tuesday is german and art history day!

In German class this morning, we read poems that incorporate a particular phonetic sound (today was a, as in father). This was my poem:

Das Taglicht schwand, der Abend kam,
Die Nacht begann zu strahlen
Und Sterne, klar und wundersam,
Auf blauen Grund zu malen.

(James Krüss)

Roughly translated, by yours truly--

The daylight shrank, the evening came,
The night began to gleam
The stars, brightly and wondrously,
Painted the ground blue (not as sure about the translation of this last line)

I am enjoying the learning much more than I thought I would. German's flexible nature (basically, you can make up words and stick verbs wherever you want) is frustrating but also kind of fun to play with. Once I can actually make sentences, I'll share more with you.


The picture above is from our visit to the St. Charles Church. Finished in 1739, it's a famous example of Baroque design and is really gorgeous. A few more shots:



For Art History class, The students and I met Dr. Antonia Hanreich here for a brief discussion of the church's history and a partial tour of the Wien Museum. Dr. Hanreich is a substitute for our already beloved Dr. O, who unfortunately was in a car accident last week and is recovering in the hospital for a bit longer. The Wien Museum is dedicated to the history of Vienna, and uses several art forms and presentation styles to engage visitors. If you're interested at all in the long history of this city, click here to read a succint Wikipedia article. Dr. Hanreich took us from the Roman settlements (which started right around the time of Christ's birth) to the the beginning of the Hapbsberg empire (which lasted in Austria from 1278 until World War I!). We'll do more next time.