LIGNE MAGINOT

Fort Schoenenbourg



Many of us learned about the Maginot Line somewhere between kindergarten and 12th grade, and perhaps studied it again during college.  However, I really do not think that one can fully appreciated the enormity of the line without a visit to France.  You can learn more about the Line at this link, and although there are many pictures there, I am posting some that I took on a recent field trip to Fortress Schoenenbourg.  It is interesting to note that the fortresses themselves were indeed impenetrable to the invading Nazis, but the French did not expect the Germans to simply bypass the heart of the line along the border, but rather flanked the line by passing through the low countries.  Clicking on a picture should provide a nice enlargement. 



The main part of Fort Schoenenbourg is nearly 100 feet below ground.  There are two major wings, one for living and maintenance and the second for weapons, and they are nearly a mile apart.  The train would bring in supplies at ground level, and then a very large elevator would transport the train down to the main level.  The main level had everything needed for self-sufficiency as seen below - generators, water processing, air filters [fear of poison gas used in WWI], kitchen, living quarters, clinic, and of course a wine cellar!  The living was similar to being on a submarine - small with no access to light and fresh air.



There were only a couple of places where soldiers had painted on the walls - too busy working.

THE BELVEDERE

I set aside an entire post on the Belvedere - Vienna because it is probably my favorite among the many places we visited on our Educational Field Trip.  Do spend some time at the links given because I cannot begin to cover all of the great art housed at the Belvedere.  First, as you can see, it is a magnificent building, with two baroque palaces and lovely gardens. 

As we entered the grand foyer, there was a wedding couple being photographed at the top of these stairs - turns out that the Belvedere is open for wedding celebrations.  Pretty special place I would say!



There are so many wonderful pieces of art at the Belvedere that it is nearly impossible to do justice to the collection - so I will simply post a few items that are among the hundreds by artists such as Klimt, Shiele, and others of the Viennese Secession, Schindler, Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Messerschmidt to name just a few, and the collections from the medieval to contemporary.  Again visit this link to get the feeling for the entirety of the collections.  So we will begin with possibly the most recognizable painting, The Kiss by Klimt.



The Belvedere collection of Gustav Klimt's work is the largest and demonstrates the breadth of his styles, going far beyond the style of The Kiss, Judith and Judith II -Salome.  Klimt's work can be seen at this Artsy site and at the  Virtual Klimt Museum.

Allee im Park von Schloss Kammer 1912

Lebensbaum II



The works of Egon Shiele are also very fascinating, and here are three of his paintings. {they seem to have disappeared}

Verleger Eduard Kosmack - 1910

Sonnenblumen I - 1911





Tod und Mädchen - 1915

Two pieces by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt.



Here is Napoleon am Großen St. Bernhard by Jacques-Louis David - 1801

And to close, a Vincent van Gogh - Ebene von Auvers - 1890

If you travel to Vienna, do not miss the Belvedere.

WIEN - PART 3



After partaking of our final breakfast at the Mercure, we all packed up and checked out, leaving our bags at the hotel for the day as we headed out to see more of Vienna.  Our morning was spent was spent touring the Stephansdome, Saint Stephan's Cathedral, Vienna's mother cathedral.  The group gathered for a photo at the Stephansplatz that is adjacent to the church and considered the center of Vienna.



After lunch, the group split in two, with one visiting the Albertina Museum and the other the Dritte Mann Museum.  I headed off solo to visit the Naturhistorisches Museum to assess its relevance to students in the program.  Briefly, it is an impressive facility with most of the typical displays found in museums of natural history, but with an exceptional collection of rocks, minerals and gems, an interesting display of dinosaurs, and a quite fascinating presentation of karst and karst water systems.  If you google karst water and click on images, you will see some amazing subterranean photos.



At the end of the day, we made the return trip to Moore Haus, tired but filled with memories.

