Reflections on War & Peace: Visas & Vienna’s Augarten

During the holidays, my father lent me James A. Michener’s non-fiction novel “The Bridge at Andau” about the the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and Austria’s crucial role in helping the 180,000 refugees who escaped by crossing over the tiny footbridge and swamps at the border.  It certainly wasn’t very cheerful reading, but it gave me a much deeper appreciation of human nature and of this region’s history.  It was also a great reminder of how truly lucky I am to live a life of freedom – always being able to decide what I want to do and where I want to live, as long as I am willing to take the necessary steps to make it happen.  Considering I was born in Canada in this era, these steps have always been relatively easy – certainly never life-threatening.  Still, some cause me stress..

This morning, I took one of these steps – I went to the Austrian Registry Office to make my official request for a residency permit that will allow me to study here until June. I could only apply once my school received its certification, which only happened late in December.  I was nervous. I’m sure my holiday reading didn’t help – stories of abuse by authorities who wielded the power of life and death behind the iron curtain.  Truth be told, though, I’m usually nervous in such situations (“Is there a document missing in this 1-inch thick envelope of paperwork?  Did I fill-out the 9-page German application accurately? Will they accept my renewed criminal record check if it hasn’t been notarized? Can my future really be determined by a yes/no from officials even if I’m a good girl?)” You get the picture.  Part of me has a very spiritual take on events – nothing is good or bad, it just is, and a decision either way will be a sign of what I’m meant to do next – but part of me gets all uptight around anything to do with authority and bureaucracy.  Luckily, Florence, our school’s administrator, was kind enough to accompany me, the first student to go through this process. Better still, the officer who greeted me was very nice and even complimented me on my German.  She double-checked all of my paperwork and, after a few minutes, so did her colleague, who then sent me to the cash to pay my 100 Euro fee.  I’ll find out the results in a few weeks.  Wish me luck!

Since it was sunny and above zero (although not yesterday’s 10°C), I then decided to explore a nearby park that seemed huge on the map.  The Augarten, I discovered, is actually a 52 hectare walled-in park with tree-lined avenues, flower gardens (no blooms now), sports fields, playgrounds, dog parks, an outdoor swimming pool (still full, but covered in ice), a retirement residence, a palace, a contemporary art gallery, a porcelain factory & shop, restaurants, home of the Vienna Boy’s Choir, and more.  It’s the oldest Baroque garden in Vienna. Even though the grass is still green, it wasn’t nearly as impressive as it will be in the spring (I will definitely return if I get my visa).  Walking amongst thousands of bare trees, however, added to the ominousness of the two huge anti-aircraft gun blockhouses that loom over this public park.  What a strange sight! I wasn’t sure what they were at first, although I felt uneasy around them, so I looked it up on Google while sitting on a park bench and found out that these flak towers also served as air-raid shelters during WWII.  I’m surprised they weren’t in the movie “The Third Man” with Orson Welles, which showed a lot of Vienna post-war.  Standing here, at the foot of these foreboding structures,  I recalled how uncomfortable I also felt when I heard the anti-raid sirens being tested in Vienna and when I learned how they test them weekly in towns and villages across Austria.  (I just checked and found out that they are now used as fire sirens instead).  All in all, the juxtaposition of war and peace – concrete bunkers and baroque gardens – was thought-provoking. The cold war only ended in 1991 and the last world war only 68 years ago.  Although monuments and stories remind us of this in Canada, it is so much more evident here in Europe – at least for me.  I smiled though, as I was nearing the end of my walk, when two white doves flew in front of me and landed in a tree  (OK, they could have been pigeons).  I also smiled when I followed my nose into the palace restaurant for a delicious daily special – rainbow trout on a bed of risotto for 7.90EU ($11.50 Cdn) – although I was surprised that it came without any vegetables.  Still, it was excellent energy for my 2-hour walk home along streets I had yet to explore.

May 2014 be a year of peace and freedom all around the world, and may we all learn to choose love over fear.

P.S.  After writing this post, I found 2 films on the Hungarian Revolution online:  “Revolution’s Orphans“, a Canadian short film (click to view) and “Children of Glory” – which I watched in German (click to view) because the English version wasn’t available on YouTube.