Wednesday, April 26, 2006
VIENNA, Week of April 17th
April 17: A national holiday so much was closed down. We explored a few tram routes out to the Ottakringer and Potzleinsdorf. We walked through some lovely parks that were not crowded. We some saw picking Barluch. Also near the Ottakringer there were a lot of Schutzhause—this are very little cottages with a tiny yard. People in apartments buy them and use them as a “country” get away. They are all lovingly cared for.
April 18: Gave a test and then we walked down to the Graben to go to an Italian restaurant we had seen. I ordered the lunch special which was spaghetti with tuna. Mary had a spinach tortellini with ham on top. We walked around and picked up a few things and looked in some shops. Did a bit of grocery shopping and then went to hear the Chief Justice of the Austrian Supreme Court speak at the university. He gave a talk on the history and role of the court—at the reception afterward I got to speak with him at length and asked him, among other things, if there were any controversies in Austria as in America regarding the politicization of the court. He said there weren’t any issues of the stature of Rowe v. Wade, but that politics still played a role in some court issues. Most surprising was his belief in natural law—I don’t think Senator Kennedy or other Democratic liberals would ever approve him for the US Supreme Court based on this belief. However, I didn’t get to ask him how he defined natural law. Afterward I saw him headed out the door and walking down the street to catch a tram when his cell phone rang and he stopped to answer it. I thought what Supreme Court judge would be doing this?—there would be a limo waiting and probably some security and aides assisting him.
April 19: Finals. I don’t know how everyone will do, but almost all students were interested in the subject material of the classes I taught. They were involved in discussions, attentive, and obviously had some interest in international issues. They were all very respectful.
April 20: Invited out to a home of an Austrian professor of international relations. It is some distance so we took the underground to a station where he parked his car and then we drove about a half hour (past the largest shopping center in Europe) to his home. We met his wife who was a very devout Catholic Christian. It is a lovely home that reminds me of those in suburbia—you could see the vineyards from their windows. We met their children and she told us two Catholic missionaries would also be coming for dinner. We met Joe and Mark (from the US)—they are in a small order (Milejs Jesus). It is a very conservative order and they obviously did not agree with some of the liberal trends in the Roman Catholic Church. They also publish a journal in German which seems interesting. One article was an attack on evolution. I hope to get a copy of this article to read at leisure and compare it to conservative Protestant attacks on evolution. They live by freewill gifts—we were told by the hostess that someone gave them beans so that is all they ate for two weeks. The hostess seems to feed them regularly. She also told us of some nuns who went door-to-door in the village witnessing—actually it seemed more like prayer-walking. Many Austrians would not let them pray for them (although some did)—the most interesting thing was that it was the Turkish Muslims who invited them in to their houses for prayer.
April 21: A beautiful day so took the tram to Kahlenberg just to walk in the Vienna Woods—will grade later! In the evening took a break to go to our favorite Italian Eis stand near the Graben. The lemon ice is the best I have ever tasted, although the strawberry and raspberry is superb as well.
April 22: Another beautiful day. Did our usual weekend shopping because of all the stores being closed on Sunday. Went to Naschmarkt (the giant flea market and food stall market) and looked around. I would like to buy some things, but I have no idea what is real and what is fake. Did buy a souvenir cap—the middle easterner wanted ten Euros but I got him down to 6 Euros. Probably that was too high. For lunch we shared a lamb kebap. For dinner met some of the other faculty and we went to a lovely local café (Neubauschenke) and sat in the interior garden. It is a delightful neighborhood restaurant with great food at good prices. Fish was what most people ordered; two had Barlauch soup and I did order liver dumpling soup—I won’t be getting much of that after we leave Austria. It was so pleasant sitting out – we talked for at least 2 ½ hours and no waiter rushed us to leave when we did. When we got back to the apartment I turned on the TV and we watched the cartoon production of the “Legend of Sleep Hollow” in German. After some channel jumping landed on the BBC channel which I almost never watch because they have sitcoms and I have trouble watching something when I haven’t seen it from the beginning. But tonight the BBC was airing a special on Hillary Clinton—it was fascinating and I am not sure it would air on American TV. I have had the impression that the BBC is rather liberal and certainly pro-Clinton or pro-Democratic and anti-Republican (but this is from only reading certain critics and not really from watching it). However, you couldn’t tell the BBC had a left bias from watching this special on Hillary—she came across as an arrogant, ambitious lady from her time at Wellsley to the present. There were many fascinating interviews with those that new Bill and Hillary. Everything from Bill’s womanizing to Hillary’s drive was dealt with. After watching it, I wonder who would vote for Hillary. I would like to see what the BBC has produced about other US politicians.
April 22: Had our Turkish friend over for dessert. He expressed concerns about how Turkish young people in Vienna are being influenced by the materialistic culture here. Traditions break down in some families. Also drugs can become a problem. He tutors some young Turkish children in math and science and can’t discipline them as he could in Turkey. Didn’t get into too much politics, but it is clear he does not see the Kurds as freedom fighters.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
IRAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
"How to Eliminate Iran's Nuclear Weapons" is the topic seven thinkers were asked to reflect on by the Claremont Review of Books. Either the problem is too big or the "thinkers" were not "leading" ones, because I finished reading their solutions feeling more concerned about the options available to the US and Europe. http://www.claremont.org/writings/crb/spring2006/symposium.html
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
CLAPPING HANDS IN CHURCH
I am on a religious history listserv for professors and the issue of the origin (and correctness) of clapping hands in church has come up. Among the comments are the following:
1. It is a phenomenon I have witnessed since least the eighties inCharismatic/Pentecostal circles. My hunch is that it is part of alarger trend of Charismatics and Pentecostals adopting and adapting popular and successful elements of the marketing and entertainment industries. It is not necessarily orchestrated by leaders, though. It also seems to apply most strongly to larger churches, and those tryingto be "cutting edge" in their approach to ministry.
2. It is all the fault of country music.
3. An interesting phenomenon to me also .... I am a convert to Catholicism from the Anglican communion ..... Canadian Anglicans never clap inchurch, but Romans do frequently here in Canada. I have noticed the practice at Masses televised from St. Peter's in Rome also. It would take someone of longer standing than I in the Catholic church to say whether this is a post-Vatican II practice? Or something Italian which has spread because of the televised clapping in Masses from Rome?
4. I think most churches discourage it. Sheep are not to applaud the shepherd, who wears a robe and a serape (stole.) In my church applause increases, and the conservative fragment grumble but say nothing because conservative fragments never say anything except privately and behind their hands to a small, private clique. Meanwhile, increasingly, the majority of us applaud sermons, parts ofsermons, music, offertory music, joys in sharing joys and concerns (the conservative fragment HATES joys and concerns), nice flowers, nice people.
5. I spent the past three decades as a Baptist pastor and saw the practice of applauding develop slowly. I first witnessed it years ago at informal Sunday evening services in response to musical numbers sung by children. It was clearly intended to affirm the youngsters. When we added a "contemporary service" in the late 1980s, there would be a few very expressive worshipers who would on occasion spontaneously clap briefly in joyous delight. My impression is that it was influenced by those who had experienced Pentecostal-style worship. There was an awkward era when some would clap in response to a musical selection, others would be startled, and some were not sure whether to respond in like fashion. Out of concern that a failure to clap might be interpreted as displeasure, more would join in. Then clapping became a standard response to choir cantatas (where worshippers from both contemporary and traditional services would join together) unless we were intentional in asking the congregation ahead of time not to clap. Our music director, concerned that the focus was getting off worship and toward performance, would sometimes reference it as "a praise offering to God." As worship leaders (i.e, prompters), we would often use thespoken word or lighting or transitional music as a means of limiting applause. We were able to reduce the occasions in which clapping might become disruptive. That's simply one congregation's experience.
6. This is a very interesting subject. Unfortunately, I have only anecdotal information to report. The practice is quite widespread, but its significance varies. I remember a rather lively debate about applauding after the choir's anthem in the United Methodist Church I belonged to in Virginia in the1980s. As I recall the anti-applause party won. I've raised this subject with my History of Christian Worship classes regularly. Most of my students (they are mainly southern evangelicals) see little wrong with the practice. My African American students can't imagine a service without applauding and clearly understand it as a means of praising God and participating in the service. In my limited experience it is rather common to applauding the newly baptized at some point in the Easter Vigil. In many communities it seems to be the assembly's most genuine way of expressing theircongratulations and approval. It is also seems common to applaud the worship leaders at the end of the vigil. I think at every Roman Catholic Easter Vigil I have attended (four churches in four states) the celebrant has asked for the assembly to applaud all those who worked to put the Triduum services together. I know of several large Episcopal churches where it is common for those who linger to hear the postlude to applaud at the end of it. That seems to be mainly an expression of appreciation for the performance. At the United Methodist Church I attend here in Birmingham, children's choirs are almost always applauded, adult choirs receive applause more rarely. In both cases I think the action is largely one of joy and appreciation, not explicitly praise.
7. The boundary between entertainment and worship has always been porous. Think of Christmas carols, originally secular ring dances. It seems to me that some want a greater sense of participation in worship and clapping is something most people can do easily, comfortably expressinge motion with others. As a Presbyterian minister, I have spent many years in churches where applause was unheard of. Except for the singing of hymns (and taking up the offering) the laity were expected to sit passively in the pews, listening. From my perspective it has taken a long time for God's frozen chosen to warm up a bit with things as simple as the passing of the peace, participatory prayer, and, yes, clapping. The factors leading to a freer, more participatory worship style include the influences of the black church, the visibility of pentecostal churches, the liturgical movement's rediscovery of long forgotten but ancient ritual practice, and last but not least, the influences of popular culture, including music.
8. Singers are not performers.
9. Also, "Golden Throat," St. John Chrysostom, complained about clapping after his sermons in Homily I, "Theatrical Worship of Satan": "If any admirable musician come amongst them, they leave all that they had in hand, which often is necessary and pressing business, and mount the steps (in the arena), and sit listening very attentively to the words and the accompaniments, and criticizing the agreement of the two.This is what the many do." Clapping of hands is approval or contempt for theatrical or musical performers: it is never an act of worship.
10. Miss Manners said: If God wishes to applaud in church, He may, but it is inappropriate for anyone else to do so.
Interesting web sites:
Applaud Death, Too. http://mijamagazine.com/APPLAUDING%20LIFE%20&%20Death.pdf
HandClapping to Replace Amen: http://www.piney.com/WinHandCl.html
Worse than Aids? http://cconline.faithsite.com/content.asp?CID=58129
Musical Idolatry. http://www.piney.com/Clapp.html
Seventh Day Adventist Forum. http://everythingimportant.org/viewtopic.php?t=674
1. It is a phenomenon I have witnessed since least the eighties inCharismatic/Pentecostal circles. My hunch is that it is part of alarger trend of Charismatics and Pentecostals adopting and adapting popular and successful elements of the marketing and entertainment industries. It is not necessarily orchestrated by leaders, though. It also seems to apply most strongly to larger churches, and those tryingto be "cutting edge" in their approach to ministry.
2. It is all the fault of country music.
3. An interesting phenomenon to me also .... I am a convert to Catholicism from the Anglican communion ..... Canadian Anglicans never clap inchurch, but Romans do frequently here in Canada. I have noticed the practice at Masses televised from St. Peter's in Rome also. It would take someone of longer standing than I in the Catholic church to say whether this is a post-Vatican II practice? Or something Italian which has spread because of the televised clapping in Masses from Rome?
4. I think most churches discourage it. Sheep are not to applaud the shepherd, who wears a robe and a serape (stole.) In my church applause increases, and the conservative fragment grumble but say nothing because conservative fragments never say anything except privately and behind their hands to a small, private clique. Meanwhile, increasingly, the majority of us applaud sermons, parts ofsermons, music, offertory music, joys in sharing joys and concerns (the conservative fragment HATES joys and concerns), nice flowers, nice people.
5. I spent the past three decades as a Baptist pastor and saw the practice of applauding develop slowly. I first witnessed it years ago at informal Sunday evening services in response to musical numbers sung by children. It was clearly intended to affirm the youngsters. When we added a "contemporary service" in the late 1980s, there would be a few very expressive worshipers who would on occasion spontaneously clap briefly in joyous delight. My impression is that it was influenced by those who had experienced Pentecostal-style worship. There was an awkward era when some would clap in response to a musical selection, others would be startled, and some were not sure whether to respond in like fashion. Out of concern that a failure to clap might be interpreted as displeasure, more would join in. Then clapping became a standard response to choir cantatas (where worshippers from both contemporary and traditional services would join together) unless we were intentional in asking the congregation ahead of time not to clap. Our music director, concerned that the focus was getting off worship and toward performance, would sometimes reference it as "a praise offering to God." As worship leaders (i.e, prompters), we would often use thespoken word or lighting or transitional music as a means of limiting applause. We were able to reduce the occasions in which clapping might become disruptive. That's simply one congregation's experience.
6. This is a very interesting subject. Unfortunately, I have only anecdotal information to report. The practice is quite widespread, but its significance varies. I remember a rather lively debate about applauding after the choir's anthem in the United Methodist Church I belonged to in Virginia in the1980s. As I recall the anti-applause party won. I've raised this subject with my History of Christian Worship classes regularly. Most of my students (they are mainly southern evangelicals) see little wrong with the practice. My African American students can't imagine a service without applauding and clearly understand it as a means of praising God and participating in the service. In my limited experience it is rather common to applauding the newly baptized at some point in the Easter Vigil. In many communities it seems to be the assembly's most genuine way of expressing theircongratulations and approval. It is also seems common to applaud the worship leaders at the end of the vigil. I think at every Roman Catholic Easter Vigil I have attended (four churches in four states) the celebrant has asked for the assembly to applaud all those who worked to put the Triduum services together. I know of several large Episcopal churches where it is common for those who linger to hear the postlude to applaud at the end of it. That seems to be mainly an expression of appreciation for the performance. At the United Methodist Church I attend here in Birmingham, children's choirs are almost always applauded, adult choirs receive applause more rarely. In both cases I think the action is largely one of joy and appreciation, not explicitly praise.
7. The boundary between entertainment and worship has always been porous. Think of Christmas carols, originally secular ring dances. It seems to me that some want a greater sense of participation in worship and clapping is something most people can do easily, comfortably expressinge motion with others. As a Presbyterian minister, I have spent many years in churches where applause was unheard of. Except for the singing of hymns (and taking up the offering) the laity were expected to sit passively in the pews, listening. From my perspective it has taken a long time for God's frozen chosen to warm up a bit with things as simple as the passing of the peace, participatory prayer, and, yes, clapping. The factors leading to a freer, more participatory worship style include the influences of the black church, the visibility of pentecostal churches, the liturgical movement's rediscovery of long forgotten but ancient ritual practice, and last but not least, the influences of popular culture, including music.
8. Singers are not performers.
9. Also, "Golden Throat," St. John Chrysostom, complained about clapping after his sermons in Homily I, "Theatrical Worship of Satan": "If any admirable musician come amongst them, they leave all that they had in hand, which often is necessary and pressing business, and mount the steps (in the arena), and sit listening very attentively to the words and the accompaniments, and criticizing the agreement of the two.This is what the many do." Clapping of hands is approval or contempt for theatrical or musical performers: it is never an act of worship.
10. Miss Manners said: If God wishes to applaud in church, He may, but it is inappropriate for anyone else to do so.
Interesting web sites:
Applaud Death, Too. http://mijamagazine.com/APPLAUDING%20LIFE%20&%20Death.pdf
HandClapping to Replace Amen: http://www.piney.com/WinHandCl.html
Worse than Aids? http://cconline.faithsite.com/content.asp?CID=58129
Musical Idolatry. http://www.piney.com/Clapp.html
Seventh Day Adventist Forum. http://everythingimportant.org/viewtopic.php?t=674
VIENNA, DRIVING LICENSE FOR DOGS
Dogs and the Viennese ever amaze me. Vienna now has a "Hundefuhrerschein"--for a little over $50 a dog owner can take a 2 hour test (multiple choice and "practical-on-the-street" sections) and get a license. The licensee will not have to pay the annual dog tax, but since most Viennese don't seem to be paying it, I am not sure what will be accomplished.
One multiple choice question was: "When your dog wags its tail, does it mean it is happy, excited, or bored?"
I also discovered that there are at least 150,000 dogs in this city of 1.7 million (however, the real figure is not known since not all dogs are registered). Also it is estimated that there is 5-10 tons of dog excrement produced daily (I am sure this is a low estimate after spending almost 4 months walking around Vienna).
One multiple choice question was: "When your dog wags its tail, does it mean it is happy, excited, or bored?"
I also discovered that there are at least 150,000 dogs in this city of 1.7 million (however, the real figure is not known since not all dogs are registered). Also it is estimated that there is 5-10 tons of dog excrement produced daily (I am sure this is a low estimate after spending almost 4 months walking around Vienna).
RUMSFELD
I haven't been able to keep up with the controversies surrounding Rumsfeld and the generals, but I was alerted to an interesting set of notes taking at a talk given by General Anthony Zinni (Ret). http://www.analysis.williamdoneil.com/Zinni_13-Apr-06_notes.html
Q. (Mr. John Barry, Newsweek). What about Rumsfeld? (Then he mumbled something about two of the generals having been in trouble—one of them had to retire at a grade lower.) What is the reason for the current agitation?
A. There’s no collusion. He hasn’t talked to other generals about it. He’s never met the man. Rumsfeld’s responsible. The military accepts responsibility when things go wrong, trying to apply the lessons they learn. What happened in this case? Rumsfeld discarded 10 years of planning toward a true occupation. We needed to take on reconstruction and to control access to Iraq, both from without and within. It was going to take a long time. But Rumsfeld had a cavalier attitude about it, discarding it all as “on-the-shelf, stale old plans,” even though the military is constantly updating its “old plans” so that they do not get “stale.” The assumptions in the plans were dismissed by Rumsfeld as too negative. The problem of no planning was symbolized when General Garner’s group got lost as they made their way into Iraq from Kuwait. Then came the CPA. And Bremer disbanded the Iraqi army. We had communicated with them for years, (promising them their continued existence if they cooperated).
