Wien / Vienna

For Easter break, I went on a 6 day trip with Anna (an au pair from Ukraine). Her hostmother´s mom (Brigette) has an apartment in Vienna that she let us use. It was amazing!!! The streets are filled with cafes and churches and you can really see how rich the Hapsburgs were (and how important religion was).

Wednesday (the 19th) - Took the train/bus to Anna´s house. We went a little pre-Vienna shopping for soup mixes and ramen noodles just in case we didn´t have time on the first day to go grocery shopping.

Thursday (the 20th) - Our plane left at 6:10am, so we had to get to the airport a little early. Our luggage was small enough to count as carry on, so we didn´t have to go though those lines (which were pretty small, seeing that it was 4:45ish in the morning.). Anna´s host mom had given her a gift to give to Brigette as a little thank you, but she had forgotten to tell Anna what was inside. At security, they made Anna open the package, but all that was inside was candles, etc. That was a little fiasco though. Oh, and it was Anna´s first time flying, so that probably wasn´t the best experience ever. When we landed, we met up with Brigette and she showed us to her apartment. It even had a little kitchen! Anna and I had ramen noodles for lunch and then went grocery shopping for the rest of the week. We bought food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so that we wouldn´t have to spend a lot of money in the city for those meals. Then we went on a little exploration of the city to get a feel of it. We went to the Kaiserappartments, the Sisi Museum, the Silberkammer, and then after a little more strolling, Mozart´s House (which was now a museum). The Kaiserappartments were pretty much rooms (owned my various Kaiser(in)s preserved to look like what they looked like in the Kaisers time. The Sisi Museum is a museum devoted to Sisi, Kaiserin (female Kaiser). When she was alive, she didn´t really want to he Kaiserin and she traveled a lot and tried to retain her freedom and not be chained down my royal duties, etc, but after she was killed, everyone seemed to forget that and praised her for her kindness. The Silberkammer is a huge collection of silverware, dishes, candelabras, etc used by the royal family. I can´t even begin to imagine how much time it took to set and clear the table for one meal. Mozart´s house was also quite interesting, although they weren´t 100% sure about which room was which (kitchen, game room, bedroom, etc) but the audio guide had lots of interesting stories. We went to try and buy tickets for the opera before we went to Mozart´s house, but it was sold out. The man at the counter asked me if I was American. He was surprised to find an American that spoke German, and that he could understand every word I said. That was a nice little ego boost. I guess he has dealt with a lot of tourists that either just speak English or try to speak German that they read in a tourist book, but have know idea how to pronounce the words.

Friday (the 21st) - We went to Schönbrunn (a castle). In front of the castle there was an Easter market (with lots of little stands where you can buy wooden toys, painted Easter eggs, food, etc.). We walked around there for a little while and bought some painted eggs. We didn´t have time to go inside of the castle, but we did visit the zoo, Palmenhaus (a greenhouse) and Wüstenhaus (desert house - like a greenhouse, but with cacti and sand) there and went on top of Gloriette (it looks a little but like a large gate with lots of columns). It was absolutely beautiful there and the park surrounding the garden was quite big. There were also lots of other little things there, like a giant bird cage (for special pigeons in the summer), an obelisk with hieroglyphics (which we completely made up because at the time of its construction, they didn´t know how to read hieroglyphics, but the obelisk is supposed to tell the story of the greatness of the Hapsburgs), fake ruins, a fountain with sculptures representing different important rivers, etc. etc. After the park, we strolled around the surrounding area just to look around.

