On Friday, August 29th, I turned 22! When I woke up a group of friends and I went out for a traditional American-style breakfast (none of this espresso and croissant business.) We found a restaraunt that serves breakfast all day long, offering scrambled eggs, omelets, french toast, and waffles on the menu. Since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day but the Viennese seem not so enthusiastic about it, I was excited to eat a nice big, proper breakfast! Afterwards, we headed over to Kahlenberg which is in the Vienna woods, near the foothills where the wine country is located. It took us about 30 minutes to get out there through public transportation, which took us out to the beautiful suburbs of Vienna filled with large houses and tree-lined streets. Once we got there we walked along the windy roads through the various vineyards, in search of wine gardens. We stumbled across several, and enjoyed lovely, locally grown wine while overlooking the entire city of Vienna, high up in the hills. Around three pm we headed back to the apartments to get ready for a fun night out. After resting and getting ready we all congregated in one room while preparing to go out. All of a sudden, a few people came out with a cake covered in lit candles, while singing me "Happy Birthday". Eventually we left the apartments and headed to a really cute Spanish restaraunt where we got a large table and ordered food and drinks. The restaraunt is near the Museums Quartier- right across the street from a local Beer garden (the one that serves hemp beer). After spending some time at the restaraunt, we headed across the street for some beer, and later on in the night finally headed home. I had a really fun birthday, and even though I've only known the people in this program for several weeks, I was blown away that everyone went out of their way to make my birthday fun and special.
The next day was our last day in Vienna. I spent most of the day cleaning, organizing, and working on blogs. Around 4 pm I left for the Prater which is the Viennese amusement park that has been around for over a century, and is a prominent aspect of Vienna for locals and tourists allike. We rode the Ferris Wheel as a class, and I enjoyed this final act of closure as we gazed out over the entire city and laughed about all the good times we enjoyed over the past month. After the ferris wheel, the entire class headed over to the downtown area where we ate at a fun, local restaraunt with traditional Austrian food. We shared even more laughs and stories, and it was overall a really fun, final night in Vienna. I headed home to get ready for the next day's travel by packing and getting a good night sleep.
Overall,I thoroughly enjoyed my study abroad experience in Vienna. I thought some highlights were the class field trips such as to the alps, and all the museums. To be honest, I was dissapointed that our class was cut short and we only got as far as the beginning of World War II in our historical studies. I am really intersted in the time period between the french revolution through the 21st century, and I was bummed out that we only got as far as the beginning of the 1940's, as a class. I am really glad that I chose this program, and I want to thank Kathy for a wonderful experience.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Leopold Museum
On August 28th- our last official day of class, we met at the Leopold Museum for our final Dr. O tour. I was sad because Dr. O is so entertaining and I love learning about art history through her animated lectures and story telling. The museum was built specifically for the collection that Dr. Leopold and his wife had accumulated over the years, which filled up three stories worth of art. He started collecting in the 50's when prices of paintings were fairly lower in the post-war years. Dr. Leopold aimed to create a modern museum where young people can be exposed to great art. He even resorted to edgy marketing and the museum has a modern feel to it. We first looked at the Gustav Klimt exhibit, where Dr. O gave us some detailed information on his life and art. She explained that he lived with his lover and friend Emilie Fluger who was also an edgy fashion designer. She was Klimt's "muse" and one of the many woman that contributed to his fascination with the feminine mystique. After he retreated from the 'Academic Style' of the Ringstrausse when his ceiling paintings were rejected by the University, he began doing portraits of wealthy aristocrats, then broke off further and entered his 'gold' phase. The paintings of Law, Medicine, and Philosophy that he created for the University won first prize at a Paris art show after being rejected by the more conservative Vienna. One Klimt that we looked at closely was called "Death and Life." There is a figure of death on the left hand side which is a dark, shadowy, skeletal figure that came through to me as sneaky, playful, curious, and even envious of the lively, colorful, living people on the right who were intertwined in a mess of colors and purity. In the group on the right there are women at the top, a peaceful baby, and girls floating on the side (that were added 5 years later and have a sloppier look to them.) There is an older woman and two lovers who appear to be aware of death, as if it is somehow close to them. The left row of figures who were added years later appear to be different because they are looking at the audience- therefore drawing us into the painting.
The next artist we looked at was Koloman Moser- who made furniture, stained glass, and helped design the church of an isane asylum. Moser created my favorite work of art in the entire museum which immediately caught my eye: "Looking Towards the Rax." This painting was inspired by the alps which weeks before, I was deep in the heart of. We didn't even talk about this painting as a class, or even acknowledge it, but it moved me more than any painting Dr. O showed us that day in the Leopold Museum. There are incredibly vibrant, deep blues and greens which depict alpine trees in the foreground and the ominous alps in the background. We didn't even go over this painting or so much as hesitate to look at it, yet it was one of my favorite paintings i saw in the entire museum.
The next artist we focused on was Egon Scheile (1890-1918). This artist witnessed his father with syphallus who refused all medication and died a slow, painful death. Because of this experience, Scheile became obsessed with death and decay as a painful yet realistic aspect of life. Scheile went to art school but was kicked out for painting rude, explicit, even pornographic images- and he never graduated. Klimt became his mentor right around 1907, yet he was completely overtaken by his own life and the experiences that scarred him. Scheile painted many images of "the blind mother" when his own mother was metaphorically blinded by his own hopes, wishes, and dreams of artistic fame. "The Cardinal and the Nun" was one painting by Scheile that was inspired by "the Kiss" yet entirely different. The painting is of a woman and man kneeling, embracing one another, yet they look guilty as if they have just been caught in the act of passion. The painting is filled with dark colors which represent a red cloak from the cardinal and the black outfit of the nun. If you seperate the two figures from one another, they are both in prayer, which may or may not be a jab at the Catholic church.
The next artist we looked at was Koloman Moser- who made furniture, stained glass, and helped design the church of an isane asylum. Moser created my favorite work of art in the entire museum which immediately caught my eye: "Looking Towards the Rax." This painting was inspired by the alps which weeks before, I was deep in the heart of. We didn't even talk about this painting as a class, or even acknowledge it, but it moved me more than any painting Dr. O showed us that day in the Leopold Museum. There are incredibly vibrant, deep blues and greens which depict alpine trees in the foreground and the ominous alps in the background. We didn't even go over this painting or so much as hesitate to look at it, yet it was one of my favorite paintings i saw in the entire museum.
The next artist we focused on was Egon Scheile (1890-1918). This artist witnessed his father with syphallus who refused all medication and died a slow, painful death. Because of this experience, Scheile became obsessed with death and decay as a painful yet realistic aspect of life. Scheile went to art school but was kicked out for painting rude, explicit, even pornographic images- and he never graduated. Klimt became his mentor right around 1907, yet he was completely overtaken by his own life and the experiences that scarred him. Scheile painted many images of "the blind mother" when his own mother was metaphorically blinded by his own hopes, wishes, and dreams of artistic fame. "The Cardinal and the Nun" was one painting by Scheile that was inspired by "the Kiss" yet entirely different. The painting is of a woman and man kneeling, embracing one another, yet they look guilty as if they have just been caught in the act of passion. The painting is filled with dark colors which represent a red cloak from the cardinal and the black outfit of the nun. If you seperate the two figures from one another, they are both in prayer, which may or may not be a jab at the Catholic church.
United Nations and IAEA
On August 27th, our entire class had the opportunity and privelege to tour the United Nations building and speak with the press affiliate for the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency.) On the tour of the UN main building, I learned that in 1945, on a naval ship in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, the UN was created by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill who agreed that in order to prevent a third world war, the global community must come together and unite to promote peace, promote and protect basic human rights around the globe, and work together to protect the environment. Vienna was chosen as one sight for the UN because of its central location between Eastern and Western Europe, close proximity to the "Iron Curtain", and neutrality after World War II. The building was constructed between 1973-1979 (which explains the orange and brown interior colors). One interesting fact about the UN building is that the odd shape of the building allows for EVER individual working here to be at a window. The vast amount of windows maximizes sunlight so employees are happy and therefore more productive as workers. 197 countries are currently members of the UN, and while there are over 6,000 languages in the world, the 6 most common languages are used for interpretation by the UN: English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic.
After a brief tour of some rooms within the UN, we were taken to a press room where we met with the Press and Public journalist to the IAEA. The IAEA was established in 1957 after Eisenhower called for the necessity of some international body to govern the use of nuclear and atomic energy. The three main purposes of the IAEA is to oversee nuclear science and technology, nuclear safety and security, and nuclear safeguard and varification. The representative who spoke with us described the positive uses of nuclear technology such as for radiology in cancer treatments, to kill off fruit flies that threaten agricultural economies, and against mosquitos that carry diseases which happens to be the animal that kills the most people more than any other. Nuclear technology is also used to aid in the food crisis to yield more rice, wheat, etc. because of our current climate crisis and lack of water sources. In addition to overseeing the positive uses of nuclear energy, the IAEA acts as a watch dog for countries throughout the world that are in possession of nuclear weapons, especially those who are looking to develop nuclear weapons (such as Iran.) All atomic usage is logged in a database where there is a scale of intensity which classifies levels of usage and amounts. It was interesting to learn that any country which has tested and developed nuclear weapons before 1967 can keep them including: the US, China, Russia, UK, and France- otherwise known as the P5. The P5 has the responsibility of not giving nuclear weapon technology information to non-nuclear states. Newer countries with nuclear testing that are highly regulated include Pakistan, India, and Israel. Of 30,000 nuclear weapons known in the world, 90% are owned between the US and Russia. There is a strict system in place where the IAEA has the power to inspect any country's nuclear weapons with only a 48 hours warning in advance. For countries such as the US who happily comply to this, their inspection turns into more of a showcasing of their power and prestige in nuclear weapon development. For countries such as Iraq, who lied to the IAEA, they are heavily regulated and are more of a threat to the UN and IAEA due to their lack of compliance.
Some of the questions I was interested in asking the IAEA press representative after researching the agency included the following:
1) What is the IAEA doing about nuclear waste management?
2) How much nuclear waste is produced in total mass?
3) H0w much global output of electricity is nuclear?
4) What is the difference between the impacts of fossil fuel vs. nuclear power?
5) What has the UN done to reduce nuclear waste, and instead, promote the use of alternative power sources such as solar power which is more environmentally sound?
After a brief tour of some rooms within the UN, we were taken to a press room where we met with the Press and Public journalist to the IAEA. The IAEA was established in 1957 after Eisenhower called for the necessity of some international body to govern the use of nuclear and atomic energy. The three main purposes of the IAEA is to oversee nuclear science and technology, nuclear safety and security, and nuclear safeguard and varification. The representative who spoke with us described the positive uses of nuclear technology such as for radiology in cancer treatments, to kill off fruit flies that threaten agricultural economies, and against mosquitos that carry diseases which happens to be the animal that kills the most people more than any other. Nuclear technology is also used to aid in the food crisis to yield more rice, wheat, etc. because of our current climate crisis and lack of water sources. In addition to overseeing the positive uses of nuclear energy, the IAEA acts as a watch dog for countries throughout the world that are in possession of nuclear weapons, especially those who are looking to develop nuclear weapons (such as Iran.) All atomic usage is logged in a database where there is a scale of intensity which classifies levels of usage and amounts. It was interesting to learn that any country which has tested and developed nuclear weapons before 1967 can keep them including: the US, China, Russia, UK, and France- otherwise known as the P5. The P5 has the responsibility of not giving nuclear weapon technology information to non-nuclear states. Newer countries with nuclear testing that are highly regulated include Pakistan, India, and Israel. Of 30,000 nuclear weapons known in the world, 90% are owned between the US and Russia. There is a strict system in place where the IAEA has the power to inspect any country's nuclear weapons with only a 48 hours warning in advance. For countries such as the US who happily comply to this, their inspection turns into more of a showcasing of their power and prestige in nuclear weapon development. For countries such as Iraq, who lied to the IAEA, they are heavily regulated and are more of a threat to the UN and IAEA due to their lack of compliance.
Some of the questions I was interested in asking the IAEA press representative after researching the agency included the following:
1) What is the IAEA doing about nuclear waste management?
2) How much nuclear waste is produced in total mass?
3) H0w much global output of electricity is nuclear?
4) What is the difference between the impacts of fossil fuel vs. nuclear power?
5) What has the UN done to reduce nuclear waste, and instead, promote the use of alternative power sources such as solar power which is more environmentally sound?
Jewish Museum and "The Third Man"
After class on August 26th, a few of us headed into the Ringstrausse district for lunch followed by checking out the Jewish Museum. Being our last week of school, we felt it was necessary to see the Jewish museum before leaving Vienna and it felt especially relevant after visiting Mauthaussen a few days early. The Jewish Museum consisted of three floors. On the first floor was an exhibit of Jewish memorabilia, including 10,000 objects that are either cultural or religiously relevant to Judaism. The collection was accumulated by Max Berger, who was the sole survivor of the Holocaust in his entire family. He collected from 1945-1988 in commemoration to his family, and out of support for his religion which lost millions of people to the Holocaust. The exhibit is called "Remembrance Renewal Installation" and serves both a religious and artistic function with collectibles from both Austria and Hungary. Berger came to Vienna in the 1950's after losing his entire family to the Holocaust and set out to collect Judaica memorabilia from Jewish life, culture, and religious traditions. Berger bequeathed the collection to the Jewish Museum for all to see and appreciate.
The second floor has two exhibits: one on Jewish sports stars, and one on famous Jewish artists. I decided to spend my time in the art exhibit, which was called "Modernists on the Run." The exhibit featured 24 different Jewisg artists from all different mediums including: painters, sketch artists, photographers, architects, and fashion photographers and designers. The one thing all these artists have in common is that each and every one of them fled to France during the early stages of World War II to live in exile and continue working in their various fields while preserving their Viennese culture and pride. Georg Merkel, Willy Eisenschitz, and Lily Steiner are examples of three artists in particular who accumulated fame and prestige among French culture during their days of exile. I learned that Paris became the political, intellectual, and aritstic center of the Austrian emigre community. Of all the artists featured in the exhibit, only one permanently returned to Vienna after the war. Many stayed in France while some left for America, Switzerland, or other parts of Europe.
The third floor of the museum contained a modern, hologram exhibit displaying the impact of the Jewish people on Vienna, since their first presence in the area. There were many different holograms of images, each with a quote on the floor in front, and with an audio-guided description. Some of the important contributions to Vienna that I discovered included that Jewish businessmen helped fund the building of St. Charles which is a huge attraction and influential characteristic of the Karlsplatz area, the famous ferris wheel at the Prater which has become famous and is an incredibly popular landmark was built by Gaber Steiner in 1897. In 1937, at the age of 80 years old, Steiner was forced to sell his beloved ferris wheel to the city, and was exiled from the country for being Jewish. I also learned that there were 180,000 Jews in Vienna before the Holocaust and now, over 60 years later, there are only about 10,000 and are referred to as "the last of the saved." To end my description of the Jewish museum, I want to include a quote that seemed incredibly relevant and memorable:
"Nowadays...when they demand that we don't forget the past, by "the past" they mean only the concentration camps- and under no circumstances should we recall the celebrated scholars, writers, priests, and statesmen who created the climate in which the builders of the gas chambers were able to flourish"
- Ludwig Marcus
Basically, what I took away from my tour of the Jewish Museum is that from the artists, to the athletes, to the academics, businessmen, artists, writers, and religious or political leaders, Vienna suffered a great loss from the exilement and extermination of it's Jewish community during World War II. The exhibits I looked at opened my eyes to how influential the Jewish community once was, and how much a part of Vienna's origins and the city that Vienna is today can be attributed to the Jewish people. Many of the buildings that characterize the Ringstrausse were financed by Jewish businessmen, and countless other aspects of Vienna would not be the same without this community of people who have contributed to the city's evolution over a course of hundreds of years.