Q. (Mr. John Barry, Newsweek). What about Rumsfeld? (Then he mumbled something about two of the generals having been in trouble—one of them had to retire at a grade lower.) What is the reason for the current agitation?
A. There’s no collusion. He hasn’t talked to other generals about it. He’s never met the man. Rumsfeld’s responsible. The military accepts responsibility when things go wrong, trying to apply the lessons they learn. What happened in this case? Rumsfeld discarded 10 years of planning toward a true occupation. We needed to take on reconstruction and to control access to Iraq, both from without and within. It was going to take a long time. But Rumsfeld had a cavalier attitude about it, discarding it all as “on-the-shelf, stale old plans,” even though the military is constantly updating its “old plans” so that they do not get “stale.” The assumptions in the plans were dismissed by Rumsfeld as too negative. The problem of no planning was symbolized when General Garner’s group got lost as they made their way into Iraq from Kuwait. Then came the CPA. And Bremer disbanded the Iraqi army. We had communicated with them for years, (promising them their continued existence if they cooperated).
Monday, April 17, 2006
VIENNA, Week of April 10th
April 10:
April 11: Went to a student “party” for a professor of some years here whose husband is taking a position in NYC with the UN. She has been a good literature professor from my contact with her and well-liked by the students.
April 11: Went to a student “party” for a professor of some years here whose husband is taking a position in NYC with the UN. She has been a good literature professor from my contact with her and well-liked by the students.
April 12: Foreign policy position papers were due today so a class discussion on recommendations for the president regarding China policy and terrorism were presented. The comments were quite perceptive. There is disagreement with Bush’s policies. Also there seems to be a certain foreboding about the future—students seem to feel the world situation will get much worse before it gets better, if it does.
A very busy day with classes, but also a guest lecturer from Mount Vernon Nazarene University was on campus for a talk on “American Unilateralism.” I have met him before, but I got to know him and his wife much better. After class an older Austrian gentleman who is teaching here felt like talking to my wife and me in the faculty offices. Our conversation got started at 10PM and went to midnight. His father was in an anti-Nazi Austrian political party and the family had to flee to New York after Hitler took over Austria in 1938. He grew up with Henry Kissinger in New York (he thinks power changed him, especially after his wife left him). He also married Joanna von Trapp, the second youngest of the Trapp family of “Sound of Music” fame. It was fascinating to hear the real family stories. Joanna eloped with him—Maria tried to keep the girls from marrying to keep the family singing group together. Also I found out that after the escape in the movie they did go to America for a singing tour, but after the 3 month tour ended Washington returned them to Germany where the father was put into a concentration camp after the family refused to sing for Hitler. They had to escape a second time to America in 1939. Maria sounds like a very strong personality. He went on to become an Austrian diplomat and head of the Austrian diplomatic academy after WWII.
April 13: My wife’s Chinese student had us over to her dorm for a Chinese dinner. The dorm is very clean and quiet. She cooked us a full Chinese meal in the kitchen on her floor. I don’t remember the names of everything but there was mussel and I think scallops. There were a lot of vegetables. Everything was cooked in a pot of boiling water. I liked the “dumplings” which were filled with barlauch, herbs, meat, and eggs. She seemed so happy to do this and was pleased we liked it. Actually the sauce and everything was great, but the mussels I could pass on.
April 14: Tried to do shopping for several days because Monday after Easter is a holiday. There seemed to be fewer people out today, Good Friday. For lunch we bought some sandwiches at Der Mann—Mary had a tuna fish and I had egg and rucola (not sure what the American name is because my dictionary does not give it). We were going to explore a part of Vienna we had not seen, but it began to rain when we got off the tram so came back. Being a slow day we went to Aida and had mélange and torte and then went to shop for kitchen supplies on Mariahilfer Strasse. That night we went a concert/reading at the Minoritenkirche. It was called “Tod & Auferstehung” (Death and Resurrection). A harp and cellist played selections between readings of poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke and others. A male and female reader alternated. The poetry was beautiful and because they spoke slowly and enunciated clearly I could understand most of it. Even though these are secular poets one could clearly hear the story of Christ from the Last Supper to the Resurrection. The church was packed (I didn’t see many tourists) and also warm! The only annoying thing was a woman whose cell phone went off a couple of times—I think Austrians are worse about this than Americans—people were getting annoyed and telling her to turn it off. It was raining hard when we left.
I should also mention a drink we are getting really fond of. The larger grocery store we often try to shop at makes juice and sells it in various size bottles. We like to buy carrot juice and raspberry juice and then dilute it with mineral water. The raspberry juice is not totally concentrate, but when mixed with mineral water it is especially good. Carrots here are sweeter than the US so the carrot juice has a very nice taste as well. Food does seem to be healthier here. Again you don’t see many obese young people in particular.
April 15: Took a tram out to an area of Vienna we had not seen and walked back via Schonbrunn. There was an Ostermarkt (Easter Market) in the courtyard with many stalls set up selling a variety of goods and foods. Hand-painted Easter eggs are popular—they are exquisite and we wish there was a way to bring a dozen or so back, but they are very fragile. Going by one stall, I saw a girl ordering something on rye bread and it looked good (really I was getting hungry). So I ordered Grammelschmalzbrot mit zwiebel for 2.5 E. I know the word for bread (brot) and zwiebel (onion), but I have never had the other two words on any vocabulary list or menu. The man at the counter got two large pieces of rye bread and spread some white stuff on them (which was not the color of butter, but more like a pale cream cheese) and then topped them off with onions. I found my nutritious-conscious wife at another stall and showed her what I purchased and she tasted one slice and told me it was some kind of lard topped with onion. I don’t normally eat lard—in fact I still can’t conceive of eating it, but it was good. I figured out that schmalz means lard, but I cannot find grammel in any dictionary so I will have to ask a local what this is. Finally made it back and for dinner had a normal meal. We happened to bump into two other instructors going into the same restaurant so we had a long evening of conversation.
April 16: Easter: the city is quiet—many people have left for a long holiday. Italian tourists are still here, however.
Weekly Political observations:
· Talked with a Russian who does not like the direction Putin is taking Russia. He wants Putin to be more western-oriented instead of building ties with China and Iran. Also he is concerned about Putin undermining democracy.
· An African told me it is hard to believe Muslims when they say “Islam is a religion of peace,” because their actions don’t support this statement. We also discussed how in less developed nations the extended family is a safety net for people while in Europe that state is trying to provide that safety net. When the state steps in, the family safety net becomes less and less important.
· Cheney is a “Nazi” who can listen to classical music in the morning and kill someone in the afternoon.
· Bush is not intelligent and also has never really faced his alcoholism directly by going through an AA process. He carries himself with a swagger.
· Condolezzi Rice has been accepted into a man’s world and is focused more on power and structure than following the values of her preacher father.
· Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton’s stepfather belonged to communist groups. Hillary is worse than Condolezzi.
· Someone expressed a low opinion of the American church—people do not come to meet Christ, but for personal fulfillment. It is a "me" oriented church.
· A little “corruption” is good in government because it helps little people get things done. In Austria you get things done through friends and contacts.
· Italians like to travel to Vienna and Prague because they crave “order” and like beauty! They are terrible tourists because they are so inconsiderate. They will stop in the middle of a busy sidewalk to talk or look
Monday, April 10, 2006
VIENNA, Week of April 3
April 3: In the evening went to the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church in the city to hear a choral and organ recital of Bach pieces. The City Choir of Bratislava was performing. It was lovely to listen to the organ and the choir was superb. It is a smaller church and obviously less ornate than Catholic churches. There might have been 70 people there. All this week the church is offering free recitals so we will try to go to as many as possible. It is interesting that during Lent, all of the crosses/pictures in the front altar areas of Catholic churches are covered or shielded. On Easter Sunday they will be removed. In the Lutheran church I saw a liturgical cloth hanging from the pulpit with the “Omega” before the “Alpha”—it will be switched back to the normal alphabetical order on Easter.
April 4: Went to another concert at the Evangelical church—heard a harpsichord and a “Gambe” which looks like a cello to me, but maybe a bit smaller. I think some of the musical instruments are slightly different here. Someone was saying a European oboe is not exactly like an American oboe.
April 5: A busy day so we ate out. Mary ordered a dish which consisted of slabs of fried cheese covered in almonds and placed on a salad. I ordered Osterschinken which was a ham steak with a fried egg on top with mashed potatoes on the side. It was almost like an IHOP breakfast. However, Mary’s dish was much tastier than mine. We are going to go back and both of us will order this cheese dish.
April 6: Went to the Leopold museum and saw some of the 20th century Austrian artists.
April 7: Took the tram to Grinzing and then transferred to the bus and got off at Kahlenberg. You can overlook the city and the view is wonderful (except for the haze or smog). You can see the skyline and the Danube. Walked about 20 minutes to Leopoldsburg and saw the old fortifications. John Sobieski’s army was on the heights overlooking Vienna from this point as Vienna lay under siege from the Turks. His army marched down (after a special mass) and defeated the Turks. You could also look west up the Danube and see Klosterneuburg. Came home and met a lady who is teaching ESL and went to another concert at the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church. Stopped for coffee and torte in a little café and enjoyed the fellowship.
April 8: Wanted to go back to Kahlenberg and hike down to Klosterneuburg through the Vienna Woods. Got to Kahlenberg and hiked down the big hill through the woods to the central part of Klosterneuburg—it took about 50 minutes. We passed some lovely homes. Stopped in a little restaurant and order the lamb lunch special. Mary looked at some of the stores and then we headed to the train station to get a ticket and train back to Vienna. Bought some Italian ice cream cones—I had pistachio and amarena (cherry). Came back and went to another organ concert at the Evangelical church. The Bach and Brahms pieces were great, but the organ master’s improvisation was not to my liking. Walked back to the tram past a number of Goths/punks out for the night.
April 9: After church walked back through the Belvedere Palace grounds and stopped at a restaurant advertising “Wiener Kuchen” – it was not one of the best meals we have had. We did see a new church, St. Elisabeth’s, which was several blocks behind Karlskirche. It was one of the more beautiful churches we have seen—a simple gothic style (although the outside had probably been rebuilt because of the bombing in WWII). A Russian theoretical physicist I am getting to know asked me if America was as violent as the films he sees. It is interesting how powerful Hollywood is in giving sexual and violent stereotypes of America. He has never been to the US. He is extremely smart and deals with theoretical issues related to silicon in his research. He said that many of the articles in “Nature” or “Science” deal with the simplistic issues of what is happening and don’t get into the theoretical issues of what is happening in atoms and smaller. I don’t operate at the sub-atomic level.
April 4: Went to another concert at the Evangelical church—heard a harpsichord and a “Gambe” which looks like a cello to me, but maybe a bit smaller. I think some of the musical instruments are slightly different here. Someone was saying a European oboe is not exactly like an American oboe.
April 5: A busy day so we ate out. Mary ordered a dish which consisted of slabs of fried cheese covered in almonds and placed on a salad. I ordered Osterschinken which was a ham steak with a fried egg on top with mashed potatoes on the side. It was almost like an IHOP breakfast. However, Mary’s dish was much tastier than mine. We are going to go back and both of us will order this cheese dish.
April 6: Went to the Leopold museum and saw some of the 20th century Austrian artists.
April 7: Took the tram to Grinzing and then transferred to the bus and got off at Kahlenberg. You can overlook the city and the view is wonderful (except for the haze or smog). You can see the skyline and the Danube. Walked about 20 minutes to Leopoldsburg and saw the old fortifications. John Sobieski’s army was on the heights overlooking Vienna from this point as Vienna lay under siege from the Turks. His army marched down (after a special mass) and defeated the Turks. You could also look west up the Danube and see Klosterneuburg. Came home and met a lady who is teaching ESL and went to another concert at the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church. Stopped for coffee and torte in a little café and enjoyed the fellowship.
April 8: Wanted to go back to Kahlenberg and hike down to Klosterneuburg through the Vienna Woods. Got to Kahlenberg and hiked down the big hill through the woods to the central part of Klosterneuburg—it took about 50 minutes. We passed some lovely homes. Stopped in a little restaurant and order the lamb lunch special. Mary looked at some of the stores and then we headed to the train station to get a ticket and train back to Vienna. Bought some Italian ice cream cones—I had pistachio and amarena (cherry). Came back and went to another organ concert at the Evangelical church. The Bach and Brahms pieces were great, but the organ master’s improvisation was not to my liking. Walked back to the tram past a number of Goths/punks out for the night.
April 9: After church walked back through the Belvedere Palace grounds and stopped at a restaurant advertising “Wiener Kuchen” – it was not one of the best meals we have had. We did see a new church, St. Elisabeth’s, which was several blocks behind Karlskirche. It was one of the more beautiful churches we have seen—a simple gothic style (although the outside had probably been rebuilt because of the bombing in WWII). A Russian theoretical physicist I am getting to know asked me if America was as violent as the films he sees. It is interesting how powerful Hollywood is in giving sexual and violent stereotypes of America. He has never been to the US. He is extremely smart and deals with theoretical issues related to silicon in his research. He said that many of the articles in “Nature” or “Science” deal with the simplistic issues of what is happening and don’t get into the theoretical issues of what is happening in atoms and smaller. I don’t operate at the sub-atomic level.
Monday, April 03, 2006
VIENNA, Week of March 27th
March 27: Friends from Longview arrived in the evening at the Erdberg strasse bus station. They had come from Kosice, Slovakia to Bratislava, Slovakia to Vienna. Got them and their luggage on the underground and got to our apartment. Went out to a nice German Gasthaus near our apartment and they had Viennese food—they tried cream of garlic soup and liver dumpling soup.
March 28: I went with them to Schloss Schonbrunn and we toured the apartments which were very interesting, although I think I like the Sissi Museum in the Hofburg better. It was starting to rain. I left them and Mary on the underground to get back to school. They went on to the inner city to see some of the sights. Ambassador Schuelte, the US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was scheduled to speak at 5:30. The room was crowded. The ambassador had worked in the White House and was appointed by Bush to the Vienna post. He spoke on the Iran nuclear situation. They only allowed students to ask questions and he was able to take about 6 questions. I was extremely impressed—his delivery was sharp and crisp—he knew his stuff. Also some of the students were loaded to get him, but he handled very tough questions with ease. A reception followed. One student I talked to wants him to come back and just discuss how he prepared himself to be a diplomat—I think the students, while maybe not agreeing with US policy positions recognized that he was a top-notch diplomat who they needed to learn from.
Afterwards met Mary and our friends and we went to the Volksoper to see “Nicht Nur Mozart”—it was modern ballet. The early performances danced to pieces from modern musical compositions; the last performances were based on some of Mozart’s pieces, but the dance movements were still modern. I prefer the more traditional ballet like “Swan Lake.” Ate a late dinner at a Turkish restaurant.
March 29: Mary saw our friends off by taxi and we trust they got to Bratislava for their return flight to London. It was a very rainy day. Wednesday I am in class basically from noon to 10PM so I am not out much.
March 30:
March 31: Got on the underground and a fellow got on and sat across the aisle from us. I was looking for the right station to get off and somehow Mary must have smiled at him and he said something about the station which I did not hear. He asked where we came from and I said America. He switched to broken English and said he was a Turk. He said Austrians never smile (that is probably why he asked where we came from). He asked me where we were from and thought of cowboys when we said Texas. He went on to tell us that Bush was behind 9/11 because he wanted to get control of oil and have a war. I didn’t argue. While transferring to the tram, got a slice of pizza. I can’t say I enjoy the pizza sold here—Mary’s spinach pizza was good, but I am not fond of goat cheese. Mine was a cheese pizza with egg and pepper. We took the tram to Grinzing which is famous for its heurigers and is full of tourists in the summer. Many heurigers were closed but we walked up to where the Vienna Woods starts and you could see the wine fields on either side. Also there is a beautiful view of the city of Vienna. Went back and headed over to Floridsdorf to go to a church which was having an organ concert of some of Mozart’s work. It was out from the city and was a very simple Catholic Church which was built sometime after the war—it didn’t have a lot of the baroque or gothic statues inside. It was heated which was nice. I saw two nuns in habits—I can’t say I have seen many nuns in habits since leaving Chicago many years ago. And these were the first in Roman Catholic Austria. Also we went by the large mosque near the old Danube.
April 1: It was a beautiful Saturday with a blue sky. After getting some weekend groceries, took the tram to see a church near Alser Strasse—it had been partially destroyed in WWII, but was very impressive. The interior was quite simple. From there we went to UN city by underground. It is a massive complex with apartments for UN agencies. Much of it was closed and also security would have made it impossible for us to get into the buildings. They are all very modern and not attractive. Took the underground back one station and walked along the Danube. It was high and certainly not “blue.” In taking the tram back to the Inner city, we walked through part of the Inner City. Decided to sit and rest at an Eis café where I observed my first obnoxious American tourist—an older, heavy set lady who interrupted a French(?) couple eating by us to comment on their camera lens (which was sitting on their table). Near the Eis café was an Easter market with booths set up on a square. Among the stalls was one with hundreds of painted Easter eggs—they are so beautiful, but would be very difficult to take back. We also saw a Catholic youth rally in the square—they were singing songs very similar to some of those sung in churches back home by youth. Some were even in English. Took the tram home and planned to go to a Chinese restaurant, but when we got there it was closed. So we made a decision to head back to the inner city to find a Russian restaurant we saw some weeks ago. We found out and tried borscht, a Georgian soup which was very spicy and contained some meat and rice (along with loads of garlic); beef stroganoff; and pelmeni (little meat filled dumplings). It was all good. On the way back got some Italian ice cream.
April 2: Met a young Serb today who said Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright are not liked in Serbia because of the bombing in the 1990s, but that Serbs generally like Bush (somewhat unusual). He said some Serbs believe Albright advocated bombing Belgrade because as a young lady living in Belgrade Milosovic had “dumped” her! Ate at a Kurkonditorei for a late lunch—I can’t figure out the name because it means a “Cure Café”—there are a number in Vienna. Had a very good meal.
