I visited Vienna, the capital of Austria, during a school trip, when I was 16 years old. It was actually a trip with my German class that was supposed to help us discover Austrian culture and make us practice our German. It did help me fall in love with the Austrian capital, however I am pretty sure that I skipped the whole “learning and improving your German skills”. Anyway. It was a one week journey. Our whole class took the bus and the trip took approximately 15 hours. Even if my tallest friends complained about the lack of space (Those were justified complaints. One of my friends was so annoyed that she just slept in the ally because she didn't have much room for her legs on her sit) the bus trip was pretty fun. We arrived early in the morning, at the very downtown of the city and we directly went to a café. We ate some toasts with jam and butter and drank some hot chocolate. Once we were sated, we were ready to explore Vienna and we spent the rest of the day visiting the heart of the city. By the end of the day we were exhausted but excited to meet our “families”. Indeed, we were divided by groups of four or five and we were placed into families that were used to welcome in their home students that were on a school trip. My friends and I were welcomed by a sweet sweet lady. She offered us two bedrooms with two beds in each. Those bedrooms were her children’s, but because they were all grown up now, she decided to sign up to be a host. She was adorable and every day, for every diner (we spend our lunch eating sandwiches as we visited the city) she cooked some Austrian specialty. One of the dishes that really stayed with me was a soup. Now, you must know that usually I hate soup. I can’t bear it. I can’t even look at it (so sorry for soup lovers out there). So the fact that this sweet lady managed to make me LOVE soup was a magical phenomenon that never occurred to me since. I am pretty sure that she systematically gave us the name of the dish while describing it in German, but even if I've tried really hard to keep those names in mind, when I googled some of them at the end of the trip, they ended up not existing. Because I did not remember the names correctly. Despite my hopes to memorize at least some German words. She was also genuinely nice because she always made sure to alter a dish or to make another one for my two vegetarian friends. I guess what I am trying to say is that Austrian people are pretty wholesome in general. Every time my friends and I got a chance to talk to some locals, at a bookshop or café, they were always friendly and welcoming.

Here are some of the spots we visited during our stay:

The RathausIt's the site of the Town Hall. Build in Neo-Gothic style, it is quite noticeable with its middle tower, the largest one, topped by the famous Rathausman statue.

Hundertwasserhaus and the Hundertwasser MuseumFriedensreich Hundertwasser (pseudonym of Friedrich Stowasser) was a famous Austrian-born visual artist and architect. He was known for his role in the field of environmental protection. He was against any “straight line”, any standardization. The artist’s work is unique, colorful and “nature and human friendly”. The buildings we visited, the museum and his house, were the most famous of his creations. Inside of the museum, we were able to see exhibitions of different artists and intellectuals. Nearby, there was a little place full of authentic Austrian souvenir boutiques and I saw the most beautiful tealight holders there.

Belvedere PalaceOther than being a fantastic museum, this place offers you a breathtaking view on a colorful garden. Inside, you can discover the works of Gustav Klimt, including his famous “The Kiss” painting.

Schonbrunn PalaceThis Baroque style palace is one of the main touristic attractions in Vienna. You can go inside and enjoy a tour through numerous sumptuous rooms that were once home to the Habsburgs. You can also enjoy the Schonbrunn Gardens, filled with artfully cut trees and uncountable varieties of flowers. I loved the Neptune’s fountain and the artificial Roman Ruin, they were quite mesmerizing.

The Prater and the Giant Ferris WheelFor the last day we could do whatever we wanted. Of course with my friends, after days of visiting historical sites, we could not resist the colorful sign of the Vienna Prater. I had so much fun discovering all the different roller coasters, autodroms and other adventurous attractions. My favorite one was the Free Fall Tower: I will never forget the incredible rush of adrenaline it gave me.

All I can say to conclude is that you will probably leave Vienna with the impression of having visited a city filled with colors and joy. Even if it rained for like 80% of the time, because it was early spring, I still have the impression of Vienna being full of light.