Saturday was another big day, this time featuring an adventure to the old salt mines of Hallein! Julia, Hannah, her five year-old host sister Alexandra and I hopped on a train this morning to check them out. After a bit of wandering about the town, trying to locate the information center and figuring out which bus to take up the mountain, we successfully arrived at the Salzkelten. Before the tour began, we had time to eat our lunch and bask in the gorgeous view! Würfel Zucker (a stuffed toy guinea pig mailed to me by Amanda who’s name means “Sugar Cube”) even came along for the adventure.
Before you can go into the mines, they make you wear these really goofy white suits that make you feel (and look) like a marshmallow. It can’t be helped-even if they make you feel silly, at least they keep you clean! After a good giggle about our get up, we climbed aboard a little green train that let us into the heart of the mountain, and we began our tour of the mine!
In the first tunnel we saw, we learned that because of the enormous pressure from above, the mining tunnels shrink about a centimeter a year. We went through a very old tunnel that was about half the size that it used to be, and it made me wonder how they would keep the mines open in the future. Throughout the tour, we learned about how salt mining was an extremely profitable enterprise for the people of Salzburg, and by people, I mean the Prince Archbishop, particularly Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. He used the money from the mines to “remodel” the city of Salzburg, and transform it from a medieval city to the beautiful Baroque city that it is today.
One of the most fun parts of going through the mine is that you get to go on giant slides! That’s right-there are these great wooden slides that the miners used to use, and you get to go down a few of them, which is a blast. Then, after that, you get to cross a subterranean salt lake on a boat! They used to saturate an area with water, and then heat it up so that the water would evaporate and only the salt remained. We also got to see many different kinds of salt, like “Red-rock Salt” (red due to the prescence of iron oxide) and what was apparently blue, radioactive salt. The salt mines also cross the border into Germany! So, for about fifteen minutes today, I was like five hundred meters below Germany, or something like that. Cool.
So it was quite an interesting day! We learned a lot about the mining, and had a great time riding around on the slides and trains, and looking fabulous in our white suits. Alexandra had a good time too, and we had fun trying to understand her German (I may have saved the day by recognizing that “Klo” meant “Bathroom”). Outside the mines, they also have a “Celtic Village” to illustrate a bit about the life of the Celts, who were the first to settle in that region and start utilizing the salt. The views were beautiful, and it was quite a fun adventure!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Winkelhof Visit
On Friday some of us from the school were lucky enough to go on a field trip to Winkelhof, an Austrian trade school where they focus on small organic farming and hospitality. It was a very neat experience, and taught me a bit more about how the educational system works in Austria. Kids can decide at an early age whether or not they want to continue with intellectual studies at the “gymnasium” or if they would like to enroll in a vocational school, like Winkelhof. Winkelhof teaches several different trades to their students (who are usually around age seventeen) and tries to prepare them to make a living in Austria.
For farming they have a number of livestock so we got to see a bunch of cute farm critters. Mainly they focus on cows and dairy, but they also have sheep, goats, pigs, geese, chickens, and horses (which we sadly didn’t get a peek at). There were six-week old piglets there, which were very cute. As a vegetarian, I had some mixed feelings about some of the treatment of the animals (of course it was much better than it would be at an industrial farm-they were quite well cared for), but I would have preferred that they used some free range techniques, but alas (and I did NOT go into the slaughterhouse, or where they make sausages-eew). However, it is really nice that in Austria there is no farm “industry” to speak of; all the farms are small, and many (like Winkelhof) generate organic prouducts, which is great. Winkelhof also teaches their agriculture students a craft, whether it be locksmithing, mechanics, welding, etc., since many farmers cannot make a living on farming alone.
After seeing most of the livestock, we visited what was many people’s favorite stop-the schnapps room. Here they brew and distill that fruity liquor that is quite popular in Austria. They even let us sample some year-old plum schnapps (I did not partake, instead I took pictures) and see the huge tubs where they let the fruit ferment before it goes into the Willy Wonka like machine to brew. We even got to visit the cheesemaking room before we left; a magical place.
It’s nice to know Austria values sustainable farming practices! (I wish the US would do the same) They even had a little market at the school, selling some of their own goods and also with local organic farmers selling teas, cheeses, breads, juices, and delicious looking veggies. Of course, I couldn’t pass up delicious fresh, organic food, so I got some great mango-yogurt, goat cheese and some really good bread to munch on the next day, when I would be taking another excursion...this time to the Salt Mines!