March 28: I went with them to Schloss Schonbrunn and we toured the apartments which were very interesting, although I think I like the Sissi Museum in the Hofburg better. It was starting to rain. I left them and Mary on the underground to get back to school. They went on to the inner city to see some of the sights. Ambassador Schuelte, the US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was scheduled to speak at 5:30. The room was crowded. The ambassador had worked in the White House and was appointed by Bush to the Vienna post. He spoke on the Iran nuclear situation. They only allowed students to ask questions and he was able to take about 6 questions. I was extremely impressed—his delivery was sharp and crisp—he knew his stuff. Also some of the students were loaded to get him, but he handled very tough questions with ease. A reception followed. One student I talked to wants him to come back and just discuss how he prepared himself to be a diplomat—I think the students, while maybe not agreeing with US policy positions recognized that he was a top-notch diplomat who they needed to learn from.
Afterwards met Mary and our friends and we went to the Volksoper to see “Nicht Nur Mozart”—it was modern ballet. The early performances danced to pieces from modern musical compositions; the last performances were based on some of Mozart’s pieces, but the dance movements were still modern. I prefer the more traditional ballet like “Swan Lake.” Ate a late dinner at a Turkish restaurant.
March 29: Mary saw our friends off by taxi and we trust they got to Bratislava for their return flight to London. It was a very rainy day. Wednesday I am in class basically from noon to 10PM so I am not out much.
March 30:
March 31: Got on the underground and a fellow got on and sat across the aisle from us. I was looking for the right station to get off and somehow Mary must have smiled at him and he said something about the station which I did not hear. He asked where we came from and I said America. He switched to broken English and said he was a Turk. He said Austrians never smile (that is probably why he asked where we came from). He asked me where we were from and thought of cowboys when we said Texas. He went on to tell us that Bush was behind 9/11 because he wanted to get control of oil and have a war. I didn’t argue. While transferring to the tram, got a slice of pizza. I can’t say I enjoy the pizza sold here—Mary’s spinach pizza was good, but I am not fond of goat cheese. Mine was a cheese pizza with egg and pepper. We took the tram to Grinzing which is famous for its heurigers and is full of tourists in the summer. Many heurigers were closed but we walked up to where the Vienna Woods starts and you could see the wine fields on either side. Also there is a beautiful view of the city of Vienna. Went back and headed over to Floridsdorf to go to a church which was having an organ concert of some of Mozart’s work. It was out from the city and was a very simple Catholic Church which was built sometime after the war—it didn’t have a lot of the baroque or gothic statues inside. It was heated which was nice. I saw two nuns in habits—I can’t say I have seen many nuns in habits since leaving Chicago many years ago. And these were the first in Roman Catholic Austria. Also we went by the large mosque near the old Danube.
April 1: It was a beautiful Saturday with a blue sky. After getting some weekend groceries, took the tram to see a church near Alser Strasse—it had been partially destroyed in WWII, but was very impressive. The interior was quite simple. From there we went to UN city by underground. It is a massive complex with apartments for UN agencies. Much of it was closed and also security would have made it impossible for us to get into the buildings. They are all very modern and not attractive. Took the underground back one station and walked along the Danube. It was high and certainly not “blue.” In taking the tram back to the Inner city, we walked through part of the Inner City. Decided to sit and rest at an Eis café where I observed my first obnoxious American tourist—an older, heavy set lady who interrupted a French(?) couple eating by us to comment on their camera lens (which was sitting on their table). Near the Eis café was an Easter market with booths set up on a square. Among the stalls was one with hundreds of painted Easter eggs—they are so beautiful, but would be very difficult to take back. We also saw a Catholic youth rally in the square—they were singing songs very similar to some of those sung in churches back home by youth. Some were even in English. Took the tram home and planned to go to a Chinese restaurant, but when we got there it was closed. So we made a decision to head back to the inner city to find a Russian restaurant we saw some weeks ago. We found out and tried borscht, a Georgian soup which was very spicy and contained some meat and rice (along with loads of garlic); beef stroganoff; and pelmeni (little meat filled dumplings). It was all good. On the way back got some Italian ice cream.
April 2: Met a young Serb today who said Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright are not liked in Serbia because of the bombing in the 1990s, but that Serbs generally like Bush (somewhat unusual). He said some Serbs believe Albright advocated bombing Belgrade because as a young lady living in Belgrade Milosovic had “dumped” her! Ate at a Kurkonditorei for a late lunch—I can’t figure out the name because it means a “Cure Café”—there are a number in Vienna. Had a very good meal.
Monday, March 27, 2006
VIENNA, Weeks of March 13th & 20th
March 13: Below freezing again with a strong wind so the wind chill was significant.
March 14: Woke up to snow again! Seems like it will be a light sprinkle.
Mary is tutoring a Turkish graduate student in English in our apartment.
March 15: Because of heavy teaching day and Mary’s tutoring in English went to a Turkish restaurant. We love lamb. I had an Adana Kebap and Mary had a small piece of lamb boiled in some kind of sauce—both were very tasty.
March 16: Kathleen and Stefan arrived. Getting to the Vienna airport is really easy. You can go by bus or a direct train. Took them to Figlmüller’s for Wienerschnitzel. Even our son couldn't finish his wienerschnitzel. Mary and our daughter shared one.
March 17: Went to the Hofburg and bought tickets to see the kitchen collection and apartments of Kaiser Franz Josef and his wife Sissi. The cutlery, cooking utensils, and serving ware was extensive. Serving 60 people took an entire bureaucracy. Also when the royal family traveled they had special trunks for the variety of utensils and tea services which they would pack and ship. Once a year before Easter, the Kaiser would wash the feet of 12 poor people. They were supposed to get cleaned up before the Kaiser washed their feet, but I still thought it was a very interesting ceremony and not one that other Christian monarchs did to my knowledge. The apartments were very interesting to go through and see how the royal family lived. There is also a museum on Sissi who was Franz Josef’s wife. She was very beautiful and was assassinated just before the turn of the century. She has become a very tragic figure.
That evening we were invited to a dinner party. We bought chocolates for the host (guest are supposed to bring something) and when we arrived there was a “butler” who took our coats and then served appetizers. About 12 people were there and we sat down to a formal dinner. The butler served, women first. There was about 10 pieces of cutlery and they were laid out differently from a formal American dinner so I watched my neighbors to see what they picked up for what. The first course was smoked salmon, water cress(?), and I think a dill aspic. Soup came next—it was like a beef bouillon with noodles. The main course was a pork roast that had been cooked in a bread roll with spinach (potatoes and vegetables accompanied it). Dessert was something similar to a chocolate cheese cake. Coffee ended the meal. Most people spoke German, although they knew some English. An ex-foreign minister and his wife were there, a “retired” opera singer, an Iranian businessman and his wife, a single Iranian businessman, and two other Austrians. Few people knew each other, but everyone was supposed to visit with gemütlichkeit. One Austrian engineer told me the US did not land anybody on the moon, although they had put men in space. It has something to do with lead or metal. I asked him if he thought it was a Hollywood production, but I am not sure he liked this idea. On the way out I saw people putting 10 euro bills on the table. I found out later that guests are expected to tip the butler. Snow flurries were coming down when we left about 11:30PM and caught a late night tram.
March 18: Went down to Naschmarkt and saw the stands with all the flea market stuff. It is hard to know if anything is a good antique buy or if it has been stolen. It is very crowded and a woman we know says she has had four friends who have had things stolen there (pickpockets, etc.). Got a lamb kebap from Nura who was very friendly. Everybody is trying to sell you stuff or get you to buy whatever food item they are selling. The variety is remarkable. Walked over to the Secession Building, which is called the “cabbage head” because of a round sphere like work of “art” on top of the building—saw an exposition of graphic arts. It was disappointing considering the price. Went on to Karlskirche—you have to pay 6 euros to get in, but it was well worth it. It is a beautiful church, but also they are doing some renovation and we were able to ride an elevator up into the dome. You could see the dome paintings from just feet away. Also you could walk another 100 feet or so up steps (only 10 people at a time) and get right up to the very top and overlook all of Vienna. The church also had a museum with reliquaries. I got a picture of a reliquary with a drop of St. Thomas’s blood and one with a bit of the intestine of St. Charles Boromeo. To get a bit of a rest we stopped at Café Schwarzenberg for coffee, hot chocolate, and tea. It is an older café and has a 19th century charm to it.
March 19: Went to the Prater and rode the Riesenrad—a huge ferris wheel that has appeared in many movies. Walked over to the Danube—it was a beautiful day with a blue sky. Huge crowds were out walking and we saw many children playing in the park. Stopped to see the Pfarrkirche (near Mexico Platz) before boarding the underground for home.
March 20: Went to class while everyone went out to look Schonbrunn and other sites.
March 21: Got up at 4:30AM to take Stefan and Kathleen to Südbahnhof for their trip to Prague. Bought them some travel food for the 4 hour train ride and I assume they arrived. On the way home stopped in and got some apricot krapfen and fresh-baked semmels for breakfast.
March 22: In my graduate international relations class I have a fellow who works at the Afghani embassy. He got into Austria on a fake Spanish passport by going from Afghanistan to Moscow to Odessa (Ukraine) and then into Vienna on the false passport. He then requested political asylum and since he came from the Ukraine, Austria could not send him back (I don’t know all of the immigration rules and treaty issues—if he had come from Russia, Austria could have sent him back). It is interesting because he does not like the Austrians. Also he wants to redefine democracy to suit his Islamic purposes—I told him he was a postmodernist because of how he handles language and definitions. I have a Ukrainian in the class who really likes to argue with him. Everything is good-natured (so far!), but we shall see where this goes in the next few weeks.
The weather is warmer and the sun has been shining. It is really pleasant to be out.
March 23: In the evening there was a reception for prospective students. Employers of graduates spoke (from OPEC and private industry), faculty, alumni, and students. It lasted about 30-45 minutes and then they had a food reception to visit and talk. The student body president spoke—he is from Zimbabwe and did a great job. A question was asked by one female African student of a graduate (from the Middle East) who was working for an Austrian company and had just hired a recent graduate. She seemed to imply that Middle Easterners just hired Middle Easterners, but the newly hired student was from Moldovo so her implication was wrong. However, I sensed a bit of possible resentment that Middle Easterners were just a “clique.” A Venezuelan-Israeli student also spoke about whey he was studying at the International University. It is truly an international group.
March 24: Walked through Spittalberg looking at shops—many are still closed waiting for tourists. There is a lovely shop that sells jewelry made by local artisans—it is cheaper than the Graben shops and has really beautiful work. Did some shopping at Müller’s—it seems to have more reasonable prices. It is hard to compare it to an American store—it doesn’t sell clothes, but has toys, perfumes, candy, CDs, etc. Stefan found some good chocolates for friends and Kathleen found some toys for her niece that were unique. Walked down Mariahilfer strasse and then home. Went out to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant which was really quite reasonable and had a great atmosphere. Between us we tried cordon bleu, wiener gulasch, and broiled fillet of fish. All of it was great. Walked down to the Ring to take pictures of the buildings lit up at night.
March 27: Went to the Kunsthistorischer Museum today. It was rainy so it was a good day to be inside. Spent about 6 hours looking at most of the paintings. The emphasis is on Italian, German, and Dutch paintings. Also visited the Egyptian and Greek-Roman exhibits. On the way home stopped in at the Siebenstern Restaurant with Kathleen. Stefan and Mary had gone to a concert at the Jesuitenkirche—since I have been fighting a cold I elected not to sit through a cold concert (Kat was quick to opt out). I had cream of garlic soup (excellent) with cubes of garlic toast floating on the top and roast pork with a dumpling and sauerkraut. Kat had roast pork as well, but for an appetizer tried the garlic bread—a large slice of rye bread with garlic, butter, and chives on it (excellent). It is a local restaurant and was quite crowded. Mary said the bedroom reeked of garlic that night.
March 26: Fighting a sore throat so stayed in and watched it rain. Went for a walk in the evening and purchased a pistachio Italian ice. Daylight savings time came last night so it is lighter in the evening. I think some cafes are starting to open up on Sunday afternoons now.
March 14: Woke up to snow again! Seems like it will be a light sprinkle.
Mary is tutoring a Turkish graduate student in English in our apartment.
March 15: Because of heavy teaching day and Mary’s tutoring in English went to a Turkish restaurant. We love lamb. I had an Adana Kebap and Mary had a small piece of lamb boiled in some kind of sauce—both were very tasty.
March 16: Kathleen and Stefan arrived. Getting to the Vienna airport is really easy. You can go by bus or a direct train. Took them to Figlmüller’s for Wienerschnitzel. Even our son couldn't finish his wienerschnitzel. Mary and our daughter shared one.
March 17: Went to the Hofburg and bought tickets to see the kitchen collection and apartments of Kaiser Franz Josef and his wife Sissi. The cutlery, cooking utensils, and serving ware was extensive. Serving 60 people took an entire bureaucracy. Also when the royal family traveled they had special trunks for the variety of utensils and tea services which they would pack and ship. Once a year before Easter, the Kaiser would wash the feet of 12 poor people. They were supposed to get cleaned up before the Kaiser washed their feet, but I still thought it was a very interesting ceremony and not one that other Christian monarchs did to my knowledge. The apartments were very interesting to go through and see how the royal family lived. There is also a museum on Sissi who was Franz Josef’s wife. She was very beautiful and was assassinated just before the turn of the century. She has become a very tragic figure.
That evening we were invited to a dinner party. We bought chocolates for the host (guest are supposed to bring something) and when we arrived there was a “butler” who took our coats and then served appetizers. About 12 people were there and we sat down to a formal dinner. The butler served, women first. There was about 10 pieces of cutlery and they were laid out differently from a formal American dinner so I watched my neighbors to see what they picked up for what. The first course was smoked salmon, water cress(?), and I think a dill aspic. Soup came next—it was like a beef bouillon with noodles. The main course was a pork roast that had been cooked in a bread roll with spinach (potatoes and vegetables accompanied it). Dessert was something similar to a chocolate cheese cake. Coffee ended the meal. Most people spoke German, although they knew some English. An ex-foreign minister and his wife were there, a “retired” opera singer, an Iranian businessman and his wife, a single Iranian businessman, and two other Austrians. Few people knew each other, but everyone was supposed to visit with gemütlichkeit. One Austrian engineer told me the US did not land anybody on the moon, although they had put men in space. It has something to do with lead or metal. I asked him if he thought it was a Hollywood production, but I am not sure he liked this idea. On the way out I saw people putting 10 euro bills on the table. I found out later that guests are expected to tip the butler. Snow flurries were coming down when we left about 11:30PM and caught a late night tram.
March 18: Went down to Naschmarkt and saw the stands with all the flea market stuff. It is hard to know if anything is a good antique buy or if it has been stolen. It is very crowded and a woman we know says she has had four friends who have had things stolen there (pickpockets, etc.). Got a lamb kebap from Nura who was very friendly. Everybody is trying to sell you stuff or get you to buy whatever food item they are selling. The variety is remarkable. Walked over to the Secession Building, which is called the “cabbage head” because of a round sphere like work of “art” on top of the building—saw an exposition of graphic arts. It was disappointing considering the price. Went on to Karlskirche—you have to pay 6 euros to get in, but it was well worth it. It is a beautiful church, but also they are doing some renovation and we were able to ride an elevator up into the dome. You could see the dome paintings from just feet away. Also you could walk another 100 feet or so up steps (only 10 people at a time) and get right up to the very top and overlook all of Vienna. The church also had a museum with reliquaries. I got a picture of a reliquary with a drop of St. Thomas’s blood and one with a bit of the intestine of St. Charles Boromeo. To get a bit of a rest we stopped at Café Schwarzenberg for coffee, hot chocolate, and tea. It is an older café and has a 19th century charm to it.
March 19: Went to the Prater and rode the Riesenrad—a huge ferris wheel that has appeared in many movies. Walked over to the Danube—it was a beautiful day with a blue sky. Huge crowds were out walking and we saw many children playing in the park. Stopped to see the Pfarrkirche (near Mexico Platz) before boarding the underground for home.
March 20: Went to class while everyone went out to look Schonbrunn and other sites.
March 21: Got up at 4:30AM to take Stefan and Kathleen to Südbahnhof for their trip to Prague. Bought them some travel food for the 4 hour train ride and I assume they arrived. On the way home stopped in and got some apricot krapfen and fresh-baked semmels for breakfast.
March 22: In my graduate international relations class I have a fellow who works at the Afghani embassy. He got into Austria on a fake Spanish passport by going from Afghanistan to Moscow to Odessa (Ukraine) and then into Vienna on the false passport. He then requested political asylum and since he came from the Ukraine, Austria could not send him back (I don’t know all of the immigration rules and treaty issues—if he had come from Russia, Austria could have sent him back). It is interesting because he does not like the Austrians. Also he wants to redefine democracy to suit his Islamic purposes—I told him he was a postmodernist because of how he handles language and definitions. I have a Ukrainian in the class who really likes to argue with him. Everything is good-natured (so far!), but we shall see where this goes in the next few weeks.
The weather is warmer and the sun has been shining. It is really pleasant to be out.
March 23: In the evening there was a reception for prospective students. Employers of graduates spoke (from OPEC and private industry), faculty, alumni, and students. It lasted about 30-45 minutes and then they had a food reception to visit and talk. The student body president spoke—he is from Zimbabwe and did a great job. A question was asked by one female African student of a graduate (from the Middle East) who was working for an Austrian company and had just hired a recent graduate. She seemed to imply that Middle Easterners just hired Middle Easterners, but the newly hired student was from Moldovo so her implication was wrong. However, I sensed a bit of possible resentment that Middle Easterners were just a “clique.” A Venezuelan-Israeli student also spoke about whey he was studying at the International University. It is truly an international group.
