Today, as a free day before the final class day, I decided to hop out to the Wachau valley one more time with a few people heading out that way. However, this time Matt and I would go on the opposite side of the river, so find some places we had not seen.
The last bike trip, our purpose was the ruins where Richard the Lionheart was held captive. This time, it was to get to the ruins on top one of the mountains that we saw as we rode the first time.
The day was a bit hotter, and my bike was nowhere near as nice, but it was still a stellar trip. Getting off in Melk, we went up to actually explore the Abbey. I was unimpressed with the first few rooms, which are trying to do some fancy new exhibit style, with odd lighting from room to room. However, once we got outside of that half, we were treated to a view of the town & river from the top of the Abbey, before heading through the library. It infuriated a few of us that the coolest part of the Abbey, the library, we could not take photos of. There was an old-world globe, and a globe of the constellations (I've never seen a globe of the constellations) at the two ends of the hallway, which struck me as almost a secular versus sacred opposition (the constellations were painted on like gods).
Past the library were the beautiful stairwells, with a mirror at the bottom to keep the illusion that they are much longer than they were, as well as to see the underside of the stairwell. And coming out at the bottom of the abbey, we encountered....Organs!
Not the Habsburg organs spread through Vienna, but musical organs of the chapel, which I have been waiting to hear this entire damned trip. Oh man, the vibrations that echoed through the room, especially in the bass notes as I stood right below the organ seat. Playing that thing must be orgasmic. I knew that this would be a good day.
After the performance stopped, everybody applauded, and we wandered through the chapel, looking at the skeletons of different people embalmed within. The Abbey was built in the 11th century, and some bones, which we could not see, were of a murdered priest, and had been sent to the Abbey in 1050-something, to be buried. What a wonderful find! To have been kept there, through war and all, for over a thousand years. Even longer than the Habsburgs themselves had been in Austria. I wonder if he will still be buried there in another thousand years.
The Abbey store sold, instead of wine as with Klosterneuburg, herbed liquor akin to Jägermeister. I purchased a small flute of Abbot Georg's Magensonne. It tastes delicious, but I will keep it instead as a souvenir.
I don't understand this place, however, as the entrance has paintings that look like graffiti of ninjas, and then the adjoining garden is filled with cardboard cutouts of odd, magical creatures. Was Melk once rumored to have such beings? Regardless, we left, and, after a brief stint souvenir shopping, began our ride.
I showed the way for AJ and his gang to cross the bridge and head down the Donauradweg on the trail I know and love, while Matt and I carried on straight. Almost immediately, we found some wild blackberries (or berries of some sort) growing along the path, so decided to risk it and eat some. I am still alive today, so it was a safe call.
Our first goal was this gorgeous castle we could see from the bridge the last time around. Coming up on it, however we were stopped by a sign stating 'Privat'. I did not know castles could still be privately owned! I was so pissed. Why don't I own a castle? It's straight unfair I tell you, even if somebody owns a castle, it should be open for the public to see. That castle was gorgeous, built on a cliff overlooking the river. We had no choice but to ride on another couple hours to the castle ruins of Aggstein
(to be continued...)
Sunday, September 16, 2012
the politics of memory
The essay I chose to write was on the Habsburgs and how they achieved legitimacy. There was a different prompt, however, on the Holocaust and the politics of memory. Class sounded pretty evenly split between the two prompts, which I'm surprised by.
I avoided this as an essay because I do not know if I have ten pages' worth to say on it at this point, although I should, as in poetry a "politics of ___" speech seems to be the trending idea at the moment. Politics of language, politics of the page, politics of education, politics of the body, etcetera.
The politics of memory, as I understand it, stems from several items.
1) Memory changes over time
-The insistence by Austrians and Germans that they 'had no idea' when it was impossible to not know.
2) People prefer to forget
-How easily the government can use this to their advantage as well, and how fast horrible events become normal, and commonplace.
3) Each memory is from a specific lens, and it is impossible to see the full picture
4) A memorial controls how a person remembers and perceives an event.
-as in Mauthausen, the smaller, singular concentration camp was chosen to be preserved as that maintains the political image that Austria was not at fault.
-In Auschwitz, the choice at first to highlight political prisoners instead of Jewish murders.
-In Auschwitz now, the almost negation of political prisoners for everything to be focused onJews.
-The lack of coverage on certain groups that are still 'undesirable' today: gypsies, criminals, etc.
5) the purpose of a memorial. Does visiting a memorial, when you already are familiar with the Holocaust, grant you more of a perception, does it illuminate anything extra to think about, and learn coming out of it, or does one get to simply say "I visited Mauthausen, or Auschwitz" and feel better about themselves?
Perhaps they are best to keep because some have the audacity to deny that the Holocaust existed, and perhaps as time goes on the amount of deniers would grow if left unchecked. It is easy to suppress a thing like that. And the memorials are good when somebody is there to adequately explain everything.
And no matter what, certain images give certain impressions. The idea of how many people were cramped into the small bunkers in Mauthausen is something impossible to perceive, especially as there are not as many bunkers crammed in at this time. Everything is perfectly kept up as well, in order to preserve the memorial, but that gets away from the original event.
This also brings up the idea of taxes and expenditure. It would give a better impression of the events if every extermination and concentration camp were kept up, but how much taxes would have to be spent on keeping an event like that around for all to forever see?
Is it ever alright to stop funding the upkeep of these? Should they be allowed to rot and fall, like the ruins of certain castles?
There are a lot of questions within this topic, but I have no answers.
I avoided this as an essay because I do not know if I have ten pages' worth to say on it at this point, although I should, as in poetry a "politics of ___" speech seems to be the trending idea at the moment. Politics of language, politics of the page, politics of education, politics of the body, etcetera.
The politics of memory, as I understand it, stems from several items.
1) Memory changes over time
-The insistence by Austrians and Germans that they 'had no idea' when it was impossible to not know.
2) People prefer to forget
-How easily the government can use this to their advantage as well, and how fast horrible events become normal, and commonplace.
