2015 Students Arrive!

By Saturday morning, we had moved out of the hotel and into our OEAD dorm building at 143 Simmering Hauptstrasse: 

 

The high heat was pretty challenging all day as we waited for incoming students and registered them in. We were surprised by a number of problems that came up, such as an uninformed dorm manager, no wifi, two rooms that had not been prepared properly, etc.  It didn’t help that it was Saturday and a holiday month – we found a number of deadends in our pursuit of remedies.  Obviously the oppressive heat was also not helpful, but a University of Vienna student very helpfully informed us that there was, indeed, wifi – dodgy perhaps – and she gave us the password.  That very much helped us track down the last three students who had experienced plane delays from the U.S. and finally arrived by 9:30 p.m.!  During the day, as the students arrived, I had explained that there was no A/C in any of the rooms but there were fans to buy across the street.  When we finally fell asleep Saturday night, we were very grateful for our fans.

On Sunday morning, we traveled to the University of Vienna for the onsite orientation meeting in the classroom.  Afterwards that afternoon, we all got on a bus for a guided tour of Vienna and the Schonbrunn Palace. 

 

 

The name, Schonbrunn, means “fair spring”, which was found on the property in 1612.

 

The history of Vienna includes the longstanding dynasty of the Habsburgs, who came into ownership of the palace property in 1569.  It was used mainly for hunting by the family and other royal guests.  In 1683, the Turks of the Ottoman Empire attacked Vienna and devastated the property.  The Habsburgs continued their control over Schonbrunn and eventually the palace was given to the daughter of Emperor Charles VI, Maria Theresa.  During Maria Theresa’s reign, the palace was transformed into a palatial residence, looking more like it does today:

We were not allowed to take photos inside the palace.  We walked through 25 of the over 100 rooms of the palace and observed beautiful art, furniture and furnishings, and historical artifacts. As you tour through the palace, you can see how much the Palace of Versailles influenced the interior walls and ceiling artwork and the geometric and sculpted gardens. The tour guide also provided some of the political history of Austria, from WWI and WWII to the cold war and current position as a neutral country.  I think the students gained a better understanding of this area.

Tomorrow, we travel to Brno in the Czech Republic.