March 24: Walked through Spittalberg looking at shops—many are still closed waiting for tourists. There is a lovely shop that sells jewelry made by local artisans—it is cheaper than the Graben shops and has really beautiful work. Did some shopping at Müller’s—it seems to have more reasonable prices. It is hard to compare it to an American store—it doesn’t sell clothes, but has toys, perfumes, candy, CDs, etc. Stefan found some good chocolates for friends and Kathleen found some toys for her niece that were unique. Walked down Mariahilfer strasse and then home. Went out to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant which was really quite reasonable and had a great atmosphere. Between us we tried cordon bleu, wiener gulasch, and broiled fillet of fish. All of it was great. Walked down to the Ring to take pictures of the buildings lit up at night.
March 27: Went to the Kunsthistorischer Museum today. It was rainy so it was a good day to be inside. Spent about 6 hours looking at most of the paintings. The emphasis is on Italian, German, and Dutch paintings. Also visited the Egyptian and Greek-Roman exhibits. On the way home stopped in at the Siebenstern Restaurant with Kathleen. Stefan and Mary had gone to a concert at the Jesuitenkirche—since I have been fighting a cold I elected not to sit through a cold concert (Kat was quick to opt out). I had cream of garlic soup (excellent) with cubes of garlic toast floating on the top and roast pork with a dumpling and sauerkraut. Kat had roast pork as well, but for an appetizer tried the garlic bread—a large slice of rye bread with garlic, butter, and chives on it (excellent). It is a local restaurant and was quite crowded. Mary said the bedroom reeked of garlic that night.
March 26: Fighting a sore throat so stayed in and watched it rain. Went for a walk in the evening and purchased a pistachio Italian ice. Daylight savings time came last night so it is lighter in the evening. I think some cafes are starting to open up on Sunday afternoons now.
Monday, March 13, 2006
VIENNA, Week of March 6
March 6: Attended an exhibition in the International University by an Iranian artist, Mehrdad Sadri, who came to Vienna in 1985 and has been granted honorary Austrian citizenship, whatever that means. His pictures are very monochromatic, modernistic, with some nudity so I don’t think he is a conservative Muslim. The IU president made the introductions, a local government official spoke, and a music professor played some piano pieces which he felt reflected the paintings’ themes. There must have been 200-300 people there.
March 7:
March 8: Went to the vegetarian restaurant and had misosuppe with noodles and vegetables. Mary had the curry plate and I ordered a somosa (sp)—like a ball of bread filled with curried flavored stuffing and bits of vegetables. Had kräpfen for dessert. A very busy class day. There are distinct differences of opinion between the secularists and the Muslims—so far no blows have occurred.
March 9: Woke up to another blizzard!
March 10: Walked over to Berggasse and visited the Freud museum. In some ways it was the least visitor friendly. You had to buzz the bell to get in the main door and then you walked up to the second floor where his Vienna apartment was and had to buzz again before a person came to the door to let you in. There are really only three rooms that are similar to how they were when Freud lived there. The rest of the apartment was used for a gift shop, painting exhibition, and library. I debated whether the $7 per person entry fee was worth it. However, you did get a good feel for Freud’s family life. There was also an interesting video that showed old film clips. I think the museum gave you a good feel for his life and life before World War II in Vienna until he had to flee the Nazis. All of his sisters perished in the concentration camps. Later we went inside the Votivkirche. Stopped at a neighborhood restaurant which supposedly is a cheaper version of Figlműller’s. It was cheaper and the serving size for the wienerschnitzel was just as big. It was crowded with locals, some of whom brought their dogs in with them.
March 11: Went shopping to have food for Sunday. At 1PM a bus was leaving from the International University for a faculty dinner in Bratislavia, Slovakia. I think around 18 faculty went (some with spouses). We were headed to an Armenian restaurant at a shopping mall in Bratislavia. After the bus driver stretched a 1 hour trip into 2 hours (he didn’t know where he was going), we finally reached a “shopping palace” – it did not look like much on the outside, but when we went in, it was as modern as any US shopping mall. Every store imaginable was there. We went into a large department store with supermarket and bought some dumpling mix. We were trying to use up our Slovak crowns, but really didn’t see a lot of goods we wanted or couldn’t buy in the US. Finally went into a toy store and found some lovely wooden puzzles and lovely porcelain dolls (about $4 each). From there we joined everyone at the restaurant. We were given our meal options (individuals were supposed to pay for their own drinks). We watched as a “dot-the-i, cross-the-t” German who works at an international organization “took over” trying to organize how the waitress took the food orders! I don’t know the Armenian names for what we ate, but it was good. The meat was a grilled pork chop kind of cut. Sat across from a Czech who also teaches international relations and we had a really interesting conversation about his work many years ago as an interpreter for the US embassy.
March 12: Snowed overnight again with maybe an inch or two on the sidewalks as we went to church. Had our Turkish friend over for a late lunch.
March 7:
March 8: Went to the vegetarian restaurant and had misosuppe with noodles and vegetables. Mary had the curry plate and I ordered a somosa (sp)—like a ball of bread filled with curried flavored stuffing and bits of vegetables. Had kräpfen for dessert. A very busy class day. There are distinct differences of opinion between the secularists and the Muslims—so far no blows have occurred.
March 9: Woke up to another blizzard!
March 10: Walked over to Berggasse and visited the Freud museum. In some ways it was the least visitor friendly. You had to buzz the bell to get in the main door and then you walked up to the second floor where his Vienna apartment was and had to buzz again before a person came to the door to let you in. There are really only three rooms that are similar to how they were when Freud lived there. The rest of the apartment was used for a gift shop, painting exhibition, and library. I debated whether the $7 per person entry fee was worth it. However, you did get a good feel for Freud’s family life. There was also an interesting video that showed old film clips. I think the museum gave you a good feel for his life and life before World War II in Vienna until he had to flee the Nazis. All of his sisters perished in the concentration camps. Later we went inside the Votivkirche. Stopped at a neighborhood restaurant which supposedly is a cheaper version of Figlműller’s. It was cheaper and the serving size for the wienerschnitzel was just as big. It was crowded with locals, some of whom brought their dogs in with them.
March 11: Went shopping to have food for Sunday. At 1PM a bus was leaving from the International University for a faculty dinner in Bratislavia, Slovakia. I think around 18 faculty went (some with spouses). We were headed to an Armenian restaurant at a shopping mall in Bratislavia. After the bus driver stretched a 1 hour trip into 2 hours (he didn’t know where he was going), we finally reached a “shopping palace” – it did not look like much on the outside, but when we went in, it was as modern as any US shopping mall. Every store imaginable was there. We went into a large department store with supermarket and bought some dumpling mix. We were trying to use up our Slovak crowns, but really didn’t see a lot of goods we wanted or couldn’t buy in the US. Finally went into a toy store and found some lovely wooden puzzles and lovely porcelain dolls (about $4 each). From there we joined everyone at the restaurant. We were given our meal options (individuals were supposed to pay for their own drinks). We watched as a “dot-the-i, cross-the-t” German who works at an international organization “took over” trying to organize how the waitress took the food orders! I don’t know the Armenian names for what we ate, but it was good. The meat was a grilled pork chop kind of cut. Sat across from a Czech who also teaches international relations and we had a really interesting conversation about his work many years ago as an interpreter for the US embassy.
March 12: Snowed overnight again with maybe an inch or two on the sidewalks as we went to church. Had our Turkish friend over for a late lunch.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
VIENNA, Week of February 27th
February 27:
February 28: Went to hear the Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs from the US Embassy speak on “The Chinese Economic & Political Challenge” (especially the implications for the US & Europe). Maybe 30 people were there. Nobody tossed him any tough questions. Afterwards I went up and introduced myself and inquired whether he would come speak at the International University since I am having my graduate class look at emerging China and its implications. I have a Sudanese student who told me “millions” of Chinese are in Sudan (obviously exaggerating, but he obviously felt there was a very large number). The Sudanese student seemed concerned about the heavy Chinese involvement and I was curious about how far China is moving into the underdeveloped world. The speaker minimized this issue when I asked him about it. However, he said he would be happy to speak to my students. We chatted a bit longer. Also met the Public Diplomacy Officer who said to email her about materials I could use in some of my classes. Her husband is from Texas. I should probably have contacted her earlier.
March 1: Midterm grades are due on the 8th. It is much like home—some students are doing outstanding work while others are a bit lax in meeting some deadlines! I sense that students from wealthier families or whose nations are footing the bill are the lax ones. Those who face challenges are really serious about getting ahead and excelling.
I was invited to join the President and Academic Dean at IU and some other faculty to meet a female business professor/administrator from London Metropolitan University who was visiting. IU and London Metropolitan University are exploring a relationship. Great Britain certainly has a different perspective of business majors—she kept referring to the business program as a vocational degree. Met my evening graduate class for the first time and am glad it is small. Students come from: Libya, Afghanistan, Japan, Croatia, and North Korea (refugee from some years past).
March 2-5: Prague, Czech Republic, Trip. Got up at 4:30 to catch a 6:08 AM train from Vienna to Prague. We arrived in Prague about 4 hours later, changed some money at the ATM, walked over to the public transportation information booth, and bought tickets to take the yellow line Zilicin train to the Jinonice stop. Our Pension was near this stop (actually it was a bit of distance from the stop, but the price was right!). Left our suitcase and back packs and met Pane Berankova. I discovered ATMs give big bills in Prague and it is hard to change them for small purchases, but fortunately, I had enough small coins to get tickets on the underground. At the pension the lady of the house warned us about pickpockets and recommended a 3 day ticket (unlimited rides for 3 days) for the trams/subway. The automatic ticket machine for our trip back into town from the Pension would not take bills so I had to go into a Tabak shop and buy the tickets. Took the underground back toward the city center and got off at the Mustek stop and as I came up saw Vaclavske Namesti and the Narodni Museum at the far end. This is the square where all demonstrations take place such as when the Czech ice hockey team wins a gold medal in the Olympics. In spite of some very “generalized” directions quickly found the restaurant “Cesky raj” recommended by Kathleen M. Went down the stairs and had a delightful meal of Czech onion soup, roast pork, dumplings, and sauerkraut (cibulcka polevka, veprova pecena, knedliky a zeli) at a reasonable price. Checked out ticket prices for the opera, but all we could get was 3rd row seats at a price we didn’t want to pay. So we started walking through the Old Town (Stare Mesto) toward Charles Bridge and Hradcany (castle). We stopped at a variety of shops along the way selling crystal, matryoska dolls, t-shirts, caps, etc.). I was tempted to buy a t-shirt with the phrase “The KGB is Still Watching You,” but I didn’t give in. I think that all the shops in the center of the city are run by Russians. Somehow I couldn’t get into a Czech mood with all this Russian music playing when we went in to shops—they all had a deal, but the deals all seemed to be the same price. Finally made it to Charles Bridge and discovered TOURIST HORDES from all over Europe (but Italians and Germans seemed to dominate, although I saw a number of Brits as well)—this was in winter in 30 degree weather! I think I heard more German, Russian, and English than Czech while we were in Prague. Looked at the stalls of “starving artists” as we crossed the bridge and headed into Mala Strana and up the street to Hradcany (Prague Castle). Also there were a number of beggars along the way hoping for some small change. Hradcany is on a bluff overlooking the city so we took in the awesome view. On the way down, besides stopping in shops that didn’t appear to be run by the Russian mafia, went into to a caffeeteria for something hot to drink and a Prague Ball (for me, like chocolate cake only in a round ball about 3-4 inches in diameter and a yoghurt cheesecake for Mary). Sat and tried to warm up. Walked back across the Charles Bridge enjoying the night lights in the cold weather. We bought some tickets for a concert in St. Clement’s church for the following night. Since we had been going since 4:30AM headed back to the Pension about 8 and got warmed up with showers and feather quilts.
The next morning for breakfast the pension served a typical Czech breakfast (in our room). We had rohlikhy (rolls) and rye bread. In addition to butter and jelly, we were given cheese and fowl pate for our bread. Czech breakfast rolls are delicious with butter and jelly. Headed back down to the city and took the underground to Hradcany. The Prague yellow line underground leaves a lot to be desired compared to the Vienna underground—I think the yellow line was the first line built and has a neo-Stalinist feel, even down to the cars. The cars have seating for about 30-40 people and according to the sign, standing room for over 200! The ads were interesting—I saw several for the HBO special on Rome which basically advertised the series as a sex series. I tend to get turned around when we get off these underground stations unless I see a familiar landmark so at the Hradcany stop went in the opposite direction after getting off the underground. However, we ended up walking by the residence (mansion) of the American ambassador (where in 1973 we had been invited to a Christmas party). The Czech police guard gave me directions and we headed back in the correct direction. Went past the Israeli embassy which was even more well-guarded than the American embassy. Walked into Hradcany amidst many large groups of German and Italian tourists. Got a ticket which allowed us to see St. Vitus Cathedral and a number of other sites. When we were here under communism, almost all of this was free—now capitalist Czechs are charging for almost everything, even to go into a church (however, even the Viennese are doing this at some churches so I can’t blame the Czechs for trying to get a bit of money from the tourists). After seeing Hradcany and St. Vitus (I think St. Vitus is one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Europe), took the tram to where we lived in Prague almost 35 years ago when I was in graduate school. The Stalinist housing has been “dolled” up—so much has changed. The neighborhood department store seems to be run by Asians, but the grocery store was packed (with both people and goods). Took the tram back down to the center where we had spied a fish restaurant with specialties from Iceland. It was bit pricy, but went in and I had Icelandic cod. It was good, but I am not sure it was worth the price. It also started to snow! It was beautiful walking through old city streets at night with heavy snow flakes coming down—you could almost imagine what it was like in the Middle Ages if you could ignore tourists and outdoor cafes with their gas heaters going. It was almost a blizzard. We looked in a number of shops because we had some time before our concert and were also trying to stay warm. This was the only time we met a policeman who asked what we were looking for when we went into a deserted passageway—he must have been there for some reason. Went into to St. Clement’s and heard a lovely repertoire of organ/violin music from the major composers. The church supposedly has excellent acoustics. The only thing making it somewhat unpleasant was that it was freezing inside the church—you could see your breath. The concert went 70 minutes which was enough for flavor. Headed home to warm up through the heavy snow which was falling.
Woke up to snow, snow, snow. After breakfast took the underground and tram to Vysehrad. We hiked up a snow-covered path to a lovely view and only a handful of tourists. The church and fortress area is one of the more beautiful places in Prague and doesn’t suffer from a “touristy” flavor. Vysehrad was built high on a bluff overlooking the Vltava River. Paid 50 cents to tour the church and actually saw Czechs there. Walked down to the street along the river, looking for the house of embassy friends of many years ago. Then took the tram over to Panska Street to see the Mucha museum—both of us like art noveau. It was a smaller, but delightful museum. Again, there weren’t the crowds that we faced in Hradcany. Went back to “Cesky raj” for dinner (had the same meal once again) and then walked over to the Jewish ghetto. It was closed on Saturday so looked around on the outside of the buildings. Next went into St. Nicholas Church, which was Roman Catholic until the Hussite religious reformation. The Hussite Church kept Roman Catholic ritual, but had a more Protestant theology. Walked back with the tourist hordes to Mala Strana and then up to Strahov monastery (near Hradcany) and overlooks the city from a slightly different angle. A mass was being held so didn’t walk through the church, but we walked around and again spent time looking out over Prague. In walking back we decided just to get a small meal and looked at a number of restaurant menus. Saw one outdoor restaurant where the server would drink out of the pitcher that he would use to fill the glasses of customers with some kind of cider-like drink. I watched him do this several times, although it would have been hard for the customers to see what he was doing. I guess what you don’t see is okay. Finally picked a restaurant, because it had ovocne knedliky on the menu. Went in and I ordered the Selska omleta (Farmer’s omelet), because I thought it would be lighter (I knew what was coming with the ovocne knedliky). It was a beautiful little restaurant lit with many candles and the ceiling was arched. Also with the snow and cold, it just seemed like a warm place to be. When we went in, only a group of Italians was there. It never got very busy so I don’t know how it stays in business (of course, I am sure as more tourists come with the warmer weather, it will be busier). My ovocne knedliky came (two in number about the size of a fist)—these are dumplings boiled with fruit inside. The toppings can vary, but normally there will be a generous sprinkling of cinnamon on top—these came with whipped cream and chocolate drizzled across in addition to the cinnamon. Strawberries were inside the knedliky and some raspberries were on the plate. Two was all I could handle, although in my younger days, I think 16 was my record. Walked back through the snow to the underground and off to our pension.
Got up to egg omelet covered with onion in addition to the breads. Headed off to the train depot to get back to Vienna. I had only seen one, maybe two incidents of petty theft (in Vienna, I have never seen anything resembling petty theft). However, in rushing to the train, I gave my tickets and seat reservations to a female train conductor to ask about the correct car to get on. I went on to our seats and couldn’t find our tickets and realized I had not got them back from her. When I went back she said I did not give them to her so I had to purchase return tickets quickly—I am sure she could sell the tickets for a profit. Made it back to Vienna through the very beautiful Moravian hills covered with snow. Next time I want to just rent a car and drive through the small towns of Moravia and see the castles and churches. Prague is too touristy, although I think everyone needs to see it once. It rivals some of the Italian cities in beauty and you can even speak Italian in Prague if you wish.
I did make one purchase—two watercolors sold by a starving artist on Charles Bridge. I feel bad because the pictures I liked best were done by a young Russian lady so my Czech souvenirs have a Russian origin. The mistake Brezhnev made in 1968 was to send in Soviet troops; if he had sent in Russian capitalists (or maybe the Russian mafia), they would have done a better job of turning Czechoslovakia into a Soviet satellite. I am going to talk with a Czech professor I am getting to know at the university to see what his take is on what is happening.
