Sunday, July 21, 2013

Wiener Staatsoper Neighborhood Landscape Analysis

TEGETTHOFFSTRASSE

History of the Wiener Staatsoper: 

The Vienna State Opera  is an opera house/company with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. The Wiener Staatsoper house was built between 1861 and 1869 by August von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Null along Vienna’s Ringstrasse as the first of several large public buildings along the street. The initial welcome of the initial architectural concept was so negative that van der Null took his own life; Sicardsburg also died two months later. After its near-total destruction at the end of World War II in 1945, the State Opera House was rebuilt according to original plans and re-opened in 1955.  It was most likely built along the Ringstrasse so it was available and convient for all citizens and visitors to see.  It is in the main part of town, giving the popular musical emphasis an easy attraction.  The purpose of my analysis is to effectively observe and write about the present attractions and ideas of the nearby streets of the Staatsoper to relate to the nearby local and non-local traffic.



Methodology:


I conducted my on-site data collection by walking about three blocks to Johannestrasse along the Tegetthoffstrasse and Karntnerstrasse with Lizzy.  While walking along the street, we took many pictures of nearly every shop, transect, and other areas to have data to effectively write this analysis of the street we specifically documented.  
 
Lizzy in action on Karntnerstrasse


Results:

View of the Staatsoper to my back, right side of the street

I am writing my analysis on Tegetthoffstrasse.  It is located one parrell block to left of on of the most popular streets in Vienna, Kartnerstrasse.  Tegetthoffstrasse was a lot less touristy than most streets near the Wiener Staatsoper, in my opinion.  Compared to Karntnerstrasse, this street was tremendously less crowded and touristy, had much less shopping, and overall had a less upper- class feel.  This street was not a pedestrian- only street. It was a street for vehicles with pedestrian sidewalks on either side.  There were filled parking spots with parked cars all lining the street, which gave it that less touristy feel. 

Parked cars all along the street
Parked cars along the left side of the street

Cars were driving down the street

 The first shop on the right after crossing the street, with the Staatsoper to my back, was called “Mozart Café”.  This cafe obviously has much of its name influenced from the Wiener Staatsoper with a large musical influence, attracting those with appreciation for music and/or those with some musical knowledge and maybe those touring Vienna especially interested in the Wiener Staatsoper.  This cafe, I felt, was more for the locals.  The main menu had no English translation compared to most restaurants we saw on the Karnterstrasse.  
 
View of Mozart Cafe with my back to the Staatsoper right after crossing the street

Menu of Mozart Cafe only in German

 On the contrary, directly across the street on the right was a small touristy area with a museum entrance and a space for carriage rides to start.  Only tourists take advantage of the tour rides, I can imagine. I found this sort of strange, making this street feel half touristy and half for the locals.  

Left side of the street- more touristy


 The next block was filled with stores: pastry shops, two banks, and a clothing shop. 
Bank for locals only

pastry shop

 What differed from this clothing shop from those mostly on the Kartnerstrasse was its middle- class display and prices, from what I could tell.  Unlike on the Kartnerstrasse, this male clothing store was for the middle class rather than upper.   
 
middle-class clothing store window display
On the other side of the transect was a café called “Café Coffee Day”.  This café seemed touristy from the outside, but inside it felt more local.  This was because of its non- impressive inside.  I feel like this makes it less touristy because all other stores in Vienna that want to impress the tourists (in my opinion) are more exquisite in the interior.  This café was plain.  Large, but plain.  The menu and name of the café was in English, so that was a strange contradiction. 
Outside the cafe

The plain inside of Cafe Coffee Day

 Across the street on the was another café.  From what I could tell, this café seemed more like a tourist attraction with its attractive exterior.  
 
more touristy cafe on the left

 The next store next to the café, across the street to the left, was a store called “Vienna World”.  This was, what seemed to be, a random musical souvenir shop.  This also had an obvious relation to the famous Wiener Staatsoper only a block away. 

  


What also striked this street as a less of a tourist place was the look of the street itself.  It was not gorgeous.  It was a normal street, with parked cars, cars going down the street, and some garbage lying around.  This was a total difference from the Karntnerstrasse, and I think that’s what made it so obvious.

not a very attractive street as Karntnerstrasse is

small efforts to make it nicer, but does not work too well.

Conclusion:
 
(When walking away from the Wiener Staatsoper.)   
Overall, I felt the left hand side of Tegetthoffstrasse was touristy, while the right hand side was more for the middle- class locals.  On the right hand side there were cafes with a local feel, local bank shops, and some random middle- class clothing stores.  On the left hand side there was a café with a tourist feel, a museum, and a starting point for carriage rides.  On both sides there was an obviously influence from the musical area and especially from the Wiener Staatsoper.  On the right there was the “Mozart Café”, and on the left the “Vienna World” musical souvenir shop.  It is easy to understand why the city of Vienna wants to attract both tourists and locals to this area of the city.  This method of analyzing I felt like was very effective.  It’s amazing how much information you can gather by just observation.  I can definitely see why this is an effective form of experimentation and gathering inquiry for a geographer in any setting- whether in the country or downtown of a famous city like Vienna, Austria.   

Academic and Personal Growth

The academic and personal growth I have gained from this trip is not measurable. 

I learned so much about Europe in so many ways that I could not have experienced in another matter.  Each country and city was so unique in it's geography, architecture, and music.  From big "K" to little "k", from Baroque to Renaissance, and from transportation to city layout my mind was blown with knowledge that I will forever remember.

