One of my new cool friends in Salzburg is Kathryn, a former music teacher turned children's book author. I met her at the English Center a few weeks ago and we had happy hour there on Friday. We had fun discussing the creative process and publishers and all kinds of artsy things and now I am going to shamelessly promote her book. It's called "Sharing Christmas." If there are young children in your life and you are of the Christmas celebration persuasion, this is a perfect gift! Or maybe your school library should get it. The message is universal and timeless, it just happens to be set at Christmas time. The illustrator was born here I think, but lives in France now.
Here's a link:
http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=Libelle
You can check "Sharing Christmas" out at Amazon and look at random pages. I might even be able to make an autographed copy happen for you.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The bright side....the dark side
This past Wednesday my classmate Cathy from Columbia and I skipped town and headed up to München for the day. The prospect of visiting the big city at holiday time was just too tempting. Besides, my passport was ready. Lest you think that I am naughty and that I skipped classes, you are mistaken. We had a pretty light week because a lot of people are gone for Christmas. Besides Monday was a national holiday... the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. It's not one we really celebrate in the States....
Anyway, we hopped on a train and headed north......west. After Salzburg, Munich seems like NYC. People and noise everywhere! We went to the American consulate first then we headed down to the Christmas market. It was a cold, gray, dreary day, but the market was very festive and there were TONS of people. We drank lots of gluhwein (hot, mulled elixir!) and ate some wurst and Cathy bought the cutest little wooden snail. He has a marble for a shell and when you roll him along, the marble rolls too. We named him "Fidelio." I introduced Cathy to the consumer wonder that is H&M and we joked that it was 6 PM and the shops were still open, but in Salzburg everything would be closed. We wandered around until we were so cold we couldn't stand it, then we went to the Orff Zentrum to wait for the concert that they were having that evening. Messiaen's "Quator Pour la Fin du Temps." One of my all time favorites!! We had to wait for an hour and a half, but we were warm and happy.
The concert was great and there was a reception afterwards with wine and everything. The total party package. We enjoyed the wine as much as the concert and thoroughly enjoyed our subway trip to the Hauptbahnhof to catch a very late train back to Salzburg. It was so late when we got back that the busses weren't running and we had to take a taxi!! I got to bed really late and had to get up early for a class.... which brings me to....
THE DARK SIDE!!!
The alarm went off and I rolled out of bed and made a pot of coffee and fished around in my change container for 2 Euro so I could pay my bus fare. (My bus pass was stolen with my wallet) The bus was crowded and I suppose I could have just crunched my way in at the back of the bus, but NO! I am an honest person and I wanted to pay my fare. So I dropped the pile of change on the tray. The bus driver rolled his eyes, the students around me were snickering and I told him it was all there, I had counted it 3 times. He said I owed him 13 cents. I said I did not. He said give me 2 euro or get off the bus.
I got thrown off the bus!!!
Now burning with righteous indignation, I went to the local tour company and asked if they could change my pennies for 2 Euro. Nope. Go ask at the shop across the street. So I went to the shop and asked. The woman rolled her eyes, told me I was ten cents short and to get out. Welcome to Salzburg! Now I was ten cents short and I don't really know who ended up with it. I had to schlep back to my apartment and get another ten cents. I tried a different shop, but he couldn't open the cash drawer without a purchase. By this time another bus came along, I got on and ponied up the cash only to be told YET AGAIN that I didn't have enough money. At this point I became a screaming howling banshee. The driver either felt sorry for me or feared for his life because he gave me a ticket and let me ride. This all transpired before 8:15 AM. I got to class late and crabby.
Fortunately it wasn't anything that lunch and a nap couldn't cure.
Anyway, we hopped on a train and headed north......west. After Salzburg, Munich seems like NYC. People and noise everywhere! We went to the American consulate first then we headed down to the Christmas market. It was a cold, gray, dreary day, but the market was very festive and there were TONS of people. We drank lots of gluhwein (hot, mulled elixir!) and ate some wurst and Cathy bought the cutest little wooden snail. He has a marble for a shell and when you roll him along, the marble rolls too. We named him "Fidelio." I introduced Cathy to the consumer wonder that is H&M and we joked that it was 6 PM and the shops were still open, but in Salzburg everything would be closed. We wandered around until we were so cold we couldn't stand it, then we went to the Orff Zentrum to wait for the concert that they were having that evening. Messiaen's "Quator Pour la Fin du Temps." One of my all time favorites!! We had to wait for an hour and a half, but we were warm and happy.