Saturday (the 22nd) - We started off Saturday at a flea market. It took us a long time to find the market because we were not sure of its exact location, just the area. When we got there, there was an u-bahn (subway) station right in the middle of the market. The market was quite big, there there were all sorts of interesting things and people to see. There was even a stand where we could buy lederhosen, but they were a little on the expensive side. spent pretty much all of Saturday in the Modern Art Museum. It had lots of interesting exhibits, some of which were on the disturbing side. For example, of the bottom floor, there was a series of pictures of a man with the carcus of a lamb (just muscle and bone, no skin) and then he smeared the blood all over the canvas and then he nailed the carcus to the canvas too. I´m sure it had a deeper meaning, but I didn´t stick around long enough to see what it was. There was another piece that was a little more thought provoking. It was a series of pieces of paper (normal size), probably about 6 sheets x 5 sheets. On the first sheet of paper, there was a poem about how wonderful children are and how of you havn´t had children, you havn´t experienced the best part of like yet. The rest of the papers had pictures of babies that were crying or tragically deformed. In another exhibit, there was a a video of a man slowly moving his hands around and saying, "I am making art. I am making art." over and over again. There was also a little series of pictures of gravestones. There was an x by one of the pictures, and below in the caption, it explained that two hippies had lived in the marked grave because the prices for houses were so high in the area. They were found by the police because the milkman reported them (they had requested that their milk be delivered to the grave). The other part of the museum (the main exhibit) was about geometry and math along with art. Those paintings and sculptures were a lot less disturbing and quite interesting to look at. An interesting tidbit from that part was that the Latin number system didn´t have 0 because 0 was nothing and nothing was without God. The arabish number system, on the other hand, did have the concept of 0. After the museum, we walked around the city more (the weather was surprisingly good, so we wanted to take advantage of the sunshine while we had it). We walked around the Burggarten and took a look at Sezession. At night we went to a cafe (Vienna is known for its cafes, and there are about 4-10 cafes on every street, it depends how long the street is). Brigette explained that cafes in Vienna are like a second living room. When we went in, it was pretty crowded, dark, and sort of had the laid back atmosphere of a bar. There were lots of little tables and chairs, and everything had its place, but its wasn´t rigid and if you wanted an extra table or chair, you could feel free to move things around. There were no menus, so you just had to know what you wanted.

Sunday (the 23rd) - We started out Easter Sunday by visiting the beginning of the Easter service in Stephansdom (the giant church in Vienna, but there is a church on almost every street it seems). We listened to a little organ music then went to Hundartwasserhaus. It is a building designed a little like modern art, so it was really colorful and there were lots of wavy lines and random mosaics. There was a mosaic fountain with a snake curled around the inside edge and some of the fountain and steps was created by broken gravestones. Then we went back to the church for about half an hour because the Cardinal Schönbrun (I´m not sure if that is exactly his name) (the Austrian cardinal) visited. In the evening, Anna and I went to the Staatsoper (the opera). We waited in line for about 2 hours for standing room tickets, but that was too late and we got standing room spots were we could only see half of the stage. Half is better than no Swan lake (which is what we saw). The music was beautiful and what we could see of the ballet was amazing. The opera building itself is a remarkable piece of art. There are murals all over the walls and ceiling and gold decorations.

Monday (the 24th) - First we took a little walk around the city and looked at some more Easter markets. Then we went to the Kunst historisches Museum. The building itself, like the opera building, is astounding. Anna and I ended up spending 6 hours (a record for us!) inside looking at all of the art. There was typical Italian, french, etc. art (christian an mythological motifs) (renaissance-ish), German, dutch, etc. art (also lots of christian, but also everyday motifs), an exhibit of an artist (I forgot his name) who painted faced composed of various objects, like birds or vegetables. There were also three still lifes that you could turn around and see a face (180 degree turn). In the lower level of the museum, there was a large exhibit to to with the transition from Egyptian art to roman art.

