Author Archives: Benedetta Grasso

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Hallo cool Leute!!

I have to say first of all to myself, because I don’t know if my brain has actually understood that I’m leaving in less then a week… yes exactly, one week! This time went so fast and so intense! I’m glad of every moment I spent in this beautiful city and of the beautiful person I met! I really need to thank the DeutschAkademie because has been a warm and freindly place in these months, and most of all thanks to the teachers I had, to be so patients and always so kind! Thank you because if I arrived here without even speaking and understanding a word of German, now I feel home here and I can communicate in this beautiful language!

Ok, now I think my brain accepted this ‚leaving soon‘ thing… I thought about this moment few times… and I immediately changed thoughts because I didn’t want to face that and end would have come, sooner or later… it always does! And when it arrives you have to think about it, no way to change canal anymore, and you would be surprise on how many things had happened, how many beautiful people you met, how many new friends you can now call by name. And actually this moment were you kind of rethink about the last months, or years for someone, is a really important moment because you can now see were this new experience brought you, how much you have grown, how much you have changed, how many beautiful things you have seen and learnt. And the only thing you can truly do is just appreciate life even more, and thank this beautiful world. And of course it has to give you more energy to keep on going because it is not the end, but just a page of your life that would turn soon, to start writing a new one, but without forgetting any of the things that are written before!

And as Charles Baudlaire said in Le Voyage:

„Mais les vrais voyageurs sont ceux-là seuls qui partent
Pour partir; coeurs légers, semblables aux ballons,
De leur fatalité jamais ils ne s’écartent,
Et, sans savoir pourquoi, disent toujours: Allons!

Ceux-là dont les désirs ont la forme des nues,
Et qui rêvent, ainsi qu’un conscrit le canon,
De vastes voluptés, changeantes, inconnues,
Et dont l’esprit humain n’a jamais su le nom!“

(But the true travelers are they who depart
For departing’s sake; with hearts light as balloons,
They never swerve from their destinies,
Saying continuously, without knowing why: „Let us go on!“

These have passions formed like clouds;
As a recruit of his gun, they dream
Of spacious pleasures, transient, little understood,
Whose name no human spirit knows.)

Thank you for everything.

Cheers from the TOP!

Hallo there!!!

Are you ready to hear about an amazing bar at the top of the city??! I have to say that I usually don’t like fancy and classy bars, while I prefer the underground and cosy ones, where I can take off my shoes or sing the song the radio plays! But this time I did an exception because a friend of mine came from Italy to visit me and I wanted to take her in a very special place! So after an exhausting day in which I took her all around Vienna (where I could discover places I’ve never been before!! So it was a little surprise for me too!) we decided to eat dinner at home, but after a glass of wine! So where to go? At the Loft! It’s a bar at the 18th floor in a skyscraper in Schwedenplatz where you have an amazing view over the hole city and the hills with the Stephansdom right in front of view! I was already there once so I knew she would have like it but I actually loved to go there a second time, most of all because the first time it was at night, around 10pm, but when I went the second time we got there at 7.30pm so the sun was still there and we could have admire the sunset! It was actually a little frustrating at the beginning because there were shields to protect from the light so we couldn’t really see the city, but as soon as the sun went behind the hill, a mechanism pulled up the curtains and it was like magic!! I said that the second time was even better than the first one because we could admire both the sunset and the city with natural light, and the city at night, when everything lights up and the historical buildings, as the Rathaus and der Dom, shine!

