The Amazing Race

It was an average Thursday, and I was sitting listening to my professor lecture on the outbreak of World War I. In that moment the last thing I ever had expected was that I would be spending my weekend flying to Vienna to buy a cake and be back in class on Monday morning.

My professor, notorious for giving the most challenging exams with the fewest high marks, had a reputation as a fun but incredibly intense professor. Going into the class you knew that there was little to no extra credit available, you had to work hard for your marks and if you faltered even slightly so would your GPA. Hence, when he decided to make the bold statement that if any student in our class went to Vienna, the capital of the former Austro-Hungrarian empire, for the weekend and could prove it to him they would get an automatic A on the final. Hands instantly shot up and several students began to ask him the seriousness & parameters of this offer. The moment I heard him say he was deadly serious, the cogs in my mind which had been barely turning began to race wildly. This was it, this was the break I had been hoping for, all I had to do was make it to Vienna and back without missing any classes.

The minute class was dismissed I rushed outside and called my mum to hatch out a plan. The best way to get to Vienna and back by Monday morning was to fly via London Heathrow and luckily for me the flights were wide open.

My flight was scheduled to leave Houston on Friday evening so as soon as I got out of class at 11:00 in the morning on Friday I drove straight to Houston to catch the first flight to London Heathrow. Having landed at Heathrow early Saturday morning I caught one of the first flights to Vienna and landed with 6 hours to burn before my flight was due to leave that night.

I had arranged for an old family friend to meet me at the airport and give me a whirlwind tour of the beautiful historical city. I had decided that I would bring my professor a Sacher Torte so the first stop on our route was the Hotel Sacher. The Sacher Torte is a famous chocolate cake with a thin apricot glaze and rich chocolate icing. Arguably the most famous cake in the world, the recipe was created in the early 1800's and is still a well kept secret of the hotel in which it was created.

My friend dropped me off at the front entrance to the hotel and I rushed around the corner to the entrance of Cafe Sacher to buy my cake. The cakes were beautifully packaged in little wooden boxes wrapped in paper and I actually bought four in the end so I would have one for my professor, one for my parents, one for myself and one for the friend driving me. Cakes carefully packed away, I was back in the car in the blink of an eye and we drove through Vienna snapping pictures of the various monuments out of my window.

Vienna was swarming with people and driving through the city we were often caught behind tourists being driven along in horse and carriage. The history in Vienna is so rich you can feel it.  Looking upon the various statues of Franz Josef I along with the historic buildings, the magnitude of importance the city holds is strikingly apparent. The heir to the throne of this nation, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo. A man was shot, and this one shot sparked a war which resulted in over 37 million casualties. A nation strife with one of the worst wars the world had ever seen, it is hard to imagine how many of these stunning historic monuments survived, and yet here they are standing strong, a true credit to the strength of the Austrian population.

We made it back to the airport just in time, and I left this beautiful city desperate to have experienced it more. With no doubt in my mind that I would one day return with a decent amount of time allotted to experience the city, I boarded my flight back to London where I would leave the next morning to head back to Houston, so I could drive back to Austin in time for class Monday morning.

Back on campus, armed with a bag stuffed with a Sacher Torte, boarding cards, receipts, and pictures, I found my self shaking as I walked towards my professor's office. Arriving outside his door I steadied my breath and knocked on the door. It was still the beginning of the semester, and my professor, who clearly did not know my name, invited me in, totally oblivious as to why I was there baring a bundle of stuff. I could feel my facing flush bright red as I told him I had just arrived back from Vienna and had brought him a cake. He had been looking at some papers on his desk and he slowly lifted his eyes to meet mine and said, "Excuse me?"

"Well you said in class that if anyone went to Vienna for the weekend and could prove it they would get an automatic A on the final." I responded.  

This man, my professor, whom I had never known to be at a loss for words was literally speechless. He just stared at me quizzically and finally said, "What's your name again." 

"Phoebe, uh, Phoebe Cooper" I told him nervously.  

"Right, sorry Phoebe, and you just went to Vienna this past weekend?" 

"Yes, well you said you were serious, so I brought you a Sacher Torte and some photos of some of the monuments I saw." I responded as I passed him the bag of goodies. "I placed my boarding cards and some receipts in here for you as well."

 My professor took the bag and flipped through some of the photos before placing them all down on his desk. Looking up at me with a smile on his face totally at a loss for words he said, "Thank you, I" and just stood there for what felt like an eternity in silence. By this point I was bright red and holding my hands behind my back to try to mask how much I was shaking. Heart pounding in my chest so loudly I felt he must be able to hear it I stood looking at him waiting for his response.

"I can't technically give you an automatic A on the final," he finally stated, "it is against regulations. I know what I said but I didn't expect, anyway, don't worry, I will definitely see you get credit for this, I just need a few days to think about it."

 Now I was the one who was speechless.

"Thank you for the cake Phoebe, let's discuss this further after class tomorrow."  

Finally finding my voice, I replied, "I understand, sounds good to me, see you tomorrow professor." 

Walking out of the door I finally found my breath and walking away the mix of nerves and adrenaline that had been rushing through my body slowly began to mellow. I swiftly called my mum and told her all about it. Extra credit or not, it had been the most fabulous adventure and I was so thrilled I had the means to accomplish it. My professor, never forgot my name, and his class quickly became one of my favorites. In the end, although I did get some extra credit points for my trip I didn't need them after all as I became so enamored by the material that I aced the class anyway.