On Monday morning we all unfortunately had to depart the lovely city of Bratislava and take the Twin Cities Wienislava (Bratislava-Vienna) boat to the cosmopolitan city of Vienna, Austria. The sheer amount of history that occurred on the banks of the mighty Danube River is stunning; to be traversing it now by motorboat was sufficient to impress upon us all the level of development Europe has achieved in the past century. We passed by everything from medieval Hungarian castles to towering modern Austrian architecture, and were amazed by it all.
After dropping our bags at our hotel, we immediately proceeded to the UN Headquarters in Vienna, called the VIC. Magnificent, modern buildings house one of the four official UN offices. The VIC is the main office of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is responsible for oversight of states' nuclear weapons development and instituting regulations and limitations on the use of nuclear energy.
Guided by the supremely polite and courteous VIC staff, we were able to tour the incredible halls of the massive complex. We even saw an actual UN meeting hall, used by members of the IAEA. There was a council in session in another room as well, but we were not allowed to take pictures of it.
On behalf of the club officers and the entire CSS MUN team, we'd like to say a hearty thank you to our sponsors, Mr. Benson and Mrs. Hedden. In addition, we'd like to express our gratitude to the Colorado Springs World Affairs Council, who generously provided us with a significant grant, which enabled us to participate in this truly once-of-a-lifetime experience. Finally, the Colorado Springs School and its teachers deserve our gratitude for being supportive and helpful in accommodating missed classes and schedule anomalies as a result of the past week's absences.
Many thanks to you all!
Many thanks to you all!