My adventures in Vienna and Prague: Week 4

August 25, 2007
Welcome to Bratislava, Slovakia!!!

Sherry, Laura and I took the 7:15am Westbahnhof train to Bratislava! It only took us about an hour to get there.

Me sitting in the wrong cart on the train to Bratislava... this cart reminded me of the Hogwarts Express!

The Bratislava Hlavna Stanica Train Station

We arrived at the Bratislava Hlavna Stanica Train Station. We found the city map and started our journey out into the city. We stopped and asked the locals how to get to Old Town, but not very many people spoke nor understood English. We figured that walking was our best option since we didn’t have any Slovakian Koruna. After a good half an hour walk through the city, we finally reached the outskirts of Old town and found ATM machines. I, on the other hand, needed to find a bank or currency exchange place. Once I found the bank, the lady gave me such a hard time with my US dollars. I was really frustrated and just gave her my Euros that I was saving for the last week of the program. After exchanging money from the very hostile lady, the girls and I were starving so we stopped by a nice outdoor restaurant to eat some local Slovakian food.

I had pork chops and the famous Vinea! It was deliciously satisfying.

After the nice lunch we cruised around the Old Town on foot and visited the St. Martin’s Cathedral. I guess there was a service going on so we were allowed to enter.

Somehow I managed to forget to use the WC before we started walking. I made a mad dash up the giant hill of the Bratislava Castle in search of a WC. I did manage to find one inside of the castle, which is now a museum.

The Bratislava Castle!!!

The view from the top at the castle.

The girls and I walking down the streets of Bratislava

Bratislava's Old Town Square

We wandered the city some more and went in search for an open massage/spa. Interestingly enough, most of the town was closed… and it was a Saturday! At the information center, a young woman helped us find a massage parlor that was open. We spent most of the day walking and on a hunt for a massage parlor. By late afternoon, the girls and I were tired, restless and thirsty. We decided to stop by a small café place for food and drinks. As soon as we finished eating, we continued on our massage hunt. I didn’t exactly know where to go. A kind and very sweet lady helped us get a taxi to our destination. The taxi driver took us far away from Old Town! Yeah, we would not have been able to walk the far. The massage place that we went to was out in rural Bratislava and it looked a bit creepy.

After the taxi driver dropped us off, we walked to the building and rung the door bell. I was really surprised to see a young Chinese woman at the door! She was super nice to us… maybe because she liked Sherry was speaking to her in Chinese. The Chinese back and foot massages were incredible!!! I felt so relaxed and I think might have fallen asleep for a few minutes during the massage. Too bad there was not enough time for each of us to have an hour massages, half an hour each was pretty good. Our session ended around 9:20pm, so we called a taxi to pick us up. The taxi driver said that he remembered us because we were the only girls that went to get massages. Laura blew the last of her Koruna on chocolates… I wanted to buy some postcards, but sadly all the souvenir shops at the train station were closed. We ended up catching the second to last train at 9:50pm back to Vienna.

The beginning of this Bratislava trip with the hostile bank lady was a bummer, but the massage totally made up for it. I was once again a happy camper and Bratislava satisfied.

August 22-24, 2007
In lecture, we learned about the Ringstrasse. It was built in 1860 and was associated with the great bourgeoisies. The buildings such as Kunsthistorisches Museum, Rathaus, and the Opera Museum, are more like imperial grandeur bourgeoisies styles. The around the Ringstrasse resides barons such as bankers, industrialists, and upper class nobility so that they could be closer to the Habsburg monarchy. A new style of living emerged for workers; they get to live in their private space and actually go to work, instead of living in the same place as their work.

When class ended, Laura, Sherry and I ate lunch at Café Europa in Stephansplatz.

I had a very light meal and it felt great to eat something healthy. Plus the meal was absolutely delightful, especially with café lattes!

After lunch, the girls and I went took tram 2 around the Ringstrasse.

We got off at Schwedenplatz and had gelato ice cream and strolled along the Danube Canal.

Once we finished our gelatos, we headed off to MAK (Museum für Angewandte Kunst) –Museum of Applied Arts—

This was the room that was filled with Biedermeier era/style chairs. Pictures were not allowed, but I snuck a few in. During the Biedermeier era, bentwood furniture was made by Michael Thonet. It was known as the “Viennese chair.”

Later that night, a group of us went to the Rathaus for dinner. I had this incredible Iranian dish. I can’t remember what it was called but it consisted of a whole chicken thigh with rice and a sauce.

The morning after, the class met up with Dr. O again for the Leopold Museum tour. Rudolf Leopold and his wife, owners of the entire collection of art in the museum, collected each piece of art by themselves and are still alive today!

During the tour we learned about Gustav Klimt and his painting of 1910 called ‘Death and Life.’ Five years later, Klimt added more to his painting because the gap between life and death was too large. He painted the image in such a way that with death and life collided, the pieces would match up. As a class, we interpreted that death was coming to the group of life whether the people are aware of it or not.

We also discussed Egon Schiele’s ‘Cardinal and the Nun’ (1912). This painting is similar to Klimt’s ‘The Kiss.’ In this piece, the nun has a scared terrified look on her face. And closely examining the work, both the cardinal and the nun are praying… praying that they won’t get caught, praying for God to forgive them. This painting is now one of my new favorites because it’s sweet in a very strange way. It definitely shows humanity in a humanistic way. I’m not sure what it is exactly that attracts me to this particular painting, but I am indeed intrigued.

