12. August--Alpine Adventure Day 2

Day 2 in the Alps and the day when the serious hiking happens. This is for me the highlight of the trip, the part I had been waiting for ever since I got here.I was a little worried about the weather, because I had forgotten to pack my rain jacket and it had been storming the day before. The weather, however, was amazing. Sunny weather, minimal clouds (in the distance). You couldn’t ask for better weather. Breakfast was provided a the hotel, and we hit the trail around 10. We hiked from hut to hut, stopping along the way for pictures and food. We didn’t have to pack much because we could refill water or eat something at any of the huts. Along the way we saw some amazing scenery, but little wildlife, unfortunately. I'm glad I had actual hiking shoes, as there were some pretty significant climbs and descents

Our final destination was the Habsburghaus, which we arrived at around 1:30 or 2. I was usually at least 10 minutes ahead of the group I was with. I was glad to get out of the city and into nature, something I haven’t seen much of since I left the Boy Scouts.

Definitely the highlight of this trip was getting lost in the Alps. We started out from Habsburghaus and were trying to take a different route back. Mike Wasserman and I walked faster than the group, and were soon about 20 minutes ahead. When we realized that we had no idea how to get to the hut that everyone else was headed to, we decided to just follow signs back to Ottohaus. After a while, Ottohaus stopped appearing on the signs, and further on, the signposts themselves disappeared. We somehow got back on a path, and decided we needed to go up. When we got to the top of this path, we realized we were back where we had stopped for lunch. We had backtracked to our original path instead of going forwards. In total, we did about an hour of extra hiking, bringing our total mileage to around 14 miles.

11. August--Eisenstadt, Alps Day I

Today we had to be packed up and ready to go by 8:30 in the morning. We went by bus to Eisenstadt, the city that the Esterhazy family of princes lived in and where Haydn worked as court composer. Originally a medieval fortress, the Habsburgs conquered the town in the 15^th century.

In the Esterhazy family, Nicolaus I was the main patron of Joseph Haydn. At this time there was no private music market, so composers had to be attached to some sort of commissioner. This began to change with Haydn, as he accumulated a large amount of wealth after he was dismissed from his position. In Eisenstadt there are 14 Haydnorgel that the master himself played on. For a few weeks in September every year, these organs, situated in various chapels around the city, are played, and you can wander from chapel to chapel, listening to Haydn’s music.

In addition to the Esterhazy castle, we also visited the Kavalierenkirche. This church was inspired by the Stations of the Cross and features life-sized replicas depicting Jesus’s suffering or something like that. We also visited the mausoleum where Haydn’s remains are kept. His skull was stolen some time ago and replaced with a fake one, and it was only in 1954 when all of his remains were reunited.

Our tour guide for this city was pretty bad. Professor Stuart kept interrupting to point out facts she should have mentioned. She could have given us a tour way better than the tour we got from our guide.

After the tour we hopped back on the bus and took off for the Alps. It was cool to finally get out of the city and enjoy the scenery, even though the weather was pretty rainy. We took the Seilbahn up to our hotel in the Raxalpen. The hotel itself was old and reminded me of the house in Haderslev. I couldn’t wait to start hiking, so a friend and I decided to brave the rain and hike to the next hotel, Ottohaus. At this house there is a female cat named otto, named after the hotel. After staying at the Ottohaus for a while and playing a game of chess (which I won), we left, pretty much running through the rain, which by now was on the verge of storming. For dinner, I had Wiener Schnitzel and, you guessed it, Kaiserschmarrn (mit Rosinen). Kathy told us that the word Kaiserschmarrn is made up from Kaiser-(emperor) and schmarrn- (nonsense). So Kaiserschmarrn is imperial nonsense, or something like that.

10. August-- Kunsthistorisches Museum

Today was our tour of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The building itself is neo-Renaissance and meant to be a sort of temple for the arts. It is positioned directly across from the Naturhistorisches Museum. These two museums mark the entry into the Museumsquartier, a collection of several museums to which we get free entry. The Museumsquartier is considered a trendy place to go, and is very different from museums in the US. It even has its own shopping area. The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) has its own café, where you can order sweets and drinks. I enjoyed a Sachertorte before going into the museum.

