MAGICAL VIENNA (written by Kaori, 19 from Japan on Sept 13th 2008)

My name is Kaori and I'm from Japan. I've been wanting to visit Vienna for a long time, because I am a big fan of classical music and art. In February, my wish finally came true...

I took an 8 weeks German language course at ActiLingua Academy called German & Music. Besides going to language classes, I took music lessons at the Vienna conservatory, which was a great experience for me and a good chance to practice my German outside the school. One of my university professors in Tokyo recommended this school in Vienna, and he said that it would be a great experience for me to see a different culture and to improve my German.

First, I was a little bit scared to travel to Austria on my own, without knowing anyone. But as soon as I met my class mates and my teacher my fears were gone. I felt really welcome and during those 8 weeks I didn't get homesick. I was in the same class with 9 other students with the same language skills as me. With them, I spent a lot of time in Vienna's coffee houses, where I had some of the best coffee and cakes ever. We went ice skating in the city centre in front of the town hall square. Vienna by night is just so magical, with all the illuminated old buildings and imperial architecture!

You can spend hours just strolling along the streets and narrow alleys of the old city without getting bored. Sometimes I joined the free city tours which were organised every Monday by our school. The teacher who guided us on those tours gave us a lot of background information about Vienna and its people. The time there went by so fast, and I still miss the friends I made during my stay in Austria! But fortunately we exchanged email addresses, and some of us are planning to take another language course next summer, and meet again. And now, I am dreaming again, of going back to Vienna soon.