Driving from Salzburg to Prague

Driving from Salzburg, Austria to Prague, Czech Republic
I’m in a Peugeot with Rachel, Stephen, Abby and David. We are driving through the countryside of Czech on our way to Prague. It is halfway through our Europe trip and so far our adventures have been full of surprise and wonder. To be honest there has been very little frustration over this trip, the mood is in general casual and relaxed. Each one of us is contributing to our journey in his or her own way. It is the first “vacation” that we’ve taken on our own. Almost every other trip or journey has been under the guise of study trips. The week in Austria was surprising for me. As a student of history, the Hapsburg Dynasty and history of Austria was tucked away in my mind. The place we stayed was in the lake district of Austria and was truly gorgeous. The host family was kind and the apartment had that German clean look. I felt like I was staying at my Grandma’s house. The Austrian alps were so amazingly beautiful and almost hard to describe. We were very close to Salzburg and we journey around the village. I didn’t realize how small it was. It had the feel of a village, it was very quiet and people bicycled freely through the streets. It was quaint and picturesque. The feel of Austria was quiet, reserved and civilized. It was hard to believe that any part of World War II could of taken place here.
An interesting part of our journey has been our interaction with various Jewish ghettos. We have on occasion randomly run into the section of town that was either once a Jewish ghetto or continues to be. In surprising places and at odd moments we have run into these places. Unlike Israel they feel empty quiet a shadow of something that once was. The vibrant “chutzpah” like environment I’m used to has not been in any of these places. Each time we have run into it I begin to remember Jerusalem, the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, and the hills of Judea, Samaria, and the Shephelah. It is hard to imagine those Jewish people that I live with in Israel in these places. We ran into a memorial in Vienna for the Jews who had been killed during WW II when Germany invaded and occupied Austria. The memorial looked modern and symbolic just like the memorials in Israel. It was so reminiscent of those kind of memorials. It brought me back to Jerusalem. We were hosted for a day by Todd and Sarah Hudson, a very hospitable couple who live and work in Vienna. Todd is the Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church and they have been living here. Our first stop on the quick tour of Vienna was the Juden Platz where the memorial for the Austrian Jews who had been killed during World War II stood. As we walked around throughout the rest of the afternoon I was amazed by the beauty of Vienna. The street musicians entertained the tourists and the locals alike and architecture accompanied the beautiful music perfectly. Throughout the day I was drawn back to our first moments at the Juden Platz. I asked Todd, “Does Austria have a culture of remembrance in regards to the events of World War II?” He answered, “ No not really. It is like the American culture or the Japanese culture. Japanese don’t have any animosity towards the United States for dropping a nuclear bomb on their country. It’s like that here, its in the past.” I was stunned by his answer and quickly compared it too my last three years in Jerusalem. It was such a contrast the culture of remembrance that had penetrated my thoughts for the last three years. The Israeli society is built on the remembrance of the Holocaust, and those soldiers who survived the fires of Europe and died in the establishment of the state of Israel. The one of the most sober days of the years is during the spring when the country recognizes the Holocaust and Heroes Remembrance Day. On that day there are three sirens heard throughout the whole land of Israel. When the sirens begins every car driving, every pedestrian walking and every household stops and stands at attention. The streets are eerily silent and the stone faces represent an active remembrance of child and adult alike. Todd’s answer came back to me. What a different place this was. This society of remembrance was the epicenter of my experience in Jerusalem. Remembering is an active, built in part of every person’s life in Israel. The soft barrier of time is torn away and the reality of history is laid bare. Walking through Austria, I saw the representation of some form of remembrance. The time of the Hapsburgs was celebrated far and wide and the glory of the Holy Roman Empire was evident at every turn.
Now we are driving through Czech the first part of our journey that was once under the Soviet Iron Curtain. Looking around the beautiful farm land stands out as the beauty of the place. Gorgeous! The architecture has definitely taken on that Soviet Bloc look and the place in generally has taken on a much more disheveled look. The greenery is amazing. The rain falls freely here, and I am reminded constantly of the dry parched summer that is in full bloom in Israel. I am enjoying the time here, but I can’t stop myself from thinking about the history of these places and how they have direct correlation to my life and belief system. The environs of Europe and especially the Holy Roman Empire have direct effect on my faith’s progression, evolution and digression to and from truth.