Vienna part two

Hello everyone,

Frank and I are writing this post on the train. We are taking a day trip Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, part of the former country of Czechoslovakia . We are quite curious to catch a glimpse of a country whose Iron Curtain past is apparently still very evident. Speaking of the Cold War, did you know that, after WW II, Vienna was divided among the 4 Allied powers, just like Berlin? It was occupied and teetered on Communism until 1955, when a treaty proclaimed it once again a whole and independent country.

We have been busy since we last wrote. Saturday involved another art gallery and a tour of a huge Hapsburg palace. I can honestly say I think I'm done with looking at art....for this trip!

On Saturday afternoon, we stumbled upon a small (200-ish people?) but noisy protest march. For a moment, possible topics flashed a through our minds: Politics, related to the election? Anti-choice (Austria is a Catholic country)? Environmental causes? Nope: the focus was the killing of Romanian street dogs. The raucous protesters were accompanied by police at both the front and back of the parade.

On Saturday night, we watched half of The Barber of Seville at one of the world's greatest opera houses. You may not recognize the name of the opera, but you know it. Remember Bugs Bunny conducting the singer -- "Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!" --  forcing him to hold a note until his buttons fly off? It was actually pretty entertaining, and we would have stayed for the whole thing if it weren't for the heat. We bought standing room tickets (3 Euro each -- can you believe it???) at the very last minute and got a spot at the absolute highest point: the ceiling was about 3' above our heads. It must have been about 85 degrees, so we succumbed at intermission.

Something that we noticed over the weekend was lots of Austrians out for the evening in traditional dress: leder hosen for the men and dirndls for the women. There was no irony or costumey-ness about it: it seemed to be about pride in their heritage. When we talked with our kids on Sunday and told them about it, they suggested the Canadian equivalent might be going to the pub in a hockey jersey. Or maybe a toque or plaid lumberjack shirt??

The food has been...okay. I think Frank's second-favourite food, after sandwiches, is hot dogs. (Hmm, do you see a theme here involving meat and bread?) Here, the "hot dogs" are quite different and Frank has been quite fascinated by the process.  Take a long bun, cut off the end and use a pointed, metal dildo-shaped rod to make a hole in it. Then squirt mustard into the hole. Then use tongs to stuff (force) the wiener into the bun. Set the end of the bun into the hole at a jaunty angle. Voila!

For dinner last night we went to a very traditional "beisl", a pub that serves hearty food. I had roast pork with sauerkraut and one giant, rock-solid dumpling; Frank had Weiner Schnitzel, potatoes and green salad with more potatoes, sliced and cold, in it. We weren't hungry afterward, that's for sure.

Yesterday, Sunday, we took a day trip by train to the small town of Melk, and toured an Abbey. Then, on a river cruise on the Danube we passed by terraced vineyards and several ruined castles. The colours of the trees and the fields and the water reminded us of Impressionist paintings. Very nice.

Well, we are now arriving in Bratislava so we will bid you a hasty "Auf Weidersain". The next time we write will be from Budapest!

Wendy and Frank

Hello from Wien (Vienna)

Hi Everyone,

We have now had two full days in Vienna, long enough to have something to write about.

We are staying in a room in a lovely old apartment building. It is spacious and squeaky-clean, with no frills. The woman who operates it is Elena. She is young, I think, but old before her time. She wears her hair parted in the middle and pulled back severely, reminding me of the photos I have seen of both my great-great grandmothers. She is not particularly friendly; even calling her helpful would be a stretch. But she is efficient!

Our impressions of Vienna so far are not as strong as some of the other European cities we have visited. People seem much more formal than in Amsterdam. The national election is happening on Sunday, and so there are election posters everywhere, most of them defaced with graffiti. From what we can guess from posters and newspaper headlines, it seems like immigration, the economy versus the environment and civil liberties are top issues. Sound familiar?

There is far less English, but still plenty enough to make our way. I keep asking Frank, "How do you say 'X' in German?" Or, "What does 'Y' mean?" He looks at me sternly over the top of his glasses and says "Wendy, I only took German to grade 10. And I was a teenaged boy -- I wasn't even paying attention!" I still keep asking though. If we need to buy a ball-point pen along the way, Frank will have no problem...

