Trip to Wien

The weekend in Vienna was a much needed trip where I think most of us felt more welcome, yet less at home, which I will expand on later. English was much more widespread and the streets felt much more like the big cities we are more accustomed to. We were blessed with the leadership and organizational skills of Nick Nooney who took the reigns on planning our train rides and hostel stay. He found a fantastic hostel right near a handy transportation stop (the U1 subway line) and although it took us a while to find it the first night, we wouldn't forget it for the rest of the trip, no doubt. The group split into a few groups, two boy and one girl groups to stay in the rooms (6 boys in one, 8 girls in another, and five boys in the third room). Our days were mostly cloudy with a chance of Wiener Schnitzel (a popular local dish). We enjoyed exploring the city, including sights like St. Stephen's Cathedral in the heart of the city, and mansions like the Schonbrunn Palace towards the outer parts of the city (see pictures for both below).

We have come to accept and love our home for the month at the Professor's Guest House which seems to have more elevator and internet problems than it does residents. Spending a weekend in Vienna brought many of us some relief since for a few of us, it was fun to "sprechen some deutsch" and for others it was nice to usually find someone who spoke more than your Budapest average of English! And no, Natalie and Jess, we can't leave out the few French speakers. They had their fun conversations too. The streets were cleaner and brighter, but it just wasn't the same as Budapest. Travel was a bit more difficult and mush less familiar, but we managed to get around just fine. The hostel was wonderful and accommodating, but didn't feel quite like home like the Guest House does now.

From a dining standpoint, I think we are all glad to be back in Budapest as well. With about a $10 meal average in Budapest and a $20 meal average in Vienna, we are all excited to get a little more bang for our buck. This week includes a class trip to historic Pecs, Budapest and a few visits from guest professors regarding Hungarian politics, culture, and music to name a few. It is also rumored that we will have our first guest math speaker of the trip, so that's getting us all a bit anxious, but excited. We are still enjoying our time in the city and we hope to take advantage of the rest of our stay! 

Christian, Jiahao