Shawn's European Adventure - Vienna, Austria

Shawn's European Adventure: Vienna (Wien), Austria

S, 4 June 2005 (train to Vienna, somewhere in Austria)
So I was too quick to say Germany is flat. There are large hills and even a few mountains. But it's nothing like Austria. Austria's endless mountains remind me of home.
The night train as an interesting experience. There were six bunks, but I only had three bunkmates. Mine was on top, and I'm glad I'm fairly agile, for getting up there was...well, it took some balancing. But overall a good night's sleep, though if I didn't lay a certain way my bunk squeeked with the movement of the train.
S, 4 June 2005 (Vienna, Austria)
Germany did not have any beggars, at lest that I saw. But in the 20 minute walk from the hostel to Vienna's center I passed three.
So today I went around the main parts of the city. I did the self-guided tour Rick Steves recomends, which was neat. Here you can see St. Ruprechts (see the ivy covered walls and tower on the left side?). It's the oldest church in Vienna (built in the 11th century on a bit of Roman ruins). (That's what Rick Steves tells me ;).)
Then I did the Hofberg Palace, the Monument Against War and Facism, and Stephansdom. The first was mostly unimpressive, I think in large part due to the tourist trap it's become. :(

The Monument was powerful once it was explained, but it seemed few others knew what it was (which is why I think I missed it the first two times I passed...people treat it as just another plaza!). Borrowing from Rick Steves' explanation: "The split white monument, The Gates of Violence, remembers victims of the 1938-1945 Nazi rule of Austria. A montage of wartime images -- clubs and gas masks, a dying woman birthing a future soldier, slave laborers -- sits on a pedestal of granite cut from the infamous quarry at Mauthausen, a nearby concentration camp. The hunched-over figure on the ground behind is a Jew forced to wash anti-Nazi grafiti off a street with a toothbruth. The statue with its head buried in the stone reminds Austrians of the consequences of not keeping their government on track. Behind that, the 1945 declaration of Austria's second republic is cut into the stone. This monument stands on the spot where several hundred people were buried alive while hiding in the cellar of a building demolished in a WWII bombing attack. Like 'ground zero' in New York, this is considered a kind of sacred ground and has never been built upon."

I came across a music and dance festival being held in the street near the cathedral. It looked like it was to benefit the international group Doctors without Borders (though the signs in English they waved -- there were signs in about five or six languages -- said "Doctors without Barriers"...I think it was just a mistranslation back from German).

The cathedral was nice, but doesn't stand out in my mind. Maybe I've finally seen too many. Or maybe it's that I still need rest (I know my feet are screaming for it after the last two days).
From Rick Steves: "The church survived the bombs of World War II, but, in the last days of the war, fires from the street fighting between Russian and Nazi troops leapt to the rooftop; the original timbered Gothic rooftop burned, and the cathedral's huge bell crashed to the ground. With a financial outpouring of civic pride, the roof of this symbol of Austria was rebuilt in its original splendor by 1952. The ceramic tiles are purely decorative (locals who contributed to the postwar reconstruction each 'own' one for their donation)."

Again from Rick Steves: "A spiral stairway winds up to the lecturn, surrounded and supported by the four Latin Church fathers: Saints Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory, and Augustine. The railing leading up swarms with symbolism: lizards (animals of light), battle toads (animals of darkness), and the 'Dog of the Lord' standing at the top to be sure none of those toads pollutes the sermon. Below the toads, wheels with three parts (the Trinity) roll up, while wheels with four parts (standing for the four seasons, symbolizing mortal life) roll down."

So I'm now at the Rathauspark awaiting some sort of free music festival that starts soon. I think after this I will pick up dinner here and take it back (by metro) to the hostel until it's time to eat. There I can also get tap water. :) I may go to a club tonight (well, I think it's a club, it may not be) to hear (again, free) some people that were singing on the street today advertising it.

The music festival was great. Twelve-fourteen bands there, and apparently it's an annual thing. Bands even from neighboring countries. They each marched in, did a short street show (which I couldn't see from my position), then when all were assembled (1 hour, 20 minutes later), they did several songs together. Mostly marches, all very good. I finally grabbed dinner and left as it got later and rain really picked up.

As a side note, the picture to the left is the end post of the fence I'd been sitting on. I wasn't close enough to have caused this problem, but it did startle several of us, and it was kind of amusing to watch people interact with it. So...a picture seemed in order.