A funny thing that happened was that I ordered in German two glass of wine (I don’t remember the name but it was the second one on the rot osterreich wine and it was really good!) and the waiter asked me ‚Ein viertel oder ein achtel?‘ and of course I didn’t understand because for me it doesn’t make any sense… I just asked a glass of wine! So I thought he asked about the water (don’t ask me why but I thought he thought we wanted a bottle of water also) and I answered “Nur Wine danke!“… he laughed and took us two glass of wine (a achtel, he chose!)! We started drinking and discussing about why should we wanted a bottle of water; we started looking around and saw that everyone had a glass of water too… no answer… we kept on drinking and after ten minutes another waiter took us two glass of water ???? more questions than before… but we found the answer just once we got back home and my German flatmate explained us that here in Austria they give you water even if you don’t ask for it and that the waiter was really asking me if I wanted 1/4 or 1/8 of wine!!!! Probably you are asking yourself “Why is she making such a big issue about that… No problem until they bring you some alchol!!!!“

 

Amazing non-turistic churches!

Hello everybody!!!

Today I want to write about some lovely churches that I think deserve more attention from everyone’s eyes because they hide a lot of the story of Vienna to teach, but are not as famous as Stephansdom, so not a lot of people knows them.

1. The first time I saw the Votivkirche I was just amazed and shocked from its beauty, with the amazing garden in the front and its beautiful Gothic style. But the inside of the church is even more surprising, in fact I’ve never seen such a beautiful painted roof and abside. Of course this is not that unknown, in fact there are tourists that visit it, but nothing compared to the Dom, which all of us agree that is amazing, but seriously, once you get inside the Votivkirche, you will have a different judgement on the Dom too. The Votivkirche is also an important part of history, in fact after the unsuccessful assassination attempt of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853, the Emperor’s brother, Maximilian collected donations for the buolding of a new church on the site of the attack. The church was to be a votive offering, and so comes the name Votivkirche to thank God for saving the Emperor’s life.

2. I discovered not many days ago the beutiful Maria am Gestade. It is one of the oldest churches in Vienna and it is located in the Innere Stadt at Salvatorgasse 12, near the Donaukanal, in fact the church was traditionally used by sailors on the Danube river. Due to the stairs surrounding the church it got the popular name Maria Stiegen.

The present building was built between 1394 and 1414 in gothic style. It is very impressive to arrive from the Borse and see the church from the bottom of the stairs, it seems so fragile. Inside at first I ha d a weird feeling because the church is not completely in axe, due to project issues, and it is so thin and high!

Another beautiful thing to do is to look up when you are standing in the middle of the church, in fact the roof is just a masterpiece of a genious!

3. Ruprechtskirche is a Romanesque church near Swedenplatz, but it is so tiny that you really have to give her attention to descover this jem. It is traditionally considered to be the oldest church in the city and is dedicated to Saint Rupert of Salzburg, patron saint of the salt merchants of Vienna. After the destruction of the Roman settlement, the core part of the city grew in the area near the church. I went there at night for the first time and it conquered me the warmness of its colored windows and with its magic atmosphere!

4. Another church I like a lot is the Minoritenkirche stands in the Minoritenplatz right nect to the Hofburg, so it’s easy to bump in it without meaning it and admire its external Gothic architecture. But in the insiede there’s something ever more amazing, in fact it’s keept the life-sized copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper on the church’s northern wall. It is a mosaic made by the artist Giacomo Raffaelli, commissioned by Napoleon I in 1809, but it was not finished before Napoleon’s abdication. Francis II of Austria bought it, wanting to install it in the Belvedere in Vienna. As it was too large for the building, it was set up on the north wall of the church, where it remains to this day.

There are so many old buldings that maybe are not very touristic but that hide a lot of the history of Vienna, and I love to discover them and let them tell me their stories. And then there are the touristc spots… that have nothing to hide but a lot to show! Tonight I was going back home and I chose to take five minutes more to walk and say hi to the Dom… and once again took my breath for a second!

 

Lainzer Tiergarten!

Hello!! It’s me again!!

So if you are in Vienna and love nature… Lainzer Tiergarten is a must!!!

