Incorporating Study Abroad into my Future

Things I have learned abroad: 

-How to read a subway/ bus/ streetcar map

-how to learn about other cultures

-how to get to know a city

-Lots about Viennese history

-Countless verb-preposition pairings

-more about passive in German

-I can climb a mountain

-a ton about Austrian culture

If I was interviewing for a dream job, it would probably be with a marketing agency that serviced international clients/ required employees to live in teams abroad for projects. 

1. How did studying abroad while at VCU prepare you to become a better global citizen?

My time studying abroad introduced me to the concept of living in another country and getting to know another culture. During my time abroad I learned not only how to navigate a foreign city, but how to explore both historically and contemporarily important locations in order to get to know the culture. Not only did I learn about history and modern trends, but I got to know the people of the city and understand that stereotypes rarely apply. I also had experience studying and communicating on a day to day basis in another language with people from all around Europe. After studying abroad, I would feel comfortable going to live in another country, as the experience has shown me how to prepare and research before leaving the country, and how to explore the culture once I'm there. 

2. How can we benefit from your experience abroad?

As someone who has had experience living abroad, I could adapt to new work environments and cultures very quickly and would also feel very comfortable getting to know the cultural background of a new client and the cultural landscape of a new market. My time abroad has taught me to be both curious and careful when communicating with individuals from another culture and I feel comfortable communicating in both German and English. 

Personal Perspective and Global Issues

I think one thing Austria made me think about (and this is definitely not political or global) is my idea of necessary space. What I mean is, how much space I need in an apartment or a store or around me in public. Not only do I have a very wide personal bubble, but I never really questioned the size of houses and stores in the US. This morning though, I went to Kroger and I'm pretty sure the produce section is bigger than the average Billa. looking at the store from the outside, the size was comparable to an Ubahn station. It's very strange seeing Walmarts and Krogers and huge suburban houses compared to the places we went in Austria. At this point in time, Americans can afford to waste space on huge grocery stores that have literally hundreds of varieties of chips. However, in the future as population increases and people must increasingly live closer together, Americans' idea of how much space is necessary will diminish and get closer to the standards evident in many other places in the world. I think it's just interesting to look at how much space I think I need versus how much space I had in Vienna, including both living space and personal space in public. 

I also really appreciate how much the Viennese walk and how often they are outside. I think I ate outside more than inside when at cafes and restaurants. I really wish there were larger pedestrian zones in Richmond and more outside eating areas. 

On a related note, I also liked that patrons are allowed to sit at cafes and restaurants for long periods of time (though I do prefer American servers). I never felt hurried out of a restaurant or pressured to eat faster. Also, due to the large amount of outdoor seating, I never had to wait for a table. 

I may have mentioned this in a previous blog post, but I also liked that the Viennese didn't use as much air conditioning as Americans do. Coming back to the US, it's odd walking into a store or home that has the AC set to 68 or 70 degrees. I definitely don't like sweating all the time, but having the air conditioning set so low feels unnecessary and, at this point, uncomfortable after more than half an hour. It would also be more environmentally friendly to keep the AC set a little higher in the summer. 

One of the international issues that was discussed in as well as out of class that I would like to keep track of is the situation between the Ukraine and Russia. I didn't know a lot about it to begin with, but feel much better informed after talking to people from both Kiev and Moscow. 

Lastly, I would like to learn more about Guantanamo bay due to the fact that our tour guide at Dachau informed us that Guantanamo qualifies as a concentration camp. Guantanamo bay is one of those things that you now is bad, but never really look too far into and I would like to be better informed about it. 

How to Describe Vienna

Vienna: 

-baroque

-beautiful

-artsy

-horses

-patios

-refined

-coffee

-environmentally conscious

-a little grimy

-bread

-pork

-Grüner Veltliner 

-Radler

-Rye Seeds

-Würstelstand 

-warm

-walking

Some of my words describe the appearance of the city, but many relate to tastes and smells (rye, pork, Radler, etc). The last two words may seem a little vague, but upon getting back to America I realized that I was used to no air conditioning. Also, I did more walking in Vienna than I ever have before, so that's why that word is there. As far as refinement goes, that's a word that I think fits the first district of the city, with all its elaborate architecture, and a lot of the people you see there. Europe in general seems to be more environmentally conscious than America. We saw lots of windmills, there was always the option to separate your trash, and you had to buy your own bags at the grocery store. 