At the beginning of the museum is a statue of Theseus killing a centaur. This is in the neo-classical style (after the Baroque period). This statue was made for Napoleon to glorify his victories, but when it was finished Napoleon had already lost power and never picked it up. Luckily, Francis I of Austria—Napoleon’s father-in-law, bought it.

Our first artist we saw was Albrecht Duerer, the so-called “Leonardo of the North.” Apparently, he was a jack-of-all-trades like Leonardo. He was trained in medieval paintin methods of mysticism, but was also a Renaissance man. Many of his paintings show his mastery at painting the human body contorted—not just idly standing or praying to god. In his Martyrdom of 10,000 Christians, for example, he depicts individuals being killed in a number of different ways, demonstrating his skill and knowledge of anatomy. His Allerheiligenbild is an example of a Gesamtkunstwerk—a work of art that extends beyond the boundaries of the canvas. In this case, the frame was designed by Duerer as well, but when Rudolf II—the commissioner—dispatched his servants to get the painting, he told them to carry it by hand so the painting wouldn’t be damaged by the jostling cart. When they arrived to pick up the work, however, they had to leave behind the frame because it was too heavy to carry.

Next on the list was Pieter Bruegel, or “Peasant Bruegel.” He would disguise himself as a peasant, go into the village, and observe the peasants in their everyday life. He was a genre painter, painting everyday life, and a moralist as well. His Carnival vs. Lent depicts a battle-like scene between the penance of Lent and the gluttony and debauchery of Carnival. His Kinderspiele shows many groups of kids in a village playing rough “games” like fighting, pulling each other’s hair, seeing who can take the biggest crap (seriously), and other similar games. The countryside, by comparison, is quiet and peaceful.

We saw works from several other artists, for example Peter Paul Rubens, from the Netherlands. In the early 17^th century he set up a workshop for artists that greatly influenced the direction of art in the area. Jan Vermeer’s The Art of Painting shows the subtlety of painting. Jan Steen’s die Verkehrte Welt depicts a party scene at the second before drinks are spilled, people trip and fall, and the shit basically hits the fan. We also saw paintings by Velasquez of several Habsburgs, which all looked sickly and victims of inbreeding.

After our tour, several friends and I went to a coffeshop and tried to blog. There we experienced something rare in Vienna: good service. We ended up eating dinner there, and headed back home full and a little less behind on our blogs.

Deutsches Wort des Tages: Autobahn. In English 'Highway.' Auf den deutschen Autobahns kann mann wohl sehr schnell fahren

9. August

Today was Stephansdom part deux. Before, we had just climbed the stairs to the top of the South Tower, but today we toured the inside. Directly across from the cathedral is the Haas Haus, completed in 1990. As a very modern building, the Haas Haus contrasts very strongly with the gothic/romanesque Stephansdom. Many today feel that the Haas Haus takes away from the Stephansdom and that it attracts more tourists than the cathedral does. I like the juxtaposition of the old cathedral next to the new, modern building. Both are works of art, they just come from two different time periods.The cathedral was built in the mid 12^th century in the Romanesque style (an early medieval style), and in the early 14^th century the city decided to rebuild it in the Gothic style. Around 1500, the Renaissance was in full swing, and interest in completing the improvements was waning, so the front 2 towers of the cathedral were left in the old Romanesque style. Dr O, our tour guide, gave us an easy way of identifying which sections of the cathedral were gothic or Romanesque, and how old the gothic style is: the simpler the gothic, the earlier it was built. In 1945 the cathedral caught fire, and large sections of the roof caved in. Citizens rushed from their houses with buckets of water to help put out the fire. I think it is amazing that not much was seriously broken. The townspeople went in and took out everything they could, and supported, reinforced, and covered everything else.