After the Jewish Museum, Kelsey, Lindsay and I headed over to a theatre near our classroom for a late-afternoon showing of "The Third Man". This British film noir took place in post-war Vienna and was released in 1949. It was directed by Carol Reed and filmed almost entirely in the ruins of post-war Vienna. During this time, the city was occupied by the allies and divided into four sectors occupied by the British, American, French and USSR. It was incredible to see Vienna in such a state of ruin- buildings were unrecognizable in crumbled heaps after being bombed, the city gave off an eerie, deserted vibe, and most of the shots were filmed at night and from different angles to add a unique style to the film. The main character is an American author of western-fiction novels (Martins), and is in search of his old and dear friend (Harry Limes) who was supposedly killed on the day of his arrival. Martins sets out to investigate the suspicious death of his friend, Harry and discovers that there are holes in the story of Harry's death. Martins works with Harry's girlfriend, Anna to discover the truth, and finally learns that Harry is in fact alive, but faked his death to escape prison. The movie takes the viewer all around the city of Vienna where we saw the famous ferris wheel at the Prater, and many landmarks around the Ringstrausse and Hofburg. I personally enjoyed the movie very much and found it to be both gripping and historically relevant to what we are studying. It was also interesting to see the dynamics of the four groups of allies as they occupied the city and how they worked together as well as conflicted in their different styles of governance.
The second floor has two exhibits: one on Jewish sports stars, and one on famous Jewish artists. I decided to spend my time in the art exhibit, which was called "Modernists on the Run." The exhibit featured 24 different Jewisg artists from all different mediums including: painters, sketch artists, photographers, architects, and fashion photographers and designers. The one thing all these artists have in common is that each and every one of them fled to France during the early stages of World War II to live in exile and continue working in their various fields while preserving their Viennese culture and pride. Georg Merkel, Willy Eisenschitz, and Lily Steiner are examples of three artists in particular who accumulated fame and prestige among French culture during their days of exile. I learned that Paris became the political, intellectual, and aritstic center of the Austrian emigre community. Of all the artists featured in the exhibit, only one permanently returned to Vienna after the war. Many stayed in France while some left for America, Switzerland, or other parts of Europe.
The third floor of the museum contained a modern, hologram exhibit displaying the impact of the Jewish people on Vienna, since their first presence in the area. There were many different holograms of images, each with a quote on the floor in front, and with an audio-guided description. Some of the important contributions to Vienna that I discovered included that Jewish businessmen helped fund the building of St. Charles which is a huge attraction and influential characteristic of the Karlsplatz area, the famous ferris wheel at the Prater which has become famous and is an incredibly popular landmark was built by Gaber Steiner in 1897. In 1937, at the age of 80 years old, Steiner was forced to sell his beloved ferris wheel to the city, and was exiled from the country for being Jewish. I also learned that there were 180,000 Jews in Vienna before the Holocaust and now, over 60 years later, there are only about 10,000 and are referred to as "the last of the saved." To end my description of the Jewish museum, I want to include a quote that seemed incredibly relevant and memorable:
"Nowadays...when they demand that we don't forget the past, by "the past" they mean only the concentration camps- and under no circumstances should we recall the celebrated scholars, writers, priests, and statesmen who created the climate in which the builders of the gas chambers were able to flourish"
- Ludwig Marcus
Basically, what I took away from my tour of the Jewish Museum is that from the artists, to the athletes, to the academics, businessmen, artists, writers, and religious or political leaders, Vienna suffered a great loss from the exilement and extermination of it's Jewish community during World War II. The exhibits I looked at opened my eyes to how influential the Jewish community once was, and how much a part of Vienna's origins and the city that Vienna is today can be attributed to the Jewish people. Many of the buildings that characterize the Ringstrausse were financed by Jewish businessmen, and countless other aspects of Vienna would not be the same without this community of people who have contributed to the city's evolution over a course of hundreds of years.
After the Jewish Museum, Kelsey, Lindsay and I headed over to a theatre near our classroom for a late-afternoon showing of "The Third Man". This British film noir took place in post-war Vienna and was released in 1949. It was directed by Carol Reed and filmed almost entirely in the ruins of post-war Vienna. During this time, the city was occupied by the allies and divided into four sectors occupied by the British, American, French and USSR. It was incredible to see Vienna in such a state of ruin- buildings were unrecognizable in crumbled heaps after being bombed, the city gave off an eerie, deserted vibe, and most of the shots were filmed at night and from different angles to add a unique style to the film. The main character is an American author of western-fiction novels (Martins), and is in search of his old and dear friend (Harry Limes) who was supposedly killed on the day of his arrival. Martins sets out to investigate the suspicious death of his friend, Harry and discovers that there are holes in the story of Harry's death. Martins works with Harry's girlfriend, Anna to discover the truth, and finally learns that Harry is in fact alive, but faked his death to escape prison. The movie takes the viewer all around the city of Vienna where we saw the famous ferris wheel at the Prater, and many landmarks around the Ringstrausse and Hofburg. I personally enjoyed the movie very much and found it to be both gripping and historically relevant to what we are studying. It was also interesting to see the dynamics of the four groups of allies as they occupied the city and how they worked together as well as conflicted in their different styles of governance.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Weekend in Salzburg!
On the Saturday after Mauthausen, Roshni, Lindsay Kiyama and I all headed to Salzburg by train. Upon arriving we checked into our lovely hostel (called the YoHo!) and immediately set out to explore the city. It was a bit rainy and damp, and we were starving from the journey. We stumbled upon this really cute little family-owned Italian restaurant which a local told us was the best in town. They didn't even have a menu, they just had 3 or 4 options and you choose one, along with a glorious antipasti selection of meats, cheeses, fresh bread, and loads of vegetables. We stuck with ordering different pastas and some wine. After lunch, we walked all over town and got a feel for where everything is. We discovered that Salzburg is obsessed with Christmas (or holidays in general?) because there are tons of little Christmasy shops selling handmade ornaments, christmas decorations, and anything one could possibly want to get in the Christmas spirit. They also had a similar shop for Easter, full of painted eggs that were beautiful and sparkly with pastel spring colors and scenes of Springtime like flowers and fuzzy little animals. We decided that we definitely need to come back around Christmas time at some point in our lives, because the town seems to go all out, and it would be so beautiful covered in snow with lights and decorations everywhere- and great skiing nearby too!
We headed back to the hostel when it started getting late, ate some pizza for dinner at the restaurant/ bar in the hostel, and got a good night sleep to prepare for a packed day. On Sunday we woke up early and went on the Sound of Music tour. I was especially excited for this because I've grown up watching the movie, and i know every scene and song. The other people on the tour were just as obsessive as me if not more, and even though it was kind of hoakey (we had Sound of Music sing-a-longs while driving from place to place) it was still really fun and cool to see all the places that were in the movie. I especially enjoyed going out to the lake district which is a beautiful area outside of Salzburg with 17 different lakes scattered all around, in valleys below the alps. We went to this really cute town called Mondsee where the church that Maria and the Captain got married in (in the movie) is located (in real life, they got married in the abbey where Maria was a nun which is in Salzburg.) The tour finished by dropping us off at the Maribel gardens where a few clips from the Do-Re-Mi scene was filmed (by the Pegassus fountain and on the steps.)
Afterwards, we got a bite to eat, then headed up to the old military fortress high up on a hill. From the top of the fortress there was a spectacular view of the whole city of Salzburg and the surrounding alpine area. We took an audio tour and then checked out all the exhibits that the fortress had to offer (one on artillery and uniforms, the fortress' role in various wars and battles, an exhibit on torture devices used, historical musical instruments, and more.) We spent a good 3-4 hours at the fortress, and after a long day headed home where we once again grabbed a cheap bite to eat in the hostel and got another good night sleep. On our final day in Salzburg we woked up early and rented bikes to check out the countryside. We rode along the river then cut through town and found ourselves a bike path that wound us all around these green fields, tree-lined avenues for bikers and pedestrians only, and through the poshy suburbs where there are huge gated estates (one even had a mote!) We ended up finding Hellbrunn Palace, and we rode our bikes all through the grounds on the paths that take you through the gardens, past fountains, and into a wooded area all on the property of the palace. We stopped for a little while at Hellbrunn and ate sandwhiches that we had made from our hostel breakfast buffet. We played on the sweet playground, and especially got a kick out of the zipline. We continued on our way following random roads, one that even took us into a densely wooded forest ( I was the self-appointed leader, so if we got lost it would be my fault but luckily we didn't and i get to take credit for finding some great little paths.) The foresty road led us to a path that followed alongside a creek which eventually led us to the lake where the Sound of Music house is located. From here, we navigated back through town, and were sad to exchange our bikes in for our luggage to head back to Vienna.
I absolutely LOVED Salzburg! The people are helpful and friendly, the location nestled in the alps is beautiful, and the town is big enough to have lots to do, but not too big where you don't feel overwhelmed. I really prefer Salzburg to Vienna for many reasons. It is way more my type of town, because in Vienna I feel judged for not being a local, lost and forgotten among so many people in a hectic, urban city, and claustrophobic being surrounded by a constant sea of concrete, and buildings. I guess it comes down to the fact that im not as much a city person as I am a nature person, who needs open spaces and an outdoor playground to explore. Salzburg is definitely a place I want to come back to and spend more time in, and im really happy we chose this town for our weekend getaway.
We headed back to the hostel when it started getting late, ate some pizza for dinner at the restaurant/ bar in the hostel, and got a good night sleep to prepare for a packed day. On Sunday we woke up early and went on the Sound of Music tour. I was especially excited for this because I've grown up watching the movie, and i know every scene and song. The other people on the tour were just as obsessive as me if not more, and even though it was kind of hoakey (we had Sound of Music sing-a-longs while driving from place to place) it was still really fun and cool to see all the places that were in the movie. I especially enjoyed going out to the lake district which is a beautiful area outside of Salzburg with 17 different lakes scattered all around, in valleys below the alps. We went to this really cute town called Mondsee where the church that Maria and the Captain got married in (in the movie) is located (in real life, they got married in the abbey where Maria was a nun which is in Salzburg.) The tour finished by dropping us off at the Maribel gardens where a few clips from the Do-Re-Mi scene was filmed (by the Pegassus fountain and on the steps.)
Afterwards, we got a bite to eat, then headed up to the old military fortress high up on a hill. From the top of the fortress there was a spectacular view of the whole city of Salzburg and the surrounding alpine area. We took an audio tour and then checked out all the exhibits that the fortress had to offer (one on artillery and uniforms, the fortress' role in various wars and battles, an exhibit on torture devices used, historical musical instruments, and more.) We spent a good 3-4 hours at the fortress, and after a long day headed home where we once again grabbed a cheap bite to eat in the hostel and got another good night sleep. On our final day in Salzburg we woked up early and rented bikes to check out the countryside. We rode along the river then cut through town and found ourselves a bike path that wound us all around these green fields, tree-lined avenues for bikers and pedestrians only, and through the poshy suburbs where there are huge gated estates (one even had a mote!) We ended up finding Hellbrunn Palace, and we rode our bikes all through the grounds on the paths that take you through the gardens, past fountains, and into a wooded area all on the property of the palace. We stopped for a little while at Hellbrunn and ate sandwhiches that we had made from our hostel breakfast buffet. We played on the sweet playground, and especially got a kick out of the zipline. We continued on our way following random roads, one that even took us into a densely wooded forest ( I was the self-appointed leader, so if we got lost it would be my fault but luckily we didn't and i get to take credit for finding some great little paths.) The foresty road led us to a path that followed alongside a creek which eventually led us to the lake where the Sound of Music house is located. From here, we navigated back through town, and were sad to exchange our bikes in for our luggage to head back to Vienna.
I absolutely LOVED Salzburg! The people are helpful and friendly, the location nestled in the alps is beautiful, and the town is big enough to have lots to do, but not too big where you don't feel overwhelmed. I really prefer Salzburg to Vienna for many reasons. It is way more my type of town, because in Vienna I feel judged for not being a local, lost and forgotten among so many people in a hectic, urban city, and claustrophobic being surrounded by a constant sea of concrete, and buildings. I guess it comes down to the fact that im not as much a city person as I am a nature person, who needs open spaces and an outdoor playground to explore. Salzburg is definitely a place I want to come back to and spend more time in, and im really happy we chose this town for our weekend getaway.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Mauthausen Concentration Camp
On Friday, August 22 our class went on a field trip to Mauthausen Concentration Camp which turned out to be one of the most disturbing, intense experiences of my life. We arrived around 10:30 in the morning, after driving through the rural Austrian countryside. The camp is located high up on a hill, overlooking a town and dotted with farms and houses all around the area, surprisingly close by. The camp was built shortly after Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938 and lasted seven years being one of the last camps to be liberated (by the US army on May 5th, 1945.) Seeing the plaque dedicated to the batallion that liberated this camp made me feel proud to be American, which is something that sadly I haven't felt for awhile ( while America's tendency to interference in other country's affairs has done a great deal of good, my generation's experience of it has seemed to be mostly negative in terms of our current situation.)
At first we walked around and Kathy showed us all the memorials built by countries from all over the world in remembrance of Holocaust victims. One of the most memorable was this big statue of a person with a sort of slide-like design coming off it and this was in remembrance of all the children who lost their lives and childhoods here in Mauthausen. As a class, we walked down a rocky path which turned into a steep staircase made of stone that seemed to go on forever. These stairs lead to the bottom of a huge granite quarry where the prisoners were put to work. Being assigned to the quarry was basically a death sentence, the average amount of time a prisoner lasted the11 hour work days while malnourished was 3-4 weeks. They were forced to walk up and down these stairs all day long carrying incredibly heavy loads of granite while being malnourished and ill-equipped (some barely had shoes on). The SS men would monitor their work and sometimes would play sick and cruel jokes on the prisoners, such as pushing someone at the top to create a dominoe effect all the way down the stairs where men fell to their death. Also, the SS would send vicious attack dogs on the men to make them move faster, 'herding' the imprisoned as though they were sheep. One of the most horrific stories I heard was later when we were watching the video, and the SS made a group of Jewish men line up at the top of the quarry and each one had to push the peson in front of him off, sending eachother to their deaths. I spent some time at the bottom of the steps in the now grassy field where these aweful scenes once took place. The field seems so peaceful with wildflowers growing and a pond of water to the side of the rocky cliffs. I wrote in my journal and tried to prepare myself for the information I would soon receive on the guided tour.
On the tour we learned that Mauthausen was a labor camp as opposed to a death camp (such as Auschwitz) but the motto here is 'death by labor.' Over 100,000 men, women and children perished here during the years of the Nazi regime (although until the last year or so it was mostly inhabited by men who were exploited for labor in the granite quarry.) All types of people were sent to Mauthausen, including Polish, Russian, and Eastern European Jews (who were considered by the Nazis to be 'sub-human'), political prisoners such as Communists and Social Democrats who opposed or threatened the Nazis, and societal outsiders such as prostitutes (who were employed by the camp to 'treat' or motivate the prisoners to work efficiently), homeless people, gypsies, Spanish citizens sent by Franco, homosexuals, Jehova's Witnesses, and of course the Jewish. There were hierarchies within the prisoners to create conflict and suppress any possible organization or inner-camp uprisings. Prisoners of Austrian and German decent were at the top of the hierarchy, and some who chose to capitalize on this opportunity were called Carpuls. They acted as watchdogs and at times, were just as brutal as the SS in order to gain special priveleges and small luxuries.
On our tour, we walked all around the camp. We were shown the barracks where the prisoners slept, the gas chamber, creamery, the hospital where doctors performed 'experiments' basically torturing prisoners to death, and the memorial rooms where all the families of prisoners who were executed have come to leave plaques or pictures in their relative's place of death. The whole experience was really overwhelming and a lot to take in. Especially when we were shown the gas chamber and creamery, I was completely overtaken with a kind of grief that was past being emotional and crying. It was almost as though being there, hearing the information and statistics where so far beyond my realm of comprehension based on my reality that it was hard to process. I was really sad but it went beyond that. In one month alone: April of 1945, 10,000 prisoners were mass executed because the war's end was nearing and the Nazis began to mass exterminate everyone in their camps: men, women, and children.
No matter how much I have learned in past history classes, nothing could have prepared me for my experience at Mauthausen. Theres a difference between seeing pictures in a book or being lectured at by a professor, and walking on the very soil where these atrocities took place. Im glad we went to Mauthausen as a camp, because it has given me a more in depth, first hand perspective at what went on behind the walls of concentration camps, and I believe they serve a positive purpose to help people understand, remember, and hopefully prevent such events from occurring in the future. To conclude this entry, I want to add a quote from a declaration of all nations with citizens imprisoned in Mauthausen, written by former political prisoners:
' We will keep the international solidarity of the camp in our memory and draw out of it the memento that:
We shall march a common road,
the road of indivisible liberty,
the road of mutual respect,
the road of cooperation on the great work,
of reconstructing a new, free world,
just to everybody.
