A Day in the Life

The video captures my daily life in Vienna, as a student commuting to school with IES Abroad and to the internship I work for with the University of Vienna Masters Program in Human Rights. I tried to portray what life is like day to day for a student studying abroad, and show viewers some of the sights of Vienna. A huge part of life here is the public transportation— which so smooth and commonly used by everyone (I will miss it when I return home to the U.S.). As you can see, after walking about 5 minutes to the nearest Ubahn stop from my apartment, I commute about five stops away (maybe 15 minutes) to the center of Vienna. I am surrounded by men and women dressed formally to go to work, students, small children with their elementary school teacher’s shepherding them on field trips, and construction workers drinking beers despite it being 10 am. Anyone and everyone takes the Ubahn, as it is the primary mode of transportation around the city and is fairly affordable. I exit the Ubahn, walk down Kärtnerstrasse, one of the main shopping streets, to go to the IES Center. The IES Center contains everything that the American-based study abroad program I attend needs– the administrative buildings, classrooms, study rooms and practice rooms for musicians.  The IES center is located in Palais Corbelli, which used to be an aristocrat’s home, and now our program leases. Many buildings in Vienna, especially in the first district, are similar– they used to be aristocrats’ grand homes and are now used as office buildings, schools, and the like. We literally walk up red carpet into our classrooms, most of which are decorated in the Baroque style and some have cloud-filled murals on the ceilings above. After class a few times a week I walk past the Opera House nearby and get on the tram that goes around the Ringstrasse. The Ringstrasse (or Ring Road) in Vienna has many of the most important buildings in the city located around it—the Parliament, the Town Hall, a theater, the Opera, and of course the Hofburg Palace, prior home to the Habsburg imperial family. It is incredible to see all of these beautiful and historic buildings on a daily commute, which is what makes me so fond of aboveground trams, particularly this scenic one. I exit the tram near the University, and walk to the surrounding academic buildings where my internship is located. I work for a few hours and then take nearly the same route back to my apartment to complete my day!