Four Things I Am Doing to Prepare to Study Abroad in Vienna

Hello! My name is Hannah (although many people also know me as Siggy) and I am so excited to be studying abroad in Vienna, Austria this spring through IES Abroad.

To get some of the boring stuff out of the way, I am a music and history double major, and am a part of the European Society & Culture program for Spring 2025. I am really excited to be going to Europe as I have never left North America before.

Here are four things I am doing to prepare for this trip!

1.Getting all my documents sorted: Thankfully this has been fairly easy! IES Abroad makes it very clear and simple what is due when for their purposes. As far as getting a Visa goes, my advice is simple: do it as soon as you can! You can get a Austrian Visa up to six months before your expected arrival date and because of this, I was able to get my Visa before my fall semester started which was a huge relief.
 

2. Planning my knitting projects: I have been knitting since I was about eight, but have gotten really into it this past fall. I am planning out some projects in advance, so I know what I want to bring (or buy) while I am abroad! I am planning to start a sweater just before leaving the states and bring my full set of interchangeable needles and my favorite sock needles. I am so excited to try out many of the European yarn brands I read about online a lot, but are hard to ship to the states.
 

3. Thrifting special items and going through my clothes: Through IES Abroad I am going to be attending the TU Ball which follows a traditional Viennese ball format. I am very excited to see what the experience will be like. I went thrifting with one of my best friends and found a dress to wear for $10! I am also taking the opportunity of going abroad to go through my closet. I have accumulated a lot of clothes over the years, and since luggage space is so limited I want to make sure I only have pieces I am super happy with. Purging some of my excess clothes that have mostly been sitting collecting dust is going to make the actual packing process easier as I will know where everything is.

4. Researching where I want to travel and what I want to do: I have a lot of interests as you will soon learn! I want to try and maximize my time in Europe and do a little bit of everything, but I also know realistically that I won’t have time for it all, so I am making a list and prioritizing. I love watching football and hoping to try and catch some games in Europe! Many of the top players play in Europe (including some Americans like Lindsey Horan), and I would love to try and see some players that would be hard to see otherwise in the states (although more NWSL & USL Super League teams are hosting European teams for friendlies including my hometown team, Washington Spirit). Besides seeing football, I would love to go to museums and see some awesome live Western Classical music. I have never lived in a city before, so I am excited to have public transportation that connects me to so much at once.

I am so excited to be going abroad and to be able to share about it!