3) Each memory is from a specific lens, and it is impossible to see the full picture
4) A memorial controls how a person remembers and perceives an event.
-as in Mauthausen, the smaller, singular concentration camp was chosen to be preserved as that maintains the political image that Austria was not at fault.
-In Auschwitz, the choice at first to highlight political prisoners instead of Jewish murders.
-In Auschwitz now, the almost negation of political prisoners for everything to be focused onJews.
-The lack of coverage on certain groups that are still 'undesirable' today: gypsies, criminals, etc.
5) the purpose of a memorial. Does visiting a memorial, when you already are familiar with the Holocaust, grant you more of a perception, does it illuminate anything extra to think about, and learn coming out of it, or does one get to simply say "I visited Mauthausen, or Auschwitz" and feel better about themselves?
Perhaps they are best to keep because some have the audacity to deny that the Holocaust existed, and perhaps as time goes on the amount of deniers would grow if left unchecked. It is easy to suppress a thing like that. And the memorials are good when somebody is there to adequately explain everything.
And no matter what, certain images give certain impressions. The idea of how many people were cramped into the small bunkers in Mauthausen is something impossible to perceive, especially as there are not as many bunkers crammed in at this time. Everything is perfectly kept up as well, in order to preserve the memorial, but that gets away from the original event.
This also brings up the idea of taxes and expenditure. It would give a better impression of the events if every extermination and concentration camp were kept up, but how much taxes would have to be spent on keeping an event like that around for all to forever see?
Is it ever alright to stop funding the upkeep of these? Should they be allowed to rot and fall, like the ruins of certain castles?
There are a lot of questions within this topic, but I have no answers.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
28.08.12 the UN!
28.
The UN! with their myriad of projects! My favorite is UNAIDS, which does a lot of good, but I love that if you have AIDS you want to get UNAIDS to help you. A silly question to get out of the way on here, that I did not want to ask as it is a sort of ‘is there a sales tax here?’ type of question, but if somebody happened to be born in the UN, what would the legalities be of that situation? Would the UN at Vienna lead to an Austrian citizenship? Or would it be the same situation as being born in international waters?
After a quick tour of the history of the UN at Vienna, built because at the time it was a crossroads between the USSR and France, Britain, and the US. We had a quick glimpse around the general structure of the building, before we broke for lunch. This was somewhat of a mistake in my eyes. I would have preferred to have the lecture on the IAEA straightaway, followed by lunch, and then the lecture on UNGIFT. Instead we ate first, and with a full stomach we sat inside a dimly lit, warm room, and listened to a very quiet and subdued lecturer for both organizations. Both had extremely interesting information, but it was hard to keep up with it all. This was almost as hard as the video at Mauthausen. I do not function well in warm dark rooms. I tried to ask a question to the lecturer on UNGIFT, but I did not organize my thoughts on the question clearly enough, so I did not get the answer I was looking for. I had tried to ask about how accurately what we see in statistics about worldwide sex trafficking represents its true prevalence in each country. If, say, Japan were to show up exceptionally high in the trafficking report, is that proof then that Japan has a very high rate of sex trafficking, or that they are instead highly effective at capturing and reporting on sex traffickers. This would make them appear to have a much more prevalent case of sex trafficking compared to a country that was more lax on their pursuance, even if the more lax country has a higher rate of trafficking. I’m not sure how I asked it, but he simply restated that the statistics that exist are not all reported cases, more like the tip of the iceberg.
Here was my full list of questions
UN Questions
IAEA
I am mainly interested in the effects of Chernobyl that are still lingering and forgotten or not talked about.
Though I cannot find anything off of a more reputable source such as BBC, from what I can find it seems Ukraine needs around 900 million euros to fund the new sarcophagus project, and yet only 714 euros have been raised. Is anything being done about that remaining amount of money? How much sway does the IAEA have in getting Ukraine funding, and does the IAEA have any amount of funding to donate itself?
To follow up on the Chernobyl doomsday joy, I found this article about the danger of irradiated pine within the exclusion zone. Has there been any push within the IAEA to perhaps deforest this area? And what is the risk then to the natural climate if such a large area is in fact deforested?
Is there any effort being made to educate and better supply the firefighters of Chernobyl? the report states that they know they are fighting a radioactive fire when they experience a ‘tingling in their skin’. That can’t be good.
As a follow up, do you find yourself butting heads with other departments when the interests of radioactive safety comes against other departments’ concerns? Or is the IAEA pretty much top dog here as nobody wants to seem easy on nuclear fallout?
3) How well protected is the nuclear waste?
STUXNET is the very first virus of its kind, that can cause physical damage to turbines and any other actual machine beyond simply corrupting files. Though US and Israel were not intending to cause any nuclear fallout, the virus has since spread around the world, and any hacker with a brain for viruses but no mind for anything else could potentially be able to tweak the virus so that it will now actually damage turbines and generators.
That being said, what new protocols have been implemented in nuclear facilities since the emergence of STUXNET in order to prevent this from occurring?
Has STUXNET affected talks and coordinations with Iran?
UNGIFT
1)Obviously the statistics that are available on human trafficking worldwide are barely the tip of the iceberg, as the vast majority of cases go unreported. However, given that different countries might have different protocol for how they stop human trafficking, and even how they define it, as well as the effectiveness of each country’s efforts is also bound to defer, how accurate would you say the statistics that are available are as representations of human trafficking in its actuality? Are they close at all, or might it be more of a message to people to come out and say that we actually have no idea how serious of a problem this is, except that it is much bigger than what any statistics can show?
2)How does your organization relate to UNODC? Do you work together, do you operate separately, does one organization regulate protocols of the other?
3) It seems to me that the Swedish model seems to be the most effective current method at both catching human traffickers and giving aid to those who have been trafficked. Does your organization do any lobbying to any countries requesting that they change their system of laws surrounding prostitution and trafficking?
24.08.12 the Last Class
24.