WIEN - PART 2

On Thursday, after another hearty breakfast, we headed to the Stift Kloster Neuberg, an Augustinian monastery dating back to the 12th century.  There are nice pictures and further information at the link provided above.  After the tour and perusing of the gift shop, we were able to sit on the balcony that is adjacent to the building shown below, and enjoy the sun of a lovely afternoon and the pleasant food served by the kloster cafe.  Naturally with all of that green grass, some of the students were soon engaged in frisbee and in the playground designed for smaller children - but alas, children will be children!!

After spending much of the afternoon partaking of the sun, food, views and great weather, we wended our way back to Vienna and the hotel.  Diagonal from the hotel was a Chinese restaurant that Sophie, a Chinese student in our program, recommended - so Herr D and I had dinner, and Dr. Lerner joined up for tea.  It was indeed a fine repast.

Friday morning - another nice breakfast and the departure for Scloss Schönbrunn - beautiful fountain castle - and the Imperial Palace "summer" home of the Habspurgs.  Visit the link for a nice tour.









After an interesting guided tour, we hopped back on the U-Bahn and headed to Station Kettenbrükengasse for lunch at the Naschmarkt - what a place!  Dozens of food stands and dozens of restaurants to choose from - one could truly nosh ones way through the Naschmarkt.  Some folks were interested in seafood, others Italian, otheres ....., but I chose a simple salad, knowing that my caloric intake in Vienna was exceeding my caloric output. 

After folks filled themselves, we headed back to the U Bahn for a trip to and tour of the Kapuzinergruft - The Imperial Crypt.  Does not sound too interesting, but it was indeed fascinating to see the accumulated burial sarcophagi of so many important historical figures - Habsburgs dating back to the 1600's.





After wandering the crypt, we broke into two groups and our group visited the Sigmund Freud House.  Not really much to show or to say other than the guided tour that we had made the visit very worthwhile.  One bit of trivia that I learned was that Freud smoked about 20 cigars a day, which pretty much explains his oral cancer!

The last stop for the day was the Belvedere Museum -  my favorite.  So that will be the tease for Wien Part 3, coming soon.

WIEN - PART 1

Early on the morning of Tuesday October 9, the 46 students, Herr Daugherty, Herr Lerner and I boarded the bus and headed to the Frankfurt Airport.  Our flight arrived in Vienna, Austria shortly after noon, on time.

 

 

The bus ride into the city was not too long, and included a loop around the "ring" or ringstraße.

 



 

We then wended our way the the Hotel Mercure, our home for the following four nights.  The Mercure was quite nice, fairly quiet, close to the Westbahnhof, and had a breakfast buffet that got the day started on the right foot!  Eggs, bacon, sausages, fruits, juices, breads, meats, cheeses, cereals, yogurt, and a couple of things that I could not identify.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Westbanhof is just around the corner from the Mercure, so all of our city explorations started here.  The bahnhof also has numerous shops and eating places including a McDonald's.  Each of us had a Wochenkarte - weekly pass - which made riding the public transportation very easy.  After getting settled in at the hotel, we headed to the Mozarthaus for a tour and then on to the Augustinerkeller for a nice schnitzel dinner.  Be sure to click on the Augustinerkeller link to view some great pictures of the restaurant, food, and hands of an incredible accordion player.

 

 

On Wednesday, after a hearty breakfast and lots of Viennese coffee, we headed to visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Leopold Museum.  We split into two groups, and divided the morning and afternoon between the two museums.  There is abundant information about each museum at the links provided, and below are among my favorite pieces - a Bruegel (there are many) at the KHM and a Hokusai from the LM:









 

 

 

 

Everyone was on their own for dinner, and in the evening we gathered at the Hofburg for a Strauß and Mozart Concert.  Herr Daugherty has the Program Notes with information about the six guest vocalists, and I will add that information asap.

