Day 12 European Discovery

Day 12

Vienna, Austria

Wednesday, 22.6.2011

Today we left the hotel after breakfast at 6:30, around 7:15. We will be picking up our Ambassadors at the drop-off point. It was near the school, at least the sports one, where their home-stay family children attended school. As we got near the school we could see some fun being had by some of their students. It is near the end of they year and they are throwing water balloons, dumping water on people, shooting big squirt guns, etc. These are the seniors having some fun.... Roberto had a water balloon get inside the bus, like thrown at the window or squirt gun shot, but whatever it was, he got wet and he wasn't happy. :) All in good fun.

Soooo,we were successful picking up our Ambassadors at both locations, by 7:45 or so at one and 8:15 at the other. They said their good-byes and we were off. It was fun listening to the stories that had to tell. I believe that most, if not all had outstanding experiences, although not sure how many were thrilled with being in school all day but I believe it gave them a perspective they couldn't have experienced, just by hearing about their schools. Wish we could have had that opportunity.

Today's program in Vienna will be very interactive! So, head to the city centre of Vienna.

We are now on our way to downtown, City Centre. When we arrived we promptly divided up into groups of 5 and will have a City Quest, walk around a find answers to questions. As the leaders walked around, attempting to find the same answers, and this time not get so lost we can't make it back on time, found a Starbucks Coffee house. Good find in the morning. :) After we met at our spot, we headed for the Prater Amusement Park. We walked for about 20 minutes to the park. Our time at the park was fairly short, I believe we had only 40 minutes to ride the rides while we were there before we had to head to lunch. That is OK, I don't think the trip was about a long day at the amusement park. Fun place to see, some exciting rides and one person got sick on the ride. :( PS: Group 6 won the city quest: Lexi, Ben, Brian, Toni, Curtis, and Whitney. Congratulations guys!!!!!! Was there a prize??????? :) Or just a Hoo-Rah!!!

We ate lunch in the park, it was sort of a hot lunch, and of course outside and it was hot. Although we were in the shade, when it is 90 some degrees and high humidity shade seems to offer little solace. Ah, yes, it was chile and bread, actually quite good but not so much on a sultry day. Now we will head back to the hotel, get room assignments and check in, not much time to lay around, have to be back at door by 3:30, ready to go talk with the concentration camp survivor and then the Mozart concert. By the end of the night we will be dead on our feet, but a great day.

Continue with a City Quest including State Opera House, Albertina, Hofburg – Imperial Palace, Graben, St. Stephan's Cathedral and Anker Clock.

Servicemarks: This is a unique opportunity for the student ambassadors to get in direct contact with the Viennese inhabitants – enjoy this people to people experience.

Enjoy the historic Prater Amusement Park where James Bond took an adventurous ride on the giant Riesenrad (the second largest Ferris wheel in the world) in the 1987 film “The Living Daylights.” If you like, take a ride on this famous Ferris wheel.

It was a little disappointing that we would have to pay for our own rides, at 5E per ride, frankly I thought that was a bit high, but then again, we knew we wouldn't be there long, time for maybe 2 – 3 rides at most. So maybe that was OK.

Servicemarks: If you want to go on the Ferris wheel or on any other ride, you will need to bring your own spending money, (approximately 5 Euro per ride).

12:30 PM

Today you will have lunch in the middle of the famous Vienna Prater Park.

Change clothes at your hotel for this evening's concert!

Meet and take part in a discussion with a survivor of a concentration camp (Theresienstadt). This is a unique opportunity and a true honor for Student Ambassadors.

Our meeting with the concentration camp survivor was relatively a somber experience. It as quite formal, kids waited in the room while the leaders met the survivor outside in foyer area. We were there with another PTP group from Texas, South Carolina, and Mississippi.

Our speaker, Professor Rudolf Gelbard, had an intrepretor, Eon. He helped with introductions and then while Mr. Gelbard spoke Eon helped translate, he did not speak English, or not well enough to speak with us.

He was born in 1930. In 1938-42 living conditions were terrible. Food was scarce. In 1942 he was sent to a concentration camp, in 1948 Russians liberated the camp, and in 1964 he was in the University and now he is a volunteer and does things like speak with groups and educate people on the atrocities that happened in Europe.

