My Year Abroad in Vienna<3
Hi everyone! My name is Elora, and I am currently reaching the end of my year abroad in Vienna. I study English with a year abroad back home and have received the question as to why I decided to study English literature in Vienna, a German speaking country. Honestly there were quite a few factors that played into it. For one, Vienna is home to a lot of brilliant artists and values the arts and humanities. There are always performances that range from talented buskers in a park to ballets and operas performed in the Stadt Oper and theatre productions in the many theatres across the city. Cinema is also greatly valued here and there are a range of different Cinemas and quite a few English-speaking ones. My personal favourite is the Burg Kino which is on the ring alongside some of the most beautiful buildings in Vienna. That was another thing that enticed me, the architecture here is insane, each building holds so much beauty and history and just by walking around you will find yet another masterpiece that will leave you standing in awe for a few minutes. Even at the end of my year here I fall upon new places that inspire me to write or motivate me to spend to spend time out and about. Of course, you can’t speak about Vienna without thinking of Before Sunrise. This movie had a big part to play in my decision, I longed for the connection to people and the city that it portrayed, and I got both (though not in a romantic sense). The people I met here come from all over Europe and we had a lot of fun exchanging slang and cultures that our daily language and actions morphed into an amalgamation of a lot of European languages and behaviours. This made a lot of sense due to how central Austria is, it is surrounded by 8 different countries that are easily reached by bus or train for relatively cheap!
Preparation
In terms of preparation, I was quite lucky as I have a French passport and could therefore bypass the whole visa issue, but I want to stress the importance of getting your visa sorted as soon as possible. I ended up befriending a lot of people from the university of Warwick and I don’t want to stress or worry you but about half of them got deported at some point or another and had to spend about a month or more in the UK before they could sort out the problems and return. So please, please, please be on it when it comes to that. Also, accommodation here is easier to sort out sooner than later. Vienna is home to many different universities which means housing for students can be incredibly competitive. I ended up being in the 9th district which is about a 10-minute walk from the university campus which is heavenly, and this district is really central and has great transport links but if I am being honest, the best district to live in is probably the 7th. Having said that, the transport links all over Vienna are amazing, they are super reliable and rapid, unlike the Southampton buses, so you won’t have to worry about being further away from university. I am in a student accommodation, but I would recommend going to a share house instead. The student accommodation here is very different to Southampton. People aren’t that social and there are a lot of Austrian students who usually prefer to keep to themselves. Whilst I have made some good friends from my accommodation, the primary reason this type of housing was for the hope of more socialization which was not the case.
University and assignments
University here is wildly different from in Southampton. Most of the classes you take if you chose to stay in the English and American Studies are primarily seminars. There are no lectures, and the classes are a lot longer so instead of your usual 45 minutes it is 1h30 with no breaks. The classes here are also a lot more niche than in England which I have quite enjoyed as you can explore a lot more aspects of literature or cultural studies that you didn’t even think to study. For example, in my first semester I took a class on fandom studies which was super interesting and had me examining things I never thought to critically engage with. The assignments for it were also quite fun as I had to write my own fanfiction. You will find that with all your classes here, the style of assignment is a lot more creative than in Southampton. Unfortunately, you are graded on attendance and participation which is quite daunting, and nearly all my classes had an element of group presentations which I loathed but ended up getting used to. Other than that, professors usually have ana element of creative form of assignment ranging from blogs to creating your own video game. Due to these different elements, university feels very different here which is neither a good not bad thing.
Travelling
As I mentioned before, Vienna is very central in Europe and completely landlocked so accessing other countries is infinitely easier. I have visited Ljubljana, Trieste and Bratislava so far and in two weeks I plan on going to Prague which I am super excited for. These were all accessible by bus (or train if you are willing to splurge a little). The hostels are usually quite cheap and if you pick them well, they can actually be quite cute. The closest destination was Bratislava which, if you decide to study in Vienna, you must go to as it is only an hour away. I think it is quite quaint, and they have a lovely Christmas market. Despite its size, Bratislava holds a lot of super interesting history so if you can I recommend getting a walking tour to understand the true ins and outs of the city. Ljubljana is a 5-hour bus drive away which may sound long but in reality, goes quite quickly! The city is gorgeous and feels so fairytale like with its dragon bridge and castle in between the greenest mountains you will ever see! And just and hour from it there is the legendary lake bled which was truly one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen. A lot of the nature in and around Austria will leave you in awe. An hour and half away from Ljubljana are Trieste which is also incredible. The city is stunning and homes two different castles, each of which give very different vibes. The one in the city feels very beauty and the beast esque whilst the one on the sea (the prettier one in my opinion) was so little mermaid coded). Budapest is also quite close to Vienna; I haven’t had the chance to go there myself yet, but I have heard wonderful things. Overall, whilst Vienna has plenty to discover, you will also have ample time to see other places.
Tips
Vienna is the most liveable city in the world, and you will see that once you are here. It is walkable, somehow always clean, has some of the most wonderful parks I have ever seen and the craziest range of cafes (which turn into bars because they are open so late by the way!). You will soon find there is always something to do here, especially in the summer months as there are open air raves nearly every week along with festivals and flea markets. If I could give any advice, it would be to just throw yourself into everything! The city has so much to offer, you just need to be brave enough to go and grab it!
