August 2nd

Graben 

Stephansdom

PetersKirche

Today I received my first real taste of what the city of Vienna has to offer. For lunch my roommate Misha and I grabbed a Kasekrainer at a local sausage stand located by our classroom in the America Institute. The sausage was grilled, and had melted cheese on the inside. It was something that I had never really had before and when I saw that locals were going there as well, I took that as an indication that the quality of the food must be good and that it was something that the Viennese enjoyed. In the afternoon I got my first real exposure to the intricacies of Viennese architecture. I laid eyes upon the Hofburg and noticed how amazing and intricate the architecture is.  I was standing inside the Michael Cupula and just was totally taken back when I looked up into the ceiling. The light shines in through several of the windows and illuminates each individual etching that was painstakingly put into place. It truly amazed me to think that this building was older than the United States and people were able to create such a magnificent entryway with hand tools. This evening I went to Stephansdom, otherwise known as St. Stephen’s Cathedral. I went inside and found that the high alter depicted the stoning of Saint Stephen and had an amazing sculpture depicting the burial of Christ. I was so moved by the sculpture because I truly felt the sadness that was portrayed. The detail was exquisite and the whole inside of the church was truly intricate and beautiful. I found that St. Stephen’s Cathedral has the largest bell in all of Austria and weighs almost 21 tons, and the casing of the bell was somewhat damaged in World War II when the roof caught on fire, but was left that way to ensure that peace would reign after the war. As I walked through Stephanplatz, I noticed that the Viennese were eating a lot of ice cream. I feel as though the people tend to gravitate towards enjoying an ice cream in Europe as compared to the United States. Its different in the States because there are just stores where you go and get an occasional ice cream. In Vienna, and greater Europe though, there are an abundance of stands set up all across the city and people tend to walk around more and enjoy their ice cream on the go as opposed to people in the states who commonly get into their cars and go drive to pick up an ice cream. I meandered down the Graben, which I found was the place to shop in Vienna. Although I cannot afford most of the items I see in the shops. It seemed like a nice area to shop though sense you have big windows set out front and from there you can just meander down the street, stopping at shops that peak your interest, have a look and just continue on your way. Its amazing to me though how you can just walk from street to street not really sure of where you are going and just stumble upon another fantastic piece of architecture.