May 27th: Salt and Mozartkugeln

When we woke up on Sunday the 27th, we were greeted by a spectacular breakfast!  There were fruits, vegetables, eggs, pastries, cheeses (even brie, yum!), yogurt, granola, something like five different kinds of meat... the people at Hotel Gabi were just freakin' awesome, that's all there is to it.  After we finished stuffing ourselves, we took taxis (brand new Mercedes taxis, it was weird...) into the city and started off our day in Salzburg!  We began by walking through the gardens around Mirabell Palace—which we didn't really know anything about...—and we were certainly impressed.  There were all kinds of flowers, plant sculptures, a vine-tunnel, a labyrinth, and plenty of statues and fountains.  Overlooking the gardens from the top of a small mountain in the distance was Hohensalzburg Castle, another place we knew absolutely nothing about.  We started heading towards it, and before long we came across the Salzach River, where there was a huge flea-market-like thing with stands all along the bank.  We found some pretty cool stuff there, much of which you couldn't get anywhere else.  There was locally made tea and curry powder, handmade jewelry from a Spanish/Chilean couple, and various other arts and crafts.  We shopped around for a pretty good while before heading to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant nearby.  It was my first time trying Vietnamese food, and I can't say I was entirely enthusiastic about it, but I think I just picked a bad dish and/or restaurant!  To top it off, when I paid I thought they shorted me a lot of money, so I went back inside and told them, at which point I realized they only shorted me 1 euro.  I felt like such a cheapskate...  Oh well, I will never see them again, ha!  After lunch we found a couple of cool churches, one baroque and one gothic.  We were excited to finally see a gothic church, since most of the ones we had come across had been baroque.  But it was kind of funny because the gothic church had actually been partially "remodeled" with baroque elements.  There was just no escaping all that ornamentation!!  Our church-watching was pretty cool; we even stumbled upon some ancient catacombs at St. Blasius Kirche!  After that we finally made our way up to Hohensalzburg Castle, where we found that the entrance fee was too high for us...  It was worth the trip up though, because the views, both of the city and the architecture, were incredible!  We stayed up there for a while before heading back down to the downtown area, where we found some pretty cool stuff!  First we found Mozart's birthplace, and then his residence, where we took a tour of the museum inside.  It was a great display, featuring replicas of Mozart's instruments, scores, letters, all kinds of things.  It was amazing to walk through the place where such a brilliant musician spent so much of his life!  After the museum we found a cool shop with salt products from the Salzburg salt mines ("salz" means "salt" in German; Salzburg is named after its mining industry!), and we shopped around before heading to a local biergarten for dinner.  The food and beer was delicious and made for a great conclusion to our stay in Salzburg; it wasn't long before we had to catch a train back to Wien!

PHOTO UPDATE:

I never got tired of Austrian breakfast, and Hotel Gabi's was especially good.

Mirabell gardens, Hohensalzburg Castle in the background.

I loved the gardens!

Salzach River.  You can see the market extending down the left bank!

Beautiful church!

Inside the church.

Inside another church, this time gothic.

One of the cooler street performers.

Mozart's hometown.

View from the castle!

Beautiful cemetery outside the catacombs.

Catacombs from the outside.

Inside the catacombs.  Kind of spooky.

Mozart's birthplace.

Mozart's family residence.

One last look at the Salzach!