Back at the hostel I finally met several of the guys. First are Peter (from New Jersey) and Nate (from Washington State --> Seattle). Then was Matt (from Australia) who went to the opera. He and I are goin to Mass at the Augustiner Church tomorrow. Matt and Peter left, Nate and I talked (he's living here for a while, earning money so he can keep travelling) and then Kyle (from Illinois) showed up. The three of us went out for drinks at Wombat's and as we left, Cristoffer and Simon (both from Sweden) showed up and we invited them along. They [the four of them] played team pool and I watched, talked, and took pictures. Then Nate had a date and Kyle, Cristoffer, Simon, and I returned to play cards (Mao and Ucher). Matt returned and we talked and drank a while [cheap wine]...After Mass, Cristoffer and Simon will join me at the Haus der Musik (I don't know about Matt, but he's invited).

Kyle (IL) playing pool Cristoffer (Sweden) playing pool

Nate (WA, staying in Vienna) playing pool Simon (Sweden) playing pool, on a team with Kyle

Me, Kyle, Simon, and Cristoffer playing cards (who knows what game we were on when this picture was taken?). Because of the difficulty of opening one of the wine bottles, Simon was declared the victor over the stubborn cork and we decided to take a picture of his triumph.
U, 5 June 2005 (Vienna, Austria)
This morning Matt and I went to mass at the Augustiner Church. As part of the mass, they were performing the Nikolaimesse by Haydn. My god, amazing! And they used incense! It was a good hour and a half, and it was worth every minute (even the 20 minute homily in German that I didn't understand). One odd thing I noticed: during Communion, they brought out the wafer, but not the wine. I'll have to ask Don if he can shed any light on this.

Matt, Cristoffer, Simon, and me at the Haus der Musik. After mass, we grabbed lunch and met up with the Swedish boys to go to the Haus der Musik. Fortune of Fortunes, it was free today as they celebrate their 50th anniversary!
This museum is very interesting, but also very odd at times. Sometimes I was in a musicians drug-crazed mind! But a lot of good info on some of Vienna's "hometown boys". And at one point I got to "direct" the Vienna Philharmoniker (in German!). The computer didn't register me well (it had that problem with a lot of people) and the orchestra ended up making fun of me. but the crowd was supportive and it was fun (I wish I'd understood the orchestra's insult, though). I got a 1990's copy of Mozart's Requiem performed at STephensdom, too!
Then the four of us went for coffee and spent several hours that just flew by in great conversation. A larger chunk than I'd have expected was on American politics. It is amazing how very much America affects the rest of the world (and how real it is as I talk to these guys). I'm again reminded of how backwards we can be as a nation. Poverty and cultural (national?) arrogance are two great examples.

M, 6 June 2005 (Vienna, Austria)
Matt and I grabbed some very cheap breakfast and lunch and were off to find some cemetaries. We went to St. Marxer and quickly found Mozart's burial place. Yes, this is it to the left. It was very profound, and we were very alone there. I sang a few strains of his Requiem before we left for the main cemetary (with 2.5 million people [buried there]) further out.

Below are pictures from the larger cemetary, which we hit second. This one was huge and very beautiful, almost moreso in the unkept areas than the more manicured ones. With time and wandering we found the composer area. There was a marker for Mozart in the middle and burial sites for Beethoven, Strauss, Brahms, and Shubert.

We then went to a church in the middle of the cemetary. What a find! It was a gorgeous nearly 100-y.o. church that had been redone recently it was laid out in a perfect equidistant cross with a ring inset and amazing designs and art all over. Then we found the elevator which took us to one of the balconies and then down to an amazing crypt. We ate lunch outside and are now returning to the city. We're going to split up for a while and remeet for dinner.

I've been surprised every time I see English printed anywhere that isn't an obvious translation of some German. It seems so out of place, like a random splatz that just sends shivers of dissonance out...cultural dissonance. It doesn't belong, it's like a confused anomaly of the universe. I'm never sure what to make of it and I think I notice it (a bit delayed) because of the out-of-places-ness of it.

On to Salzburg!

