Travelling through the city the other day, I was suddenly struck by the incongruousness of an old little city home, sitting squat and low in between its taller neighbours.  It wasn’t a particularly beautiful building and yet there was something impressive in its resolute determination, holding its own as it was amongst the other statelier constructions.  I was reminded of the children’s animated movie ‘Up’ which, for those of you who haven’t seen it, tells the story of the elderly Carl as he recalls the various adventures he and his wife Ellie partook in over the course of their life together.  This quirky little sketch from Pixar is marketed at children, although like many children’s movies these days, has many subtle lessons which adults can learn from.  Across the course of the story, we learn that success isn’t immediate and that hard work, patience and perseverance are required to achieve our goal; that we have to keep going even when things seem bleak; that our final goal may be not be that which we first set out to accomplish but that it can be even more worthwhile and beautiful than we could have initially imagined.  In the building of a culture, I think there are many parallels which can be drawn with the above example, particularly in what defines a particular culture as that culture.

This is echoed across the city of Vienna in various ways, particularly visible in the architectural styles separating the old from the new through the progression of time.  The beauty of the rich heritage of Austria is precisely what attracts the scores of visitors to the country every year, and yet for the Austrians themselves, it is progress in the name of modernity which drives them on, giving rise to the glass-and-steel constructions which would comfortably place one in any modern city in the world.

Looking at the old and the new standing side-by-side, it also made me question what exactly Austrian culture means to those of us who are visitors in this land.  What characteristics do we perceive as necessary in order for us to understand something as Austrian, as being embedded in the Austrian culture?  And that further gives rise to the question as to how culture changes over time such that it is distinctly and recognisably different and yet still entirely belonging to that particular people and location.  For me personally I treasure the rich heritage of the country  that is Austria: once the heart of a massive empire, now still a beautiful little nation in the heart of Europe.

I love their dedication to tradition, their homage and respect to those who went before the current generation, those who ploughed the furrow and left the legacy which we visibly see standing today.  Those countless men and women who worked hard so that future generations would know what it means to be Austrian.  Naturally it would not do to only view history through rose-tinted lenses and it is a great boon that Austria truly is a twenty-first century nation.  Yet I dearly hope, that in the search for innovation and modernity, that the Austrian people do not lose sight of the things in common which define them as Austrians, the collective memory which makes a culture.

S obzirom na to da je Austrija kolijevka mnogih umjetnika, u Becu mozete pronaci dosta muzeja. Ono sto je super jeste da je ulaz besplatan do odredjene starosne dobi, najcesce do 18 godina I na taj nacin se motivisu mladi ljudi da posjete muzeje I da se edukuju.

Pored toga ono sto dosta ljudi ne zna jeste da je svake prve nedjelje u mjesecu besplatan ulaz u dosta muzeja ciji.

Da li je razlog sto je to bio prvi muzej koji sam posjetila u Becu ili koji je razlog – ne znam, ali meni licno je najdrazi Belvedere muzej. U Belvedere muzeju je izlozena izlozba Gustava Klimta I najpoznatija slika koja se moze naci na dosta suvenira ‘The Kiss’.

Pored Belvedere muzeja mnogo mi se svidio I Albertina muzej. Kada sam isla bila je izlozba Monet-ovih I Picasso-vih radova.

Postoji vise vrsta muzeja, ne samo umjetnosti I historije nego meni jedan najzanimljiviji koji je na listi muzeja koje jos trebam posjetiti a to je muzej tehnike. Spisak je dug, ali trenutno je pred nama u Oktobru noc muzeja kada je ulaz u muzeje besplatan I mozete iskoristiti I posjetiti sto vise muzeja.

Do iduceg javljanja!

If you should find yourself in the Inner Stadt some afternoon with an hour or so to spare, I highly recommend taking a stroll in one of Wien’s numerous public parks and gardens.

