Day #9

Red Wings

Our first business tour in Vienna was at a locally operated Red Wings Store. Here, we primarily learned about their structure and their history. The European Red Wings are much more focused on the fashion line opposed to the American stores being focused on the work line We were also able to learn the process of opening a franchise and the process of maintaining your store to company standards.

 

Seegrotte

Afterwards, my friends and I went to tour Seegrotte. Seegrotte was a gypsum mine opened in the 1800’s, but it was closed down due to a mining accident and severe flood that consequently followed. The mine was very large and had an extensive network of very large rooms and tunnels in and out of the mountain. When Austria was occupied by the Nazis in WWII, Seegrotte was quickly discovered. The Nazis decided that it would be a perfect place to build planes in a concentration camp style using Jewish prisoners in secret. The Nazis pumped water out of the mine everyday and we’re finally able to use the space for plane production. When it became apparent that the war was about to end, the Nazis bombed the mine so their secrets would not be discovered. Afterwards, Seegrotte was repaired and opened as a tourist destination. Our guide informed us that they still pump water out of the mine lake every day so it can remain open to tourist. Another interesting fact about Seegrotte was that part of the Disney Movie, 3 musketeers, was filmed within the cave.

 

Upon our return from the cave, we decided to visit a market that has been in operation since the 1600’s. This market had many “exotic” types of foods and products. My favorite thing I tried was a falafel sandwich.

To end the day, we returned back to Stephenplatz, which is in the middle of Vienna, and did some shopping.