It was a cold, really cold day in Vienna, and my friends Sadnan and Abu asked me to go to Zentralfriedhof, a cemetery in Vienna. I had never been to a cemetery in Europe before, and the first feeling when they asked me was a bit scary. However, being persuaded by Sadnan that it would be a great chance to explore European's culture, and by the fact that it is the second largest cemetery in Europe, I decided to go regardless of the extreme coldness outside and the fear of walking between graves.

Well, the feeling was not scary at all, except when we went underground of the church and stayed in a quite and dark place with some graves around. But on the ground, it was like strolling in a park, solemn but not scary. We ran across a group of Korean tourists taking pictures in front of Beethoven and Mozart’s graves. In their eyes, I saw the gladness of being in places where the prominent and famous composers were laid to rest. And I talked to myself: "Why should you be scary? You should be honored that you are here, among famous music composers of the history, and have a chance to pay your homage to them". The self-talking did help me feel more comfortable and enjoy the rest of the trip.

We didn’t have time to cover such a large place, and it was better to spend more time inside in that low temperature, so we went to visit Dr. Karl Lueger-Gedächtniskirche (Dr. Karl Lueger Memorial Church). After having been in some churches in Europe, this was the first time I took pictures inside a church. I hadn’t had the gut to do it before because I thought that churches are too solemn and taking pictures inside churches is somehow not respectful. Now I can see it in a different approach, a way to explore European/Christian art and culture. This new thinking made me more confident in clicking the button :-)

On the way back to the residence, we went to an even more famous church in Stephansplatz, here I found another cultural beauty: hundreds of twinkling small candles lighted by people followed incessantly by others. Each tiny flame was like a wish, and hundreds of them brought me the warmth in an extremely cold day and an impression of a happy Christmas.