Natually the Volksgarden is always highly ranked on the list of attractions in the city thanks to its beautiful flowerbeds, rose-arches and superbly maintained box-hedging, aided as it is by ease of access and central location. The rose collection is particularly spectactular and if you should find yourself there in the spring, you can expect to be greeted by over 400 various species of rose.  Yet this is only one option amongst many. Not too far away, the Botanical Gardens of the University of Wien in the Belvedere are probably one of the oldest public flower gardens in the city, having been established in 1754 by Kaiserin Maria Theresia.  Approximately 12,000 different species of plant are to be found there and the grounds are beautifully maintained.  Moving a little west, the Rose Gardens of the Schönbrunn, accompanied by the Botanical Gardens of Schönbrunn, are to be found all situated within the parkgrouds of Schönbrunn Palace itself. Out in the 12^th District there is the Hirschstetten Botanical Gardens, along with the Austrian Horticultural Museum. There I learned that, though it is the national symbol of the Netherlands, it was in fact Vienna which was noted for cultivating the first tulips! A vast wealth of various blooms can be found here, palm-houses, as well as Wedding, Mexican and Indian themed-gardens. Then we have the Palmenhaus major located in the Imperial Palace, a well-preserved Art Nouveau construction, home to a wide myriad of exotic and tropical plants as well as a wine-and-cocktail bar. Even along the side of the streets, on traffic-islands and edging car-parks neat little patches of sunny blooms are to be found, enlivening an otherwise grey space.  To continue to detail here all the various parks and gardens would be a bit overly ambitious and beyond the scope of our blog, given that there are over 280 such gardens in the capital.  In total, there are approximately 2,000 parks in the city of Vienna and over half of the metropolitan is given over to green areas.  As the Mercer Study this year voted Vienna the world’s most liveable city for the ninth year running, it is no small wonder given the astounding variety of green spaces which make this international city a wonderful place to call home.

For this blogpost I wanted to write about my favorite landmark in Vienna: Stephansdom. Its spire stretches high into the sky, and the cathedral is visible from many parts of the city due to its size. It has inspired countless artists, and even today you can see amateur and professional artists standing in Stephansplatz painting the famous cathedral.

The history of Stephansplatz is also very interesting. Historians first believed that the cathedrals origins began in 1137 when construction began on the main building; however, in 2000 some excavations to install a heating system accidentally uncovered human remains that dated back to the 4th century. It is now believed that the church was built on an existing religious building that may have also contained a cemetery.

Nowadays, people can take tours of Stephansdom and learn about the history of the building. For those with a more morbid curiosity, the cathedral also offers a tour of the catacombs where you can see some of the remains of the people of Vienna who are now entombed under the church. This tour also includes a viewing of the ossuary caverns, where one can see bones and skulls stacked to the ceiling. Definitely not for the faint of heart!

On the lighter side, just outside of Stephansdom is Stephanplatz, where one can find many interesting and nice stores, along with various bakeries and restaurants. Café Demel is not far away, where you can get some of the best cakes and pastries in Vienna and also watch as the workers mix, roll, and distil a small piece of heaven into each thing they make.  There really is something there for everyone and I highly recommend anyone who is spending any amount of time in Vienna come see Stephansdom and Stephansplatz.

The issue of graffiti is something which grabs everyone’s attention: whether you are of the opinion that public (and private!) walls are fair game for flourishes of artistic self-expression, or whether you think  is vandalism of the highest order, there is no denying the fact that graffiti is a feature of every city landscape and Vienna is no exception.

Most of the time, the ability to discern what exactly the grattifist’s ‘tags’ depict requires a degree in ancient hieroglyphics and an exhaustive knowledge of street-cred, which is probably beyond the reach of the average pedestrian.  Recently however, my eye was caught by a small red slash etched onto the glass of a window pane: lower case, Calibri-like and unassuming: “i love you”.  Reflected in the autumnal sun, I wondered what it was exactly that might cause someone to take up a marker and risk a fine for the sake of those simple letters.  What was it about love exactly that compels man to do great and heroic things, as well as small and unnoticed things?  Why do we all seek to love and to be loved?  What is it about love that is written into our hearts across cultures and languages; across seas, rivers and mountains?  The most basic longing of the human heart.  And then in the same manner as the question arose, a few days later my question was answered, once more through the wisdom of the streets: “Deine Tränen sind mein”.  And this I thought summed up perfectly the meaning of true, sincere love: love that wills the good of the other, through the joys and also through the sorrows; suffers with the beloved and willingly suffers for the beloved.  Thank you, Wisdom of the Streets!

S obzirom na to da sam u Becu manje od jedne godine, jos uvijek nisam stigla posjetiti sva mjesta koja bih voljela. Ali ovdje cu vam pisati o nekim meni drazim lokalima.

Ukoliko je vrijeme lijepo definitivno biste trebali posjetiti Becke rooftop barove. Iako ih ima stvarno mnogo, ja bih ipak izdvojila Lamee, 25hours hotel I Sofitel. I to tim redosljedom.

Na prvom mjestu mi se nalazi Lamee rooftop bar. Na slici ispod mozete vidjeti I zasto.

