Wienerschnitzel? I wasn't expecting that...

Today I registered with the city of Vienna as an extended traveler/temporary resident. It wasn't very challenging. I handed them a piece of paper with my information on it, and they didn't even attempt speaking with me. They handed me a "Bestätigung der Meldung" with a stamp and some initials on it, and now I just need to remember to take that paper back when I leave and un-register with the city of Vienna. Apparently they get really mad if you don't do this.

After registering, we went with Brother Holmes for a bit of an orientation on his class and the way things would be run. Later we ended up at Stephansdom (for the third day in a row for me) for a tour. The tour was really interesting, but I still hate this cathedral. The inside is absolutely full of decoration, and much of it is rather macabre. A lot of the carvings are really skillful and intricate, but the interior is so busy that it's just overwhelming. Our tour guide took us around and explained some of the more notable bits of decoration, including the amazingly carved pulpit carved from a single stone and requiring long thin chisels to get inside the spaces. Really, it's amazing. We also learned about the reconstruction that took place after World War II, when Stephansdom was partially destroyed. In the cathedral are the coats of arms of various parts of Austria, all of which pitched in for different parts of the cathedral for reconstruction. Most of the stained glass was destroyed, and instead of replacing this with more stained glass they replaced it with light pastel rectangles because they wanted the interior of the cathedral to be brighter. The cathedral is actually under constant renovation efforts because sandstone was chosen as the building material. Why would you ever choose sandstone as a building material? It's actually quite lovely when it's new, but it absorbs every toxin from the air, and as it does the stones are slowly eaten away. Entire stones can be completely hollow, and the exterior over time turns a dark black. Thus there is always scaffolding on some part of the cathedral. (Actually, scaffolding seems to be a Vienna theme.)

For me the catacombs were the most interesting, but of course we weren't allowed to take pictures of them. It was really a shame. The catacombs tunnel below the cathedral and contain the remains of some notables as well as mass graves. During the plagues people died so quickly that normal burial was impossible, and thus a mass grave was established here. You can imagine that this created a rather unpleasant stench, as well as a health hazard. The cathedral was shut down for a while because of it. Later on in history the catacombs would be used as a bomb shelter during WWII. I cannot think of a more terrifying bomb shelter.

Today's food experience: Wienerschnitzel. We had dinner at "Herb's" which has apparently been study abroad famous for quite some time. It's a place called Schnitzelwirt, and oh my goodness, they serve Wienerschnitzel. First off, based on the not very popular U.S. fast food chain "Wienerschnitzel," I was expecting something completely different. I thought that it would be something more like a chili dog. Instead I received a large plate of fried veal. Compare the lemon slice for a size reference. It was really good, but fried veal does not represent a full meal for me. It would have been so great with rice or bread or potatoes. I took my leftovers home, but I'm not sure how good they'll be reheated. Oh well. I can check this off of the "things I am pretty sure you're required to do in Vienna" list.