"Oh, must we dream our dreams
and have them, too?
And have we room
for one more folded sunset, still quite warm?"
-Elizabeth Bishop, https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/questions-of-travel/
After coughing uncontrollably all night, I decided to go to the doctor to get some antibiotics for my throat infection. That proved more difficult than I expected, so I had to go to the hospital. The hospital building eerily reminded me of the one in the movie Idiocracy--partly due to the fact that I could not understand anything anyone was saying and partly because of its strangely bright colors, which color-coded everything from rooms and elevators to people. After the three hours it took to see a doctor for ten minutes, I hurried to leave the hospital in time to catch a few museums before their closing.
I went to the Secession museum, the MOMUK (Vienna's version of the MOMA), and the museum of architecture. My favorite exhibit from the museums was a movie called “Amos' World.” To get to it, I had to climb up a mini obstacle course, and then sit in a tiny black box on a cushion and peak through a window. The movie was extraordinarily strange and disturbing, yet somehow calming. Despite its bizarre depictions of cartoon flowers and birds interacting with non-cartoon humans, it made me feel very #chill.
Following a quick dinner at a restaurant where the servers were unbelievably unfriendly (but the hot chocolate was stellar), I started walking back to my hostel. It was pouring, and I had no rain gear, but luckily, a kind man offered to share his umbrella with me as we crossed the street. We began talking, and I expressed my disappointment that all the museums closed so early. He mentioned that he happened to be on his way to a private cocktail party and tour at the Museum of Art History, and he offered me his extra ticket since his friend had gotten sick.
The museum was magnificent, and the party lights and music made the sculptures and paintings look strikingly alive. A piece of the museum's ceiling is pictured above in the middle-right photo. The kind man, Sokol, and I became friends and he told me about his life in Albania and Vienna. We then took a tour of the museum, led by a slightly tipsy tour guide. The tour was entitled, "Beer and Morals," and the tour guide guided us through different paintings from the 16th century that depicted peasants and artists engaging in sexual and alcoholic pleasure, which was supposedly balanced morally by religious symbols and sacred reasons behind the partying.
Next, I went with Sokol to a rooftop bar, and examined Vienna from above. It was a truly spectacular view that no picture could do justice. Tomorrow morning, I plan to try to tour the palace before my 10 AM train to Prague.