(picture on left: border between gothic and romanesque styles on the interior. Gothic style is more patterned, romanesque is simpler)

In the construction of the interior, one name is especially important:Master Anton Pilgrim, a mason from the Czech Republic. He is famous in the cathedral for two items: a pulpit, where sermons were read, and the organ loft. The pulpit is an extremely intricate work, sculpted out of only three stone slabs. The banister consists of wheels with alternating three and four spokes, 3 and 4 representing humanity (the four directions, the four seasons, the four elements, etc) and the divine (the holy Trinity, etc). Also, on a side note, I would like to point out that there are 343 steps in the South Tower. Coincidence? I think not. Frogs (symbols of evil and disease) are carved along the topof the rail, but are prevented from reaching the top by a small dog, the symbol of fidelity (that’s where Fido comes from). Originally, Master P’s organ loft was scoffed at and nobody expected it to stay up. He responded to this by saying he would hold it up himself, and carved his face at the base of the organ loft, and the loft is still structurally sound today.

For me, the main appeal of this church is all the stories, legends, and symbolism it has accumulated over the years. In a chapel on one side there is a Jesus statue with a horsehair beard, which is said to grow and shrink depending on the weather. Across from this is a statue of Mary which is said to cry if Vienna is experiencing hard times. By the entrance are two iron bars mounted on the wall that were used as the standards of measurement. This was used to settle arguments in which one citizen would accuse another of shortchanging him in the marketplace. The defendant would use these iron bars to determine if he was right, and if he was the accused would be escorted to the jail down the street. I can see why the city values this church

Detsches Tagewort: Krieg: Es bedeutet eine grosse Schlacht, in der viele Nationen teilen mit. Auf English bedeutet es 'War.' Und ein Satz mit dem Wort: Niemand wusste, wovon der Krieg stammte, aber es war ihnen klar, dass sie einander töten wollten.

8. August

Today was day 2 in Bratislava. We woke up early for a weekend, around 9. Like in Vienna, nowhere is open on Sundays because everyone is religious, so we had trouble finding breakfast. All the tourist shops were finally open, though, and we looked through several shops before realizing we had to move it if we were going to make our ferry on time. We arrived at the harbor after only going the wrong direction once and managed to catch our ship back to Vienna. Again we enjoyed the ride, and this time it was not dark and overcast, but rather sunny and warm. I would have liked to spend at least another day in Bratislava to explore some more, but this trip was definitely worthwhile. We knew we had crossed into Vienna when we were waving to people on the shore, and a woman flipped us off. I am not quite sure why the Viennese are as rude as they are. It might be just because we are tourists in a large group that always want to split the bill, probably any waiter's nightmare.

Later that night was our opera night. We saw die Fledermaus at the Theater an der Wien, where the play originally had premiered in 1874. Upon arrival, I immediately searched out the Papageno Tor, a sculpture of the bird-catcher Papageno from Mozart's Magic Flute over the doorway. I was surprised at how this sculpture was so hidden from the public, facing a side alley of the theater.

For the occasion, we all got dressed up and had a glass of champagne outside the theater. The opera house itself was smaller than what I was expecting, but still very impressive. It was not as ornate or decorated as some of the buildings we had visited. I particularly enjoyed the music, composed by Johann Strauss. The operetta itself was very entertaining and fun to watch.

7. August

The weekend is finally here! But it doesn’t really feel like a weekend, because this program is almost like a vacation, just with extra work. After getting up at a reasonable hour, several friends and I went to the Schatzkammer to see some of the more ornate and elaborate relics of the Habsburgs. We saw garments from the Archduchy of Austria, when Rudolph IV ordered the forgery of documents known as the Privilegum maius which elevated the Duchy to Archduchy and increasing the Habsburg’s power to rival that of the Elector rulers that chose the Emperor. We also saw Rudolf of Habsburg’s crown, scepter, and orb. The cross on the orb represents the four directions—north, south, east, and west—and the orb itself represents the earth. Combined, these two objects symbolize the fact that Austria has the right to rule the world. This ideal empire is again idealized by the AEIOU philosophy (Alles Erdreich ist Oesterreich Untertan). In addition to the objects themselves, the museum pointed out the small details and symbolism of each artifact that made it significant.

This museum also contains a number of artifacts said to come from biblical times. Contained in an ornate gold reliquary is a nail that supposedly pierced Christ’s right hand on the cross. There is also several pieces of cloth said to be from the table cloth at the Last Supper, Jesus’s loincloth, and his sweat rag. As I look at this collection of random objects, I ask myself why anyone would want Jesus’s sweat towel, for Christ’s sake, and my audio guide tells me. Relics back then were a sign of power (for Catholics, not Protestants, but the world was pretty much Cathoic back then), so authority figures would collect these relics to legitimize their claims to power.