It’s easy to reach, at the last stop of the U4, Hutteldorf. You arrive in a woods that is actually a park, of something like 24.50 km² of green!! It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I of Austria created it as a fenced-in hunting ground for his family to use. That day I was with a friend and we wanted to do a pic-nic but it actually became a backpack trip! In fact from the entrace near Hutteldorf there are path to follow to reach other places, we chose the one that takes you to the tier park and so we walked for 7 km!       It was a very nice and not to hard walk in the woods in Lienzer Tor direction! Also along the way there’s a lot of Bärlauch, which is wild garlic. So we stopped to pick it already dreaming an italian risotto with parmisean and Bärlauch (I cooked it the same evening and it was amazing!!). Be careful not to get lost picking Bärlauch and going far from the path (does this story reminds you anything? I don’t know if there are woolfs in the Lainzer Tiergarten too!!).

Of course I’m kidding! You can’t get lost and the arrival point it’s an amazing surprise! Deers and other beautiful animals are waiting for you!!
I offered him some Bärlauch but he doesn’t really like it!! After two leaves he looked at me like “I wanna real grass!!“

We became friends and I hope I’ll go soon to visit them!!

 

Say bye to Bratislava!!!

Hello everyone!!!

I cheated on Wien… I admit it and I’m sorry! But it was just for one day!

Not many people visit Bratislava but I couldn’t go back to Italy without having visited this nice city! In fact is just an hour an a half from Wien by bus and when you go down from the bus it seems you are in another country… well you actually are! But what I meant is that is crazy that two capitals are so close and so different! I actually liked the fact that is so close to Wien because, even if Bratislava is a gem of the region hidden in plain sight, all the tourist go to the Austrian capital… so there’s a way more quite and relaxed atmoshpere!

Self described at a “little big city” with just 500.000 inhabitants, it is easily walkable and discoverable on foot. It’s a simple enough concept but truely one of the most wonderful things to do in Bratislava is to just walk around the narrow streets of Old Town. In fact, before you do anything else just walk… you will soon find your bearings with the city being so compact and in doing so will come across some of that historic and rough charm the city is famed for. It is also so much quieter and calmer than many other capitals cities which makes it that much more peaceful to wander. The charm here is that around every corner you discover that understated magnificence which will leave you in no doubt that this is a wonderful city to visit.

(Maybe a little bit too calm!!) 

At lunch we stopped at a nice restaurant in the Old town and I got the typical Garlic soup in a bread bowl with typical caramel beer!! After the soup I had to talk to people from a distance of five meters or they would have die but… good!!

I also enjoyed to walk up until the castle and discover that it was actually recontructed in the ’50 but still had an amazing view and really nice parks!!

Last but not least we had to run not to miss the bus! But I couldn’t not stop for a second and take a picture of the castle with nights lightnings!! Just breathtaking!!

One day I’ll jump in you :)

Hallo Leute!!

This days I’m kind of tired of the busy city style of life and I really needed a break and a contact with nature so… in just 15 minutes by u-ban I was in another world ! The Donauinsel ! I already talked about how much I love this place and sometimes I escape there to find myself again. This last time I really found my perfect spot at the shadow of a tree, near the water, to read and tanned a little ! The ducks where playing and swimming and I could restore myself fully !

After few hours a friend joined me and we went more in the turistic part in front of the restaurants and we sat on a little platic raft to drink a beer and watch the sunset and of course… to do Deutsch homeworks!! There were lots of people riding the bike or doing pic-nicks and lots of young people with the music on, drinking and dancing in the sun ! The general atmosphere was great !

                             

If you want to do some sport too I think is pretty easy to rent a bike and enjoy the landscape or, like me, just walk like you have no end and arrive at Neue Donau (it is just 40 minutes more or less) where you can easily take the metro to go back home after a nice afternoon !

One thing that I wanted to do since the beginning but that I haven’t done yet at the Donau is… to take my clothes off and jump in the water!!! Just few degrees more and… be ready, dear Donau, because I’ll jump in you!!

Afternoon at the Albertina!

Hello everyone!!

