Describe Sisi. Explain how she is a Gothic/Empire heroine.

Sisi was the Empress of Austria who suffered a horrible life. The beginning was great. She lived with freedom to do what she pleased in Bavaria. But it all changed when she was 15 and got married to the Emperor of the Austrian empire. She had to follow strict court rules and was not allowed to do all of her favorite passtimes. Her aunt took all of her children as soon as there were born but her firstborn, whom she loved most dearly, died. Which I think brought Sisi into a depression that would last her the rest of her life. When her son was 30 he murdered his lover and then commited suicide, cleaving off the rest of her royal line. Then when Sisi was 40 she was murdered by and Italian
anarchist seeking fame.

She was a free spirit trapped by the empire who dreamed of her old life. Tragedy surrounded her life with the deaths of many of her children and mostly the gothic villian of her mother in law. Sophie. Her life was sad and so was she. Sophie made sure she obeyed all of the court laws and sophistication expected of an empress. She dreamed of her past life. She dreamed that her children would have lived. And most gothic of all. She was murdered. She felt emotions that she could not express and frankly I think its a wonder that she didn't kill herself.

I learned that dreaming of being royalty is not that great and is extremely romanticized by western culture. Take it from Sisi, don't do royalty kids.

Compare and Contrast the Palaces

Schonbrunn was the summer palace of the Hapsburgs. It was built by Maria Theresa and designed with many French and baroque inspirations. It was bright and had a lot of light which hid the fact that the palace acted as a prison and buisness place. It had massive gardens and large, highly decorated rooms. However it was a cage for the Empress Sisi.

Though meant as a summer escape from the busy life of the city, for Empress Sisi it meant no privacy and a reminder of being ensared by Franz Joseph. Who spent most of his time in his office doing official buisness.

The winter palace of Hofburg was extremely large and right in the middle of Vienna. It had many rooms and was the center of the empire. It ran like a machine with Franz Joseph as its head. It was not as grand but seemed more cozy than Schonbrunn possibly due to it being the winter residence and they needed the warmth. It also felt more personal with many painting and portaits of the family. Like an actual home. Also Sisi had much more privacy here.

The English palace of Kew was probably the most pleasurable of all the palaces. It had the biggest gardens full of creatures and different flora. The house was smaller and meant as a home or a place for family, not granduer. It was somewhere that they could escape the stress of the empire and practice their various hobbies. It was in a simple style but still slightly elegant.

I think the houses reflected the lives of the people who lived there. In Schonbrunn it was made as a vacation home. But it was still near the city so people could visit Franz Joseph and its gardens were cultivated and contained. The Hofburg was more like an office building that also housed the royal family in one cozy corner. Kew was like a wonderland for children to run and play and a hove or safehouse for the family to spend time together.

Compare and contrast the various cathedrals

Vienna: Stephen's Dom

This cathedral was probably the most busy one we visited. There were people everywere which might have been because Vienna was the center of the Austrian empire, and therefore it must have a grand church. It was established by the Hapsburgs to bring in their own Bishop from Rome. It was the tallest cathedral in the world for a couple of years and many windows to give the impression of a crystal building. Lots of symbolism from the master masons working on the cathedrals, such as he good lizards and evil toads and the loyal dog wo protects God from the toads.

Prague: St. Vitus and St. George

St. Vitus was massive and I feel like it reflected the country more than Stephen's Dom. There were crests for all of the families who contributed to its building and special areas for those families to attend church. Also it was reflected in the large amount of silver. Prague was known for its silver mining and that was shown extensively. It was more of a people church than a symbol for empire.

St. George was quaint, dark, and gave me chills. maybe not as creepy as the Ossuary but definetly had some dead vibes going on. It was not as grand and it was made of mostly gray stone. It felt more like a church for monks, because of its simplicity. I feel like it was a more personal area than St. Vitus.

All of these churches were Catholic but definately had their little quirks. In Vienna you could tell it was built as a symbol for the powerful empire of the Hapsburgs. St. Vitus was something constructed to try and make a statement but it was more of a community contribution than only from he royal family. And St. George was the most simple. It was the church before the empire. Both Stephen's Dom and St. Vitus are built in high gothic style with gargoyles, flying butresses, pointed arches, and steaples. Whereas St. George seemed more glassic. It was not tall or intricate, it was a place to have church not a place for church to be had. 

