(8/23/12) Mauthausen

There is no way to really fathom all of what we experienced today. We visited the Mauthausen concentration camp, which is located just outside of Linz, Austria. I had been anxious about this trip since the start of the program, knowing that my experience would be deep and complicated. I had heard many stories of the Holocaust in my Jewish education, through books, pictures, and second and first-hand accounts. 

I analyzed the experience of visiting a concentration camp and the politics of memory in regards to remembering the past events of the Holocaust in my term paper. So, I’ll take this opportunity to use the blog as more of an emotional processing of Mauthausen. With every new building we encountered (and especially in the execution room), I was taken aback with emotion. I couldn’t fathom how the camp was once filled with tons and tons of people, Jews, homosexuals, political “enemies” of the Third Reich, and many other groups of people, all united under oppression. Of course, this unification did not allow for the imprisoned to rise up– they lacked the resources and were far too weak to do anything drastic in opposition to their oppressors and had to wait for the United States to liberate the camps at the end of the war. 

I agree to a certain extent with Ruth Kluger’s opinion of concentration camps. Although I’m not as militantly against them, I find that the experience cannot be understood fully when the visitor is capable of leaving the camp. Also, since its basically been transformed into more of a museum than anything, it lacks the real horror it used to possess. 

However, the experience really did affect me, which I think is the real intent and purpose of Mauthausen. After visiting, despite my agnostic leanings, I’ve decided that I’d like to raise my children Jewish. I think that after everything Jews went through in the Holocaust, it makes sense to carry on the Jewish tradition, even if spiritually, I don’t find myself identifying as much with the Jewish religion. 

(8/16/12) Trekkin' the Alps

Well, the scary gondola ride was completely worth it. My experience of hiking in the Alps is one of my favorite experiences in Europe so far. After a good night’s rest, we all woke up the next day, ready to hike! Okay, that’s a lie. I didn’t want to get up, and even skipped out on the free breakfast in order to catch a few more Z’s in the morning. But I was really excited about hiking, and rightfully so. 

My roommates and I (plus two other girls) embarked on the hike apart from the rest of the group. I like that we were given the freedom to do whatever we wanted with the hike, allowing for us to explore wherever we wanted. The six of us wandered deep into the Alps, picking flowers and listening to music together as we explored. Although there is a lot of really amazing hiking in America, and especially in California, hiking the Alps was a very unique experience. Everything was so green and vibrant! The views were incredible. There is absolutely no way to convey the experience verbally, so I’m just going to post a bunch of pictures now. I have a cape, bye!

(8/30/12) Weening myself off Wien

So long, farewell, auf wiedersen goodbye? I guess so. I luckily extended my stay in Vienna by one day, cutting into my post-program travels in Germany, so that I could feel less stressed about cramming in all the activities I wanted to accomplish in Vienna. But alas, today was bittersweet with goodbyes to people and a city that I had grown so close to in so little time. We fought against our imminent sadness by drinking seemingly-bottomless white wine at the Heurigen we visited at the beginning of the trip (and we racked up quite the bill in the meantime!). Ah, bookends. 

Die Madels and our idol, K-Stu.

Upon doing some research for my paper, I found an article interviewing Ruth Kluger (as my paper will be on the topic of the holocaust) where she states that Vienna is innately an anti-semitic city. (Here's a link to the article where she makes this claim: http://www.spiegel.de/international/holocaust-survivor-ruth-klueger-vienna-reeks-of-anti-semitism-a-435879.html) She explains how anti-semitism runs rampant throughout the city, and how she hates Vienna for it. This, of course, is where Kluger was born and lived until she was sent off with her mother to the concentration camps. Her experiences as a child in Vienna were difficult, as she was discriminated against greatly as a young Jewish girl. She describes how she had to go to many different schools, learning nothing in the meantime since she could never fully settle a school or receive a decent education. Her only escape at the time was through reading. In the interview, she tells of returning to Vienna later on and hating it all the same, even down to the people she encountered. 

