Austria Field Trip Travelogue 2024

Summary

Podcast Summary: The History Chicks – Austria Field Trip Travelogue 2024

Episode Release Date: July 10, 2024

Duration: Approximately 90 minutes

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Introduction and Preparations

The episode kicks off with hosts Susan and Beckett welcoming listeners to another engaging installment of The History Chicks, where they recount their recent field trip to Austria. They emphasize the unique blend of historical exploration and personal adventures that characterize their journeys.

Notable Quote:

• Susan (00:01): “Welcome to the History Tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.”

Arrival in Vienna and Accommodations

Upon arrival in Vienna, the hosts describe their accommodation at the luxurious Hotel Grand Wien, strategically located between the Viennese Opera House and Café Schwarzenberg. They highlight the hotel's proximity to major attractions and the convenience it offered for their explorations.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (02:38): “It's called the Hotel Grand Wien, which is German for Vienna. And it's right in this Old inner district.”
• Beckett (02:02): “If you've ever seen Last Holiday with Queen Latifah, the hotel is pretty similar to ours.”

First Day Explorations

The first day included visits to St. Stephen's Cathedral and a stroll through Vienna’s historic districts. Susan embarked on a self-guided walking tour, soaking in the warm summer weather and exploring the city's vibrant streets.

Notable Quote:

• Beckett (05:07): “We encountered the first of many stumbling stones, which are grim reminders of recent history.”

Group Dynamics and Community Building

A significant aspect of the trip was the camaraderie among the 50 travelers. Hosts discuss how repeat participants seamlessly welcomed newcomers, fostering a sense of family within the group. This community aspect was facilitated through pre-trip WhatsApp groups and group activities like cocktail parties and bus tours.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (11:14): “It's beautiful to watch everyone come in almost as strangers and leave as close friends.”
• Beckett (11:33): “The OGs almost seamlessly made welcome the new people. It quickly becomes family.”

Cultural and Historical Highlights

The hosts delve into their visits to significant historical sites, including the Hofburg Palace and the Sissy Museum. They explore the lives of Empress Sisi and Marie Antoinette, admiring the artifacts and learning about their personal histories.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (16:02): “Seeing where Empress Sissy lived and experiencing her life firsthand was chills-inducing.”
• Beckett (17:16): “We caught a glimpse of young Marie Antoinette, performing a dance in a painting.”

Culinary Adventures

Austria's culinary delights featured prominently, with hosts recounting their experiences sampling traditional sausages, Aperol Spritzes, and apple strudels. They also shared amusing anecdotes, such as Chris Graham and a fellow traveler daring to try insect-based snacks at an Australian-themed pub.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (07:58): “I got my first sausage the very next day. They were just so good.”
• Beckett (19:59): “Chris Graham could not resist ordering packages of bugs. He and Missy went in a way that horrified the rest of us.”

Performance Arts and Music

Music intertwined with the trip's historical explorations, highlighted by private piano concerts in Mozart’s birthplace and performances by the Vienna Boys Choir. Beckett shares her admiration for the musicians’ techniques, tying in personal reflections influenced by her upbringing by symphony musicians.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (83:06): “The recital continued the connections of Austria across Europe as our pianist is Croatian, lives in Austria, and speaks German and English.”
• Beckett (21:33): “The bassist holding her bow upside down was something I had never seen before.”

Reflective Visits to Memorials

A poignant part of the trip was the visit to the Mauthausen Memorial, where travelers reflected on the atrocities committed during the Nazi regime. Participants shared personal connections and the emotional impact of witnessing such a somber history firsthand.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (59:18): “The visit to Mauthausen was a reminder that remembering is important.”
• Beckett (60:05): “Seeing what my grandpas had fought against was truly important.”

Exploring Beyond Vienna

Beyond the capital, the group ventured to picturesque towns like Hallstatt and Salzburg. They marveled at Hallstatt’s scenic beauty, reminiscent of fairy-tale landscapes, and Salzburg’s rich musical heritage, including visits to locations tied to The Sound of Music.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (69:02): “Hallstatt reminded me of Arendelle from Frozen. It looked just like it.”
• Beckett (68:40): “Hallstatt is the most picturesque town I have ever been to in my entire life.”

Participant Testimonials and Memories

Throughout the episode, numerous travelers share their heartfelt testimonials, recounting favorite moments, personal growth, and the lasting friendships formed during the trip. These narratives emphasize the enriching blend of history, culture, and community that defines The History Chicks field trips.

Notable Quotes:

• June (14:06): “I was getting a private concert. It was an absolutely incredible experience.”
• Meg (33:08): “Visiting Schönbrunn Palace and attending the Mozart concert were the highlights of my day.”
• Cindy Franzen (86:29): “The piano demo at Mozart's birthplace was so beautiful, it was like walking into a storybook.”

Conclusion and Farewells

As the trip concluded, hosts and participants reflect on their unforgettable experiences, the deepened understanding of Austria’s history, and the profound connections made. The episode wraps up with final thoughts from both hosts and departing testimonials, celebrating the success of the journey and anticipation for future adventures.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan (90:04): “I will never forget seeing Hallstatt. It has everything—scenic wonder, deep history, and a charming village.”
• Beckett (83:16): “Thank you Laura, Susan, and Beckett for organizing such an amazing trip.”

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Key Takeaways:

• Historical Immersion: The trip provided in-depth explorations of Austria’s rich history, from imperial palaces to somber memorials.
• Cultural Engagement: Participants engaged with Austrian culture through food, music, and traditional dances, enhancing their understanding and appreciation.
• Community Building: The field trip fostered strong bonds among participants, turning strangers into friends through shared experiences and group activities.
• Personal Growth: Travelers reported significant personal enrichment, from overcoming challenges like solo travel to deepening their passion for history and culture.

Conclusion

Austria Field Trip Travelogue 2024 serves as a vivid recounting of an immersive journey through Austria's historical and cultural landscapes. With engaging narratives, heartfelt testimonials, and insightful reflections, Susan and Beckett encapsulate the essence of The History Chicks—a celebration of women’s history intertwined with personal adventure and community connection.

Transcript

[Susan]

Welcome to the History Tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental. Start at the very beginning. Sorry.

[Beckett]

Oh, my gosh. Hello, and welcome to the show. We have a special treat for you today. We have just gotten back from Austria, and we decided to tell the story of our trip to Austria with the assistance of the 50 friends that came with us. But before we get to their stories, just a little. We got there in advance, a couple of days in advance and did some side quests of our own.

[Susan]

I do like to get places early. I'm one of those people that just gets off the plane in a foreign country when there's a time change and just keeps going that day until it's time to go to bed, like regular bedtime.

[Beckett]

Right.

[Susan]

And that seems to work well for me. So I continued that on this particular trip. But you and I didn't travel together. We don't always do that. And I went through Frankfurt, which was kind of a adventure in and of itself.

[Beckett]

How so?

[Susan]

Well, I didn't have a very long turnaround time, and so it was kind of rushed through passport control. I was also traveling by myself, which is, you know, not a big deal, but it's kind of nice to have a travel companion with you. And so I was just kind of figuring it out. I got there, I got to Vienna. Everything was great, and we had a really special to me traveler join us on this trip. I taught Sunday school and Lutheran churches for 20 years, and one of my Sunday school students, who's now 31, had decided to go on this trip. And I didn't even know it until I saw her name in our private WhatsApp group for all the travelers of the trip. I was so excited. And just by coincidence, she arrived shortly before I did. So from then on that day, I had a traveling companion.

[Beckett]

Hmm. The hotel was fabulous. It's the kind of hotel where we were like, mm, are we dressed nicely enough for this hotel where gentlemen in fancy suits rush out to make certain that you don't have to lift your little finger to lift your suitcase? I have. I have a movie reference as to this hotel. If you've ever seen the Last Holiday with Queen Latifah, the hotel, and I swear this is how they pronounce it, the Hotel Poop. P U P P in that show is pretty similar to our hotel that we stayed in. It's. It was very fancy.

[Susan]

It's called the Hotel Grand Veen W E I N, which is German for Vienna. And it's right in this Old inner district. It's right on a ring road with a streetcar that goes around the city. There's all kinds of things to do. We were right between the famed Viennese Opera House and Cafe Schwarzenberg, which is an old cafe that's been there since the 1860s or something. So we were smack dab in the middle. It was a great location.

[Beckett]

Creature comforts were available also right within the hotel complex. As you went out the back door was basically a little mall and the bottom floor was devoted to a grocery store and anything you wanted could be bought there. And we went down and loaded ourselves up on snacks, sausages, because where were we? And cheese and crackers and enough things to fill our bellies in wee hours when we wanted to come home late. Right down the street from here was a place called the American Bar. Called so mostly because they had a cocktail menu. And we were very, very lucky to get a seat that is a prime draw for locals and tourists alike. And we had a great time chatting to the bartender there. Also, we took a little trip across the street from the American Bar to go to St. Stephen's Cathedral and light a candle for my mother. We were blown away by the architecture, sat in there, absorbed the atmosphere for quite a bit of time. That was a good first four hours of our Austrian adventure.

[Susan]

I took myself on a little walking tour. I had been to Vienna, not this past February, but the one before. So I'd come when it was very cold out. A lot of places weren't open, like, you know, restaurants with cafes on the street. You couldn't, it was too cold. So I was really excited to go see some of the things that I hadn't been able to see in the wintertime, but see them all when it was warm. And it was extremely warm for Vienna. It was about the same temperature we have here in Kansas City, which is not exactly what I was expecting. I was expecting a little cooler, you know, Vienna mountains. But no, which is fine. It's summertime. It was beautiful. And I took myself on a very long, self driven. What's down this alley? Oh, that's a cool store. Hey, let me stop and get a beer. Walking tour. Susan's own little adventure. I can't tell you any place that I went specifically, but I saw a huge part of the town and I was very happy for it.