I think tastes and smells will most vividly evoke memories for me, so whenever I have a Radler or a great cappuccino or a really strong white wine, I'll think of Vienna. 

Stereotypes

Going into Vienna, I didn't have very many stereotypes in mind. I had read that the Viennese were kind of grumpy and that they had a thing for ceremony, but that was it. As far s Europeans in general are concerned, I expected most of them to be very liberal. 

In some respects, the Viennese were liberal compared to Americans, especially concerning the human body. For example, you can change into your bathing suit on the beach, which would get you arrested in America. As far as tolerance was concerned, however, Americans seemed to be much more understanding than many Europeans. We had a discussion in our class about whether or not burkas and hijabs should be worn at work and school. I, as well as many Americans my age, said that I thought islamic dress should be accepted on the grounds of religious freedom. My teacher, and many of my Ukrainian classmates, were of the opinion that these coverings represented female oppression. This was very surprising to me. 

As far as stereotypes about Americans were concerned, I heard many that I had already anticipated. Americans are fat. Americans are stupid. Americans have too many guns and a problem with violence in general. Americans are far too individualistic. So on and so forth. None of these stereotypes really offended me because, after some discussion, I don't think my classmates really believed them. Additionally, there is some truth to all of these stereotypes and some portion of the population fits one of them. The most upsetting stereotypes I encountered were related to gender, not nationality. Our class generally held to the view that women were more emotional than men and communicated in fundamentally different ways. Certainly, there are differences between women and men, but to label women as outright emotional and therefore less rational is foolish. Not everyone in my class held this view, but enough did that it was troubling. 

None of my stereotypes about the Viennese were really proven. Nobody from Austria complained more than most Americans I have met and I didn't really get to witness a modern example of concern for ceremony. However, it does seem that many Viennese hate small talk and are much lighter on pleasantries than Americans. If you go to a store in Vienna, nobody will ask you how your day has been, they will just say hello and let you shop. 

Adapting to Navigating

Things I adapted to in Vienna: 

-Ordering all my food in German

-Navigating all the public transportation

-Grocery shopping

-they will not bag your stuff

-people will bump into you all the time

-you absolutely have to remember to get a barcode for your produce

-Living with a stranger who doesn't speak English as well as they speak German

-The dorm washing machines (they were very confusing)

-Getting home at night (had to plan not to walk by myself)

-identifying which stores were and were not for tourists

-not having internet all the time (I really missed my smartphone) 

-Getting through crowds FAST (I learned to hate Stephansplatz) 

I think the most difficult thing to adapt to was going to new places by myself. Usually, I can use my GPS to get me places, but in Vienna I was reliant on a map and the kindness of other people when I asked for directions. I did get pointed in the wrong direction a few times, but I never got seriously lost and by the end of the month I felt very confident in my ability to find things throughout the city. Mostly, I just had to force myself out of my comfort zone and commit to going somewhere new. Once you're out the door, you have to keep going, so the biggest challenge was getting myself to get out of the dorm during my free time. 

Now though, I feel that if I visited a new city, I would be able to find my way around with a map and would be able to discover and learn about the city's landmarks and culture on my own. 

Lainzer Tiergarten

As with my other two activities, I didn't really have to interact with very many people here. I did talk to some older Austrian ladies at the bus stop as well as a couple people at the Hermes Villa museum and the cafe. I ordered my food and bought tickets in German. 

I have never been to a Game reserve before and I'm not sure there are any parks like this in Virginia where you can wander around so close to wildlife. It was really cool to be in such a big park that was relatively close to the city. In most parks in the US, you can see animals in pens or maybe a few deer, but this was my first time seeing wild boar in person. 

I had a lot of fun seeing the Hermes Villa, it was an interesting contrast to the large, well kept palaces that we had toured. Also, it was really interesting to see families of wild boar wandering around with their babies. 

Schmetterling Haus

The only person I really had to interact with here was the cashier. I spoke to her in German to get my ticket, then didn't really talk to anyone else during my time at the butterfly house. 

