This week looked a bit different for me! I flew to Austria early Thursday morning to meet up with my dad and brother in Vienna. They had been traveling through Switzerland and Austria, and their itinerary happened to coincide perfectly with a weekend when I could miss our group activity. Although Gaelic games seemed fun to watch, I’ll admit I was relieved to miss out. I would be terrified if I were thrown onto a sports field with a helmet and a stick. Luckily, I had the chance to travel to Austria instead!
I arrived in Vienna around 11 a.m. and headed straight to the hotel to meet my dad and brother. After a quick lunch, we set out on a walking tour of the city. Our first stop was St. Stephen’s Cathedral. While the churches in Ireland are beautiful, they have nothing on St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It was the most beautiful church I had ever seen, with extremely intricate details everywhere you look. To make it even more magical, a choir was rehearsing as we walked through.
We continued past historic sculptures on our way to Hofburg Palace, the former home of the imperial Habsburg family. There was a whole museum dedicated to Empress Elisabeth- the wife (and cousin) of Emperor Franz Joseph. From the outside, Elisabeth led a glamorous life; however, it was interesting to learn that she struggled with depression and an eating disorder, often disappearing for extended periods. Elisabeth liked to do things on her own terms, and she would sneak into the infirmary at night to nurse the injured soldiers back to health and keep them company. She also enjoyed traveling around Europe to go hunting. Elisabeth did not allow portraits of herself after the age of 30 because she wanted to be remembered as young and beautiful, although she lived until the age of 60. Tragically, she was assassinated by an Italian anarchist, who subtly stabbed her in the side while she was boarding a boat. Because her corset was so tight and painful, she couldn’t feel anything in her torso, and didn’t even realize she had been stabbed until she collapsed on the boat and died. I was very intrigued by Elisabeth’s story and was happy to learn that there is a Netflix show about her called “The Empress,” which I intend to watch.
After the tour, we did some shopping and had dinner at a delicious French restaurant. I am both gluten-free and a picky eater, so my meal consisted of french fries, burrata, and a simple salad of lettuce and parmesan.
The next morning, we took a train to Salzburg and hiked to a lookout point over the city. Unfortunately, the views were not as impressive as I had hoped, and I was on edge the whole time after my brother spotted a snake. However, we did stop by Mirabell Gardens- a beautiful garden where The Sound of Music was filmed.
Saturday was filled with more tours of Salzburg. We began with a brief walking tour of Salzburg, which included a stop at Mozart’s birthplace. Next, we went on a Sound of Music tour, which took us to the film’s iconic locations. I grew up watching The Sound of Music, so it was special to see the spots in real life. You best believe my family spent the entire weekend belting “The Hills are Alive” and “Edelweiss.” Fun fact: When I was little, I used to make my parents sing “Edelweiss” to me every night to help me fall asleep.
Sunday came with another early wake-up call for my flight back to Dublin. I landed around 1 p.m. and spent the rest of the day resetting and prepping for the week ahead. It was so refreshing to see my dad and brother and explore Austria together. Definitely a weekend to remember!
That’s so cool, I love The Sound of Music!
Salzburg and Vienna are beautiful, I was there just last March. So jealous!