Ovo mjesto je ispunjeno ljetnim I pastelnim bojama I jednostavno je prelijepo. Savrseno mjesto za rashladiti se nekim picem u vrijeme ljetnih dana. Pored toga sto je prelijep bar, nalazi se na prelijepoj lokaciji – Schwedenplatz, te imate odlican pogled na prvi okrug I na Stephan-ovu katedralu.

Na drugom mjestu je 25hours hotel. Ukoliko vam je Lamee previse ‘fancy’ I vise ste alternativan tip onda bi vam se sigurno svidio ovaj bar. Lociran je blizu Volksgartena. I ovaj natpis vas ceka na ulazu.

Na ulazu u hotel vas doceka zid sa dosta kamera. I unutra imate photobooths gdje mozete uci sa dragom osobom I uslikati se I kroz nekoliko minuta dobiti izradjenu ‘vintage sliku’.

Na cetvrtom mjestu je poznati hotel Sofitel. Ukoliko vam prethodne dvije opcije nisu dovoljne. Od navedenih mislim da ovaj bar ima mozda najbolji pogled, ili barem obuhvaca najvecu povrsinu. Izmedju ostalog poznat je po neobicnom plafonu. Opis naredne slike bi mogao biti ‘Ono kada ti se prsten slaze sa plafonom’.

Ne znam koliko je svima to poznato, ali Bec je jedno od cetiri glavna sjedista Ujedinjenih Nacija zajedno sa New York, Geneva I Nairobe. Becki internacionalni centar (The Vienna International Centre), jos poznatiji kao ‘UNO City’ je otvoren 1979. godine I preko 4000 zaposlenika iz preko 110 zemalja iz cijelog svijeta radi ovdje.

Zasto vam pricam o ovome? To je upravo jedan od razloga mog dolaska u Bec. Praksa za International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

To je jedno predivno iskustvo koje treba prozivjeti da bi se shvatilo. Pored ‘friendly’ sredine, imate priliku upoznati ljude iz cijelog svijeta, iz prve ruke nauciti o drugim kulturama I religijama. Mogla bih do sutra pricati o iskustvima I divnim ljudima koje sam upoznala ovdje.

S druge strane pored VIC-a u blizini Beca se nalaze IAEA laboratorije nuklearnih aplikacija u Seibersdorfu. U ovim laboratorijima se podrzavaju I provode aktivnosti koje odgovaraju razvojnim potrebama drzava clanica. U ovim laboratorijama su usredotoceni na pitanja kao sto su hrana I poljoprivreda, ljudsko zdravlje, nadgledanje I procjena okolisa itd.

Ovo je zanimljiva informacija za Bec jer u principu u Becu onda imate jedan mali internacionalni gradic koji je prilicno integrisan u sredinu. Upravo zbog ovog internacionalnog gradica u Becu mozete sresti I upoznati ljude iz citavog svijeta I kad je turisticka sezona gotova.

My name is Sobkoon Kansarngworn. I come from Thailand. After 13 years of working in my country, I decided to move to Vienna, Austria and took a job in one of the best cities in the world.

Autumn in Leopoldsberg

Almenwelt Lofer

I still remember the very first day I landed on the land of music, beautiful and classical architectures, efficient public transportation, invaluable natural resources and a German speaking country. It was a raining evening in September 2006. I took an airport bus from the Vienna International Airport (VIE) to the city center. Both side of the roads were amazingly green. At that time I worked in Cyprus where most of the country was dry. Therefore, the scenery gave me freshness and energy. At night, I casually walked in the first district and suddenly found a stunning gigantic Roman church in my horizon. The Saint Stephen Cathedral has settled in the middle of the Stephanplatz Square as though it had sprung up from the ground.

Dropped friends from OEBB train

Having living in Austria for 12 years, I discover a kindness of the country to people who live here regardless of their origins, races and nationalities. We can enjoy commuting with one of the best public transportation in the world which costs you as low as one Euro a day for a yearly ticket. During school holidays, many places offer parents and children to visit for free or for a little amount of entry fees. Travelling outside Vienna or to other European Countries with OEBB trains provides you not only an efficient train services but also various “Vorteil” (benefit) card categories for price reduction. These are only brief advantages you can simply find in this lovely country.

