Hey everyone. Today marked the beginning of my second full week in Vienna. We had classes all day (we just got out)--German language, Art history, and Viennese history. By far my favorite so far is Art history. Our professor, Prof. Kroell (prononounced Krill with a rolling r) has taken a different approach to art thus far that I haven't encountered before. Today we talked about ancient art and its various purposes.

Last week was a busy whirlwind. We toured the Schoennbrunn Palace and some of the gardens, visited the Roman ruins of Carnuntum, and ate dinner at a traditional Austrian restaurant, called a Heurigen (Hoy-rig-en). Schoennbrunn was appropriately named. The palace was beautiful and the history of its past inhabitants is fascinating. It was home to famous figures such as Maria Theresa, Emperor Franz-Josef, and Empress Elisabeth. The gardens are beauitful. The central gardens are very manicured. The flowers, bushes and trees are all perfectly hedged and cut. But on either side lie stretches of woodland with paths wandering through them. The woods are picturesque and peaceful. Carnuntum was interesting. I think my favorite part was the Amphiteater ruins. You can walk right down into the remains of the arena. They have a small sand pit in the middle for reinactments so a few of the boys in our group to advantage of it and acted out their own rendition of gladiator fights. It was very entertaining. The Heurigen had delicious food. Our first course was salad--potatoes with vinegar, cabbage with vinegar, cucumbers with vinegar, and bread with various spreads. I took a whole spoonful of what looked like grated cheese and sprinkled it all over my cucumbers. When I took a bite I nearly cried--it was grated horseradish. Gross! Word to the wise--it is NEVER cheese ;).

On Saturday a few of us from the group, myself included, participated in the dedication of the LDS section of the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetary) of Vienna. I sang in the Institue Choir for the ceremony. We sang 'This is the Christ' and 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.' It was a great experience. A lot of people came. The National Austrian Television station was there as well as several prominent political figures. The sister in charge was warming up the choir was very enthusiastic and perhaps a bit eccentric. Her warm-up before the ceremony included patting a partner on the head, the shoulders, and right on down their backside. I think the only people who did all of the exercises were the elders who were paired together. Go figure. But it was funny to watch.