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Tuesday May 31^st:

Today was all about Gregor. Gregor is an architect, designer, and a true artist. Tate says he knows about everything ranging from art to wine and even techno parties. First we visited a flower shop called Blumenkraft, which Gregor designed the interior. It was absolutely beautiful. His concept he later explained was to contrast the delicate and elegancy of the flowers with strong, heavy structures to make it appear as though they are floating. The design was very modern with the flowers in geometric and organic glass structures sitting atop concrete slabs. Gregor also designed the furniture and arranged the interior as well. We sketched and took photos for quite some time; it was a truly exceptional flower shop. Afterward Tate took us to see a few other structures by another architect where we sat and sketched for a bit as well before heading to another Gregor space; a wine shop. When we arrived, we found that the space was significantly smaller than Blumenkraft but the design was just as spectacular. The ceiling was a perfect shade of blue and arched out, the wine selection was on display on a shelf that seemed to never end and it curved through the shop creating the illusion that the space was much bigger than it actually was. He later explained he was inspired by bookshelves, as you would see them in the library. We were all served to a wine tasting and a few minutes into it, Gregor came to visit. Gregor certainly has presence; as soon as he walked through the door he demands attention. We talked to Gregor for a very long time; he talked about art, his inspirations, techno parties he has thrown for thousands of people, modelling and philosophy. He was a total teddy bear despite the intimidation you feel when you first meet him. Midway through talking to Gregor, two Viennese students our age also joined us; they had met the group from last year and wanted to come introduce themselves to us. Ella and Simon are absolutely amazing; Ella is studying to become a translator and Simon is studying Computer Engineering and both speak impeccable English. We stayed with the group for several hours but Tate and his wife, Khaki, had plans for some of us to come to their apartment for dinner, so me, Anna, Kate, Katie, Kathy, William and Emily headed out. The rest of the group stayed back and later told us that Gregor took them out to Georgian restaurant. At Tate’s house we were treated to a cozy dinner (chicken and spinach and rice) and talked about Vienna for quite some time and got to know everyone a bit better. It was a really nice gesture and I feel very fortunate to have come on this trip with this particular group of people and an amazing professor. It was a great ending to an amazing day.

Wed June1st:

Today we took a day trip to visit an artist, Nikolaus Eberstaller, we would be spending most of the day with. Tate had seen a wine label he had designed (it was a completely white label with only one cursive text on it) and got in contact with him to visit. Simon and Ella joined us for the trip; we all met by the Institute and took an hour long bus ride to visit him at his house, where he showed us some of his work and talked in depth about the process, the struggles and being an artist in general. Then he took us to his studio space and showed us some works in progress and his past work and talked about what inspired him to create these artworks. Afterward we visited the Vineyard of the man Nikolaus designed the wine label for. The structure was extremely modern and truly a piece of art. We were given a tour of the main building and then taken out to the terrace for a wine tasting. Nikolaus then took us to Mole West, a restaurant he helped design. It was a beautiful space right near the lake. There were gorgeous yellow sofa and couches facing the lake with beautiful white drapery over top for protection. We got some drinks, I got a delicious chocolate milkshake and then we were off to yet another restaurant for another wine tasting and dinner. At the restaurant we were taken to a wine cellar where we had a brief white wine tasting then we sat outside on the porch and had a buffet style dinner (mostly cheese, spread, salami, etc). Then we headed back to Stephanplatz to get some ice cream from Zenoni&Zenoni for the fourth night in a row. Tonight was Hedfig’s architect party and some of made plans to go. Anna and I met up at the party with Simon, Emily, Katie, Morgan, Lauren, Matt and Mathew. The party was huge, about six floors high; it was crowded with young architects and artists. We saw Hedfig and he was glad to see we came. He talked to some of us for a while, while the rest of us chatted with each other, found a floor with some music and danced and had some fun. Throughout the party there were baskets full of bread being given out to guests. Since tomorrow is a holiday and in Vienna almost everything is shut down during holidays I guess this was a generous offer. Anna ended up taking a huge loaf of bread, which had to weigh at least 5 pounds. We all munched on it on our Uban ride back to our apartments. Overall it was a fun night, but I am super exhausted; time for some rest.

Thurs June 2nd:

Anna and I woke up really early to today so we could get some work done for Tate. Every year Umbau prints a book about the Vienna trip and they are looking for cover designs for this year’s trip, so Tate asked all the designers to meet him at the Korbe Café at 11 to show him a few options. After the architecture party last night, Anna and I both were too tired to get some stuff ready so instead we decided we would leave early for the café, get breakfast there and work on some designs. We were able get a lot of work done and Tate seemed really happy. We got a quick lunch at Anker, stopped by the apartment to drop off our laptops and then met the group at the Mobel Museum Wien (Furniture Museum). We saw Marcel Breuer’s exhibit and some beautiful architectural and smart designs. It was nice to see so many different ideas and historically significant designs. We spent a few hours looking through all the exhibits; chairs stacked on chairs stacked on chairs stacked on chairs, it was beautiful.

I was feeling a bit off today, completely exhausted and extremely tired from waking up so early, so I decided I would head back to the apartment for a bit. A few hours later, the group met up again to head to Shonbrun to watch the Vienna Phillharmonic play a concert. We got there a few hours early to reserve spots. Some of the girls brought blankets and we all brought snacks and drinks to share. We played some games and chatted for a while before the concert started. The music was absolutely amazing to listen to, and beautiful to watch. The first half was simply the stage lighting but then ballerina’s began dancing and toward the end fireworks shot up to the sky. It was a surreal night that I will never forget.