Monday, 5/30 - Vienna

Wow, what a fine day! After breakfast, Rebecca and I walked down the street to the Jewish Museum. We got there at 9:30, and found out it opens at 10, so we walked back up the street to the Dorotheum, the oldest auction house in Europe. There we got to look at piles of art, jewelry, and even an old car, that were all waiting to be auctioned. I hope we get a chance to watch one! Oh, the car was a 1953 Black Mercedes convertible, in perfect condition.

Back to the museum.

The Jewish Museum is actually housed in two locations.  In this one, the upstairs was filled with items of Jewish significance that somehow survived the period leading up the WWII when Jewish property was confiscated, and Jews were erased from Austria and Germany. It was nice to see the items, preserved and protected, and yet it was sad to think of the loss of the people who owned them. The reality hits home because my great-grandmother was from Vienna. The youngest in a large family, all but one of her older siblings and their families perished in German death camps.

Downstairs, the mood was decidedly more festive. The exhibits depicted the dominance of Jewish composers, conductors, and performers in the entertainment industry.  Judging by Academy Awards, Grammys, and record sales, Jewish domination is well over 70%. Bob Dylan, Barbara Streisand, Gene Simons, Amy Weinhouse, Randy Newman, Leonard Bernstein, and on and on. Lots of video, lots of memorabilia, lots of fun.

Then we walked a few blocks to the other location. It is in the center of the historic Judenplatz, or Jewish Quarter. Three things made a big impression on me. The first is what you see when you enter the square: the monument to the deported. Ironically, Vienna's treatment of the Jews was so harsh, in the time leading up to the war, it actually served to save a number of people. Things were so intolerable, up to 110,000 left while it was still possible. Still, 65,000 were sent to their deaths in German camps.

Here's the monument.

The second is this book. 

On display in the museum, it is the original and authentic diary of the Vienna Fire Department from November 10 and 11, 1938. It documents the destruction of 91 synagogues and over 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses, by violent acts committed on November 9, 1938 - Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. Let a holocaustl denier explain that!

And finally, there is the archeological site, discovered in 1995, of the oldest Synagogue in Austria. Dating back to 1204, it functioned and flourished for over two hundred years! In 1421, it was destroyed, and the Jews kicked out of Vienna.

Here's what they think it looked like.

r

This afternoon, we toured the Opera House. Opened in 1869, it was badly damaged in WWII. It took ten years to rebuild it. But it re-opened in 1955. 52% of its operating budget is covered by the state. The perform a different opera every evening. The schedule for a month is bigger than the entire season of other opera companies.

Here's Mahler.

Fancy room.

The Emperor's private room.

Fancy ceiling.

Our guide takes questions.

A selfie in the opera.

Then we went to the museum of music. There were a lot of historic exhibits, as well as informative interactive experiences. On of the fun ones affords the opportunity to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic.

After dinner, we went to the Musikverein. It's a great hall, and I'm talking about acoustics!  All the great conductors agreed with that assessment. Brahms, Mahler, Bruno Walter, Bernstein, everyone. We saw Concentus Musicus perform Beethoven's Ninth. It was done on period instruments, and was the best interpretation I've ever heard. 

I sneaked a photo during the ovation.

We took a long walk after the concert. We had a great day!