Aug 2 - Day 2 in Vienna

German Word of the Day: andere – other
Attempt at a sentence: Das andere stuck kuchen war großartig!

Today featured a whirlwind tour of Vienna and definitely helped to orient me with this amazing city. After excitement at the grocery store, buying some delicious Nutella and German chocolates, as well as some necessities, we went off as a large and not at all conspicuous group of American students to our classroom at the Austro-American Institute. It is located across from the gorgeous Oper and we are in a wonderful location to explore the city. After introducing ourselves and conducting a small orientation in the classroom, we set off for lunch and met up at 2 p.m. for a truly great bus and sightseeing tour.

“Dr. O”, as she’s called by her students, led us through the highlights of Vienna and offered great insights that complemented and made real the readings that I have been doing in preparation for the program. Her knowledge of art history was amazing and I am so happy that she will be leading us on our tour of the Leopold Museum.

The bus tour zipped by, with dozens of faszinierend (fascinating) facts and Viennese stories. The Staatsoper (Opera House) has a particularly interesting history. One of the architects committed suicide after severe criticism of the building. In World War II, the building was bombed out so the structure is actually a post-1945 building, although based off the same plan. As the reading in Vienna: The Past in the Present on World War II and the post-war era detailed, much of Vienna was sadly bombed. I’m looking forward to seeing The Third Man and getting a visual feel for what Vienna was like during that time.

One building we passed that I cannot wait to visit was the Secession Building - of course in the Art Nouveau style. Before I left on the trip, my mom gave me a book on Gustav Klimt and I fell in love. The reading in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna also inspired my interest in his work. I have yet to see one of his paintings in person and I cannot wait to visit there and the Belvedere and experience his work live.

One thing that consistently amazes me in Europe is the treatment of buildings as works of art. Today we saw a wide range of that in several buildings we passed. The U-Bahn station by Otto Wagner, the baroque grandeur of the Belvedere (see photo), and the various structures on the Ringstraße in the many styles – the neoclassical Parliament, neo-Gothic Rathaus, and the neo-Renaissance university, with every style representing the building’s focus. Of course, along with the grandeur, there is the massive and very socialist Karl-Marx-Hof, a massive city run apartment complex, so embodying the “Red Vienna” of the Interwar period.

We also went into the Wienerwald, or Vienna Woods, passing by gorgeous vineyards and absolutely delightful looking heurigens. Vienna is very much a metropolitan city, but it is balanced perfectly with the close proximity of the woods, as well as the Danube. The city seems ideally situated for any pursuit, whether it is museums and cultural experiences, or more active options such as hiking or swimming. I definitely plan on spending a nice day walking around the wine growing region.

Along with gorgeous sightseeing outside Vienna, Dr. O also let us know about what seems like another great weekend destination – the Klosterneuberg monastery. It is incredibly easy to arrive by public transportation and features some amazing art, wine and history.

After that, we entered back in the city and passed by the Danube and Danube Island, as well as the Prater – three great options for a beautiful day out. Then came another highlight of the day with the Hundertwasserhaus, a strange and exciting apartment complex that is a modern architectural wonder. While I am sadly unfamiliar with him – I will definitely remedy that at the museum nearby the haus – simply visiting the building made me feel once again impressed with I believe Vienna does best – turning its buildings into masterpieces.

After an absolutely incredible day of sightseeing – I cannot wait to go more in depth during the rest of the month – I decided to end with a classic Viennese custom. With the great suggestion from the professor to go to the Café Museum (http://www.cafe-museum.at/en/start.aspx), a few of my classmates and I wiled away several hours just enjoying the delicious coffee (mélange for me) and the brilliant weather. I can definitely understand the leisurely way of life of the coffee houses. And of course, drinking in (technically outside of, who could resist the great weather?) a fin-de-siècle café designed by Loos was wunderbar!

The day’s most hilarious moment was also to be had at the café, thanks to a clearly drunk Viennese man who delighted us with a brief snippet of David Hasselhoff’s classic song, “Looking for Freedom.” (Live on the Berlin Wall: http://youtube.com/watch?v=NxAd2sHtMf0) I have always wondered if people of Germany and Austria truly like Hasslehoff, as we often joke about in America – and I’m so happy to say that it seems to be true! While in Munich, I also saw some Hasselhoff “Looking for Freedom” graffiti. I plan on getting my friends gifts such as special Austrian chocolates and postcards, but additionally, I hope I am able to find some fun Hasselhoff merchandise. We are all actually pretty big fans of him and one of my favorite celebrity sightings was seeing him at my favorite local restaurant in California. I find it interesting that someone who is often considered a joke in America is a legitimately popular figure – I do want to investigate it more as it is another cultural difference!

With such a full day, I returned from the café around 8 p.m. and several of us just stayed in, cooked some dinner and talked about amazing Vienna. Some people visited Rathausplatz for the summer film festival, where they project a music film, and it sounds like a must-do!

I definitely expect tomorrow – the first official day of class – and this weekend to be filled with a lot of excitement. It is Vienna, after all!