Sunday, January 27, 2013
Some pictures so far
Yesterday, Saturday, was a good day as well. We went to the
Maria Stiegen Kirsche (Kirsche is church) and explored it. It was very
beautiful inside, and I planned on going to the Sunday service this morning,
but sleep won. The church is very old, built in I think the early 1400s. We
then went to the Holocaust memorial of Vienna, which is sadly very poor. It
does a terrible job of commemorating the Holocaust and is unnoticeable unless
one is specifically looking for it. Berlin’s memorial was much better and more
obvious. Vienna needs to work on that, but that’s pretty much the only fault I
can find with it. After that, we visited the monument to the Plague. Again, you
can just google Plague monument Vienna and I’m sure there will be tons of
information. It was very Catholic in the way it looked and it was even
partially gold plated. There were Latin inscriptions on it that I could pretty
much read which again made me feel special. That Latin did pay off. Then, we
went to the Hofburg museum. The Hofburg palace was the one that the Habsburgs
lived in before they had Schönbrunn built. It was an interesting exhibit,
overly focused on their lifestyles but still interesting. It was basically
rooms and rooms of dishes and silverware (and goldware) that the royalty used
for state dinners. It was very impressive and beautiful, and I took many
pictures, but the exhibits were a bit narrow. After that, we went up to a
mountain near Vienna. I can’t remember what exactly it is called, and I can’t
look it up because the internet is evil here. However, it was about 1500 feet
high and the view of Vienna was even better than from Stephansdom, the
cathedral. My only regret is that it was January so it was somewhat hazy, but
other than that, it was amazing. After that, we went back into Vienna to
Stephansdom to look at the inside of it. Earlier, we had only gone up into the
tower. It was very ornate and beautiful inside. People were taking communion in
it and a beautiful band was playing the appropriate classical music. It was a
perfect scene. I have had so much fun these days in Vienna!
Friday was our excursion to Bratislava, Slovakia. We got up
and got on the train headed for Bratislava. After a little more than an hour,
we were there! We got out into the blistering cold and walked up to the
Bratislava Castle. The first thing I noticed was what it is like to be in a
country where I know none of the language again, and it reminded me why I am
learning German. Slovak is a very interesting language. It is closely related
to Russian and it does sound a lot like it, so it was enjoyable for me to
listen to. Anyway, we got up to the castle and it wasn’t a huge, amazing thing,
but the view of Bratislava from it was spectacular since it was high up. We
admired that for as long as we could and then took our freezing selves to
lunch. We had excellent Goulash which warmed us right up. Then, we explored the
Jewish museum, which was a little eerie again since it was commemorating a
people who just do not exist anymore. There are basically no Jews left in that
city. It is weird to see household items used just eighty years ago and now
none of those people are there anymore. It’s very sad. We then went for Torte
again, and of course it was excellent. Since all of us were freezing by this
point, we voted to get on the train and head back to Vienna for dinner, where
we went to a Japanese place. It was unlike most Japanese food I have had in the
past though. I and everyone else thoroughly enjoyed it as expected.
January 24th was a great day. I got to see
something I have wanted to see for a very long time. We went to Schloß
Schönbrunn, or the imperial palace of the Habsburgs, the rulers of Austria
Hungary for several hundred years. I have heard so much about this palace and learned
about it in classes in school, and it was so special to visit it. My internet
does not work, but you can just google Schonbrunn Palace and it will tell you
all about it. We toured the inside, which was quite touristy but it was still a
fun experience. After this, we went to Stephansdom, or the very old cathedral
of Vienna. Four of us and Dr. Moser climbed up to the top (well, as high as
they will let you go) and looked out. It was an amazing view, totally worth the
500 steps up the tiny spiral staircase. I love climbing up to the tops of
cathedrals like that. I have been to the one in Cologne as well, and from now
on, I plan to do that in every city I go to that has one. After that, it was
time for Jause of course, so we had some more tortes, which is a special cake.
They were spot on like usual. If I lived here I would be so fat. After a little
break, we went to dinner at a Turkish sit down restaurant where I had some of
the best hummus I have ever had. A theme here is good food if you can’t already
tell. Then, four of us went to the Weiner Eistraum, which is an ice skating
rink outside, in the downtown. However, it is nothing like you have seen
before. This one is humongous. It had two huge main areas and then ways to go
down paths in the trees and past beautiful buildings. I had so much fun ice
skating in downtown Vienna!
Sorry about not posting for five whole days!! This internet
truly is awful. I cant believe how bad it is. They say we have internet here
but I don’t believe it. Anyway, let me catch you up. On January 23rd,
we visited the Central Cemetery of Vienna, which is where many famous people
are buried. A unique thing about this cemetery is that people from all
religions rest here. Some of the most famous people we saw were composers such
as Brahms, Strauss, Schubert, Beethoven, and Mozart, although not all of their
bodies are located here. However, their graves or monuments to them are.
Unfortunately, most of the Jewish graves are not kept up like the Christian
ones are. That is a sad reality of the Holocaust; if all the Jews are driven
out of the city, then no one is there to take care of the graves anymore. A lot
of these graves are over a hundred years old, and it was very sad to see many
of them in disrepair. We even got to see some of Dr. Moser’s family there.
