Bratislava

Saturday, August 14

This morning Diane and I were about to go to a museum when Christiana came down and asked if we wanted to go to Bratislava for the day with her Sheena.  Diane and I thought it sounded great so we said yes.  We decided we would head out to Bratislava for the day since its only about an hour away by train.  It was my first train ride in Europe and a chance to travel to another country so it was really exciting.  After we made some sandwiches for the trip, we headed off to the train station.  Getting to the station was an adventure in and of itself.  Buying the ticket was the easy part.  Finding the station was another story.  After a lunch break and a stop for directions we were on the train headed for Bratislava.  I loved being on the train and watching the countryside go past.  

When we arrived in Bratislava, we headed straight to the downtown to explore the city.  We were stopping about every 30 seconds to snap photos of our surroundings namely the architecture in the afternoon light.  We eventually made the short walk to down town, on the way passing a beautiful park and palace that now looks like it is being used as a government building.  Walking downtown was really great as it is a pedestrian district.  This only furthered added to the charm of this lovely city.  This district was dominated by nineteenth century architecture but also included post World War II architecture, which reflected Slovakia’s history as part of the USSR.  Walking around the city, we started to notice a large amount of foreign flags, which represent various embassies.  I was really excited because I find embassies and diplomacy fascinating, especially because I’m considering working for the State Department after I attend law school.  Because the city is so small, we were able to see a large number of the embassies, such as those of France, Italy, Japan, Greece, Spain, Great Britain, and many more.  As we were heading to the Danube, we walked past the American Embassy!  It was mostly hidden by trees but was noticeable because of the high fences, and gate house with guards posted to the front.  It was the only embassy we saw with visible security.  

We continued on to the river, which we then crossed so we could tour the Bratislava Castle.  It is a gorgeous white castle with a tower at each of its four corners, resembling a four poster bed.  The construction of the castle began in the 10th century when it was still a part of the Kingdom of Hungary.  It was refurbished in the Baroque style in 1649 and became an important seat of royal power under Empress Maria Theresa.  It was destroyed by fire in 1811 and was rebuilt in the 1950s in the same style as it was under Maria Theresa.  We spent the remainder of our time sitting on the castle wall above the Danube looking out over Bratislava.  As we headed home we saw a wedding reception being held at one of the castle outbuildings.  It was a treat for us to see because they had re-enactors in traditional dress serving up some entertainment at the wedding.  They even had a military salute with muskets.  We then rushed to get to the train station before dark and were soon headed home.  

Burg Forchtenstein

Friday, August 13

On our way back from the Alps, we stopped off at another castle of the Esterhazys--Burg Forchtenstein.  The construction of this castle began in the 13th century and it came to the Esterhazy family in the 1620s.  We began out tour at the entrance to the inner courtyard.  The walls of the entrance were covered in fresco paintings of the emperors of the Roman Empire.  Along with the emperors, acanthus was painted on the walls, which is a motif from classical antiquity.  Hanging from the ceiling is a crocodile that originated in Egypt in 1704.  This crocodile faces the Ottoman Empire and is a protector against the Turks.  Stepping into the courtyard, the theme of emperor frescoes continues.  This time it was the Habsburg emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.  This succession of paintings demonstrates the Austrian Empires belief and efforts to legitimize themselves as the rightful heirs to the ancient Roman Empire.  In the center of the courtyard was a statue depicting the Turks as prisoners of war and the Catholics as the victors.  Also prominently displayed in the courtyard was a large crest with the letter L.  This L is for Emperor Leopold I who ennobled Paul I as a Prince of the Empire.  

This castle was a successful outpost of the Austrian Empire as it was never taken by the Turks.  Thus it has become museum to the military success of the Esterhazys and the Austrian Empire.  It holds a vast collection of military paraphernalia from both the Esterhazys, the Austrian Empire, and their enemies.  The Esterhazys have a strong record of military support for the Habsburgs in their border conflicts against the Ottoman Turks and in the War of Austrian Secession against the Prussians.  In this war, the Esterhazys remained a powerful and loyal ally.  