[Beckett]

On Chris Graham and My Perambulations. We went down to the grand memorial for the Russian soldiers that liberated Austria from the Nazis. And that was a very touching large, large municipal monument. And in a Park that was full of. And this wasn't a special occasion. It was full of concerts and skaters and people just chatting and people having a little drink with their friend, meeting up, eating ice cream. It was a very good picture into the daily life of the Viennese. And then on our way back, we encountered the first of many what they call stumbling stones. And these are a graphic and grim but small reminder of recent history. They are relatively recent memorials. Metal tiles, about seven by seven, and they are installed into the sidewalk in front of buildings from which Jewish residents had been removed by the Nazis to face their fate in other locations. So you will see those against the wall in many places in Vienna. And I took lots of pictures of those, too. A little bit more of a sobering reminder of the recent past. So the past and the present live just in such proximity that it was almost hard for Americans to understand. You know, you're eating a little ice cream in the middle of a Russian monument in next to something that was erected in 1740, you know, and all the historical eras just kind of exist at the same time. And I know Europeans are used to that, but. But for Americans, the layers are a little hard to get used to, but beautiful. Yeah, I.

[Susan]

And again, I can't tell you exactly where we went, but I did meet up with my traveling companion, Brianna, and we spent the evening going out to dinner and had my first sausages. I don't eat sausage here in the United States. I actually don't eat a whole lot of meat, but for some reason, the sausages there are just so good that if presented with one, I will consume it. So I got my first one the very next day. Beckett and I have a couple traditional things we do on these field trips. One of them is to go and get snacks. We have swag bags for all of our travelers, and we like to put little local snacks into all of them. So that means that Beckett and I have to go shopping someplace and find 50, you know, local. Local foods. Sometimes it's a little bit more difficult in countries where we don't speak the language fluently, like France and Austria. But I think this particular trip was made a little bit easier because of your husband, Chris Graham, who was on it with us and kind of helped. Helped us do the shopping.

[Beckett]

You know what else helps? And I don't know if this is just culturally so different from Austria to France, but as I recall, in France, no matter how much you try to speak French, they'll let you do it for a long time and give you the Steer, and then they'll speak to you in English. But in. In Austria, it was more like, wow, you really learned a thing. But, you know, the ease of life, et cetera. Why don't we just proceed in English? Yeah, but they didn't make you feel bad. You know, Bita, dank. You know, Beta and Danka went a long way. But then I asked someone later, how do you know we're American, even if we have the same shoes? And. And we don't have big backpacks on? Like, how are you recognizing us? You know, from afar.

[Susan]

Right?

[Beckett]

And they're like, you still have hope. You still have hope in your face, and you smile at strangers on the street, which is totally weird. And so we can recognize you.

[Susan]

Oh, that's funny. But you did perfect a certain thing, didn't you? Saying it in German.

[Beckett]

Guten Tag. Mineral was. That's about all I could say.

[Susan]

Yeah. But just being able to say that, you said it so great. And didn't people just. Thank you. Here you go. Yeah.

[Beckett]

So, yeah, all I can ask for is mineral water. And I. You know what? So many of the food concepts are nearly the same. Tea, coffee, bread, brought beer. That's important. Vine. There's so a lot of things that you really need to survive. You can pretty much make yourself understood anyway. The number of languages everyone spoke would boggle your mind a little bit. I never met anyone that didn't speak at least four languages. And I know that's necessary in a place surrounded by other languages.

[Susan]

Correct. Another tradition that Beckett and I have is we have kind of a little kickoff luncheon. We find a restaurant on the highest building we can. More important than the food is the view. And this time, we found a place to have lunch called 360 Ocean sky with amazing views. It was at the top of Vienna's aquarium.

[Beckett]

I know. Random.

[Susan]

Yeah, I know. And it looked. I didn't go to the aquarium, but we took an elevator down, and you could see each floor. It was glass, and it looked good. We always have it with our tour planner, Laura Hart, and whoever she brings as her assistant. This time it was her husband, Sam. At this point, my brother had joined us. He was going to be my plus one. And Beckett and Chris. And it was a lovely luncheon with a great view.

[Beckett]

We have another tradition. Every trip we begin as our guests arrive with a welcome cocktail party, to which I will say, I wore my Jane Austen band T shirt.

[Susan]

That's a cute shirt. I love that. We had the cocktail party in the hotel where we were Staying. I mean, it's a beautiful hotel. It was a terraced event space. They had, I think it was on the top floor, another beautiful view. And we got to meet everybody that was on this trip. Now, almost half of the people that were on this trip have been on another field trip with us. How does that happen? They know how good the trip is, so they're ready as soon as we announce the new ones and they register themselves. So if there's a hint here of how to get on any of our field trips, that's it. Just act fast.

[Beckett]

One thing I noticed right away was that the OGs, the people that had been with us before, almost seamlessly made welcome the new people. It's something that happens on our trips that I am just blown away by. That it very, very quickly becomes family.

[Susan]

Yeah. I think part of what Laura Hart does is she sets up a WhatsApp group just for the people who are going on the trip months in advance so people can talk. If somebody finds a really interesting tour that we can do on our free time, they offer it up to anybody else who wants to come. So these groups are forming before they even set on a plane on their way. So, yeah, I think that's great. It's beautiful to watch. Everybody comes in almost as strangers. And then by the end of the cocktail party and the following open air bus tour of the city, which we also always do in a city, everybody's. They know each other. It's great.

[Beckett]

And the bus tour lets you know the city and also kind of primes you for any side quests that you would like to go on. We had the greatest guide on this one. His name's Chris. I remember that because of Chris I am. And he was so full of humor and knowledge and really made things memorable so that you could make note of them and come back and see them on your own time if that's what you wanted to do. I know a lot of people went back to the Volks park, which in the canal. Anyway, we'll talk about more of the side quests later. But. But that is a great way to start out in a new city.

[Susan]

Yeah. Even not on a field trip with a group, if you're going by yourself, just to hop on, hop off. Bus tours of a city are a great way to get to know it.

[Beckett]

Or if you can. I know there is a line in London, a regular old bus line that goes in a circle. If you're exceptionally brave, just get on the regular old bus line and drive around in Vienna.

[Susan]

You can get on the streetcars that goes around the ring road. Hi, my name is Ellen. Austria is my third History Chicks field trip. Each one has been a fantastic experience, mostly because of the wonderful people I've met. There were several folks on this trip that I met exactly two years ago in London and it was like we were old friends. Several of us arrived a day early in Austria and I was finding the jet lag hard and needed something to do to get me out of the hotel or else I was going to fall asleep. Someone had mentioned in our WhatsApp group they had just gone to St. Augustine Church, that was the official church of the Habsburgs, and several weddings occurred there, including Maria Theresa, Empress Sisi and Marie Antoinette by proxy. It was only a 10 minute walk from the hotel, so it seemed like the perfect place to help me beat the jet lag. Once I got there, I was surprised how small it was considering it was the Habsburg's official church. In fact, it was actually hard to notice because of how it blends into the other buildings. When I walked in, it was me and one other tour group. I was just wandering around and eventually walked to the front of the altar.

[Beckett]

It just stood there for a few.

[Susan]

Minutes thinking about these historic women who.

[Beckett]

Would have walked over the spot on.

[Susan]

The way to get married. While having the reflection, the tour group left and it was just me and one worker left in the building. I was worried they were closing, so I was about to leave when the workers sat down at the organ and began to play. It was like I was getting a private concert. I just stood there in amazement listening to the music. It only lasted for a couple of minutes before another tour group came in, but it was an absolutely incredible experience. I ended up sitting down in a pew to keep listening to music. Thanks again to Beckett and Susan for this amazing podcast and thanks Laura for planning these amazing trips. They really have been trips of a lifetime. Hi, this is June. Before leaving for Vienna, I read a book about the daughters of Maria Theresa. I was intrigued by the story of Marie Christina, who was her favorite and also the only one of Maria Theresa's daughters allowed to marry for love. I knew that the Albertina Museum contained the art collection amassed by Marie Christina and her husband Albert. She's the Tina in Albertina. After leaving the museum, I saw the Augustinian church. I knew I wanted to visit there because that was where Maria Theresa was married, where Marie Antoinette had her proxy wedding, and where Franz Josef married the Empress Elizabeth. But to my surprise, the most beautiful object in the church was a Gorgeous memorial to Archduchess Marie Christina. It's a lovely moving monument with a pyramid and a number of sorrowful figures which was carved by Antonio Canova. It really is beautiful and makes the trip to see the historic church even better. I loved the church and I love Vienna.

[Beckett]

Day two was a visit to an old friend, Empress Sissy and the collection of items and stories that they have attached to the Hofburg palace in the Empress Sissy Museum.

[Susan]

From our hotel, it was a very short walk to the Hofburg and it went through an older part of the city. It is mostly a pedestrian walkway. So you know, there's, you don't have to worry about cars and stuff. And it's just, it's just lovely. There's all kinds of shops and restaurants, you know, cafes. It's a lovely walk. And then we got to the Sissy Museum and I think one of the reasons that's so cool about these trips is we get to go to the places where our former subjects lived and they did their thing. And so just being there on the first full day and experiencing the life of Empress Sissy, it was kind of one of those, it's giving me chills kind of things like holy cow, we're here. This is Sissy's apartments. The museum itself is. There's exhibits with a lot of artifacts from her life, you know, things she took traveling with her, her clothes. And then it goes through the Imperial Apartments where you get to see where she did her workouts, you know, all that exercise equipment which was just cutting edge at the time. So it was just kind of, it's just exciting. I don't know how else to say it. Any other history lover is going to get it. It's just exciting to see their stuff.

[Beckett]

And also layered on that we caught a glimpse of the young Marie Antoinette in a painting on the wall as this was also the home of her mother, Empress Maria Teresa. So it was a little nod on the way out to see a seven or eight year old Marie Antoinette performing a dance in a painting.