Remember for the deathly sacrifices of all nations, remember for the blood shed, the millions of Brothers slaughtered by Nazi fascism, we vow never to abandon this road'
I think this is the quintisential mentality behind the memorialization of the death camps, which I believe serve a beneficial purpose to mankind, and especially the generations to come who are farther removed from this era.
At first we walked around and Kathy showed us all the memorials built by countries from all over the world in remembrance of Holocaust victims. One of the most memorable was this big statue of a person with a sort of slide-like design coming off it and this was in remembrance of all the children who lost their lives and childhoods here in Mauthausen. As a class, we walked down a rocky path which turned into a steep staircase made of stone that seemed to go on forever. These stairs lead to the bottom of a huge granite quarry where the prisoners were put to work. Being assigned to the quarry was basically a death sentence, the average amount of time a prisoner lasted the11 hour work days while malnourished was 3-4 weeks. They were forced to walk up and down these stairs all day long carrying incredibly heavy loads of granite while being malnourished and ill-equipped (some barely had shoes on). The SS men would monitor their work and sometimes would play sick and cruel jokes on the prisoners, such as pushing someone at the top to create a dominoe effect all the way down the stairs where men fell to their death. Also, the SS would send vicious attack dogs on the men to make them move faster, 'herding' the imprisoned as though they were sheep. One of the most horrific stories I heard was later when we were watching the video, and the SS made a group of Jewish men line up at the top of the quarry and each one had to push the peson in front of him off, sending eachother to their deaths. I spent some time at the bottom of the steps in the now grassy field where these aweful scenes once took place. The field seems so peaceful with wildflowers growing and a pond of water to the side of the rocky cliffs. I wrote in my journal and tried to prepare myself for the information I would soon receive on the guided tour.
On the tour we learned that Mauthausen was a labor camp as opposed to a death camp (such as Auschwitz) but the motto here is 'death by labor.' Over 100,000 men, women and children perished here during the years of the Nazi regime (although until the last year or so it was mostly inhabited by men who were exploited for labor in the granite quarry.) All types of people were sent to Mauthausen, including Polish, Russian, and Eastern European Jews (who were considered by the Nazis to be 'sub-human'), political prisoners such as Communists and Social Democrats who opposed or threatened the Nazis, and societal outsiders such as prostitutes (who were employed by the camp to 'treat' or motivate the prisoners to work efficiently), homeless people, gypsies, Spanish citizens sent by Franco, homosexuals, Jehova's Witnesses, and of course the Jewish. There were hierarchies within the prisoners to create conflict and suppress any possible organization or inner-camp uprisings. Prisoners of Austrian and German decent were at the top of the hierarchy, and some who chose to capitalize on this opportunity were called Carpuls. They acted as watchdogs and at times, were just as brutal as the SS in order to gain special priveleges and small luxuries.
On our tour, we walked all around the camp. We were shown the barracks where the prisoners slept, the gas chamber, creamery, the hospital where doctors performed 'experiments' basically torturing prisoners to death, and the memorial rooms where all the families of prisoners who were executed have come to leave plaques or pictures in their relative's place of death. The whole experience was really overwhelming and a lot to take in. Especially when we were shown the gas chamber and creamery, I was completely overtaken with a kind of grief that was past being emotional and crying. It was almost as though being there, hearing the information and statistics where so far beyond my realm of comprehension based on my reality that it was hard to process. I was really sad but it went beyond that. In one month alone: April of 1945, 10,000 prisoners were mass executed because the war's end was nearing and the Nazis began to mass exterminate everyone in their camps: men, women, and children.
No matter how much I have learned in past history classes, nothing could have prepared me for my experience at Mauthausen. Theres a difference between seeing pictures in a book or being lectured at by a professor, and walking on the very soil where these atrocities took place. Im glad we went to Mauthausen as a camp, because it has given me a more in depth, first hand perspective at what went on behind the walls of concentration camps, and I believe they serve a positive purpose to help people understand, remember, and hopefully prevent such events from occurring in the future. To conclude this entry, I want to add a quote from a declaration of all nations with citizens imprisoned in Mauthausen, written by former political prisoners:
' We will keep the international solidarity of the camp in our memory and draw out of it the memento that:
We shall march a common road,
the road of indivisible liberty,
the road of mutual respect,
the road of cooperation on the great work,
of reconstructing a new, free world,
just to everybody.
Remember for the deathly sacrifices of all nations, remember for the blood shed, the millions of Brothers slaughtered by Nazi fascism, we vow never to abandon this road'
I think this is the quintisential mentality behind the memorialization of the death camps, which I believe serve a beneficial purpose to mankind, and especially the generations to come who are farther removed from this era.
Kaisergruft and Schonbrunn, August 21
On Thursday the 21st, Kelsey, Lindsay and I checked out the Kaisergruft (the Imperial Crypt) where all but 4 Habsburgs (including Marie Antoinette- one of Maria Theresia's daughters) lay in their final resting place. To enter the room, you must first walk down some stairs into a dark, cool room below street level that definitely gave me creepy vibes. The first tombs date back to the early1600's century, and the Kaisergruft is filled with coffins containing Habsburgs all the way up until Zita (wife of the last Austrian Emperor, Karl I) buried in 1989, and their son Karl Ludwig who was buried in 2007. The first room is filled with metal tombs with engravings and ornamentation- mostly related to death. There are skulls and crossbones, Crucifixes, and angels covering some of the tombs while others have a huge metal engraving off a cross across the top. As you walk through the room, there are tombs on either side, and as you enter the next room they suddenly become extremely ornate and eccentric, with huge metal figures covering the coffins. These highle ellaborate coffine date back to the Baroque era in the 1700's. The double sarcophagus of Empress Maria Theresia and her husband Emperor Franz I are the most prime example of the Baroque era reflected even in death. It is all the more dramatic because their son, Emperor Joseph II lays in front of theirs in an extremely minimalistic, simple and plain coffin completely bare except for a metal cross on the top. It was incredible interesting to see how the era of the specific Emperors were reflected in their coffins, especially in the case of Maria Theresia and her son Joseph II. When Joseph II came into power, he made many reforms and was a progressive ruler, and did away with many Austrian traditions that he found to be exorbitant and unneseccary (such as elaborate burial and funeral traditions that last days and cost lots of money.) Joseph II was a stark contrast to his mother who was traditional, anti-semitic, and lead a life of luxury and excess- a true product of the Baroque era. Both of their characteristics as rulers and people are mirrored in their final resting place. As you continue through the rooms of tombs, you finally get to one room that is flooded with light, crowded with people, and contains three tombs covered in ribbons and flowers. These are the tombs of Emperor Franz Josef I, his wife Empress Elizabeth (the beloved 'Sissi') and their son Rudolph. This family is said to have been the turning tide of the fate of the Habsburg dynasty. Emperor Franz Josef's wife was assinated, his son commited suicide (but was allowed to be buried with his family because the doctors declared him 'mentally unstable' which is debatable), and his nephew was Archduke Franz Ferdinand who's assination in Sarajevo in 1914 triggered World War I. This room was eerie because there were so many flowers and people gathered around the coffins that it really gave me a sense for how much of an impact this particular family had on Vienna and the country of Austria as a whole. As we were leaving the Kaisergruft I couldn't help but think that the average person visits the graves of their family members in a cemetary where they lay buried in the ground, with the only commemoration of their life on the site being their gravestone. If you are an heir to a Habsburg, your family's gravesite is in a museum where people pay to gawk at the coffins lining the rooms, taking pictures, and even leaving flowers. It was weird to think that family members of the more recent Kaisergruft entries come down to this public exhibition to pay homage to or visit their deceased ancestors. After seeing the Kaisergruft I was definitely ready for a change of scenery, and on this beautiful summer day the three of us headed for Schonbrunn, the summer palace of the Habsburgs.
Schonbrunn was in an attempt to rival France's Palace of Versailles and was built by Emperor Leopold I in the 1696, who gave it to his daughter and heir to the throne: Empress Maria Theresia. She was the first major utilizer of the palace and refurbished it in the 'Rococo' style. For the next two centuries, Schonbrunn was used as the royal family's summer palace, as well as for retreats and special events. When we arrived, I was impressed with the size of the building, and the even more amazing gardens that must cover acres, as they stretch far up on to a hill where there is a huge columned structure and fountain (called a Gloriette). The palace seems to be well-restored, and teeming with tourists that gave it a sort of fake, Disneyland feeling. We went on an audio tour that showed us 30 or so rooms inside the palace, including the bed chambers, office, dining room, children's play room, ball room, entertainment rooms where they received musical performances, and much more. The palace was influenced by its inhabitants who left their various marks. The most influential was Maria Theresia who hired the architect and designers to give it the 'Rococo' (which is similar to Baroque, but with a French influence that emphasizes curvy, ornate, shell-like carvings and patterns in softer, paler tons as compared with the dark and dramatic Baroque colors). The palace was also highly utilized by Franz Josef I and his family. One interesting fact that I learned on the tour is that 6 year old music phenom, Mozart performed for Empress Maria Theresia, and afterwards he jumped in her lap and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Also, many influential Habsburgs were born at Schonbrunn, including Franz Josef I. Its crazy to think that at one time, thousands of people inhabited the palace, most of them being employees such as maids, cooks, groundskeepers, etc along with highly esteemed guests, and members of the court. After the tour, we wandered around the grounds which include over 30 statues, many beautiful fountains, a labyrinth, well-manicured french gardens, and a Gloriette high on a hill overlooking the palace. This day was packed with visual information that was really interesting. Im really glad we ended our tours with the Schonbrunn, because it was a glorious day filled with beautiful scenery in the gardens where we took awhile to relax and reflect.
Schonbrunn was in an attempt to rival France's Palace of Versailles and was built by Emperor Leopold I in the 1696, who gave it to his daughter and heir to the throne: Empress Maria Theresia. She was the first major utilizer of the palace and refurbished it in the 'Rococo' style. For the next two centuries, Schonbrunn was used as the royal family's summer palace, as well as for retreats and special events. When we arrived, I was impressed with the size of the building, and the even more amazing gardens that must cover acres, as they stretch far up on to a hill where there is a huge columned structure and fountain (called a Gloriette). The palace seems to be well-restored, and teeming with tourists that gave it a sort of fake, Disneyland feeling. We went on an audio tour that showed us 30 or so rooms inside the palace, including the bed chambers, office, dining room, children's play room, ball room, entertainment rooms where they received musical performances, and much more. The palace was influenced by its inhabitants who left their various marks. The most influential was Maria Theresia who hired the architect and designers to give it the 'Rococo' (which is similar to Baroque, but with a French influence that emphasizes curvy, ornate, shell-like carvings and patterns in softer, paler tons as compared with the dark and dramatic Baroque colors). The palace was also highly utilized by Franz Josef I and his family. One interesting fact that I learned on the tour is that 6 year old music phenom, Mozart performed for Empress Maria Theresia, and afterwards he jumped in her lap and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Also, many influential Habsburgs were born at Schonbrunn, including Franz Josef I. Its crazy to think that at one time, thousands of people inhabited the palace, most of them being employees such as maids, cooks, groundskeepers, etc along with highly esteemed guests, and members of the court. After the tour, we wandered around the grounds which include over 30 statues, many beautiful fountains, a labyrinth, well-manicured french gardens, and a Gloriette high on a hill overlooking the palace. This day was packed with visual information that was really interesting. Im really glad we ended our tours with the Schonbrunn, because it was a glorious day filled with beautiful scenery in the gardens where we took awhile to relax and reflect.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wien Museum, August 20, 2008
After class, Lindsay and I headed over to a Bier Garten over near the Museums Quartier. We decided to grab a beer and some lunch, and we sat outside underneath the chestnut trees. We got some hemp beer and traditional Viennese food and chatted for awhile before heading over to the Wien Museum. The Wien Museum is located in the Karlsplatz area which is a pretty central location of Vienna. I was a little weary heading to another museum after seeing so many up to this point, but it turned out to be a really great museum that was completely different from what I expected. I really liked it because it was an assemblage of history, art, artifacts, photographs, and really interesting facts about Vienna starting from pre-historic times leading through the ages up to the 21st century giving helpful overviews on all the different eras that have characterized Vienna making it the city that it is, today. Because there were three stories of artifacts and information, I will focus on several areas that seem to be most relevant to what we’ve been studying as a class.
The bottom floor had a lot of information on St. Stephen’s Cathedral, its origins, remodeling, and current status as one of the oldest, most recognizable structures in Vienna. I learned that during the reign of the Babenbergs, construction on St. Stephens began right around 1137-1160. It was constructed during the late-Gothic period, and was re-done a hundred years later with a bit of Romanesque style. At the time of its consecration in 1147, it was the second highest steeple in the world. The Diocese of Passau helped oversee construction and was also the 1st Viennese Bishop. In the late Middle Ages around 1304, it was re-built in the Gothic architectural style which is how it remains today although there has been lots of reconstruction and renovations over the centuries that the cathedral has been in existence. In the 18th century the interior was refurbished in the grand Baroque style. The building was badly damaged in World War II, but a lot of artifacts in the Wien museum such as original stained glass windows dating back to 1340 and pillars from the west facade of St. Stephens- statues of Duke Rudolph IV and his wife Catherine of Bohemia are all preserved in good condition. The cathedral has replaced these originals with replicas to maintain the original look, but preserve the historic artifacts of the past. In addition to these original peices, the Wien museum is also in possession of 250 medieval sculptures made from sandstone that have been weathered and a little decayed from pollution, altar panels, frescoes from the early Italian Renaissance, a medieval suit of armor and shield, and more stained glass that was rescued from a fire in 1945. It was really interesting seeing all these original statues and artifacts, especially because the cathedral has since been restored with replicas.
The second floor contains art and historical remnants from the 17th and 18th century Vienna. Some of the things that caught my eye on this floor include the last executioner’s sword used in Vienna which is on display (the last state-ordered execution was performed in 1786), a wheel used to crush people to death back when corporal punishment was common, a drawing of a bird’s eye view of Vienna dating from the middle of the 17th century (which looks MUCH different than the Vienna we know today), and several paintings depicting historic moments in Vienna’s past such as Franz Geffel’s The Relief Battle depicting the near- defeat of Vienna from the Turks until at the last moment, allies swept over the hills rescuing the city and decisively defeating the Turkish army.
This floor also contained a lot of art and information about Baroque Vienna. In this period of the decades following the Turkish wars, Vienna grew into an international center for the arts. The royal court, aristocracy, figures such as Prince Eugene of Savoy, and the Catholic Church, all contributed in building some of Vienna’s most identifiable structures such as Schonbrun Palace, the church of St. Charles, upper and lower Belvedere, and more. The architecture, sculptures, paintings, and interior decor of the baroque period were reflections of one’s social position and influence including the highly esteemed Catholic church. Baroque flourished under the court of Maria Theresia and Franz I and the style is characterized most by its grandeur style, using elaborate materials that down the smallest details evoke a sense of awe aimed to impress visitors and guests. The baroque style was only used by the wealthiest of aristocrats and royalty so it came to reflect a sense of power and dominance through wealth and prestige (as I mentioned in my description of Prince Eugene of Savoy’s Belvedere Palace.)
The third floor contained a lot of Biedermier art and household objects. These paintings are all evoke a warm and fuzzy feeling whether depicting scenes of a middle class girl buying goat milk in the countryside with Vienna in the background, men casually hanging out playing the cello and listening to music, wholesome romance scenes of two lovebirds, families gathered around each other in their cozy homes, or a little girl casually lying on a chair with toys all over the floor and a content little dog by her side. The Biedermier style occurred during a time of intense scrutiny from the state, but also during a time of vast change and development. While these scenes depict cozy families and middle class comfort, the reality of this period in Vienna’s history is that the population went from 240,000 in 1800 to 410,000 in the year 1846 due to people migrating from the countryside to the city in an era of industrialization. Vienna was experiencing technological change, social tension, and political repression, so this Biedermier art almost seems to reflect a class of people in denial of reality and closely grasping on to a life and time period, "the good old days" rapidly slipping away.
