Kunsthistorches Museum again

Returning to this part of Wien makes me so happy, I love museums and feel so lucky to go to so many. I made my way directly to the painting section inside and was truly impressed. I was facing art from time periods that I emphasize on in my major. I could actually see through the paintings the reaction from the catholics to the protestant reformation. All the ornate and elaborate pictures sought to show the power of god and the stories that went along with their beliefs. On the other side the protestant pictures that I was able to pick out were portraits of people and landscapes that showed no image of god. This discovery reminded me of classes I have taken where we learned about how the protestants took everything out of the churches and painted them white. The stark difference between a catholic church of this time period with its ornate gold and saints statues versus the protestant empty churches really shone through in these paintings.

Bratislava

This trip was really humbling. In such a beautiful setting a person could see hints to a checkered past. Pins and stickers made jokes about how other countries loved to take their land. There was a "KGB" bar that poked fun at people being taken in the night, and their lack of substantial museums all showed me that these people had been through a lot. The castle was nothing like what I had expected. It had been destroyed by a fire in the 50s so the inside was all plain white stucco. It was not elegant and seemed to remain isolated from the fashions other castles I have seen had adopted (like mimicking the French).

From the top we could see a famous bridge that had been built by their comunist government and we could also see the communist housing complexes. It was easy to pick them out because unlike the Karl Marx Hoff in Wien they were seperate but did look all the same.

The people were very welcoming and I had some of the most amazing gulash. We spent the day after food and the castle just walking around exploring the many parks and found a street square that had carts selling lots of fun stuff. The things being sold were very arts and craftsy, I could see how the person selling them had probably made them himself. For example lots of wooden knick knacks with puff paint. This was such a different scene than Wien and it was an adjustment. I began questioning what a person needed to survive and decided that their gulash was good enough to tempt me to stay.

After some delishous ice cream and more shopping around the market we stumbled upon a life size game of chess in the middle of a park. It was so tempting we had to join in. After emerging victorious we did as the locals and began to amble about to find a plague colum. Plague Colums seem to be all over Eastern Europe and I have found one in every city I've been to so far. The plague was a huge deal to the people and the rulers had to show apreciation to god for delivering them from death unscathed while so many around them had died.

I feel like this particular trip has humbled me as a person. I've realized that all the clothes and objects that I have are unnessisary and people survive with so much less. I also kept thinking of the invasions this place must have seen historically and after reading my guide book's specific history of Bratislava it mentions how certain people just see who's ever in charge as another oppresive force. This points to the absolutist movements in monarchies where they would find themselves rulers of peoples that had no idea who their ruler was. The people in the Slovak provinces according to the Lonley Planet book all spoke different forms of the same language and felt very seperate from each other. This reminded me of the way that Germany took so long

to form because so many different people lived in such a vast area and external forces were keeping the nation apart.

Karlskirche

Walking up to this church i was not really impressed by its exterior. It seemed to be stuffed between the technical university and an ugly platz. Surrounding it there were many skate boarders and graffiti. Looking back I should have held this away from my judgement for a place considering all these were developments from much later than this place's construction. Upon entering I was fascinated with the audio guides information about every single kiosk and statue in the place. Everything was donated by a certain person and done by a famous artist and it represented something specific for that parish. It makes sense that something a community would need would appear. After we finished looking around at ground level we ascended in the elevator and climbed many steps to reach the very top of the dome. Standing that close to the beautiful and elaborate paintings on the ceiling was enlightening. I realized that all the pictures were telling a story and relaying a teaching from the bible. Many were also reinforcing the relationship between royalty and God, affirming the state's power.

I wonder who was permitted to actually reach the top of the dome and if people were able to see it without the elevator blocking the view from the bottom. I'm glad that due to the restoration in this church I was able to experience such a rare view.

Heeresgeschichtliche Museum

The museum of military history was much more interesting than I had thought it would be. I had the image of a small room with dusty weapons in it for some reason, but this was quite the opposite. The large several leveled open rooms held very nicely labeled display cases with so much history. I felt like I was looking at history from an angle that I had not thought of in a while, the military aspect of it. In the more modern section there was a painting of a woman being grabbed during a riot. The audio guide told me that this riot had occurred in Simmering (where we stayed) this showed me how a workers neighborhood like Simmering could change over time and be the source of protest for what people saw as unfair treatment. One part of the museum housed pikes and more traditional weapons and I was reminded of my medieval studies class I took where Kevin Roddy described all the uses for these weapons and how they had evolved over time. Once again I was standing in a museum and able to connect what I was seeing to history that actually happened. It seems lame but actually being able to connect what I was looking at in a case to history I have been told about or read about was invigorating and made me want to learn more. Another theme that I'm noticing on this trip is that I am shocked by the violence that has occurred in the past. The picture above shows some weapons that were used. The brass knuckles were particularly disturbing. I have never known war and seeing this collection really gave me a glimpse into the trail it left behind.

