Weekend of Experiences

Every weekend my amazing host family takes me somewhere new, normally an old village in Slovakia for just a day trip. However, this last weekend my host brother decided we would have much more of an adventure. Since they have a cousin that lives in Bratislava (capital of Slovakia), he decided we would spend the weekend there. The best part, however, is that Bratislava is only an hour away from Vienna, Austria. On Friday night we arrived in Bratislava and spend the night at Maria's (the cousin) flat. Saturday morning we took the short drive to Vienna, where we spent the whole day walking through the beautiful city and seeing all the amazingly architected buildings. I would like to add that the city is by far the most beautiful place I've ever been. Every building has simply amazing design and architecture. Among the many cathedrals we visited, we went into Stevensdom Cathedral. It is one of the most famous buildings in Vienna, for good reason. The inside has breath-taking stained glass and high ceilings along with beautiful interior design. After walking around the inside we decided to climb the church tower, which consisted of 368 steep steps in a tightly wound staircase. However, the view from the top was impeccable and definitely worth the while. On Sunday we walked around Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) where there were also many beautiful buildings. I am lucky to have such a great host family that takes me through these experiences. Unfortunately, when I returned on Monday I became slightly ill, which means I spent Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday in bed being heavily nurtured by my host mother. All is well now though, and I will be returning to school and my normal Slovak life tomorrow if all goes well. Among the pictures I am posting you will see the City Hall of Vienna, Stephansdom Cathedral, the view from our hike up the tower, and some famous churches/palaces/buildings in Vienna.