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Joellen Cope ’08 (Dillsburg, Pa.) is a Marquis Scholar majoring in mathematics with a minor in philosophy. She spent her winter break in Austria and Germany taking the three-week interim-session course The Colorful Sunset of the Habsburg Empire: An Apocalyptic Waltz, taught by Edward McDonald, professor of foreign languages and literatures, and Robert Allan, associate professor of psychology. Below is a first-person account of her experiences. Many students share their experience and images of interim-abroad courses in “Through My Eyes, In My Words.”
Two of my closest girlfriends and I have been planning on taking an interim abroad since freshman year. When I thought about where I would like to go, I was convinced that Italy, Greece, England, Spain, or some place tropical would be my ideal location. So when the girls proposed Austria and Germany, I was not as enthusiastic as I now know I should have been. I could not have asked for a better experience.
We began our journey in beautiful Newark, N.J. After a long day of traveling, we arrived at the Pension Baronesse in the heart of Vienna. We were within walking distance of some of the most breathtaking churches and palaces in Europe. Words and pictures cannot do justice to just how beautifully intricate every square inch of these structures is. One of the highlights of our stay in Vienna was a trip to The People’s Opera where we saw a performance of Hansel and Gretel.
We found Vienna to be an incredibly clean city and the Viennese to be friendly and incredibly trustworthy. Their subways and street cars never asked you to show proof of your payment; they trusted that you had purchased the required ticket. Can you imagine that in New York City?
From Vienna, we took a long drive through the Austrian countryside, stopping one night in a small town called Laimbach am Ostrong, and then continuing on to Salzburg. Along the way, we stopped at the shop of a friend of Professor McDonald. His friend is an incredibly talented glass blower who allowed us to watch him blow a set of interlocking glasses.
Once we arrived in Salzburg, we noticed, like in Vienna, the people of Salzburg have an extreme adoration for Mozart. There are museums, squares, boutiques and coffee shops dedicated to him all throughout the city. We even got to see his birthplace and some of the pianos he played as a child. One exhibit allowed us to “conduct” one of his pieces by turning on and off all of the different instruments in the orchestra.
The residents of Salzburg were less formal than the Viennese and thoroughly enjoyed talking to Americans. We got to see a science and technology museum, a castle/fortress that was over 1,000 years old, and even the church where the von Trapp’s were married.
Our next stop was St. Anton, a ski town in the Alps. Not being an avid skier or traveler, I had never seen mountains bigger than the Poconos. You can only imagine how amazed I was as we drove through the Alps to our resort. The weather, as it was all trip, was unusually warm in the low 40’s, so ski conditions were not great. Some of us opted not to ski, so we spent a relaxing three days exploring the town and getting caught up on work and laundry (in the bath tubs). We stayed at the Hotel Olympia, complete with beautiful views of the mountains, porches outside of every room, a big fireplace downstairs, and delicious, five-course home cooked meals every night.
Upon bidding farewell to our beloved Hotel Olympia, as Professor McDonald told us, we left the sublime for the ridiculous. After miraculously navigating three, nine passenger vans into the center of Munich, we lugged all of our stuff into the Pension Flora. It was a bit of an adjustment to go from spacious doubles with views of the Alps to cramped quads with semi-functioning plumbing, but we enjoyed not having to worry about bothering other guests. We met up with another group who was just ending their stay in Europe and were lucky enough to be invited to their farewell dinner. We all swapped stories while enjoying the accordion player hired for the occasion.
Munich was an experience, to say the least. Strolling through the pedestrian zone you can walk into a beautiful gothic church and admire all of the religious relics and then walk across the street to a sex shop.
After twenty unbelievable and unforgettable days in Europe, it was finally time to head home. We left with a much better understanding of Austrian and German culture along with an appreciation of the literature and history of turn-of-the-century Austria.
One piece of history that I was wholly unfamiliar with, but which is rich in historical significance, was that Hitler spent time during his early adulthood in Vienna at the time Sigmund Freud was developing his ground breaking theories and Arthur Schnitzler was writing plays that caused his audiences to trash the theater in disgust.
Thanks to our wonderful professors, McDonald and Allan, and the other amazing students on my trip, I had an absolutely amazing and enriching experience abroad.