The section on the thirty-years-war was very interesting. There was a huge painting showing people fleeing from the approaching troops. Their faces held such panic and in the background a person could see the army burning homes and looting. This one picture really drove home the point that the armies took everything and ruined peoples lives if they came in their paths. The uniforms present were surprising as I thought that the military at this point while more organized than before would lack actual uniforms. The other section that stood out was the "war against the Turks". The siege that they laid upon Wien was a particularly interesting point of reading in our texts for this class and seeing actual images and weapons from this event was enlightening. The importance of rank was also illuminated in this museum and especially in the section for the "war against the Turks". It was very important to document who did what and have something to show a person's military skill.

Belvedere Palace

This Palace felt very welcoming as I walked around. The water was artfully used to mirror the palace and show symmetry. It was a strange walk, as one had to pass the rather dingy and littered train station to enter the palace gates where it was immaculate and revealed a truly beautiful view. The name really does say it all. I found the artwork within these walls worthy of hours of gazing and they truly revealed parts of history in an organized and accessible manner. For example on the upper level there were many Biedermeier paintings that showed the longing for a simply country lifestyle and reinforcement of values that supported the home and order. I was intrigued by a painting depicting salon life and a lively game of chess where a woman was victorious against her male challenger.

MAK (Museum Fur Angewandte Kunst)+2nd Tram exercise

This museum was very scattered I felt, it was not as organized as the Leopold Museum for example. The first exhibit I saw was very modern art, some very thought provoking short films and some that left much to be desired. The exhibit where pieces of yarn that were just pinned once at two point in a room seemed to lack some bare bones definitions of art to me.

Moving on we saw some very interesting furniture depicting different time periods. This was particularly moving for me because these numerous chairs were something that would be used in daily life for people. Each room was divided in time periods and it seeded very tangible as the the changes and the goals within each room. The Biedermeier was very quickly shown to be as it had been described in the texts we have read and had seen the paintings in the Belvedere in the upper levels.

One desk in particular stood out to me as its clean lines and beauty shone across the room in a simple form that welcomed a woman to sit and write at it. The description card explained that there were built in vases for flowers and this seemed to fit the time period perfectly as it would add to the comfy beauty in the room. The changing fashions in furniture was illuminated in this one museum much better than seeing paintings of chairs and reading about the household style could have ever done. Seeing the clear progression from one type of chair to another was very revealing to the tastes of the time period.

I especially liked this one hallway within the exhibit that had all the chairs behind a screen and then they shone light so that all we could see was the silhouette of the chair. The different Arte Nuevo lines were so great and I could see these being a hit at the cafe museum.

Later in the day I did the tram exercise where I rode it around the Ring Strasse twice. Noticing the parliament building and the other large markers was so telling of the importance of the Ring Strasse itself. This has been one thing that endeared this city to me. The attempts to modernize and organize being so visible. I hopped on and off a few times to get ice cream and peak into a book shop. The different parts of the ring are spaced differently and this was a truly nice view. I'm glad I did this.

Schonbrunn Palace

Absolutely beautiful does not describe this place. I felt like I had at once been introduced to the Hapsburg's and understood them so much more. The art that each room held, the construction, and the laundry list purposes of each room showed how they carried on their daily life. Not only the main palace but the extensive gardens and hunting lodge showed their desire to display their power and claim to the throne. Seeing the French eagles at the entrance on top of the obelisks was surprising. This mark and a certain room showed the mark Napoleon had left when staying here. I am not sure why I had half expected this palace to look similar to the ones I had seen in Madrid, but this was much different and beautiful in its form. Walking in the gardens and labyrinth showed a side of the Austrians that i particularly like, they enjoy their nature and know how to take their time when it matters. So many people were strolling with their families and enjoying the day and it didn't take much to imagine Franz Joseph taking a walk in the failing sun along the carefully tended hedges and enjoying the flowers. This place truly was one of luxury and displaying power, yet in a functional way.