Day One 8/2: sights sights and more sights

Vienna. Is. Amazing. This program is the first time that I have been outside of the United States, so naturally I was amazed when my roommate and I were dropped in front of our apartment complex and saw buildings that were older than our country being used for Laundromats and fast food chains. My shock did not stop at the buildings however, as the rich and fascinating history of the city was still ahead of me.
The first full day in Vienna started in the classroom of the Austro-Amerikan Institute. The Institute was founded in 1926 as in an attempt to foster cross cultural learning and awareness in the post-World War I era. It operated successfully until the outbreak of the Second World War prevented the peaceful exchange of students. Today Viennese students learn English there during the school year, and it plays host to American students like us during the summers when most Austrians are on vacation. The director Markus and his staff are very accommodating, I look forward to working under their supervision.
We moved on to a walking tour of the city near our classroom led by Professor Stuart. We began with the Oper, the old Viennese opera house located right across the street from the classroom building. It was built in the 19th century in the Neo-Renaissance artistic motif. Sadly, it was bombed in WWII and had to be rebuilt. The Viennese reception of the building was not warm. They criticized it for not being as opulent as the other buildings that already defined Vienna. They said that it resembled a “sunken box.” The harassment got so severe that Van der Null, one of the architects, committed suicide. This history is shocking to me because the building is actually very ornate and beautiful by American standards and would be a revered addition to any US city. The level of elegance that the Viennese experienced and still experience in their living environment is incredibly high because of the wealth and power of the dynastic rule of the Hapsburgs who ruled for over 600 years.
The next stop that struck me was at a corner that was the site of an apartment building that housed civilians during the bombing of Vienna in WWII. It was struck by a direct bomb hit, killing everyone who was taking refuge inside was killed and their remains were never excavated. It serves as a memorial to “the victims of fascism,” at least that’s what the English sign says. My friend Chris who studied the German language at Davis told me that the German sign does not say “memorial to the victims of fascism,” but says “memorial to fascism.” This slight difference in rhetoric echoes what must be the Austrian method of dealing with the duality of their history. On one hand, they feel a need to distance themselves from that part of their past to the English-speaking world, but on the other they feel a need to maintain the historical importance of the time period to those who speak German, and are therefore more likely to understand the sentiment. One of the more interesting subjects to me is how former Nazi countries deal with the past. The picture below shows that one way to deal with it is to form social movements to get away from the Nazi past.

The highlight of the day, however, would have to be our visit to the Museums Quartier at the end of the tour. This area is in the 7th district of Vienna and is among the top ten largest cultural centers in the world. The whole day had been walking in fairly brutal heat and this was the first time that we got a chance to settle down with a cool drink. It was here that I first experienced how rude the Viennese can be to Americans. I wanted to order a “frozen margarita” without alcohol (it being 4 pm, after all). After I communicated this to the waiter in english, he stared at me and very curtly replied “so what am I supposed to put in it?” My friend Jordan and I told him to make it with just the mix, but he insisted that it would not work and treated me like I was an idiot. I believe that the absence of alcohol would not have compromised the margarita’s structural integrity, but he seemed to think different. He blended it, plopped the concoction into my cup, and slammed it on the table. Needless to say, the asshole did not get a tip. His attitude towards Americans is not unique, as I was treated very poorly on many more occasions throughout the trip. I was also treated very well by other Viennese so there is not a uniform distaste for Americans, which I was expecting going into the trip. I am happy that, maybe in part because of centers like the Amerikan Institute, there is largely a comfortable cohabitation between Americans and Europeans. All you have to do is be humble and smile.


Today's post was brought to you by the German word 'Verdienen', which means 'to learn.' Appropriate!