 

The Program

 

Johann Strauss "Rosen aus dem Süden" (Roses from the South)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "Nun vergiß‘ leises Flehen" / "The Marriage of Figaro"
Solist:  Oskar Hillebrandt
  
Wolfgang A. Mozart "Sagt holde Frauen" / " The Marriage of Figaro"
Solistin: Elena Suvorova

G. Puccini "O mio babbino caro"  "Gianni Schicci"
Solist:  Kayo Hashimoto

Giuseppe Verdi "E stravo"/La Traviata"
Solostin: Ella Tyran

Gaetano Donizetti "Der Liebestrank" (Elixir of Love) " Nemorino’s arie"
Solist:  Bohan Choe

Johann Strauss"Frühlingsstimmen Walzer" (Voices of Spring)
Solistin: Andrea Olah

Johann Strauss "Vergnügungszug" (Pleasure Train) (Polka Schnell)

Johann Strauss"Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein" (I Always Feel Beholden) / "Die Fledermaus"
Solistin:  Elena Suvorova 

Johann Strauss "Im Krapfenwaldl" – Polka

Johann Strauss Duet from "Wiener Blut"
Duett:  Andrea Olah, Oskar Hillebrandt

Johann Strauss "Tritsch-Tratsch" – Polka

Josef Strauss "Feuerfest" - Polka française

W.A. Mozart "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" ( A girl or a woman) / "The Magic Flute"

W.A. Mozart "Papageno – Papagena"

Johann Strauss "Brüderlein-Schwesterlein"/"Die Fledermaus"
Solisten:  Alles

Johann Strauss "An der schönen blauen Donau" (Blue Danube)

SOLISTEN:
Andrea Olah - Sopran
Ella Tyran - Sopran
Kayo Hashimoto - Sopran
Elena Suvorova - Mezzo-Supran
Bohan Choe - Tenor
Oskar Hillebrandt - Bariton



VIET NAM II

I believe that all of the students enjoyed their time in Viet Nam, despite the borderline accomodations and four students having a bout with some stomach problems. So, here are a few pictures and abridged comments of several students, taken from their blogs without their permission :-}

Aaron With His Hands Full of "Dragonflies"

Andy, David, Kate & Big Snake

Kris in a Tunnel Entrance at Cu Chi

Chris - End of The Journey, and Perhaps Taking On One Too Many Tigers

"Walking through the dense, muddy jungle with the Mekong River right next to me, it finally hit me: I am in Vietnam. Vietnam is an unbelievable country. It is situated about a 2 hours flight to the south-west from Hong Kong. The South China Sea is on the east border, Laos and Cambodia on the western border. It is one of those countries that you just read about in National Geographic magazines or in the Vietnam War section of your American history book, but it is so much more than that. Get ready; this will be a long entry."

"I was shocked to see so many motorcycles. My eyes widened to images of old and young, two hands strapped on motorcycle handles, in a damn crowded country, moving along so freely and comfortably as if breezing along an ocean side on a beach-buggy. When later I would walk the streets (specifically cross the streets), well, that was a whole new adventure staring at center lights of motorcycles barging my way ready to take me over. At one point, I started singing “I will survive” running across every intersection, hand in hand in a straight line of 5 people. And I thought Hong Kong was bad?!"

"I absolutely loved Vietnam! Viet Nam was a country filled with people on scooters! I thought I was going to die several times!! Viet Nam felt like home because my country is as poor as Viet Nam. Most of the country is filled with rivers, little houses, and lots of wandering animals. I felt like I was in a movie, especially during the boat trip. It was a beautiful experience. We went to this exotic restaurant that seem that it was in the middle of nowhere. The food was delicious and I almost got killed by a Vietnamese woman. I loved it! Everything I see reminds me how much I admire my parents. If it was not for my parents I would probably be the little girl selling flowers on the street just like Vietnamese girls. Most of these people have nothing to give, but they have gratitude, maybe not for God because in Vietnam God is not the center of their lives, but they are loving people."