On this floor I also learned about the revolution of 1848 which started out as a peaceful student demonstration turned violent. Dozens of students and peasants protesting the absence of individual rights during a time of enlightenment and revolution were killed by a firing squad after being arrested. Paintings in this section depicted the protestors and lynch mobs.
Finally, the 20th century section explained Vienna’s collision of tradition and modernity, and the movement that came out of this called the secession. The secession was founded by a group of artists who wanted to break free from tradition dominated by historic and religious art. They were in favor of reforming the art scene into a contemporary, modernized, liberal take on art accepting of different styles and methods other than those promoted by the conservative monarchs. Gustav Klimt was a founder of this movement, and the Secession building in the Karlsplatz is where their art exhibits were on display. In addition to this movement of modern art, other domains such as music (such as composer Arnold Schonberg), literature, and psychology (Sigmund Freud) were also making huge advances during this time in Vienna. This part of the exhibit holds Klimt’s "Liebe" (1895) and "Bidnis Emilie Floge" (1902) which were also enjoyable to see.
The bottom floor had a lot of information on St. Stephen’s Cathedral, its origins, remodeling, and current status as one of the oldest, most recognizable structures in Vienna. I learned that during the reign of the Babenbergs, construction on St. Stephens began right around 1137-1160. It was constructed during the late-Gothic period, and was re-done a hundred years later with a bit of Romanesque style. At the time of its consecration in 1147, it was the second highest steeple in the world. The Diocese of Passau helped oversee construction and was also the 1st Viennese Bishop. In the late Middle Ages around 1304, it was re-built in the Gothic architectural style which is how it remains today although there has been lots of reconstruction and renovations over the centuries that the cathedral has been in existence. In the 18th century the interior was refurbished in the grand Baroque style. The building was badly damaged in World War II, but a lot of artifacts in the Wien museum such as original stained glass windows dating back to 1340 and pillars from the west facade of St. Stephens- statues of Duke Rudolph IV and his wife Catherine of Bohemia are all preserved in good condition. The cathedral has replaced these originals with replicas to maintain the original look, but preserve the historic artifacts of the past. In addition to these original peices, the Wien museum is also in possession of 250 medieval sculptures made from sandstone that have been weathered and a little decayed from pollution, altar panels, frescoes from the early Italian Renaissance, a medieval suit of armor and shield, and more stained glass that was rescued from a fire in 1945. It was really interesting seeing all these original statues and artifacts, especially because the cathedral has since been restored with replicas.
The second floor contains art and historical remnants from the 17th and 18th century Vienna. Some of the things that caught my eye on this floor include the last executioner’s sword used in Vienna which is on display (the last state-ordered execution was performed in 1786), a wheel used to crush people to death back when corporal punishment was common, a drawing of a bird’s eye view of Vienna dating from the middle of the 17th century (which looks MUCH different than the Vienna we know today), and several paintings depicting historic moments in Vienna’s past such as Franz Geffel’s The Relief Battle depicting the near- defeat of Vienna from the Turks until at the last moment, allies swept over the hills rescuing the city and decisively defeating the Turkish army.
This floor also contained a lot of art and information about Baroque Vienna. In this period of the decades following the Turkish wars, Vienna grew into an international center for the arts. The royal court, aristocracy, figures such as Prince Eugene of Savoy, and the Catholic Church, all contributed in building some of Vienna’s most identifiable structures such as Schonbrun Palace, the church of St. Charles, upper and lower Belvedere, and more. The architecture, sculptures, paintings, and interior decor of the baroque period were reflections of one’s social position and influence including the highly esteemed Catholic church. Baroque flourished under the court of Maria Theresia and Franz I and the style is characterized most by its grandeur style, using elaborate materials that down the smallest details evoke a sense of awe aimed to impress visitors and guests. The baroque style was only used by the wealthiest of aristocrats and royalty so it came to reflect a sense of power and dominance through wealth and prestige (as I mentioned in my description of Prince Eugene of Savoy’s Belvedere Palace.)
The third floor contained a lot of Biedermier art and household objects. These paintings are all evoke a warm and fuzzy feeling whether depicting scenes of a middle class girl buying goat milk in the countryside with Vienna in the background, men casually hanging out playing the cello and listening to music, wholesome romance scenes of two lovebirds, families gathered around each other in their cozy homes, or a little girl casually lying on a chair with toys all over the floor and a content little dog by her side. The Biedermier style occurred during a time of intense scrutiny from the state, but also during a time of vast change and development. While these scenes depict cozy families and middle class comfort, the reality of this period in Vienna’s history is that the population went from 240,000 in 1800 to 410,000 in the year 1846 due to people migrating from the countryside to the city in an era of industrialization. Vienna was experiencing technological change, social tension, and political repression, so this Biedermier art almost seems to reflect a class of people in denial of reality and closely grasping on to a life and time period, "the good old days" rapidly slipping away.
On this floor I also learned about the revolution of 1848 which started out as a peaceful student demonstration turned violent. Dozens of students and peasants protesting the absence of individual rights during a time of enlightenment and revolution were killed by a firing squad after being arrested. Paintings in this section depicted the protestors and lynch mobs.
Finally, the 20th century section explained Vienna’s collision of tradition and modernity, and the movement that came out of this called the secession. The secession was founded by a group of artists who wanted to break free from tradition dominated by historic and religious art. They were in favor of reforming the art scene into a contemporary, modernized, liberal take on art accepting of different styles and methods other than those promoted by the conservative monarchs. Gustav Klimt was a founder of this movement, and the Secession building in the Karlsplatz is where their art exhibits were on display. In addition to this movement of modern art, other domains such as music (such as composer Arnold Schonberg), literature, and psychology (Sigmund Freud) were also making huge advances during this time in Vienna. This part of the exhibit holds Klimt’s "Liebe" (1895) and "Bidnis Emilie Floge" (1902) which were also enjoyable to see.
The Opera: Tuesday, August 19th
Mozart's The Magic Flute
On Tuesday, August 9th, our entire class went to see the opera at Theater An Der Wien. The opera was Mozart’s The Magic Flute and after reading the libretto and discussing it in class, I was really excited to see the opera. I’ve been to many plays and musicals but seeing the opera in Vienna is a completely different experience. I’ve read a lot about Viennese culture and have learned that two things the people here really love are theater and music. When we arrived at the opera on a Tuesday evening, I wasn’t surprised to see the theater packed with locals, their children, and tourists alike all brought together to enjoy the Mozart’s exquisite music and the children’s whimsical fairytale written by Emanuel Schikaneder. Mozart and Schikaneder were Free Masons together so they collaborated to create The Magic Flute in 1791 (which contains a lot of Masonic imagery and elements of the Enlightenment). The story is about a young princess named Pamina who is kidnaped by the moor, Monostatos and Tamino sets out on a journey to find his love but must first go through a series of trials in order to rescue the princess.
Visually, the opera was completely different than what I expected. I thought it would be really old-fashioned with ornate sets and dress reflecting the late18th century fashions. Instead, the set was really simple and almost seemed like the inside of a nursery with huge, colorful doors that made up the three bordering walls of the stage. The set was fairly simple and remained the same throughout the length of the play besides for some basic props here and there (such as a ramp that doubled as a table, etc.) The costumes were bright and colorful, and almost circus-like in their style. All the supporting actors had crazy, bizarre hairdos with colorful designs in an almost modern-art style. Pretty much all the characters except Tamino and Pamina, wore these crazy circusey outfits, while Tamino wore black overalls over a white shirt and Pamina wore a simple, blue dress that could have been that of a country peasant (hardly what I was expecting/hoping a princess would wear.) The opera had beautiful music which pretty much saved the experience for me. I wasn’t impressed (or maybe just completely surprised and disappointed) at the set, style, and costumes, but the music was absolutely amazing, especially hearing Mozart being performed live by such a talented orchestra. The opera singers were also extremely talented, but my favorite was The Queen of the Night. She played Pamina’s mother but was portrayed as dark because of her strong female character devoid of a man to supervise and thus subdue her. The actress playing the Queen of the Night hit these amazing high notes to a point where no one else in the production could compare with her singing talents. Every time she came on stage, she carried this energy with her, and I immediately perked up to watch her every move and listen carefully to her incredible vocalization.
The theater itself was also something to pay attention to and admire. Kathy told me that this is one of the oldest theaters in Vienna and even precedes the huge opera house near our classroom that seems to be a historic symbol of the opera and musical traditions here. Inside the theater, there are beautiful statues lining the walls, ornate details along all the molding and trim, and traditional little balconies that line three floors of seating. The theater is really condensed but tall, with many different layers. It was clearly built centuries ago because the people must have been much smaller. One of my difficulties with enjoying the performance was that I was really uncomfortable the whole time. Back in the day when the museum was built im sure the people were on average much smaller and shorter. This caused me some problems because im really tall, must mostly have long legs and they physically couldn’t even fit in front of me, so I spent the entire opera with my legs to the side, which got pretty uncomfortable. Of course I was still able to appreciate and enjoy the opera, but next time im going for the aisle seat. :)
On Tuesday, August 9th, our entire class went to see the opera at Theater An Der Wien. The opera was Mozart’s The Magic Flute and after reading the libretto and discussing it in class, I was really excited to see the opera. I’ve been to many plays and musicals but seeing the opera in Vienna is a completely different experience. I’ve read a lot about Viennese culture and have learned that two things the people here really love are theater and music. When we arrived at the opera on a Tuesday evening, I wasn’t surprised to see the theater packed with locals, their children, and tourists alike all brought together to enjoy the Mozart’s exquisite music and the children’s whimsical fairytale written by Emanuel Schikaneder. Mozart and Schikaneder were Free Masons together so they collaborated to create The Magic Flute in 1791 (which contains a lot of Masonic imagery and elements of the Enlightenment). The story is about a young princess named Pamina who is kidnaped by the moor, Monostatos and Tamino sets out on a journey to find his love but must first go through a series of trials in order to rescue the princess.
Visually, the opera was completely different than what I expected. I thought it would be really old-fashioned with ornate sets and dress reflecting the late18th century fashions. Instead, the set was really simple and almost seemed like the inside of a nursery with huge, colorful doors that made up the three bordering walls of the stage. The set was fairly simple and remained the same throughout the length of the play besides for some basic props here and there (such as a ramp that doubled as a table, etc.) The costumes were bright and colorful, and almost circus-like in their style. All the supporting actors had crazy, bizarre hairdos with colorful designs in an almost modern-art style. Pretty much all the characters except Tamino and Pamina, wore these crazy circusey outfits, while Tamino wore black overalls over a white shirt and Pamina wore a simple, blue dress that could have been that of a country peasant (hardly what I was expecting/hoping a princess would wear.) The opera had beautiful music which pretty much saved the experience for me. I wasn’t impressed (or maybe just completely surprised and disappointed) at the set, style, and costumes, but the music was absolutely amazing, especially hearing Mozart being performed live by such a talented orchestra. The opera singers were also extremely talented, but my favorite was The Queen of the Night. She played Pamina’s mother but was portrayed as dark because of her strong female character devoid of a man to supervise and thus subdue her. The actress playing the Queen of the Night hit these amazing high notes to a point where no one else in the production could compare with her singing talents. Every time she came on stage, she carried this energy with her, and I immediately perked up to watch her every move and listen carefully to her incredible vocalization.
The theater itself was also something to pay attention to and admire. Kathy told me that this is one of the oldest theaters in Vienna and even precedes the huge opera house near our classroom that seems to be a historic symbol of the opera and musical traditions here. Inside the theater, there are beautiful statues lining the walls, ornate details along all the molding and trim, and traditional little balconies that line three floors of seating. The theater is really condensed but tall, with many different layers. It was clearly built centuries ago because the people must have been much smaller. One of my difficulties with enjoying the performance was that I was really uncomfortable the whole time. Back in the day when the museum was built im sure the people were on average much smaller and shorter. This caused me some problems because im really tall, must mostly have long legs and they physically couldn’t even fit in front of me, so I spent the entire opera with my legs to the side, which got pretty uncomfortable. Of course I was still able to appreciate and enjoy the opera, but next time im going for the aisle seat. :)
The Belvedere: Friday, August 15th
The Belvedere was constructed as the palace for Prince Eugene of Savoy, a great war hero of his time. He admired other war heroes such as Alexander the Great, and had sculptures of him and others all around his entry way where guests arrive. He also showed his defeat of the Turks by making them column/statues who held up the building. Prince Eugene of Savoy wanted to show off his appreciation for the arts through Belvedere, with beautiful Italian murals on the ceilings, rooms full of marble with sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, sculptures exuding images of strength and power, and minute details in every aspect of the palace. The irony is that the grand "upper" palace of Belvedere was his guest house, while his own residence was located in lower Belvedere, in a much more humble, modest building at the base of the gardens.
I was really excited to go on the Belvedere tour with our museum guide, Dr. O and it turned out to be one of my favorite class trips thus far. Although Gustav Klimt is a huge cult figure in Vienna and you can hardly walk two blocks down the street without seeing his work turned into a scarf, tote bag, or shot glass, I have been a fan of his work long before I came to this city. My sister is a fan of Klimt’s art and introduced me to his work awhile ago, so I have been highly anticipating our tour of the Belvedere. It turned out the Klimt was one of the last artists we looked at, and there were some other really amazing exhibits preceding his.
The first exhibit that Dr. O dissected for us was that of the sculptor, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, and is called "Character Heads." Messerschmidt has an incredible story leading up to these character head creations. He was once the court sculptor during the reign of Maria Theresia and created conventional statues of the Empress and her husband. Right around 1774, when he was in his mid-thirties, the sculptor was up for promotion to the department head of the art academy but was passed over and someone else got the job. Even after he quit his position as court sculptor, and Maria Theresia tried to make amends with offering high positions in the court and a handsome salary, Messerschmidt was permanently turned off from having anything to do with Vienna or the royal court. He moved to Bratislava where he lived a reclusive life and was said to torture himself while living in seclusion. Messerschmidt had gone from a notorious court sculptor to a virtually ignored schizophrenic. His art reflected his tormented psyche and he began to sculpt heads with extremely intensely animated expressions. The heads were all modeled after his own expressions of pain, sadness, delusion, anger, and even a distorted happiness that he created by torturing himself in the mirror and sculpting the very facial expressions that he, himself made. When the sculptor was dying of pneumonia he threw half of his sculptured into a nearby river, and today 54 of the original 69 are known to exist (and a huge portion are in the Belvedere.) Even though these sculptures were created during the days of Messerschmidt’s insanity, they still reflect his incredible talent and are haunting in their realistic appearance. He also worked with many different materials such as marble and lead (which couldn’t have helped much with his sanity issues.) I was completely blown away by both his talent, and the sorrow of this great sculptor’s life story which led him to such a state of mind to create these disturbing heads.
The next exhibit that really interested me was the Biedermier style of art. I really enjoyed these paintings, although I don’t necessarily think I am the Biedermier type. Biedermier is a term that was adopted after the Napoleonic wars when the Austrian monarchy cracked down on the citizens and began to closely censor the lives of all citizens in order to stifle any possibility of revolution. In German, the term is "Reaktion" and this way of life existed from about 1815-1848 and onwards. The monarchy imposed a system of spies, underground informants, and secret agents to alert those in power of any possible revolutionary activity, after the American and French revolutions led to democracy and monarchies around Europe were beginning to crumble in this new age of Enlightenment. Biedermier became the domestic response of the people and defined not just a way of life, but art, interior design, and an emphasis on the family. People turned inwards and reacted to the strict public sanctions by focusing on the family and home. This coping mechanism applied mostly to the middle and upper-middle class, who had the resources to decorate their homes with luxurious yet comfortable furniture, rear well-mannered children, take part in music, arts, games, host small gatherings to entertain their inner circles, and most of all uphold privacy. The art reflecting this time period of Austrian history is very family oriented, with portraits of children in the laps of their loving parents and toys scattered about the floor in a lovely, yet liveable home. There are paintings of couples in love, playing music, or gazing at each other with devotion. There is a balance of properness and playfulness, well-mannered but easy going, and aesthetic yet practical. Frederick von Amerling is the artist who painted a beautiful portrait of a father and his three children in their upper-middle class Biedermier home. I really like this art style because it often tells a story of the people and their lives portrayed in the paintings. They come alive and its almost like you can peek into their personal, private lives to catch a little glimpse of what it was like for them in the stifling "era of Meternech.."
