Hit the Road: Vienna

As we ease the students into travel naturally we made our first major excursion to Vienna this Saturday.

We began our trip with mass at the Italian Parish Church; at this beautiful gothic church, the students we also able to see a 16th century painting of St. Francis done by an unknown master, as well as a copy of Leonardo Da Vinici's The Last Supper painting which Napolean commisioned so he could steal the original in Milan. Not to mention the season Christmas creche which was erected on the right hand side of the church.

By the end of mass in this non-heated but lovely church, everybody's toes were freezing and lunch sounded more than good--more like mouth-watering. Yet, lunch wasn't until another hour so the group broke up into 7 tour groups and we took to the city.

Here in Vienna, we explored the parks, the churches, and the historically significant historical buildings and landmarks. Of course we couldn't forget the gem in the crown of Vienna: St. Stephan's Cathedral.

After lunch and the second half of the tour; the students scattered to coffee shops, museums, parks, and of course, a few to buy Cuban cigars.

All in all, it was a great day and I don't believe anybody was left behind :) We are all looking forward to Salzburg and Munich this weekend....