I have been to small butterfly houses before, but this one was by far the largest one I have ever seen. Not only was it pretty big (for a butterfly house), but it had a huge variety of butterflies and was in one of the biggest art nouveau greenhouses in Vienna. 

It was amazing getting to see so many butterflies up close. I think the most remarkable one was a huge moth that had about a 5 inch wingspan. I've never seen a moth or butterfly that big before, so that was really interesting. 

Leopold Museum

Once I got to the museum, I didn't have to speak very much German. I did, however, have to ask about checking my bag and about the locations of various exhibits and the cafe. There wasn't a whole lot of interaction with other people here because everyone was concentrating on seeing the art. 

This museum had a large collection of Egon Schiele's work. Schiele was an Austrian artist who spent his artistic career in Vienna. His work is filled with interesting textures and lines, and Vienna has the largest collection of his work. The Leopold museum showcased his work wonderfully, showing paintings throughout his career as well as various drawings. 

Seeing Schiele's work in person was amazing, as I have seen a lot of his work in textbooks before. Actually being in front of the paintings gave me a way better idea of the textures and the process of the artist and an overall better understanding of his work. 

Attitudes Towards Food Consumption: Quality vs Quantity

I understand that food, as far as categories of cuisine are concerned, is a typical difference between America and other countries. However, a difference I had not anticipated is the attitude towards food consumption and grocery shopping here.

To say that Americans have a shopping problem is an understatement. A quick visit to Costco will show that many Americans truly believe they need to have 24 cans of chicken soup on hand at any given moment. Also, many American pantries look as though their owners are preparing to survive a nuclear holocaust. In Vienna, however, it seems there is always a grocery store within a two or three block radius, the kitchens and appliances therein are smaller, and even the grocery stores and shopping carts would be dwarfed by their American counterparts.

I believe this stems not only from the fact that we are in dorms (and because we are students we don't need a full kitchen), or that we are in a large city (therefore the stores may be smaller to conserve space), but also from the fact that Viennese approach the consumption of food differently. A slower approach to food is evident in every cafe, where the food may take longer to prepare, but the guest is also allowed to linger and enjoy their meal and is never rushed by the waiters (this last thing is a mixed blessing, as the waiters can also be very difficult to flag down).

It seems that here shopping is expected to be done more frequently. This is evidenced in the smaller shopping carts and kitchens. Additionally, this allows for more frequent consumption of fresh food, as opposed to America, where canned and frozen vegetables may appear on dinner plates more frequently than fresh produce.

Milk and other fresh items also come in smaller containers, supporting the idea that shopping is done fairly frequently, and many vegetables and fruits are not refrigerated in the store.

I was shocked to see mushrooms in a shelf rather than in a refrigerated section when I first went shopping.  I think this is partially due to the fact that the farms are closer to the grocery stores than in America (for example, most iceberg lettuce in America comes from California) and partially due to the fact that the food is expected to be eaten quickly, therefore it doesn't need to be refrigerated for days I transport, then days in the store, then days at the consumer's house.

I have also noticed that a lot of the packaging is more eco-friendly than in America. For example, the potatoes here come in cloth netting rather than plastic bags. I think this relates to the concern for the quality of food and shows that care is taken from the growth of the food to the purchase, and then all the way to the disposal of the packaging.

Overall, I think the freshness and quality of food in Vienna takes precedence over the quantity and convenience of having a lot of it on hand, like in America.

Week One

My first week in Vienna has been amazing. The city is incredibly beautiful, from the palaces to the city squares to the quiet side streets. It's fascinating walking streets that were established far before America was. I've been consistently torn between trying to budget and attempting to experience everything.

Vienna has also proved very easy to navigate and very safe (at least where I've been). I have walked around and ridden the Ubahn by myself and have felt very competent and safe.

The classes here are much more grammar heavy than the most of the classes that I have taken recently at VCU and I'm quickly realizing that I have a lot to learn. Most of my upper level German classes at VCU focused on history and literature. This has left holes in my vocabulary, including where practical vocabulary is concerned. I think I mentioned this in my previous post, but it's humbling to have sixteen year olds in my class speaking at the same level that I do. Our teacher is very engaging and mixes a lot of conversation in with grammar lessons, which I appreciate. Our homework is also much lighter than homework I have had in German classes at VCU.

