Austria Journal Entry

Austria, day one

Today we are visiting the Vienna State Opera. We got tickets for the both of us and can not wait to go inside! Austria’s capital city, Vienna, had been an important centre of music innovation. Famous composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johann Strauss, Jr., among others, were associated with this city. This made Vienna the “capital of classical music” in Europe. The Vienna State Opera is one of the most important opera companies in the world. It can hold over 1000 people! Despite hosting many performances, it also serves as a venue for the Vienna Opera Ball, which is held every year after Ash Wednesday. Anyway, the performance is going to start in a minute. I’m so excited!

Austria, day two

Did you know that Austria is a pretty rich country? They said that Austria is one of the 14 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Vienna is the fifth richest NUTS-2 region within Europe with GDP reaching €38,632 per capita, just behind Inner London, Luxembourg, Brussels-Capital Region, and Hamburg. Back in 2004, Austria was the fourth richest country in the European Union. Austria has a well-developed industry, but the most important part of the national economy is international tourism.Huh. Turns out we're helping Austria with its economy just by visiting here.

Austria, day three

Austria is a federal republic, a government made up of a central government and smaller state or province governments. Though Austria has a president, the true leader of the government is the chancellor. The federal president, elected by Austrian citizens, has the power to appoint and/or dismiss the chancellor and other members of the government, while the chancellor and the Nationalrat(the National Council) is the one who writes most laws. Even though the president is able to veto laws that the chancellor and the Nationalrat created, the bill can still be passed without the president’s approval, so the president does not have much true power.

Austria Postcard

Image credit: https://x1vjb1fphhu3e9bkw164gf5n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/bild2_08.jpg

Dear mom,

We are in Austria now! We just came back from our trip to the Eisriesenwelt Cave, the largest ice cave in the world. Laying 42 kilometres through the Alps, it’s no wonder that its name means “world of ice giants.” Inside the cave, only the first 960 metres are covered in ice, and that is how far we, and most tourists, visited. As the bus was heading towards Hochkogel Mountain in the city of Werfen, where the cave is located, our tour guide told us the history of this beautiful ice giant. According to examinations of the rocks and ice, scientists believed that the Eisriesenwelt Cave was about 50 to 100 million years old. However, the ice waterfalls and frozen figures were much younger, dating about 1000 years old. The cave was carved out by the Salzach River and its waters are still eroding and expanding the cave today. The breathtaking ice “sculptures” are the works of the icy winds and freezing temperatures all-year-round.

Will write again in Sweden,

Bella and Tiffany

Austria News

4 ISIS suspects arrested, weapons seized in Denmark

April 7th, 2016

Danish authorities arrested four people suspected of having enlisted in ISIS in Syria. The four suspects were set to appear in closed-doors hearings. They were then accused for joining ISIS “to commit terrorist acts. According to the spokesman of the police, weapons and bullets were also found. With this happening right after some terrorist attacks, the police feared that this would be another attack, but they were not sure.

Can Denmark’s Generous Childcare System Survive?a

December 3th 2016

Denmark’s childcare system is very popular, and it is really cheap compared to other countries. Stine Christianen, a mother of three children all still under the age of four, had to put all her children in a childcare system because of her job. If she was in any other country, the price would have been expensive, but in Denmark, it’s affordable. “I’m only working part time so it’s not that I earn so much extra money for us,” Stine explained. The reason that made the childcare system affordable is because Denmark has one of the highest tax rates in the world.

Man in Austria Arrested for Glorifying Nazism  

February 13th 2017

A twenty-five year old man was arrested for glorifying the nazi era, as local authorities say. Having the famous side-parted hair and mustache, he had an uncanny resemblance to Adolf Hitler. The Hitler lookalike calls himself “Harald Hitler” and had been seen taking photos of himself in front of Adolf HItler’s birthplace, Braunau am Inn. His actions, as said by David Furtner, the police spokesman, were not a joke or for performance purposes. "The young man knows exactly what he is doing," he said.

Denmark Journal Entry

Denmark, (supposedly) Day One

We are currently in the airport right now, but no, we’re not at Copenhagen airport. Due to delays, we are still stuck at Macedonia. Because we found a Danish friend of ours to pick us up at Copenhagen, this delay is going to get us into BIG TROUBLE. Danes, being part of the Scandinavian culture, are known for their strict etiquette. They try not to cause inconvenience or discomfort to others, as they value mutual respect. For example, in our friend’s eye, our tardiness is seen as a waste of her time. Danes also value humbleness and they loathe public display of one’s success. Though Denmark is a rich country, Danes do not like to brag about their wealth. Being loud and obnoxious is another pet peeve of the Danish. Anyway, we must be careful not to offend our friend again, or else her Danish instincts will tell her to give us a boring lecture about manners. Hopefully our plane will be taking off soon!  