	The night train as an interesting experience. There were six bunks, but I only had three bunkmates. Mine was on top, and I'm glad I'm fairly agile, for getting up there was...well, it took some balancing. But overall a good night's sleep, though if I didn't lay a certain way my bunk squeeked with the movement of the train.
	S, 4 June 2005 (Vienna, Austria) Germany did not have any beggars, at lest that I saw. But in the 20 minute walk from the hostel to Vienna's center I passed three.
	So today I went around the main parts of the city. I did the self-guided tour Rick Steves recomends, which was neat. Here you can see St. Ruprechts (see the ivy covered walls and tower on the left side?). It's the oldest church in Vienna (built in the 11th century on a bit of Roman ruins). (That's what Rick Steves tells me ;).)
	Then I did the Hofberg Palace, the Monument Against War and Facism, and Stephansdom. The first was mostly unimpressive, I think in large part due to the tourist trap it's become. :(

	The Monument was powerful once it was explained, but it seemed few others knew what it was (which is why I think I missed it the first two times I passed...people treat it as just another plaza!). Borrowing from Rick Steves' explanation: "The split white monument, The Gates of Violence, remembers victims of the 1938-1945 Nazi rule of Austria. A montage of wartime images -- clubs and gas masks, a dying woman birthing a future soldier, slave laborers -- sits on a pedestal of granite cut from the infamous quarry at Mauthausen, a nearby concentration camp. The hunched-over figure on the ground behind is a Jew forced to wash anti-Nazi grafiti off a street with a toothbruth. The statue with its head buried in the stone reminds Austrians of the consequences of not keeping their government on track. Behind that, the 1945 declaration of Austria's second republic is cut into the stone. This monument stands on the spot where several hundred people were buried alive while hiding in the cellar of a building demolished in a WWII bombing attack. Like 'ground zero' in New York, this is considered a kind of sacred ground and has never been built upon."

I came across a music and dance festival being held in the street near the cathedral. It looked like it was to benefit the international group Doctors without Borders (though the signs in English they waved -- there were signs in about five or six languages -- said "Doctors without Barriers"...I think it was just a mistranslation back from German).
The cathedral was nice, but doesn't stand out in my mind. Maybe I've finally seen too many. Or maybe it's that I still need rest (I know my feet are screaming for it after the last two days).
From Rick Steves: "The church survived the bombs of World War II, but, in the last days of the war, fires from the street fighting between Russian and Nazi troops leapt to the rooftop; the original timbered Gothic rooftop burned, and the cathedral's huge bell crashed to the ground. With a financial outpouring of civic pride, the roof of this symbol of Austria was rebuilt in its original splendor by 1952. The ceramic tiles are purely decorative (locals who contributed to the postwar reconstruction each 'own' one for their donation)."

Again from Rick Steves: "A spiral stairway winds up to the lecturn, surrounded and supported by the four Latin Church fathers: Saints Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory, and Augustine. The railing leading up swarms with symbolism: lizards (animals of light), battle toads (animals of darkness), and the 'Dog of the Lord' standing at the top to be sure none of those toads pollutes the sermon. Below the toads, wheels with three parts (the Trinity) roll up, while wheels with four parts (standing for the four seasons, symbolizing mortal life) roll down."


Kyle (IL) playing pool	Cristoffer (Sweden) playing pool

Nate (WA, staying in Vienna) playing pool	Simon (Sweden) playing pool, on a team with Kyle

Me, Kyle, Simon, and Cristoffer playing cards (who knows what game we were on when this picture was taken?). Because of the difficulty of opening one of the wine bottles, Simon was declared the victor over the stubborn cork and we decided to take a picture of his triumph. U, 5 June 2005 (Vienna, Austria) This morning Matt and I went to mass at the Augustiner Church. As part of the mass, they were performing the Nikolaimesse by Haydn. My god, amazing! And they used incense! It was a good hour and a half, and it was worth every minute (even the 20 minute homily in German that I didn't understand). One odd thing I noticed: during Communion, they brought out the wafer, but not the wine. I'll have to ask Don if he can shed any light on this.

Matt, Cristoffer, Simon, and me at the Haus der Musik. After mass, we grabbed lunch and met up with the Swedish boys to go to the Haus der Musik. Fortune of Fortunes, it was free today as they celebrate their 50th anniversary! This museum is very interesting, but also very odd at times. Sometimes I was in a musicians drug-crazed mind! But a lot of good info on some of Vienna's "hometown boys". And at one point I got to "direct" the Vienna Philharmoniker (in German!). The computer didn't register me well (it had that problem with a lot of people) and the orchestra ended up making fun of me. but the crowd was supportive and it was fun (I wish I'd understood the orchestra's insult, though). I got a 1990's copy of Mozart's Requiem performed at STephensdom, too!	Then the four of us went for coffee and spent several hours that just flew by in great conversation. A larger chunk than I'd have expected was on American politics. It is amazing how very much America affects the rest of the world (and how real it is as I talk to these guys). I'm again reminded of how backwards we can be as a nation. Poverty and cultural (national?) arrogance are two great examples.