It's intriguing discussing social and political topics or symbols in a class full of international students. Opinions invariably take an unexpected turn or I am offered a historical or social perspective that I never would have considered. I love discussing American culture with other students and verifying or disproving stereotypes. It's interesting hearing an outside perspective on my culture and country. Some students speak a lot in class, but there are a few who rarely speak at all. There are no other university students in class aside from me, only high school students or professionals.

As of yet, I haven't experienced any culture shock. I love experiencing new things, I'm fairly relaxed, and I've been too busy enjoying all the art, architecture, and food to feel homesick. I may be ready to go home in a few weeks, but we'll see.

Our neighborhood is very interesting. Some of the apartments seem nice, while others, on the same block, appear a little worn. The biggest shock to me about the neighborhood has been the number of prostitutes and, I'm not sure the correct term for these, the hooker bars? Stripper bars? Lady bars? Whatever they're called, I'm not going to tell my parents about them until I get home (they would be very worried). It's funny walking to class in the morning and seeing laundry drying outside these bars.

I like that there are a lot of restaurants and trees around our dorm and I always laugh a little when I'm falling asleep and I hear American music from some of the rides at the Prater. This may sound weird, but I also like that I can people watch from my apartment. All the buildings are very close together and I like to watch people who sit by their windows or out on balconies.

Unfortunately, because I left my computer at home, most of my pictures are stuck on my camera. However, I think this picture of my coffee the other day sums up my mood pretty well. It's delicious, a little familiar, a little foreign, and very relaxing. I've felt very calm since getting here and one of the things I love is sitting at a cafe, drinking the kind if coffee that puts America to shame, and people watching. I honestly don't know how I'll go back to drinking American coffee after this. My first week has been great, even though I filled up the memory card on my camera, and I can't wait to see what I learn during the rest of my time here.

Jet Lag, Sunday Shopping, and Lots of Walking

I've been in Vienna for a few days now and already feel pretty comfortable with the city. There are tons of beautiful buildings, more cafés than I could ever eat at even if I lived here, and amazing art pretty much everywhere in the first district.

As far as expectations, I have/ had a mix of positive and negative expectations:

-starting in the airport and continuing to the subway and city streets, I thought I would get horribly lost everywhere (so far, hasn't happened)
-I expect my German conversational skills to improve a lot
-I expect to try tons of different foods (and hopefully like them)
           -just a note here: for some reason I expected to be able to recognize pretty much everything on menus. I was wrong. That's not a bad thing, it's just interesting that even basic things like sandwiches can be very different.
-I also didn't expect a big difference in the shopping habits between the Viennese and Americans. I was also wrong about that.
-I expect to form new friendships with people in my group and people from other countries
-and I expect to see a lot of Vienna

I think most of my expectations are realistic. I wasn't expecting my Cultura Wien class to be so heavily focused on grammar, but I'm glad it is. Even two days of class have taught me that there's a lot that I don't know. It has also been a little hard to have tons of conversations in German. When out of class, most students from my course prefer to speak English or their native language (same goes for vcu students). But who knows, maybe in a week or so we'll try speaking more German on our free time.

Grocery shopping at the Ubahn Billa was also a shock to me. I didn't expect the crowd and hadn't been aware before that most shops here closed on Sundays. I'm definitely starting to understand that Europeans have a different concept of personal space. I can't count the number of people who bumped into me at the grocery store.

I like to think that I'm pretty relaxed (when I'm not running late), so I'm perfectly alright with my expectations shifting throughout the trip. So far, I'm feeling very good about being here and am very excited for the remainder of the program.

As aforementioned, coming here showed me that there's a lot I don't know about German. I can speak fairly well. I can read, comprehend, and write about German literature pretty competently. However, my grammar, especially when speaking, is still weak and my vocabulary definitely leaves much to be desired.

One thing I love about German is the ability to make compound words. I think it's very cool that the language allows speakers to pretty much mash two words together to create a new word that everybody should understand.