Our last class! the course made a whirlwind accounting of the most recent two hundred years. Line of the day: “Napoleon! Um...Long story short: He lost”. I think we may have skimmed over some important details here and there. Class was held like the Beller book, just rapid fire information. But I’ve just had a course that spanned 1789 to 1914, so I was used to most of that information. I’m surprised in the Parsons book that it seems to be almost pro-Metternich. Things he tries are done because he has to follow the king’s wishes. From the little history I know, I find Metternich responsible for drastically holding back Austria, to catastrophic results. The 1800’s would have been far more stable had he, instead of being reactionary, been more open minded to policies of nationalism. Instead he created a police state, quashed intellectual debate, and suffocated a nation.
After class was held, Ben, Cole, Jackie and I headed to CNA to look at lederhosen. I was unsure of whether I would want to buy any until I tried the black lederhosen on. And once I realized the front flap opens up for men to relieve themselves...I was sold. It may be the most expensive purchase I have made out here in Europe, but I regret nothing.
As soon as I got home I changed into them, and surprised AJ and Sean. It was a look of pure beauty, and heading out into the town at night, out to the Danube’s clubs, was a complete success.
Word of the Day: die Nachrichten - the News
Jeder Morgen lese ich die Nachrichten. Meine Lieblingsnachricthenquelle ist BBC, aber ich sollte ein gutes Blog finden.
Word of the Day: die Nachrichten - the News
Jeder Morgen lese ich die Nachrichten. Meine Lieblingsnachricthenquelle ist BBC, aber ich sollte ein gutes Blog finden.
23.08.12
23. Today we left for the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. I learned much more in this visit than I did when Frankl came to speak with us. As soon as the tour began, our guide elevated the tour to a college level, and spoke about the fact that history is viewed through different lenses - yes! As soon as he mentioned that and the politics of memory, I knew we were in for a good tour. When I took a tour of Auschwitz, the guide spoke only of what was there. She mentioned nothing of the past versions of the exhibit, or of other memorials, or any existing gaps in coverage. My friend had asked, and she finally mentioned that the houses depicted which Jews and other prisoners slept in had all been torn down, and the existing ones were in fact reconstructed. I am guessing they don’t like giving out that information due to it ruining the experience of picturing how the Jews lived. No matter how it’s reconstructed, it will always be an artist’s representation of the real ordeal.
Our guide, Daniel, gave us everything. He talked about the existence of other, larger camps, but how Mauthausen works because it was a centralized location, which makes it easier to digest for the Austrians who are busy denying their role in WW2. He mentioned the swimming pool that was still used after the war, and how the concentration camp was even used for storage by the people in the surrounding town, that’s now normal the camp had become. That everybody knew there were people being burned inside the walls, a tower of the black smoke of corpses, but had a venue to ignore. Though America doesn’t have anything nearly as bad as the Holocaust happening, it shows just how easy it is to ignore the worst event imaginable, so any transgressions that America makes are even more easily shrugged off. That’s how hard it is to make progress, to stay permanently sensitive to the surrounding events. I know I am nowhere near that sensitive or aware of what is going on around me, and perhaps I should make more of a concerted effort to be so.
Daniel mentioned a book on how IBM supplied and designed the computers that Nazis used, and even sent workers from camp to camp to make sure the computers were working properly. And he led us through a deep discussion on the usefulness of memorials, what is truth in them and what is false. Whether they spread awareness and understanding, or whether people go to one simply to feel like now they’re a better person for having gone. The barracks shown where the Jews were housed, for instance, only contain half the racks, if that, and they do not show how many people slept per rack or what it was like to be completely crammed, 800 to one barrack meant for 60. Without a guide I would have never guessed that. Perhaps Ruth Kluger is right, that it is not necessary to have these memorials, they do not provide much. However, I would argue that with a properly educated guide, as Daniel was, who is willing to engage the visitors and open a discussion, it is a much more intense event that does stick with you. When it is just a place to go to, such as Auschwitz, there winds up being people who take pictures smiling in front of the Arbeit Macht Frei sign, as if that is a great spot for a family picture. And in the standing cellars below, where 4 people would stand in a 4 square foot space, a girl posed in front making “duck lips”, possibly for one great facebook picture. I hope her friends will call her out on it when she posts it.
22.08.12 Leopoldine Museum
22-The Leopold Museum was what was in store for today. Our final tour with Doctor O unfortunately, but she took us around the few floors showing the history of Klimt and Schiele more than anything. Leopold started his collection after inheriting a stamp collection worth more than I’ve ever thought a stamp collection could be. With this money he got a few paintings, including some Klimt, to get himself started. We went over countless postcards of Klimt’s, but I wish the one was shown of his lifelong, platonic partner, where it reveals she knew about his syphilis and would have nothing to do with that. I forgot to ask if he’s always so prominently displayed or if that is only because this is the 100th anniversary of his life. I wonder how big things will be for Schiele. Doctor O also pointed out his painting of the nun and priest to me, and her explanation of the painting definitely helped my efforts and gave me some material to research and incorporate into the poem I am working on, also about the Kiss. The mentioning of the feet, their dirt and humanity, has given me a new way of looking at the moss in my own poem:
A Statuette
Tension between their lips, almost touching
stopped in a moment of intrusion
Her arm curves around his neck
fingernails taste his skin
She guides him as much as he holds her
A convergence perfectly balanced
Moss blankets them, their bodies
tinged by years of dirt and rain
Though they did not move
I knew them to be my parents
I glide my hand over the definitions of his arms
and down the long curve of her back
My mother’s skin fragile despite the stone
as though the wind had carved her into existence
I place my hand against my father’s stomach
And wait there for a sign of breath
The wet moss is cool in morning sun
it cushions my touch as I smear the dirt
I place my face between their breasts,
breathe in the earth and stone, warmth impenetrable
I’ve still more work to do on this piece, but I know finally what direction I want to take it.
Word of the Day: der Verstand: The mind.
