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Published: August 1st 2006
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Stefanplatz with Stefan
This was a hug´mungo/ancient church in Vienna near the shopping district. It was amazing! ok, this is the 3rd time that I have written this entry, so I am sorry if its not the entirely entertaining!
I would also like to apoligize for the pictures on my blog- I entered them in the correct order, however, that is not how they appear. Patience is a virtue, my friends.
; )
We left off at the farm...
That evening, I went back to Linz and Kefa and I went out for a few drinks, and made some new friends. A couple of Austrian guys who had been at the brewery for tooo long, but entertained us with their dance moves. Anyone out there seen the video of 'how to dance like a white guy' ? If not, email me and I will send it to you!
Franz, Kefa's brother, picked me up the next morning, and we walked around Linz. Breakfast at the sky restaraunt was great.... and air conditioned, and from there, we walked to see the castle in town. It is just off the river, and sooo old. Typical Jenna, cannot remember its construction date, but I think it was around 1100 A.D.
Yeah well, Edmonton's river has a refinery!
Saturday morning we drove to Mauthausen concentration camp. If you do not wish to learn about this, then skip ahead until you see the word 'safe'.
It was really ironic because it has been sunny and warm since I arrived here, and on Saturday morning, it was gloomy.
I couldn't really put the events of what happened there into prespective, however, it was very interesting, and sad at the same time.
We saw the 'wailing wall' where they would chain new arrivals to a stone wall, for hours or days. The rings are still on the walls. It is now covered with memorial plaques commemorating those who faught against the Nazis from various countries.
Kefa and I walked through the former living quaters, which looked like a cabin at camp, however, they would sleep 300-500 people in one room that looked like it could hold maybe 75.
The gas chamber was one of the most disturbing things to see. The roof was low, and the doors to the chamber had viewing holes.
We saw the execution room, the laboratory, the cremation room, the prison- which I did not understand, so if you know why they had
a prison within the camp, please write me!
It is all very small, and depressing. The museum within the camp was very interesting, and well done. It contained everything from a spoon that someone ate from to the radio that a 'prisoner' made to hear the status of the war.
The shoes from the workers made me tear up, as well as the pictures of the in-humane experiments the nazis performed. Out side the camp walls are watchposts, and the 'Death Steps'. The orginal steps were sometimes as high ash 12 meter. They lead down to the quarrey where the prisoners worked all day and had to carry the stones up in the evening. In the morning, on the way down, the SS soldiers would often kick the last of the workers down the stairs for their sick, amusement. So if you survived that, then there was a chance you would perish on the way up in the evening.
I could tell so many stories, but for now, I will stop.
The pictures are in a seperate blog. Sorry again for my awesome computer hacking skills.
ITS SAFE NOW!
After the camp, we drove to a
Walking through Vienna
Sorry it is not what you expected, but the 2 guys in the pic, are Stefan and his cousin Phillip- we stayed at his flat while in Vienna. cute town called Steyr where Kefa studied for 6 years. It was one of the largest cities in former Austria, with a thriving steel-based economy.
It also banked 2 rivers that merge into one. It was very beautiful there, as was their castle. I love the random castles!
Saturday evening we went back to Linz to a bar called remembar......get it? eh? RememBAR?
We danced to the top 40, and then decided to move on to a place that I never expected to find anywhere, especially in Austria!
It was called Santo Domingo, and it was full of Dominicans. If you have not travelled there, then you may not appreciate this, but for Mel, Pix, and I believe, Amanda- choo know wha' I'm talking about!
I had a really good time, and it was so nice to be able to speak to people, as well as practice my fading spanish skills!
Austrian-German is so damn hard to learn!!!
Sunday we drove to Hallstat- a small mountain town on the shore of a glacier lake, surrounded by- mountians!
The houses there are all typical Austrian style, and that is where I saw my first pair of leder hosen ( sp?).
The weirdest thing to an Austrian
Is a coke float. They seem to listen to a lot of my music, know the same tv shows, food, but a coke float is a totally foreign idea. So we made some in Vienna... Look at their faces!! ha ha ha I wasn't too fond of what they were attached to, but still it was funny! We rented a 'speed boat' , with 2 speeds: slow,and slower! Got some great pics, that I will attach when I get chance.
Kefa convinced me to go up the 'tram' that looked a lot more scary than it was. I got over my fear of heights y sitting in the corner of the car, chanting positive mantras to myself. Seemed to work, except that when we reached the top, we were the only people left in the car.
It was back to Linz that night, where I watched Connan O'Brien and Kefa booked hostels for his trip.
Monday- geez Jenna!
On Monday, Franz and I planned to go to Salzburg, however, he had an mis-hap with his car, and we ended up staying in Linz, and later caught a ride ( to Salzburg) with his friends Martina and Mathius.
It was beautiful city, that seemed to have a lot of culture and art within it. Again, it was divided by a river, and had a beautiful castle.
I saw the house that Mozart was born in, however in my effforts to become a
The weirdest thing to a Canadian
Coke with white wine... AKA a 'Coke-White'
little more European and a little less country, I did not take any pictures.
Livin' on the edge........
This takes us to today, Tuesday... No plans for the day, so I think I will pack for Italy, and this evening, I will meet Stefan's friend Sandra for a drink, and then back out to Friestadt( the town close to the farm).
I hope I will have a chance to write another entry before I leave for Italy, but if not..
Ciao!!!
Take care of yourselves!!
Please let me know how(more of) you are doing!!!
I miss you all!!
JENNA xoxoxoxo
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Amangda
non-member comment
Italy?!?!
OMG!! I heard there is a blue shirt in Italy!! I want a pic of it, along with the bistro table. No excuses.