For farming they have a number of livestock so we got to see a bunch of cute farm critters. Mainly they focus on cows and dairy, but they also have sheep, goats, pigs, geese, chickens, and horses (which we sadly didn’t get a peek at). There were six-week old piglets there, which were very cute. As a vegetarian, I had some mixed feelings about some of the treatment of the animals (of course it was much better than it would be at an industrial farm-they were quite well cared for), but I would have preferred that they used some free range techniques, but alas (and I did NOT go into the slaughterhouse, or where they make sausages-eew). However, it is really nice that in Austria there is no farm “industry” to speak of; all the farms are small, and many (like Winkelhof) generate organic prouducts, which is great. Winkelhof also teaches their agriculture students a craft, whether it be locksmithing, mechanics, welding, etc., since many farmers cannot make a living on farming alone.
After seeing most of the livestock, we visited what was many people’s favorite stop-the schnapps room. Here they brew and distill that fruity liquor that is quite popular in Austria. They even let us sample some year-old plum schnapps (I did not partake, instead I took pictures) and see the huge tubs where they let the fruit ferment before it goes into the Willy Wonka like machine to brew. We even got to visit the cheesemaking room before we left; a magical place.
It’s nice to know Austria values sustainable farming practices! (I wish the US would do the same) They even had a little market at the school, selling some of their own goods and also with local organic farmers selling teas, cheeses, breads, juices, and delicious looking veggies. Of course, I couldn’t pass up delicious fresh, organic food, so I got some great mango-yogurt, goat cheese and some really good bread to munch on the next day, when I would be taking another excursion...this time to the Salt Mines!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
London Pictures!
Sorry I absolutely fail at posting pictures-these are all out of order and I still haven't quite got the caption thing going...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A sister selling sausages in Stuttgart
Sula and her incredibly German-looking son Juri met me at the train station in Stuttgart, and Sula is just the coolest. After stopping back at the apartment and having a snack, we went for a walk pushing Juri in the kinderwagen (he was quickly snoozing) and she showed me all these interesting art communities around town. Firstly, there are these old train cars that people have converted into flats, and sometimes they have concerts in them and there is a little cafe. Then we went to this place where she used to live where artists can rent studios and apartments in an old converted warehouse. It’s a great way to use the space, and a really interesting place! The friends of hers that we met there seemed really cool, and were all making very good art. It actually reminded me a lot of COA! They also have concerts and a little cafe in there, and she said that it was a great place to go in the summer.
Then we lugged the sleeping Juri up a big hill and we visited the Kunst Academie (the State Art Academy), which seemed like a really cool school. Sula had friends where ever we went, and one of them offered to show me around a little if she had time in the next few days. Then we came back to the apartment, where I got to meet one of Sula’s friends over tea and cake, and their kids played. It was a really great day! That night Sula and I chatted and she showed me some videos by her boyfriend Phillip (who was away working on a short film project in Berlin), which were very good, and then the two of us were pooped and went to bed!
On Wednesday, I finally made the mandatory pilgrimage to Würzburg, and saw the amazing frescoes there by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a Venetian artist from the Baroque period. As a disciple of Ernie McMullen, this was the equivalent of making a trip to Mecca. These frescoes were really incredible though, and I’m so glad that I finally got to see them, after hearing about them in nearly every meeting with my advisor for the past three years! I will also write a paper on them for my art history class, and they really are one of the best works of art, basically ever. Anyone passing through southern Germany should really stop by the Residenz and take a good long look at them, and then find a friend to give you a neck rub because it might be a bit sore after staring up at them all day! Then I spent another fun evening with Sula and Juri, after getting to play Phillip’s guitar for a few hours, which was great. We looked at all these great photography books that Sula and Phillip have, and we talked about stage design, and it was a good time.
Thursday I went back to the Kunst Academie, looked around some more and got to talk to some of the students there and ask them about the program (it would be a pretty great place to go for grad school!). That was cool, and then I looked in the library for books on Tiepolo, but found none in English. Then, I went into town to take a look around and go to the Staatgalerie.