The most difficult aspect of German for me is remembering the gender of nouns. Even now, I feel like I'm guessing half the time. I can only assume this will improve with more experience.

In order to get more comfortable speaking and communicating here, the only things I can really do is dive in. I have to have conversations, read about things, and write often, expecting to make mistakes but willing to learn from correction. So far I haven't hit any major roadblocks concerning communication, so I'm not feeling very intimidated.

Lainzer Tiergarten

The Lainzer Tiergarten is a game preserve located in the 13th district of Vienna ( Lainzer Tor, Hermesstraße 1130 Wien). It is free to the public and features great hiking and some unique opportunities to see wildlife. The reserve used to be maintained as hunting grounds for the Habsburgs, but today safely houses animals such as boars, deer, and geese. 

The preserve also has some wonderful lookouts onto the city. 

Toward the east side of the reserve, a former Habsburg palace still stands: Hermesvilla, nicknamed "the castle of dreams". 

The palace costs 6 euros to see and is open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Tuesday through Sunday. 

Although Vienna has many beautifully manicured parks, I think the game reserve would be worth visiting for its more natural atmosphere. I enjoy hiking and seeing wildlife, as well as photographing animals when possible, so I think this would be a very nice place to visit. Additionally, it's free, and that's always appealing. 

Information: 
http://www.wien.info/en/vienna-for/families/outdoor/lainz-game-preserve

Images: 
http://www.vienna.cc/wienpix/lainzer4.jpg

http://media05.regionaut.meinbezirk.at/2011/11/13/859015_web.jpg?1321174295

http://austria-forum.org/attach/AEIOU/Hermesvilla/Hermesvilla.jpg

Brezl Gwölb

I love eating and am very excited to try food that is authentically Austrian. One restaurant that seems to be fairly well known is Brezl Gwölb, located at Ledererhof 9 1010 Wien. This restaurant has a unique atmosphere, as it's located in a cellar, with curved ceilings, and interesting paintings and tapestries on the walls. Almost every review I've read praises the authenticity as well as the quality of the food. The restaurant seems to be open only for dinner, and all of the meals are under 20 euros. 

Menu items that catch my eye include:

Milchrahmstrudel mit Vanillesauce

Zwiebelrostbraten mit Braterdäpfel

And Tafelspitz mit Rösti, Apfelkren und Schnittlauchsauce (I couldn't find a very good picture for this one.  Information:  http://www.brezl.at/ Images: http://www.brezl.at/s/cc_images/cache_26505789.jpg http://www.kroeswang.at/uploads/tx_artikelliste/3352.jpg http://www.schwabendeal.de/share/images/thumbs/thumb_734369_605_1321526864.jpg

Raphael, Rembrandt, and Rubens. Oh my.

If I had an inhaler, I would be using it right now. Seems melodramatic, I know, but I love renaissance and baroque paintings, and the three artists listed in the title were all-stars of their times. Paintings by these artists and many more can be found at the Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna.

First though, please do allow me to talk (geek out) about the artists.

Rubens takes some time to warm up to because of his unconventional figures. All of his people, whether women or men, are built. They all look incredibly sturdy. Seriously, I would not wanna take any of his ladies in a fight.

But their solidity is almost palpable and the subject matter is often in stark contrast with his lighter color palette.

Rembrandt's work can only be described as haunting.

His portraits have a distinct play of light and shadow that even today artists reference. For example, in my VCU classes I have heard something like this from a professor multiple times: "If we move the light source over here, you get that nice Rembrandt lighting."

Rembrandt focused on portraits, which are always more interesting to me than other types of paintings.

Lastly, Raphael. One of the great Italian renaissance painters. Raphael's work is appealing to me mostly because of his renown. His style does not particularly awe me, but there is something surreal about standing before the work of an artist that you've read about and whose work you've only seen through a screen.

Alright, I'll stop.

As far as the Palace itself goes, it is located at Fürstengasse 1 1090 Vienna. Unfortunately, tours are sparse and there is only one public tour while we are in Vienna: July 11 at 3:00 pm. The tour also costs 20 Euros. In 2012, the museum closed to regular tours and the organization running it decided to focus on primarily high end private events, which I think is very unfortunate. I would love to splurge and see this palace and, more importantly, the paintings, but this particular museum is a little lower than some of the cheaper ones on my list. 