As far as personal growth... wow.  I have no words to describe what an amazing experience the 37 days of traveling Europe were. 19 students, 13 cities, 7 countries, 3 professors, and over 5 weeks later, I came home with unforgettable memories. I could not have asked for a better group of people to travel Europe with. The journeys and memories of both laughter and tears we shared helped us to develop such a unique and irreplaceable bond. Getting home safely to America was definitely bittersweet. I miss Europe and my fellow European travelers already. "Prost" until next time, Europe. (:

Pre- Trip Advice for Future Students


1.  Travel before or after... if you don't you'll regret it.  The flights are cheap, and it's so so easy!  Specifically, I would travel after because then you are more familiar with Europe and how the transportation works, because it's all relatively similar.  
Edinburgh, Scotland

Dublin, Ireland


2.  Pack LIGHT.  Honestly,  I would have your luggage be the biggest carry-on you can find.  That way, if you pack light enough at the beginning, you can carry-on your luggage on your way to Europe, then you wont have to worry about buying too much and having to purchase another carry-on like I did.  Then on the way back it will probably be too heavy to carry it on, so you can easilly check it!

3.  BUY A LOT OF SOUVENIRS.  Now's the time to spend money, so do it! Don't buy crappy souvenirs you'll put in a box.. buy jewelry or jewelry boxes, posters, decorations, and artwork that you can keep on display forever!



Krakow, Poland

KRAKOW, POLAND



Geography Fascination:

I was amazed at how well Krakow preserved it's buildings and city form.  It was definitely confined more than the other cities, also.   For another example, the way Krakow preserves it's buildings by making the new construction look old definitely adds a lot more character and meaning into the city.  One can tell that Krakow cares about it's looks, but not in a trendy way; it loves to keep it's old character.  I think this is why I fell in love with it more than any other city we visited.  This is contrary to Berlin and Vienna where they were more artificial.  The city worked hard, that I noticed, to be more "trendy" and to add more westernized buildings if there was a new construction project. 



Favorite Academic Experience:

This was not in the city of Krakow, but in Poland.  Visiting Aushwitz- Birkenau was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had. My heart hurt after that day, and this is the only way I can describe it.  I can honestly say that seeing Auschwitz has changed my whole views on life in general, and how sacred it is.  It also made me realize how evil people can be, it blew my mind.  I know people aren't made to be evil, but somehow, someway some humans are extraordinarily disgusting.  And that will forever amaze and confuse me.    





Favorite Non- Academic Experience:

Krakow was on my top two cities on the whole trip.  It was such a great city to end our trip with.  It was clean, smaller, and adorable.  My favorite part was spent walking around the main square and walking down the side streets shopping and talking.  I am so so happy we went to Poland!  I honestly was not too excited for Poland because I just figured we were way far east to expect anything superior. And that was horrible to assume.  Some of my best solidity of Euro was spent walking and sitting in Krakow.  Wow, I miss it just writing this. It was also so great that I got to hang in Krakow alone for a bit after everyone left on our last day.  I felt so comfortable and loved every minute of it.. which made it extra hard to go home. (:







Favorite Place to Eat:

I loved the day when we ate at Chimera for lunch was super super delicious. All the salads were wonderful.  Go back next year!



Budapest, Hungary

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY



Geography Fascination:

I was very fascinated with the transportation here.  Because of the river, it hit me that we couldn't jump on the subway and go to dinner on the hill... we had to transport to a tram or a bus!  What also interested me about Budapest was the differences of the parts of the city on either side of the river.  It was clear which side was more touristy, and which side held more of the city.  This was due to the dramatic change of landscape on either side. The more populated side was obviously flatter, and the less populated and smaller side was with the massive hills.  It was a fascinating difference.

Favorite Academic Experience:

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed out musical part of the city.  Seeing the traditional Austrian Folk Music dancing and music was super super neat.  And although it was about 100 degrees in the auditorium, it was still very entertaining.  I had no idea what to expect, even though I did my music presentation on it!  I was pleasantly surprised.  The dancing was so fun, and each dancer was having a superior time; it was easy to notice.  The instrumentalists were exceptional.  They were having and amazing time too!  Do this again next year!


Favorite Non- Academic Experience:

The view of Budapest was the best view of a city I had even seen.  Therefore, I loved to go up on the hill just admiring the view and taking a lot of pictures. (with a gelato cone in hand, obviously.)  
Like these!! 








Favorite Place to Eat:

Definitely not the breakfast place. (:
I really enjoyed out last group meal on the hill.  I do not remember what the restaurant was called, but it was fabulous with a spectacular view!


Duck Pasta!



Friday, July 19, 2013

Vienna, Austria

VIENNA, AUSTRIA


Geography Fascination:

The most obvious geography that Vienna has is the Ringstrasse.  It was very cool to visit something we learned so much about in class.  It was very spacious!  Where there was once a wall now lies a main road, and within the road the city contains so many historical buildings, museums, and parks including the Burg theater, Parliament building, the Natural History/Art History Museums, Volksgarten, and the Staatsoper. The feel of the city inside the Ringstrasse was unlike any other part of Vienna.  It was so historical and unique to Austria.  Such a tourist destination, but it was wonderful.  

Vienna Staatsoper

Natural History Museum


Volksgarten (:

Favorite Academic Experience:

My favorite academic experience was biking through Wachau Valley, Austria on our winery tour! Basically, this was on my top two favorite days of the entire trip.  I felt like I was biking through a painting and drinking heaven juice...  Seriously though, this was such an amazing experience that should definitely continue every year on CETS.




Favorite Non- Academic Experience:

My favorite non- academic experience was hanging in Volksgarten.  It was a beautiful smelling and looking place.. it was a swell way to spend a beautiful day in the sun!



Favorite Place to Eat:

I went to a restaurant called Mini right outside the Ringstrasse.  We loved everything about this place. Quality of food and service were exceptional and for a more than reasonable price. We had aperitifs, appetizers, main courses and dessert, and everything was superb. Lovely courtyard setting in summer. Not right in the heart of town, but worth the walk.