Europe Again

So the next morning, I tried to go to the armor and music museum again, but the place was still heavily guarded.  They also prevented me from going to the Museum of Ecclesiastic and Secular Relics.  I ended up going with my mother to St. Stephen's and we took a tour of the bell tower.   It was pretty cool.  Here's a picture of it.  I loved the way the inside is lit.  The place just felt so peaceful.  It was a truly holy place.  I also liked how the outside had gargoyles, my favorite mythical creature.  Then we went to eat, and ended up going to the globe museum.   It had a lot of globes.  It was interesting to see how the view of the world changed as science and exploration advanced.  It stormed on the way back, so we bought some umbrellas, and I found a really nice maize one.  Michigan represent.  I managed to get it back to Michigan too.

Another nice thing about the day was our good deed trail.  At the bell tower, Mom asked for a 5 cent piece to give to some kids who were trying to make a pressed penny.  They looked like she gave them a fortune:)  Later we met a woman from Florida who was hopelessly lost.  We used my skills with a map to walk her back to St. Stephens, and then showed her on a map how to find the Belvedere Museum.  It was fun, and we got to meet new people.  We also had a nice conversation with a woman from San Fransisco who was born and raised in Germany, but forgot how to speak German.  She still has a very thick German accent though.

The following day, mother and I took a tour bus to Baden bei Wien.  (Baden near Vienna)  It was a little town in the south of Austria, surrounded by the foothills of the Alps.  It was famous for its baths, and for being the inspiration and part time home for many composers.  Beethoven wrote his ninth symphony here, and Strauss, Schubert, and Mozart spent time here as well.  It was a nice town that was burned down completely in 1812.  They rebuilt the town in Biedermeier style.  Now every building that is built must be in this style.  After WWII, the Soviets occupied Baden, and only left when they were paid lots of money, and an agreement that Austria would remain neutral in the Cold War.  When they left, they took all the machinery, capital, and infrastructure that wasn't built on an immovable foundation.   It took 50 years for the first hotel to reopen in Baden because of the damage to the economy.  

On the way down to Baden we stopped at a Monastery.  It was beautiful and still operated by the Cistercian Monks.  It is the oldest continually operated monastery of the order.  It houses several Trinity columns, and a massive Romanesque church.  The Cloisters were built over several time periods, as evidenced by the pre-Gothic and Gothic arches.  (Gothic arches are pointier).  The monastery also holds the tombs of the last Badenburgs, which preceded the house of Hapsburg.  The highlight of the tour was when we mistakenly entered the church while the monks were singing.  It was the most beautiful chant I have ever heard.  It filled my heart with a sense of piece and the knowledge that God was there in the music.  Of course some idiots on the tour had to ruin it by taking pictures of the monks.  The tour guide put a stop to that right away.  Seriously, people have to have more respect in the house of God.  

Anyway this concludes my talk of Austria.  Tomorrow the beginning of Spain.