We got a late start yesterday, not leaving our room until 11 a.m.. Although we were both really tired and needed the sleep and slower pace, a part of me couldn't help but but think that the travel gods would frown on us for wasting precious time in this exotic place. We set off for a food market to buy a picnic lunch. At one stall, to our complete surprise, we managed to spend almost 30 euro on little Middle Eastern treats. We hadn't realized the total was adding up so fast! Luckily, we had just enough money to cover the bill, or it might have been an unpleasant scene... The sad part is, the food doesn't really even appeal that much to us today.

Also yesterday, we went to another sumptuous art gallery. One piece they have, a gold salt cellar encrusted with jewels, is insured for $60 million, so the wealth that building holds must be in the hundreds of billions. The art treasures here are owned not by the Catholic Church, as in Italy, but by the state, inherited from the Habsburg Empire, which disintegrated with the advent of World War I.

 

 

Last night, we made our way by public transit to a "heuringer" -- a wine garden -- on the outskirts of the city. We tried something called "sturm" (wine before it's wine, sweet and bubbly and only slightly fermented) and ate a deli-style dinner on picnic tables right next to the vineyard, with a view of the valley and the next town over. It was very charming and worth the commute.

Today, more sightseeing and tonight we may buy very cheap standing room tickets to the Vienna Opera to see a portion of the Barber of Seville. Although it's all very cultured and historic and all that, Frank and I both think that once in a lifetime in Vienna will be enough!

Goodbye, dear family and  friends. We would love to hear from you if you get a chance.

Probst,

Wendy and Frank

Amsterdam

Hello Family and Friends!

We're writing this blog post from the lovely small city of Haarlem, a suburb of Amsterdam. Since we live in a suburb, we figured staying in one in Europe would be a good idea :-) It's quiet and peaceful, and only 20 minutes by train from the big city. Well, mostly peaceful...Picture this: dozens of grown men riding teeny-tiny Honda 50 cc motor bikes, with their knees practically up under their chins, meeting in the church square on a Sunday afternoon. This was one of our first sights in Haarlem, passing strange!

We are staying in a cute B&B with our hostess Rhoda. As Rhoda herself noted, she talks a lot. What she doesn't seem to be aware of is the fact that she often clucks like a chicken. I'm serious!

We managed  to conquer jet lag the first day. The trick? Simply stay awake for 36 hours straight. Voila: no more jet lag! The downside was being so punchy on Sunday night that we missed our stop on the train ride back  from the city. Who needs (legal) marijuana to feel stoned?

First, let's get the usual bits out of the way. Amsterdam is full of tall, narrow, drunkenly-tilting buildings; it seems like everyone smokes; there are literally a half-million simple and sturdy single-speed bikes, all in various states of rust and disrepair and most apparently dating from the 1960s . The streets are full of tall, blonde, stylish, good looking men -- I mean people! And hot women on bicycles. (Frank made me add that last bit..)

A little less expected: virtually all the Dutch we have met are brisk, cheerful and speak excellent English. The number of people we have seen begging? Zero. We asked about homelessness: there is some, but the police take people to shelters every night. Another guest at the B&B said there is lots of help -- "perhaps too much" -- for mentally ill people. It's hard to imagine.

On Monday, we visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House. Both were satisfying, pinch-me-am-I-really-here experiences.  Anne Frank house was simple and straight-forward, allowing visitors to experience their own reactions to the fate of the Frank family and the holocaust in general. On Tuesday, it was more museums and more walking. As my dear friend Michelle pointed out, I am very lucky that Frank likes museums and art galleries as much as I do...or at least pretends to!

The Red Light District was tame in comparison to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver: we saw half a dozen healthy-looking and surprisingly-beautiful prostitutes in their windows, texting and sipping Starbucks coffee . The special cake we bought was,well, underwhelming. (Shoulda eaten the whole thing...) Other local specialties we have sampled so far include pickled herring (disgusting), waffles with syrup (okay), and French fries with mayonnaise, except here they're called Flemish fries (yum).

Today, we will explore Haarlem by bike. Then this evening we fly to Vienna for the next leg of our trip.

To conclude, let me take a page from the Book of Awesome. Losing your brand new wool cardigan in a city of over 800,000 people, retracing your steps 2 hours later, and finding said cardigan helpfully tied to a post: now that is truly awesome, and made me whoop and do a happy dance! Funny how, even when you are traveling in faraway places, it's the small things that can make your day.

That's it for now, or this will never get posted. We wish you all well and hope you enjoy reading our somewhat self-indulgent blog!

Wendy and Frank