May 25th - 26th: Artsy Architecture and Big Mountains

Friday the 25^th was an awesome day, full of new experiences and the first day of our free weekend!  We started the day off with a trip to KunstHausWien, a museum showcase of the works of artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.  I knew nothing about Hundertwasser prior to this excursion, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity go, because I absolutely loved his works!  Hundertwasser was a 20^th century artist who was famous for his ideas about “natural” art and design.  These ideas appear in his artwork primarily as a focus on irregularity, avoidance of straight lines, and of course, natural subjects.  But his ideas are definitely not limited to visual arts.  One of the most fascinating aspects of the museum tour was the museum itself; the architecture was entirely based on Hundertwasser’s ideas!  The floors were not flat but bumpy and irregular.  The facade was a patchwork of windows of different sizes and shapes, and of irregular color and accentuation.  To top it off, nature was involved throughout the museum; there were trees and plants growing through various parts of the building, plants hanging from the rooftops, and even a fountain with a natural/irregular design on the ground floor.  It was unlike any other building I’ve ever seen, and it was a great compliment to the artwork that was on display!  I particularly enjoyed a showcase of models based on Hundertwasser’s architectural ideas, including a naturalistic town model that looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.  I would totally live in a town like that!  After the museum we got to see the outside of the Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment building and an even better example of the artist’s ideas manifested in architecture.  Despite only getting a view of the outside, I could tell the irregularity was even more prevalent in this building’s design, and the tops of trees and other plants were visible on the rooftops.  The building was truly a work of art, and I would love to live there!  After the apartment building, it wasn’t long before my group had to head off for our free-weekend trip to Innsbruck and Salzburg.  We packed our bags and hopped on a train for a four-hour ride through some amazing countryside!  The coolest part by far was seeing the Alps approach; I had always wanted to see a truly BIG mountain, and this was my first time seeing one (lots, actually) up close and personal!  Before I knew it, we were stepping out of the train station in Innsbruck, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was a fairly small tourist town (kind of like my hometown) with lots of cool attractions, and to top it off… giant alpine mountains surrounding the place on either side.  We snapped lots of pictures before heading off to find the place where we would be staying.  Surprisingly enough, this was one of the coolest parts of the trip!  Our hostel was part of a café/bed-and-breakfast place near the downtown area, and it was pretty much the coolest thing ever!  The café manager showed us around behind the building, where we entered a hidden alleyway and walked through several locked doors before climbing the stairs to our humble abode.  What we stepped into was WAY better than what I could have hoped for.  There was a kitchen with tons of food labeled “Help yourself,” a bathroom complete with toiletries and a urinal (ha), a balcony, board games, bunk beds and cots for each of us… I don’t think I’ve ever felt so at home as a guest resident!  Oh, and did I mention it only cost €25?  We dropped off our stuff, spent a little time relaxing, and met our neighboring residents before heading out to explore the town before dark.  We found an excellent Italian place with some legit pizza (apparently we were very close to the Italian border, go figure), as well as a family-owned café with delicious drinks and pastries!  We didn’t stay out too late because we wanted to make the most of our time in Innsbruck the next day, but it was nevertheless a great conclusion to a great day. 

PHOTO UPDATE:

Outside the Kunst Haus Wien!

Inside the Kunst Haus Wien.  It's hard to tell but the floor is pretty bumpy.

The architecture was just too cool.

Café in the courtyard.

Hundertwasserhaus!  Coolest apartment building ever!

Again, crazy architecture.

It was like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Approaching the Alps...

Innsbruck is pretty much the most beautiful place ever.  This was the view from our hostel window.

Awesome place!

The café connected to our hostel (owned by the same people).

Four cheese pizza.  Delicious!

Our room in the hostel.

Meeting our hostel-mates.  They didn't speak much English but they were cool!

I will definitely miss the place.  The hostel was one of the coolest parts of the experience!

Such hospitality!  And it was only about 20 euros a night, in downtown Innsbruck!

Great café culture, just like Vienna.