Stuttgart is a pretty city, and there are all these gardens in the middle of town because that’s where the Schloss is. The Staatgalerie is not too far from there, so I walked over and got to see a very nice exhibit on Edward Burne-Jones, an English artist from the 19th century (who’s drawings are gorgeous, by the way), and then looked around the rest of the museum, which was also very good. A bit more manageable than the Louvre, this place had some good surrealist and cubist pieces in the permanent collection, and funnily enough, an oil sketch of Tiepolo’s staircase fresco at Würzburg. I think he is stalking me.
Then I managed to locate a grocery store, and bought some ingredients to cook dinner for Sula and Phillip that night. Sula requested burritos, so that’s what they got (and they were pretty yummy, too). Phillip arrived back from Berlin just as they were finished, and we had a really nice dinner together. Unfortunately I didn’t get to know him very well, since he was pretty tired from his trip and went to bed. Sula showed me some of her videos that night, and they were very imaginative and clever. It was really nice to be hosted by and spend time with such creative people!
The next morning I had to arise early once more, and was seen off to the train station by Sula and Juri. The train ride back to Salzburg seemed like it took forever, and I was kind of sad that this fun trip was over! Getting to meet all these wonderful people made it a really great experience, and I wish that I had more time to spend with them. But, when I arrived back in Salzburg, I realize how totally exhausted I was. I then unpacked, got some food, took a long nap, watched the third Harry Potter movie in German on TV and then went straight to bed. I was quite right to think that I would need some recovery time! The rest of the weekend will be spent starting my final projects and papers, getting rest and exercise, and petting the fluffy cat, Beguira.
Then we lugged the sleeping Juri up a big hill and we visited the Kunst Academie (the State Art Academy), which seemed like a really cool school. Sula had friends where ever we went, and one of them offered to show me around a little if she had time in the next few days. Then we came back to the apartment, where I got to meet one of Sula’s friends over tea and cake, and their kids played. It was a really great day! That night Sula and I chatted and she showed me some videos by her boyfriend Phillip (who was away working on a short film project in Berlin), which were very good, and then the two of us were pooped and went to bed!
On Wednesday, I finally made the mandatory pilgrimage to Würzburg, and saw the amazing frescoes there by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a Venetian artist from the Baroque period. As a disciple of Ernie McMullen, this was the equivalent of making a trip to Mecca. These frescoes were really incredible though, and I’m so glad that I finally got to see them, after hearing about them in nearly every meeting with my advisor for the past three years! I will also write a paper on them for my art history class, and they really are one of the best works of art, basically ever. Anyone passing through southern Germany should really stop by the Residenz and take a good long look at them, and then find a friend to give you a neck rub because it might be a bit sore after staring up at them all day! Then I spent another fun evening with Sula and Juri, after getting to play Phillip’s guitar for a few hours, which was great. We looked at all these great photography books that Sula and Phillip have, and we talked about stage design, and it was a good time.
Thursday I went back to the Kunst Academie, looked around some more and got to talk to some of the students there and ask them about the program (it would be a pretty great place to go for grad school!). That was cool, and then I looked in the library for books on Tiepolo, but found none in English. Then, I went into town to take a look around and go to the Staatgalerie.
Stuttgart is a pretty city, and there are all these gardens in the middle of town because that’s where the Schloss is. The Staatgalerie is not too far from there, so I walked over and got to see a very nice exhibit on Edward Burne-Jones, an English artist from the 19th century (who’s drawings are gorgeous, by the way), and then looked around the rest of the museum, which was also very good. A bit more manageable than the Louvre, this place had some good surrealist and cubist pieces in the permanent collection, and funnily enough, an oil sketch of Tiepolo’s staircase fresco at Würzburg. I think he is stalking me.
Then I managed to locate a grocery store, and bought some ingredients to cook dinner for Sula and Phillip that night. Sula requested burritos, so that’s what they got (and they were pretty yummy, too). Phillip arrived back from Berlin just as they were finished, and we had a really nice dinner together. Unfortunately I didn’t get to know him very well, since he was pretty tired from his trip and went to bed. Sula showed me some of her videos that night, and they were very imaginative and clever. It was really nice to be hosted by and spend time with such creative people!
