& MI PIACE VIENNA

Do the words "Von Trapp," or "Julie Andrews" pop into your head when you think of Austria? Unfortunately, we didn't see any Sound of Music sites in Vienna...but don't worry, there was still a LOT to see!
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DAY 1 in VIENNA: 24 DECEMBER

Christmas Eve! After about 13 hours on trains and some difficulty, we found our hostel, The Wombats, which was much livelier than our hostel in Berlin. We walked around for a little bit - it's much easier to get around Vienna than Berlin, due to its smaller size. We went to the Secession building, where we saw the Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt. We tried to find an open Christmas market, but I guess they must close on Christmas Eve and Christmas because there were only a few stands open - and they were closing. But we ended up in a small bar/restaurant and I had hot chocolate and some beef goulash. Peterskirche is a beautiful church in the center of the Vienna Ring which was decorated with Christmas trees and a nativity, and there we had our midnight Christmas mass. I didn't understand anything, since it was in German, but I was glad to go to a service (even if it was a mass) and pray, because I haven't been to church since August 24th...

DAY 2 in VIENNA: 25 DECEMBER

Christmas Day! And my most unconventional one ever. It was weird to do normal tourist stuff, to not be with my family, and realize that it is actually Christmas Day. At the hostel we met 2 Italians from Bari, in the south, and they told us about this house called Hundertwasserhaus, and they went with us there. It was Gaudi-like (although Nancy and Elsa, who've been to Spain, say the real Gaudi architecture is way cooler), with the wave shaped walls and ground, and use of mirror pieces and lots of color. Later we took a break with coffee and chocolate cake, and sightsaw around Mariathereisinplatz. We had our hearts set on getting standing tickets to see the Nutcracker at the Viennese State Opera, and after standing in a long line...we did! The tickets were only 4 euros and the show was beautiful! Why did I quit ballet?? The three of us wanted to have some Viennese food for our Christmas dinner, so we went to a place close to the hostel, where I had an old-style Viennese soup, bread dumpling in broth, and apricot pancake. We stayed there until we were too tired. A good end to an unconventional Christmas.

DAY 3 in VIENNA: 26 DECEMBER

Berlin has Museum Island, and Vienna has the Museums Quarter. We went to 2 of the museums there - the Museum Moderner Kunst (MOMuK) and the Leopold Museum. The first had some pretty cool video, installation, and architecture art, and the building was made of basalt lava. The Leopold had Klimt, and an exhibition for Egon Schiele for the 90th anniversary of his death at 28 in 1918. I'm now a fan of both Klimt and Schiele! And of Art Nouveau. Then we went to the Sacher Cafe, which is where the Sacher torte was invented...4.90 euros for a torte but it was worth it. Maybe the best chocolate cake I've had...

DAY 4 in VIENNA: 27 DECEMBER

Stephansdom is the main cathedral in Vienna, and we went there to take pictures early on our last day. Driven by our newfound love for the work of Klimt, we went to the Belvedere to see The Kiss. The gardens looked pretty depressing...it was all brown and the fountains were drained. BUT the museums was pretty awesome - I learned a lot more about the Secessionists and Art Nouveau, and they had a recreation of the Klimt room during an exhibition from his time. That was where I saw The Kiss, Danae, Fritza Riedler, and The Three Ages of Woman, and more. Then we went to the Hofburg Palace, which is now a museum and library. Mozart lived in Vienna - and his most expensive apartment is a museum. It was interesting to learn about him - all I know about him is what I saw in Amadeus - and cool to be in the house where he wrote "Figaro." These prodigys, like Mozart and Schiele, are really motivating me now! I need to really work more and push myself more with my art! By my age, Mozart was composing genius operas and Schiele was a year or two away from joining Klimt and the Secession!
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SEE what I'm talking about:
Midnight Christmas mass in German...
...and the Nutcracker on Christmas night!
ALSO: I will probably post links to Nancy and Elsa's photos once they put them up!

It's nice to be back in Florence - it's a little more familiar, and even though I love traveling, it's nice to have a place - a home - to go back to. And it will be fun to celebrate the New Year in Florence as well. Then on the 2nd, I'm off to Rome for a couple of days to meet my friends Nate and Judy who are actually LEAVING sunny California for the -0 Celsius temperatures here in Italy. I can't wait!

I ♥ BERLIN

I will halve my winter break trip into 2 Posts, to make it a little easier for you all to read, hopefully!
So...I knew Berlin was a great place for contemporary art culture as well as a city rich in its own fascinating (and sometimes horrible) history...but I never thought I would fall in love! Like Rome, Berlin is massive compared to little Florence, and it embraces the modern and cosmopolitan.

