Favorite artist: Friedensreich Hundertwasser

So this is my favorite artist I have found in Vienna thus far and I feel he deserves his own singular post. I have only visited his apartment buildings so far but I really like his use of different angles and shapes to create a masterpiece. He is quoted to say that he things all buildings no matter what their purpose..must have an artistic feel to it. He is the man who decorated the incinorator for Vienna, which of course is one of my favorite buildings! It was the first thing I saw when I was taking the taxi the very first day, and I was shocked to find out it was where the trash goes! Crazy!

Random Photos: aka I love these buildings!!!

Random guy street performing...of course I needed this photo!

Random street shot of the shopping district!

Random statue...part of the Hoffburg palace...I will have to figure out what this scene depicts!

Brown building...best gourmet coffee ever! and cool buildings!

The horse posed for me! It is interesting too because every pair of horses pulling the carriages all match...it is like they have to have twin horses here in Vienna...random thoughts haha

Statue in front of the National Historic Museum

The National Historic Museum..full of dinosaur bones and other such items (kind of boring?)

In front of the Hoffburg, was part of the old Hoffburg palace now home to 5? museums and through these doors, the national Library.

Yes I found a cake store, Demel, that is better than those TV shows I am obsessed with...I literally sat and watched them decorate cakes for an hour (while sipping on amazing coffee of course!)

Saint Stephens Church

So this blog thing is going to drive me a little insane..I cant organize these photos the way I want and I cant mess with the design..hopefully I can figure it out..before I throw this computer out the window!!!

Anyways this post is Saint Stephens Church, the most prominent church in Vienna. Every time we go on a walking tour our professor says this should be our beacon of light and if we are lost we should always walk towards the St. Stephens Church because it is in the direct center of Vienna. It is also the tallest building in Vienna as well, which is surprising because it really inst that tall at all, compared to many of the buildings in the US. These photos are just some of what I captured of the Church. I wish I knew more from my architecture class what exactly the structure and design are called..but we havent had all those lessons yet! We are going to be taking an intensive tour of the chapel in two weeks so I will have to update the post with more information.

For now I will just list some of my intial thoughts of the church since this is one of our assignments for the journal we have to keep for our art class...

This church is clearly a Gothic structure that is very deep and dark on the outside as well as inside. The building greatly lacks color, and honestly it is intimidating to go inside and I cant imagine having a religious service in this church. I typically think of a church to have beautiful stain glass and light everywhere to uplift the spirit of the church goers..here I don't feel that uplifting environment at all. The striking thing about this church and most buildings in Vienna are the high arching ceilings, which make it very difficult to take a photo of the entire church at one time! So the thought of this construction so many years ago is quite baffling.

Updates on Saint Stephens to come!

Photo Day Around Vienna

Saint Stephens Church

Today we decided to walk around the main district of Vienna and take touristy pictures. I realized more and more that I am obsessed with taking pictures. I really wish I had an SRL because the quality would be much nicer, but my cannon is pretty impressive in capturing the stunning architecture. This blog is going to be dedicated to my first post with lots and lots of images. I will explain for the sake of you guys and for my memory so I dont forget anything I have seen thus far. Here in Vienna I am taking a photography class which will hopefully greatly enhance my photography skills, although Id like to say I take pretty decent photos already!

So to begin, I will explain how I am falling in love with architecture. It most likely is due to the fact that each and every building has a sculpture or unique quality to it so on each corner my eye is drawn to something and I have to capture it on film. Thus many of these photos I post are simply buildings that I am drawn to and have to capture. Not everything has a name, but as I am learning in my art history and architecture class, every building has a theme and purpose to the city as a work of art. (I never thought I would enjoy an art class...but man was I wrong...only had two classes so far and it is one of my favorites!)

So lets begin with the photographs shall we? (The photos: or main buildings will have their own post! so click on the post for building and description)

Long Time Long Post!

Hallo! I am just sitting here looking out of the window debating if I want to run or not. I probably should since today is one of the warmest days we have had in a while with it being 33 degrees. Yesterday I ran and it was 14! Completely terrible and cold! I was a frozen solid block so I now can truly say I understand why my family is so crazy...your brain cells must just be frozen! Ha, no I am only joking!

