Yesterday, we set out for our first and only class of the day: German. Our professors split the students into two groups, so instead of having our humanities and Bible classes the next two days, we will be alternating groups and going to two local museums in Vienna. Because of this, we had from 1030 on to do as we pleased. First stop: Cafe Central for brunch. This coffeehouse, opened in 1860, was once the meeting place for writers and philosophers, including Sigmuen Freud, Theodor Herzl, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky. The interior of this cafe is simply grandiose and elegant. I had a delicious bowl of homemade granola and a cup of their rich hot chocolate, for a total of 5 euro. After a satisfying meal, we stopped by the hotel for a little bit to start brain-storming for fall break plans. As of now, several of us are hoping to spend our 10 day fall break in Spain and France. We originally had included Portugal in our agenda, but then realized that would require more traveling time than we could afford. Hopefully, we can figure out our official itinerary in the next week! The rest of the afternoon was spent out at different sites in Vienna, including the Bellgarten, a park that highly resembles Central Park in NYC. Many locals frequent this park and can be seen picnicking, reading, running, etc. throughout the day. I plan to run at the Bellgarten the next opportunity I have! We also spent time at the Volksgarten for the second day in a row. This was the first time since we left America that I was able to venture out on my own for a brief time and do some journaling and reading. I decided to read through the first few chapters of Colossians, which I highly recommend! We ate dinner at a local restaurant a few districts over from our hotel. Good prices, great food. Then, Amy and I decided we wanted to try to get some of our group together for a time of prayer, reflection, conversation, etc. We met on the outside deck of our lobby and just started reading different verses and talking about our fears, concerns, and struggles. It's incredible to me how easily God can and WILL work in people's lives if we just surrender ourselves to Him. Being on this trip with a community of believers is SUCH a blessing. Words can not describe how much peace and tranquility I was given last night. God is so so good, and I hope we will continue to grow together in love not only for each other but also for our gracious Savior.
Today, we had German class til 1030, where we began to learn how to conjugate verbs and form sentences. German is not the easiest or the most complex language, but I am excited to continue to learn and apply my knowledge throughout the semester. I am most likely going to continue in German next semester back at Lipscomb with the wonderful "Herr Mcvey." After class, my group headed to the Natural History museum. Our main goal: see the Venus of Willendorf, aka the 5 inch female statue estimated to have been made around 24000 BC, who is one of the earliest images of the body made by humankind. I'm pretty sure I teared up when I saw her...not even kidding. Since high school, I have studied about this historic figure, but seeing her in person was just ridiculously invigorating for me. WOW. I sound like such a nerd. Oh well. Anyways, not much time could be spent at the Natural History museum because we headed across the courtyard to our primary objective: the Kunsthistoriches Museum, housing renown exhibits on both Egyptian and Greek civilizations. Among the highlights are the richly decorated Offering Chapel of Ka-ni-nisut from the Old Kingdom, numerous sarcophagi and coffins, animalmummies, examples of the Book of the Dead, grave stelae, divine figures, objects of daily life such as clothing and cosmetic articles, masterpieces of sculpture such as the Reserve Head from Giza, facial stelae from southern Arabia as well as a depiction of a lion from the Ischtar Gate in Babylon. Incredible to say the least. Then, on to the Greek collection full of ancient coins, statues, and a larger than life Votive statue of a man from Cyprus. I could have probably spent the entirety of my day between the two museums. Then back to Cafe Central to sit in on Professor Horton's Aesthetics of Beauty class, where we discussed Socrates perception of love/erotic love. Quite an interesting discussion. To past philosophers, love was seen as an "insatiable desire to be with someone." We also talked about society's skewed perception of beauty and our ideas of what we see as real "love." On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for gelato (of course), then back to the hotel, where the majority of our group met in the Horton's room to hang out, eat pizza, and discuss our research paper topics/thesis. I wish I could express how grateful I am for being a part of this trip. Our professors and sponsors are incredible people whose love for knowledge and learning is contagious. I anticipate many more great conversations over the next few months. Lastly, several of us went back out in the Stephansplatz district for another round of gelato. Could I live off gelato? Probably. Let's hope I don't though. Good past few days. Tomorrow is Friday! Prague this weekend!!
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