Information: 
http://www.palaisliechtenstein.com/en/home.html

Images: 
http://ppcdn.500px.org/39322944/793f0dee9f0c80170cb1ef08cd243a1a8ad71797/2048.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_Diana_Returning_from_Hunt_-_WGA20290.jpg

http://artinbulk.com/image/famous%20artist/Rubens/rubens_020.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bRMI6VHY88ERsq851saX6eMFtLRC5RxplbEtXjwMJ9zWZBdH55u8pOFxQLhxIkQfWwql-M_kKj8768kXSnWcXdED4Pru_yUHHP8AvlHXJrLHinfPwAUg-URcB09CMKcm7CpDdE6pOUs/s1600/Rembrandt_Harmenszoon_van_Rijn-Self_Portrait-1660-222256-edited_DC_lvl11.jpg

http://gabriellevonbernstorff.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/240px-raffaello_madonna_cowper.jpg

Wiener Zentralfriedhof

Museums, books, restaurants, concerts, etc are all wonderful ways to learn about the past and present life of a city. But, paradoxically, one place that also gives an interesting look into the life of a place is its cemeteries. Gravestones, mausoleums, and catacombs speak volumes about the cultural and economic environment in which individuals lived.

The Wiener Zentralfriedhof is Vienna's most important cemetery (at least, according to its website). This extensive cemetery located at Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 1110 Vienna is free and open to the public. Its office is open Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, though I believe it is open for visitors on the weekends. It has 330,000 graves marked by everything from small or broken stones to lavish mausoleums.

I really enjoyed going to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, so I think the Wiener Zentralfriedhof would give me further insight into the ceremony surrounding death in Viennese culture and the impressive artistry that often accompanied the rituals.

There is also a large Art Nouveau cathedral in the center, which I think would be interesting to see in contrast with the many gothic and baroque cathedrals around the city.

Sources:

Information:
http://www.friedhoefewien.at/eportal/

Images:
http://www.friedhoefewien.at/media/img/2008/image_6576_3526.jpg

http://www.gotorio.de/storage/P1000529.JPG?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1255550160409

http://www.ikg-wien.at/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fh_zentralfriedhof_Wien_1.jpg

Apple Strudel Show

Vienna has many wonderful bakeries and many wonderful pastries, but the Cafe Residenz at Schönbrunn Palace gives visitors a look behind the scenes. At the top of the hour between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm, visitors can pay 9.60 euros to watch a chef craft the famous Viennese apple strudel. The show lasts between 15 and 20 minutes and at the end visitors get a warm piece of strudel and a coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Lastly, all visitors receive a copy of the original apple strudel recipe. If you're the lucky 21st visitor, the admission to the show is free!

For more dedicated strudel aficionados, there's a two hour strudel seminar that costs 21 Euros plus a pastry chef fee, in which participants get a more in-depth education of strudel baking. Each person creates their own strudel, receives a diploma, and can call themselves a genuine Viennese Apple Strudel Baker. 

I love cooking, baking, and learning about unique recipes from other cultures. The strudel show would probably appeal to me more than the strudel seminar. I think it would be very intriguing to see how the strudel is made and getting to taste it would be great as well. I think this could be a great thing to do while at Schönbrunn (I know I'll be visiting the palace at least once, if not more). 

Source: 

http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/tours-guides/apple-strudel-show

Images: 

http://www.cafe-residenz.at/uploads/pics/Strudelshow-3.jpg

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/3_button_maus/11250646/15899/15899_original.jpg

Leopold Museum

As an art student, I have learned to appreciate a wide variety of art, from sculpture to cinema to paintings. However, having studied drawing and illustration in depth, I deeply appreciate exhibits featuring paintings and drawings with interesting line-work and well stylized figures. 

Lucky for me, the Leopold Museum has an exhibit going through October called "Line and Shape" that showcases 100 Master Drawings from the museum's collection. The museum itself looks very modern, a large cube with a bright white limestone exterior. 

Additionally, the museum has a huge number of works by Egon Schiele, an early expressionist painter who mainly rendered people with exceptionally interesting brushstrokes and figural distortions. 

