I loved Vienna! It is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been in. Vienna offers you everything a big city has with a small-town vibe. There was something happening almost every night whether it be an opera, a jazz bar showcase, or a ball. The music program was amazing. All the music staff I interacted with were performing in Vienna. It was great to get their first-hand experience and connections to concerts. A professor connected me with a local choir that I got to sing and perform with during my semester in Vienna. I love Vienna, I already want to go back. Whenever someone tells me they are studying abroad I tell them they have to go to Vienna, at least visit it. The culture surrounds you everywhere and the people are so nice. I did a teaching internship when I was there and it was great to get out into the city and meet even more people. IES Vienna is just a great place, with amazing faculty and staff, and I’m so happy I went. I made a lot of new friends and just loved my time there, I can’t wait to go back!

IES offered so many ways to weave Viennese culture into the already-excellent academic experience. Field trips to the most amazing cities in Central Europe (Prague, Budapest), world-renowned professors from all over Europe, and a wide range of language courses were the most obvious examples. But IES did more than teach us about European culture and history. They taught us how to bite into Krapfen, delicious Viennese filled doughnuts. They taught us how be independent and curious, and encouraged us to fill our weekends with adventures around the continent. I saw 15 countries during my time at IES, and many of my favorite moments from the semester were spent with the incredible friends I made through my IES classes. I still correspond with three of my professors, as well as my internship supervisor. The adventures, friends, and memories I made through IES will be with me for my entire life!

I had an absolutely unforgettable experience with IES Vienna. It was the best decision I made in my college career and I can't wait to return to Europe. I was not only immersed in the culture through my living and educational experiences, but also through internships with local students and by hanging out in the coffee shops. I will never forget my experiences and the people I met while I was in Vienna.

As a vocal performance major I expected Vienna to just be classical and very strict in their ways of living. What I came to find was the Viennese culture is very welcoming to new ideas and ways of living. The transportation was the best you could find around the world. It was fairly cheap and efficient. When it came to shopping I was able to buy groceries for a week around 30$. IES Abroad helped me find places that were within my budget and also direct me to the vegetarian/vegan friendly restaurants. Since Vienna is welcoming to new cultures I was able to find any type of cuisine. One day I would have Thai food and the next day go to my favorite Australian restaurant. The faculty was very welcoming to all of the students especially the year students. As a year student you get a very different type of experience studying abroad. It has its trials and tribulations but with the faculty they were able to help us adapt and live the year to the fullest. One of my favorite things I like to mention about studying abroad is my second semester housing I was able to choose which apartment I got to move into and somehow I ended up living on the same street as the president of Austria!

I had such a positive experience. I learned so much about my host culture and about myself. I faced many new challenges that pushed me out of my comfort zone and promoted me to grow. I found all the IES Abroad Staff to be welcoming, supportive, and open for any questions. Abroad gave me the opportunity to travel to new places I never expected to be able to travel to. I found Vienna to be safe and relatively affordable. There are lots of great food options and fun places to go out at night. It has even encouraged me to consider living abroad in the future.

One of the best decisions I have ever made was to study abroad in Vienna, Austria during my fall semester. Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and I constantly found myself discovering new things to do and places to see each day I was there. IES was so helpful and knowledgeable about the city, and I knew I was in good hands. Can't wait for other students to experience this amazing city!

Halfway through my semester in Vienna, I got the strong sense that every music student should have this opportunity. Vienna is not only a city with a rich musical history but also a city today with huge community support for the Classical arts. There are three different opera houses and each fill up; it is not unusual for the State Opera to sell out! This kind of mass communal support and enthusiasm, as far as I have observed, is absent from American culture. As an aspiring opera singer, Austria’s commitment to the arts was truly inspiring. I attended operas (at all three opera houses!) as much as possible and attended many concerts. Hearing so much great music performed by many fantastic musicians, I was eager to work on my own technique. I took voice lessons and received one-on-one coachings. I collaborated with other singers and instrumentalists during a performance workshop class. I took a class a specialized music theory class, studying Fidelio and Die Winterreise, both by composers who lived in Vienna. It was an ideal study abroad for me, and I feel lucky to have received the musical education and experience that I did.

IES abroad did an amazing job at ensuring my study abroad experience was holistically AWESOME. From class trips to Budapest, strolls down historic Viennese neighborhoods, hiking trips, and trips to the vineyards, among a few other things, IES went above and beyond. In addition, IES did an amazing job at providing housing close to the palace (YES, palace) where classes were taught at. The transition from the U.S. to Vienna was exciting yet not overwhelmingly stressful. Indeed, the transition was closer to a cultural shift, not a cultural shock. For example, most of the people in Vienna speak English. Long story short, no amount of text box space will ever be enough to express just how life changing studying abroad in a magical city like Vienna was.