(picture on left) This is a picture of the symbol of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The necklace depicts interlocking fire irons and flintstone. Each link represents a member, and the golden fleece itself is hung from this necklace, indicating how each member has a duty to support the order and how the order would collapse if one link were to "break."

After the Schatzkammer we went down to the Danube canal and caught a ferry out of Vienna to Bratislava. I was a little apprehensive about leaving Vienna, but the boat ride soon alleviated my fears and I managed to enjoy the scenery of the Danube. On our way we saw small fisherman’s huts and castles that may have stood as a lookout for Austrianson the Danube looking for war. One thing we noticed as soon as we arrived was how much more friendly everybody was towards us. The clerk at the first hostel we went to, for example, told us his rate was 80 euro per night, and seeing our hesitant looks, kindly recommended us to a cheaper place and in addition pointed out areas of the city where we could enjoy the Slovenian culture and night life. Much of the city's activity was concentrated on only a few streets, which we didn't always follow. The architectural style was not as extravagantly baroque as Vienna is, but there was an elegance in the castles and churches we saw.

6. August

We got to sleep in early today! We were able to sleep in until 1, at which time we headed out for Klosterneuburg, monastery and site of Babenberg power in the early 12^th century. It was expected to rain today, but luckily we were spared until our tour at Klosterneuburg was finished. The myth of Klosterneuburg dates back to medieval times: Leopold and his wife Agnes had just been married, and at the conclusion of the ceremony a gust of wind picked up her veil and carried it out into the countryside. Nine years later on a hunting expedition, Leopold found the veil in a tree. As thanks he decided to build a monastery there. In 1485 Leopold was named a saint and later the Patron Saint of Austria. Until 1827, the monastery was the law of the surrounding area, with its own court and jail. It was renovated several times in the baroque era. The original plan was to create a large, Escorial-like palace in the Baroque style, but this was never fully realized for monetary reasons. The monastery’s baroque construction gives it solidity and stability. The floors are several feet thick, with a layer of dirt for even more stability. Students studying architecture come to this area to study the building style because it is such a prime example of Baroque architecture. There really is nothing like this construction style in the United States (to my knowledge). Perhaps the solid construction is the reason why so many buildings survive today.

Klosterneuburg is inhabited by Augustinian Canons, several of whom gave us a tour of the monastery and church. They were very hospitable and friendly and greeted us with glasses of champagne and mimosa. It was funny to see these religious figures on cell phones and talking about the cars they used to own. We got a private tour of the surroundings, monastery, and church all attached to Klosterneuburg. During this tour we were able to visit the Verdun Altar. This altar, made between 1170 and 1181 by Nicholas of Verdun, comprises 51 enamel scenes from the Bible. Several of its scenes have distinct Byzantine, Greek, and Roman influences.

After the tour we visited a Heuriger, and had a chance to talk with the Canons. Of the 48 Canons, 9 are from America, something I found interesting. They say that there is nothing like the life they live now in the States and prefer it to practicing in America. One, Dom Ambrose, is completely against socialization and downright hates Obama. According to him, socialism is the reason the Viennese are so rude in general (especially waiters) because they are all paid the same no matter what, and they don’t get a large enough tip to improve their service. Also, a certain percentage of the population needs to be employed at any given time, so many people are safe from being fired. We also covered other hot-button issues in our conversation like gay marriage, the war in Iraq, and the church’s role in the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Not surprisingly, Ambrose was very conservative on these issues. After several hours and a few pitchers of wine the canons called awful, we left.

Fünfter Tag

I think I am getting the hang of the public transportation system here. I can see why people rank it as one of the top public transportation systems in the world. It consists of a network of U-bahn trains, street cars, and buses. Trains arrive at the stations usually in less than five minutes, making it very convenient. Bart, by comparison, can keep you waiting upwards of fifteen minutes on a train. On the trains you are also provided with reading material (for me another opportunity to practice my German and make myself seem less like a tourist).