Ich bin außerhalb des meinem Verstandes
Ich bin außerhalb des meinem Verstandes
21.08.12 Belvedere
21. -Today we came to the Belvedere once again, but this time to go inside for a tour. While waiting outside, I tried my first Hugo, which will be my goal to find on my return to the States. Prosecco, Elderflower Cordial, carbonated mineral water, and some mint leaves, and you’ve got the most delicious, classy drink you can ever experience. {LINK TO HUGO}. I will miss Austria.
In the first stairwell inside the Belvedere, there were three modern statue installations that people reacted to. The first was a hooded man, but not many noticed him. Front and center was an emaciated man with arms outstretched, vulnerable, and to counterbalance him to his right was a tall, muscular statue of a woman in a sort of Arnold Schwarzenegger shoulder flex. This was my favorite part of the museum, as you could instantly watch the psyche of each male without them realizing it. Every man’s instant reaction to the powerful woman was a desire to fight, or sleep with, or dominate her in at least some manner. The woman is not in any violent position, she’s if anything standing at a form of parade rest. What is it that drives men to an instant desire to fight? Some sort of basic instinct and excitement that the statue works against.
Inside the Belvedere Doctor O expressed to us the concept of ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’, which dominated the upper Belvedere. The lighting, the art, music, the gilded walls, the marble flooring, the people in proper attire, everything works together in an entire setting, to give Eugene of Savoy’s Summer home a cathartic quality.
We looked at some examples of Biedermeier paintings, which were all much more focused on singular moments of families, sitting together reading a book or sharing dinner, or a landscape painting. Works which show no concern for anything happening in the world. There w
Arnold Schönberg led the Second Viennese school, and his entire early drive was to expand the theories of harmony, until he finally moved beyond harmony altogether in his atonal music. His early work I have always (always being since I first heard him a couple years ago) enjoyed more, as I feel more heart and creativity in the early efforts. As Schönberg developed his 12 tone music, it became far too systematic for my taste, and music students also began to hate him as people would no longer study what chord changes and melody he was focusing on but rather what part of the 12 tone system he was on, measure by measure. This is the point where “classical music” began to detach from popularity, as the composers stopped caring about what the listener wanted to hear and instead indulged deeply into their own desires. It is the same masturbatory approach that drove jazz away from popularity, or modern art, or poetry, or many high-art forms. They are only just now beginning to make a comeback as artists care again about an audience. This fits right in with the processes of Modernism, as they looked for alternative expressions to represent the new industrial world. But I understand Modernism best by looking at Post-Modernism. The Modernist was much more confident that their progress was the correct progress, it was far more Western/Anglo-centric, and pushed its opinions outward. Post-Modernism comes after the Great War, when the realities of Progress and Industry were shattered, and the Western world realized they can still be just as violent as any other culture, if not more so. Hence, to me, Modernism is about expressing the answers they knew they had in different manners, without asking questions, and Post-Modernism is about asking questions in new methods but never arriving at an answer. Klimt and Schiele were at that very edge of what would become Post-Modernist. The entire Secession was an early form of looking at the dominant culture around and pushing against that, but Schiele went much further, expressing the beauty in the underrepresented (such as prostitutes), even in a distraught and ‘ugly’ painting style. Klimt still painted the rich, and in so doing pandered to their tastes of higher fashion. I am not so fond of his gold-leafed paintings. However, I love the post-orgasmic expression of Judith, and the Kiss is a powerful work. Each person has their own opinion of it, but personally I feel that it is closer to a rape. The toes of the woman seem to be grasping at the grass beneath her, and the edge of the cliff seems to be something she would fall off if the man were to let go. It is entirely up to the man to keep her or release her, as he overpowers her and supports her. The girl seems to enjoy the kiss but can she truly enjoy it if she has no choice, and is she merely playing into the role so that she does not plummet? I much prefer Rodin’s ‘the Kiss’, as it is a perfect balance between to equal participants, or Schiele’s in which both are in the middle of prayer. Schiele’s Doctor O said I would see at the Leopold.
17.08.12 Leaving the Alps, Fortress of Forchtenstein
17. This morning, while still groggy and eating breakfast, I asked Hans-Jörg what the plan is today, and his answer (in awesome accent): “We are going to the Fortress of Forchtenstein”. I could hear the mental metal riff going off in Sean’s head next to me. On our ride out, the bus broke down briefly, and I am disappointed we weren’t broken down longer. Kathy was outside saying something about going exploring up to the ruins outside of the town we were at, and I wish we could have gone. I prefer the ruins where I can image how things were, to the well-kept but refurbished, and now fake and touristy castles and palaces still in existence. The ruins are the past still stubbornly existing, whereas the palaces of Vienna have been re-appropriated and their history is thus lost.
Inside one can find a dried crocodile hanging from the ceiling, as during the Renaissance it was fashionable to keep a ‘curiosity cabinet.’ That crocodile is 306 years old, older than America.
Around 1670 Ferdinand II turned the castle into a palace, but I wish they had kept the moat full of water. The palace now functions as an amazing museum, full of weaponry and even fantasy weapon schematics. Paul I, a prominent Esterházy, claimed his lineage stemmed all the way back to Dracula, and so this place is home to one of the largest portraits of Dracula in existence {SHOW PICTURE}.
15.08.12 the Alps!
15. The Alps! But first! A quick stop in Eisenstadt, the City of Iron, a major hold of the Esterházy’s. Here spent Haydn about thirty years, working on music as the Kapellmeister and house musician for the Esterházy’s. The main church in Eisenstadt is now called Haydnkirche, and is shaped to resemble a mountain. We were lucky enough to get a tour through the church, and climbing through there are 30+ moments where people are meant to stop and experience a part of Jesus’ ordeals before his final crucifixion. The path led us inside, up the church, and then down the far end into the actual chapel. Yet another amazing organ inside. One of these days I will have to hear the organ played. When we left back through the way we came, I was surprised to hear that from the top of the church you could see out to Hungary. I like that so many churches had alternative uses as early warning signs to their kings, even if sometimes they would have no worry of being burned down. Religion played an active role in warfare, not just standing at the sidelines or trying to heal people but warning of attacks and likely allowing troops inside to fire from within.