I was really excited to move on to the Gustav Klimt room. My two favorite paintings in there were the Judith of Holofernes and of course, The Kiss. The Judith painting was completed in 1902 and shows this image of a beautiful, seductive, mostly naked woman who appears to have truly enjoyed (in an almost sexual way) decapitating the man that threatened her village with his army (in the Biblical story.) She is a great example of Klimt’s obsession with women and "the feminine mystique." He also used his characteristic gold leafs to bring the painting alive with shimmering splendor. The Kiss was also amazing, especially after seeing it reprinted so many times, to see it in person was completely different. The painting is a lot larger in real life than I expected, and there is so much more detail that I noticed when seeing it in real life. Dr. O explained that the use of mosaics was inspired from Klimt’s trips to Venice where he admired the stained glass in St. Mark’s, and the shimmering waters of the canals. He also depicts the female figure as soft, flowing, and circular oval shape compared to the man’s more rectangular, masculine shape. We discussed the painting for a while and whether or not the woman enjoys being kissed or is pulling away from the man. My personal opinion (because im a romantic) is that she enjoys the kiss and is lovingly falling into his arms. Overall, the Belevedere was a really enjoyable museum to visit, and once again, I learned a lot and was highly entertained by Dr. O’s tour.
I was really excited to go on the Belvedere tour with our museum guide, Dr. O and it turned out to be one of my favorite class trips thus far. Although Gustav Klimt is a huge cult figure in Vienna and you can hardly walk two blocks down the street without seeing his work turned into a scarf, tote bag, or shot glass, I have been a fan of his work long before I came to this city. My sister is a fan of Klimt’s art and introduced me to his work awhile ago, so I have been highly anticipating our tour of the Belvedere. It turned out the Klimt was one of the last artists we looked at, and there were some other really amazing exhibits preceding his.
The first exhibit that Dr. O dissected for us was that of the sculptor, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, and is called "Character Heads." Messerschmidt has an incredible story leading up to these character head creations. He was once the court sculptor during the reign of Maria Theresia and created conventional statues of the Empress and her husband. Right around 1774, when he was in his mid-thirties, the sculptor was up for promotion to the department head of the art academy but was passed over and someone else got the job. Even after he quit his position as court sculptor, and Maria Theresia tried to make amends with offering high positions in the court and a handsome salary, Messerschmidt was permanently turned off from having anything to do with Vienna or the royal court. He moved to Bratislava where he lived a reclusive life and was said to torture himself while living in seclusion. Messerschmidt had gone from a notorious court sculptor to a virtually ignored schizophrenic. His art reflected his tormented psyche and he began to sculpt heads with extremely intensely animated expressions. The heads were all modeled after his own expressions of pain, sadness, delusion, anger, and even a distorted happiness that he created by torturing himself in the mirror and sculpting the very facial expressions that he, himself made. When the sculptor was dying of pneumonia he threw half of his sculptured into a nearby river, and today 54 of the original 69 are known to exist (and a huge portion are in the Belvedere.) Even though these sculptures were created during the days of Messerschmidt’s insanity, they still reflect his incredible talent and are haunting in their realistic appearance. He also worked with many different materials such as marble and lead (which couldn’t have helped much with his sanity issues.) I was completely blown away by both his talent, and the sorrow of this great sculptor’s life story which led him to such a state of mind to create these disturbing heads.
The next exhibit that really interested me was the Biedermier style of art. I really enjoyed these paintings, although I don’t necessarily think I am the Biedermier type. Biedermier is a term that was adopted after the Napoleonic wars when the Austrian monarchy cracked down on the citizens and began to closely censor the lives of all citizens in order to stifle any possibility of revolution. In German, the term is "Reaktion" and this way of life existed from about 1815-1848 and onwards. The monarchy imposed a system of spies, underground informants, and secret agents to alert those in power of any possible revolutionary activity, after the American and French revolutions led to democracy and monarchies around Europe were beginning to crumble in this new age of Enlightenment. Biedermier became the domestic response of the people and defined not just a way of life, but art, interior design, and an emphasis on the family. People turned inwards and reacted to the strict public sanctions by focusing on the family and home. This coping mechanism applied mostly to the middle and upper-middle class, who had the resources to decorate their homes with luxurious yet comfortable furniture, rear well-mannered children, take part in music, arts, games, host small gatherings to entertain their inner circles, and most of all uphold privacy. The art reflecting this time period of Austrian history is very family oriented, with portraits of children in the laps of their loving parents and toys scattered about the floor in a lovely, yet liveable home. There are paintings of couples in love, playing music, or gazing at each other with devotion. There is a balance of properness and playfulness, well-mannered but easy going, and aesthetic yet practical. Frederick von Amerling is the artist who painted a beautiful portrait of a father and his three children in their upper-middle class Biedermier home. I really like this art style because it often tells a story of the people and their lives portrayed in the paintings. They come alive and its almost like you can peek into their personal, private lives to catch a little glimpse of what it was like for them in the stifling "era of Meternech.."
I was really excited to move on to the Gustav Klimt room. My two favorite paintings in there were the Judith of Holofernes and of course, The Kiss. The Judith painting was completed in 1902 and shows this image of a beautiful, seductive, mostly naked woman who appears to have truly enjoyed (in an almost sexual way) decapitating the man that threatened her village with his army (in the Biblical story.) She is a great example of Klimt’s obsession with women and "the feminine mystique." He also used his characteristic gold leafs to bring the painting alive with shimmering splendor. The Kiss was also amazing, especially after seeing it reprinted so many times, to see it in person was completely different. The painting is a lot larger in real life than I expected, and there is so much more detail that I noticed when seeing it in real life. Dr. O explained that the use of mosaics was inspired from Klimt’s trips to Venice where he admired the stained glass in St. Mark’s, and the shimmering waters of the canals. He also depicts the female figure as soft, flowing, and circular oval shape compared to the man’s more rectangular, masculine shape. We discussed the painting for a while and whether or not the woman enjoys being kissed or is pulling away from the man. My personal opinion (because im a romantic) is that she enjoys the kiss and is lovingly falling into his arms. Overall, the Belevedere was a really enjoyable museum to visit, and once again, I learned a lot and was highly entertained by Dr. O’s tour.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Trip to the Alps (including Weiner-Neustadt and Mariazell)
On Tuesday, August 12th, our entire class hopped on a bus and headed south towards the Austrian Alps. Along the way we stopped in a quaint little town called Wiener-neustadt. Here we went on a tour of the small town and hit all the main spots of interest including the military academy, a couple really old churches, a cathedral, and an abbey. We learned on our tour that this small town was hit the hardest of any town in Austria, during World War II. It was a target of bombing from air raids because of the aircraft production plant, and the famous Theresian Military Academy (founded by Maria Theresia in 1752) trained soldiers from all over the country and is symbolic to Austria as one of the first defense organizations. Over 80 percent of the town was destroyed in the bombing, and of the 4,000 residents that lived there only 800 remained after the war (most were killed or fled the city).
Weiner-Neustadt ("New Vienna") was constructed by Babenberg, Leopold V in 1194 to serve as a line of defense against Hungarian invaders. Maximillian I was born here, and was also buried in St. George’s Cathedral (which we visited on our tour). One interesting fact about Maximillian I is that he requested to have a humble burial without all the frills and excess of most imperial funerals, as he was an incredibly devout Catholic and pious man. After he died, Maximillian’s body was placed in a simple sack and (as he had requested) his legs were beaten and broken below the knees so he would be kneeling for all eternity. We also toured the main cathedral which was completed in the late 15th century, and is of a gothic style on the outside, but baroque on the interior. After the tour we had a few hours to get food and walk around town. A few girls and I went to this little Greek restaurant right outside the abbey which had really good food and grape vines growing all around it. Around three we headed back to the bus to continue on to the Alps.
When we got to the Alps a little while later, we took a gondola up to the top of this huge mountain which overlooked green valleys and little towns scattered about as far as the eye can see. On the top of the mountain sat this really old fashioned, traditional looking alpine lodge which was a restaurant, gondola station, and hotel all in one. Its was three stories and pretty basic in terms of quality. The rooms were small with simple bunk beds and a sink, but still cute all the same. It kind of felt like we were in a rustic, old fashioned summer camp, but the dinginess didn’t matter because we were in the middle of the beautiful Alps! Immediately upon arrival a group of us decided to walk up the trail and explore the area where our lodge is. We walked about a mile up the road, frolicking and laughing out of excitement to be out of the city and in this breathtaking scenery, right at dusk. We headed back for dinner, and we sat down to a meal of soup followed by pasta with meat sauce. The food tasted great, mostly because we were really hungry at that point! After dinner a bunch of us drank some wine and socialized, then decided to go on a "night hike." The "hike" was more of a 5 or 10 minute walk up the road where we all proceeded to plop in the grass and tell funny/ scary stories. After a while we headed back to the lodge to get some sleep for the next day’s activities.
The next morning I woke up, ate breakfast, and got dressed for a hike to this lodge high up on a mountain top, called the Habsburghaus. I had been feeling pent up and was starting to get agitated, im not sure if it was the constant group activities, or living in the middle of an urban city which im not used to, but as soon as I got out in the mountains and began to hike, I immediately felt in relieved to be in my element. A few girls and I led the way and we trecked along at a brisk pace only to stop occasionally for water or pictures. After several miles of walking along hillsides, down into meadows filled with purple, yellow, pink, and white wild flowers, and along a rocky little path, we suddenly came to an opening where the road dropped hundreds of feet before us leading down into a deep valley with winding hills and more mountains beyond that. The path curved to the right and we headed up a steep, single lane trail full of rocks that led us straight up a mountain. The weather was nice and cool, overcast and a little damp which kept us from feeling too hot. However, once we had gotten up to a decent elevation, it felt like we were above the clouds or at least in the clouds, and it was hard to see farther than several yards in any direction. When the steep part of the trail evened out, we walking along a grassy slope and it was only about another half a mile until we got to the Habsburghaus. We were the first group to arrive (Me, Lindsay, Kelsey, Jeff, Hans, Robert and Erin), and were relieved at the sight of the cute lodge which welcomed us with warmth and friendly hosts (a husband and wife) who ran the place. I ordered a bowl of potato/zucchini soup which was delicious!! Other people ordered hot chocolate, or huge plates full of spaghetti. The rest of the group started to trickle in until everyone had made it within about 45 minutes or so of each other. After eating, Lindsay, Jeff and I decided to head back down the mountain (which was seven miles each way for a total of a 14 mile hike) and we made it back to the lodge in about an hour and a half. On the way down the mountain I was leading the group and was so focused on my footing that all of a sudden I looked up and was face to face with a huge brown and white cow! We started cracking up because it freaked us out, we were only about 5 feet away and almost walked right into them. They were really pretty, peaceful cows that luckily let us passed without any trouble. We walked really fast on the way down, but we were also talking the whole way which made time fly, and the three of us all went the same fast pace, which got us down the mountain almost two hours before the next group! We cleaned up and took naps before eating a delicious, traditional Austrian dinner of soup, and schnitzel with potatoes. After dinner most of us hung around and played card games, followed by some ghost stories upstairs.
The next day, I woke up and afer eating breakfast, headed down the mountain on the gondola to relax at the bottom and reflect a little on the last couple days. When the second half of the group got down, we boarded the bus once again and headed towards a town called Mariazell. This town was really pretty and cheerful, with lots of pastel-colored buildings all nestled at the base of a ski slope. The main attraction in town is the Mariazell Basilica, which draws thousands of tourists and Catholics per year as a renowned pilgrimage site of Europe. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI came to Mariazell which is now the towns’ biggest selling point and claim to fame. The church was beautiful and baroque, and when we went inside it was in service. I was a little "churched-out" at this point, so I decided to tour around the town rather than spend more hours in another church. I walked all around the small town, and got the feeling that it’s entire tourism platform is centered first and foremost around the town’s 850 year old history and Basilica, and secondly it’s prime location as a ski-resort. I got really cheesy vibes from the town, that all the people who come here fall into this Catholic tourist trap where there are dozens of little stands all around the church selling Catholic propaganda such as Jesus-everything (you name it- candles, jewelry, t-shirts, crucifixes, figurines, snow globes, thimbles, even when you think its going to stop there, it doesn’t) along with more plastic-beaded rosaries than I’ve ever seen (or want to see) in my life. The people that come here just eat it up. Even the church itself jumps on board with the Catholic souvenirs. Inside the Basilica, one can purchase books, postcards, rosaries, rings, crucifixes, the list goes on. Im not Catholic (or religious at all) myself, so maybe its something I personally don’t understand, but I just got this really creepy feeling that the town and church (which is basically the heart and soul of the town) profiteers off of people who come here for religious purposes and are sucked into this tourist trap of Catholic commercialism which feeds off of religious consumers who hope to take a piece of this "pilgrimage" site home with them. The town was cute and picturesque, but it wasn’t my favorite place and I was admittedly glad to get back on the bus when it came time to leave.
Weiner-Neustadt ("New Vienna") was constructed by Babenberg, Leopold V in 1194 to serve as a line of defense against Hungarian invaders. Maximillian I was born here, and was also buried in St. George’s Cathedral (which we visited on our tour). One interesting fact about Maximillian I is that he requested to have a humble burial without all the frills and excess of most imperial funerals, as he was an incredibly devout Catholic and pious man. After he died, Maximillian’s body was placed in a simple sack and (as he had requested) his legs were beaten and broken below the knees so he would be kneeling for all eternity. We also toured the main cathedral which was completed in the late 15th century, and is of a gothic style on the outside, but baroque on the interior. After the tour we had a few hours to get food and walk around town. A few girls and I went to this little Greek restaurant right outside the abbey which had really good food and grape vines growing all around it. Around three we headed back to the bus to continue on to the Alps.
When we got to the Alps a little while later, we took a gondola up to the top of this huge mountain which overlooked green valleys and little towns scattered about as far as the eye can see. On the top of the mountain sat this really old fashioned, traditional looking alpine lodge which was a restaurant, gondola station, and hotel all in one. Its was three stories and pretty basic in terms of quality. The rooms were small with simple bunk beds and a sink, but still cute all the same. It kind of felt like we were in a rustic, old fashioned summer camp, but the dinginess didn’t matter because we were in the middle of the beautiful Alps! Immediately upon arrival a group of us decided to walk up the trail and explore the area where our lodge is. We walked about a mile up the road, frolicking and laughing out of excitement to be out of the city and in this breathtaking scenery, right at dusk. We headed back for dinner, and we sat down to a meal of soup followed by pasta with meat sauce. The food tasted great, mostly because we were really hungry at that point! After dinner a bunch of us drank some wine and socialized, then decided to go on a "night hike." The "hike" was more of a 5 or 10 minute walk up the road where we all proceeded to plop in the grass and tell funny/ scary stories. After a while we headed back to the lodge to get some sleep for the next day’s activities.
The next morning I woke up, ate breakfast, and got dressed for a hike to this lodge high up on a mountain top, called the Habsburghaus. I had been feeling pent up and was starting to get agitated, im not sure if it was the constant group activities, or living in the middle of an urban city which im not used to, but as soon as I got out in the mountains and began to hike, I immediately felt in relieved to be in my element. A few girls and I led the way and we trecked along at a brisk pace only to stop occasionally for water or pictures. After several miles of walking along hillsides, down into meadows filled with purple, yellow, pink, and white wild flowers, and along a rocky little path, we suddenly came to an opening where the road dropped hundreds of feet before us leading down into a deep valley with winding hills and more mountains beyond that. The path curved to the right and we headed up a steep, single lane trail full of rocks that led us straight up a mountain. The weather was nice and cool, overcast and a little damp which kept us from feeling too hot. However, once we had gotten up to a decent elevation, it felt like we were above the clouds or at least in the clouds, and it was hard to see farther than several yards in any direction. When the steep part of the trail evened out, we walking along a grassy slope and it was only about another half a mile until we got to the Habsburghaus. We were the first group to arrive (Me, Lindsay, Kelsey, Jeff, Hans, Robert and Erin), and were relieved at the sight of the cute lodge which welcomed us with warmth and friendly hosts (a husband and wife) who ran the place. I ordered a bowl of potato/zucchini soup which was delicious!! Other people ordered hot chocolate, or huge plates full of spaghetti. The rest of the group started to trickle in until everyone had made it within about 45 minutes or so of each other. After eating, Lindsay, Jeff and I decided to head back down the mountain (which was seven miles each way for a total of a 14 mile hike) and we made it back to the lodge in about an hour and a half. On the way down the mountain I was leading the group and was so focused on my footing that all of a sudden I looked up and was face to face with a huge brown and white cow! We started cracking up because it freaked us out, we were only about 5 feet away and almost walked right into them. They were really pretty, peaceful cows that luckily let us passed without any trouble. We walked really fast on the way down, but we were also talking the whole way which made time fly, and the three of us all went the same fast pace, which got us down the mountain almost two hours before the next group! We cleaned up and took naps before eating a delicious, traditional Austrian dinner of soup, and schnitzel with potatoes. After dinner most of us hung around and played card games, followed by some ghost stories upstairs.