To explore and to enjoy more in Austria, I realize how important the German language is. After taking inconsistently five German classes for the last 12 years, I am still not satisfied with my German proficiency. Therefore, I am furthering my German study in the Deutsch Akademie which facilitates me for professional teachers, intensive courses, time flexibilities, peer classmates, class atmosphere and demanding responsibility (homework, review of a lecture from the class and etc.). I strongly believe that I can achieve my goal in German in the near future.

Pocetkom oktobra svake godine se odrzava Wiener Wiesn-Fest koji je tu da ponudi zabavu svim prisutnim posjetiocima u tradicionalnom Beckom stilu. Posjetioci mogu birati jedan od tri standa sa raznim muzickim programima.Negdje sam procitala da je cilj ovog festivala koji podsjeca na poznati Oktoberfest ‘The tradition of having fun and the fun of having traditions’.

U toku ovih devet dana svaka Austrijska provincija predstavlja njihove tradicionalne proizvodnje, nosnje, kuhinju, muziku tokom dana a navecer je party sa muzikom uzivo. Tokom ovih devet dana moci cete vidjeti svuda po Becu ljude obucene u tradicionalne nosnje.

Ono sto je meni najzanimljivije jeste da su upravo mladi ti koji nose I postuju ovu tradiciju. Lijepo je znati da se ona prenosi sa generacije na generaciju.

Naravno, Bec ne bi bio Bec da tu nema ponude za sve uzraste. S obzirom da je Wiener Wiesen-Fest na Pratersternu pored dijelova sa sijenom organizovanih za djecu, u blizini je veliki zabavni park ukoliko dodjete sa malisanima, da ih I zabavite. Dok stariji mogu uzivati u ‘predstavama’ I tradicionalnim plesovima mladih, te u restoranima sa tradicionalnom kuhinjom. A onaj sredisnji uzrast pored svega nabrojanog moze da se I zabavi!

The other most important thing to a good class, after a good teacher, is good classmates. In my class at the Deutsche Akademie, I was lucky enough to get a class full of hilarious and engaging people who wanted to learn but also wanted to have fun.

At the Deutsche Akademie, most of the classes have people from all over the world in them. My class was no different and included an American (me), two people from South Korea, one person from Colombia, and a collection of people from the Balkans and Europe. I found this to be encouraging for two reasons: one, because I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and two, because I was sometimes forced to speak German because it was the only language we both mutually (kind of) understood and could speak. In my German class in America we would always inevitably end up resorting back to speaking English when things became too difficult or frustrating, but I couldn’t always do this in my class at the Deutsche Akademie. I found this to be really useful in my development as a German speaker.

Beyond the aforementioned benefits of being around people from all over the world, the people in my class were just super funny and friendly and fun to be around. This made me look forward to class every day because the time would go by so fast. We were constantly laughing with each other, sometimes about how ridiculous the German language could be at times, and sometimes because of the funny things that we would inevitably say while trying to speak in German. I will always remember the people in my German class and the time we spent together fondly, and I feel very lucky to have met all of them.

I mentioned in my last post that my teacher used games a lot as a teaching tool, so I figured I would write more about that here because I felt it was such an impactful part of my learning experience.

The basis of most of the games was basically to trick us into speaking German freely while also keeping it light and fun. One of my favorite games was one where we were given photos of famous people and we had to describe them to the class in German, and the class would try guess who our person was. It was a perfect way to use some of the words that we had learned for that section of the book (berühmt, Politiker, various country and place names names, etc.). The game also forced us to use different cases and tenses in German, which is really difficult but also important to practice.

Another game that we played which was really fun and very active was called “Artikelchaos.” All the students sit on chairs in a circle with one standing and each of them is given one of the three articles (der, die, or das). The person in the middle says a word, “Apfel” for instance, and whoever has the article for that word (“der” in this case) must get up and change seats while the person in the middle tries to sit down in one of the seats that become available. It ends up being really chaotic (hence the name) as people are swapping seats and trying not to be the one in the middle. I found this game to also be really important to me, since as a native English speaker I am not used to having so many different articles for words.

Lastly, since we are near the end of our course, our teacher wanted to play a game that was completely for fun. She bought in a stack of cards with various sentences in German and also mouth pieces to put in our mouth like the kind you would find at the dentist (you can see me wearing it in the picture below). We had to attempt to pronounce the German sentence with the mouth piece in while our teammates would guess at what we were saying. Of course we also had to try not laugh or drool on ourselves in the process, which also proved to be very difficult. Before long the whole class was laughing at how ridiculous we all sounded. I found that it was a great way to end the last few minutes of class and leave me excited to go on learning German.