February 28: Went to hear the Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs from the US Embassy speak on “The Chinese Economic & Political Challenge” (especially the implications for the US & Europe). Maybe 30 people were there. Nobody tossed him any tough questions. Afterwards I went up and introduced myself and inquired whether he would come speak at the International University since I am having my graduate class look at emerging China and its implications. I have a Sudanese student who told me “millions” of Chinese are in Sudan (obviously exaggerating, but he obviously felt there was a very large number). The Sudanese student seemed concerned about the heavy Chinese involvement and I was curious about how far China is moving into the underdeveloped world. The speaker minimized this issue when I asked him about it. However, he said he would be happy to speak to my students. We chatted a bit longer. Also met the Public Diplomacy Officer who said to email her about materials I could use in some of my classes. Her husband is from Texas. I should probably have contacted her earlier.
March 1: Midterm grades are due on the 8th. It is much like home—some students are doing outstanding work while others are a bit lax in meeting some deadlines! I sense that students from wealthier families or whose nations are footing the bill are the lax ones. Those who face challenges are really serious about getting ahead and excelling.
I was invited to join the President and Academic Dean at IU and some other faculty to meet a female business professor/administrator from London Metropolitan University who was visiting. IU and London Metropolitan University are exploring a relationship. Great Britain certainly has a different perspective of business majors—she kept referring to the business program as a vocational degree. Met my evening graduate class for the first time and am glad it is small. Students come from: Libya, Afghanistan, Japan, Croatia, and North Korea (refugee from some years past).
March 2-5: Prague, Czech Republic, Trip. Got up at 4:30 to catch a 6:08 AM train from Vienna to Prague. We arrived in Prague about 4 hours later, changed some money at the ATM, walked over to the public transportation information booth, and bought tickets to take the yellow line Zilicin train to the Jinonice stop. Our Pension was near this stop (actually it was a bit of distance from the stop, but the price was right!). Left our suitcase and back packs and met Pane Berankova. I discovered ATMs give big bills in Prague and it is hard to change them for small purchases, but fortunately, I had enough small coins to get tickets on the underground. At the pension the lady of the house warned us about pickpockets and recommended a 3 day ticket (unlimited rides for 3 days) for the trams/subway. The automatic ticket machine for our trip back into town from the Pension would not take bills so I had to go into a Tabak shop and buy the tickets. Took the underground back toward the city center and got off at the Mustek stop and as I came up saw Vaclavske Namesti and the Narodni Museum at the far end. This is the square where all demonstrations take place such as when the Czech ice hockey team wins a gold medal in the Olympics. In spite of some very “generalized” directions quickly found the restaurant “Cesky raj” recommended by Kathleen M. Went down the stairs and had a delightful meal of Czech onion soup, roast pork, dumplings, and sauerkraut (cibulcka polevka, veprova pecena, knedliky a zeli) at a reasonable price. Checked out ticket prices for the opera, but all we could get was 3rd row seats at a price we didn’t want to pay. So we started walking through the Old Town (Stare Mesto) toward Charles Bridge and Hradcany (castle). We stopped at a variety of shops along the way selling crystal, matryoska dolls, t-shirts, caps, etc.). I was tempted to buy a t-shirt with the phrase “The KGB is Still Watching You,” but I didn’t give in. I think that all the shops in the center of the city are run by Russians. Somehow I couldn’t get into a Czech mood with all this Russian music playing when we went in to shops—they all had a deal, but the deals all seemed to be the same price. Finally made it to Charles Bridge and discovered TOURIST HORDES from all over Europe (but Italians and Germans seemed to dominate, although I saw a number of Brits as well)—this was in winter in 30 degree weather! I think I heard more German, Russian, and English than Czech while we were in Prague. Looked at the stalls of “starving artists” as we crossed the bridge and headed into Mala Strana and up the street to Hradcany (Prague Castle). Also there were a number of beggars along the way hoping for some small change. Hradcany is on a bluff overlooking the city so we took in the awesome view. On the way down, besides stopping in shops that didn’t appear to be run by the Russian mafia, went into to a caffeeteria for something hot to drink and a Prague Ball (for me, like chocolate cake only in a round ball about 3-4 inches in diameter and a yoghurt cheesecake for Mary). Sat and tried to warm up. Walked back across the Charles Bridge enjoying the night lights in the cold weather. We bought some tickets for a concert in St. Clement’s church for the following night. Since we had been going since 4:30AM headed back to the Pension about 8 and got warmed up with showers and feather quilts.
The next morning for breakfast the pension served a typical Czech breakfast (in our room). We had rohlikhy (rolls) and rye bread. In addition to butter and jelly, we were given cheese and fowl pate for our bread. Czech breakfast rolls are delicious with butter and jelly. Headed back down to the city and took the underground to Hradcany. The Prague yellow line underground leaves a lot to be desired compared to the Vienna underground—I think the yellow line was the first line built and has a neo-Stalinist feel, even down to the cars. The cars have seating for about 30-40 people and according to the sign, standing room for over 200! The ads were interesting—I saw several for the HBO special on Rome which basically advertised the series as a sex series. I tend to get turned around when we get off these underground stations unless I see a familiar landmark so at the Hradcany stop went in the opposite direction after getting off the underground. However, we ended up walking by the residence (mansion) of the American ambassador (where in 1973 we had been invited to a Christmas party). The Czech police guard gave me directions and we headed back in the correct direction. Went past the Israeli embassy which was even more well-guarded than the American embassy. Walked into Hradcany amidst many large groups of German and Italian tourists. Got a ticket which allowed us to see St. Vitus Cathedral and a number of other sites. When we were here under communism, almost all of this was free—now capitalist Czechs are charging for almost everything, even to go into a church (however, even the Viennese are doing this at some churches so I can’t blame the Czechs for trying to get a bit of money from the tourists). After seeing Hradcany and St. Vitus (I think St. Vitus is one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Europe), took the tram to where we lived in Prague almost 35 years ago when I was in graduate school. The Stalinist housing has been “dolled” up—so much has changed. The neighborhood department store seems to be run by Asians, but the grocery store was packed (with both people and goods). Took the tram back down to the center where we had spied a fish restaurant with specialties from Iceland. It was bit pricy, but went in and I had Icelandic cod. It was good, but I am not sure it was worth the price. It also started to snow! It was beautiful walking through old city streets at night with heavy snow flakes coming down—you could almost imagine what it was like in the Middle Ages if you could ignore tourists and outdoor cafes with their gas heaters going. It was almost a blizzard. We looked in a number of shops because we had some time before our concert and were also trying to stay warm. This was the only time we met a policeman who asked what we were looking for when we went into a deserted passageway—he must have been there for some reason. Went into to St. Clement’s and heard a lovely repertoire of organ/violin music from the major composers. The church supposedly has excellent acoustics. The only thing making it somewhat unpleasant was that it was freezing inside the church—you could see your breath. The concert went 70 minutes which was enough for flavor. Headed home to warm up through the heavy snow which was falling.
Woke up to snow, snow, snow. After breakfast took the underground and tram to Vysehrad. We hiked up a snow-covered path to a lovely view and only a handful of tourists. The church and fortress area is one of the more beautiful places in Prague and doesn’t suffer from a “touristy” flavor. Vysehrad was built high on a bluff overlooking the Vltava River. Paid 50 cents to tour the church and actually saw Czechs there. Walked down to the street along the river, looking for the house of embassy friends of many years ago. Then took the tram over to Panska Street to see the Mucha museum—both of us like art noveau. It was a smaller, but delightful museum. Again, there weren’t the crowds that we faced in Hradcany. Went back to “Cesky raj” for dinner (had the same meal once again) and then walked over to the Jewish ghetto. It was closed on Saturday so looked around on the outside of the buildings. Next went into St. Nicholas Church, which was Roman Catholic until the Hussite religious reformation. The Hussite Church kept Roman Catholic ritual, but had a more Protestant theology. Walked back with the tourist hordes to Mala Strana and then up to Strahov monastery (near Hradcany) and overlooks the city from a slightly different angle. A mass was being held so didn’t walk through the church, but we walked around and again spent time looking out over Prague. In walking back we decided just to get a small meal and looked at a number of restaurant menus. Saw one outdoor restaurant where the server would drink out of the pitcher that he would use to fill the glasses of customers with some kind of cider-like drink. I watched him do this several times, although it would have been hard for the customers to see what he was doing. I guess what you don’t see is okay. Finally picked a restaurant, because it had ovocne knedliky on the menu. Went in and I ordered the Selska omleta (Farmer’s omelet), because I thought it would be lighter (I knew what was coming with the ovocne knedliky). It was a beautiful little restaurant lit with many candles and the ceiling was arched. Also with the snow and cold, it just seemed like a warm place to be. When we went in, only a group of Italians was there. It never got very busy so I don’t know how it stays in business (of course, I am sure as more tourists come with the warmer weather, it will be busier). My ovocne knedliky came (two in number about the size of a fist)—these are dumplings boiled with fruit inside. The toppings can vary, but normally there will be a generous sprinkling of cinnamon on top—these came with whipped cream and chocolate drizzled across in addition to the cinnamon. Strawberries were inside the knedliky and some raspberries were on the plate. Two was all I could handle, although in my younger days, I think 16 was my record. Walked back through the snow to the underground and off to our pension.
Got up to egg omelet covered with onion in addition to the breads. Headed off to the train depot to get back to Vienna. I had only seen one, maybe two incidents of petty theft (in Vienna, I have never seen anything resembling petty theft). However, in rushing to the train, I gave my tickets and seat reservations to a female train conductor to ask about the correct car to get on. I went on to our seats and couldn’t find our tickets and realized I had not got them back from her. When I went back she said I did not give them to her so I had to purchase return tickets quickly—I am sure she could sell the tickets for a profit. Made it back to Vienna through the very beautiful Moravian hills covered with snow. Next time I want to just rent a car and drive through the small towns of Moravia and see the castles and churches. Prague is too touristy, although I think everyone needs to see it once. It rivals some of the Italian cities in beauty and you can even speak Italian in Prague if you wish.
I did make one purchase—two watercolors sold by a starving artist on Charles Bridge. I feel bad because the pictures I liked best were done by a young Russian lady so my Czech souvenirs have a Russian origin. The mistake Brezhnev made in 1968 was to send in Soviet troops; if he had sent in Russian capitalists (or maybe the Russian mafia), they would have done a better job of turning Czechoslovakia into a Soviet satellite. I am going to talk with a Czech professor I am getting to know at the university to see what his take is on what is happening.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
VIENNA, Week of February 20th
February 20:
February 21: Took a break and went for a late lunch to a Bohemian (Czech) restaurant we discovered one day while walking—Zur böhmischen Kuchl on Schlösselgasse. Mary and I had not eaten svičkova in ages. It wasn’t crowded so chatted with the owner who was curious how I knew about Czech food. I told him about my family and he was disappointed that they had not taught me Czech while growing up. After the meal Mary went to the kitchen and told the cook how good it was. The cook was also wondering if we were Czech and was pleased to be complimented. There is going to be a birthday party tonight for one of the American visiting faculty so we bought some Greek chocolate truffles for a gift. He loves chocolate and these truffles just melt in your mouth. They are rolled in cocoa—Mary read the fat content, but I have forgotten the percentage. Probably one or two give you enough fat to live off for a day or two. We saw them in a store and bought a box for about $2.50—this is one of the cheaper food products I have seen, but the store was having a special.
February 22:
February 23: Spent the day doing school work while Mary was at a Bible study at the American Women’s Association. She went out with some of the women for lunch at an Italian restaurant near the Ring. Around 3 I thought I should take a walk so we went out. Mary wanted to find this Italian deli/market we saw one day while walking. They had advertised homemade herring salad on the sign outside the store when we walked by some days before. I like herring salad, although there are different varieties, some of which I care less for. The deli is around 10 blocks from us and is what I would call an “upscale” Italian deli/market. No customers were there so when the clerk came I told her we were just “looking.” She went back to her chess game with her male counterpart. They sold fancy Italian wines and had an old-fashioned glass enclosed counter with different kinds of Italian cheeses, salamis, herring salad, a wide-variety of pastas, and bread. Mary had trouble deciding what we should sample. The male clerk came over and we asked the names of some of the pastas we saw. We focused on the tortellini and saw some that were black and filled with something. I forget the long Italian name, but they were salmon-filled tortellini. I had never heard of this before so we decided to buy some. He said 10 should be enough for us so we bought 10 and got directions on boiling them. Then Mary asked about what kind of sauce we should use, expecting him to recommend some kind of tomato-based sauce. He got a little plastic container and went to the back and returned with the container filled with what looked like pink sour cream. He said to heat it and serve it over the tortellini. Mary spied the bread and we got his recommendation for parmesan bread so bought half a loaf. All this cost us about $10. Salmon tortellini was a stretch for me (although I enjoy fish) so I decided we should swing into a bakery for something good for dessert. So we went into a konditorei and bought a slice of Malakofftorte and a Golatsche (a pastry filled with a cream cheese based filling). I don’t know how to describe a Malakofftorte: slender slices of yellow cake, with vanilla-like wafers all between some flavored whipped cream kind of filling and covered with white whipped cream and a small cookie partially dipped in chocolate. Austrians do know how to make torte. Mary cooked our salmon tortellini and covered it with the pink sauce. The pink sauce was very light and had a very gentle, mellow salmon flavor. I cannot describe the delectable flavor of the tortellini and the pink sauce. The salad she made and the parmesan bread added to the meal. Olive Garden needs to put this on the menu. We will try to go back and find the correct Italian name for this dish. I don’t want to put Scott’s Bible lands’ trips down--I know Scott has talked about his culinary experiences on these trips, but I think he needs to forget Israel and Egypt and organize a tour on “St. Paul in Vienna” based on the hidden Bible codes in Hebrews. Vienna is his kind of city.
February 24: Got up early to take the train to Melk to see the Abbey and Stiftskirche. Got to St. Polten where we changed to the local, but I got on the wrong train. I realized this mistake about 15 minutes later and asked a gentleman and his wife who were getting off where we were. He told me I had gone in the other direction—we were headed to Frankenfels. We got off in a very small town with them to wait for a return local train—he pointed to a Gasthaus and told us to go in and have some wine, since a train wouldn’t come for 40 minutes. We did go in and ordered 2 cups of hot tea, which sure felt good. Went out to the station and got back to St. Polten. This time I asked the ticket agent for the time of the next train to Melk and the platform. As some do, he responded in English, but when I went to the platform it did not seem right so I asked a conductor on another train and he told me his train was the next to Melk. Made it to Melk. It is a very touristy place in the summer, but now it was cold and many things were closed. We couldn’t tour the complex, but we did get into the courtyards and the church. It is a beautiful Baroque church. I am sure in summer it would be beautiful because you are up high overlooking the Danube and Austrian countryside. Made it back to our apartment with no problems.
February 25: Met are Turkish friend for a late lunch at a Turkish restaurant near the Graben. I had Byti kebap (a long, round piece of ground lamb flavored with paprika and spices along with some bread, Bulgar rice, and onion/tomato/lettuce) and ayran to drink (I am beginning to think it goes well with lamb). Finished it off with Turkish coffee and baklava. Mary had sis kebap which is like our shish kebab. Had a very interesting conversation about Turkey and life there. It started snowing again, but it was fun walking in the street with the flakes blowing in your face and on your clothes.
February 26: It was still snowing, although most streets were warm enough from the earlier upper thirties temperatures so that much of it melted. But there was a heavy covering in the shade and on the grass in parks. Went to church and the pastor showed some of his slides from his trip to Burkino Faso. After church it was someone’s birthday so they brought out a torte so I had to have a slice—I forgot to ask the name, but it was tasty and flavorful. Following church walked back to our apartment through the Inner City and saw some areas we had never seen. It was cold and snowy, but not so unpleasant that we couldn’t enjoy the walk. Went into a number of churches which are a bit off the mainstream tourist area and we feel they are some of the most beautiful we have seen. We especially liked the Maria Gestade Kirche. We also saw the oldest church in Vienna, which was built in the 11th century.
February 21: Took a break and went for a late lunch to a Bohemian (Czech) restaurant we discovered one day while walking—Zur böhmischen Kuchl on Schlösselgasse. Mary and I had not eaten svičkova in ages. It wasn’t crowded so chatted with the owner who was curious how I knew about Czech food. I told him about my family and he was disappointed that they had not taught me Czech while growing up. After the meal Mary went to the kitchen and told the cook how good it was. The cook was also wondering if we were Czech and was pleased to be complimented. There is going to be a birthday party tonight for one of the American visiting faculty so we bought some Greek chocolate truffles for a gift. He loves chocolate and these truffles just melt in your mouth. They are rolled in cocoa—Mary read the fat content, but I have forgotten the percentage. Probably one or two give you enough fat to live off for a day or two. We saw them in a store and bought a box for about $2.50—this is one of the cheaper food products I have seen, but the store was having a special.
February 22:
February 23: Spent the day doing school work while Mary was at a Bible study at the American Women’s Association. She went out with some of the women for lunch at an Italian restaurant near the Ring. Around 3 I thought I should take a walk so we went out. Mary wanted to find this Italian deli/market we saw one day while walking. They had advertised homemade herring salad on the sign outside the store when we walked by some days before. I like herring salad, although there are different varieties, some of which I care less for. The deli is around 10 blocks from us and is what I would call an “upscale” Italian deli/market. No customers were there so when the clerk came I told her we were just “looking.” She went back to her chess game with her male counterpart. They sold fancy Italian wines and had an old-fashioned glass enclosed counter with different kinds of Italian cheeses, salamis, herring salad, a wide-variety of pastas, and bread. Mary had trouble deciding what we should sample. The male clerk came over and we asked the names of some of the pastas we saw. We focused on the tortellini and saw some that were black and filled with something. I forget the long Italian name, but they were salmon-filled tortellini. I had never heard of this before so we decided to buy some. He said 10 should be enough for us so we bought 10 and got directions on boiling them. Then Mary asked about what kind of sauce we should use, expecting him to recommend some kind of tomato-based sauce. He got a little plastic container and went to the back and returned with the container filled with what looked like pink sour cream. He said to heat it and serve it over the tortellini. Mary spied the bread and we got his recommendation for parmesan bread so bought half a loaf. All this cost us about $10. Salmon tortellini was a stretch for me (although I enjoy fish) so I decided we should swing into a bakery for something good for dessert. So we went into a konditorei and bought a slice of Malakofftorte and a Golatsche (a pastry filled with a cream cheese based filling). I don’t know how to describe a Malakofftorte: slender slices of yellow cake, with vanilla-like wafers all between some flavored whipped cream kind of filling and covered with white whipped cream and a small cookie partially dipped in chocolate. Austrians do know how to make torte. Mary cooked our salmon tortellini and covered it with the pink sauce. The pink sauce was very light and had a very gentle, mellow salmon flavor. I cannot describe the delectable flavor of the tortellini and the pink sauce. The salad she made and the parmesan bread added to the meal. Olive Garden needs to put this on the menu. We will try to go back and find the correct Italian name for this dish. I don’t want to put Scott’s Bible lands’ trips down--I know Scott has talked about his culinary experiences on these trips, but I think he needs to forget Israel and Egypt and organize a tour on “St. Paul in Vienna” based on the hidden Bible codes in Hebrews. Vienna is his kind of city.