The next morning I had to arise early once more, and was seen off to the train station by Sula and Juri. The train ride back to Salzburg seemed like it took forever, and I was kind of sad that this fun trip was over! Getting to meet all these wonderful people made it a really great experience, and I wish that I had more time to spend with them. But, when I arrived back in Salzburg, I realize how totally exhausted I was. I then unpacked, got some food, took a long nap, watched the third Harry Potter movie in German on TV and then went straight to bed. I was quite right to think that I would need some recovery time! The rest of the weekend will be spent starting my final projects and papers, getting rest and exercise, and petting the fluffy cat, Beguira.
Alive, Well, and Living in Paris
Thanks to some excellent directions from Adele, I found my way to her and Vincent’s apartment with no trouble at all that afternoon. Vincent was there to greet me, since he was working from home that afternoon, which was really nice and welcoming. He and I split a pizza for lunch, and then I went for a walk up to Montmarte and the church of the Sacred Heart, which is not far from their house (it is also the location of the film “Amelie”). From there you get a gorgeous view of Paris, and it’s an interesting little village. Parts of it are fairly touristy, but it was really cute, and I also learned that if all else fails I can be a street portrait artist and make a living in Paris drawing cheesy pictures of tourists.
That night I met the rest of the family; Adele and the adorable Gabin and Marie! There are few things more adorable than little blonde boys speaking in French. After the kids went to bed we had a very good dinner and had a nice chat, getting to know each other and making plans. I slept so well that night, after two nights of crummy sleep in the London Hostel.
In the morning Adele and I went to the Louvre together, which was totally overwhelming. That museum is about ten times bigger than I ever imagined. Of course, it is full of amazing works of art, (and yes, I followed the swarms of Asian tourists and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo) but it’s a bit too much to take in. You would have to go there everyday for months to really see everything! Walking through the halls is like seeing art’s greatest hits. There were gorgeous sculptures by Michelangelo, tons of Egyptian artifacts, many paintings by Da Vinci and so on. Really, the Mona Lisa seemed a bit silly, since it’s this tiny little portrait encased in glass on this huge wall all by itself, with about a million people waiting in line to take pictures of it. But it’s interesting to see how fascinated people are with this one little painting!
After the insanity of the Louvre, Adele went home to do some errands and I walked down the Seine to see Notre Dame. A beautiful cathedral, and the walk was lovely too. Paris is really a beautiful city! I had a snack in a little cafe across the river from Notre Dame, and then I had to hurry back to Adele and Vincent’s so that we could get ready to go to Normandy.
Normandy is possibly the prettiest place ever, and once you see it, impressionism makes so much more sense. The drive out was really lovely by itself, and then we got there to this thatch-roofed cottage next to a little river with horses grazing in the yard, and it was just ridiculously gorgeous. That night Vincent and I rushed to do a grocery run before the store closed, and then after watching him fail at making a fire I volunteered to try, and had a nice one going a few minutes later. So the epic saga of me helping men make fires continues...
The next day was rather drizzly, but very nicely spent. After sketching a picture of the yard in the morning, Adele, Gabin and I went to the market in Dieppe (the next town, right on the ocean) and bought all kinds of lovely food. We got the best goat cheese. Ever. That afternoon, Adele and I dug out her old set of oil paints, and found a canvas, and I got to do so plain-air painting, which was quite a treat, to sit under a willow in the French country side and make some art. Later it began to rain, but we all still went out for a nice hike in the woods before dinner. We saw lots of mushrooms, toads, a miniature pony and a mountain goat as the sun was setting.
That night we made some delicious food for dinner (including homemade mayonnaise sauce, which is infinitely better than anything you would ever find in a store) and ate in front of the fire place (with another successfully started fire by yours truly) which was really nice. We put on some fun music, talked, roasted chestnuts, and in short, had a good time.
Sunday I finished my painting (as finished as it was going to get, I’m sure Ernie would not approve of the whole affair), went for a walk, and in the late afternoon we drove to the seaside. It was so beautiful there! The ocean, the cliffs, the changing light on the water as the sun set; it all made me feel like I was in a William Turner painting! The Atlantic looks quite different from this side of the water. We had to cram everything back in the car though and whisk ourselves back off to Paris that night though, so we said goodbye to Dampierre.