Denmark, Day One

While walking through Denmark, we realized that most of the churches or palaces are built by bricks. Curious as though why, we asked our Danish friend, and she told us that during the Viking period, the country had little access to stones, so bricks became the construction material for architecture. She also told us that Dutch and Flemish designers were brought to Denmark to design castles in the Renaissance style. This style started spreading throughout the country. But in the 19th century, under Christian IV’s influence, the style quickly merged into the National Romantic Style. This style, however, did not last for a long time. In the 1960s, Danish architects finally “invented” their highly successful Functionalism. This had evolved into recent world-class masterpieces such as the Sydney Opera House and the Great Belt Bridge. Danish Architectures have such a great history that we could not really understand, but thanks to our friend, we got to learn some history.

Denmark, Day Two ~ Four

We are now at the streets of Denmark, just in time for Maundy Thursday! Maundy Thursday is the fifth day of the Holy Week, between Holy Wednesday and Good Friday. Easter is a BIG holiday in Denmark. Though Easter is a Christian holiday, a survey conducted in 2000 showed that about half of the population see it as an important family holiday, and only about 10% consider it as a “Christian message.” For many Danes, Easter is just a symbol of the end of winter and the start of spring. As we walked around, we saw many stores were decorated in green and yellow, with daffodils and branches with baby leaves, all symbols of springtime.

On Easter Sunday, our Danish friend invited us to join her family at Easter Lunch, a big feast consisting of eggs and spring food. We had a big meal of chicken, lamb, and veggies. Special Danish food was also served, such as little hot dishes, herrings, cheese, and sliced meat. The adults had special Easter beer, which was stronger and (according to our friend’s uncle) tastier than normal beer. We had a great time there, but sadly we had to catch a flight after the feast.

Denmark News

Can Denmark’s Generous Childcare System Survive?

December 3th 2016

Denmark’s childcare system is very popular, and it is really cheap compared to other countries. Stine Christianen, a mother of three children all still under the age of four, had to put all her children in a childcare system because of her job. If she was in any other country, the price would have been expensive, but in Denmark, it’s affordable. “I’m only working part time so it’s not that I earn so much extra money for us,” Stine explained. The reason that made the childcare system affordable is because Denmark has one of the highest tax rates in the world.

4 ISIS suspects arrested, weapons seized in Denmark

April 7th, 2016

Danish authorities arrested four people suspected of having enlisted in ISIS in Syria. The four suspects were set to appear in closed-doors hearings. They were then accused for joining ISIS “to commit terrorist acts. According to the spokesman of the police, weapons and bullets were also found. With this happening right after some terrorist attacks, the police feared that this would be another attack, but they were not sure.

Man Burns Quran: Fourth Blasphemy Charged in Danish History

February 23rd 2017

Qu’ran is the holy book of Islam, and harming it is greatly disrespectful to the Islamic culture. In fact, burning any religious books is a violation of a penal code about public mockery and religious scorn. A 42-year-old man was charged with blasphemy for burning the Qu’ran. On December of 2015, he posted a video showing him burning the holy book in his yard. Though in Denmark, the maximum time in prison for blasphemy is four months, this man will only be fined if he is convicted. There has not been any other charges like so in Denmark for almost half a century and is the fourth time ever in Danish history.

Denmark Postcard

Photo Credit: http://estonianexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Fotolia_57057446_Subscription_XXL.jpg

Dear mom,

We have arrived at Denmark! Since we are here, of course we have to visit the world-famous Tivoli Gardens (it is actually not a garden; instead, it is an amusement park)! Did you know that Tivoli is the fourth most-visited theme park in Europe? That is pretty impressive for a park this old: opening on August 15th, 1843, it is the second oldest amusement park in the world! Anyway, our first ride in the park was a 103-year-old coaster, the Rutschebanen, one of the oldest wooden roller coasters that is still in use. The ride was exciting, but we were paranoid about breaking the coaster on the entire ride! Then we went on the Star Flyer, the second tallest carousel in the world. Spinning 80 metres in the air was a terrifying experience, yet it offered a breathtaking view of the city below. After going on some other rides, we explored the rest of Tivoli, including visiting the various concert halls and theatres. The We were exhausted by the end of the day, but we had a really good time in Tivoli Gardens!

Will see you again in Austria,

Bella and Tiffany