Tuesday (the 25th) - We went to Bevedere (another park/museum thing). The paintings there were really nice, and there were a couple paintings by Gustav Klimt (I´m sot sure if I spelled that right), including "the kiss" (really famous). After that, we walked around more, and ended the day with an opera in the Volksoper (peoples opera). There, we got there early so that we would be able to see the whole stage, and bought a program (we leaned from swan lake that it really increases the enjoyability of a theatrical piece if you know the story line) and saw Turandot. Turandot was fantastic (although they put a modern spin on the typically Chinese set opera and dressed everyone but like bugs). The storyline is (if you plan on seeing it, don´t read this part because it spoils the end): there is a beautiful Chinese princess named Turandot. She doesn´t want to ever get married because she feels a connection to one of her ancesstresses who was raped and killed by a foreigner. She never wants to be owned. Therefore, to marry her, a suitor must answer three riddles, and if he answers one of them incorrectly, he is put to death. At the beheading of the prince of Persia (he had failed), an old man is pushed to the ground in the hustle and bustle and his slave girl, Liù cries for help. The Prince of Tartary helps the old man and is overjoyed to see that it is his long lost father (Timur). At the beheading, when Turandot comes out, the Prince of Tartary falls in love with her (she is beautiful) and decides to take on the three riddles. The king, the princesses ministers, Liu and Timur all try to convince him not to attempt to answer the three riddles, for they are a sure death sentence, but the prince doesn´t listen. Later, when confronted with the riddles, be answers them all correctly. Turandot is horrified and tries to pack out of her marriage, but her father doesn´t let her. The prince offers her a deal: if she can find out his name before sunrise, she can kill him. It is found out that Timur and Liu had been with the prince and they are found and brought to the castle. Liu claims that she alone knows the princes name, but refuses to say it. Liu is tortured and in the end stabs herself. Timur mourns the loss of Liu and the prince reproaches Turandot for her coldheartedness, but kisses her anyway. Turandot is moved, and tells him to leave. The prince tells her his name (Calaf), putting his life in her hands. At sunup, the king asks Turandot if she knows the princes name, and she replies, "Yes, it is ... love!". Aww, such a nice romantic story.

Wednesday (the 26th) - We spend our last remaining hours in Vienna trying to find the mountains so we could see a view of Vienna from above. Although there are mountains surrounding Vienna, it was surprisingly hard to find them. After a giant circle and a quick hike up a mountain, we headed back to the apartment, said thank you and goodbye to Brigette (who told us we could have taken a bus two subway stations away up to the mountains. Darn.), and flew off back home (after an hour and a half delay). I arrived in my bed at 1:30am Thursday morning.

My missing second half!

I was sitting at the dinner table today (before dinner had actually started) and I was talking with Oskar (my 10 year old host brother). I don´t remember how we got onto the subject, but I asked him if he could wink both eyes (not at the same time, of course, because that would be blinking). I asked this because I, for some reason, can only figure out how to wink my left eye. Everyone that I have asked (that includes in Germany and the USA, so that´s probably a total of 20 people or so) can all wink both of their eyes. Oskar, though, can only wink his right eye! Together, we could wink both eyes! I know this may seem like a strange thing to find a little joy in, but it is simply so strange (for fact that we both´con only wink one eye) that its awsome. Oh coincidences. Well, its not really a coincidences, but you know what I mean.


Just out of curiosity, how many people checked to see if they could wink both eyes while or after they read this? It´s one of those things, like licking your elbow, where when someone says that its not possible, you automatically have to try it.

8 days until I go to Vienna!!

A continuation of ball

So, I said that I would embellish on the Ball a little, so I´ll do that first. By embellish, I pretty much mean add pictures to the story, so here they are:

Above is the dance hall where we held the ball. When I took the picture, someone was giving an announcement and I think it was right before or anfter one of the entertainment acts (which included a dance group (hip hop), a waltz couple, a belly dancer, and student musical performances (like 2 bands)). Normally, people were dancing in the big area between the tables. Every table had to nominate a boy and a girl for the Ball King and Queen competition. Each couple had to answer questions, curtsy/bow, dance, etc. All of the couples are above (answering questions).
Franzi (left), Constanze (right), and I got ready for ball at Franzi´s house (where this picture was taken), and slep over there afterward too. Here we are after the ball.
I tried to share a little American culture, so we tried to make s´mores. The only problem was, was that we had no fire the roast the marshmellows (a candle isn´t strong enough). So, we kinda fried it a little, being careful not to melt the marshmellow in the pan. It still turned out nice and gooey, but it didn´t have the satisfying crunch that s´mores usually have.
Franzi making chocolate chip pecan banana pancakes (yum!).