DAY ONE in BERLIN: 20 DECEMBER

Elsa, (an art history major), Nancy (a sculpture/jewelry major), and I arrived at the main train station Hauptbahnhof after about 8 hours traveling. We found our hostel and checked into our 8-bed dorm (it looked like 4 others were already there). Then we went out exploring for a little bit, walked along the Spree River, and had dinner at a little restaurant across from the Pergammon Museum. We all had wurstels with potato salad, apple strudel, and I had sherry juice, which was interesting. After dinner we continued our explorations and happened upon one of the fabulous German Christmas Markets along Unter den Linden street! We immediately regretted our early dinner once we saw the endless stands of hot dogs, pastries, nuts, and the array of strange, foreign, edible treats labled (sometimes) with a jumble of unpronouncable words. But we all decided to at least get a hot chocolate, and promised to return the next night. We kept walking, and found ourselves at yet another Christmas market that lit up the night. This one had a huge ferris wheel and a skating rink, and was even bigger than the first one. "Let's come back to this one tomorrow," we agreed. Still tired from the long trip, we trekked back to the Heart of Gold Hostel in the cold and went to sleep.

DAY TWO in BERLIN: 21 DECEMBER

Thanks to the Let's Go: Western Europe book I borrowed from Sara, we knew that there was a so-called "Museum Island" in Berlin, so we headed there the next morning, and went to the Alte Nationalgalerie - filled with works from the mid & late 19th century and the early 20th century (Friedrich, Monet, Renoir, Rodin, and some amazing Neo-Baroque stuff!). It was so inspiring...! We spent about 4 hours there, and then tried to walk to the Hamburger Bahnhoff Museum which had a pop art/Andy Warhol exhibit, but it was all the way across by the train station, so by the time we got there, it was closing in an hour. We did get to see some sights, like the Brandenburger Tor BEFORE ... AFTER. Instead, we headed towards Alexanderplatz, where we saw the Christmas Market the night before. There, I had a bratwurst with the spiciest mustard I'd ever had - I know now why they use mustard gas. Nancy and I shared a fried flat bread with sour cream, cheese, and spices. (Look at my photos, it's like a German version of a pizza?) There was a Schaumkusse - a marshmallow-like thing with a coat of chocolate. Finally, I had a candied apple, which was just weird - all the Germans were eating them though. (I know - a lot of food, but at least we didn't have lunch...?)

DAY 3 in BERLIN: 22 DECEMBER

The three of us woke up late and wandered around the city for a bit and took photos of different buildings and sights. We found Checkpoint Charlie, where there was an American soldier standing with a flag, and there it was - the famous "You are now entering the American sector" sign. We saw one of the longest standing stretches of the Berlin Wall, and the "Topography of Terror," which was an exhibition along the Wall with explanations and history. After a bit of walking around, we also made it to the Jewish Memorial, which was very strange to walk around in. It felt like one of those garden mazes, except in concrete. Sounds would get muffled as you walked into the center, and since it was dark it was even spookier. When it got too cold, we went to the Christmas market again. I got an After Eight - hot chocolate with a shot of peppermint liqueor, and a pretzel. We met a jewelry vendor at one of the stands who took us to his shop and gave us cafes and discounts. Then we returned to the market to wander around a little more, and Elsa and I got some candied nuts (delicious!!).

DAY 3 in BERLIN: 23 DECEMBER

For once, we managed to wake up early and saw the Reichstag building, with its beautiful glass dome. We'd seen advertisements for a Jeff Koons exhibit, and Nancy and I were determined to see it. So we went to the Neue Nationalgalerie to accomplish our goal! There was Tulips, which I actually also saw at LACMA, Hanging Heart (Violet), Ballon Dog (Red), and Cracked Egg (Blue), among others. It was inspiring, and refreshing. Then our third and final museum in Berlin; the Gemaldegalerie. They had a collection of paintings from across Europe - Rembrandt, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Wattaeu, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Botticelli, Velazquez - it was pretty intense! After that, we went on a quest for the Steinway Haus - Elsa's dad works with pianos, and she plays too. The pianos there were so beautiful! There was one that was made of Indian applewood, I think, which looked like a tigereye stone.
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There is no way to fully experience Berlin in 3 and a half days. I want to go back for sure, and get to know the city, language, history, and people better. Probably during a warmer season.

PHOTO TIME!
Weihnachten markets every night...
...and visits to historical sites and museums.