February 24: Got up early to take the train to Melk to see the Abbey and Stiftskirche. Got to St. Polten where we changed to the local, but I got on the wrong train. I realized this mistake about 15 minutes later and asked a gentleman and his wife who were getting off where we were. He told me I had gone in the other direction—we were headed to Frankenfels. We got off in a very small town with them to wait for a return local train—he pointed to a Gasthaus and told us to go in and have some wine, since a train wouldn’t come for 40 minutes. We did go in and ordered 2 cups of hot tea, which sure felt good. Went out to the station and got back to St. Polten. This time I asked the ticket agent for the time of the next train to Melk and the platform. As some do, he responded in English, but when I went to the platform it did not seem right so I asked a conductor on another train and he told me his train was the next to Melk. Made it to Melk. It is a very touristy place in the summer, but now it was cold and many things were closed. We couldn’t tour the complex, but we did get into the courtyards and the church. It is a beautiful Baroque church. I am sure in summer it would be beautiful because you are up high overlooking the Danube and Austrian countryside. Made it back to our apartment with no problems.
February 25: Met are Turkish friend for a late lunch at a Turkish restaurant near the Graben. I had Byti kebap (a long, round piece of ground lamb flavored with paprika and spices along with some bread, Bulgar rice, and onion/tomato/lettuce) and ayran to drink (I am beginning to think it goes well with lamb). Finished it off with Turkish coffee and baklava. Mary had sis kebap which is like our shish kebab. Had a very interesting conversation about Turkey and life there. It started snowing again, but it was fun walking in the street with the flakes blowing in your face and on your clothes.
February 26: It was still snowing, although most streets were warm enough from the earlier upper thirties temperatures so that much of it melted. But there was a heavy covering in the shade and on the grass in parks. Went to church and the pastor showed some of his slides from his trip to Burkino Faso. After church it was someone’s birthday so they brought out a torte so I had to have a slice—I forgot to ask the name, but it was tasty and flavorful. Following church walked back to our apartment through the Inner City and saw some areas we had never seen. It was cold and snowy, but not so unpleasant that we couldn’t enjoy the walk. Went into a number of churches which are a bit off the mainstream tourist area and we feel they are some of the most beautiful we have seen. We especially liked the Maria Gestade Kirche. We also saw the oldest church in Vienna, which was built in the 11th century.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
VIENNA, Week of February 13th
February 17: Took the S Bahn to Klosterneuburg. It is a lovely town about 10 minutes north of Vienna by train. There is a famous church and abbey there. It was a dreary day, but not cold. Got off at the train station and walked up the hill to the church and abbey. The church is a beautiful church with Baroque decorations on the interior. The museum was closed and there were no tours so wandered around. Went into the museum store which shared an entrance with a café on the edge of the downtown. Since Christmas items were 50% off, Mary did some shopping. For late lunch we stopped at a restaurant across from the station. I was a little cheaper than Vienna. Ordered menu 2 which consisted of liver dumpling soup, fried cod (non-greasy), 3 slices of potato, and a side plate of potato salad (erdäpfel salat). The owner and waitresses were friendly—it was not real crowded. On the way out Mary spied a cookie like my mother used to make so we bought 2 Linzeraugen to take with us (these are like large sugar cookies with a raspberry spread between the two cookies; there are holes in the top cookie so you can see the raspberry). Took the train back to Vienna. Got off at the Franz Josef Bahnhof—saw the hotel we stayed at almost 35 years ago before taking the train to Prague. The Franz Josef Bahnhof has been remodeled with a horrible modern glass 6 or 7 story building. After unloading our purchases in our apartment headed down to the Staatsoper to see if we could get standing room tickets for Tosca; however, the line was so long, I knew they would be sold out so just walked a bit before heading home.
February 18: A beautiful day with a blue sky! Since everything tends to be closed on Sunday we did our last minute grocery shopping in the morning and then just went for a two hour walk through streets we had not gone down before and into churches we had not seen. Saw the church where Beethoven’s funeral service was held. Ended up walking around the Votivkirche and back to our apartment.
February 19: Went to church not knowing who would be speaking. The pastor was in Burkino Faso for 2 weeks. The speaker turned out to be David Guzik. I was somewhat shocked, because I have used his commentaries which are posted online for a number of years (because they are free). He is now teaching at a Bible school in Germany. He is an excellent speaker with a lot of life application. Walked to a kebap shop with our Turkish friend and sat and talked and ate lamb kebab. Instead of ordering ayran to drink, we purchased two Egyptian-style soft drinks. They were very good and one tasted a lot like ginger beer or Vernor’s. Walked home through the middle of the city which was crowded with everyone out enjoying the good weather. The only troubling thing I saw was an Austrian holding her little dog up on a sink in a toiletten (men and women had separate stalls, but the sink was shared). She was cleaning the dog’s “behind” on the sink I would be using to wash my hands! And it smelled like wet dog! I think there are some things that should just be done in the privacy of one’s own home. Austrians and their dogs.
February 18: A beautiful day with a blue sky! Since everything tends to be closed on Sunday we did our last minute grocery shopping in the morning and then just went for a two hour walk through streets we had not gone down before and into churches we had not seen. Saw the church where Beethoven’s funeral service was held. Ended up walking around the Votivkirche and back to our apartment.
February 19: Went to church not knowing who would be speaking. The pastor was in Burkino Faso for 2 weeks. The speaker turned out to be David Guzik. I was somewhat shocked, because I have used his commentaries which are posted online for a number of years (because they are free). He is now teaching at a Bible school in Germany. He is an excellent speaker with a lot of life application. Walked to a kebap shop with our Turkish friend and sat and talked and ate lamb kebab. Instead of ordering ayran to drink, we purchased two Egyptian-style soft drinks. They were very good and one tasted a lot like ginger beer or Vernor’s. Walked home through the middle of the city which was crowded with everyone out enjoying the good weather. The only troubling thing I saw was an Austrian holding her little dog up on a sink in a toiletten (men and women had separate stalls, but the sink was shared). She was cleaning the dog’s “behind” on the sink I would be using to wash my hands! And it smelled like wet dog! I think there are some things that should just be done in the privacy of one’s own home. Austrians and their dogs.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Vienna, Week of February 6
February 6:
February 7: Woke up to blizzard. I think about 4 inches fell, but by 11AM it was beginning to melt a bit. The snow seemed to be covered rather quickly with a thin black film of dirt. We were planning to go to the Staatsoper in the evening so decided to eat out. However, the performance started at 6:30 instead of the 7:30 I had planned on so we had to eat quick. Stopped in at our local vegetarian restaurant (Mary’s favorite) and had carrot soup, palenta, and pizza. I’ll admit carrot soup did not set my taste buds tingling, but if you make soup out of lentils or beets, why not carrots? It tasted pretty good—I can’t say how it was flavored, but it had some small slices of onion and parsley. Palenta is an Italian corn meal patty which I have had before. I think it tastes very good, although some might see it as bland. The pizza was like a pan pizza on a spelt dough. It consisted of chopped carrots, corn, broccoli, artichoke, tomato, and a little cheese on top. A couple of slices of pepperoni would have made it perfect, but obviously that would not be appropriate in these “green” circles. After dinner went to the opera “Der Rosenkavalier.” We wanted to see at least one opera in the Staatsoper—the tickets are “pricy,” but I managed to get some on the 6th tier near the middle for $65 each. I actually wanted to go to a performance of “Fledermaus” (my father’s favorite), but it wasn’t being performed. I picked “Der Rosenkavalier” because Strauss composed the music, but I can’t say I will see it again. It was great singing, but it is a schmaltzy Vienna story about a sex-crazed baron who was trying to marry a rich middle class girl for her money. From here on out, I will try to get the cheap “stehplatze” (standing places). I was surprised to see only one woman in the orchestra (a cellist)—it looks like a male bastion. We didn’t get out until close to 11PM. Coming back by the unterbahn saw a lot of drunks in shop area of the underground station at Karlsplatz.
February 8: Tonight we were invited to an apartment (actually it was as large as a home with at least 3 or 4 bedrooms, a maid’s quarters, and a huge dining and living room area—I estimate 5,000 square feet) to listen to two people give a private recital (oboe and bass cello) as a warm-up for an audition to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, a world-premiere orchestra. There were about 20 people there to listen in the huge living room. This couple wanted to practice performing before us to give them a sense of what it would feel like when they auditioned before a small group of orchestra officials for seats in the orchestra. They had already done this several other times—those that have heard them do this in past weeks said they were much better this time. They will probably compete with around 15 other musicians who are obviously top-flight musicians. I am not an expert in either instrument, but they were very good. I just can’t imagine the level of competition they are facing. In about 2 weeks they are supposed to let us know what happened. Also met a number of people, including a Roumanian Ph.D. geneticist working with plants, a computer scientist, a businessman working with voice over the internet protocol, and some others. The hostess also served cranberry juice!—something my wife has missed. We will need to find out where to purchase it. We did find cranberry jelly.
February 9:
February 10: We have been fighting sore throats, but thought today would be a good day to take the bus to Bratislava, Slovakia. It is the capital of the Slovak Republic. There is a nice bus line that goes from Vienna to Bratislava for only about $12 roundtrip. It is much cheaper than the train and takes about the same time. We took the unterbahn to the Erdgasse station and bought tickets. As we left Vienna we could see more snow and it was beautiful riding through some of the villages and seeing more rural life. Just before entering Slovakia we saw a lot of wind generators. Slovak customs just looked at our passports and quickly passed on to the other 6 or so passengers. By 1PM we got off at Nový Most in the city center and headed down the street to take a look at Bratislava. I had bought Rick Steve’s Eastern Europe travel guide as a resource. Sometimes you can see him on PBS videos trekking through Europe. Travel guides are good to help get you oriented and can give some good advice on restaurants and pensions as well as describing the sites, dealing with money, etc. However, Rick Steve’s guide is practically useless for Bratislava (and some other Eastern Europe cities as I found out—I should have checked it out more thoroughly before buying it at Books-a-Million). Basically, he said Bratislava is not worth visiting and if you go, just spend an afternoon. So we didn’t have a lot of direction except for some of the sites. We got some money exchanged, although one bank wouldn’t take one of our $20 bills because the edge was a bit curled—a currency exchange store just down the street did and the exchange rate was about the same. Bratislava did take me back to the iron curtain era—in spite of a slew of McDonald’s and some other American businesses, the buses and atmosphere still has that communist feel. One store we went into still insisted on showing you everything from behind a counter—you could not look at anything without a clerk handing it to you. We went into a department store which was a bit more open, but still a far cry from a Dillard’s. We decided to go to the Tourist Office and asked about restaurants. We were recommended a couple and decided on one which was a bit on the expensive side (for Bratislava). We tried two different appetizers: a piece of ham with a small slice of cantaloupe in the middle and a good-sized piece of salmon with an olive on it. Mary ordered garlic soup—it was quite strong and also had some meat and bits of bread in it. She said it would be healthy, but I only had two sips. It really wasn’t bad, although I don’t think it would be the highlight of a School of Arts & Sciences “Garlic Soup Cook-Off Gala” (but it might help lower our cholesterol). For the main course we ordered a Slovak farm plate—it was huge with two small, boneless pork chops, 2 pieces of Slovak ham (a bit fatty) and small pieces of dumpling cooked in sauerkraut. There was also a slice of tomato with horseradish on it. Bratislava is much cheaper on some things than Vienna so we may go back. Walked around and saw the Presidential Palace and then discovered a small Jewish museum. We went in and may have been the only people to stop in all week, but it was very interesting even though it was small. I was allowed to take pictures, which is very unusual in museums so I have some good pictures (I hope) for class. I tried talking to the old fellow at the desk—I assume he was Jewish. He seemed delighted to see us, but he couldn’t speak English or German. I had forgotten my Czech dictionary and it has been 35 years or so since I last spoke it—Czech is similar to Slovak so it is possible to communicate. He was born in 1932 and somehow survived the Holocaust. My vocabulary was not good enough to get into all the details, but he had a brother who was a pilot and lived in New York City. The museum opened in 1993 after the fall of communism. Slovaks do not have a good track record in the treatment of its Jews. We then walked up to the Hrad (castle) which is not one of the most attractive in Europe, but is in a great spot overlooking the Danube. Since we had some time before our bus left, stopped in for coffee and tea and some kind of zakousek (torte!). It was getting colder so when the bus came and Austrian customs let us pass on through, it felt good to get back to our apartment. It started to snow just as we left the unterbahn for the 4 block walk to our apartment—it was so beautiful to see the flakes coming down on the narrow streets.
February 11: Grocery shopping and class preparation. At 2PM we met a Turkish student (working on a graduate degree in industrial engineering) for dinner at a Turkish restaurant on Schweglergasse. He knows some German and is trying to improve his English. He also wanted us to have the best Turkish food Vienna has to offer. So we met at the unterbahn station and went in to a clean, brightly-colored little restaurant. The menu was in German, but Mustafa explained the entrees. We ordered Donarkebab because he felt it was the most Turkish (it was only 7.5 euros which is quite cheap in Vienna). Mary toyed with a soup or salad, but he said the main course would be plenty. For drinks we ordered Turkish “Ayran”—had no idea what to expect. He was speaking to the waiter in Turkish so we weren’t sure of all that was happening. The waiter brought out some pita-like flat bread along with a salad plate filled with lettuce, sliced carrot, sliced tomatoes, and two kinds of cabbage to put on our kebabs. Then our kebab plate was brought out—it was huge. There was a tortilla-like flat bread covered with shredded roasted lamb. Also on the plate was a mound of rice and a paprika pepper. He showed us how to assemble it so we dug in—it was not much of a problem because I like lamb. Everything was very tasty. The Aryan drink came in a small glass and was white in color. When we tasted it I asked if it was sour sheep’s milk!—actually it tasted somewhat like buttermilk, except it was a bit sourer and had a bite to it. I can’t say I will regularly order this drink, but Mustafa says it is very healthy for you! When we finished we ordered some Turkish tea, which came in very small clear glasses and was quite hot and strong. We sat and talked for two hours. Before we were going to leave, the waiter said he would give us some Turkish coffee on the house—Mustafa had introduced us as his American friends who wanted to try everything Turkish. Turkish coffee comes in small demitasse cups and is very strong and sweet. They also give you a small glass of water to sip as you are nursing it. The taste is different from other coffees I have tasted—also there are some highly refined dregs at the bottom of the cup which you are not supposed to drink. Anyway we spent about 2 ½ hours at the restaurant. While in our discussions we did not dwell on international policy, I had the distinct impression that these Turks liked America. Certainly Mustafa kept referring to the US as Turkey’s friend and that Turkey did not like Iran and even some other Middle Eastern countries which I won’t mention who are giving the US some diplomatic problems. He and his brothers are trying to get ahead through education. His sisters are married. We will be doing this again.
February 12: Went to church. Following the service the chairs are moved and tables brought out and people can buy coffee, tea, etc. People stay and talk. It is not like the US where as soon as the service is finished everybody heads home or to the restaurant. We had an interesting time visiting with a Nigerian computer scientist. Decided to walk back to our apartment for the exercise. The temperature is a bit warmer. Saw a part of the Inner City we had not explored. On the way through the Hofburg we heard the most beautiful male voice singing opera selections. Usually there are people singing and playing instruments in the tourist areas hoping people will throw some coins in the hat. Normally we go on by, but his voice was so clear and pure that we stopped to listen and even threw some money in his case. We could have listened to him for hours. Mary found out that he was from Slovakia—I assume he was a vocalist trying to make it and was trying to earn a bit of money. We have also caught some of the Olympic coverage on Eurosport. I think this channel is better the ESPN (very few commercials) and also, from what I have seen, I like their Olympic coverage. You see almost all of the competition so even the losers get some media time. Also it is not just one country that gets focused on as in the US.
February 7: Woke up to blizzard. I think about 4 inches fell, but by 11AM it was beginning to melt a bit. The snow seemed to be covered rather quickly with a thin black film of dirt. We were planning to go to the Staatsoper in the evening so decided to eat out. However, the performance started at 6:30 instead of the 7:30 I had planned on so we had to eat quick. Stopped in at our local vegetarian restaurant (Mary’s favorite) and had carrot soup, palenta, and pizza. I’ll admit carrot soup did not set my taste buds tingling, but if you make soup out of lentils or beets, why not carrots? It tasted pretty good—I can’t say how it was flavored, but it had some small slices of onion and parsley. Palenta is an Italian corn meal patty which I have had before. I think it tastes very good, although some might see it as bland. The pizza was like a pan pizza on a spelt dough. It consisted of chopped carrots, corn, broccoli, artichoke, tomato, and a little cheese on top. A couple of slices of pepperoni would have made it perfect, but obviously that would not be appropriate in these “green” circles. After dinner went to the opera “Der Rosenkavalier.” We wanted to see at least one opera in the Staatsoper—the tickets are “pricy,” but I managed to get some on the 6th tier near the middle for $65 each. I actually wanted to go to a performance of “Fledermaus” (my father’s favorite), but it wasn’t being performed. I picked “Der Rosenkavalier” because Strauss composed the music, but I can’t say I will see it again. It was great singing, but it is a schmaltzy Vienna story about a sex-crazed baron who was trying to marry a rich middle class girl for her money. From here on out, I will try to get the cheap “stehplatze” (standing places). I was surprised to see only one woman in the orchestra (a cellist)—it looks like a male bastion. We didn’t get out until close to 11PM. Coming back by the unterbahn saw a lot of drunks in shop area of the underground station at Karlsplatz.