Of course, I won’t end my blog on such a negative reflection on Vienna, as I don’t agree with Kluger. While it wasn’t particularly saturated with Jewish culture and religion, I didn’t encounter any kinds of signs of anti-semitism. I know that Kluger’s experience was entirely different from mine, and that her experience definitely gets more credit: hers, a depressing, decrepit, and traumatizing childhood, and mine, a fulfilling and enlightening short-term summer abroad experience. However, this issue of history and memory (something that I will reflect on further in my paper) and how the two work together to define one another is demonstrated in Kluger’s tarnished connection with Vienna. Her own personal memory of the city is colored by oppression and hatred, and thus, her concept of Vienna remains stagnant and somewhat biased. I do think it is unfair of her to deem the entire city as being anti-semitic, but of course, she is entitled to this strong opinion. This writes off centuries of history and culture, the Babenburgs, the Habsburgs, Reformations and counter-reformations, wars, etc by making such a harsh claim. I understand that Kluger is unable to visit Vienna, carelessly walking along the Danube, visiting the Kunsthistoriches Museum, snacking guiltlessly on the second Sacher Torte of the day without recalling her uniquely traumatic past. But with this emotional bias she places on her opinion of the city as a whole, she dilutes the complete truth of how it really is to be in Vienna. 

Long story short, Vienna was an amazing, beautiful city to have such a wonderful summer abroad experience in. Shoutout to my girl Kathy Stuart for pulling together such a great group of badasses. 

(8/28/12) Us and the UN

The group at the UN!

Today, we left Vienna, and Austria for that matter, without even leaving Vienna. I had experienced this odd occurrence once before, on a trip with my synagogue, Temple Beth El of Aliso Viejo. The rabbi took the confirmation class every two years or so to New York for a trip, exploring Judaism and the like. We had the chance to visit the UN in New York, of which I unfortunately remember very little. What I did remember was that once we entered the UN, we left New York and the USA, entering international grounds. I was very impressed with that, and bragged to my dad (who loves politics and history) about it. 

I was impressed for a second time, not because we left the country (I honestly think that whole “international grounds” thing is kind of silly, and as a sidenote, it reminds me of this six-inch hole on the Berkeley campus that is free from law, some leftover relic of the free speech days. One could not possibly fit into the “free hole” and thus could not do something free from the law, so it’s all symbolic hodgepodge.) But, as I continually discovered in my travels to Austria, Austria carries a lot of power. The UN situates itself in four places: New York, Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna (I suppose I have to head to Geneva and Nairobi to “catch ‘em all”).  

The free hole.

Update: (9/14/12) Yesterday, I received an alert from the New York Times, as an article regarding the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency) was posted. The IAEA is apart of the UN, and when we visited the UN, we got a chance to visit the IAEA as well. We also heard a lecture from an entertaining, American member of the IAEA named Greg Webb. During his lecture, he commented on the issue with Iran and their nuclear weapon testing. Iran was refusing to keep its supply of uranium in check or to stop doing nuclear research, both refusals pointing to an interest in nuclear science, and inevitably, the use of nuclear weapons. This is especially troubling in regards to the conflict in the middle east, and is, for lack of better terminology, pissing Israel off. Israel is, in return, threatening the use of airstrikes, obviously not conducive to peace in the middle east. 

Anyway, the article addresses this problem, stating that the IAEA passed a resolution publicly disapproving of what Iran was up to in their nuclear research. Of course, with the IAEA being apart of the UN, this does not mean they intend on doing anything other than voicing disapproval (I don’t even mean this in a deprecating way, but the disapproval was more of a call for peaceful resolution than for any action). The truth is that the UN really can’t do anything about the situation, other than vocally comment. Iran’s procrastination in complying with the UN’s demands is a little frightening, indicating the possibility (even if it’s a small possibility) of nuclear warfare in the middle east. A quote from the article comments on Iran’s possible methods of clearing up evidence of testing: “Mr. Wood, the United States envoy, accused Iran of “systematically demolishing” a facility at the Parchin military site that agency inspectors want to visit as part of their investigation.” This of course would imply that they have something to cover up. 

