Amsterdam and Vienna

After a fun week back in Bonn filled with many cool experiences like the hospital visit, where I got to observe a cardio bypass, a quick adventure with my host mom to one of the oldest churches in Europe right here in Bonn, and the amazing Rhine river cruise, I went to Amsterdam for the weekend!

Amsterdam was everything I expected, and nothing I expected at the same time. Right from the second I stepped out of the train station and we walked the streets, I was a little bit culture shocked. The buildings, canals, sights, and food were like what I was expecting, but the people and the culture were different from what I was expecting. Regardless, we had a good time the whole weekend. On Saturday, we wandered around town for while just enjoying our surroundings. While doing so, I realized that my favorite way to experience a new city is by simply wandering around. I love stumbling upon beautiful and fascinating things by accident because it makes discovering them that much better! And we did plenty of that. We saw the Royal Palace, the picturesque canals, flower markets, I had a stroopwafel, which was possibly the most delicious thing I have tasted in my life, and we stumbled upon a historical Catholic community, where Kim and I got to attend adoration for a little while. On Sunday, after hours of desperately waiting in line on line for tickets, we got to see Anne Frank haus. This was such an amazing experience. In 8th grade, we read the play version of the Diary of Anne Frank and her story had always stuck with me, so it was very cool to see the things I had read and learned about in real life. It was absolutely chilling to think that I had walked the very halls that Anne and her family had lived in while hiding from the Nazis. After Anne Frank haus, Kim, Bridgette, and I met up Logan, Blake, Conner, and Shane in a beautiful park along a canal where I read some the Diary of Anne Frank out loud for fun. Afterwards, we wandered around the city again until we had to catch our train home. All in all, I really enjoyed Amsterdam and had a ton of fun!

And then, it was off to Vienna! I was very excited to go to Vienna, primarily because of its musical history and my passion for music. It did not disappoint! Our excursion was jam packed with activities, and I loved everything we did! On the first day, the city tour with the very stylish Dr. Schnabel in his was a blast, despite the heat, and the catacombs of Michaelkirche were amazing! I had never seen anything like them, and the temperature underground was particularly nice after a long day in the heat. On Wednesday, after the Drogistenmuseum, I went down to the Danube with Brenae, Madison, and Logan and we had a relaxing afternoon swimming with the swans and laying out on the banks of the river. That evening, we met up with a bigger group and had fun at Prater, the amusement park in Vienna, where Shane and Blake made the very wise and entertaining decision to get fake tattoos on the sides of their necks. I really enjoyed having most of the day for free time, because of these experiences. I mean, how many people can say they have swam in the Danube? On Thursday was the Narrenturm, which was creepy yet cool, the fascinating Freud museum, and the string concert in St. Anna church. As a musician myself, I am beyond happy that we had the opportunity to see this, especially since I now have bragging rights to say I've heard some of the classics performed in a gorgeous church in Vienna! And finally, Friday. I would say this was the crown jewel of the trip. First was the Haus der Musik, which may have been my favorite part of the entire trip. I was overjoyed to learn about the history of the Vienna Philharmonic and to see the amazing video of them performing at their annual New Year's concert. It was also cool see artifacts from the lives of famous musicians like Bernstein, Mozart, and Beethoven. I actually enjoyed the museum so much that I went back during our lunch break so that I could venture through the rest of the museum and try my hand at conducting the Vienna Philharmonic through the Radetzky March in the simulation room. My conducting skills from being a drum major in high school band pulled through, and I made it through the entire song! After the Haus der Musik was the Natural History Museum, which was another amazing thing to see. It was actually unbelievable how many artifacts they had, and I loved seeing all the animals on display. Vienna is a place I will never forget and I'm definitely glad I was able to experience it.