The next day, I woke up and afer eating breakfast, headed down the mountain on the gondola to relax at the bottom and reflect a little on the last couple days. When the second half of the group got down, we boarded the bus once again and headed towards a town called Mariazell. This town was really pretty and cheerful, with lots of pastel-colored buildings all nestled at the base of a ski slope. The main attraction in town is the Mariazell Basilica, which draws thousands of tourists and Catholics per year as a renowned pilgrimage site of Europe. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI came to Mariazell which is now the towns’ biggest selling point and claim to fame. The church was beautiful and baroque, and when we went inside it was in service. I was a little "churched-out" at this point, so I decided to tour around the town rather than spend more hours in another church. I walked all around the small town, and got the feeling that it’s entire tourism platform is centered first and foremost around the town’s 850 year old history and Basilica, and secondly it’s prime location as a ski-resort. I got really cheesy vibes from the town, that all the people who come here fall into this Catholic tourist trap where there are dozens of little stands all around the church selling Catholic propaganda such as Jesus-everything (you name it- candles, jewelry, t-shirts, crucifixes, figurines, snow globes, thimbles, even when you think its going to stop there, it doesn’t) along with more plastic-beaded rosaries than I’ve ever seen (or want to see) in my life. The people that come here just eat it up. Even the church itself jumps on board with the Catholic souvenirs. Inside the Basilica, one can purchase books, postcards, rosaries, rings, crucifixes, the list goes on. Im not Catholic (or religious at all) myself, so maybe its something I personally don’t understand, but I just got this really creepy feeling that the town and church (which is basically the heart and soul of the town) profiteers off of people who come here for religious purposes and are sucked into this tourist trap of Catholic commercialism which feeds off of religious consumers who hope to take a piece of this "pilgrimage" site home with them. The town was cute and picturesque, but it wasn’t my favorite place and I was admittedly glad to get back on the bus when it came time to leave.
Meeting with Ambassador Schulte
Last Monday we met with Ambassador Gregory Schulte who is the US Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in Vienna. He talked to us about his job title and explained that he is responsible for overseeing several factions within the UN including drugs and crime, international trade law, the UN office of outer space, and more. He explained that he was appointed by President Bush, so therefore must carry out the President’s goals as laid out in the national security strategy. Ambassador Schulte compared his job and working with a transnational community to the Congress of Vienna. He explained that many different countries with different priorities and agendas were forced to work together to establish a balance of power and keep peace among them. The main difference from what he does with the UN today and the Congress of Vienna is that he is an appointed official who is to serve the public and protect not just state rights, but human rights as well. Another difference that he pointed out is that diplomacy (for the most part) no longer occurs behind closed doors, in the Ambassador’s job he must always be ready to state a position, give the media information, and answer to public opinion and political scrutiny. I was surprised to learn that the US is one of (if not the) biggest participators as a country in human trafficking (whether for sex, labor, etc.) As part of his job, the Ambassador tries to figure out why these phenomena occur and how they can be prevented or diminished.
Another area that the Ambassador kept mentioning is our current situation with Iran and their nuclear pursuits. He told us about how Iran is posing a huge threat to us and the various paths a country can take to posses nuclear weapons (it is scary how easy these paths are). He said the IAEA is currently trying to understand what Iran’s intentions are, and as a "nuclear watchdog" they are trying to help countries keep peace and keep nuclear threats at bay through multinational efforts of diplomacy.
Overall, it was interesting meeting Ambassador Schulte and hearing about his job at the UN. My personal feelings are that he definitely came off as a typical "shmoozey" politician who seemed to have all his lines perfectly rehearsed and pre-though out. When some of the students in our class asked him tough questions about what the UN is doing about current genocides such as in Darfur, or the controversial Iraq war, instead giving an up-front, honest answer he pretty much just talked in circles or avoided the question by referring to subjects he has a lot of knowledge on, such as Iran. He was careful not to criticize our government, and he seemed to be promoting and supporting Bush’s policies (which is to be expected considering he owes his job to Bush). One quote I thought to be ironic is when he said that the Middle East policy of President Bush is to "promote freedom, peace, and reduce terrorism" which seems a little contradictory seeing as we are there on a false premise (any weapons of mass destruction found yet?) and it hardly seems like we are working to promote peace, but then again, im not over there myself so this is just my own personal reflection.
Another area that the Ambassador kept mentioning is our current situation with Iran and their nuclear pursuits. He told us about how Iran is posing a huge threat to us and the various paths a country can take to posses nuclear weapons (it is scary how easy these paths are). He said the IAEA is currently trying to understand what Iran’s intentions are, and as a "nuclear watchdog" they are trying to help countries keep peace and keep nuclear threats at bay through multinational efforts of diplomacy.
Overall, it was interesting meeting Ambassador Schulte and hearing about his job at the UN. My personal feelings are that he definitely came off as a typical "shmoozey" politician who seemed to have all his lines perfectly rehearsed and pre-though out. When some of the students in our class asked him tough questions about what the UN is doing about current genocides such as in Darfur, or the controversial Iraq war, instead giving an up-front, honest answer he pretty much just talked in circles or avoided the question by referring to subjects he has a lot of knowledge on, such as Iran. He was careful not to criticize our government, and he seemed to be promoting and supporting Bush’s policies (which is to be expected considering he owes his job to Bush). One quote I thought to be ironic is when he said that the Middle East policy of President Bush is to "promote freedom, peace, and reduce terrorism" which seems a little contradictory seeing as we are there on a false premise (any weapons of mass destruction found yet?) and it hardly seems like we are working to promote peace, but then again, im not over there myself so this is just my own personal reflection.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A chat with locals at Rathaus
When we returned to Simmering from Kloisterneuberg, a bunch of us decided to go get dinner at the Rathaus (City Hall.) There was a ballet being shown on the huge movie screen and we all dispersed to buy food. Alex and I found a smoothie bar and we got really excited for fresh fruit, so we ate smoothies for dinner then enjoyed a chocolate crepe for dessert. While in line for the crepe we met a local guy named Alex who invited us over to talk with him and his friends. We took him up on the offer because we haven’t been able to converse much with locals outside of noisy bars where the conversations remain mostly short and superficial. We had really good conversations with him and his three friends who all grew up in Vienna but are now attorneys that live together in London but are currently visiting home for a short time. They are a little older (probably late twenties), speak perfect English with hardly any German accent, and are well mannered and educated. The men were all really nice and we talked about everything including politics, history, food, the Olympics, and of course, Arnold Schwarzeneger. They enlightened us on local perspectives and we talked to them about our own lives as well.
Of the many things we talked about, one of the interesting points included learning about a generational gap between perspectives on the Holocaust. They were the ones who brought up the touchy subject, but were open to talking about their views. I learned that between our generation and our grandparents’ there is a large division regarding sentiments towards Austria’s role in World War II and the persecution of the Jews. One of the guys said that his grandparents lived in Vienna in an apartment building with several Jewish families, but one day they were gone without a trace. Instead of expressing concern, they (his family) simply went on with their daily lives without questioning the disappearance of their neighbors. The guys explained this reaction (or lack thereof) as a mixture of apathy and self-involvement for their own immediate well-being (and that of their family members who were going off to war against the allies.) In contrast to this, the younger generations have a more worldly perspective on what happened and admit that they were at fault for not taking action and instead worrying about themselves. I thought this insight from the young men we talked to was really interesting, and im really glad we were able to hear their opinions on such a dark part of Austrian history (which is still locally debated as to whether Austrians were victimized by the Nazis or perpetuates of the Nazi regime.)
We talked with the guys about how different European culture is from American, especially with regards to the government and our laws. They commented on how strict America is about certain things such as not being able to drink until the age of 21 yet being able to drive, vote, smoke, and go to war to kill people at the age of 18. They said they noticed lots of police everywhere when they’ve been to America, waiting around to write people up for benign infractions when it seems like there are more important things they could be worrying about, or "bigger fish to fry." They also made fun of Alex and I for being typical Californians and missing things like smoothies and salads which are constant staples in our diet. They didn’t understand our love of fruit and vegetables and they said "the food we [Californians] eat (such as produce) is what the food they eat (animals), eats" (saying they eat tons of meat, so we eat the food that their food, eats). We thought this was hilarious and had a good laugh over this comment. We talked about politics and after expressing our hopes that Obama will be the next president, they said that America isn’t ready for a Black president. We talked about the death penalty and how America is one of the last countries who still uses it (along with China) and they even brought up how Arnold Schwarzenneger was going to have a huge football (soccer) stadium named after him in Austria, but after he voted in favor of keeping the death penalty in California, they revoked the honor and named it for someone else. Talking to these young, insightful, educated locals was a great experience because I was able to learn so much about where they come from and how they view us. So far all I have learned is from the Professor and my own experiences, but after talking to these nice guys, I feel a little more enlightened on local perspectives.
Of the many things we talked about, one of the interesting points included learning about a generational gap between perspectives on the Holocaust. They were the ones who brought up the touchy subject, but were open to talking about their views. I learned that between our generation and our grandparents’ there is a large division regarding sentiments towards Austria’s role in World War II and the persecution of the Jews. One of the guys said that his grandparents lived in Vienna in an apartment building with several Jewish families, but one day they were gone without a trace. Instead of expressing concern, they (his family) simply went on with their daily lives without questioning the disappearance of their neighbors. The guys explained this reaction (or lack thereof) as a mixture of apathy and self-involvement for their own immediate well-being (and that of their family members who were going off to war against the allies.) In contrast to this, the younger generations have a more worldly perspective on what happened and admit that they were at fault for not taking action and instead worrying about themselves. I thought this insight from the young men we talked to was really interesting, and im really glad we were able to hear their opinions on such a dark part of Austrian history (which is still locally debated as to whether Austrians were victimized by the Nazis or perpetuates of the Nazi regime.)
We talked with the guys about how different European culture is from American, especially with regards to the government and our laws. They commented on how strict America is about certain things such as not being able to drink until the age of 21 yet being able to drive, vote, smoke, and go to war to kill people at the age of 18. They said they noticed lots of police everywhere when they’ve been to America, waiting around to write people up for benign infractions when it seems like there are more important things they could be worrying about, or "bigger fish to fry." They also made fun of Alex and I for being typical Californians and missing things like smoothies and salads which are constant staples in our diet. They didn’t understand our love of fruit and vegetables and they said "the food we [Californians] eat (such as produce) is what the food they eat (animals), eats" (saying they eat tons of meat, so we eat the food that their food, eats). We thought this was hilarious and had a good laugh over this comment. We talked about politics and after expressing our hopes that Obama will be the next president, they said that America isn’t ready for a Black president. We talked about the death penalty and how America is one of the last countries who still uses it (along with China) and they even brought up how Arnold Schwarzenneger was going to have a huge football (soccer) stadium named after him in Austria, but after he voted in favor of keeping the death penalty in California, they revoked the honor and named it for someone else. Talking to these young, insightful, educated locals was a great experience because I was able to learn so much about where they come from and how they view us. So far all I have learned is from the Professor and my own experiences, but after talking to these nice guys, I feel a little more enlightened on local perspectives.
Excursion to Klosterneuburg
On Sunday, August 10th, a group of us ventured out to the countryside to the quaint and historic town of Kloisterneuberg (Sp?). We took the U Bahn to a train and the journey took about 45 minutes one-way. When we got there, we headed up the hill towards the chapel and monastery that Kloisterneuberg is famous for. After walking around the grounds and taking some pictures, we ate lunch at a small restaurant right in front of the monastery gates. We then saw Kathy, Louise, and Jeff who had biked there, and we all convened for a group tour through the grounds. The tour was interesting and Kathy gave us a lot of extra insight and information, but I I personally thought our tour guide was merely satisfactory but not especially good (although it might have just been because of the language barrier.)
On the tour we learned a lot about the history of the land and monastery which dates back 900 years. Over 500 Romans inhabited this land which was once the sight of one of their northern territories during the Roman Empire (and Marcus Aralias was said to have died here in a battle against the Barbarians.) We even saw Roman gravestones that have been found and are kept in the monastery, dating back to 40 AD.
We learned that the monastery was founded by Leopold III in the 15th century and supposedly was done so to commemorate a miracle that occurred when some of his troops found a white scarf in the woods that his wife had lost years prior, which was completely clean, unscathed, and intact with a glowing aura around it. Because he was such a kind and benevolent ruler, Leopold III was made a saint in 1485 and on his date of death which was November 15th, there is a huge celebration in Kloisterneurberg to celebrate his life. Leopold’s wife Agnes and his children are all buried in a small monument within the monastery near an enamel altar which we were able to see on the tour.
This became the first gothic chapel of Austria, along with the oldest and largest winery at 25 acres which now produces about a million bottles of wine per year. The architecture of the buildings were originally of the Romanesque style but were made into Baroque in later years. The monastery is Augustinian, and on the 28th of August hopeful Canons come to the monastery and proceed to stay for 46 months to receive training and religious education. The church is covered in painted Biblical scenes with Mary, because it was symbolically donated to her in her honor. One of the main pieces we looked at was a Byzantine altar piece that was contained sequential images of Christ’s life. We watched a video on how it was made, was probably once located outside the building, and was saved in a fire at the last minute (after one of the monks threw wine on it to keep it from burning then rescued it from the building). I thought the tour of the church and monastery was interesting, and I really enjoyed learning about the history of the land which dated back to the Romans. However, I am still skeptical about the Catholic church and I can’t help but question the contradictory themes that seem to keep coming up. The Canons must give up a life of material goods and marriage with a woman, in order to focus on their relationship with God and be admitted into the monastery, but in Kloisterneurberg, the monastery is an enterprise that makes tons of money from wine sales, owns 24 different parishes around town, as well as land and buildings in Vienna. It is a huge money-making power house that has put this small town on the map, and even profits from tourism, a gift shop, and a fancy café not to mention the pricey wine tours offered. I am still trying to figure out this relationship between piety and profiteering, so its possible that I may need to visit a few more churches and learn more about Catholic history before I can grasp a definitive answer.
After the tour, Kathy brought us to a really cute, authentic wine tavern which had delicious food and wine. We ate plates of various meats, cheese, salad, spreads, and bread, and ordered the local white wine which is called Gruner Veltiner. We also made a friend named Hans who is an older, local man and was really excited to hang out and chat with us. He bought us wine and asked us lots of questions about where we’re from, what we like to do, what sports we play, and what nationalities we are (where we came from before the US.) He had fun guessing our different origins and he couldn’t seem to get over how tall I was, but immediately guessed that I am Swedish (among other things). We also sang lots of songs (especially from the sound of music) and he bought all the women long-stemmed red roses. Hans even said that after spending a few hours with us his opinions on Americans have changed in a more positive light- which really meant a lot to me. We left the wine tavern full of good food, warmed with great wine, and in cheerful spirits from a lovely day in a lovely town.
On the tour we learned a lot about the history of the land and monastery which dates back 900 years. Over 500 Romans inhabited this land which was once the sight of one of their northern territories during the Roman Empire (and Marcus Aralias was said to have died here in a battle against the Barbarians.) We even saw Roman gravestones that have been found and are kept in the monastery, dating back to 40 AD.