As we continued on our way back to Vienna, we stopped at another castle--Burg Lichtenstein.  This was one of the homes of the aristocratic Liechtenstein family.  The castle was first built in the 12th century.  It was later attacked and subsequently destroyed by the Turks in 1529 and again in 1683.  It has since been rebuilt and is currently undergoing renovations.  Due to this construction, we were not able to tour the inside and could only be in the inner courtyard for a few minutes before it was closed.  (I’m not sure if we were even supposed to be in their because the man who closed the gate did not look very happy with us.)  We spent a little more time walking around the perimeter of the wall before we returned to our bus and finished our journey home to Vienna.  

RaxAlp

Thrusday, August 12

Today was spent hiking around Rax Alp.  It was one of the best experiences so far.  It was truly incredible to be in the mountains.  A small group of us set out this morning around ten o'clock and we spent the next seven hours hiking!  My experience of Austrian hiking is so different from what I have experienced back home.  In the States, we head out into the wilderness and any supplies we need, we have to take with us.  Here, we hiked from house to house, each time stopping for refreshments.  When I was first learned of this style of hiking, I imagined groomed trails with lots of cute Alpine houses along the trail.  I imagined I would spend the majority of the day eating cake.  While I did have some cake, my image of the hike was way off.  The trails were challenging, the paths were full of rocks, and there were shear mountain cliffs everywhere.  Sometimes the trail lead us through a beautiful meadow and other times it felt like we were climbing straight up the mountain of sliding straight down.  We hiked to the fourth house on our trail and then took a new route home.  At the last house we visited, they had rooms where hikers could stay the night and continue on the next day.  It would really be a dream to come back and spend a few days in the Alps hiking and staying in these houses tucked away into the mountains.  When we returned home, we were exhausted but very happy and satisfied.  It will be sad to leave this beautiful place tomorrow morning but there are only more adventures ahead.

Eisenstadt

Wednesday, August 11

Today we set off for the Alps.  On our way, we stopped off in Eisenstadt, which is located in the Burgenland of Austria.  Previously, the Burgenland had been part of Hungary.  Today it is a small town of 14,000 people.  During the time of the Austrian Empire, the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt was one of the main seats of the family.  The Esterhazys were Hungarian aristocrats who were a great asset to the Habsburgs.  They were the greatest Hungarian allies of the Habsburgs from their rise to power until the end of the empire.  After the fall of the empire, they retained the Austrian lands but lost their aristocratic titles.  They remained royalty in Hungary and retained their 500,000 acres until 1945, when they lost everything to the Communist state.  To this day, the Esterhazys privately own their hereditary homes and land in Austria.  Because they are still privately held, we were unable to tour the inside of the palace.  

The palace began as a Medieval fortress.  It has 250 rooms surrounding an inner courtyard.  The large palace with extensive landholdings demonstrates the phenomena of the larger landholdings in the eastern realm of the empire.  The Esterhazys were originally from an isle in the Danube called Galanta.  Nicholas Esterhazy, a magnate from Hungary, began to establish the influence of the family.  He was a baron and later elevated to an earl.  The family achieved greater prominence when Nicholas’ son Paul became a prince.  Leopold I gave him this privilege and Paul became Paul I.   The Esterhazys continued to grow their power and influence through diplomatic marriages, not unlike the Habsburgs themselves.  

The Esterhazys were great patrons of the arts and their family employed Haydn at their court in Eisenstadt.  Paul II was the first patron of Haydn.  His son Nicholas II continued this patronage after the death of his father.  With this generous patronage, Haydn became the most successful musician of his day.  Not only were the Esterhazys great patrons of the art, they were also patrons of the Catholic church.  This patronage took us to our next tour.  We visited the church that Paul II commissioned in 1710.  This church is incredibly unique as it has a circular form that is a walking tour of the Passion of the Christ.  Life size statues were built so explain the life of Christ to the religious pilgrims that journeyed here.  Also in the church is the tomb of Haydn.  Although he died in Vienna in 1809, the Esterhazys had him returned to Eisenstadt to buried.  

Schmetterlinghaus and the Kunsthistoriches Museum

Tuesday, August 10


Class was cancelled this morning so Diane and I took advantage of the opportunity to visit something on our bonus list.  We chose to visit the Schmetterlinghaus or the Imperial Butterfly House.  It was really an amazing place.  It was hot and humid but well worth it.  It consists of a beautiful glass greenhouse on the side of the Hofburg filled with hundreds of butterflies.  Not only were the butterflies beautiful but the plant life as well.  It is a small tropical oasis in the middle of Vienna!  There were butterflies of every color as well as exotic flowers.

