Alpine Adventure!
Eisenstadt and the Alps
Yesterday we traveled to the Alps! Before we got there, though, we stopped in the small town of Eisenstadt. Eisenstadt was home to the Esterházy family, a noble family that was one of the greatest landholders in the Kingdom of Hungary. They are perhaps most notable for their involvement in the Jewish community in Eastern Austria who lived largely under their protection in 7 distinct areas in and around Eisenstadt.
The first place we visited in Eisenstadt was the Bergkirche, a church that seems relatively unremarkable in its main room but actually contains an artificial mountain with hundreds of intricately painted figures depicting the stations of the cross. It has been a pilgrimage site for over 250 years as people have come to see the mountain and its miracle working icon of the Virgin Mary.
In the more regular part of this church is the tomb of Joseph Haydn, the famed composer who lived in Eisenstadt and worked under the commission of the Esterházys. His tomb, for a time, contained his body with the wrong skull. The real Haydn's skull was stolen out of his grave shortly after he was buried and was passed from hand to hand for a very long time before finally being reunited with his body at the Bergkirche in the 1950s. While I was in this church and learning this, all of this seemed normal and chill but, honestly, reading it back now it sounds insane. Like, why does this church have an artificial mountain inside it? Why are there hundreds of painted sculptures from the 18th century here? What do you mean the composer's head was missing for nearly 2 centuries? This place was deeply, deeply, strange and not at all what I pictured when we stepped off the bus at Eisenstadt.
While in the city, we went to the Jewish Museum, a very impactful memorial of and tribute to the Jewish community that once thrived in Eisenstadt before being completely extinguished by the Nazis. This picture is from the synagogue at the Jewish Museum. It was commissioned by the Esterházy family and built in the home of renowned rabbi Samson Wertheimer in 1719. The director of the Jewish Museum explained to us that this synagogue is extremely small and does not have regular services because of the lack of Jewish community here. Unlike the main synagogue that once stood in Eisenstadt, this small synagogue survived through World War II almost entirely because the Nazis did not assume there would be a synagogue inside a private home.
After leaving the Museum, we went to the Jewish graveyards in Eisenstadt. The Old Cemetery was in use from 1679 to 1875 and contains around 1000 gravestones that show the size and prominence of Eisenstadt's once thriving Jewish community. The New Cemetery has been in use since 1875 though most of the newest graves there are from before 1950. Many of the gravestones at the New Cemetery were destroyed by the Nazis and used to build tank barriers throughout the city which is why it feels a lot emptier than the more crowded Old Cemetery. I could go on for a very long time about the Jewish Museum and the tragic loss of Eisenstadt's Jewish Community but much of that will be addressed in my group's film project so I apologize for keeping it a little briefer here.
Once we were finished in Eisenstadt, we made our journey to the Alps where we got to witness a beautiful sunset (and Anna C and I performed stand-up comedy) before going to sleep at the lodge ready for our day of hiking. I'm sharing a rather small room in the alps with 3 other guys, none of whom are people I'm particularly close with so that's been interesting. Thankfully, most of my friends are in rooms with only 2 people instead of 4 so I can chill with them when I need to.
Today was our day of hiking around the Alps!! I've been looking forward to this since I applied for the program and oh my god did it deliver. We started hiking around 10 AM after a delicious breakfast at the lodge. In my head, we were all going to stay together but that wasn't what happened at all. Far away from the lodge is the Habsburg House, the farthest refuge from the lodge before we would have to turn back. My plan this morning was to make it all the way there but, because of an incoming thunderstorm (and a rather long break for soup, beer, and cake at a resting house partway up the mountain), I did not.
While hiking with Anna, we ran into Dr. Stuart, Betheni, and Moon and quickly formed an adventuring squad that would complete our hike together. It was super fun getting to walk with them and be there for Betheni's first hike of her life. Walking through the Alps felt like being in Sound of Music and the views were some of the most beautiful I've ever gotten to see.
At the end of the day, after many miles of hiking, we had an absolutely delicious beef stew before the whole group began having lots and lots of white wine. The waiters at the lodge clearly enjoyed having a bunch of young, fun, Americans there and were down to give us a great time which was excellent but definitely made it harder for many in the group to abide by the strict noise ordinance that kicks in at 10 PM. I went to bed at a semi-reasonable hour after hanging out more quietly with a couple of my friends but my roommates were noisier as they re-entered the room later; likely a result of the wine.
Overall, this was one of the most fun days of this program and, even though the only history we learned about was Sigmund Freud doing psychoanalysis at the Ottohaus, I felt more deeply connected to Austria than I have at any other point so far.