Afterwards we made our way to a Jewish museum, where we learned about the Jewish community within Eisenstadt. After the expulsion of Jews from Vienna under Leopold I (to acommodate his wife’s explanation of their failures at conceiving), the Esterházy’s were quick to catch on that accountants and bankers were still needed for the empire, and so allowed a Jewish community to flourish within Eisenstadt under Esterházy protection. This community lasted until 1938 when the Nazis expelled them after the Anschluss. Eisenstadt had not only a Synagogue but also a Mikveh and Rabbinate. Our guide also showed us the Jewish graveyard, with some tombstones dating back to the 1600’s, although I couldn’t get close enough to hear what he had to say.
14.08.12. Day before the Alps
The last day before the Alps trip, our class was comprised mainly of discussing where we would need to meet up, and what we should bring with us. After class, a group of us hopped on a tram to explore the city.
Each famous structure around the Ringstraße has a purpose behind its architecture. Parliament, for instance, was built to look like a Greek temple, with white stone pillars and sweeping staircases leading up to it, because Greece is associated with democracy. The Rathouse is neo-gothic, because the Gothic era is when individual cities had more power than the overarching government. The Operahouse held to a Renaissance Italy vibe, as that was the birthplace of the Opera.
Individually, each building is very impressive to behold. However, I have to agree with the Secessionists that that art style is a dead end. Further, each building is inefficient, using more space on the grandeur than on the actual function. Stylistically, to me (though I am no artist), I feel that on the individual level the buildings are not so bad, but as a reflection of the Gesamtkunstwerk of all buildings together, they are a dizzying hodgepodge. If every building of the Ringstraße had come from the same stylistic background - say, of Otto Wagner’s - then it would have elevated Vienna even further up on the list of the world’s cultural capitals.
One Biedermeier work that stands out to me is the Stadttempel. The Synagogue actually managed to survive the Nazis, the only one in Vienna to survive all of WWII, because it is directly connected to the surrounding buildings. Although it was Joseph II's edict that only Roman Catholic churches could have facades facing directly out to the public streets, it strikes me as very Biedermeier that the Stadttempel itself has to face away from the public eye. The building was done by Kornhäusel, and you can see from this picture how the inside is elegant, but without frills. Quite a leap from the Baroque era, it is simple, but maintains a quiet beauty.
German word of the Day: das Kostüm.
Für Halloween werde ich meine Lederhosen tragen. Meine Lederhosen werde das beste Kostüm im Santa Cruz sein.
One Biedermeier work that stands out to me is the Stadttempel. The Synagogue actually managed to survive the Nazis, the only one in Vienna to survive all of WWII, because it is directly connected to the surrounding buildings. Although it was Joseph II's edict that only Roman Catholic churches could have facades facing directly out to the public streets, it strikes me as very Biedermeier that the Stadttempel itself has to face away from the public eye. The building was done by Kornhäusel, and you can see from this picture how the inside is elegant, but without frills. Quite a leap from the Baroque era, it is simple, but maintains a quiet beauty.
German word of the Day: das Kostüm.
Für Halloween werde ich meine Lederhosen tragen. Meine Lederhosen werde das beste Kostüm im Santa Cruz sein.
10.08.12. the Holocaust Survivor
10.08.12
Class was late today, so I should’ve gotten more done, but instead all late class meant was that I took my time doing the same things I normally do. Now just twice as long. The reason class was pushed back was to accommodate Mr. Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and somebody who promotes his father’s art from the Jewish Museum.
It was hard to understand him as he spoke very quietly and with a thick accent, but it was a very good tale he had to tell. Typically holocaust tales end in nothing but misery, but it was good to hear that his parents reunited. Still, I had not known before this class about the systematic rape performed by the Russians. I wonder if there was much committed by the Americans as well, but unreported. It is hard to spin the tale coming out of a war that we were the 'good guys' when troops are raping left and right. I don't doubt Americans raped, but, well, I'm not sure what is meant by 'systematic rape', if that just means it was widespread. I should ask about that. There are no 'good guys' versus 'bad guys', there wasn't then and there definitely are not now.
The other thing is the statements that his father would constantly feel people are following him, have sudden panic attacks, have angry outbursts, etc. I wonder if Mr. Frankl experiences anything as well, young as he was.
The pauses Mr. Frankl made were very dramatic, but it was more heartbreaking to me that he did not have to pause at the moments of the biggest fear but of moments of relief. His father, it seems, barely managed to survive there but for dumb luck. That's how I hear most people made it out. Either by dumb luck or by being simply cutthroat. Somebody (I think AJ) said how one survivor wrote that only the worst people made out alive from the Holocaust. The ones willing to steal food, push another down, hold somebody back, so that they could get a little extra scrap of bread, those are the people who managed to survive. There is no room for reason or morality when you are placed in a void of reason and morality. One had to become like the rats the Nazis treated them as.
The other thing is the statements that his father would constantly feel people are following him, have sudden panic attacks, have angry outbursts, etc. I wonder if Mr. Frankl experiences anything as well, young as he was.
The pauses Mr. Frankl made were very dramatic, but it was more heartbreaking to me that he did not have to pause at the moments of the biggest fear but of moments of relief. His father, it seems, barely managed to survive there but for dumb luck. That's how I hear most people made it out. Either by dumb luck or by being simply cutthroat. Somebody (I think AJ) said how one survivor wrote that only the worst people made out alive from the Holocaust. The ones willing to steal food, push another down, hold somebody back, so that they could get a little extra scrap of bread, those are the people who managed to survive. There is no room for reason or morality when you are placed in a void of reason and morality. One had to become like the rats the Nazis treated them as.
08.08.12
08.08.12
This morning Audrey and I went down to the Schottentor Universität stop to look for any remaining signs of Karl Lueger. We could not find any, but took some pictures of street signs for ‘Universitätsring’ and admired the university. Each statue lining the top was named for some important person of intellectual history, mostly ancient Greeks and Romans. The inside had its own courtyard where students hung out under trees and the walls were lined with heads of famous dead guys, but I did not recognize any of the names.