Updates of things I have visited so far:

The first week we had an intensive orientation and my German professor took us through several tours around the downtown area. All of which were off the beaten path and not touristy at all, which really gave a different outlook of the city. His name is Gunter and he is so full of all these useless stories that bring alot of life to this city. The first tour I already recounted in my previous post of the churches and their beauty. The second tour was geared for us students in political science. We walked around the parliament building and the presidents office. It truly is amazing how close we can get to these government buildings. I am not sure which it shows...how ridiculous the safety is for our president..or how lax the government offices are here? Either way it was a neat experience to get so close to the ruling offices. We also rounded the corner of the parliament office at the perfect time, while off in the distance a rally was walking forward to the parliament doors. There were protesting the brutal killings of the Christians in Egypt not to long ago. We literally were two feet away from this event and it was a great way to see politics first hand here in Vienna. They were chanting for the support of the Austrian government to act against Egypt and speak out. I haven't heard any further updates but I will keep you posted with how the government acts.

I really need to create a post everyday because making this one long one right now is not so much fun! There is so much to share and tell...but I am going to wait to explain once I post more pictures. I haven't taken too many pictures because I am waiting to retrace all the steps of the tours I have taken so then I will know I can really get around Vienna on my own! So far I haven't had too many nights or days where I had to resort to the taxi or calling someone to get myself oriented to the right place.

Well I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying what I would assume relativly warmer weather! Miss you all lots and lots!

Love Megan

1st Week

I haven't been in Vienna for too long and I already know I will love this place greatly. The old and antique that surrounds you is captivating. You cant help but feel that you have stepped into a painting were you can hardly believe the reality in front of you. Yesterday we took our first city tour in the 1st district of Vienna which is labeled the center locale of the city. It is stunning. Here you can find antique churches on every street turn but it was the Jesuit church that was designed and developed in 16th century that took my breath away. If the height of the ceiling wasn't enough to impress you, the paintings that cover them, surely will. The church is covered in the most intricate stain glass decorations and then the walls are decorated with marble columns that are indescribable. I have never been surrounded by so much beauty in one place. It is so neat to take tours around the city and hear all the old stories and myths of the development of the city. It is hard to imagine that this city can be far over 200 years old. The history here is seen on every building and square and it makes you feel obselete to be an American and think that our nation is only a child.

I always knew I had wanted to study abroad and spend time around the world, but Europe was never on my list of places that I must visit in my lifetime. I never had a huge desire to learn European history and I felt American history was always the best class to take. Now, with being here for only 6 days I totally understand the attraction to Europe. There is so much history that you can read in textbooks and not really appreciate the age and authentcity of the stories. But to be here and see the history in the streets and buildings, it is amazing. Europe has taken a whole new meaning for me and I am so happy that I have chosen to study here in this city of music! I cant wait to experience all that there is to find in this antique city.

40 Hours until Departure

Pre-packing party in my room currently! All the emotions of finally leaving are setting in! I am beyond nervous for the flight since this will be my first solo plane ride. I have so many concerns, mostly trivial of course but I cant help but prepare for the worst. What happens if my flight is cancelled and I miss a lay-over? Will I know what to do? If the flight didnt cause worries, the cab ride to the home is even more nerve racking. Students in the past getting to the flow house have had trouble..will I? With my extreme lack of German I am really worried about transportation for the first day! Hopefully everything goes well!

I am going to miss everyone so much and I am finally feeling the repercussion of leaving for so long...I am going to miss that crazy gold and black school! Going through recruitment last week was a blast but now I can see first hand all the ADPi things I will miss out on...Sad I know BUT I am going to Vienna so no pity parties for me please! I cant wait to go and for the first time be on my own. I have always felt independent, wise beyond my years HA! but I have never been 15 mins away from the rents...so this is a HUGE step for me! Hopefully alot of growing up will occur in the next 4 months and I will come back with loads of knowledge and life long experiences!

Well for the first post...my ramblings seem random so keep checking back for more updates!

Miss you already..and I havent even left!!

Love Megan