Lynn's Adventure Through Europe: Mauthausen, Melk, Vienna

Well it's been a crazy week!! So much has happened and the trip to Vienna was so amazing this post might be long!! We left Friday at 8am, and stopped on the way to Vienna at the Mauthausen concentration/death camp. What a way to start off a trip.. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it, I always said I wanted to visit a concentration camp since WWII and the Holocaust is my concentration in History. I still don't know how I feel about it to be honest. It was awful and sad and eye opening and I really can't explain it in words. I think it's something everyone someday should see because if they did then something like this would never ever happen again. Before we even did the tour I had an awful feeling about being there and was emotional from the start. I'll say this much, it was the first bad day I've had since I've been here. So we took the tour and saw the camp and saw the memorials put up by various countries which all meant something different since there were so many countries affected by this horrible tragedy. We saw the rock quarry where the prisoners had to work and the so called, "stairs of death" which went all the way up the mountain and workers had to carry hundred pound rocks on the backs and you can imagine how weak they were, if one guy fell, they were all going down.. And it happened a lot. Then we saw where they lived, and where they ate (if you can call it eating) etc.. Then it was time for the gas chambers. I almost couldn’t go inside. It was awful and sad and the statistics our tour guide told us just made people cry on the spot. Again, I couldn't explain the emotions I had. I guess it’s because there were no emotions, I just felt numb and couldn't think of anything else but "how the hell did this happen? Why did people let this go on as long as it did".. And things like that.. I'll put up some pictures but I don't think you guys want to look at them just as much as I don't so I won't put up a lot. I could write a book about what I saw and learned that day but I'll spare you all the more gruesome details.

From Mauthausen it was on to Melk, a small town outside of Vienna that has a famous monastery and palace. It was cool but I honestly was in such a bad mood from Mauthausen I didn't really care much about what I saw/ didn't want to be there so I can't tell you much about it. It would have been boring even if I was in a good mood..

Then we reached Vienna Friday night and had a small tour of the city and we just played some cards in the hostel and went to bed early because we were so tired from waking up so early and we had an early day the next day. Saturday we had a THREE HOUR walking tour of the city. Sounds bad, which is what we thought, but it was actually a lot of fun!! It was the first sunny/warm day we had and it was beautiful and everyone was in good spirits and we learned a lot and learned our way around the city. We did a tour of the Habsburg burial grounds which is where most of the family of the famous Empire of Austria the Habsburgs are buried. The Empire actually just ended when WWI had started. We walked around the Nacht Market for lunch which is very famous and because it was a Saturday, it was packed!!! You could buy fresh fruit and veggies, some I had never seen or heard of before. You could get Chinese food on the go or sit down for a classy/expensive meal (which I did not do). Then we sat in a park and ate lunch and basked in the sun.. Saturday night some of us went to what is called the "Bermuda Triangle" which is a couple streets full of bars and clubs. We went to the most famous club in Vienna, which was right on the river. It was the typical European club.. Nothing I'm used to at home. It was fun but not my style so I won't be going to many more of those.

Sunday morning I woke up and went to church early to see the Vienna Boys Choir sing! We waited in line for about an hour and were supposed to have standing room because we did not buy tickets however not all the seats were taken so we got one! It was nice to go to mass and see the famous choir sing.. They were so so so soooo adorable and absolutely amazing! I have a picture but I will also try to upload a video I took. Sunday we had a free day so me and my friend Katherine checked out some cafes because Vienna is known for their coffee culture where people spend hours talking or reading books. Sunday night we went and saw the movie, Valentine’s Day, because we could get it in English in Vienna since it was a bigger city than Salzburg. It was nice to enjoy an American movie, kinda felt like I was home for those 2 hours which was nice :)

Monday we had more tours and museums to visit.. Some were interesting and some were boring but we made it through all the walking and boring lectures. We went to the Imperial Palace of the Habsburg Empire and boy was it IMPRESSIVE! The grounds were huge and we only saw about 1/5 of the palace, if that.. But was amazing. The gardens were huge, and were still beautiful even though it would have been much more beautiful in the spring and summer. Then a couple of us went to a local amusement park that was mostly closed since nobody goes on a Monday in March.. But we did one ride and got to see the Ferris wheel that Vienna is famous for so it was cool. By Monday night we were all dead from the walking and late nights and not getting good nights of sleep in the hostel beds.. But it was my friend Lynlee's birthday so we all went to dinner at a place called the 12 Apostles, and ironically enough we had 12 people with us! We ate then went back out to the Bermuda Triangle for some bars so we had another fun night.

Tuesday we had one tour. The MOST BORING tour of my entire life. The guide could barely speak English and it was at the National Bank, so you can only imagine. Wasted hour of my life most definitely.. Then we had a couple more hours of free time in Vienna and we were back to Salzburg! We were all very happy to get "home sweet home" We went to bed very early and started classes again today. We have so many papers/projects due because of this trip and before we go on our 2 week break in a couple weeks. We are going to stay in Salzburg this weekend since we have traveled every weekend since we got here almost! We haven't done the "touristy" things around here yet, like visiting the Fortress and the Salt Mines and stuff.. And we need to study for Midterms and rest up. I hope I remembered everything and I hope it wasn't too long!! Miss and Love you all.. Happy Birthday Casey! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you girls..