For a city of almost two million, Vienna is surprisingly green. That was one of the first things I noticed about the city. The second was how many people there were. About one in every five people in Austria lives in the bustling city. Vienna is known for its coffee, Our tour of the rich art history of Vienna started at one of the most prestigious art houses in the city.
The Belvedere is no ordinary museum. Situated near the heart of the city, the opulent palace was built in baroque style. It stood commanding and grand, outlined by puffy white clouds in a blue sky. Inside the palace, I was taken aback by the elegant style of neoclassical and renaissance architecture and statues perfectly coordinated with romanticism-style paintings of beautiful women or still life. The museum moves through the late 19th and early 20th-century art eras. Gustav Klimt’s artwork is prominently displayed, including his most famous artwork, “The Kiss,” in the art nouveau style.
Some of my classmates took pictures mimicking the photos. I loved “Judith and the Head of Holofernes” by Gustav Klint. We also visited VRvis, a tech company that creates VR and simulations. I was blown away by their projects. In one, for example, they were mapping an entire brain of fly larvae, technology that could be used to map human brains one day. In another, they were re-creating 3D models of 2D artwork for people who are blind to be able to experience museum artwork.
Vienna was having a heat wave with temperatures up to 35ºc (95ºf). I went swimming with my classmates in the river that winds through the city. The river is beautiful. It has dark blue waters and grassy hillsides where “beachgoers” sit and sunbathe. The Viennese treat the river like a beach, as Austria is a landlocked country. There are even spots where sand has been added to emulate a shoreline.
My second to last night in Vienna was the most memorable. I decided to try to go to a synagogue in Vienna for Shabbat. Unfortunately, my phone hadn’t been working, so I decided to take a picture of my map and venture out alone across the city. Luckily for me, Vienna has excellent signage, and I quickly found my way there. A guard greeted me in a full Austrian special military uniform and a scarlet tie around his upper arm. He interrogated me for a moment before letting me into the small chapel. I was greeted warmly and told to choose a seat. The service began, and I was astonished by the similarities between the Shabbat services I go to at home in Santa Barbara and the one I was experiencing. I had that revelation moment everyone seems to have at some point while abroad, that the world is a very small place indeed.
My time in Vienna ended with a trip to the Museum of Natural History, otherwise known as the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. The museum is a massive, elaborate neoclassical structure with large pillars and intricate stonework. It is mirrored (in typical baroque style) by the Vienna Art Museum or the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The natural history museum features thousands of preserved animals, complemented by the grand romanticism paintings prominently displayed across the ceiling. I have never seen a more beautiful museum. It even surpassed the Belvedere, which is known for its stunning art and architecture. I could have spent hours or even days in the museum, but we had to head off to our next city, Munich, Germany!