Saturday the 26^th was probably the most epic day of the whole trip, if not my entire life.  We started by checking out of the hostel and heading down to breakfast at the café, which was incredibly generous.  Not only was it free, but also they served us cereal, coffee, and fancy pastries that were normally sold at high prices in the café.  Even better, they let us store our luggage at the café until the end of the day, for free.  The people were just awesome in every way!  After breakfast my group rented some bikes from a local shop and rode around for a few hours, just to see what we could see, and it was so worth it.  We rode across the Inn River (for which the city is named; “Innsbruck” means “bridge over the Inn”), earned a few battle wounds after some chain mishaps, and headed a pretty good way up the mountain.  It was exhausting but the views were totally worth it, and exploring the network of tiny residential roads made me feel a little less like an outsider.  When we finally headed back down the mountain, we went past the bike shop and rode to the opposite side of town, where we stumbled onto a flea market with some pretty awesome cheap stuff!  I ended up getting a steel cup with some neat designs on it that reminded me of Innsbruck, and my friend Kenneth got a wooden jug that was beautifully carved.  Buying that jug was hilarious.  The owner spoke hardly any English so Kenneth asked “Wieviel kostet das?” (How much does that cost?) and the guy said “Funf euro… ohne schnapps” (5 euros… without schnapps).  We had a laugh and walked around a bit before Kenneth decided he wanted the thing, so we headed back, at which point the owner told him the price was only 3 euros.  Kenneth was quick to continue the earlier joke and asked “Wieviel… mit schnapps?”  (How much… with schnapps?).  To our surprise the man handed him a small bottle of Serbian liquor, the same kind we had been given on our first day in Vienna, for free.  Then we had a REALLY good laugh!  After the flea market we returned our bikes and met the rest of our group for lunch at a local biergarten before heading off for the best experience EVER:  going to the top of one of the mountains!  We took a tram/gondola system that got us there in about half an hour, and it was totally worth the €22 that it cost. It was an amazing ride up!  There were a few stops so we were able to get pictures at the overlooks and snowy areas along the way.  We also saw people hiking the mountain, biking up and down the mountain, and even skiing near the top, all in the midst of some pretty harsh terrain.  When we finally reached the summit, I simply couldn’t believe my eyes (and you really won’t believe my pictures, despite how little they capture of the atmosphere).  We looked out and saw the entire city of Innsbruck in a huge valley more than a mile below us, saw the 1989 Olympic ski-jump across the valley, and all around, mountains, mountains, MOUNTAINS.  Being at the peak, we were also able to see the other side of the ridge, which was completely uninhabited!  There were jagged cliffs, huge drop-offs, pine trees in the distance, and of course, more of those famous snowy mountaintops.  I’ve never seen so many Paramount logos all at once!  We saw some people who were crazy enough to walk across a narrow snow bridge to climb some of the jagged rocks, with death-drops on either side—naturally, part of me wanted to do it… but more of me wanted to live.  There were fluffy black birds flying around and hoping for people-food, mountain goats grazing in the distance, and even a few patches of flowers scattered around the tundra-like area near the top.  I wish the pictures could convey the experience, but they just don’t do it justice, unfortunately.  It was the most exhilarating hour-and-a-half of my whole life!  I was sad when we finally had to head back to town, but we still had a good time.  We walked through the local park, stumbled on a beautiful church, got some incredibly fancy gelato, got more incredible pizza, and finally headed to the train station for our trip to Salzburg.  It was pretty late when we arrived so we didn’t really have any time to do anything, but we did have fun talking to the taxi driver who took us to our hotel.  He was a nice guy, and the hotel was even nicer!  It was a pretty good way out of town, but it was similar to our Innsbruck hostel, so as you can imagine, it was totally worth it.  As with Innsbruck, we were quick to get to bed so we could make the most of our coming day in Salzburg!

PHOTO UPDATE:

Bright and early in Innsbruck.

Biking is the thing to do in Innsbruck!

We had a great time.

Making our way up the mountain...

Getting closer to the top...

We saw some crazy mountain bikers from our cable car.

Finally at the summit!  Innsbruck is more than a mile below!

The other side of the mountain is wilderness!

The summit was the most beautiful place I've ever been, hands down.

I wish it didn't have to end...

Bye, mountain goats!

Inside an awesome church on the way out of Innsbruck.

Like every other church we visited, it was spectacular.

Beautiful ice cream!

Arriving at our cute little hotel in Salzburg.

It was a perfect welcome to Salzburg!

May 23rd - 24th: A Walk Through a Concentration Camp, A Walk Through a Park

Back to blogging!