At sun down, the class met at Molkereistr. 1 for pizza and a movie on the Jewish Holocaust. The place was located in a very rural area of Vienna. It was kind of creepy walking through the streets… not exactly safe looking. We also had a very interesting time trying to find restrooms. In the end, we had to walk down the street to a local bar to use the WC.

The next day was our visit to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp
This concentration camp was founded in 1938. About a thousand Jews arrived at the camp in 1944. The prisoners were originally political prisoners such as: pows from the US, England, Canada, Soviet Union, homosexuals, whom ever that did not respect religious backgrounds. Only from 1944-1945, Jews entered the camp. When prisoners enter the camp, their heads gets shaved and all their belongings get taken away, this goes for both men and women. Women were made into prostitutes and children, who were strong enough, were sent to the work force. In the camp, prisoners worked 11 hours per day, 7 days a week. They were required to carry heavy stones by hand and were labored hard until they die. The prisoners went on day to day with only a 500-600 calorie intake of food. The maximum living time span without food (the malnutrition treatment) was 3 days. During cold days, the SS soldiers made the prisoners open the barrack windows and shower with cold water and on hot days, the SS soldiers would tell the prisoners to do the exact opposite.
A concentration camp is a camp for cheap work force that works prisoners to death. An extermination camp is a camp with only gas chambers and the prisoners were gassed to death with cyclone B. Mauthausen had a gas chamber, but the camp was more dominant in the deathly work force…. The trip was rather depressing with all the stories that the guide told us and the documentary that we saw. We went to the actual gas chamber where real people died. We also visited and read the memorial plaques that were plastered on the camp walls.

Stairway of Death....

August 20-21, 2007
Laura, Sherry and I went to the Heeresgeschichtliche Museum (Military History Museum)

The Military Museum was built in 1850 in the many styles ranging Byzantine, Hispano-Moorish to Neo-Gothic.

The Hall of Fame was dedicated to Franz Joseph I who became Emperor of the Babenberg dynasty in 1848.

This is an oil painting of Emperor Franz Joseph I at age 26 in his Austrian uniform by Francis Adams. On the four corners of the painting’s frame are 4 different coats of arms: Hungary, Austria, Bohemia, and I didn’t catch what the other country was called.

Harnesses were used as armor during the 30 Years War that occurred in 1620.

A moving military tank outside of the building!

After we exited the building, it started to rain. We found shelter at small restaurant inside the military building.

I had a strong craving for something garlic-y and it was definitely satisfied with the creamy garlic soup!

Afterward, we headed back to Simmering. Since we were rained in, Laura and I had girls’ night out in my room! We watched Tokyo Drift on my computer and ate what girl’s like best… junk food! It was so much fun. =]

The very next day, class is back in session! During class, we learned that back in the 14^th century, Jewish prostitutes were required to wear earrings. Interestingly, upper class women started to wear earrings and changed the meaning of earrings overall.

From 1790 to 1792, Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruled Florence until his death. In 1792, Leopold’s 24 year old nephew, Franz II, took his place on the throne. That same year, France declared war on Austria. Every European power country went to war with France. France, however, prevails because of the draft, the mass subscription. A year later, Franz II’s aunt Marie Antoinette died. Back then, it was more honorable to be beheaded than it is to be hung. In 1799, Napoleon seizes power and military dictatorship in France. He declares himself Emperor of France in 1804. During this time, Napoleon was declared himself Holy Roman Emperor and that shook up Franz II. Franz II needed to insure himself the Emperor title so he declared himself the Holy Roman Emperor of Austria; thus, giving himself a double emperor title: Franz II (German nation / I (Austria –inherited). In 1806, Austria was defeated in the Battle of the 3 emperors (Napoleon, Russian Czar, and Franz II/I). Franz II/I declared the fall of the Holy Roman Empire and became only Franz I of Austria. The war finally ended with the Treaty of Schönbrunn.

The class touched on Prince Clint Metternich (1814) and how he persuaded Napoleon to marry Marie Louis.

We also discussed about the Biedermeier era/style (1815-1848). The Bourgeoisies, during this era, lived a very gemütlichkeit (cozy) home life.

After lecture, a group of us went to the same buffet place for lunch that we went to during the first week. Awhile later, we walked to Stephansplatz to find the Jewish Museum. I must admit that this museum was quite disappointing. There was nothing on the Jewish Holocaust; there was only a whole lot of information and displays of ornaments of the synagogues and about the Jewish community. I did not get very much out of my 4 Euros that I paid for this museum. I wish it had more content.

The entrance of the Jewish Museum

Belongings of the Jewish people that were taken away during the Jewish deportation.

Late in the afternoon, Sherry, Laura and I walked to Graben to eat at a famous café called Demel. The place is known for its Anna Torte and chocolate cakes.

The place is known for its Anna Torte and chocolate cakes.

My chocolate truffle torte with the anna torte cafe.

After consuming a whole lot of chocolate and sugar, we walked to the Haus der Musik. This was probably my most favorite museums/sites that I’ve been to.