betsy's totally awesome blog

The Reichstag is such a unique building, I thought it was so cool to be able to go all the way to the top of the building and look out on the city. The building looks like most of the other old buildings we’ve seen, but it also has a giant dome on the top that has a walkway to the top that swirls around the dome. Once you reach the top the ceiling is open to the sky, and if you look below you can see all the way down to the windows that are above where the parliament meets.  This building is important historically because it was very important to the people of Berlin during the 1890’s and World War II. The building played a big role in Hitlers rise to power when it burned down and the Nazis used that to claim that communists were planning an uprising, it allowed Nazis to become the main party. During WWII it was damaged a lot and one of the very last battles took place there and the Soviet soldiers raised the soviet flag there to symbolize their victory. There is so much history that t

  For my monument I am choosing to write about the Brandenburg Gate. I had seen pictures of it before coming to Berlin, but it was even cooler to see it in person. It is clearly a very popular site because it was extremely crowded there. I liked learning about the gate and I thought it was really interesting that the middle of the gate was reserved for only the king and queen to ride through and everyone else had to pass through the other two sides of the gate. The gate is very tall and on top of it is a statue of a goddess figure being pulled on a chariot by lots of horses, the statue was meant to symbolize peace.  This monument is important historically because it has been around since the eighteenth century and has been the site of many different historical events. It was there when Berlin was divided between west and east Berlin, and can symbolize the division but also the peace and unity that happened once the wall was torn down. The gate was also reconstructed many times and it i

Kathe Kollwitz is probably one of my favorite artists now! I remember when we saw a few of her pieces at the art museum at BYU and I honestly wasn’t that impressed or interested in them, but after learning about her more in depth and the meanings behind her art work I was able to appreciate them so much more. Her etchings have so much emotion in them and it was evoking so many emotions in me as I was walking around the museum. I am not a mother, but I still feel like I can understand what each of the mothers in her pieces were feeling as they are holding on to their children, or children who have passed away. She is extremely gifted and I understand why her parents were worried about her career ending when she got married, I am so glad that it didn’t! Her contribution is important because she was a pioneer in a lot of ways. She was the first woman to be admitted as a full member to the Prussian Academy of Arts, and she was also made a professor even though it was pretty unheard of at t

From a young age, Luise Greger has been extremely gifted. She started taking piano lessons at six years old and by the age of ten she was already giving performances to very important audiences. She played in front of the tzar of Russia when she was only ten years old, I would have been so nervous at ten years old! Later in life she got a divorce from her husband and had to support herself through her music. She was composing, teaching, and performing in order to survive. Once she was too old to travel anymore she moved into an old folks home and then was euthanized by the Nazis.  I think that her contribution is important because she was a woman and a jew and yet she still was able to write such beautiful music that was able to support her throughout her life. I feel like there was a stigma around women musicians in that they are less gifted and can’t compose complicated or impressive pieces, but she proved lots of people wrong. Also being able to live and have your only source of mon

I think that Lise Meitner is such an interesting woman. She was born in Austria and became the second woman ever to graduate from the college of Austria in physics, but because she was a woman she wasn’t allowed to work in labs there. She moved then to Berlin and she worked in a lab, except it wasn’t even a real lab it was a wood shop. During World War I she became not just a scientist but also an x-ray technician. While in Berlin she and Otto Hahn and Otto Frisch discovered nuclear fission and that's a big deal! She was nominated 49 times for a Nobel prize but never won (Otto Hahn won though…). Because she was a Jew she lost all her titles and positions but then after the war, she was still recognized as a great scientist and traveled all over the world giving presentations and speeches.  Her contributions are so important not only for the world of science but for women in the work place and for new discoveries. The discovery of nuclear fission is so important because it has helpe

One of my favorite things I did on one of my free days was going to the Demel cafe in Vienna! The cafe was so cute inside and had so many little statues of men and women made of pastries and chocolate. There was a giant chocolate egg and just so many beautifully designed treats! I got the Demel Sachertorte and their famous apple strudel, they were both so delicious I loved the apple strudel the most though! It tasted like my mom's homemade apple pie, and the vanilla sauce that came with it was amazing! It was so fun to sit in such a fancy cafe with the chandeliers and beautiful wallpapers.  Cafe Demel is important historically because it was the designated purveyor of the Imperial and Royal Courts in Vienna. That means that they were the people supplying the imperial and royal courts with their goods and pastries. The location is right next to the Hofburg Palac e and they would deliver a lot of their treats and cakes to them there, the location made it the perfect place to get good

