Cheese, chocolates and questions.

The program’s clock is ticking fast, and every day spent in Vienna has become a cherished opportunity for something new

Our Naschmarkt picnic.

Finally I had made it to the Naschmarkt, Vienna’s large open air market that was open daily. The day was beautiful, sunny and exceptionally warm for early March. The five of us strolled through the market purchasing fruit, cheese, bread and lunchmeat in preparation for a picnic in a nearby park.

We had no blanket but we spread ourselves and the food out in a circle in the grass. The food was delicious and was made better by sharing it amongst each other on such a nice day. We began talking about upcoming days and weekends and how we’d like to spend them.

“I’m so glad I have another two weekends in Vienna,” I casually said. I was beginning to feel that I had been traveling on weekends a little too much.

“Two weekends?” Mac asked. “What about St. Patties Day?”

“There’s this weekend, then another free weekend and then Dublin,” I responded. My birthday is on St. Patties Day, which this year falls on a Saturday. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my 21^st than in Ireland.

“No, no. There is only this weekend in Vienna, and then we go to Dublin,” said Sloane, one of the girls who was celebrating in Dublin with me.

I was sort of taken aback. I couldn’t believe that the weekend in Dublin was already the next weekend. But as I counted the days in my head, I knew that I had been mistaken. Time was going by so quickly.

I knew that would happen. From the beginning in January I had prepared myself, knowing that one day I would suddenly gasp while looking at my planner, seeing the days and weeks slip by right in front of my eyes. But even though I knew that I would feel that way, it still took me by surprise. With only three weeks left in the program, my only defense is to über-plan every day and night left in Vienna.

As I try to decide how to best spend time after class, my mind inevitably circles back to the same questions. Have I spent my time in Vienna wisely? Have I used my time to really explore the city or have I gone back to the same places I walked by in the first few weeks of the program? If I sit back and honestly answer these questions, will I like the results?

In all truth, most of my weekends in Vienna have been spent not in Vienna. Because of the city’s central location and the ease of travel within Europe, my weekends have been spent in Rome, London, Budapest, Krakow, Prague, anywhere other than Vienna. After spending so many weekends away, I spent the past two weekends in Vienna to make sure that I really felt at home in the city. Both weekends have been very relaxed, without the inherent stress that comes with traveling. And because I don’t have any itinerary to follow, I have spent most of the time with my AHA friends dawdling to places off the tourist map.  

But then those questions arise again. And I can not help but wonder if there were “long-term” functions that I missed out on. Should I have taken an extra class outside of the program, like a dance class or pottery? Should I have tried to find an internship here related to my journalism major?

While finding fault answering all of these questions could easily lead to depression, I think that in the end I did everything right for me. I have gotten to see a lot of Europe, in addition to becoming familiar with Vienna. Though I haven’t become good friends with a local Austrian, I have made strong friendships with other AHA’ers.  

Though I am not ready to return to the United States, I am ready to leave Vienna and start a new chapter of my life. When the time comes to leave I will certainly be sad, especially to part from everyone in our group, but I will leave with the memories of great experiences in Europe and the knowledge that this semester has honestly changed the course of my life.

But perhaps most importantly, I will be most saddened to leave behind the Viennese food specialties. Local wines, fresh and hearty bread, Gulaschsuppe, a grand assortment of cheeses, gelato and some of the best chocolate I have ever tasted. I predict more picnicking is to come.