Austria's Schonbrunn Palace. Summer in Europe--Entry 5 Photographs and text by R. Jon MacDonald
In front of Schonbrunn Palace. Related Links: The European Summer School Oberlin-in-Europe Euro Summer School                                                             Journal Entry 4 Journal Entry 3 Journal Entry 2 Journal Entry 1		Vienna…and a Great Way to End the Trip--While on the night train to Vienna, I started thinking about how I only had one more week left before I would be back in the U.S. Of course, I missed my friends and family, but I was having the time of my life. So many cultures and so little time . . . I decided right then I would have to come back to Europe for another visit. On top of that, I now wanted to see other parts of the world--to visit Africa and my friend Sam from Kenya who was part of the European Summer School, to visit Asia and any other part of the world I possibly could. This trip was making me want to be a world traveler! I arrived in Vienna at about 5:30 A.M. and found my way to the hotel, where I fell asleep until the guided tour of the city later that morning. After the tour, Sofia--our contact for the final week of the program--met us all for dinner at a restaurant overlooking Vienna. It took a long tram ride, a bus ride, and a climb up the side of a mountain, but the restaurant was worth it. And even though it took eight weeks, I finally had found my favorite restaurant in Europe. On the side of the mountain below the restaurant was the owner's vineyard and an amazing view. As the sun went down it seemed like we were in the stars and the city below was so small. We had a great meal and some of the best wine on the trip. The next day we had classes at Wirtschaftsuniversitat Wien, or Wu-Wien as it also is called. International marketing and EU trade relations and enlargement were the topics of the week. Later in the week, we took company visits to Ikea and the Schonbrunn Palace, the summer home of the old rulers of Austria. The visit to Ikea was fun; I enjoy modern architecture and design. We were given a behind-the-scenes look at how Ikea is marketed across the world, even viewing commercials from many countries. We then walked around the store to learn how Ikea fulfills its goals and why the company does everything it does. The nightlife in Vienna was incredible. It probably seemed this way because Sofia did a great job of taking us to all the hidden 'treasures' of the city. We watched an open-air opera then headed over to a night-club where we were treated to Vienna's speciality, wienerschnitizel. On the final day of the program, we took part in a certificate ceremony complete with a four-piece orchestra and a farewell party that lasted all night. The following day turned out to be the best ending to the program I could have hoped for. After completing the final test of the European Summer School, I walked around Vienna for a final time by myself. I met up with some of the group back at the hotel and four of us decided to try to scalp tickets for the U2 concert at Stadhalle that night. We managed to find tickets for about $50 U.S. and got into the arena about 15 minutes before the concert started. It was a great venue because it only held 18,000 and of that 10,000 were standing room only on the floor in front of the stage. We were able to make it to the front of the crowd and were only about 20 feet from the stage. I had never been into a concert so much and after it, I felt that there couldn’t have been a better way to end such a wonderful eight-week experience. Wrap-up--Writing a summary about the best eight weeks in my life has been very difficult. So much has been left out--all the times spent with the groups from Oberlin, Kenyon and Denison; all the time spent in dinners and clubs with the entire European Summer School group. I don't think I can emphasize how much I learned on this trip-- all the professors were outstanding and much credit is due to everyone who helped put this experience together. This trip has affected me in so many ways. I have all but decided to change my major from computer science to economics. I would love to get my MBA abroad and use that knowledge to start my own company back home in America before taking it overseas, possibly to the Netherlands. I will be back in Europe very soon. The world's first greenhouse. Built on the grounds of Schonbrunn Palace, the greenhouse is filled with palm trees.
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