Then we had our tour with Dr. O at the Art History Museum.  She led us through its large collections.  We started with the collection of paintings from north of the Alps.  First was an altar by Albrecht Durer named the Adoration of the Trinity.  It is a piece of "art in whole" meaning the design both the painting and the frame were Durer's.  While the frame is a reproduction of the original (as the original is in Germany) the painting is the original and as Dr. O pointed out, the painting is more important than the frame.  This painting demonstrates the skill of the northern painters as they seamlessly integrate human figures into landscapes.  After Durer, came Bruegel, Rubens, Vermeer, and Rembrandt among others.  

Then it was off to the southern side full of Italian masters.  Here we viewed Caravaggio, Titan, and Rafael's Madonna of the Meadow.  We also viewed the intriguing works of Guiseppe Arcimboldo.  He incorporated everyday objects, such as fruits of the sumer harvest in his 1563 work appropriately named Summer, which is a portrait of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus.  His imaginative portraits demonstrate that he was far ahead of his time.  

Even though this is a daunting museum due to its size and the importance of its collections, I cannot wait to return here and take my time carefully going through each room at my very slow pace.  Tomorrow we head for the Alps!  We won't have internet where we are staying so I'll write there and post when I get back.  


Today's German word: 
"Autobahn"=highway 

St. Stephen's

Monday, August 9


Finally, the inside of St. Stephens and another tour with Dr. O!  We started with the small scale model on the outside of the church so we could gain an overview of its history.  The idea of St. Stephen's was first conceived because Vienna wanted to lure an archbishop to the city because they wanted a Cathedral.  It began the construction of the church in the middle of the twelfth century.  


Next we headed inside with Dr. O as our guide.  We started with the work of Master Pilgrim, which is exhibited in the work of the pulpit.  It was built in the Gothic style even though it was finished at the time of the Renaissance in 1500.  Since Vienna sits to the north of the Alps, the Renaissance reached the city later as it took time to travel up from Italy, where it was already in full swing by 1500.  


Dr. O explained that the construction of the church began at the back, which is evidenced in the original Romanesque facade at the left of the church.  Construction then moved slowly forward, with the back of the church being built in the early Gothic period.  As the building proceeded, the more ornate Gothic architecture was seen in the mid-section to the front facade of the church.  The interior of the church looks very gray and somber but Dr. O explained that it originally was very bright.  The original stained glass windows were composed of bright rich colors and the statuary was also painted in similar colors.  The windows were replaced in the Baroque period with plain pale colored stained glass windows and the paint of the statues has unfortunately faded with time.  

In 1469, Vienna achieved its goal of St. Stephen's becoming a Cathedral with the arrival of the new archbishop of Vienna.  As the Habsburgs loved to Baroquize the old, the altar of this mainly Gothic church is done in the Baroque style.  I actually find the mix of styles really interesting.  Instead of going out of fashion or starting over, the construction of St. Stephen's shows resourcefulness in that they just morphed the design from one period to another.  It serves as a great lesson in architectural history.  

Perterskirche, Schatzkammer II, and Die Fledermaus

Sunday, August 8


Peterskirche again, only today it was for Mass.  This was the first Mass I have ever attended so I was really excited for the experience and a little nervous because I'm not Catholic.  I spent part of yesterday evening researching Mass etiquette so I felt that I would be alright.  While the Mass was in Latin and German, I still really enjoyed the experience.  I expected the church to be almost empty because of the low church attendance rate in Austria but the service was really quite full.  This is probably partly due to the fact that Peterskirche is a church of the Opus Dei, which focuses on incorporating God into everyday life.  Therefore, I think the congregation tended to be more religious and made Mass a more important part of their life.  

Today we returned to the treasury and completed the tour!  It was great to be able to go back and be surrounded by all the incredible.  

We returned to prepare for the operetta Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss.  The production that we went to put a modern slightly modern spin on the comedy, with a large disco ball hanging from the ceiling.  While it was all sung in German, I was familiar with the story and soon realized there were English translations posted on two screens, one on each side of the stage.  The main female performer had an incredible voice and overall the experience was wonderful.