Military Museum

Finally, Sean and I (plus a couple other friends) decided to make the trip over to the Military Museum. When we arrived we were all impressed with he size of the museum. We were also, excited to see what we will find inside.
Once inside we attempted to go in chronological order, but we received the wrong directions and ended up beginning with the Napoleonic Wars. Nonetheless, we decided to stay and go a little backwards.I was very interested to see how Austrian society views Napoleon and his achievements. As I soon found out, Austrian society sees him very differently then I do.
The emergence of Napoleon on the European political and military stage had a tremendous effect on Austria. In the end, Austria decided to side with England and Prussia because it had an interest in protecting its newly acquired lands. The monarchy feared the post-revolution face of France. It posed a threat to the already established order. The Napoleonic Wars proved the French leader to be a skilled military commander with ambitions to conquer Europe. The resentment of the Austrians was further increased when the country lost some of its lands. This included parts of former Poland. Eventually, with combined forces, Napoleon was defeated and forced to abdicate. Nonetheless, Napoleon woke feelings of nationalism all over the continent. These emotions led to Revolutions in Austria and the reorganization of the European map at the Congress of Vienna.
Coming from Poland, I view Napoleon differently than most Austrians might. After the partitions of Poland by Austria, Prussia, and Russia the country disappeared off the map of Europe. Napoleon, on the other hand, restored part of it during his conquests in Europe.
After the Napoleonic Wars, we made our way over to the wars with the Ottoman Turks. This was a topic that Sean and I were very excited about. (Partly due to the Polish hussars that took part in the battle for Vienna in 1683). The truth is that the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania kept the Turks at its borders for years, preventing their swift conquest of Europe. Thus, when the Turks took siege on Vienna it was the duty for Poland to come and help. Dr.O even said during our tour in the Vienna Museum that if it had not been for the Polish troops then the city would have been taken. In the museum, there is a painting of "The Siege and Relief of Vienna" and right below it a map with the drawn out positions of all the armies involved in the battle.
It took us a couple hours just to examine the first floor. We decided to return to the museum again and see the World War I and II displays another day.

German Word: weiß
English: white
Sentence: Mein Freund mag die weiße Farbe.

Who the hell is Sisi?

Wondering around Vienna for the past 19 days, I have discovered in the many souvenir shops Sisi related items. There is everything from cups, bags, shirts, to fridge magnets; all with Sisi's image on them. This obsession with this woman made me wonder who she was. What has made a wife of an emperor so famous? Usually we only hear about the emperors themselves and not really their wives.
Visiting the Sisi museum today, helped me answer all my questions regarding the empress. This woman otherwise known as Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie or Sisi had a complicated life.
Visiting the Sisi Museum I was finally able to learn a little about empress Elisabeth. This museum explored who Sisi was and why she was so famous.
Sisi was married to Emperor Franz Joseph. Originally he was meant to marry Elisabeth's sister, but when he saw Sisi he fell in love. Thus, their marriage was arranged. The emperor loved his wife, but she saw marriage as an evil institution that one was forced into and could not get out of. Sisi also had trouble with adjusting to court life.Only after her illness and removal from court life, did Sisi realize that she was a strong woman. She returned to court as a new woman. Now, she took excellent care of herself. To have a perfect figure she ate little, and not with her family, and exercised. (She had exercise equipment in her office). According to Dr.O Sisi had an 18inch waistline.
Sisi was also an avid poet and traveler. She used both of these outlets as a way of getting away from court life and her marriage. (She was unhappy, even though the emperor loved her). Sisi's depression got much worse after the deaths of two of her three children.
During one of her travels to Geneva in 1898 she was assassinated by an Italian anarchist. Her tragic death was what made Sisi so famous. The public did not love her during her lifetime. Sisi's death made her a symbol.
This obsession with Elisabeth seems, to me, to come mostly from the female part of the population. Maybe because Sisi stood up for herself and what she believed in. However, I do not think that today's women should be so impressed by her, because they are already fully independent. I do not view Sisi as anyone special. On the contrary, I see her as spoiled, narcissistic, and ignorant of other people's emotions. For example, her husband who she avoided even though he never harmed her. She also ignored her duties in court, and as a princess that is her job.

German word: auf dem Grill
English: on the grill
Sentence: Ich mag Huhn auf dem Grill.

Bike Ride

So on Saturday 11 of us decided to take up the challenge of a 36.2km bike ride along the Danube. After taking the train to Melk we began our journey in the Austrian countryside. The Melk Abbey is definitely a postcard beauty. The abbey is located on a hilltop overlooking the city of Melk. This abbey is a Benedictine abbey established in 1089. The abbey is built in the Baroque style. However one detail stood out to me upon examination of the building. The painting right on the top is not a typical Baroque religious painting that we saw in St.Peter's church, for example. This image, and others around the abbey, appear to be more in the modern style of art. 

