Greetings from Vienna, where the last full day of our tour was indeed very full. With a national holiday meaning that all public offices were closed on Monday, we needed to make all of our Vienna connections on this day. So Tuesday was full… but also fun and informative.

We began by visiting the OeAD – the Austrian Agency for Education and Internationalization.

There, we learned a great deal about the Austrian educational system, which frankly has a far more complex structure than does public education in the United States. Don’t believe me? Check out this chart we all received.

While primary school is pretty straightforward, things branch into many possible pathways with secondary education. From there, the university system also represents a kind of institutional and pathway diversity that we’re less accustomed to in the US. A robust apprenticeship system is also far more prevalent there – and a formal part of their national educational structure. I felt I could almost see the wheels turning in NAFAns’ heads as they considered best ways to advise students who might be considering an Austrian Fulbright, a Gilman, a USTA, or a research project in Austria.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovely final group lunch at one of the famous (with very good reason!) cafes in Vienna, Café Eiles.

The variety of food and beverages ordered was truly stunning, with many of us enjoying one last opportunity to sample Viennese pastries, such as Sachertorte, warm apple strudel, or pancakes with apricot jam. (If you’d like to drool along with us, here is the menu.

Tummies full, we had a little free time to explore and then all found our way (not without a touch of confusion for many of us, I might add) to the Austrian Fulbright Commission, which is tucked away inside the plaza at Museumsplatz.

There, we heard first from a member of the US Commercial Service posted at the US Embassy in Vienna, Robee Sallegue. This was followed by extremely informative presentations from representatives of Fulbright Austria, including Executive Director Hermann Agis; Darrah Lustig; and Katharina Huetthaler, program officer for the United States Teaching Assistantship (USTA) program – which, somewhat oddly, is not a Fulbright program but is overseen by Fulbright Austria. 😊 Katharina, in fact, works with the Combined and Community-Based Combined Fulbright award grantees, since those include English teaching duties alongside their independent study/research projects and university coursework.

Our day was capped off with a crowded-alongside-commuters bus ride to the very edge of the Vienna city limits – a great way to see areas outside the Innere Stadt and Ringstrasse, by the way. Where were we headed on this bus trip? Well, one of the things Vienna is famous for is having vineyards that exist inside the city limits. These are often accompanied by Heurigers (aka, wine taverns), where vintners can make their new wines available to patrons amidst idyllic settings and accompanied by light or hearty Viennese fare. One of these – Heuriger Wolff – was the destination for our final group dinner.

Our initial disappointment over rain forcing us to remain indoors was definitely offset by the presence of our many guests! Lori Felton, our study tour leader for Vienna, had arranged for several individuals to join us:  Katherina and Hermann, Fulbright Austria reps who had spoken with us that afternoon; 4 or 5 students who are currently on their Fulbright or USTA adventures; and Marianne Steinbauer, a local teacher who has hosted student ETA recipients for many, many years – including our very own Lori!

While the tour was officially to conclude the following morning, with several folks heading off to the airport shockingly early, this felt like the end of our adventure, and that was bittersweet. On one hand, the tour felt long, in the sense of so many places and people visited, but it also felt like it had passed in a flash. This made it extra nice when I ran into Heidi Bretz and Ethan Knight one last time at the Vienna airport the following morning. We say Auf Wiedersehen and adieu!

Written by Susan Albrecht, Fellowship Advisor at Wabash College and study tour committee chair