[Susan]

In thinking back to her childhood, it's just fun to think of her, you know, running around those apartments.

[Beckett]

We all went out to have a little lunch and Chris Graham and I came across our favorite lunch place ever. It's called Zum Schwartze Camille the Black Camel. It's been there in one form or another since 1631. It is currently surrounded by the glorious neighbors such as Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, Rolex is the like least of the neighbors. It was so Fancy. There we felt. Never felt cooler. It was the first of my infinite amount of aperol spritzes and the first Vienna Hugo spritz of Chris Graham. He slowly became addicted to that place. Must have truckloads of aperol coming in. And Aperol spritz was the drink of the summer in Austria already.

[Susan]

I don't know, I might argue with you on that one for us because Chris Graham did an amazing job of spreading the word about the magic of the Hugo spritz, which is elderflower liqueur, prosecco, and some mint and lime.

[Beckett]

Really?

[Susan]

Yep.

[Beckett]

The Hugo spritz is a definite good choice. If the bitter profile of aperol is not for you, we will post a recipe on our page for the Hugo.

[Susan]

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[Beckett]

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[Susan]

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[Beckett]

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[Susan]

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[Beckett]

Well, as a part of our wanderings, we ended up with some listeners at an Australian pub. Hilariously, all over Austria, you'll see shot glasses, aprons, T shirts that say no kangaroos in Austria. Ha ha. Okay, well. Well, this is the place where the real Australian beer is. Etc. And on the menu, Chris Graham could not resist was packages of bugs. And he and listener Missy went in in a way that horrified the rest of us at the table. And they ordered hummus to dip their bugs in. That is all I have to say about that. We can post a picture of them enjoying their handfuls of bugs. You know what? It's the protein of the future. Chris Graham and Missy are just ahead of their time. When our lunch break was over, if it was reasonable or full of insect life, we had a very Viennese adventure.

[Susan]

Tm we did. A very large group of us. Now, this was an optional activity, but I would say the majority of us went to a Viennese waltz class. It wasn't just any old dance studio. Oh, no. We went to the oldest Viennese waltzing studio in Vienna. This place was established in 1919. And we didn't have a lesson by just a teacher. Oh, no. We had a lesson by the owner who was, I believe, the grandson of the man who founded it he has.

[Beckett]

Such high standards, in fact. So that dance school has an enormous ball every year and it is a very desirable ticket to get a hold of. Now you can buy a ticket, but you still have to go through a process where you and your partner have to show up at the dance school and perform in front of this man to prove that you are worthy of dancing at this ball. Because he does not want nonsense on the floor at his high falutin event. He laughed and he said, it is like Dancing with the Stars. But I am the only judge.

[Susan]

I had actually taken this class from this school, but with a different instructor who taught very differently. All dance instructors do. But this guy was totally into muscle memory. He had us doing one step over and over and over again until we all got it and then he added the next one. I thought that was a great way to teach it.

[Beckett]

I have to say, a lot of choreographers do act that way. And if you think about it, you're body acts that way because you can ride a bike. You know, there's that saying, it's just like riding a bike, right? That's how you learn. Your muscles just know how to do it. It's pretty cool.

[Susan]

And there were trained people in the classroom, they were very young, I would say late teenager age, maybe early 20s, who were experts in this. So you could just stand behind one, which was my method, and follow their footsteps until you had to turn and then you were out of luck by the end.

[Beckett]

I think Chris Graham and I did a good job. And there were several occasions later in the tour where we happened up on a ballroom or in fact a waltz in the air. And we grabbed each other and did a little Walter Roo. I don't know that we would have passed the test.

[Susan]

No.

[Beckett]

But nevertheless we had a great time.

[Susan]

I am pretty sure we would not have. I waltzed through several ballrooms during the rest of the week and I think a lot of people went in thinking, oh my gosh, what is this? This is going to be stupid or I'm going to be bad. None of us were good and it was so much fun. This is shameele. This was my first trip with the History Chicks and I was immediately struck with what a close knit community I had entered. Everyone was always so friendly and accepting of me, despite my quiet ways. It is nice to be surrounded by women who take their books about history very seriously. And I loved all the hats that were worn. Not a common sight from where I came from. Friends at home have asked me about my favorite thing on this trip there were so many, it is hard to pick just one. And that favorite changes from day to day. The food was excellent, the music in the venues were majestic, the art was moving, the lipizaner horses were breathtaking, and all the history was truly impressive. The memory that I think I will cherish the most was the waltz class. My mother loved to dance and the class made me feel like she was right there with me, even if I was lacking in any coordination. Thanks to everyone who was so kind and welcoming to me. I love traveling with Janet. She makes everything such an adventure. Thanks to Beckett, Susan and Laura for a most extraordinary trip.

[Beckett]

After the Walt class, some intrepid travelers got on the train and went to have a drink or two.

[Susan]

We went to the Schlumberger wine cellar and had a sparkling wine tasting and tour of the cellar. The wines were delicious and there were a couple members of our group who said, hey, how do you saber a bottle of sparkling wine? And our guide said, well, let me show you. And the next thing you know, Chris and my brother DJ were both sabering bottles of sparkling wine. It was very cool.

[Beckett]

This is the first of many encounters that Chris Graham and I had with the Bitzinger verstal stand. Here's the story about the verstal stands. That's another Viennese tradition. Very traditional day today. Back in the day, veterans of a war came home with a problem. They didn't have ways as they were injured to support their families. The emperor said, I hereby grant you the right to open these individual very small versal stands to support your families. And they can be inherited. And they are all over the city. Even now. It is a tradition. Skateboarders, senators, highfalutin rich ladies in fancy shoes and tourists straight out of the hotels all eat at these places. And we encountered Bitzinger, where we had something called a keiner, which is a big long sausage with pieces of edam cheese baked right into it. And we also enjoyed Czechoslovakian Budweiser.

[Susan]

Delicious.

[Beckett]

And one of our guides said, be careful, be very cautious about cheese eye. Like, what is the heck is cheese eye? It turns out like if you bite these hot sausages in just the wrong way, sometimes you get a little shot of liquid cheese to the eye. So from me to you, Dado, about cheeseye.

[Susan]

Ach.

[Beckett]

Tongue about cheese eye.

[Susan]

That's funny.

[Beckett]

Chris Graham, he was a chef. This was, I think, his favorite culinary experience. And you know it. It isn't just the taste of the sausage. It was the atmosphere, the lines that never got Shorter. The way this place stayed open in the night. The fact that you could see the two gentlemen inside working. You know, this is their whole life right here for this experience. And they never were idle. You're eating this hot dog outside in the dark by an amazing fountain from the 1700s, and every language in the world is being spoken. And it was a lot to do with atmosphere. Sometimes things taste better in a certain place. And I think Casey Cranor, that's. Its place is in the middle of Vienna on the street, in the middle of the night. The next day was the only day on the whole trip that it rained. I mean, it rained. It was like a guy had a pitcher of water up above the city and was pouring it down. Unfortunately, that was a day that I had hoped to go to the largest flea market in Vienna. It's called. It's at a place called the Nashmarkt, which is literally snack market. I myself have said, I'm. I'm. I would like a little nosh. I didn't realize. Oh, yeah, Nashmarkt, the snack market, which is open all the time. Quite lovely. A combination of farmers market, pub district. Every country in the world has representation almost in the restaurant culture there. And then only on Saturdays do they have the antique part, the flea market part. Alas, all I saw was tarps.

[Susan]

I was so sad for you. One of my favorite things to do is to follow Beckett around antique malls, because she finds the stuff that I would just overlook. You know, she finds all the interesting bits, and I'm like, I never saw that. So I was really excited to go around this flea market with her. But instead, we just walked in the rain with our umbrellas just getting wet and looking at dishes, collecting water.

[Beckett]

But we ended up at a coffee house. They're all so elaborate inside and quite lovely. And we ended up drinking a Maria Teresa, functionally. Coffee, orange liqueur, whipped cream sometimes, although not in this case, chocolate. Mighty, mighty good and quite warming when your clothing is soaking wet.

[Susan]

Very true.

[Beckett]

We. And it seems like half the people on this trip ended up at the Lipizzaner Stallions afterward. It's a very famous Spanish riding school. They raise these horses. They breed these horses. It is more like horse ballet than a rodeo, if that makes sense. And it was nice to be exposed to something that's been going on for so many hundreds of years.

[Susan]

I did not do that. I went with our new friend Aaron and our old friend Cindy, and we were going to go antique ring shopping. Erin and I were in the market for just A little bauble. You know, if you find it at a antique store, a lot of times, it's a beautiful piece with an interesting history. Very old and not terribly expensive. So we were able to try to do that. Aaron did indeed find a beautiful ring. I did not, but that's okay because, you know, the hunt is sometimes more fun than actually accomplishing it. Yeah. And then I got to do the thing that was on my personal checklist. I was so excited to go to Schonburn palace and do all the outside stuff. I had toured the inside when I was there before, but the outside is massive. Massive. So I wanted to walk as many gardens as I could. Our little traveling group got there, walked up the hill to a place called the Gloriette. It was built in 1775 by Franz Steven, who is the husband of Empress Maria Theresa. The two of them did a lot of work on this palace to bring it up to kind of like at Versailles. You know, how Versailles was designed to be a showplace of everything French and opulent and to show the power of the families. But Schomburn was the same way. And this at the top of this hill, there's a beautiful view over the entire grounds. There's a cafe there where we had lunch. And if you order an iced coffee ice cafe in Austria, you get an iced coffee, but it's iced with ice cream. It's the most glorious beverage. It was delicious. So I was so happy to have that. And yet another sausage.

