For a few weeks a year, we head out of our ordinary lives to take a Field Trip. Like any decent Field Trip, we don’t go alone and offer up the opportunity to join us to you, Dear Listeners! This June we headed to Austria with 50 people who would become friends in a very short time. We toured Vienna, Salzburg, Hallstatt, and several locations in between with an accent on history and this week we opened up our mics to let those traveling with us tell their stories.
But this is not some ordinary travelogue, these are the remembrances of history-minded people who traveled to a country steeped with history. There are things to learn in this episode about Austrian history, geology, gastronomy, society, music… there are so many things to learn from our new friends!
Our group of almost 60 people enjoying Schönbrunn Palace in June of 2024!Our adventure kicked off with an open-air bus tour of the city with guide Chris (seen here with Chris Graham) who made sure we could all identify architect Otto Wagner’s buildings!Kris sent this photo of our group who took a side quest to Schlumberger Wine Cellar (and they have an escape room!)Vienna’s Naschmarket in the sunshine.Beckett stopped to see some stumbling stones in Vienna.What we lacked in grace we made up for in enthusiasm at our waltz lesson at Elmayer Dance School in Vienna.Chris Graham and Missi with their protein of the future (bugs, they are snacking on bugs with hummus.) Former subject Empress Sisi’s crypt below the Hofburg Palace
Andi found the original maker of Sisi’s famous stars!The Globe Museum! (and another side quest mentioned, the House of Austrian History in the Hofburg.)Cafe Central (and here’s a link to the Hugo Spritz recipe!)The Ferris wheel at Prater Park in Vienna.We met up each day in the lobby of our hotel, Grand Wein in Vienna.Laura Hart leading our group to our beautiful day at Schoenbrunn PalaceThere’s no official uniform…but Aarin, Susan, and Cindy showed up in one by accident.Our Danube river cruise, we had the boat to ourselves aptly named, Kaiserin Elisabeth!Hello, Salzburg! The delightful walking tour we took as a Salzburg side quest was conducted by Tonja of Salzburg Passion Tours,A group at one of our most our favorite stops, Hallstatt. That view!The Franz Joseph Drift in HallstattMeg in the Alps, is it a hill or a mountain?Tafelspitz- it’s boiled beef and vegetables in a broth with a side of potatoes, sour cream and chive, and apples and horseradish.Laura and Suzanne hiding behind a Salzbuger KnockerlOur private concert at the Mozart Museum.So long, farewell, Aarin (and all!)
All of our Field Trips are organized by Like Minds Travel. We’re planning three more in 2025, so stay tuned to learn where those are and how to join us!
The History Chicks Podcast
Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider: Two women. Half the population. Several thousand years of history. About an hour.
