My three or so days in Vienna have flown by in a haze of jet lag, lack of sleep and constant stimulation and activity. Our first day began around lunch time - or what would have been 3 am in Seattle - on what felt like one extended day that began about 23 hours before when I woke up at 4 am in Seattle. The flight over had been good and an opportunity to get to know three of the other teachers in my program. We were all on the same flight and had arranged to meet up at Dulles Airport. Danielle and I were able to get seats together and, over "free" booze on the plane had become good friends. The group gathered by Centropa in Vienna includes about 75 teachers from North America, Central and Eastern Europe, and Israel. Some are veterans of the Summer Academy and others, like me, are first timers. Our days are a mix of learning from each other about how to use Centropa's films and photos in our classrooms, learning from Centropa staff about their on-going work preserving the stories of Jews in Central Europe, and hearing from scholars, government officials, authors and film makers about Vienna, World War I, Sarajevo, Centropa, reparations, restitution, art, culture and lots of other fascinating topics. Much of this learning is done out and about in Vienna - the motto of the Summer Academy is "The City is our Classroom". We drove the Ringstrasse and saw the palais built by newly rich Jews in the late 19th century, we visited the Museum of Applied Art (MAK) and learned about the influence of the patronage of Jewish industrialists on the development of a distinctly Viennese artistic style in the early 20th century. We visited the Military History Museum and saw the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was riding in when he was shot on June 28th, 1914 in Sarajevo, as well as his bloody undershirt and the couch he died on. We spent Friday night at the only synagogue in Vienna to survive Kristallnacht and toured the National Library and other fabulous buildings and places. I loved the National Library and would like one just like it in my house. There were we shown copies of the Sarajevo Haggadah and discussed its importance and story. You can watch an excerpt from Nightline about this fascinating book at the Centropa site - www.centropa.org - go to films and look for it. On Friday morning we woke to rain but still went to the Belvedere and walked through the gardens before it opened. Inside we were welcomed into a gorgeous Baroque palace full of exquisite artwork and architecture. We were there to see Klimt's "The Kiss". At the MAK we had seen other Klimt pieces including the "plans" for a large mural which is in a private home and not viewable. I was also introduce to the art of Egon Schiele at the Belvedere and found his paintings haunting and beautiful. I particularly liked his painting of a young boy who seemed to have an ethereal glow and an elfin appearance. It was fascinating to hear the guide talk about the various ways to interpret Klimt's painting in light of the time when it was painted and the desire for a balance in life. Also on Friday we heard Hannah Lessing, who is the governmental minister in charge of the reparation funds for victims of National Socialism in Austria, speak. She gave a very frank history/assessment of the Austrian re-evaluation of their role in the Holocaust from that of "first victim" to perpetrators. She quoted her father, who was a child in Vienna in 1938, who said "The Nazis didn't come - the Germans came, the Nazis were already here." We then got to watch Centropa's newest film, not even on the website yet, about Leo Luster. This film was very interesting as it also gave a point of view that is more representative of the truth but not the story many of us learned as young people. Leo speaks about the Russians/Soviets who liberated him as being the first people in uniform who treated him well and helped him. It made me think about my trip to the Soviet Union in 1988 and an argument I got into there with some Russians my age about who liberated Europe from the Nazis. I was sure it was the US and Britain and they were sure it was the USSR. Of course we were both right, but in 1988 no one was admitting that. On Thursday we had an opportunity to meet with and interview elderly survivors who live in Vienna. Centropa has a monthly "Cafe Centropa" get together for these lovely people and they have an opportunity to socialize with each other, as well as tell their stories to educators and young people. I was in a group with two others, Shmuel and Danielle, and we interviewed a delightful woman named Esther. She was a very young 84 and charming as could be. She was not at all interested in talking about her experiences during the Holocaust - she was saved by a nanny who took her to Slovakia. When asked how she got through hard times she actually spoke about living in Israel during the various wars and having sons in the Army - not the Holocaust, which was of course what the questioner had meant. She told us how she and her husband met and married and their life in Israel and Vienna. Her husband, who is 91, still goes back to his home village in Poland to teach there in the synagogue. As her husband is ill and crippled, it gives her an opportunity to have time for herself and he is very well cared for in his village by nurses and others. As I am writing this, we are waiting in line to get into Croatia. We have been driving from Vienna to Zagreb and are currently Slovenia. The countryside has been gorgeous and could have been western Pennsylvania or Iowa with all the fields of corn and wooded areas. Looking forward to meeting Slavko Goldstein tonight, the author of one of my favorite books that I read to prepare for this trip. Stay tuned to hear about that!