The museum also has a number of works by Gustav Klimt, an Art Nouveau painter who taught Egon Schiele and painted wonderfully textured oil paintings. 

Besides the above mentioned exhibits, the museum also has other expressionist and Viennese Secessionist works and a good deal of furniture, glass, and silver pieces. 

The Leopold Museum is located in the MuseumsQuartier, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, Austria. It is open from 10:00am to 6:00 pm every day except Thursday, when it is open until 9:00 pm. Student tickets are only 8 euros. The Museum has a shop as well as a cafe with a nice terrace and a lunch menu that changes daily. 

Source: 

http://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en

Images: 

http://travelioo.com/img/Leopold-Museum-Photo.jpg

http://www.leninimports.com/egon_schiele_edith_schiele_magna_postcard_1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Gustav_Klimt_046.jpg

http://www.leopoldmuseum.org/media/image/800/356.jpg

Schmetterlinghaus

In the gardens of the Hofburg Palace is a place with enchanting architecture and even more intriguing residents. Housed in a 100 year old art nouveau greenhouse live hundreds of butterflies and exotic plants. 

The Schmetterlinghaus, or The Imperial Butterfly House, used to be just a greenhouse, but after renovations in the late 1980's was transformed into a butterfly house. Butterflies live among tropical flowers and visitors can observe them while traversing winding staircases and bridges, passing close to waterfalls and even closer to the 400 butterflies that occasionally land on visitors. 

All of the butterflies in the Imperial Butterfly House are obtained from recognized butterfly farms or are bred in the butterfly house. There are no endangered species present and no butterflies from this location are sold to collectors. 

The Imperial Butterfly House is located in the Burggarten Hofburg, Hanuschgasse, 1010 Wien, Austria. It is open from 10:00 am to 4:45 pm Monday through Friday and from 10:00 am to 4:45 pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Adult tickets are 6 euros and guided tours are available for groups for an extra 40 euro charge. 

I have visited the butterfly house at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond before and really enjoyed the up close encounter with the butterflies. Seeing a butterfly garden on a larger scale would be very interesting. Additionally, the Schmetterlinghaus has been hailed as one of the most beautiful art nouveau greenhouses in the world and I think it would be a great opportunity to see some distinctive art nouveau architecture in contrast to the many Gothic cathedrals and Baroque palaces in Vienna. 

Source: 

http://www.schmetterlinghaus.at/en/

Images: 

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/17006657.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1cj7OUUQBKROZdCa6oMCjagCW_2LypcQlwCoGcjOGdsc79mOP_KMs2xL9Iauk-C7e_cAqB7wdQ29EjHO3gsDJHWwWHhoGNvSQu6NBBVAaT8e840j6ti_NEVezOX6LPziVvV21C2mN2Y/s1600/IMG_1891_2.JPG

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/15/ee/c2/quite-a-photographic.jpg

http://www.holidaycheck.at/data/urlaubsbilder/images/146/1155780563.jpg

Street Art Passage

One part of a thriving art community is having art that is highly visible and accessible to everyone. Street art is a wonderful addition to any art community. Street art not only offers diverse styles and relevant political messages, but also wonderfully utilizes otherwise blank walls. Richmond, Virginia has recently resolved to cultivate a more vibrant street art presence and I've been delighted to see various murals sprouting up around the city on often unexpected locations. Street art, whether legal or not, offers interesting insights to a city and its people. From graffiti and murals one can get a feel for an area's personality, challenges, and priorities. 

There are a number of themed passages in the MuseumQuartier in Vienna, all of which I would like to explore. 

But there is one between the Spittelberg and the MuseumsQuartier dedicated solely to street art that I find particularly interesting. This passage features permanent art by a French graffiti artist by the name of "Invader" as well as changing pieces done by local street artists. Each new exhibit is accompanied by a new edition of Street Art Magazine. 

Other passages around the MuseumsQuartier include a comic passage, and a typography passage. Admission is free and hours are really any time of day you're walking in the area (though I would assume daylight would probably be safer and afford better visibility). 

