Last Bit of Time...

I must once again thank Stephanie and Professor Stuart for inviting me to go out with them; we went back to Thomas Frankl's gallery on the Judenplatz, and this time Josh was able to come along too. This time we mostly helped him set up a Facebook account, just so that he could get his father's work and gallery noticed on the internet more. I also took the time to look at some of the paintings a bit more, and shared the experience with other families who had come in through the door.

Later that afternoon while walking around some of the less-crowded streets, I happened to come across this sticker:


And then a few meters later I saw this one:


It means "Stop the demagoguery - Islam is not the enemy."

Interesting pieces of public art. I guess these are signs that there are indeed people in Vienna - people who dwell in the world of underground, DIY-type stuff - who are actively fighting against the xenophobic tendencies that seem almost traditional of Viennese and of Austrians. If I could speak with the maker of the first sticker, however, I would ask him or her why it's printed in English and if the choice of that language has any special meaning or signifcane. I know that this is not the first such bit of English I've seen in public - if you look at the graffiti it can be found in there too. I just wish I knew the reason why. There could be so much to know about the uses of languages that we just don't have in the United States, because we're almost completely unilingual across the country.

There's still so much I could learn and do here, and it's a shame that I'll have to leave soon. At least I got to spend this night at an authentic heuriger with almost the whole class. I have really come to enjoy these heurigen in Austria. The wine is always great and the little bits of food are just right... Again, I wish tomorrow wasn't my last day.

The German word of the day is "Freundschaft," meaning "friendship."