[Beckett]

Well, the grounds are beautiful. There are follies and fountains sprinkled throughout the grounds. When Chris Graham and I arrived, we made it a point to go see all of those. Luckily, while we were there, the fountains were on, so adds an extra dimension. They're not always on all the time. We actually just happened to catch them. The Roman ruins was a particularly funny thing to see where you would build ruins from scratch on your land. And they looked amazing. We wandered the grounds, covering lots of ground, although Chris Graham got all the credit on his health app, and I did not because my phone was in my handbag. Dirty.

[Susan]

Oh, dear. Well, it sounds like you did a lot of the things that I didn't get to, but the one thing I was so excited about was to visit the zoo. There is a zoo on the grounds again. It was established by Franz Steven. It is reported to be the oldest zoo in the world. And how it happens on these trips is we're all together as a massive group. I mean, there's almost nearly 60 people. Totally. And we kind of say, I'm going over here. And anybody that wants to go there kind of veers that way. And so it's like this giant amoeba changing shapes kind of to go off and do these things. So the section of us that went off to the zoo just happened to have a vet and a woman who had worked at the Brooklyn Zoo at a level where she was traveling to zoo conferences around the country. Yeah. So we had the best tour guides through the zoo that I could ever imagine.

[Beckett]

It was amazing.

[Susan]

It was so. It was. And I had never seen a panda live and in person. And there was a panda. It was great.

[Beckett]

I loved it.

[Susan]

I was so excited to be there.

[Beckett]

And then it was time for our strudel demonstration. We went into the basement of the restaurant on the Schoenbrun grounds and Chef Robin gave us the best demonstration on how to make a strud from scratch, including raisins. He insists if there's no raisins, it's not real. He was very, very firm on that point. One of our listeners was able to get up and assist and got a certificate for her pains.

[Susan]

Hi, this is Meg from Winchester, Virginia. This was my first History Chicks trip and I really hope that it's not my last. My favorite thing about the trip was the day that we went to Schoenbrun palace and got to see the palace that Cissy preferred. And we got to see the beautiful gardens that she went through, her apartments, some of her dresses, the carriage house. Everything was just so wonderful. And then to top it off, we did have a wonderful Mozart concert at the Orangery at the palace later that evening. But truly the highlight of the day was we went to an apple strudel demonstration. And I got picked to stand up and help with the demonstration. And it was so much fun. And I really, really appreciate all of the chicks that took videos and pictures and sent them to me so that I have recording of what happened. It was an absolutely wonderful trip. I made so many friends and so many cherished memories. It's going to live with me for a long time. Thank you so much, Susan and Beckett, for what you do for the History Chicks and what you do for everyone.

[Beckett]

After another Hugo Spritz and Aperol Spritz on the grounds of Schonbrunn. We all met together for a very special VIP event.

[Susan]

We had a private after hours tour of the palace. It was just us in there. We weren't rushed through. We could go as slowly as we wanted. And that's the cool thing also about this group Is a lot of times we'll go on vacation with our families, and they don't want to do another museum, and they don't want you to stop and read every single placard. But with these groups, there's people that want to read every single placard, and they do, because they're going to be with people that understand that that's what they want to do, and they are doing the same thing. So we were able to have that tour of the palace. We also had a private dinner on the grounds of the palace at their restaurant. It was my second encounter with Taffle Spitz, so I was pretty excited. And after dinner, we all headed off for some culture to the orangery. Again, this is another Franz Stephen building, although the gardens where the orangery are date back to the 1600s. It's just. It's, you know, there's roses and all kinds of, you know, formal gardens. But what we were there for inside was a concert, a Mozart and Strauss concert with a couple opera singers and just enough music for making. Even the people that didn't care for classical music enjoy it, but not so much, you know, that they got bored. I thought it was a great amount. Now you're musical. I'm not, but I loved it.

[Beckett]

So there were a couple of things that I noticed. Having been raised by symphony musicians, I was very taken, actually, with the way that the bassist was holding her bow. Most bassists will hold the bow similar to the way that the violinists do, where the back of your hand is toward the ceiling, you know, that's just your regular grip. Four years, my dad, and this is uncommon, I think, in America, has a different bow. I always thought it was called a German bow. For all I know, it still is. I, you know, I didn't do that research before I came to record. But it has a longer stem, and you hold it upside down so that your wrist is what is pointing to the ceiling. This bassist bowed that way. I'd have never seen anyone but my dad do that. So I was watching her throughout. Also, as I was raised to be a viola player, there was a strategy behind that, by the way, viola players, I don't even know what the quote was, but, you know, we play a twentieth of the notes and get paid more because there's less of us. It's very good calculus, you know, for future employment as a symphony musician. But in this symphony, the way it was structured, there was only one viola player, and she was handling all the nonsense of the waltz all by herself. Musicians will know what this means, the bass goes and the viola player goes. So it's the whole waltz. That's what you do. You can think about other things. You can make a grocery list in your head. So I was watching if you've got a player too, I was like, oh, you're the smartest one. So I had a great time. I recognized a lot of the songs. There was some swaying, there was audience participation. A little later where there was a clapping game that we played with the conductor. It was great. I thought it was a nice rounding out of culture. Vienna is a city, of course, of classical music and classical musicians. We did not make it to the cemetery, but Strauss is in their cemetery. Beethoven, Brahms, I think Schubert. So anyway, it's the city of classical music. And so I'm glad we got exposed to it in that way. And then for some reason I got left out of the group portrait there. So I don't know what that was all about.

[Susan]

Oh no, you were in the one in front of the palace, right?

[Beckett]

Yes.

[Susan]

Oh, okay, that's good. If you go there, you can spend the entire day at Schonbrun. The entire day. Like just block it off. Don't plan on going anywhere else. There's so much to do at this one site. It's a great day.

[Beckett]

And it was here, as we were leaving the concert that one by one people started noticing that their connectivity had gone away. We were all very concerned, concernicus had we not renewed our travel plan, had we gotten out of a coverage area, what was going on? And turns out that we didn't know this yet, that there was a worldwide problem with international calling by American customers. And it extended through Asia, through Africa, through Europe. It was causing mass chaos. Everyone that depended on Google Maps that was traveling. Merry Christmas. I hope you have a paper map or a good memory. That kind of thing started happening. And despite that and that actually kind of, you know, just from my perspective, it actually started to be sort of awesome because you were required to pay attention. Attention and be in the moment rather than you just had to keep wondering rather than look up answers to your questions, you know?

[Susan]

Right, right, right. Yeah, yeah, no, I can, I can see that. There's a lot to be said about putting your phone away when you're someplace like this, you know.

[Beckett]

Hello, this is Chris.

[Susan]

And this was my first full time field trip. I think one of the things that surprised me the most was especially as a former high school band nerd, the concert at the Orangery at Chumbran palace, knowing a little bit about how much effort goes into one of those concerts and how you use an oboe to tune first. It just really brought back great memories and it was such a wonderful performance, such high quality that I really enjoyed it more than I was even expecting to, which I was already expecting to. The second thing was when we took a side quest to the Schlumberger Winery. It's a sparkling winery in the north of Vienna and getting to saber a bottle of wine was a real highlight for me. So thank you to Susan and Beckett and Laura at Like Minds Travel. This was a wonderful trip. Want to Shop Walmart? Black Friday Deals First Walmart plus members get early access to our hottest deals. Join now and get 50 off a one year annual membership. Shop Black Friday deals first with Walmart plus see [e-mail].

[Beckett]

It'S not every day that you can take a tour of an indoor cemetery, but that's exactly what we did the next day. The Imperial Crypt is the final resting place of Emperors and Empresses of Austria, going back for hundreds of years and kind of amazing how elaborate everything was. They were bronze outer coffins intricately carved. There were a lot, a lot, a lot of representations of death which I took a lot of pictures of for the skaters in my life, and also a lot of pictures of crowns, interestingly crowns that we saw later in the day. Check our Pinterest board for pictures of some of these extraordinarily elaborate coffins.

[Susan]

Hi, this is dj, also known as Susan's brother. The thing I found most interesting on the Austria field trip was the Imperial cryptour. While the sarcophagi were magnificent, I thought it was interesting how they secured the remains and coffins of the Habsburg royal family. The remains had the hearts and organs removed. The hearts were placed in special urns that were stored within the heart crypt, which was located behind the Lorento Chapel in the church. The internal organs were interred separately. The bodies without the hearts and organs were stored in coffins within the sarcophagi beneath the church. The coffins were double locked and required two keys to open. One set of keys was maintained by the Capuchin friars. The second set was placed in a key cabinet that resides within the Imperial Treasury. When touring the Imperial Treasury, I was fortunate enough to see this cabinet. The doors were closed, but the placard stated that the cabinet contained 139 keys to Habsburg coffins, not all of which were located within the Imperial decrypt. I thought the effort that was made to maintain the hearts and bodies of the Habsburg royal family was Impressive. After a break for lunch, we went and had a tour back at the Hofburg of the Imperial Treasury. And this is where we went to see all the crowns and the scepters and the artifacts of former emperors and Empire of Austria.

[Beckett]

Brianna from the land of Susan and Beckett here. Because the last couple days of my.

[Susan]

Trip were colored by less than stellar incidents. If you know, you know. All good.

[Beckett]

Now, though, I must cast my mind back to before said incidents. I was surprised by the House of Austrian History, a small museum in the.

[Susan]

Newer wing of the Hofburg in the midst of Habsburg grandeur.

[Beckett]

This museum focused on 20th century Austrian.

[Susan]

History, a fascinating contemporary look at a.

[Beckett]

Country with centuries of history.

[Susan]

There weren't many people there, but there really should be.

[Beckett]

Steeped in tradition, we went to another tradition, Cafe Central, the most glamorous coffee store I have ever seen in my entire life. I can't even express how fancy this place is.

[Susan]

Cafe Central had been established in 1876, and it still has all the old opulent splendor. And for me, the kind of cool thing was there is a very long line. This is coffee house time. During the day, people go and get their coffees and their pastries, but there's a huge line and we kind of bypassed it for our own private dining area.