He told us many stories about Hitler, like when Jesse Owens won 2 Gold Medals and Hitler refused to shake his had. He believed the Arian Race to be superior. 12 years later the Nazi's race was defeated.

Of course today we have a new form of Fanaticism, 9/11 is good example of that, 3,000 innocent people and more with fallout and those that helped died. All kinds of Fanatics living today, new form of terrorism exists around the world. London had a subway bombing and of course Oklahoma City bombing. And one cannot forget about the KKK that still exists today, may innocent have died at their hand.

The Holocaust is the worst crime in the history of mankind. 2/3 of Jews in Europe died, 24 different countries involved, and 6,000,000 people died.

Many different groups were killed, besides the Jews as well; the mentally handicapped, anyone that was sick, young children, gypsies,.... They were exterminated by car exhaust fumes, gas chambers or mass shootings.

Another crime was the experiments that Hitler's doctors did on patients. They used dirty instruments, many died under excrusiating pain, girls.

In 1944, 6^th of June our grandfathers took Normandy beach. Europe will be eternally greatful for their efforts there. Omaha Beach was another area of importance. Bloodiest section of landing boats. Well defended. Machine gun fire was horible; 1^st wave all killed, 2^nd wave, all killed, 3^rd wave, all killed and it was the 4^th wave that finally broke through. They were actually considering retreating when the 4^th wave had success. 3,000 young men or more were slaughtered on the beach. This might have been Patton's 3^rd Army.

Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp and had the biggest exterminating chamber. 1,000,000 went through and for most of them it a journey to death.

SS Doctors essentially decided life or death of everyone entering the camp. Survivors were subjected to hard labor, 10 months, cold, wind, no clothes, no underwear, no socks, 12 hour days, beaten, bread and water, 4 to a single bed. Horrific conditions. At Maudhasen there were death chambers that we were able to go into where hangings took place, people were gassed to death, and we were able to see something call hill of death or something like that where they would have workers carry up 100 lb rocks up this hill, of course no shoes, over rocks and if they sat down, even if the soldiers told them they could they were shot.

SS were identified with a skull on their caps. It is not so important to write all of the atrocities that these prisoners were subjected to while they were in these camps. I believe that our Ambassadors got the point by the end of his talk.

Much of the information he shared was probably public knowledge and I had the sense that many of us would have liked to hear more of his personal stories but it still was a very sombering experience.

6:30 PM

Enjoy your dinner at one of the last ancient monastery cellars in Vienna's historic city center.

Can't remember if we took the bus or not to dinner and dinner is sort of gone as well. But in any case after dinner we headed over to the concert hall, the most famous in the city. The concert was really great, the only problem was that everyone, including the leaders, were dead tired. But when in Vienna, you can't not do a concert. :)

Attend a classical concert at the Musikverien Wien.

Of course after the concert we took public transportation, like a subway, back to the hotel, and then a short walk to the hotel and bed. A great day but a long day. :)

Servicemarks: Class A, conservative dress for the concert please.

Overnight at the Austria Trend Eventhotel Pyramide.

Prater

The Prater is a huge park set in the heart of Vienna, between two arms of the Danube. It is large enough to contain some semi-natural woodland and marshland, as well as areas of more formal gardens. It is an ideal place to watch birds or simply relax. This former imperial game park on the banks of the Danube has been Vienna's symbol of popular fun for 200 years. The rather overcrowded amusement part (open from March to November) is well known because of the “Riesenrad”, the famous Giant Ferris Wheel.

Hofburg

The principal residence of the Habsburg dynasty comprised more than twelve interconnected buildings, which took their present form over the course of 800 years. In addition to the offices of the Austrian president and federal ministries, these buildings hold public showrooms, a dozen museum collections, the National Library of Austria, the performance halls of the Lipizzaner stallions, and the Hofburg Chapel, where the Vienna Choirboys sing every Sunday.

Vienna Woods

Enchanting old villages dot the Vienna woods (“Wienerwald”), a ridge of thickly wooded hills which envelop the West. Wine making (and drinking) has been the specialty here ever since Romans first planted vineyards in the Danube area. Grinzing and Heiligenstadt, suburbs of Vienna, have scores of wine gardens called “Heiuriger”, serving Vienna's characteristic fresh wine. Perchtoldsdorm, Modling, and Baden are popular weekend destinations. Beethoven and Schubert already