Vienna, Austria

This past week in Christian Worldview, we have been reading Total Truth and the Question of God between Freud and Lewis. Unlike Lewis, Freud was very conflicted within his life and his last years were in a state of terror. He was unable to disprove the existence of God but refused to accept his existence. This left him with many questions in which his life was dedicated to answering through a secular, academic process. We were fortunately enough to take a 3 day trip to Vienna, Austria with many sits to see. Our first stop along the way was Melk Abbey, which is one of the world’s most famous monastic sites. This was a center of the Conter-Reformation which defiantly did not progress our way of thinking. But never-the-less this Abbey was spectacular! This abbey was founded by Leopold II, Margrave of Austria and but the baroque architectural building abbey was built between 1702 and 1736. Throughout the years, this abbey was spared from destruction during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era and also World War II. Once again, a reference to Disney must be made. The library in the movie Beauty and the Beast is based off of this library! I am in love and infatuated with libraries. While standing inside this library I was in awe, I felt like I was in a dream. As one walks in the doorway, there are thousands of antique editions carefully placed in floor length bookshelves. To reach the top shelve, one has to climb a step ladder that leans on the wall and is secured by a rail at the top. The best part is that is slides along the wall. Even though the ladders were roped off, I was very tempted to run up the ladder and push to see how far I could go. Fortunately, I was able to restrain these desires and behave like a young lady. Our next stop for the day was the Freud Museum in Vienna. We had studied Freudian theories and had gotten a glimpse of his mind. Being in his study where several of theories were conceived gave me an uneasy feeling. Freud was a therapist and there was a single metal therapist couch with nothing else in the room, it gave it an ominous glow. Going through his study I was able to see the books that he read and look at the Egyptian artifacts he was interested in. One thing that was apparent while walking throughout this museum was how much family was important to him. One thing that stuck me as odd was his theory on marriage, sex, and love. All of the ideas that he upheld and promoted was not perceptible in his own family and personal relationships. The importance of his family was shown through the pictures that hung on his wall. He frequently spoke about his children with love and this reaffirmed this notion. All in all, it was a very interesting experience but I was a little disappointed in the museum itself.

Melk Abbey

Freud Museum

That night we treated ourselves to Mexican food and began the search for the famous Viennese apple strudel. Epic fail, but would re-attempt the next day. As previously mentioned, we had been watching the movie Sissi which is about Elisabeth of Bavaria and her life as the empress of Austria while married to Francis Joseph I. One of the main settings for this movie is the Schönbrunn Palace which we were given the opportunity to visit. This palace was the summer residence for the royalty and serves as a museum today. “Schönbrunn” itself means beautiful spring and the ground was broke for construction in 1696. Maria Theresa of Austria renovated the palace in Rococo style which is how it appears today. It supposedly has beautiful gardens but our presence was not in the season for flowers.

Schönbrunn Palace

That night we were successful in our attempts to discover the famous apple struddel, which rose above my expectations! The strange part, was that there was a single ground of pepper in both Courtney’s and my vanilla sauce. Andrew, Tanner, Kelley and I went to the Strauss and Mozart orchestra. I had never actually attended an orchestra concert so it was quite an experience. There were also ballet dancers (not my favorite) and opera singers. And I got to ride on a subway for the first time in my life. Andrew and I would race up the stairs, which kept us entertained. The next day served as a free day where we had several options to choose from. Some people went to the Spanish Riding School and others went to the Papyrus Museum. Considering my love for history, I choose the Papyrus Museum. Dr. Trull, Jerry, Andrew, Courtney and I made our way through the streets of Vienna to the museum district. The Papyrus Museum has a collection of over 200,000 preserved items. This museum has the largest collection of papyri, including the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Though these documents were in languages that were foreign to me, it was still very interesting to be able to see with my own eyes these documents that many historians have studied to find answers of ancient civilizations of the past. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to wandering around the museum district and examining the statues that have been erected throughout time.

Apple Struddel!

Vienna itself is the largest city in Austria and the 10th largest city in the European Union. While we were touring the Freud Museum, I noticed a picture of a rally during the Nazi Regime where Hitler was giving a speech. It was an aerial photo and there was not a space on the land that was not occupied by a spectator. While we were roaming, we came across that very spot where Hitler stood and where the people blanketed the soil. There were hardly any people during that time and to me it seemed vast and open. I tried to imagine the area being packed with people who have their sole attention on a particular figure who was giving a speech. It was difficult to fathom and it forced me to place myself in that situation. One thing that had been brought to my attention in Germany, and to a stronger degree in Vienna, was the presentation of sex and nudity within advertisement. Every corner you turn, there tends to be an explicit photograph of a male or female to promote either clothes, jewelry, clubs, or any other accessory. Back in the states, sex does sell, but people are not exposed to the degree of promiscuity as they are in Europe. We are now back in Regensburg and next week is our first reading week. Andrew and I are heading to Paris, the city of love!

Egyptian Book of the Dead