Freud's contribution to understadning he Gothic/Empire

Sigmund Freud was a Viennese physician. He was particularly interested in the psyclogical study of women in the upper class. Because these women were frequently suffering from hysteria and anxiety. This was because they felt trapped. They could do very little and were trapped at home. Their lives were boreing and unfulfilling. Freud wanting to fix that. So he would have them lie on a couch, him sitting behind their head, and talk about their problems.

Freud wanted to fix the problems that the empire were causing for the women. It was the empire's rules and regulations that made them this way. Freud was a part of that system however. Insead of  coming to the conclusion that these women were suffering because they were allowed zero freedom, he tried to treat them with hoses and morphine. So our story now takes a gothic turn. The women would be bound, held, tied, and sprayed down with a hose. Pretty much just absuing these women.

But Freud did make some very important discoveries nonetheless. He was a important figure in the psycological study of the empire and why women became to make the change toward gothicism.

#6 London

Londoners seem polite. They say sorry a lot. But I think its a cover. Underneath I don't think they are actually sorry. They also seem very gossipy. Especially those tables of old ladies. They just go on and on. I was telling Emma, I think groups of old ladies should be called Gaggles. Not sure why but it just sounds right. Also another strange observation was that everyone says cheers. For everything. It's just what they say as you depart. I think London was definitely the loudest city we visited. Yes, even more so than Prague. 

In America I think we are seen as less polite, but I just think its because we don't say sorry after everything. Honestly I think generally Americans are nicer. The most prevalent version of this was the food service. All of them just seemed extra rude. 

London is nice and all but most of the customer service jobs are held by foreigners, which creates a bit of a barrier. But the food is amazing and I definitely want to go back. 

Sleep tight.

#5 Feelings, wo wo wo

Emotions were a bit of a problem during these few days. People were a bit on edge after living in such close quarters after a while. A lot may have been due to intoxication. But I feel like it was particularly American. People get drunk, have fun, then get in a big fight, brood on it the whole night, then forget it over the next couple of days but let it sit in the back of the mind, unnoticed and passive. -- According to my observations of course. My only involvement was for selfish reasons, meaning I just wanted to sleep.-- 

My emotions include, happiness, confusion, sadness, excitement, dumb, saltiness, judgmental, and joy. With the most popular in bold. Very little do I get angry or annoyed. Which is a good thing I think. I am pretty open about my emotions. My face shows how I feel most of the time. I ain't too stoic. I express my emotions by talking about them because I ain't got time for mind games. 

Normally I think I feel more enthusiastic than those around me. Also I am more proud and vain usually. Like a narcissist. I love myself lol. I blame that on society and my parents for exceptional genes. 

I think some people try to suppress their emotions, or outlet them in anger and drama. Some people just hide their emotions. Some express. Intra and extra.  

My insight is that some people just need to chill and do some self analyzing. I know what i'm about. I know my faults and actively either try to fix them or accept them depending upon their severity. But you do you. People have rights. Just know that someone is always watching. WWJD

Cheers.

#4 Prague

If a whole bunch of college students designed a city, it would be Prague. Party every day and every night. The buildings were all over the place. The streets were winding and confusing. The people are either drunk, homeless, or about to be drunk. 

My entertainment consisted of going out one night to an Irish pub and listening to Irish music. The rest of the nights consisted of laundry, face masks, and sleeping. Lets just say I did not do Prague the way most do Prague. The people in Prague were louder and spoke less English than in Vienna. It was dirtier as well. 

The building were an eclectic combination of many different styles. Modern, baroque, rococo, classical, and sometimes idk what the heck it was. Landscape had more hills than Vienna, which meant much more stairs. I think my butt will be so toned by the end of this trip. 

As I said in the first blog, I don't really expect, I just do. But I've been told was a party city, so maybe I expected to see a lot of drunken college kids, which I did. Also I knew it was under soviet control for a long period of time, so I would say I expected to see some responses to that. Such as Liberalism, drugs, art, drugs, alcohol, poetry, and frankly just some messed up people. All of which was confirmed throughout my stay. 

My conclusion was that Prague was built in many stages that are inconsistent in their planning. There are a lot of sectors and it is very confusing to the unsuspecting tourist. I feel like it was built to be built and not to have order or function. 

My cultural insights is that Prague is an old city with a history of Empire. But, because of Soviet rain and communism, Prague has become, for lack of a better word, loosey goosey. Meaning that the pendulum of history shifted from strict rules and regulations, to few rules and regulation. 

But it was cool. I met some Australians that were nice. 

And no, they don't have pet kangaroos :(

Good day mate.