After a discussion of religion vs. magic in class today (which didn’t end well for medieval Catholicism), we took the train to Stephansplatz and climbed all 343 steps to the top of Stephansdom’s South Tower. In this room you get a 360 degree view of Vienna, and it is little wonder that the tower was used as a watchman’s outpost to spot fires, and, during war, the enemy. I wonder why it was never targeted by enemies, as it would have provided an easy target to attack. Maybe the enemies used it as well as a landmark to launch attacks in the city, for example during the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683.

After that, we meandered our way to Peterskirche. The construction of this church in 1701 marks thebeginning of the Baroque construction explosion in the city following the previously mentioned Turkish onslaught. This era saw a large number of magnificent construction projects, mostly noble households. Common people were encouraged to remodel their houses by the court, which allowed individuals a certain number of years free of the obligation to house court officials in their homes (these officials only paid a third of the rent normally charged for inhabitants).

After Peterskirche, we rode the streetcars to the Zentralfriedhof. There were some magnificent tombs, some holding entire families. I noticed that people that had given service to the Crown were given larger, more magnificent tombstones. We saw many famous graves, including Beethoven and Strauss. The grave sites here are tended by the deceased’s kin, something that becomes apparent when you enter the Jewish section of the graveyard. Whereas the previous section was well groomed and beautiful, this section is overgrown with weeds and full of mosquitoes. The kin of the dead here are either dead themselves or moved away, thanks to the Holocaust. There were many magnificent Jewish graves as well, so they must have played a major role in the politics of both the Court and Viennese daily life. It is curious, therefore, that in 1669 they were expelled from Vienna.

Dritter Tag

Today was our first day of class, and of course I showed up late. Although unintentional, this meant that I missed the walking tour in the morning. In class we learned about the history and etymology of Vienna. Vienna is named for the river Wien, which now is just a trickle of water as they have diverted it. Vienna began as a Roman settlement known as Vindobona around 100 CE to the collapse of the Roman Empire around 476 AD. In the 8^th century, Frankish kings restored their power and expanded their empire eastward. This newly conquered area was opened for settlement but was constantly plagued by incessant warfare. On the 10^th of August, 955, King Otto I led an army against and defeated the Magdyars from Hungary at the Battle of the Lechfield. This victory allowed Otto to become Holy Roman Emperor. He placed the Babenberg dynasty in charge of keeping the Holy Roman Empire and Hungarian border stable. The Babenbergs ruled from 2 locations—Klosterneuburg and Melk. Klosterneuburg was (and still is) a monastery. Religious institutions at that time provided the most stable forms of local government. The Babenberg Heinrich II moved the court to Vienna and Duke Leopold financed the construction of the Viennese city walls by kidnapping Richard the Lionheart and holding him for ransom. He was excommunicated for this, yet the incident shows how much the rulers were willing to sacrifice for their territories. The Babenberg Dynasty ended in 1246 when Duke Frederick II died with no heir. The Habsburgs come into the Austrian scene after several decades.

After class we went on a guided bus tour. We visited the Belvedere castle, financed by Prince Eugene of Savoy, who defeated the Turks in the early 18^th century. The spectacular upper Belvedere is actually just a guest house—when the Prince would stay at the Belvedere, he would inhabit the smaller and less impressive lower Belvedere. We also visited the Hundertwasserhaus, designed by architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. His buildings showcase his belief in organic unevenness and his hatred for straight lines and right angles. He also thought that if you are destroying vegetation for housing, then the only logical next step is to plant vegetation on your house. After that, we drove through Grinzing, the area of Vienna that Beethoven frequented and was often kicked out of for being too loud. Now many of these buildings have signs saying Beethoven lived there for a while. It seems to me like they are just trying to capitalize off his fame

We drove to the top of the mountains separating Vienna from Klosterneuburg and got an amazing 180 degree view of the city. It was from this location that the Polish king and Archduke Charles camped at while they waited for orders to attack during the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, during which Vienna was almost taken. Back at the apartments, we had a potluck for dinner (I made salad) and then went to a microbrewery, where we witnessed the terrible Viennese waiters firsthand. In addition to kicking us out after one beer, they tried to overcharge us by 4 beers.