On Monday I got together with my friend Melissa, who is studying in Paris this year. It was really nice for both of us to see a friendly COA face! We had lunch together, and then we walked around and explored the largest flea market in the world (“Les Puces”), which was interesting. There was all kinds of weird stuff there, like mini two hundred year old croquet sets, life sized-iron boars, cool clothing, records-basically anything you could ever think of. After a cup of tea and hot chocolate in a cafe, we parted ways, and I went back to the flat to cook dinner for Adele and Vincent as a thank you. After Melissa helped me find the spices, I managed to make a decent curry and rice for them, which they liked. They were such great hosts, it was the least I could do!
In the wee hours of the morning I had to rush off to the train station (after hastily registering for classes at about six am) to catch my ride to Stuttgart!
That night I met the rest of the family; Adele and the adorable Gabin and Marie! There are few things more adorable than little blonde boys speaking in French. After the kids went to bed we had a very good dinner and had a nice chat, getting to know each other and making plans. I slept so well that night, after two nights of crummy sleep in the London Hostel.
In the morning Adele and I went to the Louvre together, which was totally overwhelming. That museum is about ten times bigger than I ever imagined. Of course, it is full of amazing works of art, (and yes, I followed the swarms of Asian tourists and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo) but it’s a bit too much to take in. You would have to go there everyday for months to really see everything! Walking through the halls is like seeing art’s greatest hits. There were gorgeous sculptures by Michelangelo, tons of Egyptian artifacts, many paintings by Da Vinci and so on. Really, the Mona Lisa seemed a bit silly, since it’s this tiny little portrait encased in glass on this huge wall all by itself, with about a million people waiting in line to take pictures of it. But it’s interesting to see how fascinated people are with this one little painting!
After the insanity of the Louvre, Adele went home to do some errands and I walked down the Seine to see Notre Dame. A beautiful cathedral, and the walk was lovely too. Paris is really a beautiful city! I had a snack in a little cafe across the river from Notre Dame, and then I had to hurry back to Adele and Vincent’s so that we could get ready to go to Normandy.
Normandy is possibly the prettiest place ever, and once you see it, impressionism makes so much more sense. The drive out was really lovely by itself, and then we got there to this thatch-roofed cottage next to a little river with horses grazing in the yard, and it was just ridiculously gorgeous. That night Vincent and I rushed to do a grocery run before the store closed, and then after watching him fail at making a fire I volunteered to try, and had a nice one going a few minutes later. So the epic saga of me helping men make fires continues...
The next day was rather drizzly, but very nicely spent. After sketching a picture of the yard in the morning, Adele, Gabin and I went to the market in Dieppe (the next town, right on the ocean) and bought all kinds of lovely food. We got the best goat cheese. Ever. That afternoon, Adele and I dug out her old set of oil paints, and found a canvas, and I got to do so plain-air painting, which was quite a treat, to sit under a willow in the French country side and make some art. Later it began to rain, but we all still went out for a nice hike in the woods before dinner. We saw lots of mushrooms, toads, a miniature pony and a mountain goat as the sun was setting.
That night we made some delicious food for dinner (including homemade mayonnaise sauce, which is infinitely better than anything you would ever find in a store) and ate in front of the fire place (with another successfully started fire by yours truly) which was really nice. We put on some fun music, talked, roasted chestnuts, and in short, had a good time.
Sunday I finished my painting (as finished as it was going to get, I’m sure Ernie would not approve of the whole affair), went for a walk, and in the late afternoon we drove to the seaside. It was so beautiful there! The ocean, the cliffs, the changing light on the water as the sun set; it all made me feel like I was in a William Turner painting! The Atlantic looks quite different from this side of the water. We had to cram everything back in the car though and whisk ourselves back off to Paris that night though, so we said goodbye to Dampierre.
On Monday I got together with my friend Melissa, who is studying in Paris this year. It was really nice for both of us to see a friendly COA face! We had lunch together, and then we walked around and explored the largest flea market in the world (“Les Puces”), which was interesting. There was all kinds of weird stuff there, like mini two hundred year old croquet sets, life sized-iron boars, cool clothing, records-basically anything you could ever think of. After a cup of tea and hot chocolate in a cafe, we parted ways, and I went back to the flat to cook dinner for Adele and Vincent as a thank you. After Melissa helped me find the spices, I managed to make a decent curry and rice for them, which they liked. They were such great hosts, it was the least I could do!
In the wee hours of the morning I had to rush off to the train station (after hastily registering for classes at about six am) to catch my ride to Stuttgart!
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