Tag: Vienna

Arrived at WU Vienna

LisandraBy Lissandra Radu, BA International Business Management

So, I made it to Vienna! It is really beautiful here; the city, the lifestyle and definitely the weather. The student halls are very central and the subway system here is extremely easy, so if you can hack London underground, the one in Vienna will feel like a breath of fresh air!

Before I tell you about my adventures, I cannot stress enough the importance of having a to-do list. In Austria, they love their paperwork so you need to make sure you have documents ready, so everything flows smoothly. Having said that, the queues here are really quick and everyone speaks English.

Having moved in, I would advise against a 60kg luggage allowance (which is what I had!!) and only bring things you really cannot bear to part with, as Vienna has a huge number of stores where you can pretty much buy anything your heart desires. There is no shortage of supermarkets, corner shops or ice-cream parlours so overall, it is well stocked in terms of food …if you ever had any worries!

IMG_20160923_143321In terms of accommodation, it is really modern and the company supplies you with kitchen equipment and bedding, although if you have a favourite pillow I would bring it.

So far, I love it here and meeting people is so so easy! If you have any doubts about Erasmus, I would not hesitate, and not just because it looks good on your C.V (which it does) but because you get to really appreciate the differences in cultures, make great friends and be independent!

List of places:

  1. Schonbrunn Palace – beautiful gardens and zoo, as well as a yummy strudel shown hosted in one of the cafes, where you even get to try a sample.
  2. Café Museum – lovely central café, where you can grab a smashing mango and melon apperol for a great price (considering it is central)
  3. Amerling Beisl – set in a courtyard, it is restaurant that is mostly used by locals, however they have a lot of Viennese food as well as a huge breakfast range
  4. Museumquartier – Museums & drinks, in an amazing location where you will find a mix of modern and new architecture all blended together. Perfect for a chilled evening
  5. Stephansplatz- you can go to the top of the cathedral for a stunning panorama view of the whole city!
  6. Mariahilfer strasse- Very long and wide boulevard, filled with clothes shops, bars, taverns and everything in-between

Experience of studying abroad

Elise

by Elise McDonald

IMG_5464-smallHi, my name is Elise and I’m studying in Vienna for my second year of International Business Management. I chose to study at WU as I really enjoyed learning German at GCSE and I’ve been desperate to start learning the language again to help me in my future career in business – it is crazy the number of employers I have seen that are looking for German speakers!

Obviously, Vienna is also a beautiful place and Austria has great links to other countries which will make it much easier for me to travel this year. I’ve only been here a couple of weeks and I’ve already been to Oktoberfest and have booked to go on trips to Salzburg and Budapest next month, as well as a ski trip to Zell-Am-See in December!

IMG_8071-smallIt’s so great to have so many things to look forward to, particularly the Christmas markets in November/December. I’m already shocked by how much I’m enjoying myself as, for the whole of first year, I dreaded this year abroad. Yes, you’re probably reading that sentence thinking that I’m crazy, but I’ve always been a glass half empty kind of person and I kept focusing on the negatives of the experience; leaving my boyfriend and friends behind, missing out on a second year uni house, being so far away from home… need I go on.

So, I guess my blog posts will be good for people that are considering a year abroad but find the idea scary! Hopefully, this year will prove me completely wrong and help to ease other students’ nerves. I’ve been here for just under two weeks and I can already say that nothing I was worried about has happened. To be honest you’re so busy exploring and meeting new people that you don’t really get a chance to think about home and if I have had a difficult moment there’s always Netflix to distract me.IMG_5349

So far I am so happy that I picked WU as my host University as the Erasmus set up here is amazing! We have the Erasmus Buddy Network (EBN) which organises so many trips to other places and gives you a ‘buddy’ to help you settle in. I was so lucky that my Buddy offered to collect me from the airport and showed me to my accommodation as I’m not sure I’d have managed on my own. By the way, the accommodation here is great and was so easy to apply for. I have my own kitchen and en-suite and its cleaned every week – it’s like living in a hotel which is perfect for an undomesticated person like me! The University itself is also incredible and so modern that the library looks a lot how I’d imagine a spaceship would look. I have already been assigned two essays to write before I even start classes though which was a bit of a shock to the system! I’m not sure I’m prepared for the change in teaching style that they have here but hopefully it won’t take long to adjust as I start classes this week.

IMG_5407-smallNow enough of the boring stuff and on to the fun things I’ve already done. The first thing I did when I arrived was go for weiner schnitzel and apfel strudel, which definitely did not disappoint and was really good value for money at an all-night restaurant called Mozarts. I also went on the Giant Wheel at Prater which was great to do at sunset with views of the whole city.

The whole time I have been here the weather has been so warm which was obviously not what I was expecting in Austria. I was also surprised to find that they have beaches and bars along the Danube but I thought I’d best experience them before the weather changes and they close for winter.

Again, AMAZING FOOD and just generally a great night but so surreal to be sat on a beach looking at high rise buildings! Finally, the main attraction: IMG_5362Oktoberfest. Two days ago I went on my first EBN trip to Munich on an overnight ‘party train’ with a free bar. It’s safe to say that it was one of the weirder experiences of my life but seemed a lot more normal by about my 10th drink. I didn’t get much sleep on the way to the Festival which is a huge regret as I spent the whole day too hungover to drink again. Yes… I went to Oktoberfest and didn’t drink!

I think I’ll leave it there for now but I’ll try my best to post regularly to brag about all the fun stuff I’m doing!

Elise x