After our search failed, Audrey took off to explore some other parts of the city and I returned to Kandlgasse in order to practice with AJ and Morgan for our Karl Marx-Hof mini-lecture. I felt bad as Morgan had the most to say by far, although her part of the demonstration was about the architecture and function, which applies directly to her major. Kathy pointed out what we had missed, such as that Red Vienna earned its name not just because Vienna was communist after the end of World War I, but because the rest of the country was decidedly more conservative and catholic, making Vienna stick out to them like a sore thumb. Red Vienna did however begin a series of communal projects, and the Karl Marx-Hof was the most successful. Rent was only 4 percent of total income, preference was given to disabled persons for housing, and they were afforded not just swimming pools and playgrounds, but actual effective sewage/plumbing, one of the first low-income projects to provide such services. It was a huge success, and still exists today when many other projects have failed. After our little speech, the bus showed up to take the class off to Stift Klosterneuburg.
Klosterneuburg, opened in 1114 under the reign of Babenberger Leopold III, is a priory or monastery of Augustinian Canons. The legend behind the founding of this monastery is that Leopold III’s second wife Agnes lost her favorite marriage veil, which she wore with her everywhere, while on a walk through the forest. After a great search, the veil came up missing for years, until Leopold III found it himself in the woods some years later. The veil had a shimmering quality to it and struck Leopold III as a holy relic, and thus he decided a monastery should be built on that very spot. As the resident priest Ambrose would point out during our tour, the fact that the location happens to be on a hill, next to a river, easily defended and at a good vantage point to return word to Vienna of any invaders had absolutely nothing to do with its founding.
At the monastery, our tour guide Father Ambrose– an obviously devout man with the curious habit of poking fun at some of the rituals, history, and artifacts, and possessing the propensity to use the phrase ‘God dammit’– skipped all of the tourist traps in the entrance to the Stift, and took us instead on a tour of the art and relics further in. The one to stand out the most was, obviously to those who have been, the Verdun Altar. Gilded to shimmer within its simple room, the Verdun showcased three tales of the Bible, formed in three rows across three panels, demonstrating the likenesses in tale and trial between Adam, Abraham, and Jesus.
The conclusion of our tour took longer than I believe Ambrose anticipated. As we had split into two groups, the other group took considerably longer, leaving Ambrose to talk for a bit over any questions we had, and ultimately wound up soap boxing about Christianity and American culture, for lack of any better option to deal with us. I did, however, truly enjoy his explanation of what led him to the Church. It is interesting to me how a man can delve into science, or history, or philosophy, and take out of it completely different results. For many, they pursue atheism or a pantheistic vague notion of the connectivity in all things, as many astrophysicists are deeply humble and spiritual people without any set religion, while at the same time others can somehow find Jesus, or Buddha, or anybody. All different lenses to view the same thing. At last the other group arrived, and it was time to leave.
The night to come was baffling to me, as Ambrose and another priest, Father Clemmens out drank most present. Delicious food once again at the heurige, and my first attempt at cow’s tongue (delicious!). The history of Stift Klosterneuburg inspired very heated discussions at each table, about politics, morality and religion. At my own table I was enjoying playing devil’s advocate between atheist and Christian points of view.
I love the concept of a fraternity of monks, or of priests in this case, dedicated to a deeper understanding of religion. The concept of relics, of objects that transcend the physical world, is something I am very unfamiliar with, but the act of ritual, meditation, or fasting with a goal of seeking Truth, are all acts that a non-religious, secular world should still accept and pursue from time to time, and I wish there were more institutions to allow that. Instead I have to try for years to obtain a PhD in order to have access to better libraries and more knowledgable persons.
07.08.12
07.08.12
This morning’s class was halted when it was discovered Victoria was missing. Though she eventually arrived, it showed the efficiency of the buddy and roommate system, provided people’s phones work. Victoria’s roommate Jenna noticed her not in class, she alerted Professor Stuart, both tried calling Victoria, Kathy called Logan to swing by her room and bang on the door. Had she had a working phone, or been in her room, either of those options would have immediately ended any panic. Instead, she woke up late, left late, but before Logan knocked on her door, and was simply en route to class while everybody was worried for her. Upon her arrival, class resumed, somewhat, to typical lecture.
This was a day without much planned, and so afterwards I simply returned home to sleep and take an easy day catching up on reading and blogging.
The class was intended to be about the Counter-Reformation, but we barely scratched that. I am curious to see how far behind we get in this class. Kathy is an excellent teacher though. Even if we veer far, far off schedule she is totally cool with answering everybody's questions at length.
The class was intended to be about the Counter-Reformation, but we barely scratched that. I am curious to see how far behind we get in this class. Kathy is an excellent teacher though. Even if we veer far, far off schedule she is totally cool with answering everybody's questions at length.
5.08.12
This morning I tracked down a triptych by one of my favorite artists, Hieronymous Bosch, in the {art institute, bildinisch Kunst}. The gallery was set up to lead towards the painting, past a series of smaller landscape artists and time-piece art. Do they feature more Austro-German artists? How much of their budget did they expend to get the Bosch, and why specifically that piece? It was massive, displaying the fear of Hell, and all its horrors. Brüggel reminded me of Bosch, with the series of smaller events in a larger frame.
Class afterwards consisted of another trip with the incredible Doctor O, this time through the Viennese History Museum. We started with the most ancient period, before even the Romans.
Doctor O went on to illuminate the ingenuity of Roman heating, as well as how the ancient walls defined what became the very innere stadt of Wien.
The armor came next, with the ceremonial crowns that would sit at the top of the knights' lances. I tried to get a good picture of Ben standing behind the armor, but it was too dark in that room. Doctor O showed what I'll now forever find in Gothic painting, the S curve, and how it gets more and more exaggerated in paintings as time goes on. None of us could resist standing like that. It's intended to give a sense of lightness, of wafting away.
I was disappointed that Doctor O did not get into the intricacies of the artwork inlaid on the suits of armor upstairs. She mentioned that she did not think her student could write a paper on it, and he proved her wrong, but then she did not go into any details. What a tease.