Kristina Gyllenstierna is one tough lady! She was a Swedish noblewoman and led the Swedish resistance against Denmark after her husband died. During the siege, Kristina would go up and down the lines supporting the troops and rallying them. That would take a lot of bravery to be out while battles are happening. People said that her force of will was what held together the Swedish resistance and allowed them to keep going even when times were hard. She became a prisoner of war in Denmark because the king felt threatened by her. There was a lot more support for her than for the king. I think she is a very cool woman and I’m glad I got to learn about her!  Her contribution is important because not a lot of noblewomen would do something like that, to lead an entire resistance and go with the troops to rally them. It shows how women can be tough and brave just like men and they don’t need to be left behind and sheltered. I also like how she had more support than the king did. It is interest

The Skansen Open Air Museum was not what I was expecting at all, but it was so amazing! The park had so many different things inside, my favorite part was looking at all the Nordic animals and the old house settlements there. We went to the Finnish settlements and the women there took us into a house to teach us about the heating system there. They used to light a fire in the morning and the smoke would fill the room in a thick layer and under the roof would be sand so it would warm the sand and keep the house warm for the rest of the day. I thought it was so interesting to learn about the way people used to live here and see the native animals.  The Skansen Open Air Park is important historically because it is a great way for the public to learn about the history and culture of Sweden. I was able to learn so much about how people came to Sweden and the types of homes and farms they would build here. There were lots of different types of settlements and you could see the different styl

First abstract art post say what!!! I usually don’t write about abstract art because it stresses me out but I’m going to be brave and do it. I am writing about Henri Matisse’s series titled Jazz. In the museum, they were situated behind a humongous bed because Henri Matisse believed that the most cherished pieces of art should be kept in the bedroom. He created these in a freestyle method where he moved around each piece of paper multiple times and explored the different shapes and patterns that could be made. My favorite one was the second one on the top row because to me it looks like a woman dancing in the doorway and you can just see her shadow like the light is behind her. I’m impressed that it looks so much like a woman when he was just cutting random shapes with no plan!  I think modern art like Henri Matisse's is important because it causes us to think a lot more than other more traditional paintings. When I look at modern and abstract sculptures or paintings I have to real

Greta Thunberg is so impressive! She was only fifteen when she first began protesting and holding school strikes for climate change, I definitely was not on that same level at fifteen! It was so cool to see the place where she first began protesting, at first I was confused because it didn’t seem to be that crowded of a place, but the further we walked I realized that it is a very popular place making it the perfect spot. I also liked our discussion on why it would be harder for Greta because of her gender to hold a protest. My favorite comment made was that society tends to not take young girls' interests seriously (I think it was Theresa who said it), I have had many experiences where a man has made fun of something I’m interested in just because I acted too passionate about it. She is very brave for acting so publicly for her beliefs.  Greta Thunberg's contribution is very important and is ongoing. She showed society that the younger generation is concerned about big topics

Since we only saw the last little bit of The Magic Flute, I am choosing to write about the church that my group visited in Vienna! My group went to the Augustine church and it was gothic but also mainly Neoclassical inside. I really liked going to this church, it was pretty different from the other ones we’ve gone to because it was very plain and extremely white. From the outside, I couldn’t even tell it was a church I almost walked right past it! My favorite part was probably the pyramid statue that was in honor of one of the princesses, I’m not sure which one. It looked really cool like a portal to the underground, I wanted to peek my head down there to see how far it went!  The Augustine church is important historically because it is one of the oldest and most famous churches in Vienna. There have been numerous weddings at the Augustine church for very famous people. Some people who got married there are; Franz Joseph and Elisabeth, Maria Theresa and Franz Stephan, Marie Louise and

For my Vienna choice woman, I am choosing to write about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was nicknamed Sisi. First of all, we spell our names the same which is awesome! I think it is really interesting that she did not like being royal and enjoyed a more relaxed lifestyle. She would spend most of her time at their summer estate or traveling to different places. Her beauty was also very important to her. She was known for having beautiful long hair and a very small waist. She would wear her corsets extremely tight in order to show it off! I honestly find her kind of relatable, if I were an empress I would probably want to escape to my summer estate too!  Elisabeth made many contributions during her time as empress. Because of her love for the people of Hungary whenever she visited there, she began to learn Hungarian. This in turn caused the people of Hungary to love her also! Hungary and Austria then became alliances because of her and there was a dual monarchy. I think that Elisabeth

Maria Theresia has been so interesting to learn about! She was the Holy Roman Emperess and the ruler of the Habsburgs empire. She also had sixteen children! I come from a big family, but I could not imagine being one of sixteen kids. I think that it is very interesting that she had so many children because we have talked about how unsafe it was for women to give birth at this time, it's amazing that she was able to have so many. Maria Theresia also pushed for medical and educational reforms and thought that everyone should be getting an education. I also find it interesting that her husband didn’t become emperor and that she co-ruled with her son! I think this is one of the only women that I’ve heard of doing that!  Maria Theresia made many contributions during her rule. One of them is that I think she helped to show that women are just as capable as men. She was a great ruler and brought a lot of unity to Austria. She also made contributions towards education and saw the importanc