European City Travelogue 2: Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and Dresden

Author Yoo Si-min · Publisher Saenggakui Gil · Published 2022-07-09 · ISBN 9788965137702

Book Introduction

Yoo Si-min’s Way of Encountering European Cities
The Past, Present, and Life of a City

It is not necessary for everyone to feel the same emotions in various spaces within those cities. Just as there is no right answer to life, there is no right answer to travel. Everyone can do it in their own desired way.
-p.7

Dozens of pairs of shoes, made of metal and representing men, women, and children, were placed by the river. The owners of those shoes were shot and thrown into the Danube River. Even though I knew they were there when I went, tears still came to my eyes. It was different from the House of Terror, which had only felt terrifying. I didn't expect such a small sculpture to evoke such strong emotions. Rainwater had collected cleanly inside the shoes, and beyond them, the turbulent currents of the Danube flowed fiercely.
-p.142

When faced with an insurmountable barrier in reality, there are two options: escape that society or turn one's gaze inward. The downfall of Napoleon led to the restoration of monarchies, and European society entered a period where the hope for progress vanished. The people of Germany and Austria, where feudal social classes and old privileges held strong power, endured that era by ignoring reality and savoring the small but certain joys of everyday life. Looking at the interior decorations, furniture, crafts, and paintings in the Biedermeier era exhibition room, I tried to understand the minds of those who created them. Nothing is eternal, and everything passes.
-p.58

As darkness fell, the entire city instantly changed its countenance. Night lights illuminated historical buildings in the Old Town, including the Týn Church, and bridges over the Vltava River, while cars and trams began to cast their headlights. Lights from shops, restaurants, and cafes emitted brilliance, and streetlights simultaneously opened their eyes. From somewhere, people poured out, filling the squares and streets where the sunlight had vanished, and all sorts of sounds they made ascended into the dark night sky. Looking down from the church tower, the entire city seemed to slowly lift upwards and hang in the air. Prague transformed into a giant nighttime amusement park. Prague's number one landmark was neither the Týn Church nor Wenceslas Square. It was Prague itself, seen from the church tower, right after the sun had set. -p.200

There are stories in things made by humans. Perhaps the biggest, most beautiful, and oldest things created by humans are cities. Cities are imbued with vivid, dramatic, and unfamiliar stories created by historical events and figures. Especially in European cities, not only museums and royal palaces but also everyday spaces like squares, buildings, cafes, and alleys hold fascinating histories. The author allows us to hear the stories conveyed by these European urban spaces, seeking out stories hidden beneath the city's surface and reflecting on the lives of the people embedded within the city. He confronts the glory and wounds, barbarism and tolerance, sacred and profane, disconnection and connection, frustration and achievement, life and death that shaped today's city, all through his unique perspective.
The urban spaces and the stories within them, as conveyed by the author, show the diverse faces of humanity – the process of human achievement, and the beauty and ugliness, selfishness and altruism, despair and hope expressed in that process – thus illuminating the present. This allows us to feel ourselves more three-dimensionally, evokes unfamiliar thoughts and emotions, and makes us confront ourselves. Perhaps this is why we travel through European cities, walking and walking through distant, unfamiliar streets.

Searching for the Stories of People Remaining in Ancient Cities
-Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Dresden Chapters

It's not just for that reason that the people of Vienna loved Sisi. Though she became a 'power celebrity' by fate, Sisi pursued 'a life true to herself.' ... She did not reject or overcome fate, but neither was she trapped by it. While accepting her destiny, she agonized and challenged herself to live a life she found meaningful.
-p.66

In Budapest, I experienced emotions similar to what I feel when looking at Korea's modern history. Budapest was a city that was both sad and cheerful. It exuded great confidence despite not having much. It was a city with greater expectations for tomorrow than satisfaction today. I like such people and such cities.
-p.163

Prague was beautiful. The palace and church, the streets and river, the cafes and museums—everything was exquisitely pretty. Nothing in itself could be called magnificent, but Prague itself was magnificent. Prague did not hide the wounds of history, nor did it suffer because of them. It dealt with the scars of the past as something past and pursued the joys of today. To do so, it allowed the coexistence of the sacred and the profane.
-p.239