[Beckett]

That's the thing, Laura gets you behind the velvet rope.

[Susan]

After having our fill of caffeine and sugar, we had plenty of time for yet another side quest. We keep talking about side quests. This is time that we build into every day for people to go and do something else that's not on the schedule. That's when we all kind of break off into different groups. I followed our friend Inge, who's from Germany, who had gotten a recommendation to a very unusual museum that was very close to where we were at Cafe Central. It was the Globe Museum of the Austrian National Library. And it is exactly how it sounds. It is the history of globes, and it is beautiful and fascinating. And I am so glad somebody had recommended it because I would recommend it to somebody else also. It's not a long adventure, but it was a very colorful and interesting one. It was like art. Some of these globes are art. Loved it.

[Beckett]

I also had an art adventure with a couple of listeners. Chris Graham and I went down to the canal where the city has, in a, I must say, vain hope of keeping the graffiti contained along the canal has given permission. This is another thing, like in London, the Leek Street Tunnel. Graffiti artists and in fact, sculptors are allowed to ply their trade freely and in the open air all the way along this canal. It's a very vibrant area of bars and young people. And there actually is a boat that has a pool that floats in the Danube. And our bus driver joked that it was the only place the Danube was actually blue, was in that pool. Um, it was pretty neat to sit on that boat watching the people swim in the pool that's floating in the Danube. It's very interesting. And then we went and had a drink up in the old observatory. I'm sorry to say that the observatory became increasingly useless to everyone as light pollution crept up, you know. So now it is a relatively fancy cocktail bar and restaurant and it has a great view of the Danube. Also, there was a World cup game going on and there is a beach club just to the right of the observatory. So we could see the beach club. We couldn't exactly see the TVs. There's like 100 giant TVs. They were watching the game and so all of the came echoing down the river and it was a really good soundtrack for a very interesting dinner. And then we walked all the way back instead of taking the tram and just absorbed the architecture and the statuary and again marveled at how everyone is just surrounded by casual beauty. So, yeah, and on our walk back we got some nighttime views of things close up that we hadn't had an opportunity to get a close eye on during our bus trip. So it was pretty neat.

[Susan]

The next day we climbed on a bus. This was our first trip outside of the city of Vienna. And we were headed to Melk, which is a Benedictine monastery. It dates back 1200 years.

[Beckett]

The library looked a lot like the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library, by the way, I'm certain the Hogwarts Library looks like that library, if you want to be more truthful. I don't think there were any scary books chained down, but they all were behind metal grates. And you can come to do research there if that is your thing. But I'm certain you're going to have to go through a background check. They didn't allow photographs in there. It's actually not only a working monastery, but they have a school there. So there are a lot of school children and school was in session. And so just to be polite, you know, and respectful, there was no photography allowed inside the building. However, the outside, of course, was a much photographed place.

[Susan]

You know, that library reminded me of the long room at Trinity College in Dublin, which I had a religious experience walking into. And I Had the same experience walking into this one. I just wanted to stay still and get myself covered in that smell of old books. The most intoxicating smell in the world as far as I'm concerned.

[Beckett]

I actually took a picture, but did not buy a book that I thought was really heavy called Baroque Cooking 1740 Authentic Austrian recipes from the time of Empress Maria Theresa. I need to find it locally. It was so heavy, I thought, you know, I am not doing myself a favor if I buy that. So looking for that book.

[Susan]

Well, I bought some liqueur that was made on the grounds by the monks, I believe, from organic matter that was grown on the grounds here. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it's just big and beautiful. There's gardens everywhere. And I bought some liqueurs which I've already sampled and they are delicious.

[Beckett]

That's usually my mo. I usually buy gin with botanicals grown like I have Blenheim, I think, and that's usually. That's usually what I do.

[Susan]

Hi. Okay. I am from Texas. I am 57 years old, and a dear high school friend invited me at the last minute to. To go to Austria with the History Chicks. What sold me on it, I did not know the History Chicks podcast, but what sold me on it was her endorsement from having traveled to Paris with them and how much she enjoyed the other people. So what I would say about this trip is that the escapade through Austria was just nothing short of a combination of being opulent and extremely organized by Laura to the last strudelkrum. Something I didn't realize or didn't know that I learned was about the visit to the Milk Abbey, that really amidst all that grandeur of the architecture and the meticulously manicured gardens and the baroque library, that I really, tongue in cheek, learned that the monks were the OG multitaskers, brewing beer and tending to the gardens like a pro who knew that holy pursuits could be so down to earth. Loved the waltzing lessons near the Hofburg palace. And really at the end of the day, as much and as organized and as many things that we did in Austria, it was extremely stress free. There was plenty of downtime as well as really just stimulating sites and activities and fun things as well. And I just circle back to what my friend originally said was the people. I'm truly not only inspired by what I saw in Austria, but I'm inspired by all the really interesting, educated, smart, funny people that I met on the trip. And I look forward to traveling with them another time. So if you're thinking about going on the History Chicks tour, don't hesitate. Go. It was an amazing experience, and I can't wait to listen to all of the History Chick podcasts moving forward.

[Beckett]

And then we had. Speaking of religious experiences, this was a calming, almost meditative experience and also a bonding experience between the participants. We sailed down the Danube on a boat called the Kaiserin Elizabeth.

[Susan]

If that's just not spot on, I don't know what is on our schedule. It just says Danube cruise. But what it was is we had this entire boat large. Think of the kind of boats that have dinner cruises on them. Large boat. To ourselves. There was an open bar, there was a table of, like, charcuterie that kept getting replenished. And all of us just relaxed and were amazed because every time we turned a corner, there was another beautiful, picturesque village. There's terrace vineyards above it. You know, then we turn again and people are calling dibs on castles and big estates that are on the river. You know, there's my house. You know, you guys can come visit me. Every corner was something new, and every something new was stunning. Hello, everyone. This is Lara Hart. And as the tour organizer, the most memorable moments for me are always those moments when the group has a chance to connect and begins to form those lasting friendships. During this tour, that moment was definitely our sail on the Danube. It ended up being the perfect way to spend the afternoon and unwind after what ended up being a, say, a more hectic, rushed morning than all of us would have liked. But standing up there on the deck of our own private boat with a glass of wine in hand and watching that stunning scenery pass us by, I really cherish that opportunity to mingle and chat with everybody and especially those that this was their first field trip and I hadn't really had the chance to talk to yet. It really was the perfect opportunity to start to get to know everybody and watch those relationships begin again. I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to everybody who came along on this field trip. It really was a great, great time, and I hope to see you all again soon. Hi, this is dj. The thing I found that was surprising was the organic nature of groups forming and dissolving to preserve common interests. During free time, I would find myself in dynamic groups that would shrink and grow based on activities that were proposed and resonated within the group. I joined and broke from groups based upon my own level of interest and never felt that anyone was upset with me leaving or joining. I met many Austria field trip participants doing this by Being flexible and sociable and always had a good time. Hello, this is Cynthia and this was my fifth history Chicks field trip. Don't ask me my favorite. That would be like asking who is my favorite child. But I loved being in Austria. I loved the palaces, I loved the museums, I loved the cathedrals. The really loved being in the Sound of Music filming sites. And the food, oh my goodness, the food. But the jaw dropping scenery was probably my favorite part. And because of that, maybe my favorite moment of the trip was the Danube river cruise where we left from Milk Abbey and got on a boat and sailed back to Vienna. And it was just a nice, relaxed, quiet afternoon. You could visit with different people on the trip and enjoy each other's company. And it was just a great moment of camaraderie, which is what I like best about these trips, all five of them. You can throw together 50 people. Some knew each other from before, some didn't. But you all are like minded and have something in common. And where may have been 50 strangers a week ago, we left as 50 friends. So thank you Laura for organizing the trips and Susan and Beckett for the podcast that makes this all possible. Bye. Ryan Reynolds here for I guess my hundredth mint commercial. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I mean, honestly, when I started this I thought I only have to do like four of these. I mean it's unlimited to Premium Wireless for $15 a month. How are there still people paying two or three times that much? I'm sorry, I shouldn't be victim blaming. Here, give it a [e-mail] save whenever you're ready. $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three month plan only. Taxes and fees, extra Speed slower above 40 gigabytes. C.

[Beckett]

When we got back to town after having passed the town of Jets, Dorf so obviously sent that to my child. I took a little field trip while Chris Graham was buying some souvenirs across the street and photographed Elizabeth Bath's Vienna house. It is just a doorway. It actually looks pretty gothic. Although maybe it just looks that way because I know what happened behind those doors or. Or what kind of person lived behind those doors. It is unassuming. It's between an antiquarian and a cafe. And I caught a sight of the door open and peeked my head in and there are residences there and doctor's offices and a pilates studio, so. Oh, how times have changed.

[Susan]

Your reaction to this is just so Beckett Graham, you texted. I can't believe nobody else is Here, checking out this doorway and I was like, wait, I didn't even know it was in Vienna. So if I didn't know, who else is going to know? I thought all of her work was done in Hungary. I didn't even think about the Austria connection. So I love that you were able to do that. I had another thing on my list that I really wanted to do in Vienna. There is a very old amusement park called Prater. And I had been there in the winter again and it wasn't open. And they had this amazing Ferris wheel with like trolley cars instead of seats or cabins. It's just, it looks just like a trolley car and I really wanted to ride it. So DJ and I took our trip across town to a different area that we hadn't been in before. And we were able to ride this Ferris wheel that was built in 1897. It was very quiet, it was lovely. Great view.

[Beckett]

We met a lot of listeners inside of a giant park. Think like Central park but with a lot more statuary and glamour. We met inside of that park at a beer, basically a gast garden. Not a beer garden, they don't call them that there, but a gas garden in the middle of the park and had a great outdoor eating and drinking experience in the middle of the city. And I wish, wish that my local park, Loose park, had such a thing. I don't know who to even write to get that going. But it's a great amenity. I really loved it. So we left all the delights of Vienna and boarded our bus on the way to Salzburg. But we made a stop at a very important historical location.

