Dobry Den! My blog this week will be about our groups second field trip
to Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy.
On
Tuesday, April 10, our study abroad group departed on our journey to Vienna,
Austria. Vienna was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which controlled
almost all of central Europe from 1867 until 1918. It was also the capital of
the Habsburg dynasty for many centuries before that. During the same time, the
city acted as a large cultural center for music and art. Prior to all of this
it was also a city of the Roman Empire. This all became very apparent when we
entered the city. The first thing we did as a group was walk to Maria-Theresien-Platz.
This is a prominent square surrounded by museums, and it also holds a beautiful
monument of Maria Theresa. The museums on each side of the monuments were a museum
of natural history and a fine arts museum. We were told that we would have a
chance to pick which one we would want to visit the next day.
Monument of Maria Theresa
After
this we walked to the Hofburg Imperial Palace. This is a large palace which was
home to the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty since the 13th century.
Today it acts as the residence and workplace of the president of Austria.
After
running into some ancient Roman ruins we moved to our next location. This place
was St. Stephen’s Cathedral. This cathedral is the seat to the Archbishop of
Austria. It began construction in 1137 because there were not enough churches
in Vienna. It did not finish its final stages until 1511 when the construction
of a second tower was ceased. In 1945, civilians lit fire to nearby shops when
Soviet Army troops entered the city. Winds carried the flames and lit the
cathedral but it was only damaged and was finally fully reopened in 1950. This
cathedral really was a beautiful sight just walking up and seeing the pattern
on the roof. Our group then went into the church. Our instructor told us more
about the history of the building we were standing in, and he was pointing out
certain things along the way.
Once
we were all done inside the church we were set free to walk around the city on
our own. A few friends and I decided to use this time to shop for souvenirs and
grab a bite to eat. After shopping, we walked around some more to see the city
lit up at night. We visited a few of the places we saw during the day as well
as a few more.
Next
we took a trip back to the monument of Maria Theresa to decide which museum we
wanted to see that day. I chose the fine arts museum because I was told it held
a lot of ancient artifacts from around the world. Inside I found items from
ancient Egypt as well as items from the Greek and Roman Empire. Most of these
were taken by the Habsburgs throughout the centuries. Inside this museum, there
were also paintings done by artists from all over Europe.
Painting of St. Micheal
After
we left the museum we were done for the day. I used this time to walk around
and look at a few more churches around the city. After seeing these beautiful
churches, I decided to call it a day because we had to get up early to leave
for Venice.
So it’s
Thursday, April 12th. I wake up and pack up all of my stuff I had
purchased in Vienna. I am walking down the stairs where I found my fellow
student Breanna sitting on the ground being attended to by a few other
students. Beings that it was seven in the morning and I had my hands full of
luggage, I just kept walking downstairs. I know. I’m a terrible person, but in
my defense, I was tired and I did not want to be in the way. I later found out
that she had fallen down the stairs and hurt her ankle pretty bad. We then
spent the next couple of hours sitting on the bus while we waited to find out
what the results of the injury were. After three hours of sitting on a bus we
find out that it was only a sprain and we can finally begin our trip to Venice.
After
driving through the Alps for what seemed like an entire day, we finally arrived
in Venice. We arrived late that day because of our morning fiasco so we didn’t
have time to do anything that was planned. After checking into our hostel, we
all split up to find a place to eat. I enjoyed some pizza and gelato and then
went to bed.
Venice!
I was
very excited to be in Venice because it is always one of the cities brought up
when people from the United States talk about places to see in Europe. It is
the city that looks like it was literally built on water. People drive boats
instead of cars. It truly is one of a kind. To top it off, the history of the
city and its culture is very fascinating, and I could not wait to go out and
see this famous place.
The
next day we all got up early to go to St. Mark’s square which is the most
famous place in Venice. It is the front door to the famous Basilica of St.
Mark. This Basilica is a Byzantine style church, but its construction is hard
to date because it is recorded as being consecrated a few different times. The
entire upper interior is covered in bright Mosaics and the floor made of
marble. Sadly, we were not allowed to take photos inside.
St. Mark's Basilica
After a quick walk through St. Mark’s, we went
into a museum which was literally right next to the Basilica. This was Doge’s
Palace. It is a palace that was home to the Doge of Venice and other noblemen
since 14th century. The palace is now a place to walk through and
see things like the prison and the armory, as well as the duke’s rooms which
were covered in beautiful paintings. It was great to have our instructor Jan
with us because he knows so much about Venetian history. He told us things from
actual history as well as legends from those times.
Armor of King Henry IV of France
After touring the palace, we walked
through Venice to another church. A minor basilica called Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
This is one of the largest churches of the city and is the church which housed
the funerals of the Doge’s of Venice since the 15th century. After
walking through this church, we had the rest of our time in Venice to
ourselves. For the rest of that day, we ate some Italian food, rode in a
gondola and shopped for some souvenirs. The rest of that night, we all spent
some time hanging out in the courtyard of the hostel drinking Italian wine. It
was the best way to spend a night in Venice.
Santi Giovanni e Paolo
The next day we were all allowed to
do whatever we wanted. A large group of us went to the islands of Murano which
is where a lot of the famous Venetian glass is made. On these islands, we
walked through a lot of glass shops and even had the opportunity to watch a glassmaker
use the same centuries old techniques that made it the top glass making city in
all of Europe.
Skilled Glassmaker from Murano
After coming back to the main
islands a smaller group of us headed toward the world’s first ghetto. It is a
Jewish area which is where Jews were segregated into living. The word ghetto
comes from this place. the Venetian getto which means foundry. It was not until
the late 1800s that the term was used for a crowded urban area for minority
groups. It was quite an experience to see such a place after learning so much
about the holocaust and seeing other Jewish ghettos.
Entrance to the Jewish Ghetto
After seeing the world’s first
ghetto, my time in Venice had come to an end. I love learning about so much
history and actually being where it happened. This has been one of my best
experiences, and I am so excited to see what is still in store. After Venice, I
left for the airport for spring break which you will learn about in a later
blog. Na Shledanou!
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