Why Vienna? A Look Into Why I Chose Vienna Initially & Why I Would Chose Vienna Again & Again

A lot of people have asked me “why Vienna?” when I was at school, home, or even here in my program. It’s understandable, I am one of three people from Mount Holyoke College here in Vienna (& none of us really knew each other ahead of time) and I did not know anyone else from my school or otherwise who studied abroad in Vienna. 

My initial reason for choosing Vienna was because this program was specifically approved for and would offer me the space to get a lot of classes done for my nexus (career-track minor program) in museums, archives, and public history. I was interested in the fact that I would be living in a hub of museums and music. Vienna also interested me because of its central location and ease of travel. I knew I wanted to travel around some while staying in Vienna. This reasoning still exists, but it has blossomed into so much more in the last two months.

During the first week of classes here I went through a major scheduling change after asking about the possibilities of getting my hands on a bass while here. I have been playing the string bass since I was 11 and am a music major back at Mount Holyoke where I have played in the Symphony Orchestra and more recently Chamber Jazz ensemble. I was quickly introduced to the head of the music department here in IES Abroad Vienna. Working with the head of the Music Department I have been able to take private lessons as part of my experience here, studying with a professor at the premier music school here in Vienna, MDW (University of Music & Performing Arts Vienna). This was something I did not think I would be doing when I picked the IES Abroad Vienna program, but am so glad to be able to do. I have refound my enjoyment of bass playing. Our performances (& most IES Abroad Vienna classes) are in a Palais which is such a special experience.

When I picked the Vienna program, I knew I was going to apply for the Arts & Culture Internship program because I was interested in gaining relevant experience while abroad (there are other internship programs available as well, all of which I know people are enjoying greatly). What I did not know was that my placement was going to change my life. I am interning at the Wiener Staatsoper Musikarchiv (Vienna State Opera House Music Archive), an experience I was initially hesitant about as I had hoped for something in a museum originally, but have quickly fallen in love with more than I think I would have if I was in a museum. In the Music Archives I have worked on all kinds of tasks ranging from digitizing their checkout records (which turned out to be really interesting, I found a slip from May 1945!) to editing instrument parts after they were printed with lots of errors. I also like the seminar class that goes along with it as I get to hear about what my classmates are doing in their internships (one of them wore one of those green screen suits and was filmed doing a dance for a VR museum!) and we are taken on field trips to cultural spaces and museums. 

I have loved my internship while abroad so much that I am now planning to go to grad school with the goal of becoming a music librarian or archivist as my career. I enjoy the constant turnover of materials that the Wiener Staatsoper maintains as a repertory theater and I like being able to assist the archivists, all of them working on a different project, to be able to help the orchestra, opera, and ballet perform smoothly. Finding a career that blends my interests in archives, history, and western classical music into one has been wonderful. I also have found that I enjoy Opera, something that previously has been inaccessible to me. It is so easy to become interested in Opera when it costs 15 euros to see an opera at one of the premier Opera Houses in the world! I am going to miss the ease of seeing Opera when I go back to America. 

One thing that initially made me hesitant about studying abroad in Vienna was the language barrier. Despite having German and Austrian ancestors, I did not come into Vienna knowing any German. I had not taken any courses or attempted Duolingo (once I had decided that I was not going to take any courses ahead of time, I decided against doing Duolingo as I wanted to go into my German class fresh and open to everything that my Professor would say). My German professor is wonderful and engaging, we often stretch to warm-up for our 9 A.M. class (a time that has been increasingly challenging for my classmates to make as the semester goes on), when we learn a lot of vocabulary at once we create motions to help remember it (my favorite so far was for clothing items), and they help us make sure we are prepared to do well on exams. Something I was originally scared of is now my favorite part. I visited Dublin and London for Spring Break and found myself saying “Dankeschön” and “Entschuldigung” instead of “thank you” and “sorry/excuse me” as I had gotten so used to it in Vienna. I like the way that being in a German speaking country engages my brain to think and speak. I like learning German so much that I will be continuing this fall (& I have learned so much while abroad that I am going to be skipping German-102 which I am really proud about as I do truly feel like I have gained such an understanding of the language in such a short amount of time). If you are hesitant about the language barrier, the German intensive period was SO helpful. I also thought that I just did not like to learn languages before being in Vienna, but now I know I just had not found the right one yet. 

One last reason for my “Why Vienna?” is that there is so much to see and do in the city that appeals to me. I am a big fan of Museums and I bought the 99 euro museum pass which I highly recommend if you are going to be studying in Vienna. It covers most of the major museums and allows you multiple visits. I know you’re thinking “multiple visits?!?” but when you have people visit you they are probably going to want to visit museums you have already been to, so it’s nice to be able to go multiple times. Or maybe you will end up like me and fall in love with a certain exhibition that you go and sit in multiple times throughout the course of the semester. I have yet to visit an exhibit that is not labeled in English as well, making it accessible for those that are just beginning to learn German (like me!). I also like all the coffee shops. My personal favorite way to spend a weekend involves at least one of the following: visiting a museum, playing cards (especially Rummy 500) with a friend, or sitting in a coffee shop with a good book for a few hours). Vienna is the PERFECT city for this. 

Vienna is the PERFECT city in general, every time I travel somewhere all I can think about is getting back to Vienna and my city. I feel at home in Vienna and am already trying to figure out how to get back one day. I heard they say it’s the city that waits for you…