The Palais Corbelli

Here is my morning routine.

I get up and get ready for the day, take a street car/trolly (Straßenbahn) to the center district of Vienna.

For those of you who haven't been here, Vienna is shaped sort of like a wheel. The first district is the center, and the other districts kind of go clockwise around the center.

Anyway. I get off at the Wien Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera House- If you don't know what that is... be ashamed. Then look it up!) and start my walk. That alone should tell you something. Every single morning I start off my day by looking at one of the most famous opera houses in the world. Pretty great, right?

I take a stroll down Kärntnerstraße (a very famous street), before making my way to the Palais Corbelli. The Palais is where IES is centered, and where all of my classes are held. And like you might guess from the name, it is a literal Palace. It's designed in a sort of Baroque rococo fashion with lots of gold and marble, colors and designs. There are huge marble pillars, and statues everywhere. Even the classrooms are designed to the max. It seems sort of silly really, to see these spectacular pieces of architecture with rows of desks and chalkboards in them.

The most amazing room is the music hall. It's very small, but reminds me of the famous "Hall of Mirrors" in Versailles. The whole room is covered in mirrors and paintings and gold design. There are beautiful angels playing lutes and harps painted on the ceiling, joining in the music. Spectacular. It seems like this is the kind of thing that I will start to take for granted as I live here longer, so I am making sure to write just how amazing it is now. I walk up the red-carpeted marble stair case to class every morning and I can just feel the history. How on earth did I get so lucky to study in this incredible place?