Without knowing the tragedy of February 1945, it is impossible to understand why today's Dresden looks the way it does. ... The 'Baroque city' of Dresden disappeared forever then. Many buildings have been restored, but it cannot return to its former self. However, it cannot be said that today's Dresden is inferior to its past. Dresden has become a unique city in a way different from its past. A city that is ugly yet beautiful, sad yet peaceful, a city that feels greatly askew yet comfortable and charming. That's how I felt.
-p.249

Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and Dresden are geographically close and make for good cities to visit together. Vienna is the center of these four cities. Vienna was the capital of the Habsburg Empire for a long time, and in terms of culture and arts, Vienna is on par with Paris in its level and richness. Travelers who love music and art, in particular, do not miss Vienna. Budapest and Prague, being under the influence of the Habsburg Empire, are deeply intertwined with Vienna in every aspect. However, the cultural atmosphere of the cities is vastly different. Dresden once saw everything crumble, but through the process of reconstruction, it created its unique Dresden character. It is a good city to visit when going to Prague.
As the author perceived, Vienna is the most perfect and splendid city, Budapest is a sad but beautiful city, Prague is a broad-minded city where anything seems acceptable, and Dresden is a city that achieved the miracle of resurrection. The author's journey to fully experience a city—the brilliant moments he encountered, what the city reveals or wishes to hide, what ruined the city, what makes a city what it is, and how it overcame its wounds to become the city it is today—is like our own lives, sometimes offering comfort and sometimes lingering in our hearts. Thus, these four cities, blended with the author's unique feelings and vivid stories he sought, collected, and mixed, become captivating cities that make one want to visit and will likely leave a lasting impression. Furthermore, through the author's intellectual curiosity, humanistic reflections, and his unique perspective, emotions, and insights, we can more richly experience the civilizational aroma emitted by these four cities, view cities from more diverse perspectives, and deepen our introspection on ourselves, life, and people.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Searching for the Stories of People Remaining in Ancient Cities

1. Vienna, Too Perfect for Me

'Decided Answer' Ringstrasse
Medieval Fossil, St. Stephen's Cathedral
The Great Wall
Pummerin, Graben, Viennese Coffee
Viennese Style
The Rebirth of Vienna
Extreme Comparison: Museum of Art History and Secession
Museum of Applied Arts (MAK)
Mozart and Sisi
Schönbrunn and Belvedere
Viennese Food, Sisi Was Right!
Votivkirche, University of Vienna, City Hall, Parliament
Unexpected Discovery, Hundertwasser
The Seamless City

2. Budapest, Sad Yet Cheerful

Turbulent Danube
István of the Basilica
Geopolitical Misfortune
Pride and Inferiority
Liszt Museum and House of Terror
Buda Castle District
Andrássy of the Parliament
Statue of Prime Minister Nagy
Shoes Left by the River
Citadella on Gellért Hill
Memento Park
Ruin Bar in the Jewish Quarter
Sisi's Summer Residence, Gödöllő Palace
Night Scenery of Budapest

3. Prague, Where Anything Seems Acceptable

Humble Týn Church
The Birth of Prague
Jan Hus, the Righteous Man
Sacred and Profane of the Old Town
Jewish Quarter, Josefov
Prague's Hotspot, Charles Bridge
Bohemian Cuisine
Equestrian Statue of St. Wenceslas
Jan Palach in the Square
Prague Castle
Kafka and Dalibor
Petřín Observation Tower
Dancing House, Cubism Museum
Vltava Jazz Boat

4. Dresden, The City That Achieved a Miracle of Resurrection

The Perpetrator's Wound
Path Along the Elbe Valley
Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady)
Narrative of Resurrection
Socialist Architectural Style
New City in the Middle Ages
Historic Old Town
Augustus the Strong
New City Inside the Castle
Colorful Republic
Dresden's Food
A Small Yet Grand City