If you like contemporary art, modern art, impressionism and Schiele, you can’t miss the Albertina museum ! There’s the amazing permanent collection “From Monet to Picasso“ in which you can admire more the most important artists of the last two centuries, with some awesome paintings of the puntinismo and impressionist period ! Then there are always two or three short term exhibitions that change every 4 or 5 months !

(I’m sorry, you missed the Italian beauties exposition!)                           

Right now and until the 18th of June there’s an amazing exhibition of Egon Schiele ! I really appreciate the fact that everything was well explained in English (and of course in German too) and that you can really relate to this complex man.

I already knew this artist but I didn’t know a lot about his background and his psychology under the paintings… even if his paintings can seem a little negative and not always full of joy, he’s in love with life and with human kind especially ! A good quantities of quotes from Schiele himself are on the walls and they really lead you during the whole exhibition, making you understand better his complex figure and thoughts! One that I really liked was: “At present, I am mainly observing the physical motion of mountains, water, trees and flowers. One is everywhere reminded of similar movements in the human body, of similar impulses of joy and suffering in plants.”

And if you’re thinking to go more than one time at the Albertina you better become a Freunde der Albertina, which allow you to go any time you want paying the card price and nothing else (I took the Student’s semester card and it’s just 15 euro, so less then paying the entry ticket twice ! I already used it four times so.. it worth it!).

…what a real Heuriger is!!

Here I am again!

I know you were scared that I wouldn’t tell you anything about the Heuriger… I just wanted to create some suspense!!! The first time I’ve ever heard about the existence of Heurigers is during my first Italian class as a teacher… I was arrived in Vienna on Friday and on Monday I was already in the class, more scared than during High School exams, because I didn’t know how to approach to them, most of all because I couldn’t speak any German. Luckily they were a B1 level so we could easily speak in Italian and I was already thinking about how to entertain them when… I needed to do nothing because they were so interested in me, asking me why I’m here, what do I study, what do I want to do in my life ecc… that I had to do nothing! And the funniest thing is that when they understood I was in Vienna just for three days, they started to give me tips on places I must see and things I must do! And one of them was of course going in a Heuriger!!!

So after my two hours walk I decided to walk a little bit more! And I descended following the 1 path towards Nussdorf. This paths brings you into the vineyards and so in Heuringers! But let’s explain a little for those who don’t know what I’m talking about! Heuriger is the abbreviation of „heuriger Wein“ (this year’s wine) in Austrian and Bavarian German. Originally, it was a simple open-air tavern on the premises of winemakers, where people would bring along food and drink the new wine. The Heurige are renowned for their atmosphere of Gemutlichkeit shared among a throng enjoying young wine, simple food. But how to distinguish a Heuriger??? All of them have a bush of pine twigs hanging at the entrance when they are open! And I can tell you that in the way down you will see lots of bush of pine hanging outside! The one I went was actually not really on the route, in fact I was following the path when I saw a little city far away on the Donau at my left and I decided to leave the main street to go there, luckily on my way to get to the village I found a super nice Heuriger with an amazing view! It was lunch time so I stopped there, I had typical food (of which I don’t know the name but I can swear it was amazing: mainly meet, Knodeln and Kraut) and of course the wine of the year!!! A simple unique atmosphere and experience!! The name of the place was Heuriger Hirt and from there I descended until the village I saw from the top and I actually found a bus that brought me to Nussdorf again! Everything worked well and also if I didn’t plan the day I think the ingredient is to enjoy the moment!!!

A trip in the countryside!

Hallo everybody!

Today I’m going to reveal you one of the things I loved the most since I’m in Vienna! I have to say that I’m the kind of person who love nature and as soon as I have the time to escape from the city I like to discover new, isolated and not crowded places in the green! So yesterday after class I decided to go at Kahlberg and from there to get lost in the vineyards around there!