Source: 

http://www.betonblumen.org/

Images: 

http://www.betonblumen.org/images/lageplan-new.jpg

https://www.mqw.at/uploads/media/STREET_ART_PASSAGE_VIENNA__c__quartier21.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7120/7556899028_81e1e52894_z.jpg

Schokomuseum

Vienna has a museum devoted to chocolate. I'll say that again: Vienna has a museum completely devoted to chocolate. Need I say more?

Actually, for my grade's sake I do. 

I am a chocolate addict and basically refuse to eat candy that isn't chocolate. The Schokomuseum sounds pretty heavenly when you get into the details. The tour starts with a piece of chocolate. Afterwards, visitors learn about the history of chocolate (did you know chocolate has been used as currency in some parts of the world?) as well as various chocolate making techniques, then get to try chocolate from three different chocolate fountains.

After that, guests get to observe the actual manufacturing of chocolate and sample various specialty chocolates. 

Guided tours are available in German Monday through Thursday at 2:00 pm and Saturday at 10:00 and 11:00 am. Tours in English are only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:00 pm. Tours cost 7 euros and the museum is located at Willendorfergasse 2-8 1230 Vienna. 

There are also workshops that involve painting with chocolate, but those are a little pricey at 29 euros and I would rather eat chocolate than paint with it. 

The museum's website has a cute little chocolate quiz that will tell you what kind of chocolate eater you are (apparently I'm a "wafer specialist"). Some of the phrases sound pretty funny translated into English. If you want to take the quiz, you can go here: http://www.schokomuseum.at/en/chocolate-quiz

Source:

http://www.schokomuseum.at/

Images:
http://img.vatera.hu/carpic/upload/lealkudtuk_2013/9/alfatours_csokimuzeum_6.jpg
http://www.geri.at/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/schokobrunnen.jpg
http://188.138.75.92/image.ashx?c=0&cw=0&ch=0&w=800&h=600&f=/images/de//poi/osterreich/wien/gallery/schokomuseum-wien.jpg
http://typischich.at/images/uploads_610/d/2/a/716074/schokoworkshops_heindl_schokomuseum_hauptbild20111212134920.jpg

Eissalon Tuchlauben

I love cookies, cakes, pastries, chocolate, and almost any other dessert (I'm just a huge fan of food in general). One thing I remember seeing the last time I was in Vienna, which was only for a couple days seven years ago, was quite a few cafes with some pretty impressive ice cream selections. I'm not talking about a scoop of vanilla on a cake cone that kind of tastes like cardboard. These ice creams were served to customers on outdoor patios in glass dishes, adorned with fruit and little wafer cookies. Naturally, I have to hunt down an ice cream parlor, or Eissalon as the Viennese would say, and try one of these creations for myself. 

One of the Eissalons with the best reviews was  Eissalon Tuchlauben. Judging by the pictures alone, what they serve looks closer to gelato than ice cream. This means it's thicker and richer than regular ice cream. 

Eissalon Tuchlauben's slogan is actually "Das beste Eis der Welt". It's a pretty bold claim and I'm more than willing to put it to the test. According to the website, Eissalon Tuchlauben cares deeply about quality and puts heavy emphasis on handcrafting their product with quality ingredients. There are 21 one regular flavors as well as seasonal flavors and changing house-specialty flavors. Some interesting flavors include macaron, tiramisu, and blood orange. The salon also has over 40 "Eiskreationen", ice creams with various toppings, and offers coffee and juices. All the menu items seem to be under 8 euros and the Eissalon is open from 10:00 am to 11:30 pm Monday through Saturday and from 11:00 am to 11:30 pm on Sunday during the summer. The hours are slightly reduced in other seasons. Eissalon Tuchlauben is located at 1010 Wien, Tuchlauben 15. 

Source: 

http://eissalon-tuchlauben.at/

Images:
http://imgdyn.restauranttester.at/images/cache/efc7ed2755a10c7285b90006e1456622.jpg
http://tannel81.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/cimg57662.jpg
http://eissalon-tuchlauben.at/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/start_vitrine.jpg

Vlog for Vienna 1

In case you've ever wondered, it's very hard to make eye contact with an iPad rather than yourself. Here are a few places I'm looking forward to visiting while in Vienna. Don't mind the car noises in the background.