The cool, not-as-scary part of this whole thing is that we were at the UN as the IAEA was making the decision to comment on Iran’s illegal activity. Greg Hess even mentioned that the talks had been going on that week. What’s funny to me is how Vienna is so unknown in some ways. I remember when I first told one of my good friends about my trip to Vienna, she said, “Oh, I love Italy!” But in other ways, Vienna is so unarguably significant. I’m not sure how this situation with Iran will turn out, but I'm sure that the decisions in regards to action towards Iran and the middle east will be made right there at the IAEA. Luckily for those world leaders, the food in the cafeteria is really good, and really cheap. 

Here’s a link to the New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/world/middleeast/un-nuclear-watchdog-passes-resolution-on-iran.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

(8/20/12) Mozart Time!

Cue the Mozart music! Finally, we got a chance to see all the Mozart posers who hassled us at the Graben in action. I absolutely loved the Mozart concert we attended this evening, which had an orchestra of Mozart-imitators and wonderful opera singers to complement the beautiful music. Although I did enjoy the first concert we went to, this one was much more entertaining, a tribute to one of the many great people who contributed to making Vienna, and Austria, well-known. The first concert we attended was set in the beautiful Karlskirche, but I personally preferred the bright, ornate setting of the Mozart concert to the church (perhaps we can chalk that up to church overload– I love a good church as much as the next Jew, but eventually, the Baroque churches start blending into each other). 

Oh look, another Baroque church!

In addition to the magic of the evening being set by a beautiful building with melodious music, I encountered a bit of a funny, culturally-weird happenstance. There was a young Chinese girl, no more than ten years old, sitting a few rows in front of us, and she spent most of her time playing with what I assume was her mother’s iPhone (yet, who knows, maybe it was hers). Occasionally, I would catch her texting in Chinese or looking at something online. It was distracting, but I also understood that when you’re ten, you’re not really interested in a Mozart symphony complete with opera in a language you really don’t understand. 

Then, we had intermission, giving us a chance to stretch our legs and down a red bull. The second half of the show was even more entertaining than the first, with upbeat Mozart tunes and exciting things happening with the opera singers. I was getting really into it, when the Chinese girl’s iPhone caught my eye. Particularly, a picture of my friends Annemarie and Maria caught my eye, on the background of the girl’s phone! She had snapped a candid shot of the two of them during intermission, and set it as her background. I was so taken aback that I just started laughing, and immediately told my friend Jon of what I’d seen. Unfortunately, she changed the screen by the time I could call his attention to what I’d seen. It took me a few minutes to refocus on the concert, as I’d never seen something like that before. Although, I also recalled on how before the Mozart show, we took pictures outside and some tourists started snapping picture of us. 

We did look fine...maybe that's why.

Later on, as I was telling the story to most of the people in our program while sipping on Hugos, my friend Gezi (who happens to be from China) mentioned that she had done that before when she was little. Apparently, taking pictures of white women as a Chinese girl is something kind of normal. I felt a little ignorant for finding it so funny initially, but it was just shocking to catch by accident. I love that in Europe I can have such a unique cultural experience at an already-unique cultural event. Go Vienna. 

(8/19/12) Bathin' in Budapest

After my travels to Paris and Zurich before the start of the program, I found that some countries were more expensive to visit than others. Luckily, Vienna falls in a cheaper category than Paris and Zurich (though, not by much). Budapest, especially in comparison with all of these cities, is really freaking cheap. With a bus fare totaling forty euro round trip and a huge five star hotel room for under 100 euro (comfortably housing six people), I knew this city was going to be different than the other super-touristy, super-expensive countries I had visited. 

Me and a weird picture of a Zebra in our hotel room. Obviously.

When we first arrived to Budapest, I spoke with a very friendly Hungarian man who gave me detailed directions on how to get to our hotel. These directions included use of the underground train system, which I was excited to see. Although I am an avid driver, fulfilling my Californian stereotype by having an intimate relationship with my Kia, I always got excited to see all the different forms of transportation in Europe. Paris’s train system reminded me a lot of Chicago’s train system, Zurich and Vienna seemed to share in the use of efficient, clean street cars/buses, and Budapest reminded me of what I might find in the cities of Russia or other eastern European countries. The train was old, and made noises that had me briefly questioning my choice to visit the Hungarian city. But, of course, my anxiety was unnecessary (as it usually is), as the rickety old train got us safely to our destination. We took in a cheap dinner and enjoyed a little Budapest nightlife that evening. 