February 8: Tonight we were invited to an apartment (actually it was as large as a home with at least 3 or 4 bedrooms, a maid’s quarters, and a huge dining and living room area—I estimate 5,000 square feet) to listen to two people give a private recital (oboe and bass cello) as a warm-up for an audition to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, a world-premiere orchestra. There were about 20 people there to listen in the huge living room. This couple wanted to practice performing before us to give them a sense of what it would feel like when they auditioned before a small group of orchestra officials for seats in the orchestra. They had already done this several other times—those that have heard them do this in past weeks said they were much better this time. They will probably compete with around 15 other musicians who are obviously top-flight musicians. I am not an expert in either instrument, but they were very good. I just can’t imagine the level of competition they are facing. In about 2 weeks they are supposed to let us know what happened. Also met a number of people, including a Roumanian Ph.D. geneticist working with plants, a computer scientist, a businessman working with voice over the internet protocol, and some others. The hostess also served cranberry juice!—something my wife has missed. We will need to find out where to purchase it. We did find cranberry jelly.
February 9:
February 10: We have been fighting sore throats, but thought today would be a good day to take the bus to Bratislava, Slovakia. It is the capital of the Slovak Republic. There is a nice bus line that goes from Vienna to Bratislava for only about $12 roundtrip. It is much cheaper than the train and takes about the same time. We took the unterbahn to the Erdgasse station and bought tickets. As we left Vienna we could see more snow and it was beautiful riding through some of the villages and seeing more rural life. Just before entering Slovakia we saw a lot of wind generators. Slovak customs just looked at our passports and quickly passed on to the other 6 or so passengers. By 1PM we got off at Nový Most in the city center and headed down the street to take a look at Bratislava. I had bought Rick Steve’s Eastern Europe travel guide as a resource. Sometimes you can see him on PBS videos trekking through Europe. Travel guides are good to help get you oriented and can give some good advice on restaurants and pensions as well as describing the sites, dealing with money, etc. However, Rick Steve’s guide is practically useless for Bratislava (and some other Eastern Europe cities as I found out—I should have checked it out more thoroughly before buying it at Books-a-Million). Basically, he said Bratislava is not worth visiting and if you go, just spend an afternoon. So we didn’t have a lot of direction except for some of the sites. We got some money exchanged, although one bank wouldn’t take one of our $20 bills because the edge was a bit curled—a currency exchange store just down the street did and the exchange rate was about the same. Bratislava did take me back to the iron curtain era—in spite of a slew of McDonald’s and some other American businesses, the buses and atmosphere still has that communist feel. One store we went into still insisted on showing you everything from behind a counter—you could not look at anything without a clerk handing it to you. We went into a department store which was a bit more open, but still a far cry from a Dillard’s. We decided to go to the Tourist Office and asked about restaurants. We were recommended a couple and decided on one which was a bit on the expensive side (for Bratislava). We tried two different appetizers: a piece of ham with a small slice of cantaloupe in the middle and a good-sized piece of salmon with an olive on it. Mary ordered garlic soup—it was quite strong and also had some meat and bits of bread in it. She said it would be healthy, but I only had two sips. It really wasn’t bad, although I don’t think it would be the highlight of a School of Arts & Sciences “Garlic Soup Cook-Off Gala” (but it might help lower our cholesterol). For the main course we ordered a Slovak farm plate—it was huge with two small, boneless pork chops, 2 pieces of Slovak ham (a bit fatty) and small pieces of dumpling cooked in sauerkraut. There was also a slice of tomato with horseradish on it. Bratislava is much cheaper on some things than Vienna so we may go back. Walked around and saw the Presidential Palace and then discovered a small Jewish museum. We went in and may have been the only people to stop in all week, but it was very interesting even though it was small. I was allowed to take pictures, which is very unusual in museums so I have some good pictures (I hope) for class. I tried talking to the old fellow at the desk—I assume he was Jewish. He seemed delighted to see us, but he couldn’t speak English or German. I had forgotten my Czech dictionary and it has been 35 years or so since I last spoke it—Czech is similar to Slovak so it is possible to communicate. He was born in 1932 and somehow survived the Holocaust. My vocabulary was not good enough to get into all the details, but he had a brother who was a pilot and lived in New York City. The museum opened in 1993 after the fall of communism. Slovaks do not have a good track record in the treatment of its Jews. We then walked up to the Hrad (castle) which is not one of the most attractive in Europe, but is in a great spot overlooking the Danube. Since we had some time before our bus left, stopped in for coffee and tea and some kind of zakousek (torte!). It was getting colder so when the bus came and Austrian customs let us pass on through, it felt good to get back to our apartment. It started to snow just as we left the unterbahn for the 4 block walk to our apartment—it was so beautiful to see the flakes coming down on the narrow streets.
February 11: Grocery shopping and class preparation. At 2PM we met a Turkish student (working on a graduate degree in industrial engineering) for dinner at a Turkish restaurant on Schweglergasse. He knows some German and is trying to improve his English. He also wanted us to have the best Turkish food Vienna has to offer. So we met at the unterbahn station and went in to a clean, brightly-colored little restaurant. The menu was in German, but Mustafa explained the entrees. We ordered Donarkebab because he felt it was the most Turkish (it was only 7.5 euros which is quite cheap in Vienna). Mary toyed with a soup or salad, but he said the main course would be plenty. For drinks we ordered Turkish “Ayran”—had no idea what to expect. He was speaking to the waiter in Turkish so we weren’t sure of all that was happening. The waiter brought out some pita-like flat bread along with a salad plate filled with lettuce, sliced carrot, sliced tomatoes, and two kinds of cabbage to put on our kebabs. Then our kebab plate was brought out—it was huge. There was a tortilla-like flat bread covered with shredded roasted lamb. Also on the plate was a mound of rice and a paprika pepper. He showed us how to assemble it so we dug in—it was not much of a problem because I like lamb. Everything was very tasty. The Aryan drink came in a small glass and was white in color. When we tasted it I asked if it was sour sheep’s milk!—actually it tasted somewhat like buttermilk, except it was a bit sourer and had a bite to it. I can’t say I will regularly order this drink, but Mustafa says it is very healthy for you! When we finished we ordered some Turkish tea, which came in very small clear glasses and was quite hot and strong. We sat and talked for two hours. Before we were going to leave, the waiter said he would give us some Turkish coffee on the house—Mustafa had introduced us as his American friends who wanted to try everything Turkish. Turkish coffee comes in small demitasse cups and is very strong and sweet. They also give you a small glass of water to sip as you are nursing it. The taste is different from other coffees I have tasted—also there are some highly refined dregs at the bottom of the cup which you are not supposed to drink. Anyway we spent about 2 ½ hours at the restaurant. While in our discussions we did not dwell on international policy, I had the distinct impression that these Turks liked America. Certainly Mustafa kept referring to the US as Turkey’s friend and that Turkey did not like Iran and even some other Middle Eastern countries which I won’t mention who are giving the US some diplomatic problems. He and his brothers are trying to get ahead through education. His sisters are married. We will be doing this again.
February 12: Went to church. Following the service the chairs are moved and tables brought out and people can buy coffee, tea, etc. People stay and talk. It is not like the US where as soon as the service is finished everybody heads home or to the restaurant. We had an interesting time visiting with a Nigerian computer scientist. Decided to walk back to our apartment for the exercise. The temperature is a bit warmer. Saw a part of the Inner City we had not explored. On the way through the Hofburg we heard the most beautiful male voice singing opera selections. Usually there are people singing and playing instruments in the tourist areas hoping people will throw some coins in the hat. Normally we go on by, but his voice was so clear and pure that we stopped to listen and even threw some money in his case. We could have listened to him for hours. Mary found out that he was from Slovakia—I assume he was a vocalist trying to make it and was trying to earn a bit of money. We have also caught some of the Olympic coverage on Eurosport. I think this channel is better the ESPN (very few commercials) and also, from what I have seen, I like their Olympic coverage. You see almost all of the competition so even the losers get some media time. Also it is not just one country that gets focused on as in the US.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
VIENNA, Week of January 30
January 30: Visited with a 50 year old computer engineer whose contract had run out and he was looking at another job. He told me age discrimination is a fact-of-life in Austria and he was not optimistic about getting picked up by a company. He spoke of the fact that in America such discrimination would not be allowed and he would have the chance of some recourse. Also in visiting with some of Third World students it has become clear that in many cases they cannot get a good job in Austria, but they really don’t want to go back to their homeland for a variety of reasons. The big hope is getting hired by the United Nations bureaucracy. Jobs in the UN are the only way some of these “stateless” people will get ahead or be able to provide for themselves and their families at a higher level of income. Like any big city you see people begging on the streets. Somehow the socialist Viennese welfare network is not working.
January 31: Went to the Inner City to see about purchasing some opera and concert tickets. Visited the Augustiner Kirche and Michaeler Kirche. Walked through the Hofburg. On the way to eat lunch walked into a super CD store on the Graben filled only with classical music selections. I think you could by almost any piece by any classical composer here. Bought Mozart’s Requiem. We wanted to try Figlmüller’s for lunch at least once in our stay here. It was recommended by Professor Yoni A. as the place with the best Wienerschnitzel in town. I am no expert on Wienerschnitzel, but if this was the best, I had to try it. When our order arrived the Wienerschnitzel was about 10 inches in circumference! We also ordered the “gemischter Salat”—a mixed salad. The salad was superb, the best and biggest I can remember ever having in Austria or Germany. It actually was a variety of salads with an assortment of chopped lettuces, sliced carrots, potato salad (Austrian style), a kind of slaw, and cucumber marinated in some kind of garlic vinegar seasoning. If you need a “schnitzel-fix,” this is the place to go. On the walk back we stopped in a number of stores selling “Geschenke”—gifts, souvenirs, etc. Also we stopped in at Gerstner’s to take some torte home for dinner. I can’t say we have tried every torte, but the Gerstnertorte is really good—it is about 2 inches high and has 11 thin, alternating layers of chocolate and cake with its distinctive flavoring. Each slice is topped with a little chocolate “coin” with Gerstner engraved in gold. If it weren’t for the fact that a slice costs about $4, we would be back everyday. The web site on the package is www.gerstner.at – I need to check to see if they ship to the US! We also sampled the house torte which was superb as well. However, we have several dozen konditorei to visit yet. I had to be back by 5:30 to give a short address at the “chapel.” Also ordered a book from amazon.com.uk—evidently using Amazon in Great Britain is the cheapest way to get a book here. Will see how long it takes.
February 1:
February 2: Walked over to Graf Starhemberggasse to find the location of a concert we will be going to – I don’t like to try to find places when it is dark out. Walking back we stopped in at an organic bakery to buy some desserts for dinner tonight. Since we couldn’t buy everything we saw, we decided to get one slice of Kardinalschnitte because it looked good and a Dinkelgugelhupf because it was on sale—of course we had never tried either. Kardinalschnitte may become my all-time favorite. If you can imagine a slice about 3 ½-4 inches tall and 4 ½-5 inches wide and 1 ½ inches thick. The middle is about 1 ½ inches of “schlag” (pure cream whipped a bit denser than our whipped cream and obviously flavored) surrounded by a thin layer of raspberry gelatin. Around this mouth-watering concoction is about a ½ inch strudel-like crust. It cannot even compare to a stuffed éclair or Bismarck. Naturally, it is made entirely of organic ingredients! For the Dinkelgugelhupf imagine a very small bunt cake made of spelt, sesame seeds, honey, almonds, and some other ingredients. The bottom is dipped in chocolate. I am told that spelt is healthy for you–better than processed flour—the roughage is good for your colon and it certainly tastes better than Metamucil. It was a bit on the dry-side but very tasty with coffee. We have decided that if you are a diabetic, do not come to Vienna. We will be hitting this bakery again to try some of the other items we saw.
February 3: Because of the computer situation I have been going in more on the weekend to use the internet when no one is around (I have a key). Being able to get into the LU library databases has been very helpful. The library is very small and I can’t always find what I need with a google search. Took the underground down to the Albertina to see a special exhibition of Egon Shiele’s works. He died young in the flu epidemic of 1918 and was one of the new avant artists—his work tends to be very depressing. Also looked in a galerie with some Dürer prints and saw some of the old palace rooms with gilded woodwork and wood inlaid floors. Stopped in the museum and thought I had seen everything in museum kitsch, but for about $10 I could have bought a car air freshener fashioned to look like van Gogh’s severed ear. I know JW would have bought one for his car, maybe two or three even. Tonight we will be going to the Bösendorfer-Saal to hear the Manhattan String Quartet perform music by Schubert, Webern, and Beethoven compliments of the Cultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy. Bösendorfer-Saal is a neo-Romanesque hall with curved arches and a ceiling about 15 high. Bösendorfer is a famous piano manufacturer—supposedly the best in the world. At the end of February the hall will host an international piano competition which we may attend. It seats about 200-250. I would say there was about 200 people to hear the music and we managed to sit in the center about 6 rows back. Again, I have never experienced this kind of proximity to a noted group. There was a reception following and I was able to congratulate one of the violinists on an excellent performance in person. We like the embassy events because we don’t have to pay for the tickets! The news for the last several days has been dominated by the muslim protests against Denmark and the publication of the cartoon of Muhammad with atomic bombs in his turban. Tonight there were muslim protesters in London yelling “bomb Denmark.” I also heard an imam on TV saying that “friends of Christians” need to be punished. I don’t see secular Western Europe as particularly sympathetic to Christianity. I was visiting with an Austrian who was saying I shouldn’t expect Austrians to be friendly, but I told her I thought most of them were very nice to me. There have been one or two clerks that were not, but I felt I would have experienced this any place I was. The Austrian told me that Americans were generally well-liked but there were some other nationalities that were treated less kindly. Obviously as soon as I speak my American accented German they pick up where I am from and most react positively. There is hidden racism here—I am sure Africans and Middle Easterners don’t feel the same friendliness.
February 4:
February 5: Met a friend of my brother and went to International Chapel. It was much larger than other churches we had been to and everything was in English. The congregation was very international. The praise leader was an Englishman who cheers for Chelsea football (soccer). A gentleman who prayed was from Lebanon, I believe, and prayed in Arabic. It meets in the building which houses the international Christian school. Met a number of interesting people. A foreign national who is a Christian from a largely Muslim country who works for the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) gave a testimony. There has been a lot of coverage in Europe about the IAEA and what has been happening with the Iranians and their desire to develop advanced nuclear technologies which may lead to atomic weapons development. Anyway this fellow was in Iran as an IAEA inspector when all this was happening and faced problems with Iranian non-cooperation. It was very tense for him between calls back to Vienna and non-cooperation in Iran who wanted him to remove the seals. He mentioned praying Jeremiah 33:3 and Matthew 11:28 when he asked God what to do. I would never have imagined there was a Christian in the middle of all of this and a non-Western Christian at that. He also testified about being asked if he was a Christian in the Teheran airport and while he said he was one, he felt that he should have been bolder in his witness and asked that he would give a stronger testimony for Jesus next time. He also described the religious split in his own family.
Had lunch at the Hundertswasserhaus, designed by a hippie artist. The front of the building looks like something out of San Francisico. Can’t say the meal was worth the cost, although a member of the Manhattan String Quartet was eating at the table next to ours (neighborhood restaurants are still the best in my opinion). The conversation was very interesting. The arrival of missionaries into Bulgaria after the collapse of communism came up. The person was saying the Nazarenes (she didn’t know much about them) had a bigger impact than the Navigators. The Navigators came to focus on “friendship” evangelism as full-time missionaries, but people were suspicious of people who didn’t seem to work. The Nazarenes worked in agricultural development alongside Bulgarians and gained a lot of respect and a hearing. Also learned a lot more about the use of “bribery” in Austria to get things done.
January 31: Went to the Inner City to see about purchasing some opera and concert tickets. Visited the Augustiner Kirche and Michaeler Kirche. Walked through the Hofburg. On the way to eat lunch walked into a super CD store on the Graben filled only with classical music selections. I think you could by almost any piece by any classical composer here. Bought Mozart’s Requiem. We wanted to try Figlmüller’s for lunch at least once in our stay here. It was recommended by Professor Yoni A. as the place with the best Wienerschnitzel in town. I am no expert on Wienerschnitzel, but if this was the best, I had to try it. When our order arrived the Wienerschnitzel was about 10 inches in circumference! We also ordered the “gemischter Salat”—a mixed salad. The salad was superb, the best and biggest I can remember ever having in Austria or Germany. It actually was a variety of salads with an assortment of chopped lettuces, sliced carrots, potato salad (Austrian style), a kind of slaw, and cucumber marinated in some kind of garlic vinegar seasoning. If you need a “schnitzel-fix,” this is the place to go. On the walk back we stopped in a number of stores selling “Geschenke”—gifts, souvenirs, etc. Also we stopped in at Gerstner’s to take some torte home for dinner. I can’t say we have tried every torte, but the Gerstnertorte is really good—it is about 2 inches high and has 11 thin, alternating layers of chocolate and cake with its distinctive flavoring. Each slice is topped with a little chocolate “coin” with Gerstner engraved in gold. If it weren’t for the fact that a slice costs about $4, we would be back everyday. The web site on the package is www.gerstner.at – I need to check to see if they ship to the US! We also sampled the house torte which was superb as well. However, we have several dozen konditorei to visit yet. I had to be back by 5:30 to give a short address at the “chapel.” Also ordered a book from amazon.com.uk—evidently using Amazon in Great Britain is the cheapest way to get a book here. Will see how long it takes.
