Day 1 (Fri, Jan 10)
The Presidential election took almost the whole Friday, but it was very well organized on the top floor of the Erste Campus. Besides many Young AIESECers, seven Alumni were present at the elections. The battle between the candidates was powerful and it was hard to make a decision for who to vote. In the end, the new MCP in Austria is Mariana Barragan from Columbia.
After the elections, we met our international guests together with other Alumni for dinner in the famous restaurant Lugeck Figlmüller, where we enjoyed traditional Austrian food. Some of us joined the after-election party in The Lizard, a local Pub. Some even closed the 1st evening in Manolos, a Latin Dance Bar.
Our second day started with a dance course, so we could properly prepare for the Ball. We were 21 people who participated in the dance class. There we learned the basic steps for the traditional Waltz and how to dance the Quadrille, which is a massive group dance that starts after midnight at the Ball. The time spent at the course was filled with fun and smiles while enjoying the incredible classical music. We spent our lunchtime in the restaurant Griechenbeisl, which is Vienna’s oldest inn with traditional Viennese cuisine. We had the great chance to stay in the famous Mark Twain room, where they had framed autographs of world-famous people like Mozart, Mark Twain, Beethoven, Waldmüller, Schwind, and many more on the walls.
The sightseeing tour was organized by Petra with the support of Andie. As Peter Mandl joined the tour, he shared spontaneously his knowhow about the history of specific spots in the 1st district since the Medieval time. One of the sights was Ruprechtskirche, the oldest church in Vienna.
The Ball
At 8 pm we had our meeting point at the entrance stairs in the Vienna Hofburg, where we took our group picture at the WU Ball 2020. So many beautiful people met there before the grand opening of the glittering ball night. We had tables in the glamorous Zeremoniensaal with live dance and party music of groups like PLAYGROUP and CAPONE.
One of the highlights was the Quadrille in the Festsaal after midnight and a 2nd time after 2 am. It was hilarious to follow the instructions for the group dance, which we practiced during our dance class in the morning. It even had great similarities to a rollcall. In between, we could dance on the many modern or classical dance floors and enjoy some drinks. The Ball officially ended with the Last Waltz at 5 am.
For brunch time we met in Landtmann, Vienna’s most sophisticated coffee house located by the Ringstraße. More than 20 AIESEC Alumni enjoyed our last hours together.
We would be happy to welcome you at the next WU Ball, which will happen in January 2021. Until then – see you at one of our next events and conferences!