I’ve already went once at Kahlberg and I can say it’s an amazing place, not really isolated but for sure a good point to relax and reflect! The part I love the most is not really the panorama point (its worth also to go there just for that) but hte way to get there! In fact you can get there in two ways if you don’t have a car: with the bus number 38A from Grinzing (another beautiful area that I love) or… by walking!! And that is just an amazing experience, with a real contact with nature and where you can discover the Viennese countryside and vineyards! For this last option you have to plan the “travel“ a little because it’s a real trip, meaning you need comfortable shoes, a bottle of water and at least three hours of time! Everything is super well explained at the site https://www.wien.gv.at/english/leisure/hiking/path1.html and also once you get at the starting point at the end of the tram D in Nussdorf, there are signs that indicate you the way to follow! So no stress, just a little bit of energy and willing to walk in the forest! In addition to have a wonderful view during all the path, it’s also nice because if it’s sunny you actually don’t die because trees protect you! After 2  hours you arrive at Kahlberg were an amazing view waits for you and also a cup of coffee or an ice-cream 😉 in fact there are few bars right at the top with view over the city! Then you can choose if walk more or take the bus to go back in the city, of course I chose to walk and most of all… to discover what a real Heuringer is!!!

Up at Kahlberg the view is pretty cool! Don’t you think so?!

Another perspective!

Hello there! It’s me again 😉

Tonight I will go to bed with just an image in my mind: the beutiful view over Vienna! In fact sometimes it’s beautiful to change perspective on how we look at things! I think we all agree on how wonderful is Stephansdom… in any different corner you look at it, there are new surprises to discover!

For just 4,5 euro you can see everything from another point of view, and not just the kirche, but the whole city ! In fact the main tower it’s 137 meters high and after 343 steps (don’t worry you can do it ! The end it’s closer than you think!) a breathtaking landscape is gonna surprise you (the double sense is allowed)! After about three fourths of the stairsnyou come outside for a while and walk a few metres on a narrow cornice (don’t be afraid, it’s wide enough and the banister is solid). At this point the first reward for your effort comes, as the north-eastern part of Vienna lies below you. When you enter inside the tower again, you come into a relatively roomy space with high ceiling. An information sign says that in the past this was the location of Pummerin, the biggest bell in Stephansdom cast three hundred years ago of captured Turkish cannons. A little more effort and you are the king of the city with the amazing view you were promised to see!

I personally loved the possibility to be closer to the roof: it is an artwork by itself. The roof is made of 230,000 glazed tiles of different colours which form various mosaics and patterns. On the south side of the roof  the mosaics represent the double-headed eagle, symbol of the Austrian empire under the rule of the Habsburgs. You can stay upside as long as you like and once you decide to go back there’s a good news: descending is much faster than the way up!

A good reward after so much effort !! Really it’s worth it !

Fun at the Donauinsel :)

Hallo zusammen!

Let’s get nostalgic about the (few) warm and sunny days in Wien (as I already said… snow in mid April? Seriously?).

One of the best spots to enjoy the sun and to have a wonderful afternoon in contact with nature is definitely Donauinsel. Just ten minutes from the city center you can arrive in a land where water, animals and freedom cohexist together! It really seems to be in a different world where the time stops and the life have another rythym! I went there at the beginning of the Easter week, in that hot and summer monday that right now seems just a dream far away… It’s a blessing to walk on the side of the Donau and enjoy the sun and the wind! After an hour of relaxing and chilling out with a friend we decided to discover a little more the insel, so we went up north and we saw a huge crowd of young people so we asked what was going on and we found out that there was a big event at a little bar called ‚Porto Pollo‘! Of course we joined them!!! Porto pollo it’s actually a little village in Sardegna, Italy and it’s characterised because all the passionate of windsurf and kitesurf go there to practice! The one at the Donau of course is not a village, but it really seems to be at the sea, with the little boat in front of you and even the sand!!

A magic atmosphere and a magic place with good music and cool people dancing and having fun!! I definily would go again and enjoy the summer in Wien like I were in Italy!