[Susan]

Mauthausen Memorial is where the Mauthausen concentration camp was. And most of the memorial is the concentration camp. You tore it with an audio guide. And it was emotional and heartbreaking and I don't have enough adjectives to say what it was. It was so somber, nobody talked and we were there for quite some time. But I think it was the most important place that we had visited.

[Beckett]

One of the things that I thought was invaluable to see in the museum. Inside of what was once a barracks was a timeline and artifacts showing how Germany got to this place and the rise of Hitler to power.

[Susan]

Going to Vienna was my third adventure with the history chicks. As soon as I knew I was going for sure, I got together with a good friend to get front row seats for the last Spanish riding school performance before the horses go to play in the pastures for the summer. Then I read the Perfect Horse by Elizabeth Letts about the efforts to save these priceless horses during World War II. I was psyched. The performance was polished and the horses as beautiful as their pictures. That event would have been the highlight for me, but the visit that sticks with me was the trip to Mauthausen. The camp is on a hill. It was a gorgeous summer day. Swifts were flying overhead and the farms and the surrounding valleys had started haying. The contrast with the tales coming over the audio guide and the memorials at the camp was jarring. The visit was a reminder that remembering is important. The fragility of reasoned human discourse and respectful, fair governments is something to treasure and defend.

[Beckett]

Hi, this is Inge from Hamburg, Germany. I had a lot of fun being everyone's go to person for translations and questions about German and Austria. Even though I'm from northern Germany, which has less cultural similarities with Austria than the Song of Germany, I hope I was able to enhance the cultural experience of some of my fellow History Chicks. A little part of the reason why I enjoy the History Chicks field trip so much is because it lets me see Europe through a bit of an American perspective, which is fascinating to me. I always feel like I learn about the American culture, the culture of the country we're visiting, but also about my own culture. One very important example of that was the visit to the Mauthausen concentration camp. Seeing this incredibly moving and devastating memorial, both from the Austrian and the American perspective meant a lot to me and I'm very thankful for the experience, but I want to end on a happier note. Another thing that will stick with me most from this trip is the beautiful scenery of Austria. I especially love the Danube cruise through the Wachau and the bus rides through the Salzkammergut. Thank you Laura, Susan, Beckett and all our fellow travelers for another amazing trip with the History Chicks.

[Susan]

I'm Rebecca and I live in Maryland right outside of Washington D.C. i've been a long time Women in History enthusiast and learned of the History Chicks podcast about two years ago. I love the way that Beckett and Susan do a great job of illuminating women's contributions through their podcast. I became a fast fan. Austria was my first field trip and I went with a friend and enjoyed meeting all the other welcoming field trippers. The daily adventures were terrific and the schedule allowed for plenty of time for side quests. I enjoyed them all. I was most moved by our visit to the Manhausen concentration camp. To see the prison, the death quarry and the memorials to those subjected to the cruel Nazi regime was upsetting and deeply moving. It reminded me of the importance of Being vigilant, acting swiftly, and being allies to prevent hate and annihilation of others. This visit was paired perfectly with a side quest of a walking tour of Jewish Vienna to explore its history, people and culture. I loved how approachable Beckett and Susan were. And Laura was such a pro at handling all the field trip logistics. I can't wait for the next field trip. Hi, this is Donna. One of the things I love about the History Chicks tours is the time available to explore special interests. One side quest that I experienced was with a group of others and our experienced guide doing a walking tour of Jewish history and culture in Vienna. I learned so much about the significance of the Jewish community to the economy and culture of Austria and Europe, going back to at least the Middle Ages. I visited later the museum in Judenplatz where the remains of a synagogue destroyed in 1421 can be seen. The remains were only discovered in the 1990s and I was so moved by the stories and the artifacts that brought to life this history of a people that was almost lost. I want to thank Beckett and Susan and Laura Hart with like minds travel for this wonderful experience. And I can't tell you how much I continue to think about and relive the wonderful tour we had to Austria.

[Beckett]

We arrived in Salzburg and I have to say, Chris Graham and I both think this is a mighty fine place. We really liked it a lot.

[Susan]

Oh, I agree with you completely. The city was inhabited since the seven hundreds. So everywhere you turn there's buildings or walls or cathedrals and churches from so many different eras that it's mind boggling and beautiful. And I agree this was a very special place. I loved Salzburg.

[Beckett]

Curiously, this is on a tip from a friend. We meandered down a street that is so curious. It's actually just false fronts and inside the false fronts, people are living in caves. And so we went to a cave bar called Murphy's and it turned out to be an Irish pub that was having a sports night because Austria was one of the teams in the World Cup. So we had the Poland game going on at one end of this bar, like deep, deep in the cave. And then all the Austrians were right in the front screaming. And we're sitting in the middle like, wow, this is actually kind of fun. And the bartender, every time she passed back and forth, would talk to us. And Chris Cram can make friends in any location with no length of time at all. So by the time we left, we felt like we were among friends.

[Susan]

Cynthia, who has been on five field trips with us, Organized a walking tour of Salzburg, and anybody who wanted to join her just paid their, what, €11 or whatever it was. And we took a walking tour of Salzburg and had the most delightful tour guide. You know, a lot of tour guides, they'll tell you all the stuff, they'll throw in some jokes. This one was telling us her opinions. She told us the best candy shop to get the local delicacy candy that's named after Mozart himself, which one had started first, and then all the others were copycats. If you are a Sound of Music fan, you need to go to Salzburg because there are so many sites where they actually film the movie, and you walk in them and get your picture taken with the Do Re Mi fountain, for instance. It was a great tour. I'll put the information for her tour company in our show notes.

[Beckett]

And just like in Vienna, as you're walking around, from time to time, you'll glance down and see the stumbling stones where, just like in Vienna, people of Jewish extraction were taken from their homes and sent to places like Mauthausen or Auschwitz. And their names are memorialized in little metal tiles set into the sidewalk in front of what used to be their homes or storefronts.

[Susan]

This is Laura, and my favorite side quest was to see the Viennese Boys Choir. And the whole experience was just so unexpected. I was not expecting it to be a mass. And it was so beautiful, from the communion to their voices in the orchestra and the incense, it was just very transcending experience. And then going to dinner with Renee and Suzanne at this wonderful restaurant down a side street in Salzburg after we'd had a wonderful side quest that Cynthia had arranged. Seeing all the some of the sights from the Sound of Music was just a childhood dream of mine. And this restaurant was so magical. And we got to have the amazing Salzburg Knockel, which I feel like I'm always saying wrong because people laugh when I say it, but it was so delicious and definitely something that I'm gonna copy when I get home. Thanks for a great trip. Hi, my name is Carla, and my most memorable adventures in Austria were the Sound of Music tour and the River Cruise. My favorite side quest was the day.

[Beckett]

That Shannon and I visited the Albertina Museum.

[Susan]

It was truly one of my best days there. This trip was an investment in myself, and I got to experience Austria with all my new friends, and I'll never forget it.

[Beckett]

The next day, we traveled to a little town called Hallstatt, the most picturesque town I think I have ever been to in my entire life.

[Susan]

I can't argue that if you go there and you have seen the movie Frozen, it looks just like Arendelle. However, the art director for the movie never went to Austria, so it's not that town. But dang if it doesn't look like it.

[Beckett]

We rode the funicular, which is a little diagonal train car, just a simple car. There's two of them. One goes up, one goes down, then cross in the middle. I have video of that process. There's also a salt mine. You know, we're near Salzburg if we haven't made that connection. And we didn't have time for the salt mine. But what we did have time for was the restaurant at the top of the mountain while enjoying yet another aperol spritz. And I have to say, had to order some vegetables because that we've been missing some vegetables. Non potato vegetables were a little hard to procure. So we ate big salads. And the view down to the lake and past the village was incomparable.

[Susan]

I thought it was interesting that by the time I got to the funicular, through the funicular ticket line and up it, you and Chris were already sitting at your table at that restaurant. You did it really fast. My brother DJ had told me that he had a bucket list item to hike the Alps, and this was our only chance while we were there. So we had actually been in training, training for months climbing hills in our neighborhoods. He was doing the whatever that machine is at the gym. He texted me, I just climbed the Eiffel Tower. We were ready. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to hike up, but we were going to have time to hike down. We were joined by traveler Brianna, who is a former college runner, like cross country runner. So she was very fit. And we were like, warming up at the top of the hill. We're gonna go down this mountain. Down is very difficult. You know, it uses some muscles. And we're like, warming up and we got our shoes on. We, you know, we got our hats on our sunblock. And I look and there's this gentleman who is probably in his mid-80s walking up this mountain trail in flip flops. You know what?

[Beckett]

You know what that reminds me of is when I had taken Jet to extreme sports camp in California. And then I had to go, like, find other things to do for a week and work from the hotel. And I decided to go see the Sequoia National Forest. So I took my car up there and I had a bottle of water and my, like, regular ballet flat situation. And I pull up into the parking lot of the Sequoia National Forest. And I look over and there's all these ironically German hikers that have giant backpacks and they have like camelback water containers and hiking boots and hats and sunglasses. And they're putting sunblock on themselves. And I'm thinking, one of us is wrong. One of us is wrong. I hope it is not me. And it was not me. It was not me. The parking lot that I had chosen was actually the accessible trail and all of the trails were actually paved and well maintained.