Also in that floor were paintings of the siege of Vienna of 1683. Perhaps the main piece of information I will always carry in my head now is that croissants were invented after the siege in the fashion of the crescent blades of the Turks.
My favorite thing in the museum would have to be looking at the models of Vienna through the centuries. I like seeing how Stephensdom towered over the city for so long, until other buildings began to crop up to challenge it as time went on. And now nothing can surpass it, but perhaps they'll change the height regulations in the new city across the river?
Class afterwards consisted of another trip with the incredible Doctor O, this time through the Viennese History Museum. We started with the most ancient period, before even the Romans.
Doctor O went on to illuminate the ingenuity of Roman heating, as well as how the ancient walls defined what became the very innere stadt of Wien.
The armor came next, with the ceremonial crowns that would sit at the top of the knights' lances. I tried to get a good picture of Ben standing behind the armor, but it was too dark in that room. Doctor O showed what I'll now forever find in Gothic painting, the S curve, and how it gets more and more exaggerated in paintings as time goes on. None of us could resist standing like that. It's intended to give a sense of lightness, of wafting away.
I was disappointed that Doctor O did not get into the intricacies of the artwork inlaid on the suits of armor upstairs. She mentioned that she did not think her student could write a paper on it, and he proved her wrong, but then she did not go into any details. What a tease.
Also in that floor were paintings of the siege of Vienna of 1683. Perhaps the main piece of information I will always carry in my head now is that croissants were invented after the siege in the fashion of the crescent blades of the Turks.
My favorite thing in the museum would have to be looking at the models of Vienna through the centuries. I like seeing how Stephensdom towered over the city for so long, until other buildings began to crop up to challenge it as time went on. And now nothing can surpass it, but perhaps they'll change the height regulations in the new city across the river?
09.08.12
09.08.12
The Baroque period was a perfect expression of the desires of the Habsburg empire. Church and state were fully unified, and the artists and cultural expression arose to back them up. Coming out of the Counter-Reformation, and after the Defenestration of Prague, Catholics now had complete dominance in politics and culture within the Holy Roman realm. Architecture, music, requiems, mass, burial rituals, all were very extravagant and outwardly expressed worship, in comparison to Protestant culture which kept worship much more private.
This aided the absolutist regime of the Habsburgs, who now had a firmer grip on legitimacy due to divine right blessed by Catholicism. Baroque tendencies were an explosion of wealth at the very top and abject poverty at the bottom, something revealed within the Schatzkammer. I’ve discussed the Schatzkammer in an earlier post, but I would again draw attention to the jewel-encrusted, gold fringed Gospels that were for the royalty, as well as the crown, or the scepter sword and robe specific to each ruler.
At the Kunsthistorische Museen, Doctor O arrived once more to take us on the tour. Unfortunately my notebook I took the notes on was lost at war in the laundry, but coming off of memory she led us through a lot of the bigger artists, showing us Arcimbaldo, Peter Paul Rubens, Bruegel, Rembrandt, a whole list of artists. Though I do wish she’d talked a bit about Hieronymus Bosch. Bruegel, it turns out, was influenced heavily by him, as one could see in all the minute activities occurring throughout each townscape painting. I think she avoided speaking about Bruegel’s ‘the Fight Between Carnival and Lent’ because it is Professor Stuart’s specialty, but she has yet to give a lecture on it either. Rembrandt’s self-portrait stood out to me the most. I like the difference between Catholic and Protestant painting, as it represents the difference in their general expressions of religion. Catholicism is more external, following rituals and society, and thus the paintings do not focus as much on an individual, instead on famous scenes from the bible, or, as with Bruegel, deliver a lesson on what is wrong in society. In Protestant painting, the focus is more on the individual, without a specific message, just understanding and feeling. Rembrandt’s self-portrait, the pain in his eyes, was far more direct and disturbing to me than all the pain and blood and anguish painters had poured into their depictions of Christ on the Cross. Doctor O asked me what painting I would like to steal; that is the one I would have.
I swung by the Peterskirche today, but mass was in session so I could not stay long. There is a legend that when the funeral is held for one of the Habsburgs, their emissary would knock on the door of Stephensdom, and the Habsburg titles would essentially be belittled down in answering, until the emissary would have to answer, ‘a man, as any other, waiting to get into heaven’. This little fable, if true, is a process which helps define the relationship between Habsburg and Church. It actually instills leadership in the Habsburgs, as the peasants understand that if the Church is greater than the emperor, but dub him emperor, then the peasants should follow him as well, as it is granted by a yet greater power. This definitely helps establish the all-encompassing absolutism the emperor came to love.
11.08.12 Bike Ride!
11. Bike Riding in the Wachau Valley
This has been my favorite day so far, including my two weeks traveling before this class (upon reviewing these posts, it still is). Everything worked out perfectly. As the man we rented the bikes from informed us beforehand, the wind was at our backs, it was absolutely clear skies, and there was even a wine festival in Weißkirche.
I am extremely glad that the guy at Vienna Explorer told me what train to take, as the tickets we got were wrong, stating St. Pölten on the ticket when we wanted to go to St. Valentin. Asking inside the train station, the assistant in the information booth simply crossed out St. Polten and said take St. Valentin. The conversation went something like this.
"I need to go to Melk"
"Yes"
"And I heard I am supposed to take St. Valentin?"
"Yes."
"The tickets here say St. Pölten."
"Yes. St. Pölten is a big city."
"But I need St. Valentin to get to Melk?"
"Yes."
"So why does this say St. Pölten"
"Here"
He grabbed my ticket and scratched out St. Pölten. I'm still not sure what exactly happened there.
Arriving in Melk at 10am, everything seemed to glow. That is a very golden city. We got up to the Abbey, but I was stressing out about some of the people in our group already complaining by this point, so I suggested we move on instead of entering. We managed to lose a few on our way down, but after meeting up, we got on our way towards the great ride.
