Kultur 9

Austria sounded very interesting. I have always wanted to visit central Europe and visit some of the historical sites, but rarely have I thought about visiting Wien. The cultural sites and historical sites surrounding the old Austria-Hungarian Empire specifically sounded interesting. I know from history that the old Austrian and German Empires were allies and shared many similar traits, so I wonder how much the states have in common with each other now. Visiting the two states in rapid succession would be really cool.
Also intriguing was the lack of German nationalism discussed in one of the articles. As an American, it is hard for me to imagine any nation with a dearth of outward national pride, especially a country with as much history and power as Germany. I understand the idea of repentance and embarrassment that must be prevalent amongst Germans, but I doubt their actions or lack of nationalism will ever cause anybody involved in either WWI or WWII to forget the conflict or the terrible prices that Europe and Asia had to pay. German modesty is wasted. The world will never forgive or understand, so why hold back on the national pride? It's actually extremely hypocritical, as countries all across world history have committed genocide and few of them ever have to deal with the guilt the Germans do. America in fact took part in a mass genocide of Indians for centuries, but no American withholds his patriotism in embarrassment. I hope one day Germany says screw the world and goes back to being staunch nationalists.