Wednesday the 23^rd was a pretty dark and disturbing day.  First thing in the morning we took a train to Mauthausen, home of an infamous concentration camp.  It was a very interesting and moving experience to approach the camp, because it is set in an absolutely beautiful stretch of countryside.  Taking a tour of the grounds was even more moving.  We started with a movie that served as a sort of primer for the tour; needless to say, it was disturbing.  The tour was too, even more so in fact, and to top it off, rain started coming down the second we stepped out the door.  Our tour guide shared some facts that I had never been exposed to before.  For one thing, there were WAY more concentration and death camps throughout Europe than I had even imagined.  Also, soccer games were apparently regularly held outside many of the camps, including Mauthausen, and many of the games were between the S.S. and the prisoners (the able athletes)!  After the introductory information we viewed different parts of the camp, including memorials, the quarry, the showers, the barracks, the killing chambers and crematoriums… it was just one horrible thing after another.  The quarry was the worst part; Mauthausen is infamous for its “Stairs of Death,” a gigantic flight of steps that prisoners were forced to climb while carrying rocks from the quarry.  The rocks weighed as much, if not more, than the prisoners themselves, and when a prisoner tripped, a domino effect ensued.  You can imagine the horrors that followed.  I was glad when we finally left Mauthausen, but I am also glad I had the experience of seeing it, and I think every able person should pay it a visit.  Our visit was pretty much an all-day ordeal.  When we got back to Vienna, we had a group dinner at café latte, where I satisfied my need for comfort food by getting the chocolate mousse.  It was a delicious work of art, just what I needed to help me feel better after a trip to a place like Mauthausen…

PHOTO UPDATE:

Outside Mauthausen concentration camp

At the bottom of a document in the museum.

Awaiting our tour.

The guards' former swimming pool.  Local kids skate there (see the tracks?).

This is where the soccer field used to be.  Right next to the sick camp...

The Stairs of Death (all 186 of them).

The surroundings were surprisingly beautiful.  Felt strange...

One of very many memorials.

The main gate.  Scary place.

Just inside the camp.

The "Wailing Wall," where newcomers were made to stand for hours or even days, often enduring severe abuse.

Showers.

Inside a barracks.

Smokestack above the crematorium.

Gas chamber.

Crematorium.

Dessert doesn't taste quite as sweet as it should after a tour of Mauthausen.

Thursday the 24^th began with a discussion of Holocaust poetry by a wide range of authors (I will try to find some links to the poems soon!).  Most of us had done the readings in advance, but I felt like the poems had much more impact after seeing the camp at Mauthausen.  There is certainly no way we will ever understand entirely, but seeing the camp in person seemed to solidify my knowledge of the Holocaust in a way that I can’t explain.  It was a very enlightening experience.  After the discussion, we headed to a train station to get tickets for Innsbruck and Salzburg, our “vacation” destinations for the coming weekend.  It was somewhat of a fiasco; we had waited till the last minute and it took more than two hours to find a hostels/hotels that were cheap and vacant.  After we got our reservations and train tickets settled, we split into groups to begin work on our mapping projects.  In these projects, we scope out a specific neighborhood in Vienna and essentially just get to know it on a deeper level.  My group had Stadtpark, famous for being the first public park in Vienna.  It was surprisingly difficult to figure out, but we did notice some interesting features.  For one thing, dogs aren’t allowed in, like, 95% of the park, and there are hardly any play areas for children!  Probably the most interesting part was the canal that divides the park; it is virtually empty and covered in graffiti that leads right up to the entrance of the park.  Some of it was pretty interesting, but most of it was just simple tagging, and it was often placed on the most beautiful architecture of the park, which was really unfortunate.  That being said, mapping the neighborhood went well on the first day and our plan is to learn more about the park’s visitors on our next round of mapping.  We concluded with a pizza dinner that was really cool.  I got a pizza that had egg cracked in the middle, and my friend got one with corn on it!  So weird, but so delicious!  It was a great way to end the day.

Sorry I’m still so behind!  I’m catching up slowly but surely!  More blogging is on the way!

UPDATE:  The Holocaust poetry we studied included "First They Came for the Jews" by Pastor Niemöller, "Fugue of Death" by Paul Celan, "Night Over Birkenau" by Tadeusz Borowski, and "Shemá" by Primo Levi.  Photo update below!

The famous Johann Strauss II statue in Stadtpark.

A heron lived on an island in the Stadtpark pond!

So did ducks!  And baby ducks!

It seemed to be the city's Central Park, but admittedly not near as big.

My fancy-schmancy pizza!  There is so much delicious Italian food in Austria!