Our first two days in Vienna, Austria have been an amazing adventure including, an epic 15-kilometer scavenger hunt allowing us to experience the culture and beauty within the central city. Highlights of the scavenger hunt included lunch at the famous Café Central where the warm chocolate souffle was indescribable. The historic architecture was unique and the detailed artwork inside each building was captivating. After the scavenger hunt, we enjoyed some leisure time at the Prater Amusement Park. The rides went higher than we expected but seeing the city from above was worth the effort. Today consisted of a tour at the University of Vienna where we were able to walk the same hallways as Sigmund Freud.
After the tour, we had the opportunity to attend two lectures from legal scholars with backgrounds in the field of International Law. Between the two lectures, we preferred the lawyer with the practical experience and insight into his field. He caught our attention with his expressive and enthusiastic style while explaining the finer points of arbitration. We found his humorous anecdotes entertaining and were surprised to learn the significant role life experience played in his career development. Even with his three LL.M. designations he still believes that life experience will get you farther than good grades. The lecturer also explained the similarities and differences between common law and commercial arbitration. We were shocked to learn that coaching witnesses and running background checks on potential clients were common practice within arbitration, but illegal in common law.
Tomorrow we are visiting the City Hall, the Hofburg and one of the local wineries, stay posted while our adventure continues.
It was a joy being able to explore the city with Cassidy and John during our scavenger hunt this past Sunday. I have to agree with them on the point of the amazing dessert at Café Central, it really is indescribable. The time spent at Prater Amusement Park will not be forgotten. Those rides and views were the highlight of the day. The tour of the University of Vienna was really breathtaking. The architecture and design of the main building were really a sight to see. I think lawyers description of arbitration was a fantastic learning experience. His insights to how important life experience is over good grades was a little shocking however, it makes perfect sense. Learning in the classroom is very different than what one person learns while working or living life. Lessons can be taught in many ways but the ones learned through experience can be the most valuable.
ReplyDeleteDear John & Cassidy,
ReplyDeleteWe are in complete agreement that the tour has been amazing thus far. The scavenger hunt was a compelling way to begin the tour and map out Vienna on our own! Although we did not get to all of the destinations on the suggested list, we were happy to get to as many as possible and speak with many locals. Additionally, ending the day at Prater was amazing. Unfortunately, neither of us had the chance to ride the ferris wheel, so your photos will have to do for us!
Although both lecturers were brilliant, we felt more engaged with the first lecturer and his topic; Mag. Koepecky was able to relate many of his topics back to a view of commerce, and he assisted with our critical thinking and overall connection to the topic. It was quite interesting for us to hear about the differences between commercial and investment arbitration. In the pre-departure classes, Professor Iskra discussed the fundamentals of arbitration, so we felt prepared when Mag. Koepecky began discussing the key differences between the sectors. It was interesting to note that coaching witnesses is actually an acceptable and legal practice in arbitration. That is something new that we had learned, as well.
We look forward to seeing your future blogs and thoughts about the tour.
Peace & love,
Ashlee and David
Fantastic job John and Cassidy! We thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventures on the scavenger hunt and the informative lectures. Wow! You guys beat Michael and I by 3 kilometers for the scavenger hunt. Congrats to you both on conquering the long lines to enjoy the coffee and chocolate souffle at Café Central. We were not as determined to wait in the lines so we sat down to enjoy an Italian Risotto and Pizza. We also enjoyed seeing the attention to detail and care the locals pursue in their work from architecture and gastronomy. Have you seen the detail at Austrian National Library? We have found that servers pride themselves in their work and technique. One of our favorite parts of the scavenger hunt was stopping for drinks at Lamee Rooftop. At Lamee Rooftop, we were able to enjoy the city view from a 360 degree high vantage point. I think back home we sometimes forget to embrace our surroundings and breathe. This may lead to missed moments in life. Also, we found Prater provided the surge of adrenaline we needed to top off this memorable day.
ReplyDeleteWe also enjoyed Mag. Kopecky’s lecture on Arbitration as his passion and enthusiasm were contagious. His belief that life experience trumps grades was eye opening and motivating for us to gain those real life experiences as well. His talk caused us to ask ourselves if we would consider specializing in arbitration. We learned about the duty of arbitration lawyers through resources, client, and evidence management. We also found the ability to coach witnesses to be surprising when performing an arbitration case. We were wondering why this method would be legal in arbitration, yet illegal in common law. Could this lead to potentially lead to ethical implications?
Thank you for the post, and we can not wait to hear from you both soon!
Stephanie and Michael