February 1:
February 2: Walked over to Graf Starhemberggasse to find the location of a concert we will be going to – I don’t like to try to find places when it is dark out. Walking back we stopped in at an organic bakery to buy some desserts for dinner tonight. Since we couldn’t buy everything we saw, we decided to get one slice of Kardinalschnitte because it looked good and a Dinkelgugelhupf because it was on sale—of course we had never tried either. Kardinalschnitte may become my all-time favorite. If you can imagine a slice about 3 ½-4 inches tall and 4 ½-5 inches wide and 1 ½ inches thick. The middle is about 1 ½ inches of “schlag” (pure cream whipped a bit denser than our whipped cream and obviously flavored) surrounded by a thin layer of raspberry gelatin. Around this mouth-watering concoction is about a ½ inch strudel-like crust. It cannot even compare to a stuffed éclair or Bismarck. Naturally, it is made entirely of organic ingredients! For the Dinkelgugelhupf imagine a very small bunt cake made of spelt, sesame seeds, honey, almonds, and some other ingredients. The bottom is dipped in chocolate. I am told that spelt is healthy for you–better than processed flour—the roughage is good for your colon and it certainly tastes better than Metamucil. It was a bit on the dry-side but very tasty with coffee. We have decided that if you are a diabetic, do not come to Vienna. We will be hitting this bakery again to try some of the other items we saw.
February 3: Because of the computer situation I have been going in more on the weekend to use the internet when no one is around (I have a key). Being able to get into the LU library databases has been very helpful. The library is very small and I can’t always find what I need with a google search. Took the underground down to the Albertina to see a special exhibition of Egon Shiele’s works. He died young in the flu epidemic of 1918 and was one of the new avant artists—his work tends to be very depressing. Also looked in a galerie with some Dürer prints and saw some of the old palace rooms with gilded woodwork and wood inlaid floors. Stopped in the museum and thought I had seen everything in museum kitsch, but for about $10 I could have bought a car air freshener fashioned to look like van Gogh’s severed ear. I know JW would have bought one for his car, maybe two or three even. Tonight we will be going to the Bösendorfer-Saal to hear the Manhattan String Quartet perform music by Schubert, Webern, and Beethoven compliments of the Cultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy. Bösendorfer-Saal is a neo-Romanesque hall with curved arches and a ceiling about 15 high. Bösendorfer is a famous piano manufacturer—supposedly the best in the world. At the end of February the hall will host an international piano competition which we may attend. It seats about 200-250. I would say there was about 200 people to hear the music and we managed to sit in the center about 6 rows back. Again, I have never experienced this kind of proximity to a noted group. There was a reception following and I was able to congratulate one of the violinists on an excellent performance in person. We like the embassy events because we don’t have to pay for the tickets! The news for the last several days has been dominated by the muslim protests against Denmark and the publication of the cartoon of Muhammad with atomic bombs in his turban. Tonight there were muslim protesters in London yelling “bomb Denmark.” I also heard an imam on TV saying that “friends of Christians” need to be punished. I don’t see secular Western Europe as particularly sympathetic to Christianity. I was visiting with an Austrian who was saying I shouldn’t expect Austrians to be friendly, but I told her I thought most of them were very nice to me. There have been one or two clerks that were not, but I felt I would have experienced this any place I was. The Austrian told me that Americans were generally well-liked but there were some other nationalities that were treated less kindly. Obviously as soon as I speak my American accented German they pick up where I am from and most react positively. There is hidden racism here—I am sure Africans and Middle Easterners don’t feel the same friendliness.
February 4:
February 5: Met a friend of my brother and went to International Chapel. It was much larger than other churches we had been to and everything was in English. The congregation was very international. The praise leader was an Englishman who cheers for Chelsea football (soccer). A gentleman who prayed was from Lebanon, I believe, and prayed in Arabic. It meets in the building which houses the international Christian school. Met a number of interesting people. A foreign national who is a Christian from a largely Muslim country who works for the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) gave a testimony. There has been a lot of coverage in Europe about the IAEA and what has been happening with the Iranians and their desire to develop advanced nuclear technologies which may lead to atomic weapons development. Anyway this fellow was in Iran as an IAEA inspector when all this was happening and faced problems with Iranian non-cooperation. It was very tense for him between calls back to Vienna and non-cooperation in Iran who wanted him to remove the seals. He mentioned praying Jeremiah 33:3 and Matthew 11:28 when he asked God what to do. I would never have imagined there was a Christian in the middle of all of this and a non-Western Christian at that. He also testified about being asked if he was a Christian in the Teheran airport and while he said he was one, he felt that he should have been bolder in his witness and asked that he would give a stronger testimony for Jesus next time. He also described the religious split in his own family.
Had lunch at the Hundertswasserhaus, designed by a hippie artist. The front of the building looks like something out of San Francisico. Can’t say the meal was worth the cost, although a member of the Manhattan String Quartet was eating at the table next to ours (neighborhood restaurants are still the best in my opinion). The conversation was very interesting. The arrival of missionaries into Bulgaria after the collapse of communism came up. The person was saying the Nazarenes (she didn’t know much about them) had a bigger impact than the Navigators. The Navigators came to focus on “friendship” evangelism as full-time missionaries, but people were suspicious of people who didn’t seem to work. The Nazarenes worked in agricultural development alongside Bulgarians and gained a lot of respect and a hearing. Also learned a lot more about the use of “bribery” in Austria to get things done.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
VIENNA, Week of January 23
January 23: Very cold today. At noon it was around 10 (F) so in the evening and night it was colder. The wind chill was somewhere around minus 10 (F). Except for a trip to the grocery store, and the department store to get a stocking cap, just taught classes and worked in the apartment. Our usually snug apartment is beginning to feel a bit cool. Comment on news: I can watch CNN (English) and Euronews (German) for information. CNN has been rather disappointing. Clips of people suffering in Kashmir shown last week were reshown this week—I am sure the situation there has changed because the weather has cleared and relief flights have restarted. CNN also has longer spots than its US counterpart has. I actually think sports coverage on Euronews might be better—you get regular updates on the Dallas Mavericks (because of Dirk Nowtizki). It is interesting to see the ads showing places like Uganda, Nigeria, and Egypt as places to get away—I know most Americans wouldn’t see Uganda as a place for a relaxing vacation. I can’t say what is happening in the current US news coverage, but there appears to be more coverage of Hamas than I recall US news outlets showing. I do see a lot on Iraq and Iran. However, there is next to nothing about what is happening politically in the US aside from an occasional clip of comments by Bush or Rice. There has been better coverage of the US economy and stock market, however.
January 24: Supposed to get up to 25 today. Worked at the university. Since we were going out for the evening, stopped to eat at a vegetarian restaurant that is just down the street from our apartment. It always seems busy even though it is a bit of a hole-in-the-wall. They do not have a big menu. Had cream of broccoli soup (very good) and the main plate which was: kebab with bacon-flavored tofu and small tomatoes on a plate with a cup of rice covered with peanut sauce and topped with a fried banana. On the side was a chunk of avocado and a very good cabbage salad. It was remarkably tasty considering there was no meat. Also had a poppy seed torte, I think you have to like poppy seed to like this (I do so it was very good). We will probably go back regularly. Next to it is a health-food store so browsed there for a while. There appears to be a large selection of organic foods in the stores. Went to the equivalent of chapel—very poor attendance because students are not required to come (the university cannot force students to come because Austria would not allow that). We were invited to a New Year’s concert at the Österreichisch-Amerikanische Gesellschaft (Austro-American Society) supported in part by the U.S. Embassy so headed for the underground to go to the Inner City. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but there was a good-sized room and maybe 75-100 people who were there to listen to diva Laurel James (US) accompanied by Andre Roth (Roumanian) on the piano. I have never experienced this kind of proximity to any professional singer. Ms. James came out in a long red Kaftan with gold embroidery. She was ample, had blond hair and sort of reminded me of Kate Smith. We were sitting about 15 feet from her as she performed a variety of selections heavy on Wagner. It was like a personal performance—I could see her lower lip quiver and look into her mouth and watch her tongue trill. I even heard her go “ahem” before she started. I have to admit when she was singing it reminded me of the Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs flipped a nut into the diva’s mouth as she was singing with obvious disastrous results. No nuts were around so the performance continued. She is a fantastic singer.
January 25:
January 26: A faculty/staff/student fellowship meeting from lunch to 2PM. No students came, but the faculty got to know each other better. Discovered we are in Vienna in one of the coldest winters in recent years. Subway tracks were cracked this morning, creating delays. It has been down to at least -5 F, but the wind chill was even worse. There were 50 kilometer winds. I saw that in Croatia winds were 100 mph and blowing trucks over. I did by a stocking cap to cover my ears. Even our apartment is getting colder. I have mostly been doing course preparation and staying in. At 5:30PM there was what I would call a mini-chapel.
January 27: Told Mary we would take time to walk the shopping districts to look at the after-Christmas sales. Just walked as long as we could—went down Mariahilfer strasse to the Ring and then over to Karl Lueger Platz into the Graben (downtown). There were a number of stores that specialize in African and Asian objects. We went into an upscale covered “mall” next to the Staatsoper and browsed in a very interesting toy shop. Also found a discount house where we got some Scotch tape. Found some fish (salmon) oil capsules for our Vitamin A. Some very interesting Christmas decorations in the stores for half-price, but many would be difficult to carry and when we inquired about shipping, I found it would be extremely expensive, especially for the insurance. Stores on the Graben cater more to tourists so there weren’t as many good sales, but they obviously had nice merchandise. Came back and tried to do our weekend grocery shopping to beat the Saturday rush—our apartment is a garret-type apartment on what would be the 4th floor (there is no elevator) so carrying the groceries up in 3 bags was, I am sure, equivalent to 3 racquetball games. The apartment comes with a fluorescent lime green 4 cup coffee maker so I have been enjoying my coffee. I like black coffee, but tried some “kaffee obers”(coffee cream with 10% fat!). I probably won’t taste it again and will stick to black coffee, not that there was anything wrong with “kaffee obers.” Picked up a few groceries before closing, including an “Amadeustaler” (like a kolache with a nut kind of center) and a coconut sweet roll (can’t remember the name) for tonight’s dessert. A number of shops with interesting artifacts/purses/jewelry we have gone into have a “new age” quality. We looked in one store that would take a picture of my soul’s aura for 9 euros and give me biofeedback for another 12 or so euros.
Politics: Europe is definitely more pro-Palestinian. If I were an Israeli, I am not sure I would have confidence in European promises, not that Israel can always trust America. Also it appears that many immigrants come for jobs and really do not want to adopt Austrian, German, or French culture. I think more “Americanization” takes place in the US, than “Europeanization” takes place in Europe with immigrants. I haven’t heard any anti-immigrant comments from Europeans. However, with young people there is a subtle “westernizing” influence that does take place even while professing great loyalty to their traditional culture. I did see one Arabic BBC news web site (which I couldn’t read), but it looked like they had purposely posted the most unflattering pictures one could of Bush at his press conference.
January 28: Lunched at the vegetarian restaurant and had a beet soup with some sliced zucchini and dollop of sour cream—it was similar to borscht. Also we shared a palenta – which is like a thick slice of corn meal with other whole grains and topped with some cheese and tomato.
January 29: Went to church via the underground and walked back. Introduced myself to Mustafa—a Turk working on a Ph.D. in engineering. His English is poor so we had to communicate in German, a language neither of us are fluent in! He wants to take us to a Turkish restaurant some time. Stopped in to see the Dominikanerkirche and the Jesuitenkirche. In the Dominikanerkirche there was an interesting picture of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great medieval theologian-philosopher, laying his books down at the feet of Christ on the cross. To me it symbolized Aquinas offering up his earthly scholarly work to Christ as a type of intellectual submission and recognition that Christ was everything. Went on to Schillerplatz where there was an “Awareness Day” for the Pakistan earthquake victims at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste. Walked on to our apartment on Mariahilfer strasse. It is a main shopping street, but almost everything was closed. It is remarkable that secular Austria basically shuts down on Sunday while in “Christian” America, Sunday is another shopping day. In the tourist area more restaurants are open, but almost all the shops are closed.
January 24: Supposed to get up to 25 today. Worked at the university. Since we were going out for the evening, stopped to eat at a vegetarian restaurant that is just down the street from our apartment. It always seems busy even though it is a bit of a hole-in-the-wall. They do not have a big menu. Had cream of broccoli soup (very good) and the main plate which was: kebab with bacon-flavored tofu and small tomatoes on a plate with a cup of rice covered with peanut sauce and topped with a fried banana. On the side was a chunk of avocado and a very good cabbage salad. It was remarkably tasty considering there was no meat. Also had a poppy seed torte, I think you have to like poppy seed to like this (I do so it was very good). We will probably go back regularly. Next to it is a health-food store so browsed there for a while. There appears to be a large selection of organic foods in the stores. Went to the equivalent of chapel—very poor attendance because students are not required to come (the university cannot force students to come because Austria would not allow that). We were invited to a New Year’s concert at the Österreichisch-Amerikanische Gesellschaft (Austro-American Society) supported in part by the U.S. Embassy so headed for the underground to go to the Inner City. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but there was a good-sized room and maybe 75-100 people who were there to listen to diva Laurel James (US) accompanied by Andre Roth (Roumanian) on the piano. I have never experienced this kind of proximity to any professional singer. Ms. James came out in a long red Kaftan with gold embroidery. She was ample, had blond hair and sort of reminded me of Kate Smith. We were sitting about 15 feet from her as she performed a variety of selections heavy on Wagner. It was like a personal performance—I could see her lower lip quiver and look into her mouth and watch her tongue trill. I even heard her go “ahem” before she started. I have to admit when she was singing it reminded me of the Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs flipped a nut into the diva’s mouth as she was singing with obvious disastrous results. No nuts were around so the performance continued. She is a fantastic singer.
January 25:
January 26: A faculty/staff/student fellowship meeting from lunch to 2PM. No students came, but the faculty got to know each other better. Discovered we are in Vienna in one of the coldest winters in recent years. Subway tracks were cracked this morning, creating delays. It has been down to at least -5 F, but the wind chill was even worse. There were 50 kilometer winds. I saw that in Croatia winds were 100 mph and blowing trucks over. I did by a stocking cap to cover my ears. Even our apartment is getting colder. I have mostly been doing course preparation and staying in. At 5:30PM there was what I would call a mini-chapel.
January 27: Told Mary we would take time to walk the shopping districts to look at the after-Christmas sales. Just walked as long as we could—went down Mariahilfer strasse to the Ring and then over to Karl Lueger Platz into the Graben (downtown). There were a number of stores that specialize in African and Asian objects. We went into an upscale covered “mall” next to the Staatsoper and browsed in a very interesting toy shop. Also found a discount house where we got some Scotch tape. Found some fish (salmon) oil capsules for our Vitamin A. Some very interesting Christmas decorations in the stores for half-price, but many would be difficult to carry and when we inquired about shipping, I found it would be extremely expensive, especially for the insurance. Stores on the Graben cater more to tourists so there weren’t as many good sales, but they obviously had nice merchandise. Came back and tried to do our weekend grocery shopping to beat the Saturday rush—our apartment is a garret-type apartment on what would be the 4th floor (there is no elevator) so carrying the groceries up in 3 bags was, I am sure, equivalent to 3 racquetball games. The apartment comes with a fluorescent lime green 4 cup coffee maker so I have been enjoying my coffee. I like black coffee, but tried some “kaffee obers”(coffee cream with 10% fat!). I probably won’t taste it again and will stick to black coffee, not that there was anything wrong with “kaffee obers.” Picked up a few groceries before closing, including an “Amadeustaler” (like a kolache with a nut kind of center) and a coconut sweet roll (can’t remember the name) for tonight’s dessert. A number of shops with interesting artifacts/purses/jewelry we have gone into have a “new age” quality. We looked in one store that would take a picture of my soul’s aura for 9 euros and give me biofeedback for another 12 or so euros.
Politics: Europe is definitely more pro-Palestinian. If I were an Israeli, I am not sure I would have confidence in European promises, not that Israel can always trust America. Also it appears that many immigrants come for jobs and really do not want to adopt Austrian, German, or French culture. I think more “Americanization” takes place in the US, than “Europeanization” takes place in Europe with immigrants. I haven’t heard any anti-immigrant comments from Europeans. However, with young people there is a subtle “westernizing” influence that does take place even while professing great loyalty to their traditional culture. I did see one Arabic BBC news web site (which I couldn’t read), but it looked like they had purposely posted the most unflattering pictures one could of Bush at his press conference.
January 28: Lunched at the vegetarian restaurant and had a beet soup with some sliced zucchini and dollop of sour cream—it was similar to borscht. Also we shared a palenta – which is like a thick slice of corn meal with other whole grains and topped with some cheese and tomato.
January 29: Went to church via the underground and walked back. Introduced myself to Mustafa—a Turk working on a Ph.D. in engineering. His English is poor so we had to communicate in German, a language neither of us are fluent in! He wants to take us to a Turkish restaurant some time. Stopped in to see the Dominikanerkirche and the Jesuitenkirche. In the Dominikanerkirche there was an interesting picture of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great medieval theologian-philosopher, laying his books down at the feet of Christ on the cross. To me it symbolized Aquinas offering up his earthly scholarly work to Christ as a type of intellectual submission and recognition that Christ was everything. Went on to Schillerplatz where there was an “Awareness Day” for the Pakistan earthquake victims at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste. Walked on to our apartment on Mariahilfer strasse. It is a main shopping street, but almost everything was closed. It is remarkable that secular Austria basically shuts down on Sunday while in “Christian” America, Sunday is another shopping day. In the tourist area more restaurants are open, but almost all the shops are closed.
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