After exploring the abbey we began our bike ride through the Wachau valley. The Austrian country side is unlike anything I have ever seen. The valley is unlike any valley in California; it is full of greenery. As we passed different towns on both sides of our bike path we saw vineyards. Along our path we encounted a nice little town and found a place for a break. It was a vineyard where the owner took it upon himself to explain to us what his family does. He also gave us two different liquors to try, one was apricot and the other walnut; both were delicious. After taking a break and enjoying some apricot we continued on out journey towards Krems. The ride along the Danube had some beautiful views. All along the 36km strip we saw a variety of views like: the river, mountains, castle ruins, and beautiful little towns. I also saw some awesome cars on the rode beside us. A ton of Porsches and even a racing car, kinda like the formula one cars. This then made me wonder what do all the people do for a living in these little towns. How can they afford beautiful cars like Porsches, BMW, or Audis? 

At a town of WeiBenkirchen we stopped for dinner. That day there was a little wine festival going on. We found a nice place to eat dinner and recuperate out strength. We sat in a little courtyard and enjoyed our food and beverages. A local band, dressed in traditional outfits, played some folk music. At that pint in the afternoon it seemed that the entire town was present in this little courtyard. From WeiBenkirchen we only had about 12km left. 

Reaching Krems was such a happy moment for all of us, I think. We were all so exhausted that we slept on the train back. Thus, majority of the group got off at the wrong stop and had to bike home. 

The bike ride was a major physical challenge for some people however, we can all agree that what we experienced was worth it. Doing this bike ride gave us a glimpse into the lives of Austrians that we would not have been otherwise aware of if we only stayed in Vienna. 

German word: kosmisch 

Meaning: cosmic

Armor & Music

The museum in the National Library in Vienna was one of the most entertaining museums that I have ever visited. I would call this museum an educational museum, because it is designed to be be very interactive.
Upon receiving the audio guide, we could listen not only to the history of a given object but, in the case of instruments, we could hear what they sounded like.
Dr.O recommended an excursion to this museum due to its interactiveness and its fun factor. I have to agree, Eric, Andrew and I enjoyed our time there.

For example, walking through the different rooms we could see and hear the evolution of sound of the piano. It was interesting to see how in the Renaissance the piano had a certain sound to it, that we are used to hearing from movies. And then how different it sounded during Mozart's time.
The guys and I highly enjoyed the military part of the museum. Eric and I love guns, so we had fun looking at these beauties. I took tons of pictures of different guns, rifles, and pistols. I was amazed with their beauty and the attention to detail in their making. The collection was impressive. The Habsburgs had a lot of guns commissioned for them for hunting and person purposes. The designs were so rich and decorative. These weapons really show the power and wealth of the Habsburgs. The pictures I took are of some of the gold embellished rifles that impressed me very much. The picture below really shows the details in the decorations. Of course, the pictures I took do not do justice to the real appearance.

Other than weapons, the museum also displayed a vast amount of armor from different time periods and for different purposes. I was amazed to find out that armor was not only meant for fighting but also for festivities. I saw one armor, all silver with a skirt. That armor was meant for all types of festivities and balls. There was another armor that was actually inspired by Spanish fashion. I was not aware that armor  was styled on fashion trends. However, that makes sense, since these men would wear their armor all the time.
Another thing that I was interested to find out was how the military lifestyle was engraved in society. On the picture to the left we see a boy armor. It was intended for little boys. This means boys were thought early about knighthood and service. I am not sure if this means that boys were thought early how to fight or ride. Did having an armor this early help in having an easier time in later becoming a knight?