Those graves were well taken care of since he visits often though, so that made
me feel better. He placed a rock at the foot of the graves and explained to me
what that meant since I did not know. It dates back to Old Testament times when
people would throw rocks on a grave to keep the animals from getting to the
body since it was buried in the desert. After this somber excursion, we then
went to lunch, which is very typical of this trip. There is a lot of “hey look
at this beautiful city” and then right next to that will be a reminder of the
tragedy that happened there. Then, we did the Riesenrad, or giant Ferris wheel,
of Vienna. We were able to see most of Vienna from the top of it, and it was
very very beautiful. I highly recommend that for anyone who gets to Vienna.
After this, we had a little break and discussed what we wanted to do for
dinner. Dr. Moser suggested that we could eat at his apartment if we wanted,
and we all wanted to do that, so we met him there at dinner time and cooked up
some bacon covered bratwursts, which were to die for. I usually do not like
sausage, but here it is an art. We all had a great time at his apartment, and
how many people can say that they ate dinner at their professor’s apartment in
Europe?
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Continuing with yesterday, we flew to Vienna and walked to
the hotel in the First district, which is downtown. We deposited our bags and
then walked to McDonald’s for a quick lunch. McDonald’s here is quite amazing
actually. It is run by different people in Austria than in America, and the
American executives have no idea what other McDonald’s’ are like. I had a very
good burger there. Look up the Big Rösti in Austrian McDonald’s. It was
excellent! Then, we walked around and quickly saw many important things, such
as the rathaus, or parliament building. We then went to the Hofburg Palace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofburg_Palace)
and saw what it was like. This was the original palace for the royalty of
Austria until they built Schloß Schönbrunn, the palace everybody thinks of when
they hear “Austria”. Then, we saw Roman ruins that were discovered while
constructing the underground subway system. All my Latin memories came back and
I thought of Mrs. Brand and my six years of Latin. I can read inscriptions, and
it makes me feel important or something. We then went to the crypt for the
royalty and saw such people as Maria Theresa and Emperor Franz Joseph. Then, it
was time for Jause (say yowsa), or afternoon pastry break. Yes, I could totally
live here. I put a picture of the pastries of facebook, as some of you have
already seen. Then, it was time for a break and then dinner, where I had
authentic Wiener Schnitzel. It was exceptional. I felt like everything was as
it should be, eating the classic dish of Vienna in Vienna with a Viennese man.
After that, it was off to coffee with Elliot and Kiefer, where we had our male
bonding time. That was it for yesterday!
The first thing I noticed about Vienna was that it is a
beautiful city. Berlin is wonderful, but it is not a beautiful city on the
level that Vienna is. Every building here is in the classic architecture and is
pretty, even apartment buildings or normal city buildings. The blocks all look
similar because the buildings are so exquisite. I mean that in the way that
every part of this city is like the small, old downtown section of other cities
that one so likes to visit. I can’t wait to have another week here!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Hello all! I
have good internet today so I will catch everybody up. I will start with
Sunday. We woke up and had breakfast like usual, and then we went to the
Deutsche Kinematek Museum, or German Film Museum, which had the chronology of
movie cameras, films, and television programs as well as actors and actresses.
It was great to see a history of film not centered around Hollywood and to see
how the Nazis influenced and controlled films. Censorship was a big part of the
Nazi regime, and it is something I am very against. As Mark Twain said,
censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak because a baby can’t chew it.
We then went to the ruins of Anhalter Bahnhof, a train station that several
hundred Jews were deported from over a few years. However, at this station,
they were deported in passenger cars instead of cattle cars, as to not arise
suspicion since this station was a very busy one. This was a very large station
with many tracks, and the Germans built a museum, the Deutsches Tecknik Museum
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Museum_of_Technology)
around the tracks. Many trains and planes are in this museum, including a
cattle car that Jews were deported in. I am going to try to upload a picture,
and just imagine 75 or more people being forced to stand in this car for days
on end, recently evicted from their homes and uncertain of the future, without
water. It is a horrifying reality that the Germans are very good at owning up
to. Thankfully, that part of history is not being ignored like it was a few
decades ago. We then went to dinner at Mutter Hoppe (http://www.prostmahlzeit.de/mutterhoppe/),
where I had a wonderful steak. The menu is in German, but your browser should
have an option to translate to English, and you should be able to see their
entire menu. This is Prussian cuisine. I had my favorite dessert, rote grütze (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B8dgr%C3%B8d),
which was simply amazing. Then, we had a nice little unplanned walk to the
Brandenburger Tor and Reichstag at night, and they look very neat at night all
lit up. The most interesting part of the day was actually seeing a cattle car
the Jews were deported in. I have read so many books about the Holocaust, such
as Elie Weisel’s Night, and to now
have a visual for what they are all talking about is stunning. I would like to
read that book again keeping that vision in mind.
Right now, it
is 4 pm, but I will write about what we have done today so far. It is our last
evening in Berlin! As sad as I am to leave this amazing country, I have a
wonderful new country to visit where they still speak German. I can’t wait to
see what Austria has to offer. Today, Keifer, Elliot and I woke up and skipped
breakfast, but walked to Edeka, the grocery store, and bought soft pretzel
rolls. These things are just the best. That was our breakfast, then it was off
to the Oranienburger Straße (that letter is a double s) Synagogue, the main
Jewish synagogue in Berlin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Synagogue_(Berlin)).
It was partially destroyed in the Kristallnacht, or night of broken glass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht).
It was also heavily damaged in the next few years as the war ensued. However,
it was partially rebuilt and turned into a museum, which we visited. It was a
very good museum, and we did go to the top and look out from the dome. Then, we
ate lunch, and I just had a sandwich on a brötchen, which is nice bread. I then
exchanged some more money and here I am sitting at the hotel waiting for
dinner!
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