Intern Abroad

• Architecture M.A
• Vienna, Austria
• Alles Wird Gut Architektur
• 01.03.2022-01.09.2022

Since an excursion to Vienna in my third semester, I had already made the decision to complete my mandatory internship not in Germany, but in Vienna. At that time, I was already very impressed by the city and, since I could imagine moving to Vienna at some point in the future, I wanted to get a taste of everyday life and work in Vienna during my internship.

Looking for an apartment in Vienna is not very easy, especially at the beginning of the semester, because a lot of people are looking for an apartment at once. As in Germany, you look for shared flats mainly via WG-gesucht, otherwise there are also many ads on “Willhaben”. However, Vienna has the great advantage that the rents are comparatively cheap, unlike most large German cities. The best and most popular are the neighborhoods around the Ring and Gürtel. I was very lucky in my search for an apartment and found a nice shared flat in the Seventh, probably the hippest neighborhood in Vienna. In general, I would always recommend moving into a shared apartment for a stay abroad, as it is much easier to make friends in the new city.

I completed my internship in a fairly large architecture firm, which also has a large number of interns. We were a total of 10 interns, who all started at the same time as me in March. Since, except for two, all of them were not from Vienna and were also new to the city, we were all able to explore the city and life in Vienna together, which I am very grateful about. Over the course of the internship, a great friendship has developed here that goes far beyond the work and the internship. We often had a beer together after work on the Donau Canal, went swimming together in the Donau on the weekend, or went hiking in the vineyards. I got used to the daily routine in the office very quickly, and over time certain routines became established. For example, we went out to eat together every day as a group of interns in the office canteen, then played a round of foosball or table tennis in the canteen, and then went for a little digestive walk, wich route varied less and less towards the end of the internship. In addition to the activities with the other interns, there were also numerous small events and evenings within our office, where you also got to know the rest of the office better. So in the end, saying goodbye was harder than expected.

© Katharina Klöters

© Katharina Klöters

Vienna is a city that has a lot to offer – it is not for nothing that it is the most livable city in the world. The city center is adorned with one magnificent building after another and the streets of the surrounding neighborhoods are lined with beautifully decorated old buildings. In general, I noticed that the city is very clean and also does a lot for the preservation of the buildings. In addition, drinking fountains are available throughout the city; especially in the summer when sightseeing with people who are visiting, this is a blessing. The Danube Canal runs through the city, fortunately for me, right in front of my office. This is where people meet, especially in the early evening, and enjoy the beautiful evening atmosphere and residual warmth of the stones on the waterfront while having a drink. Half an hour away from the city center you are at the actual Donau and the Donauinsel. Here you can go swimming, especially in the hot summer months, and sunbathe in the greenery or on the jetties on the Old Donau. Thereby one has a beautiful view, with a mixture of nature, vineyards and urban city silhouette. Those who prefer to spend their weekends actively will not miss out in Vienna either. In addition to the numerous sporting opportunities at the Prater and the Donau, you can also simply go hiking in the vineyards or ride up the serpentine road on a bike. In the vineyards there are Heurige on every corner, where you can enjoy a great view over the vineyards and Vienna and taste the local wines and delicious food. On a classic wine walk in Vienna, you go from Heurigen to Heurigen, enjoying the sun and drinking wine or spritz. Culturally, of course, the city also has a lot to offer. In the Museumsquartier, for example, one museum follows the next, but I can also highly recommend a visit to one of the theaters and the opera. There are often student offers here as well. The nightlife in Vienna also leaves nothing to be desired. So there are, especially in the Seventh and Second District, many cool bars and generally clubs for all kinds of music. I especially liked that there were also dance bars on the Donau, where you could party and dance after swimming with a view of the water.

© Katharina Klöters

© Katharina Klöters

During my stay in Vienna, I explored not only Vienna, but also the surrounding area. In addition to trips to other parts of Austria, such as Lake Neusiedl or Graz, Vienna’s location makes it ideal to travel to other countries. For example, I took a bike tour to Bratislava and a weekend trip to Budapest. There were many more trips planned, but in the end I decided to spend more time in Vienna, because the time there goes by much faster than one would like and I wanted to enjoy it, especially with the people there. The people in Vienna are, as in probably every capital city, very diverse. Nevertheless, I had at least the feeling that Vienna is overall a fancier and not quite as open city as I had imagined. Depending on the district, one often finds rather unfriendly, often well-heeled Viennese. However, if you have found your circle of friends and your favorite places, you can work around that well. All in all, I found my stay in Vienna very successful and can only recommend it. Vienna is a beautiful city that has something to offer for everyone. I will especially miss the Donau and the view of the vineyards. But also the daily walks during lunch break, where you always discovered new corners and houses of Vienna.

• Architekur, M.A.
• Österreich, Wien
• Goos Architekten
• 01.03.21 – 31.08.21

Meine Erfahrung:

Nach meinem Erasmussemester in Wien entschied ich mich meinen Aufenthalt zu verlängern, indem ich mein sechsmonatiges Pflichtpraktikum vom 01.03.2021 bis zum 31.08.2021 im Architekturbüro Goos Architekten absolvierte. Ich bewarb mich damals für mehrere Architekturbüros in Wien. Schon nach wenigen Wochen meldete sich dann das Büro Goos Architekten bei mir und ich wurde für das Praktikum angenommen. Dadurch, dass ich das Praktikum an mein Erasmussemester anknüpfte, war die Wohnungssuche und das soziale Umfeld schon Bestand. Denn auch weitere Erasmusfreunde entschieden sich nach ihrem Auslandssemester ein Praktikum in Wien zu absolvieren, was ich auch sehr empfehlen kann. Doch in Wien ist die Wohnungssuche und auch das Kennenlernen von neuen Freunden nicht sehr schwer. Zum einen findet man auf WG Gesucht immer preisgünstige Wohnungen in den beliebten Bezirken 1-9 und zudem bietet die Stadt sehr viele Freizeitangebote für ihre Bewohner an. Hierbei kann man sich auch beim ESN (Erasmus Student Network) der TU Wien anmelden, welche tolle Freizeitaktivitäten für Erasmusstudenten anbietet.

Meine Wahl für das Architekturbüro Goos Architekten ergab sich daraus, dass mir die schon gebauten Projekte gut gefielen und das Team sehr klein war und man somit stärker in die Arbeit mit eingebunden wurde. Die Schwerpunkte des Unternehmens sind Architekturprojekte in diversen Größenordnungen, einschließlich der Innenarchitektur, sowie der Außenanlagenplanung. Das Angebot erstreckt sich über alle Leistungsphasen, vom Entwurf bis zur Ausführung, der Bauüberwachung sowie die Bereiche Projektentwicklung und Projektmanagement.

Meine Aufgaben waren divers verteilt. Zum Beispiel zeichnete ich Ausführungspläne für eine Dachgeschosswohnung in Wien, entwarf eine Küche für eine Eigentumswohnung oder erstellte Konzeptstudien für einen Entwurf für ein sogenanntes „Lerndorf“ für Schulklassen. Die Mitarbeiter und mein Chef bemühten sich sehr nett, mir einen gesamten Überblick des Alltags eines Architekten zu zeigen und Grillabende im Büro gehörten zur wöchentlichen Routine. Ich fühlte mich somit sehr wohl in meinem Praktikantenalltag und lernte sehr viel dazu.

Die Stadt Wien und auch Österreich selbst stellten sich als sehr lebenswert heraus. In Erinnerung bleiben auf jeden Fall der Badespaß an der Alten Donau, die vielen tollen Museen, die gemütlichen Cafés und die Ausflüge in die Alpen.