Hemholtz Ball

I only have 7 minutes until my Philosophie class starts, so I´ll have to finish this blog entry later. Short version: There was a school ball (formal dress) on the Saturday after Valentines day. I met up with two of my friends, Franzi and Constanze before the ball to get ready, and afterwards we slept over at Franzi´s house. Loads of fun! We made a chocolateish-hard-to-describe-perhaps-russish-cake, chocolate chip banana nut pancakes, fruit salad, scrambled eggs and smores. An international feast. There was also much to do with dresses, make-up, hair, accessories, and so on. At the ball itself, everyone had an assigned table (you didn´t actually have to say there, but it was more so that everyone had a seat), there was a dancefloor in the middle and a stage at the front. Most of the time we danced (diskothek, diskofox, salsa, waltzer, etc.) but there was also entertainment such as a belly dancer, a dance pair, a dance group, a lotto (tambola), and a King and Queen. Pictures and a better not so rushed explination to come.

So, a little more than two weeks ago, I was invited to a Mormon baptisim (I wasn´t the one being baptised, of course, but it was more just like a way to "introduce me to the church"). So, I went, seeing as though I had never witnessed a Mormon baptisim before, so why not? I was actually quite interesting. Two people were baptised (both adult men). They wore all white, and so did the people that baptised them. It was a full submersion baptisim, so that means that they walked into a little pool like thing and went completely under the water. There was a long mirror above the pool stratigically placed so that the people in the back of the crowd to see it too. After that, they changed out of their wet clothes so that they could enjoy the rest of the service of course. It was intersting. I have also recieved a couple little lessons about the book of Morman. Frankly, I´m not a really religious person, but its neato to hear someones point of view. They (the Mormon people I have talked to) really like their religion, and talking about it. Alot. One of the best parts about it is that they believe in free choice. It´s not like: join us or be damned. It´s more along the lines of take a minute to hear what we have to say, then do what ever you want. No pressure.
On a completely different note, my school is having a ball this friday, and I need to find a dress. Unfortunatly, all of the stores are closed today. It´s Sunday. I´ll have to go shopping later this week then.
Have a great week!

Praktikum

So, I haven´t written for a while, so I thought it would be a good time to start up again.
Last week and this week are, for everyone in the 11th grade at my school, Praktikum. That means that we have two weeks to do a manditory internship. It doesn´t really matter what you do as an internship, but is makes sense to do one at either a job that you enjoy or are interested in in the future. I´m currently doing my internship at a German course. I take a German course in the evenings, but for this internship, I´m helping out with the beginners course. The people in the class have been taking four hours of German a day for the past 4ish months, so they aren´t exactly beginners. I absolutly love these German classes because it brings together people from all over the world, from every contentent (except antarctica of course), with a similiar goal: to learn German. I think I may have already said that in an earlier blog.
Last friday I visited the beginners beginners course they had only been learning German for a couple of weeks). That was quite interesting. The students gave me a little interview, and some of the questions we standard, like where do you come from, how old are you, what brought you to Germany, etc. They asked if they could ask me personal questions, and I was a little suprised, but I said it depended on how personal the questions were. Then the same person asked me, as an example of a personal question, if I was married. Personally, as an 18 year old, I don´t find that question very prying. I was also asked if I was christian, which I thought was interesting.
One of the people there is an morman exsoldier from Iraq. I found that really intersting, seeing as though Elmyra isn´t far from home. At these classes you always meet new interesting people with their own stories.
Yesterday I worked a little with a woman about the word "obwohl" and how it is the beginner of a dependant clause, so the verb has to go on the end. After about 15 or 20 minutes, we got it! Out next goal is understanding "trotzdem". Plus, on Thursday, I´ll be helping a woman out with the past tense (ich habe ... ge(verb)). Fun! It´s too bad that Praktikum is just two weeks long.

Pictures: Part 3

A close up of our christmas tree (candles, spheres, and chocolate ring things)
The carp (the flash makes it look a lot paler than it actually was).
The heiligen Abend dinner table (host dad cutting fish, host grandpa on right)
My heiligen Abend plate (a sampling of everything)
Christmas: first day. Preparations for second big dinner (duck). On far left (redish): Rotkohl. The circle things are Klosters (kind of like potatoes), and in front is the gravy and my host grandmother