[Susan]

This one was also maintained. And, you know, because it's a steep decline, there's a lot of switchbacks. But because we took the road less traveled down the mountain, we were able to see the entrance to the Emperor Franz Joseph drift. That would be the entrance to that salt mine named after Franz Joseph. He and Sissy had a big history in that area and they had come out for the opening of this salt mine that bears his name. So I was able to see that. And there was, you know, placards, yeah, trail placards, the big ones all the way down, which was great because it was like a museum with, you know, nice views. The holidays are here at the Home Depot. If you're working on getting ready for company, a lot of company, make sure you're ready with Black Friday savings. Get up to 40% off select appliances, plus up to an extra thousand dollars off select kitchen appliances. Upgrade your kitchen with top brands like GE Profile and get sleek, cutting edge appliances to make sure you've got hosting handled. Yeah, you do get Black Friday savings now with free delivery and financing on select appliances. This holiday at the Home Depot offer valid November 6th through December 4th, US only. C store online for detail.

[Beckett]

So frequent listeners of the history chicks know that I do like a cemetery when I travel. I like all the history associated with it. And there is a unique one. On the top of one of the mountains in Hallstatt, there is something called the Charnel House, which has existed on the top of this mountain since the 12th century. People were buried in the Hallstatt cemetery. The one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, by the way, looks like its own little tiny Swiss village. However, due to the lack of space, after a number of years between 10 and 20, depending on the era you're talking about, the larger bones, including the skull, were removed and processed and put into this building, which is called the Charnel House. And after you are removed and your bones are clean, your relative came and painted your skull, including your name and certain designs that meant different things. And they are stacked within this building. And it's been going on for a thousand years.

[Susan]

We keep calling them mountains, but the locals call them hills. It's only a mountain if there's snow on the top, apparently. But to us, these are mountains. Hello, chicks.

[Beckett]

This is Chris Graham.

[Susan]

The things that most surprised me or things I learned or side quests, I have to admit St. Stephen's in Vienna on day one absolutely floored me. I've never seen a building that looked like that inside or out. And it literally took my breath away, period. I walked inside and just felt small because of how huge it was. I'll definitely go back two things I didn't know as I'm over buying gifts in one of the gift shops. Beckett was over taking picture of a serial killer's front door, which surprised me. And you know, just like, you know, homicidal maniacs, they look like everybody else. Well, this doorway looked just like every other doorway, but pretty interesting the history behind it. And then the thing that surprised me the most was the town of Hallstatt. I will never ever get over seeing that lake for the first time or the view from the top of that hill. Hill, mountain and just the quaint town itself. That was just amazing. This is Lyn, my personal Venn diagram. Confluence of moved, surprised and new was Hallstatt. It had everything. Scenic wonder, deservedly a UNESCO World Heritage view as advertised. Also the immense deep history, 7000 years of habitation in the area and civilization just mind blowing. Other things that didn't quite hit all three, but at least two was a side quest that I did to track down Gustav Klimt's the Kiss. In real life, it was at the Belvedere in Vienna. It is amazing. It never ceases to surprise me how much impact seeing art that you would have only otherwise seen on a glossy page or on your computer in real life, the sheer size of it, the shifting light, it's just a very different experience. And I would remiss not to mention Mauthausen. That was a kick in the guts that I think we all need truly moving. Hi, chicks, this is Beth. One side quest that I went on in Salzburg was with Erin, Vivian and Renee. We climbed up a very long flight of large uneven stairs to go see the St. Peter's Catacombs and church. These sites were carved into the side of a mountain in the 1100s and were a place for Christians to practice their religion freely while they were under Roman rule. This was a super cool experience to see and it only cost €1 and 50 cents. Thank you to all my fellow travelers for making this trip so special. It was my first international and first solo trip and I can't wait to do it again with you guys. What a wonderful group. Bye.

[Beckett]

Lots of things happened this next day and we will, for the most part, allow our friends to tell you all about it. We went to visit the Mozart Museum where Mozart was brought up. So we won't go into that as our listeners are talking about it, but we did have dinner at the Zipver Beer House, located inside of a house where Maria Anna, Mozart, Wolfgang's sister, once lived. That's a lot of history. Also, they had pretzels hanging from their chandeliers. So there's comedy, there's history, there's gastronomy. They had really good food there, all wrapped in one. That's kind of our whole trip, really, just like in one little sentence.

[Susan]

I really loved during our tour of Mozart's birthplace and the fact that we went to lunch at her old apartments, that Maria Anna was mentioned as often as she was. I was quite surprised that she was given any credit at all because it's Mozart, you know, he's a big draw, right? But they were even pages. I had talked about it during her episode of her music book. And there were pages of her music book in that museum that you could read, you know, if you read German, which I don't. But just seeing them and seeing her handwriting was really something else. For dinner that night, my brother and I decided to take ourselves out for a special dinner. And we went to a place called Gastof Goldgass, where we had heard from other travelers that they had the Salzburger Knacker which is a specialty dessert to Salzburg. It's like a meringue or a souffle with three peaks to represent the three mountains around the city. It was delicious. And they sent us in the middle of two other tables which turned out to be also occupied by Americans. It was like we were in the American section. So we started talking to the people on each side of us. And one was a small family, a dad, a mom and like an 11 year old son. And they had gone to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, which we had passed on our way back into Salzburg from Hallstatt. And they had taken a hike up there and they highly recommended it. It's not something that we did, but I told them that I would pass that on to anybody who's in the area. The kid even liked it. It was a really long hike and he loved it. Hi, my Name is Erin. The Austria field trip was filled with a lot of firsts. Personally, it was my first History Chicks field trip, first trip to Europe and first solo trip. Though in this History Chicks community, I never felt solo. There was so much that I loved that it's hard to narrow it down to a certain adventure. In Vienna. I enjoyed the palaces, seen the view from the north tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral, sidequesting to the Globe Museum, walking the streets in awe of the architecture and getting to know people over meals in the cafes. The Danube river cruise was a real highlight. Such a relaxing way to take in the scenery of castles, towns and vineyards lining the river, all while socializing. Hallstatt didn't even feel real. When I show people at home the pictures, they jokingly say they have to be photoshopped. Strolling through this quaint, charming village was so lovely. In Salzburg, I found the Mozart birthplace tour exceeded my expectations. I don't know a lot about classical music, but loved the musician playing pieces on a piano and seeing the way a middle class family lived. Thank you to Beckett, Susan for forming this community and for Laura for the execution of the field trip. I hope to join again in a few years.

[Beckett]

Hi, this is Susan, the other Susan.

[Susan]

This was my fourth field trip with the History Chicks and my first time to Vienna. Let me say right off, Austria did not disappoint.

[Beckett]

From history to art, to music, to food, to culture, to the not so.

[Susan]

Blue Danube river, there is something for everyone to pick.

[Beckett]

One thing that stood out for me.

[Susan]

Is next to impossible, but I will give it a try.

[Beckett]

I was most touched by the little things.

[Susan]

The small town of Hallstatt, the winding alleyways of Salzburg, the small gelato shops, the numerous desserts that required a taste.

[Beckett]

And the quiet corners of the public gardens.

[Susan]

The event that got me the most was the private pianoforte demonstration we had at Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg. Standing in what would have been a living room of his family's apartment building and hearing pieces written by him was like going back in time.

[Beckett]

You could imagine sitting in room with.

[Susan]

His family, marveling at the talent of one so young, not knowing how great he would one day be.

[Beckett]

Oh, to be able to time travel.

[Susan]

Back to that moment with an iPhone. Salzburg may have begun as a salt mining town, but music does have a deep history with this city. And those hills and mountains are alive with the sound of music. Thank you Beckett and Susan, for the many hours you have kept me company on walks and long drives.

[Beckett]

I really do think of you as.

[Susan]

More than friends in my ears. Thank you Laura for always putting together the most amazing trips and experiences.

[Beckett]

And to my fellow travelers, thank you for the laughs, deep conversations and friendships.

[Susan]

You all are amazing. I look forward to traveling with you again in the near future.

[Beckett]

This is Danielle from Olympia, Washington.

[Susan]

I loved visiting Austria with this group. What surprised me was how intertwined Austria is with history across the world. Then we got to experience those things on the trip on a side quest to a history museum. On day one, I learned about the Hallstatt culture which dates back to the 12th century BCE and spread from Austria to cover Europe over eight centuries. During the trip we visited the town.

[Beckett]

Of Hallstatt where the culture started.

[Susan]

It was wild to see 3,000 years of architecture in Celtic, Roman and Baroque styles all right next to each other. At the Vienna Museum.

[Beckett]

I learned how much the Ottoman Empire.

[Susan]

Wanted the Austrian area, the Ottomans hanging.

[Beckett]

Out in the area so much and.

[Susan]

Their attempts to take Vienna are tied to the love of coffee in Vienna.

[Beckett]

Which of course we dove into way on this trip.

[Susan]

It was also cool that we learned about the musical history of Austria then.

[Beckett]

Saw it play out literally.

[Susan]

I loved the evening concert in the.

[Beckett]

Palace and getting a Mozart recital in his birth home.

[Susan]

The recital continued the connections of Austria across Europe as our pianist is Croatian, lives in Austria and speaks German and English to visitors. Besides the concerts, the thing that really moved me was the Mauthausen Memorial. Both of my grandpas were proud of serving in World War II, so as difficult as it was to learn about the atrocities committed at the campus, it.

[Beckett]

Was really important to see what my grandpas had fought against.

[Susan]

For me, this connected the US and Canada to Austria. Thank you Laura and the history chicks for another unforgettable trip. This is Cindy Franzen from Franklin, Tennessee. Thanks to Laura, Susan and Beckett for inviting us on this field trip. Something that surprised me was the piano demo at Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg. I wasn't really expecting much as we had heard earlier in the week that Mozart left Salzburg very early. However, I was mistaken. Before we toured the home, we were entertained by a man playing a selection of piano pieces by Mozart and his father. We walked into a somewhat uncomfortable warm room with only a few places to sit. However, when the man started playing, there were like little fireworks going off in my head. It was so beautiful. He put everything into the performance for us. Next we went to tour the home. We had an enthusiastic tour guide who shared information not only about Mozart and his family, but also what it was like to live in Salzburg. She helped paint A picture to identify what life was like. I genuinely enjoyed the entire experience. This was my first time traveling overseas by myself and I was nervous. However, I went because I knew as soon as I joined the group I would immediately have 50 or more people to talk with, eat meals with, walk around the city with and get to know. Each person is unique, but the interest in the podcast and travel brought us all together and it truly is magic. It's one of the Laras. I was surprised how much music there was everywhere in Vienna and I loved listening to that. Just walking down the street you could hear music. I love the side trips to see the work of Gustav Klimt and the other Secessionists. And I also really enjoyed the food and drink. The fruit drinks were amazing, the wine.

