08/02 - 08/03
No longer sleep deprived, I woke up on Friday (08/02) ready to start my first full day in Vienna. In the lobby of the apartment building (after being forced to flee from the rain in the courtyard), everyone in the group introduced themselves before beginning our tour of the city. With Prof. Stuart as our leader, our first major stop on the tour was the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna's Seventh District. Drawing upon the influence of baroque, the MuseumsQuartier was initially built to serve as the official court stables for the Habsburg imperial dynasty. Nowadays, this prominent courtyard now houses various museums and art institutions—including the Leopold Museum—some of which still maintain their semblances of baroque influence.
Soon thereafter, the group walked to the Maria-Theresien-Platz square, which is presided over by the famed Maria Theresia Monument, depicting the monarch that governed the Austrian territories for much of the eighteenth century. Within this square are two museums standing directly parallel from each other: the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches) and the Art History Museum (Kunsthistorisches), the latter of which I will return to in short order.
We passed through the Burgtor Outer Castle Gate, which previously served as an entrance into the old city when Vienna had walls surrounding itself to defend from invaders. While going to our next destination, it struck me how welcoming of a city Vienna is for tourists as the streets are walkable and fancy drinking fountains can be found on almost every corner. Arriving in the Heldenplatz square, the former imperial seat of the Habsburgs—the Hofburg—was an imposing sight not only because of height, but also because of its architecture. Due to its various alterations over the centuries, many different artistic styles are reflected in the walls of the building, including baroque and gothic. Moreover, the Hofburg was the infamous site where Adolf Hitler delivered a speech to a Viennese crowd of thousands of celebrating citizens welcoming the fascist following the 1938 Anschluss.
My view of the Hofburg, including the balcony where Hitler proclaimed the 1938 annexation of Austria.
After Prof. Stuart explained the history of the Roman ruins found on the Michaelerplatz square—which date back thousands of years ago when Vienna was the Roman camp Vindobona—the group split up visit different places around the city. In a group with a few other students, I enjoyed tasty gelato and lemonade at Immersium Cafe before we backtracked to the Art History Museum. As we did not have much time to spend in the museum, we only went to the Egyptian and Roman museum sections. We then returned back to our apartments to eat at the nearby Centimeter restaurant. Ending the day with a highlight, I was able to buy a fan for my room on the way back to the apartments.
The traditional Austrian Eiernockerl egg dumplings I ate at Centimeter.
During the afternoon of Saturday (08/03), the class was treated to a bus tour led by Gretl. The most memorable stop for me was the Hundertwasserhaus public housing in the Hunderwasser Village. Designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (meaning hundred waters), the housing complex purposefully lacks straight lines and has greenery on its roof to act as a cooling system for the apartments. As America's public housing pales in comparison to Austria's, public housing is a subject that endlessly captivates me, thus visiting such a unique public housing project was an engrossing experience! We also visited the Belvedere and a viewpoint in the Viennese woods overlooking the city before ending our tour at a wine garden.
The Hundertwasserhaus public housing.
The Weinhof Zimmermann was a charming wine garden surrounded by vineyards. We enjoyed a buffet of traditional Austrian cuisine, along with Austrian wines recommended by Prof. Stuart and Gretl. After the dinner, I opted to go with Prof. Stuart and a handful of students up to a viewpoint in the Viennese woods, which proved to be an unforgettable experience. Stopping at the viewpoint and a playground along the way, we made our way down from the hill into the outskirts of the city before taking a streetcar back to our apartment building.
The wine that I had at the Weinhof Zimmermann wine garden.
German Words of the Day: Blume (Flower) & Vergessen (To Forget)
Provided by: Transparent Language