Holocaust

Today, our class met a Holocaust survivor. He told us about his family and their experiences during the war. I can probably speak for everyone present, that the two hours we spent with him were deeply emotional, for both us and him.
World War II and the Holocaust is a period in human history that is almost unlike anything else. The accounts of people who survived the horrors of World War II, all deserve a book or a movie. Why one might ask. Maybe so that history does not repeat itself -- as it often does.
The story given to us by Thomas Frankl was different from what most of us are used to. Maybe because it had a happy ending, or maybe because Frankl was just a little boy at the time. Thus, we got to see the Holocaust through the eyes of a little boy.
Frankl had a lot of luck during the war, if you could say that. At first his family lost the family business, then they were outed to the authorities that they were Jews. Thus, his family was taken to a train station to be deported to Auschwitz. Frankl's mother, however, managed to get him and his sister out by saying that she was only at the train station to pic up her husband. There the family was separated and Frankl's father and Frankl's grandmother were taken to the camp. Frankl together with his sister and mother hid in a nunnery, if I remember right. There he had to dress as a girl to not call unwanted attention to himself. This way Frankl was able to survive the war. The most beautiful part of the story was how Frankl's father survived Auschwitz and managed to find the family. I think that was a huge amount of luck that the family managed to reconnect after the war.
Listening to Frankl's story was different from any Holocaust story I've listened to or read. His story was a story of a little boy. Thus it involved a couple strong visual images. Also, Frankl remembered the war with his ears. A couple times he used sound to help him tell us his story. Like for example, when he described the night when Germans broke into his home and took them away. He said he still vividly remembers the sound of their boots on the stairs and the guns banging on the door. To help us understand he acted out the sounds, which to me made his story so much more emotional.
Frankl's story is a happy story, even though a lot of his family members died. It is so, because his closest family survived the war and reconnected after the war. It is a miracle that his father survived Auschwitz and managed to get home.

The Dead are Everywhere.

Today was the day to do it all. Adri and I decided to go and explore the catacombs in different churches in the Old Town of Vienna. Our fist destination was St. Michael's Church, which we heard had very interesting catacombs. However, upon our arrival we found out that the catacombs are closed for renovation until September 3. (Which is unfortunate because we leave Austria on August 31st). We then returned to St.Stephens Cathedral and decided to explore that church again.
A couple days earlier we all had a tour around the same Cathedral with our tour guide Dr.O. Through her we learned about the history or the place. St.Stephens was not originally built in the Gothic style. In the same spot there used to be a Romanesque style church. However, when the Gothic became popular all over Europe, in 1304 the transformation of the church began. In 1469, Fredrick III brought a bishop to St.Stephens and thus made it a Cathedral. (A church can only be called a Cathedral when a bishop resides there). The Cathedral was built over a long period of time, thus one can see the old Gothic style and the new Gothic. (And the Romanesque). Old Gothic is a much simpler style, the arches are less decorated. New Gothic, on the other hand, has more elaborate decorations. The front facade of St.Stephens is the original Romanesque part of the old church.

In the picture, the Gothic is clearly visible in the two towers and the roof. Also, the long front window is done in the Gothic style. the Area around the front entrance is the Romanesque original part. There are small windows visible around the arched doorway. The Romanesque is the style where the Churches are smaller and with little windows. The Gothic is the style or architecture that gives the impression of airiness and uplift into the heavens.
Together with Adri we revisited the Cathedral and decided to climb the 353 steps up. the view out on to Vienna was stunning. There we could really see how the city really does not have a skyline. It is nothing like all the metropolitan cities. It almost feels like you go back in history.
Then, after going back down, we decided to visit the catacombs beneath the church. The area around St.Stephens has been surrounded with commentaries dating back to the Roman times. The tour guide who spoke beautiful German took us through the new and old catacombs. In the new catacombs bishops and other religious figures are buried. Next we saw the coffins of some of the Habsburgs and next to them were containers with their internal organs. (Not the hearts, because those are kept at St. Augustine's church. Lastly we saw mass graves of thousands of skeletons. One room contained the dead from the plague, for example. It was unbelievable to be able to see all these dead skeletons stacked neatly one on top of the other. This will be something I will not forget, even though we were not allowed to take photos.

German word: die Kiste
Meaning: box
Sentence: Der Mann kann den Kiste tragen.

Urban Life.

Looking out my window almost everyday, I have noticed something very interesting about Vienna. As beautiful as Vienna is due to its architecture, it lacks greenery. Everyday, I see people walking their dogs, all different sizes and breeds, and the poor animals do not have the smallest piece of grass to run around in. I have seen dogs just do their business on the sidewalk. I feel bad for these poor animals. Of course, Vienna does have parks, but they are too far for the average dog walker. (Unless, of course the dog owner is lucky enough to live next to a park). However, Vienna not only lacks parks, but also grass and trees along the sidewalks. Maybe the lack of greenery is a growing urbanization? This would have to be true for Warsaw, for example. Warsaw, is full of parks, and grass, and trees along sidewalks. Even the city center, where I happen to spend most of my time. It is true however, that as Warsaw builds more skyscrapers and other buildings, the city is becoming less green. It also feels more cramped, because there is no open field.

                                          ^ Vienna, Austria.

                                                   ^ Warsaw, Poland.

The difference is striking. And, I'm not talking about architecture (as the two cities have two very different histories) but the greenery. It would be interesting to see both of these cities in the next 50 years. How will they change? And will people still have dogs in such highly urbanized cities ?

German word: umwandeln
Meaning: to convert