3 days....

Just a few days until I leave for Vienna! I've been packing for a few days now, and I'm sure I'm going to forget something. This past week I've been finalizing all the preparations. I have also started the required readings. Austria sounds like an interesting place. It changed hands many times throughout its history. One author, Beller, calls Austria "a nation without a history, and Austrian history is a history without a nation." I think it is interesting how Austrians have only since 1945 on have begun to construct a national identity for themselves. As the Austrian empire began to grow, Vienna went from being at the empire's borders to at its heart, positioned at the crossroads of major trade routes. I can't wait to experience Vienna and all of it's history firsthand. I hope it lives up to its reputation.