After casting off some of the fears of one member of our group, assuring her that the wind is only in our faces because we are going fast, not because we are going the wrong way, we came upon the bridge. By this point I was right angry, as there were constant complaints (one person, five minutes into our day-long ride, expressed the fact that she 'hates bikes'), but as soon as I got up to the bridge to cross the Donau, I fell in love and all went silent. A perfect river with castles and churches dotting the towns all the way up, and vineyards everywhere.
The next several hours of the day were to be punctuated by my sporadic swearing, as I lack the capability to express my awe with everything, and instead got angry at how perfect the ride was.
Everything went great. Everything. Not only did we stop at a fruit stand for marillen jam and liqor, and at a wine tavern full of delicious smaragd wine (as well as teaching me about the levels of quality to Wachau wine....Smaragd is the best), we found a castle ruins that I had not expected! The ultimate goal of this ride was to get to the castle Richard the Lionheart was held captive in, but the Hinterhaus ruins were actually more amazing.
While stopping for water, I turned around, and up the hill was the Hinterhaus! Sean and I immediately said eff yeah, while some people complained about not wanting to go. I can't even comprehend not wanting to scale the random castle you could find along the road, so the majority of us took off, and the naysayers caught up shortly after.
This has been my favorite day so far, including my two weeks traveling before this class (upon reviewing these posts, it still is). Everything worked out perfectly. As the man we rented the bikes from informed us beforehand, the wind was at our backs, it was absolutely clear skies, and there was even a wine festival in Weißkirche.
I am extremely glad that the guy at Vienna Explorer told me what train to take, as the tickets we got were wrong, stating St. Pölten on the ticket when we wanted to go to St. Valentin. Asking inside the train station, the assistant in the information booth simply crossed out St. Polten and said take St. Valentin. The conversation went something like this.
"I need to go to Melk"
"Yes"
"And I heard I am supposed to take St. Valentin?"
"Yes."
"The tickets here say St. Pölten."
"Yes. St. Pölten is a big city."
"But I need St. Valentin to get to Melk?"
"Yes."
"So why does this say St. Pölten"
"Here"
He grabbed my ticket and scratched out St. Pölten. I'm still not sure what exactly happened there.
Arriving in Melk at 10am, everything seemed to glow. That is a very golden city. We got up to the Abbey, but I was stressing out about some of the people in our group already complaining by this point, so I suggested we move on instead of entering. We managed to lose a few on our way down, but after meeting up, we got on our way towards the great ride.
After casting off some of the fears of one member of our group, assuring her that the wind is only in our faces because we are going fast, not because we are going the wrong way, we came upon the bridge. By this point I was right angry, as there were constant complaints (one person, five minutes into our day-long ride, expressed the fact that she 'hates bikes'), but as soon as I got up to the bridge to cross the Donau, I fell in love and all went silent. A perfect river with castles and churches dotting the towns all the way up, and vineyards everywhere.
The next several hours of the day were to be punctuated by my sporadic swearing, as I lack the capability to express my awe with everything, and instead got angry at how perfect the ride was.
Everything went great. Everything. Not only did we stop at a fruit stand for marillen jam and liqor, and at a wine tavern full of delicious smaragd wine (as well as teaching me about the levels of quality to Wachau wine....Smaragd is the best), we found a castle ruins that I had not expected! The ultimate goal of this ride was to get to the castle Richard the Lionheart was held captive in, but the Hinterhaus ruins were actually more amazing.
While stopping for water, I turned around, and up the hill was the Hinterhaus! Sean and I immediately said eff yeah, while some people complained about not wanting to go. I can't even comprehend not wanting to scale the random castle you could find along the road, so the majority of us took off, and the naysayers caught up shortly after.
I still don't know too much about Hinterhaus, I haven't had the time to translate the only page that I have found about it. There were no tours or information there, it was just a simple castle ruins. We still were barely halfway by that point, so we carried on, keeping our hunger for the Rieslingsfest at Weißkirche.
Great food (though the chickens were all sold out), and great schlagmusik by a whole orchestra in lederhosen. I am overly spoiled here.
And finally, Richard the Lionheart's prison! This place was quite a hike, but the view from up top was to die for. There was a distant castle, I'm not sure what, that was absolutely massive. The town was surprisingly bustling too. We finally got on our way back home, left with a few days of post-bikeride high.
06.08.2012. St. Stephen's Cathedral.
06.08.12
Today: Stephensdom. While the cathedral definitely looks imposing, as Dr. O pointed out and I could tell from the models at the Wiener Museen, the Church used to absolutely tower over everything in older times, and it must have stood as a beacon around the countryside, not only helping people within the city place themselves, but also merchants climbing over distant hills could see the cathedral tower above all of nature and say to themselves 'ah! there lies civilization'. The tomb of Friedrich the Founder had a circle of helmets in the ceremonial fashion knights would mount on a lance to represent their kingdom. They were all sculpted into the marble lid of Friedrich II.
The organs were incredible, I would love to hear an old organ played, I may come back for the next big ceremony. The cathedral is structured as one great hall where all can hear and see, worshipping together. We visited the catacombs and saw the jars that Habsburg entrails are still kept in. Unfortunately they were not labelled, and were quite plain. Were it not for our guide pointing them out who would have known what they contained. Odd for such an emblazoned monarchy to not want their entrails properly relished as well. The only instance of piety that I have seen.
That night, we visited a bar recommended to us by a local, as he was playing a show there later. Myself, AJ, Cole, Jackie, Ryan, Morgan, Pilar, and others came out to see them, but had to be back in time for Jon's birthday, as one can never skip out on free cake. However, the musicians we did see excited me that in a small bar under the train tracks people are combining rap and jazz effortlessly. I did not understand the individual words of the rapper, but the overarching message of love and fraternity was easily felt. As the Austrians bellowed a cheer, I cheered with.
Something really cool: along the stairwell are 4-spoked and 3-spoked circles. The 4-spoked represent the elements of Earth, and are descending, while the 3-spoked represent the Holy Trinity, and are ascending. So much symbolism in the smallest of details.
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