A month has passed since I first arrived in Vienna, and I have enjoyed every minute of this amazing experience. I couldn’t be happier to be a mini tour guide for the next few minutes, especially for those who have never stepped foot into this historically-rich and scintillatingly-beautiful jewel in Central Europe. Vienna, capital of Austria and the former jewel of the Hapsburg Empire, is home to the Wiener Singerknaben (Vienna Boys’ Choir), the Lippizaner stallions, a world-famous Staatoper (State Opera), the Wiener Schnitzel, famous Kaffeehäuser (Coffeehouses) where former literary/musical greats frequented, galleries, museums, and architectural grandeur at every corner, and of course, the Danube River flowing through the city, inspiring Johann Strauss’ famous “The Blue Danube”.
I feel very fortunate to be selected to work with the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna) for three months. I am doing research in the form of small projects with the MDW at three different institutes – Institute for Music Sociology (IMS) in May, Institute for Analysis, Theory, and History of Music (IATG) in June, and the Institute for Cultural Studies and Cultural Management (IKM) in July. May flew by, and I completed a translation of the IMS website, which I hope will aid international students not yet fluent in German. On the side, I have also written seminar descriptions to encourage attendance; one I found particularly interesting discussed how the piracy of music affected society. I will be starting my time with the IATG next Monday, and my first task is to catalogue and create an efficient tracking system for its daunting library collection. I have also met with my supervisors at the IKM, and will be working closely with another exchange student from Ukraine in July to compile a quasi-encyclopedia of artistic/musical/cultural terms.
The MDW has generously offered me a roomy apartment in the 1st District (Innere Stadt) of Vienna, which means I am barely five minutes away from Stephandom (within Stephanplatz), which every Viennese considers to be the city centre. This has provided me with a rare opportunity to which I can easily explore the various districts and attractions in Vienna. Aside from my prime living location, transportation in Vienna is also extremely efficient. Within the Innere Stadt, you are never more than a 10 minute walk from the next attraction. Vienna is serviced by a barrier-free U-bahn (Subway) system in which 5 lines criss-cross each other and span the whole city (as opposed to the TTC’s two main lines - Bloor, and Yonge/University/Spadina). Vienna is also serviced by cute trams (streetcars), which all connect with a U-bahn station to provide further surface transport. The barrier-free access means that paying for Viennese transport is completely honesty-based, and reflects a society where trust is instilled in every citizen (there are ticket checks, but they are extremely infrequent). The TTC, on the other hand, is a system with barriers at every point – whether it is a bus-driver, subway collector or just a simple token/metropass turnstile. Though this ensures the TTC receives timely payment for services rendered, it slows down a streamlined process – especially with the pain of using “transfers”. The cost of the TTC has risen steadily over the years, and the current monthly metropass stands at almost $130, and a single ride at $3. Conversely, the Wiener Linien charges €45 for a monthly pass, €1.60 for a single ride (with as many changeovers as required, without the pain of obtaining “transfers”). This has propagated to a society where everyone is given more incentive to use this greener form of transportation. The Viennese city council has also introduced City Bikes, with almost 100 stations spanning the whole city (first hour free, second hour €1, and so forth) to promote an emission-free society; they also installed more than 500 kms of bike lanes to fulfill the infrastructural requirement. In addition, cars in Vienna are generally small, as parking spaces are hard to come by in the Innere Stadt as well as at popular attractions. Overall, its efficiency and environmental-friendliness should be commended, especially in light of the contrast to Toronto, where drivers dominate.
This is the first time I have lived on my own, and in terms of food, I have attempted to eat as healthy as possible – but unfortunately I think I’ve had limited success thus far. An example of the typical Viennese diet consists of a Wiener Frühstuck (breakfast) with a pastry/baked bread and coffee, a filling lunch at a restaurant or a nutritious sandwich on-the-go, and a home-cooked dinner with family. I came to Vienna armed with a 1000 paged cookbook, but I have used 3 recipes thus far. I’m sticking to the basics, often making eggs and toast for the morning, sandwiches for lunch and basic pasta for the evening. Occasionally I get a craving for Chinese cuisine from home and I head out to a restaurant in the mini-Chinatown of Vienna. Luckily, Vienna has an abundance of markets – the most famous (and closet to me) of which is the Naschmarkt with rows of food stalls of the freshest veggies, fruit, cheese, antipasti, as well as many restaurants utilizing these ingredients. The size of supermarkets in Vienna shocked me at first, mostly because they are not quite… super. The average supermarket is about the size of three convenience stores in Toronto, and a quarter of a typical supermarket at home (e.g. Loblaws, Metro), though selection is still quite good. At the checkout, most Viennese buy on average one or two days’ worth of food at most, which is very different from the weekly grocery shopping habit in Toronto. This I think reflects that the Viennese appreciate the freshness of food and the dining experience, whereas in Toronto and the general North American society it’s more geared towards re-fuelling. Another example of this can be seen in the weekend brunch that is so popular with the Viennese, where they dine for hours on end.
In terms of the Viennese themselves, they are a generally friendly bunch, but they definitely have their guards up at first. At a Kaffeehaus or a restaurant you will see the Viennese chatting animatedly with their friends, yet in the subway system where they are surrounded by strangers, they keep to themselves. This may seem similar to Toronto, but a key difference lies in people-watching, an activity very much popularized (almost like an art) in Vienna. This is especially true in the summer when many sit on patios on the street; one would just sit and sip coffee (or eat, whatever the case may be) and watch the passing pedestrians and possibly even listen in to their conversations – though with that said, it’s rare for two Viennese strangers to ever strike up a conversation with one another. In my experience, I have approached several Viennese to help me with directions and to take a photo, and they have smiled and agreed immediately. My coworkers and supervisors at the MDW are also amazing people who have more than accommodated my language difficulties, and the power dynamic is also less pronounced. I am not obliged to address my supervisors as Prof. or Dr. or even just Frau/Herr (Ms./Mr.) – although I still do, and many have actually told me to address them by first name. My supervisor at the IKM actually served me coffee the first day I went in! Overall, I would conclude that the Viennese are like Ferrero Rochers – for the lack of a better comparison - with a hard exterior (chocolate shell), but soft and sweet on the inside (hazelnut filling).
Today is another national holiday (Austrians have the most number of holidays in a year in the world, much to my chagrin), and I am most likely going to hit a café to possibly people-watch, and hopefully be motivated to clear the pile of laundry that has piled up – one of the woes of living on my own.
Until next time!
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