The past in the future – my most recent flea market find.
So, the last weekend in Vienna was quite eventful. Some pleasant things happened, some less pleasant things happened, and some quite disturbing things happened. The disturbing things contained, among other stuff, a tank and police helicopters.
This post might be unusual, and maybe a bit inconsistent. Also, it does not seem to have a lot to do with vintage jewelry. But it kind of does for me, right now, so I will still share it just the way it is.
On saturday, another installment of Mondscheinbazar took place*. It’s a nighttime flea market and antique market that goes from 5 or 6 in the evening to midnight. It took place in a somewhat worn down old timey event hall, it featured a live band and was generally quite pleasant. I think it was the first proper day of spring we had this year :)
When we got there, I almost instantly spotted that yellow necklace and needed to have it. It looks so fun, and bright, and it seems quite old. From the 70s maybe? I honestly don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter anyways … Isn’t it awesome? So cheery and huge and … well … yellow :)
Later we were walking home as the weather was so lovely, and we came by a street fest in a multi cultural neighbourhood. It was all so happy and joyful, a huge party really.
On Sunday then was Victory in Europe day and a huge event in remembrance of the end of WWII was held at Heldenplatz. And at the exact time a holocaust survivor spoke about his experience of being rescued from a concentration camp, helicopters seeking to break up an anti-fascist vigil were circling the inner districts.
It was one of the first spring days this year when this old man, on stage with his granddaughter, was talking about the end of the war. And in the background? Wailing sirens. And the dull, humming sound of rotor blades cutting through the air.
And all of this just made me think about artifacts, about people, and about history. It’s weird how buying random old stuff at the flea market can kick off so many wild thoughts, but it did.
I was at an entertainment venue from the late 19th century, buying vintage things that were a century younger than the place I found it at. I also was at the venue where the masses were celebrating Austria’s Anschluss to Germany in 1938, listening to holocaust survivors 70 years after the end of the war. Vienna is full of history. It is a city of migrants. It is a beautiful city with a complicated past – And all I know is that while multicultural street festivals celebrate spring, the far right are on the rise again. Not just here, but everywhere in Europe.
*Just in case you were wondering: Yes. Considering it is called a bazar, it was a very, very white event. I do in fact have a few uneasy thoughts on that as well. But not here, and not now.