10, 868 HUF=38.6040 Euro. Not bad for a feast for four!

I’d love to sit here and spew out all of the interesting facts I learned about Budapest on my walking tour, or post pictures of the cool paintings I saw at the museum we visited, but I must stick with honesty, as it truly is the best policy: I was there for the Turkish baths. Dreams of twenty euro massages filled my head, and when we finally made it to the Turkish baths (a mere few hours before our bus departed back to Vienna...yes, that’s foreshadowing trouble), I went hard. I have gotten a few massages in my life, all overpriced, nestled in fancy spas and hotels, and all completely worth it. I don’t want to say that the baths were a total disappointment, but I will say that they were not entirely what I expected.

The accommodations reminded me of my local YMCA, with cheap lockers and presumably dirty tile floors. Another aspect reminiscent of the YMCA was the clientele– old people! And they had no shame. I ran into some older folk who’s bathing suits were more revealing than my own. Honestly, I found it very refreshing and wasn’t “grossed out” in the least. I liked feeling comfortable, as most of my bathing suit experiences back in the states include me being surrounded by blonde, tan, thin girls, and here at the Turkish baths, I didn’t feel like I had to skip a meal or lay out in the sun for hours to fit in (which wouldn't have worked anyway, as I don't tan, I burn). 

After a somewhat creepy massage, it was already time to return to good ol’ Osterreich. After barely making our bus (there's that foreshadowed trouble), I reflected upon my decisions in traveling. I learned a lot about how to properly tour cities: stick with my usual method, which is walking a lot and checking out the museums. While the baths were an excellent cultural experience, I definitely wish I would have thought more about seeing the actual city instead of just the inside of a bath house. 

Another great cultural experience: KFC in Budapest

(8/15/12) To the Alps!

Today, we were Alps-bound. I really didn’t know what to expect, other than the intimidatingly steep gondola ride to the top of the mountain. Tomorrow, we’re getting a chance to hike and explore the alps, so I’ll touch upon all that later.

Having fun on the gondola ride...not.

Most of today was consumed by a visit to Eisenstadt, a beautiful town in Austria and the former seat of the Eszterhazy noble family (Haydn also lived here under patronage from the Eszterhazy family). It’s very small, with a small number of inhabitants, and we spent about six hours there, giving us a chance to explore the whole area. It was August 15th, though, which in Vienna is the Ascension of Mary, one of the biggest holidays of the year. On a personal note, I felt extremely nauseous after consuming the popular digestive yogurt product Activia, and found my approach to all the events in Eisenstadt rather negative because I just wanted to curl up into a ball all day. 

The culprit.

Despite my personal, digestive struggles, I still found the small town enjoyable, and was most especially drawn to the Jewish portion of the tour. We visited a synagogue, and when I wasn’t doubled over in pain, I was in awe of the intimate size and the gorgeous design. The tour guide asked us (in German, which Kathy translated to English for us) what makes the synagogue we were in an Orthodox synagogue. The answered lied to the right of where I was sitting, a little segment of the room closed off by a gated wall. This area was designated for women to sit, since Orthodox Jews make women and men sit separately during services. When this was revealed as the answer, my reaction was a “duh” moment, as I was raised Jewish and am fairly familiar with the traditional practices of Orthodox Jews (this was not the case with a couple of my friends in the program, who were shocked to hear that even to this day, women and men had to sit separately in an Orthodox synagogue).

This orthodox synagogue made me think about the Jewish population in Vienna and in Austria. Vienna is traditionally very Catholic, so I thought maybe the Jewish population would be defined by the most traditional sect, which would be Orthodox Judaism. But upon a little research (thanks Wikipedia!) I learned that the biggest population of Jews in Austria is in Vienna, and that population is defined by both reform (the more liberal Judaism that I was raised in) and orthodox Jews. Who'd have guessed?

The Orthodox synagogue we visited in Eisenstadt.