We learned that the monastery was founded by Leopold III in the 15th century and supposedly was done so to commemorate a miracle that occurred when some of his troops found a white scarf in the woods that his wife had lost years prior, which was completely clean, unscathed, and intact with a glowing aura around it. Because he was such a kind and benevolent ruler, Leopold III was made a saint in 1485 and on his date of death which was November 15th, there is a huge celebration in Kloisterneurberg to celebrate his life. Leopold’s wife Agnes and his children are all buried in a small monument within the monastery near an enamel altar which we were able to see on the tour.
This became the first gothic chapel of Austria, along with the oldest and largest winery at 25 acres which now produces about a million bottles of wine per year. The architecture of the buildings were originally of the Romanesque style but were made into Baroque in later years. The monastery is Augustinian, and on the 28th of August hopeful Canons come to the monastery and proceed to stay for 46 months to receive training and religious education. The church is covered in painted Biblical scenes with Mary, because it was symbolically donated to her in her honor. One of the main pieces we looked at was a Byzantine altar piece that was contained sequential images of Christ’s life. We watched a video on how it was made, was probably once located outside the building, and was saved in a fire at the last minute (after one of the monks threw wine on it to keep it from burning then rescued it from the building). I thought the tour of the church and monastery was interesting, and I really enjoyed learning about the history of the land which dated back to the Romans. However, I am still skeptical about the Catholic church and I can’t help but question the contradictory themes that seem to keep coming up. The Canons must give up a life of material goods and marriage with a woman, in order to focus on their relationship with God and be admitted into the monastery, but in Kloisterneurberg, the monastery is an enterprise that makes tons of money from wine sales, owns 24 different parishes around town, as well as land and buildings in Vienna. It is a huge money-making power house that has put this small town on the map, and even profits from tourism, a gift shop, and a fancy café not to mention the pricey wine tours offered. I am still trying to figure out this relationship between piety and profiteering, so its possible that I may need to visit a few more churches and learn more about Catholic history before I can grasp a definitive answer.
After the tour, Kathy brought us to a really cute, authentic wine tavern which had delicious food and wine. We ate plates of various meats, cheese, salad, spreads, and bread, and ordered the local white wine which is called Gruner Veltiner. We also made a friend named Hans who is an older, local man and was really excited to hang out and chat with us. He bought us wine and asked us lots of questions about where we’re from, what we like to do, what sports we play, and what nationalities we are (where we came from before the US.) He had fun guessing our different origins and he couldn’t seem to get over how tall I was, but immediately guessed that I am Swedish (among other things). We also sang lots of songs (especially from the sound of music) and he bought all the women long-stemmed red roses. Hans even said that after spending a few hours with us his opinions on Americans have changed in a more positive light- which really meant a lot to me. We left the wine tavern full of good food, warmed with great wine, and in cheerful spirits from a lovely day in a lovely town.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Imperial Treasury and Opening Ceremonies
On Friday, August 8th I went to the Schatzkammer (the Imperial Treasury), after class. I took the audio tour and was blown away by the vast amounts of royal heirlooms from the Habsburg dynasty. There was so much to look at and take in from the coronation robes, scepters, and crowns to the jewelry collection, the room filled with golden crucifixes, extravagant baptism outfits for the newborn royal children, swords, paintings, and much more. Because there were so many interesting items that I could go on and on about, I will focus on several that really stood out to me, personally. In the middle of the room filled with jewels, there was this huge, emerald encased in glass with a light shining down on it. I was immediately drawn to the stone and the story about it that unfolded through the audio guide. It is the biggest known emerald in the world at 2,860 karats. It was discovered in Colombia during the mid-16th century and brought back by Spanish explorers when Spain was under Habsburg rule. It is a large, awkward shape that was kept mostly intact because they didn’t want to shave it down too much and diminish its size. The emerald has two main parts that are naturally attached and gold-rimmed around the circumference. It was highly regarded as a symbol of power in the empire "where the sun never set."
The next item that I was drawn to was the Golden Roses. This figure made completely out of gold symbolizes "the divine." The base is a golden vase with a vine intertwining between two handles on either side. Out of the vase sprouts 13 stemmed golden roses with golden leaves. They signify the 12 apostles and the one rose on the top symbolizes Jesus Christ. The top rose has a small cover that allowed for it to be opened and filled with musk and balsam to represent the sweet scent of Jesus’ skin. The shavings from the golden roses were used to make the thorns along the stems. On the 4th Sunday during Lent, the Pope blessed a golden rose and gave it to an especially pious and deserving individual whether it be a member of the church or royalty. In 1819 Pope Pius VII dedicated this to Carolina Augusta who was the fourth wife of Franz I of Austria. It is a beautiful work of art, a magnificent sight, and a Catholic symbol of divinity that is recognized as one of the most valued possessions in the Imperial Treasury.
Finally I have to mention the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. This crown is an incredibly sacred symbol of the monarchy that has been [speculated to have been] in existence since the late 10th century. The crown is made of eight hinged gold plates that connect to make an octagonal shape. The crown is covered in about 300 separate precious stones and pearls. On four of the plates there are biblical representations that appear to be of the Byzantine style. There is a gold arch going from the back to the front of the crown were a huge cross is centered at the top. The crown is so over the top that it almost seems fake with all the different stones, pearls, and tiny details. Yet one cannot help but be amazed that this very crown sat atop the heads of seven centuries of rulers of the Holy Roman Empire.
After the Imperial Treasury, a group of us headed out to the Ringstrausse to find a bar where we could watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing. We stumbled across this Australian bar called "Billabong" and we sat amongst both locals and travelers who were there for the same reason. We watched people in the bar cheer for their various countries as they walked out into the stadium, and after about two hours the United States finally appeared with its several hundred athletes competing in this year’s Olympics. We cheered excitedly for the athletes and the few that the cameras focused on, but when the camera focused in on President Bush in the crowd, there was an eruption of booing from around the bar (and we joined in too.) This was interesting to me because while I’ve been here, I have felt no animosity for being American, but almost everyone I’ve talked to here eagerly expresses their distaste for our President, and I openly agree. with them. In the bar we didn’t feel bad because we knew that everyone respects our athletes (as do we) but rather, ashamed that our country is led by such an inadequate, ignorant human who is undeserving of his position and we completely agreed with our fellow bar-mates (even though its unfortunate that it has come to this.)
The next item that I was drawn to was the Golden Roses. This figure made completely out of gold symbolizes "the divine." The base is a golden vase with a vine intertwining between two handles on either side. Out of the vase sprouts 13 stemmed golden roses with golden leaves. They signify the 12 apostles and the one rose on the top symbolizes Jesus Christ. The top rose has a small cover that allowed for it to be opened and filled with musk and balsam to represent the sweet scent of Jesus’ skin. The shavings from the golden roses were used to make the thorns along the stems. On the 4th Sunday during Lent, the Pope blessed a golden rose and gave it to an especially pious and deserving individual whether it be a member of the church or royalty. In 1819 Pope Pius VII dedicated this to Carolina Augusta who was the fourth wife of Franz I of Austria. It is a beautiful work of art, a magnificent sight, and a Catholic symbol of divinity that is recognized as one of the most valued possessions in the Imperial Treasury.
Finally I have to mention the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Emperor. This crown is an incredibly sacred symbol of the monarchy that has been [speculated to have been] in existence since the late 10th century. The crown is made of eight hinged gold plates that connect to make an octagonal shape. The crown is covered in about 300 separate precious stones and pearls. On four of the plates there are biblical representations that appear to be of the Byzantine style. There is a gold arch going from the back to the front of the crown were a huge cross is centered at the top. The crown is so over the top that it almost seems fake with all the different stones, pearls, and tiny details. Yet one cannot help but be amazed that this very crown sat atop the heads of seven centuries of rulers of the Holy Roman Empire.
After the Imperial Treasury, a group of us headed out to the Ringstrausse to find a bar where we could watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing. We stumbled across this Australian bar called "Billabong" and we sat amongst both locals and travelers who were there for the same reason. We watched people in the bar cheer for their various countries as they walked out into the stadium, and after about two hours the United States finally appeared with its several hundred athletes competing in this year’s Olympics. We cheered excitedly for the athletes and the few that the cameras focused on, but when the camera focused in on President Bush in the crowd, there was an eruption of booing from around the bar (and we joined in too.) This was interesting to me because while I’ve been here, I have felt no animosity for being American, but almost everyone I’ve talked to here eagerly expresses their distaste for our President, and I openly agree. with them. In the bar we didn’t feel bad because we knew that everyone respects our athletes (as do we) but rather, ashamed that our country is led by such an inadequate, ignorant human who is undeserving of his position and we completely agreed with our fellow bar-mates (even though its unfortunate that it has come to this.)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Stift Melk
This past Thursday we took a class trip to Stift Melk which happens to be the oldest, continuously running Benedictine monastery in the world. It came into existence around 980, under rule of the Babenbergs. Since 1089 it has been functioning and maintained as a monastery by Benedictine monks (for over 900 years!) When we first arrived, we walked through the quaint town and up a bunch of stairs until we discovered this huge structure on a hill top which was the monastery. I pictured this old, crumbling building made of stones but instead was surprised to see a bright yellow and white structure that seemed extremely manicured and well kept. We wandered around for an hour and checked out the French gardens on the grounds until our tour started. When we went into the building, we were shown some paintings and educated on the details of the history and functioning purpose the monastery serves, today. Hundreds of kids attend a secondary school at the monastery, although it is no longer a boarding school. Then we went into a museum where there were many extremely old artifacts such as these writings which were translations done by hand (in beautiful script) and the second most copied piece of work other than the Bible. The relics (which are body parts of Saints which were scattered about to different monasteries because everyone wanted a ‘piece’ of them) caught my attention, especially the jaw of Coloman Monstrance which is considered one abbey’s most precious treasures. The story goes that he was hung on a elderberry bush but his body didn’t decompose even after months and months and his hair and fingernails were still growing. When he was finally taken down, he was brought to a monastery and now his lower jaw remains part of the collection.
In the next room, there was a wooden statue depicting the crucifixion of Christ. It has been in existence over 900 years, and is of Romanesque style. The figure of Christ appears to be void of suffering, and even had a calming, peaceful expression. This emphasis on Christ’s humanity is characteristic of that time period, versus the Renaissance which was more prone to dramatic images of his suffering when depicting his crucifixion. As we went on through the rooms, we came upon crucifixes, chalices and robes of important monks from hundreds of years ago. These were gaudy and made out of decadent materials such as gold and silk. The extravagance only increased as we went through the library and into the church. These Baroque structures were huge and filled with gold statues and colorful Biblical paintings that covered the wall and ceiling. The church was overwhelming in its’ size and appearance. I thought it was completely over the top, there was so much going on in that room from the statues to the paintings, to the marble columns and gold everywhere. As I sat in a pew and thought about the building, I felt quite at odds with the sight before me. When I think of monks, I think of a somber and steady existence of people who remove themselves from the vanity and materialism present in society to live a life devoted to God and his teachings. When I look around, I see the result of tons of money that has poured into the Catholic church, and I feel like these monks are living a life of luxury. This whole place is full of meticulously manicured French gardens with every rose and leaf in it’s proper place, a bounty of golden statues, bright murals, and paintings everywhere, marble columns and walls, and extravagant architecture which all seeps with aesthetic obsession. This gaudy, Baroque style of the monastery doesn’t fit in with my idea of the values and simplicity evoked by the monk lifestyle. While I am not a monk and don’t know all that much about these Benedictine monks, it makes me think critically about this well-kept, luxurious monastery where we spent the entire day.
After the tour, I enjoyed a nap in the garden under a patch of shade, before sitting down to a lovely dinner with the entire class. We ate at a traditional Austrian restaurant where I had salad followed by pork with vegetables and potatoes, and apple strudel for dessert. We also tried three different types of local wine grown throughout the Danube valley. Overall, the day was a great mix of education and relaxation and I enjoyed the trip to the Melk monastery.
In the next room, there was a wooden statue depicting the crucifixion of Christ. It has been in existence over 900 years, and is of Romanesque style. The figure of Christ appears to be void of suffering, and even had a calming, peaceful expression. This emphasis on Christ’s humanity is characteristic of that time period, versus the Renaissance which was more prone to dramatic images of his suffering when depicting his crucifixion. As we went on through the rooms, we came upon crucifixes, chalices and robes of important monks from hundreds of years ago. These were gaudy and made out of decadent materials such as gold and silk. The extravagance only increased as we went through the library and into the church. These Baroque structures were huge and filled with gold statues and colorful Biblical paintings that covered the wall and ceiling. The church was overwhelming in its’ size and appearance. I thought it was completely over the top, there was so much going on in that room from the statues to the paintings, to the marble columns and gold everywhere. As I sat in a pew and thought about the building, I felt quite at odds with the sight before me. When I think of monks, I think of a somber and steady existence of people who remove themselves from the vanity and materialism present in society to live a life devoted to God and his teachings. When I look around, I see the result of tons of money that has poured into the Catholic church, and I feel like these monks are living a life of luxury. This whole place is full of meticulously manicured French gardens with every rose and leaf in it’s proper place, a bounty of golden statues, bright murals, and paintings everywhere, marble columns and walls, and extravagant architecture which all seeps with aesthetic obsession. This gaudy, Baroque style of the monastery doesn’t fit in with my idea of the values and simplicity evoked by the monk lifestyle. While I am not a monk and don’t know all that much about these Benedictine monks, it makes me think critically about this well-kept, luxurious monastery where we spent the entire day.
After the tour, I enjoyed a nap in the garden under a patch of shade, before sitting down to a lovely dinner with the entire class. We ate at a traditional Austrian restaurant where I had salad followed by pork with vegetables and potatoes, and apple strudel for dessert. We also tried three different types of local wine grown throughout the Danube valley. Overall, the day was a great mix of education and relaxation and I enjoyed the trip to the Melk monastery.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Kunsthistorisches Museum
The past couple of days I have been filled with a lot of visual information. It started yesterday with our tour of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. When you walk inside, the building is filled with marble and has huge columns that lead your eyes up to the ceiling which is covered in painted murals. In all the archways and windows, there are tons of detail and Gustav Klimt even helped decorate the interior areas of the entryway and staircase leading upstairs with beautiful paintings. The museum is filled with the personal collection of the Hapsburgs, so it carries an essence of their personal style throughout the ages of their reign. The first thing we looked at was the statue of Thesius (a demi-god) killing a Centaur, which was sculpted by Antonio Canova who lived from 1757-1822. Canova was commissioned by Napolean, and Dr. O said that one interpretation of the strong image of man triumphing over primitive, animalistic nature could be Napolean’s conquering of Europe. After Napolean’s death, it was bought by Franz Joseph I where it has remained part of the collection. The statue is huge and catches your eye in a mix of both beauty and aggression.
The main aspect I focused on while touring the museum and listening to Dr. O’s descriptions and historical backgrounds behind the paintings, where the differences between the Protestant vs. Catholic paintings, and the styles of painters from different regions. Albrecht Durer was from Nuremberg and studied in Italy during the Renaissance. His paintings depict colorful biblical scenes with an emphasis on realistic human bodies to show off his knowledge of anatomy and physical dimensions. I thought it was very "Hitchcock-esque" how he always found a way to place himself in his paintings whether in the corner and off to the side, or right in the middle of all the action as a bystander. It shows pride for his work and his desire for getting acknowledged for his art.
Another Catholic painter that we looked at is Peter Paul Rubens, specifically, his painting called Miracles of St. Ignatious of Loyola. Rubens was part of the Baroque art movement and in this painting depicted the Jesuit monk Loyola healing the mentally ill possessed by the devil. The power to perform exorcisms and cleanse those of their madness was explained to us as used by the Catholic church as a form of propaganda. Ruben would make small scale paintings and then had a workshop full of artists to create the large scale version (unless of course he was commissioned specifically by a member of the royal family, in which case, he would compose the entire painting himself).