"After the Palace, we went to the War Remnants Museum. In Vietnam, the war during the 60’s and 70’s is called the American War not the Vietnam War. This museum showcased war artifacts like tanks, guns, and airplanes, as well as many photographs depicting far reaching devastation of the war. Obviously, each side holds their biases and will present those biases, but it was interesting to learn about the Vietnam War from outside a US History class. There were pictures depicting the tragedies of Agent Orange and cluster bombs as well as the inhumane actions of the Vietcong. It gave me an uncensored view of the reality and severity of war. There is nothing glorious about war that should be idealized in the young minds of our children. It is consistently brutal, savage, and devastating."

"Without a doubt the most awesome part of the visit was our overnight excursion to the Mekong Delta region in the extreme south of Viet Nam. We rode a traditional boat along a stretch of the river, stopping at a couple cool shopping shacks along the way, plus a lovely house-cum-restaurant that's been inhabited by the same family for over 300 years. Our river tour culminated with a stop to hold Anacondas (yes, I mean the huge constrictor snake!), followed by a hike through the countryside and into a village by the main finger of the Mekong River, where we jumped back on the boat for the journey back to our bus."

"I can say that I enjoyed the trip. It was an eye opening experience, and I had the opportunity to share it among my peers. I had first hand experiences with the inhumanity of prostitution. These woman seemed to think massages came with sexual acts. It was not a big deal at all. It was weird for someone to not want what they had to offer. We saw where many American soldiers lost their lives, and the consequences of the war. It was really cool to actually see what we've been taught in school. We had a good time, and I got to spend time with people I didn't really know and form a friendship more than surface level. The hours I spent in bed sick as bad as it was, I will never forget. We made the best of it and I wouldn't change a thing. It was an experience I won't forget."

And last but not least - a semi-serious but hilarious commentary on the quality of our hostel.

The Vietnam Human Rights Manifesto

"For all those who struggle against the tyranny of hostel accommodations, we suffer together in hopes of five star habitation for all travelers of the world. We live for the day where we can have breakfast in bed, without the threat of rodents bravely stealing away our food in front of us. We labor for locks on our hotel doors that function, so that we may never enter our room to find vagrants again. My brothers and sisters, our struggle does not end until we make sure no one ever has to wake up in the morning with a cockroach on their eye, brothers. Join us. Donate your money to our cause. Give us all your money so that one day we can achieve freedom. You are either With us, or against US. Join our 'Coalition Of The Willing To Pay For Your Own Hotel If Need Be' as it is your patriotic duty. Don't let the terrorists win. Live like kings, and you shall reap the rewards of being cool in this life AND the afterlife, but most importantly this life."

VIET NAM

One of the many interesting facts in the CIA Report on Viet Nam is that it is a country about the size of New Mexico, but with 85,000,000 residents rather than the 3,000,000 in NM. When we arrived in the former capital of South Viet Nam, we quickly learned that although Ho Chi Minh City is the official name, many of the locals still prefer Saigon. The names are used interchangeably, but many of the businesses, signs and landmarks are still Saigon. Our tour guide, Viet Nguyen, said that hundreds of years of history as Saigon means that a name change cannot be done so simply and easily. They revere Uncle Ho, but they also maintain their love for Sài Gòn.

Uncle Ho in Can Tho

Most of the time of our Educational Field Trip in Viet Nam was spent in and around Saigon- a city of 7 million people and 3 million motor bikes. We had a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels and Cao Dai community, and an overnight trip to Can Tho on the Mekong Delta. In Saigon, we toured the city, visited the Reunification Palace which is the fomer Presidential Palace of the Government of South Viet Nam, the Ben Thanh Market, and the War Remnants Museum. Near the Market, I found a place to get a haircut, and it is the first time that I have spent 80,000 on a haircut!!! Of course, the current exchange rate is about 16,000 dong per US dollar, so it really only cost me five bucks. And the fellow did a great job which also included a nice warm rinse.

Heading To The Reunification Palace aka Nick's Crib

Life on the Mekong Delta

{this link is definitely worth your time}

{more links to come}