Zweiter Tag

Today was our 2^nd day in Wien. The jet lag was starting to get to me today. We started the day with a tour of the school where we will be attending and where class will be held. (The picture to the left is not the school--it is the imperial library). The school is some distance away, and we need to take the subway to get there. It was founded between the two world wars as a means to bridge the gap between America and Vienna on an educational level. The school has a baby grand, which we are allowed to play if there are no classes meeting at that time! After that we went to a viennese restaurant for lunch and had some authentic Austrian Weißwein (Austria is known for there white wines, apparently). Afterwards, we went on a much-needed grocery shopping spree, as our rooms had pretty much nothing in them (they were nice enough to give us one roll of toilet paper). As homework, we researched the city where Joseph Haydn was the Hofkapellmeister: Eisenstadt. Founded in the Middle Ages, it was settled by at first Germanic tribes, and then came into the possession of the Habsburgs in 1451. It takes its name from the iron mining operations that took place there. In 1648 rule of the city passed to the Esterhazy family. This group of Hungarian princes changed the face of the city with new construction projects such as the Schloss Esterhazy. These princes were and remained loyal to the Habsburg monarchy, supplying forces during the 1683 Turkish siege of Vienna and again in 1809 when Napoleon occupied Vienna. In 1761 prince Paul Anton—himself a musical prince, playing the violin, flute, and the lute-- offered Joseph Haydn a position as vice-kapellmeister. In 1766 the old Kapellmeister died and Haydn was elevated to this new position by prince Nikolaus I. On the remote Esterhazy estate, Haydn wrote compositions, performed chamber music, ran the orchestra, and put on operas. In this environment, Haydn’s popularity both on the estate and abroad increased dramatically. In 1790, Nikolaus died and was succeeded by a prince who dismissed the entire musical ensemble. Haydn journeyed to England and then to Vienna to continue his lucrative composing career. He died in 1809 a rich man, above the status of ordinary composers.

Das deutsches Wort des Tages: Leider ist die Webseite, die das Wort des Tages enthält, nicht verfügbar. Weil die Webseite schiefgegangen ist, werde ich etwas anderes machen. Statt das Wort des Tages dieser Webseite gebe ich mein eigenes Tageswort ein, das ich vorher nicht kannte: Lebenskünstler. Das Wort ist eine Bezeichnung für ein Person, der Liebhaber des Lebens und Lebenstils ist und wer weißt, was besonders gut im Leben ist.

1st day in Vienna

Descending into Vienna, I got my first bird's eye look at Vienna from the airplane's passenger window. What I noticed first was how flat everything seemed to be, with little to no skyscrapers and a surrounding landscape that seemed to stretch for many miles without the imposition of hills or mountains. Our apartment is lodged in the residential district of Vienna, surrounded by beautifully decorated apartments and a surprising number of sex stores in the area. The apartments themselves belong to the Vienna University, but the students are on vacation now and the apartments are all vacant. In contrast with the somewhat cramped apartment system, the buildings of the crown and its court are magnificent. At the Heldenplatz in front of the Hofburg, 180 degrees of court palaces, libraries, churches, etc. are visible Downtown is a ways away, but our rail passes allow us unlimited travel on the public transport system. We took the U-Bahn to Stephensplatz, where we walked around to familiarize ourselves with the City. We saw the Stephenskirche (I think), Mozart's grave site, a monument to Goethe (and touched his shoe for good luck). I won't go into detail about the historical significance of all of these because we will probably go over them later. I know, I'm a procrastinator. I have become something of an unofficial German translator here. On the flight, I even convinced a stewardess I was from Germany. Overall today has been a pretty successful first day.

3 days....

Just a few days until I leave for Vienna! I've been packing for a few days now, and I'm sure I'm going to forget something. This past week I've been finalizing all the preparations. I have also started the required readings. Austria sounds like an interesting place. It changed hands many times throughout its history. One author, Beller, calls Austria "a nation without a history, and Austrian history is a history without a nation." I think it is interesting how Austrians have only since 1945 on have begun to construct a national identity for themselves. As the Austrian empire began to grow, Vienna went from being at the empire's borders to at its heart, positioned at the crossroads of major trade routes. I can't wait to experience Vienna and all of it's history firsthand. I hope it lives up to its reputation.