MA CFE to Europe, March 2014 ~ Germany, Austria, & Italy!: Tuesday

Here is a run down of what we did on Tuesday in picturesque Vienna:

* Hofburg Palace & the "SiSi Tour"

* Andrew presented on "The Loos Haus"

* Julia presented on the "Holy Trinity Plague Column"

* We went inside Vienna's famous Stefansdom Cathedral to sit and journal, and most of the group climbed stairs up to the top of the spire to see the views over the city.

* Lunch at a restaurant called Buffet Trzesniewski - there were all kinds of small finger sandwiches (like 2-3 small bites each) to choose from, so everyone got a few to try. For example, I chose a tuna, a spicy egg salad, and a salmon - all very tasty, I thought.

* After a full morning and more traditional tastes at lunch, we had some free time to explore the city. Some just walked around and enjoyed more of Vienna, others did a bit of shopping, and several tried to live out the famous and very traditional coffeehouse culture of Vienna. Mr. Johnson had several good recommendations of various coffee houses to try around town, so it was fun to look through the list and descriptions of each cafe, choose where to go, and use the city map to navigate, walk, and explore in small groups.

* Possibly one of the more fantastic experiences I've had in my life (seriously!) came in the evening. Mr. Johnson had researched the process of getting in line a few hours before an opera or ballet at the world famous Vienna Opera House to purchase inexpensive tickets for a standing "seats" (standing room only) section in the center of the opera house, near the floor. The tickets for this area cost 4 Euro per person (approx. $5.50 USD), and, depending on where you are standing in the section, can be among the better "seats" in the house. I had absolutely no expectations - I was looking forward to the experience, but we didn't know what opera/show we'd be seeing, so I honestly didn't think too much about what might be in store for us. When we walked in to get in line hoping to get standing room tickets, I saw a poster for the ballet Swan Lake for the date of March 18, 2014 and it clicked - we were going to see SWAN LAKE at the VIENNA OPERA HOUSE! To make a long story short in the interest of limited time to write this post, it was absolutely breathtaking - all of it. The music, the dancers, the set, the costumes, the location, the location, and the location... I enjoyed it SO much! Of course pictures weren't allowed during the show, but I took a few before and after. See below for more photos from our entire day - enjoy!