Buon Natale!

I just got out of my last class before winter break. Although I'm excited about venturing (finally) outside of Italy, I'm kind of worried about the cold in Germany and Austria. I thought Florence was cold (even though this weekend the forecast is 60 F - why can't it be that warm when I'm here?) but in Berlin and Vienna it's snowing! I went to the very cheap San Cascine market (only open 9-2 Tuesdays) and stocked up on some layers. But I'm pretty excited to try real German and Austrian food - I can't wait for waffles or pancakes...strudels...even sausages, which I never ate too much of. And I hear the kebabs are better in Germany too - I don't know if I want to stop for those though.

Now that we have a studio art student "studio" at the CSU center (it's more like a converted closet) I've been spending more time painting! It's great and reminds me of taking studio classes back in Long Beach - a bunch of artists working into the late hours, painting, drawing, sculpting, and sleeping in there.

Florence is getting all decorated for the holidays! There are lights hanging overhead, and Christmas trees in the piazzas. I'm sad I won't be here for Christmas but I will be here for New Years!


This is me (a month or two ago) rubbing the nose of the Florence bronze boar - it's supposed to be good luck, or bring you back to Florence.

If I don't talk to you before I go away from Internet Access:
~ m e r r y ♥ c h r i s t m a s ~
I miss you and will be thinking of you all during Christmas!
CLICK HERE

Field Trip #3

Have you heard of any of these places: Urbino? Assisi? Ravenna?
Have you heard of any of these people: Piero della Francesca? San Francesco? Giotto?
I've only heard of a couple, and that's only because I've taken art history. Twice. So the field trip this weekend was probably intended more for the art history students than for everyone else. As for me, (a studio art student who has never been able to get into medieval art) it was definitely difficult to get through the long explanations and descriptions of historical debates surrounding the churches and artwork.
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We left early on Friday morning, and stopped in Monterchi to see the "Madonna del Parto" - I'd never heard of this work or the guy who painted it (Piero della Francesca) but supposedly della Francesca was rediscovered by contemporary artists and this is one of his most beloved paintings. We also made a stop in San Sepulcro to see the Museo di Civico and more Piero della Francesca paintings (the Resurrection of Christ is famous), and finally made it to Urbino to stay at the Piero della Francesca Hotel. I couldn't believe they named the hotel after him. Dinner was pretty good - we went to a restaurant called Da Ciacci. They had about 9 courses. But it was fun because you just took a serving spoonful of each dish, so even though I was unbelievably full, I also got to try a lot of different things.
The next day we spent in Assisi. If the name sounds familiar, it's probably because of Saint Francis of Assisi's fame. And the San Francesco Basilica was probably the highlight of the trip, for me. There was the upper church, lower church, and the crypt below where the body of St. Francis is kept. We got a preview and intro to the church and St. Francis by a Franciscan monk from America, and I learned that St. Francis was actually a really cool guy. He was a rich kid who was later thrown out by his father. He was simply into spreading love and care, and being completely humble about it. There was also the Church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) which we were only able to walk through briefly because we were behind schedule by like 2 hours.
On Sunday we checked out of the hotel and went to Ravenna, and these are the things we saw: the Mausoleum of Teodorico, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the Tomb of Dante, Arian Baptistry, the Museo Arcivescovile, San Vitale, Galla Placidia, San Francesco, and San Giovanni Evangelista. I'm sorry you had to struggle to read through all those names - just imagine having to walk around to ALL of them. I have to be honest: the churches and mosaics all kind of blend together into one LONG day. I'll let you look at the photos...I do clearly remember a crypt that was actually underwater, with goldfish swimming in it. I think that might have been at Galla Placidia. One of the highlights was getting to drink a cioccolata calda that was super thick, a characteristic of the hot chocolate in Ravenna.
Every time we got on the bus, we were all so grateful for the heat, because Assisi, Urbino, and Ravenna were way colder than Florence. Now that I'm back in Florence, I know I can't complain. Hopefully I'll be ready for the freezing weather in Austria and Germany.

FACEBOOK PHOTOS!
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In other news:
- I have MIDTERMS next week for my Italian classes. I've been too preoccupied with my Accademia classes to really think about Italian so I'll be studying this weekend!
- There is a German festival in anticipation of Christmas in Santa Croce. I've never had HOT SPICED WINE or APPLE CIDER WITH RUM before. They're delicious! And also white sausage with sauerkraut and mustard? I hope I can have the real thing in Germany.
- We have a HOLIDAY BANQUET tonight at the CSU center! Free food!