as said in Italy: Palazzo Ducale, is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city. The palace was the residence of the Duke of Venice who was the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice. In 1923 the palace opened up as museum and is visited by thousands of people yearly. 

However, what’s interesting about this palace is that the ancient prison of Venice is located at the underground level. I actually got to see it, and it looked just like what I imagined it to look like: very small, chilly, bars everywhere, dark, rusty and old looking. It was crazy to think I was walking through the prison where once many prisoners were sentenced to death for ridiculous reasons. 

Exploring Venice

On my free time I really enjoyed exploring Venice. It’s one of those places that no matter how aware you are of your surroundings and how good you are at finding your way around in unknown places, you are guaranteed to get lost. There’s just no way around. I mean, the place itself is an island so it’s very easy to just go in circles because everything looks so similar. Regardless, it’s extremely beautiful. I absolutely fell in love with the place, the people and the food.