In contrast to the Catholic styles of iconic, theistic images glorifying Biblical characters, the Protestant painters had a much more individualistic style. Artists such as Rembrandt and Vermeer painted for themselves and sold their works through art dealers, to the public (versus painting for royalty and the glorification of the Catholic church). With the Protestant artists, there were many different styles and individuals on the scene, in contrast to one huge, popular painter that dominated the Catholic art scene. Rembrandt’s self-portraits are amazing, they capture this real image of how he saw himself, and one can view the sorrow in his eyes. He isn’t glorifying himself, but rather showing an honest vulnerability that is remnant of the individualistic, Protestant style of the ‘psychological painter.’ I really liked Vermeer’s The Allegory of Painting. It is an incredibly realistic depiction of an artist painting a real-life model in his studio, with amazing usage of light and space. Without looking at the woman’s face, the painting could be mistaken for a photograph because of it’s realistic composition.
After studying the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, it was great being able to compare the Roman-Catholic and Protestant artists, and identify the different themes and style used depending on the time period of when the works were produced. I also really liked Dr. O’s detailed backgrounds on the artists, they’re inspirations, and the little facts that one would never know without her insider knowledge. The Kunsthistorisches Museum is definitely a place I want to go back and spend some more time in, getting lost amongst the beautiful art in such an extravagant building.
(I also really liked the classic Viennese cake we ate after the tour!)
The main aspect I focused on while touring the museum and listening to Dr. O’s descriptions and historical backgrounds behind the paintings, where the differences between the Protestant vs. Catholic paintings, and the styles of painters from different regions. Albrecht Durer was from Nuremberg and studied in Italy during the Renaissance. His paintings depict colorful biblical scenes with an emphasis on realistic human bodies to show off his knowledge of anatomy and physical dimensions. I thought it was very "Hitchcock-esque" how he always found a way to place himself in his paintings whether in the corner and off to the side, or right in the middle of all the action as a bystander. It shows pride for his work and his desire for getting acknowledged for his art.
Another Catholic painter that we looked at is Peter Paul Rubens, specifically, his painting called Miracles of St. Ignatious of Loyola. Rubens was part of the Baroque art movement and in this painting depicted the Jesuit monk Loyola healing the mentally ill possessed by the devil. The power to perform exorcisms and cleanse those of their madness was explained to us as used by the Catholic church as a form of propaganda. Ruben would make small scale paintings and then had a workshop full of artists to create the large scale version (unless of course he was commissioned specifically by a member of the royal family, in which case, he would compose the entire painting himself).
In contrast to the Catholic styles of iconic, theistic images glorifying Biblical characters, the Protestant painters had a much more individualistic style. Artists such as Rembrandt and Vermeer painted for themselves and sold their works through art dealers, to the public (versus painting for royalty and the glorification of the Catholic church). With the Protestant artists, there were many different styles and individuals on the scene, in contrast to one huge, popular painter that dominated the Catholic art scene. Rembrandt’s self-portraits are amazing, they capture this real image of how he saw himself, and one can view the sorrow in his eyes. He isn’t glorifying himself, but rather showing an honest vulnerability that is remnant of the individualistic, Protestant style of the ‘psychological painter.’ I really liked Vermeer’s The Allegory of Painting. It is an incredibly realistic depiction of an artist painting a real-life model in his studio, with amazing usage of light and space. Without looking at the woman’s face, the painting could be mistaken for a photograph because of it’s realistic composition.
After studying the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, it was great being able to compare the Roman-Catholic and Protestant artists, and identify the different themes and style used depending on the time period of when the works were produced. I also really liked Dr. O’s detailed backgrounds on the artists, they’re inspirations, and the little facts that one would never know without her insider knowledge. The Kunsthistorisches Museum is definitely a place I want to go back and spend some more time in, getting lost amongst the beautiful art in such an extravagant building.
(I also really liked the classic Viennese cake we ate after the tour!)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Tuesday, August 5
Today was really interesting! After our lecture in class, two friends and I headed to lunch in the Naschmarkt where we ate at a delicious Mediterranean restaraunt that we'd previously visited. The prices are great, with huge portions so we can share, and we decided we want to be regulars there so they remember us and we can feel more local. After lunch we went to the Hofburg to check out the National Treasury but it happens to be closed on Tuesdays. Instead, we went to the exhibit "Bloody Hi-Stories" which was located in the Nationalbibliothek (National Library). The library was absolutely breathtaking, with a huge ceiling covered in beautiful paintings of an angelic scene of heaven. There were giant pillars along the sides of the room and bookcases that seemed to go up and up forever. It seemed like a library in a fairytale, and there was so much detail involved in every little window or archway. The exhibit covered humankind's relationship with violence and crime throughout history. It began with passages from the Bible and early Greek mythology about how war, crime, murder, disease and death resulted from the opening of Pandora's Box. In the Biblical sense, the first murderer spoken of was Cane who murdered his brother Abel out of jealousy. The Bible talks a lot about murder, rape, and crime, and even has a rule in the Old Testament that one can "take no more than an eye for an eye."
The exhibit covered every possible source of violence including suicide, homicide, martyrdom, lynching, crime and punishment, ritualistic murder, assasinations, cannibalism, genocide, and even talked about crime in the media represented through music, novels, plays, and television. I was expecting something completely different. I thought the exhibit would be displays of different kinds of torture and capital punishment devices from the Middle Ages and so forth. While it wasn't what I expected, I learned a great deal and it really opened up my eyes and made me question the violent tendencies of the human race.
Some of the highlights that peaked my interest included the statistics that in America, by the end of elementary school a child "consumes" (through images on TV, movies, news) 8,000 murders and by the time they are 18 years old, the number rises to 200,000. This was both disturbing to me and familiar because I have probably seen countless numbers of murders from horror movies to images on the news of violence and warfare. There is a definite macabre human interest in death probably stemming from fear and the unknown. I really appreciate one quote from Martin Luther King Jr. who said "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it." This really caught my attention, especially within this particular exhibit. Killing for vengeance, hate, passion, and even justice usually just leads to more human suffering and thus more killing. How can we teach people not to kill by putting on public displays of execution, where the state is, in itself, demonstrating the very thing they are trying to deter or punish? This seems particularly relevant to our current situation with the war in Iraq. On 9/11, hundreds of innocent people died, and here we are seven years later with only thousands of more deaths and lives lost as a result of our attempt to wage a "war on terror" or whatever it is that the administration uses to justify our presence in Iraq. The multiplying numbers of men and women who will be permanently damaged both physically and mentally is overwhelming. When thinking of the numbers of lives lost that could have been avoided over the past seven years, it is hard to remember our justification, or reason for being in Iraq and simply reiterates the point the MLK jr. made about violence multiplying evil and leading to more killing and violence.
Public executions during Medieval times, the French Revolution, the Salem Witch trials (as well as those in Europe), and even racist lynchings in the South were simultaneously forms of deterrence and entertainment during those times. It gave people, revolutionaries, racists, etc. a sense of power and those who are victimized or persecuted a sense of powerlessness. This theme fits in with human kind's history of power struggle and shifting forms of oppression since the beginning of human existence.
The persecution of "witches" is something that has always fascinated me. It seemed to be one form of society's oppression of women, especially women who led alternative, often progressive lifestyles. Women who used herbs for healing, were non-conforming, educated, or somehow threatening to men and mainstream society were often targeted. The irony is that when being "dunked" to see if one was a witch, they were tied down and if they sunk, they weren't a witch and if they floated, then they were indeed a witch. Either way, the woman died of drowning, and because of body fat, always floated, so it was basically a lose-lose situation.
It also struck me as strange that the Guillotine used in the French Revolution was seen as a more modern, humane way to kill people. While it may have been less painful than other forms of execution such as hanging, burning at the stake, or quartering, it was put in place as a more efficient way to kill mass amounts of people. How, again, is this more humane?
In terms of relating to our own curriculum, there was a Holocaust section although it was quite short and seemed to be lacking. It explained how in the wake of WWII, the United Nations passed the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crime and Genocide" in 1948 which allows for martial action to take place when certain groups are targeted for being completely destroyed or wiped out. While this may be in place, it seems that there are in fact Genocides that occur around the world such as in Africa, yet the UN appears to be ambivalent and slow to react to some of these situations.
Finally, I want to end with a quote that I really liked from the exhibit:
"Mankind is not in a position to abolish death. But it certainly is in a position to abolish mutual killing"
- Nurbert Elias
The exhibit covered every possible source of violence including suicide, homicide, martyrdom, lynching, crime and punishment, ritualistic murder, assasinations, cannibalism, genocide, and even talked about crime in the media represented through music, novels, plays, and television. I was expecting something completely different. I thought the exhibit would be displays of different kinds of torture and capital punishment devices from the Middle Ages and so forth. While it wasn't what I expected, I learned a great deal and it really opened up my eyes and made me question the violent tendencies of the human race.
Some of the highlights that peaked my interest included the statistics that in America, by the end of elementary school a child "consumes" (through images on TV, movies, news) 8,000 murders and by the time they are 18 years old, the number rises to 200,000. This was both disturbing to me and familiar because I have probably seen countless numbers of murders from horror movies to images on the news of violence and warfare. There is a definite macabre human interest in death probably stemming from fear and the unknown. I really appreciate one quote from Martin Luther King Jr. who said "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it." This really caught my attention, especially within this particular exhibit. Killing for vengeance, hate, passion, and even justice usually just leads to more human suffering and thus more killing. How can we teach people not to kill by putting on public displays of execution, where the state is, in itself, demonstrating the very thing they are trying to deter or punish? This seems particularly relevant to our current situation with the war in Iraq. On 9/11, hundreds of innocent people died, and here we are seven years later with only thousands of more deaths and lives lost as a result of our attempt to wage a "war on terror" or whatever it is that the administration uses to justify our presence in Iraq. The multiplying numbers of men and women who will be permanently damaged both physically and mentally is overwhelming. When thinking of the numbers of lives lost that could have been avoided over the past seven years, it is hard to remember our justification, or reason for being in Iraq and simply reiterates the point the MLK jr. made about violence multiplying evil and leading to more killing and violence.
Public executions during Medieval times, the French Revolution, the Salem Witch trials (as well as those in Europe), and even racist lynchings in the South were simultaneously forms of deterrence and entertainment during those times. It gave people, revolutionaries, racists, etc. a sense of power and those who are victimized or persecuted a sense of powerlessness. This theme fits in with human kind's history of power struggle and shifting forms of oppression since the beginning of human existence.
The persecution of "witches" is something that has always fascinated me. It seemed to be one form of society's oppression of women, especially women who led alternative, often progressive lifestyles. Women who used herbs for healing, were non-conforming, educated, or somehow threatening to men and mainstream society were often targeted. The irony is that when being "dunked" to see if one was a witch, they were tied down and if they sunk, they weren't a witch and if they floated, then they were indeed a witch. Either way, the woman died of drowning, and because of body fat, always floated, so it was basically a lose-lose situation.
It also struck me as strange that the Guillotine used in the French Revolution was seen as a more modern, humane way to kill people. While it may have been less painful than other forms of execution such as hanging, burning at the stake, or quartering, it was put in place as a more efficient way to kill mass amounts of people. How, again, is this more humane?
In terms of relating to our own curriculum, there was a Holocaust section although it was quite short and seemed to be lacking. It explained how in the wake of WWII, the United Nations passed the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crime and Genocide" in 1948 which allows for martial action to take place when certain groups are targeted for being completely destroyed or wiped out. While this may be in place, it seems that there are in fact Genocides that occur around the world such as in Africa, yet the UN appears to be ambivalent and slow to react to some of these situations.
Finally, I want to end with a quote that I really liked from the exhibit:
"Mankind is not in a position to abolish death. But it certainly is in a position to abolish mutual killing"
- Nurbert Elias
Monday, August 4, 2008
Yesterday and the First Day of School
Yesterday was a really fun day. We started out by going to the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum or the Military History Museum at the old military arsenal. Of the most interesting things there i was fascinated by the jacket Archduke Franz Ferdinand was wearing when he was shot by a Serbian which was the event that triggered World War I. It was crazy to see that and the car he was riding in, it made the event seem so much more real than when i've read about it previously in history books. I also found the art depicting war scenes really interesting. Before photography was used as a way to document events, painting and drawings were used and it was amazing seeing all the descriptive paintings of various scenes of the horrors of war. On that note, I also thought it was really intense seeing the Nazi propaganda posters. They were full of these strong, heroic images of soldiers urging the country to join ranks. I couldn't help but notice a parallel between our own military propaganda that is constantly being advertised to us through the media and even on our own college campus. The whole "army of one" campaign and all the slogans and heroic images portrayed from the military about our war in Iraq had some similarities to the old Nazi propaganda in trying to promote this image of strength and honor while glazing over the actual substance and reason of why we are there. I definitely will go back to this museum, there was just too much to take in, in one day and i think i need a few visits to give it justice.
At night, we went to the City Hall theatre and it was so much fun! I think it was the trip highlight so far, with the huge movie screen set up in front of this beautiful, neo-gothic building which was dramatically lit up at night. When walking into the area, there are tons of people and food stands from all over the world. We ate a great dinner and then watched the video and listened to the music of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra being projected across a large audience of people. Everyone seemed enraptured by the music, and i was able to catch a glimpse of the local Viennese and they're deep appreciation for great music which is embedded in the city's history and culture.
Today we started class and i really enjoyed hearing the lecture followed by a visual tour of the Hofburg. It was neat learning about the history then being able to put an image to the dates and names we went over. I was especially moved by the World War II memorial right near our classroom comemorating the hundreds of people who died in a bomb shelter when Vienna was attacked by the allies. It was definitely a shock when we settled in the grass outside the Hofsburg and Kathy pointed out that Hitler spoke on the balcony right in front of where we were sitting. I love that all this dramatic history is so tangible and it truly comes alive when being at the very location where so many events went down. After the tour, we went to a traditional Viennese restaraunt where some of the people in our group (but not me) got really brave and sampled some of the local cuisine. Peter ordered a veal dish and I guess it was completely obvious to the waiter that we're foreigners because he came back and ensured that Peter was okay with eating heart and lungs. Apparently (and to the surprise of the waiter) he was okay with it, and actually seemed to really enjoy it (he practically licked his dish clean). Meanwhile, some of the girls got Weinerschnitzel and we were all quite dissapointed. It was basically fried pork and it cost 13 euros. It was interesting to try, but not exactly as exciting and delicious as it had been built up to be. Im glad I had a bite and tried it, but im still pretty doubtful about the (local) food here. The ethnic cuisine has been delicious so far, though!
Another observation is that so far everyone seems to automatically know that we are American. I've even been attempting to speak in German but they always answer me in English :( . I guess we are really obviously American looking or seeming, maybe I can work on that.
At night, we went to the City Hall theatre and it was so much fun! I think it was the trip highlight so far, with the huge movie screen set up in front of this beautiful, neo-gothic building which was dramatically lit up at night. When walking into the area, there are tons of people and food stands from all over the world. We ate a great dinner and then watched the video and listened to the music of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra being projected across a large audience of people. Everyone seemed enraptured by the music, and i was able to catch a glimpse of the local Viennese and they're deep appreciation for great music which is embedded in the city's history and culture.
Today we started class and i really enjoyed hearing the lecture followed by a visual tour of the Hofburg. It was neat learning about the history then being able to put an image to the dates and names we went over. I was especially moved by the World War II memorial right near our classroom comemorating the hundreds of people who died in a bomb shelter when Vienna was attacked by the allies. It was definitely a shock when we settled in the grass outside the Hofsburg and Kathy pointed out that Hitler spoke on the balcony right in front of where we were sitting. I love that all this dramatic history is so tangible and it truly comes alive when being at the very location where so many events went down. After the tour, we went to a traditional Viennese restaraunt where some of the people in our group (but not me) got really brave and sampled some of the local cuisine. Peter ordered a veal dish and I guess it was completely obvious to the waiter that we're foreigners because he came back and ensured that Peter was okay with eating heart and lungs. Apparently (and to the surprise of the waiter) he was okay with it, and actually seemed to really enjoy it (he practically licked his dish clean). Meanwhile, some of the girls got Weinerschnitzel and we were all quite dissapointed. It was basically fried pork and it cost 13 euros. It was interesting to try, but not exactly as exciting and delicious as it had been built up to be. Im glad I had a bite and tried it, but im still pretty doubtful about the (local) food here. The ethnic cuisine has been delicious so far, though!
Another observation is that so far everyone seems to automatically know that we are American. I've even been attempting to speak in German but they always answer me in English :( . I guess we are really obviously American looking or seeming, maybe I can work on that.
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