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.