[Beckett]

Was amazing, and of course the people.

[Susan]

On the trip were amazing. Keep going. History Chicks. Hi, this is Renee. The Austria trip was my first History Chicks trip and it definitely lived up to its billing. Thanks of course to Laura, Susan and Beckett. I came by myself and everyone was so welcoming. There were many, many highlights, including the Sissi Museum, the Schonbrunn Gardens, the after hour tours of the Schonbrun Palace, Milk Abbey and the concentration camp. But two of the experiences stood out for me. The first was the Vienna Boys Choir singing Antonio Salieri's Mass, which I believe was celebrated by the Cardinal of Vienna in the Hoffberg Palace Chapel. The second was what was billed as a piano demo, but it was so much more. It was a mini concert at Mozart's birthplace where a gentleman played an instrument that I believe he said was the pianoforte, which was built in the mid-1700s around the time of Mozart's death. He started with the piece Mozart composed and played at age six and then played several other of Mozart's pieces. It was magical. We were standing right next to the pianist and you could see how small the keys were and how he had to use his knees to press bars to dampen or expand the sound. It was a great trip and I can't wait for the next opportunity to meet up with the History Chicks. Bye. Hello, I'm Janet from Florida. Austria is a beautiful country and this trip highlighted so much of it for me as a horse owner and rider. It was thrill to sit front and center to watch the Royal Lipizzaner horses perform with grace and strength. Music was everywhere. A special delight was our private piano concert in Mozart's own home. We heard a piece he wrote as a six year old in that very house. The countryside was charming and our Danube crews held a new surprise around every corner, often a castle or a monastery. But what really moves me about traveling with my fellow history chicks is the community we create. Susan and Beckett are gracious, welcoming, and open. Laura Hart of Like Minds Travel puts together a program that is fascinating and flexible, allowing us plenty of time to connect and explore. My most moving moment on this trip was when one of my fellow travelers crossed a crowded restaurant to bring me her plate of knocker, which is a Salzburg dessert specialty. The. The fact that she'd remembered how I had missed out on this treat amazed me. Knock is heavenly. And I was touched by her kindness. Thanks, June and all my travel buddies. See you next time.

[Beckett]

Back in Vienna for our goodbye dinner, we ate at another notable piece of music history, the home of Ludwig van Beethoven, which had been turned into a winery. There was a lot of singing, and as a matter of fact, I think someone tipped the accordionist to play edelweiss. And all the Americans sang and swayed and the place was 100% full, by the way. In addition to our, I don't know, eight, nine long tables, the whole entire restaurant, every room of it was packed full of locals having a great time. And that is just the thing that I loved. Throughout Austria, there's just people out enjoying their lives. That's like a spirit I would like to bring home. I will say that we saw wienerschnitzel on the menu and we crossed our hands like, no, no moss. No moss. Wienerschnitzel.

[Susan]

And our final apple strudel. We had a lot of apple strudel on this trip.

[Beckett]

So after singing, dancing, a lot of photography, goodbyes all around, it really was goodbye this time. Sometimes we stay a little, you know, we can have breakfast the day after. And some people did, but. But for Chris, Graham and I, at least it was a 4:30 wake up call and we were on the road. So the goodbye dinner was really goodbye. And on our way home, on our layover in Chicago, we had Chicago dogs as a little trip dessert. I loved meeting all of our new friends and seeing all of our old friends. And I think Laura said it best on the bus when, you know, she said that we started as strangers and became close friends by the end, all of us. It's the best part of the trip, listening to all of the friendships developing.

[Susan]

And we're going to end this by letting some of our fellow travelers wrap everything up in their memories of the trip. I'm Suzanne. And I'm Jason, one of the roosters on the trip. Austria was our third trip with the history chicks and like minds travel. We saw cathedrals, memorials and palaces and loved it all. This trip, I can honestly say I didn't have a favorite. I loved all the things I cried when listening to Mozart at his home. I laughed every time the waltz instructor said, your other left foot. But the food sh. Don't tell the French. But I liked Austria's better. We learned to make strudel. I ate Kaiser Schwarm, Sacre Torch, schnitzel, Spatzel, and Wiener Wurstal. I adored every bite. We saw the most amazing cathedrals and gardens and palaces. We climbed St. Stephens 343 steps to see the view of Vienna and the ceramic tile roof. It was gorgeous. With the beautiful comes the humbling. We visited Mauthausen. I will never forget. As for favorites, Hallstatt, it takes charming to an unprecedented level. And we're definitely aiming to go back. There's some pretty good sorbet there too, so as you can tell, we loved every bite. Did I mention imperial rolls at breakfast? Thank you to Beckett, Susan, and Laura for this absolutely delicious adventure. We're ready for the next one. Hi, my name is Allison, and this was actually my second field trip with the history chicks. I think one of the memories that will always stick with me actually really has nothing to do with going to any particular place. It was on some of the days that we had either a free dinner or a free lunch, and just a random group of people would kind of get together and say, let's walk down this way and find somewhere to eat. And just sitting down and having a meal with these people that you really just met, but you felt like you've been friends with them for years. And that's just the amazing community, really, that Susan and Beckett have created with this podcast. And I will always cherish those memories, those meals with people that I consider really great friends. So thank you. Thank you so much. That means a lot to a lot of us. And I want to thank Laura as well for organizing all of this. Everything always goes so smoothly. You make everybody feel so comfortable. And I recommend you to everyone I know. Always, always. These have been some of the great trips. This is Jan and Joe. This trip to Austria was a lifelong dream of being able to walk where the great musicians walked. Huge thanks to Laura for awesome planning to include our history tricks, private tours like the piano demo of Maestro Demnic. It was mesmerizing. And this was in the home of Amadeus and Maria Anna Mozart, where they practiced, played, and composed. We will also not soon forget waltzing with our chicks and roosters too. To Strauss. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. One, two, three. The hills were alive with the Sound of Music, as were the cobbled streets, nearly hidden alleys, and glittering corridors. It is easy to see the inspiration of both the natural landscape, the mountains and the riverscapes, and the forever performing architecture. It certainly inspired fellow chicks who serenaded us many times as we traveled along together. The crown and glory of our trip happened on our final evening in Salzburg, where we traveled by venicula to Hohensalzburg fortress, where we then climbed the medieval stairway within the fortress to witness the performance of Austrian musicians who once again brought the great musicians works to life. Thank you, Susan and Beckett, for being the genesis and the priming for this awesome adventure. Hey, it's Jackie from Mississippi. I was so excited to go on my second field trip with the History chicks to Austria. Had a lovely time. It was wonderful to see friends that I made from London that I've kind of kept up with on social media and then meet tons of new friends. And I'm really hoping to be able to hit one of these trips again soon. The one thing that I probably was most surprising to learn is the color of Maria Teresa yellow. It was not my fave and I felt like everything was Maria Teresa Teresa yellow. Well, it actually has a name. It's called Serapian or Serapian. I'm not sure how you say it and you can still get it, which I was like. But anyhow, I felt like that was super interesting just because so many buildings were that color. Favorite side quest or adventure was probably. Oh, when I found Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein in the Kissery Museum. That was probably my favorite. Anyhow, it was lovely. I'm so glad I got to hang out with all of you and eat and drink and cruise down the Danube. And I'm really looking forward to the next time. Bye. Hello, this is Erin. I was surprised at how quickly the group of the 50 history chicks travelers changed from strangers to pals. Every time I sat next to a new person at lunch or took a walk down a cobblestone street with someone I hadn't talked with before or swatted at mosquitoes outside of an opera performance together with someone, I left the interaction.

[Beckett]

With a new friend.

[Susan]

These are some of my favorite memories. Sitting next to Meg on the Sound of Music bus tour and singing the songs from the Sound of Music with her. Exploring the tiny cobblestone streets with Vivian. The first night we were in Salzburg, we discovered a carriage wash built for horses to drive into and a bar built into the side of a mountain. And finally, when we were beside ourselves.

[Beckett]

With joy, we turned a corner and.

[Susan]

Accidentally walked into a giant plaza full of Austrians sitting on blankets and watching an outdoor movie. The whole night was magical, just like walking into a storybook. I loved that there was something valuable to do or see with the group every day, but every day also left room for personal adventure. In my time away from the group, I swam in the Old Danube, kayaked in Hallstatt Lake, went to see the Third man in a Viennese theater, bought a vintage ring with Susan, DJ and Cindy, meditated in a chapel in the mountains, and had a hundred other small, unforgettable and life renewing adventures. In Salzburg. I had a claustrophobia attack on the funicular going up to the fortress. So my wonderful History Chicks friends agreed to walk down the hill when it was time to go back to town. It was a much steeper walk down than we were expecting, but there was something so fun about holding onto the railings, laughing and trying not to slip together on the way down. My favorite memories is walking up to the catacombs above Salzburg graveyard with Beth, Renee and Vivian. The day was very warm and the four of us were enjoying the stony coolness of the ancient early Christian chapel all by ourselves when it started to rain outside. Then all the church bells across the.

[Beckett]

City began to chime.

[Susan]

It was a moment of magic I will never forget. I left the tour a day early and when I got onto the bus to say goodbye to everyone who was returning to Vienna, all 50 people on the bus spontaneously serenaded me with the Sound of Music song so Long Farewell. It was the perfect way to say goodbye.

[Beckett]

Thanks for listening.

[Susan]

Bye.