The concert was great and there was a reception afterwards with wine and everything. The total party package. We enjoyed the wine as much as the concert and thoroughly enjoyed our subway trip to the Hauptbahnhof to catch a very late train back to Salzburg. It was so late when we got back that the busses weren't running and we had to take a taxi!! I got to bed really late and had to get up early for a class.... which brings me to....
THE DARK SIDE!!!
The alarm went off and I rolled out of bed and made a pot of coffee and fished around in my change container for 2 Euro so I could pay my bus fare. (My bus pass was stolen with my wallet) The bus was crowded and I suppose I could have just crunched my way in at the back of the bus, but NO! I am an honest person and I wanted to pay my fare. So I dropped the pile of change on the tray. The bus driver rolled his eyes, the students around me were snickering and I told him it was all there, I had counted it 3 times. He said I owed him 13 cents. I said I did not. He said give me 2 euro or get off the bus.
I got thrown off the bus!!!
Now burning with righteous indignation, I went to the local tour company and asked if they could change my pennies for 2 Euro. Nope. Go ask at the shop across the street. So I went to the shop and asked. The woman rolled her eyes, told me I was ten cents short and to get out. Welcome to Salzburg! Now I was ten cents short and I don't really know who ended up with it. I had to schlep back to my apartment and get another ten cents. I tried a different shop, but he couldn't open the cash drawer without a purchase. By this time another bus came along, I got on and ponied up the cash only to be told YET AGAIN that I didn't have enough money. At this point I became a screaming howling banshee. The driver either felt sorry for me or feared for his life because he gave me a ticket and let me ride. This all transpired before 8:15 AM. I got to class late and crabby.
Fortunately it wasn't anything that lunch and a nap couldn't cure.
Monday, December 8, 2008
What a Weekend!
I have just experienced one of the most amazing weekends of my life. Our instructor Uli just about flipped when she found out that there were so many string players in our group and invited some of us to her home for the weekend to play chamber music. That's the good thing about playing the viola. You always get an invite! Virginia from Italy plays the violin as does Cathy from Columbia. Cathy and I play in the University orchestra together, but that's probably a post for another day. Marta from Spain is an awesome pianist and Uli is learning the cello. We all thought it would be fun to play some piano quintets, so after class on Friday we stuffed all our gear into a small VW and tooled on up into the mountains.
That's me on the left, then Virginia, Cathy, and Uli. Marta was taking the picture.
We arrived in Altaussee, the village where Uli lives, after dark. It had been raining at the lower elevations, but once we got some altitude, the rain changed to snow. Cathy was really quite excited about the whole thing because it doesn't snow in Columbia.
The local people were having a bonfire and serving hot "punch" which was cider and cinnamon and probably a fair amount of schnapps, judging from how quickly we all relaxed.
The best was yet to come. All of a sudden we heard roaring (for lack of a better word) and the Krampus arrived!!
The Krampus are a uniquely alpine tradition. They travel with St. Nicholas who as you may know brings sweets to the good children of the village. The naughty children get floggings from the Krampus. The Krampus are dressed in goat or sheep skin and wear masks that look like devils. Here's a picture of some Krampus in Salzburg. They are very trendy looking for the tourists.
The Krampus in Altaussee were a little more down to earth. While it's true that they flogged us with homemade switches, it really didn't hurt. They wore real sheep's horns and had carved their masks out of wood. They looked a bit more like Yeti with an attitude. I'll try to post a picture. When they weren't terrorizing the villagers, you could see them opening their masks, drinking punch, and kissing their girlfriends. I would say that they are "user friendly" Krampus, although I'm sure Virginia would disagree.
Someone must have pointed out to the Krampus that there were foreigners in the crowd. We were easily identified, or more specifically, Virginia was easily identified by her white hat with the big pompom on top. I think she got her face washed with snow 3 or 4 times! She must have been super naughty this year!
Many cups of punch later we piled into the car and headed up what must have once been a goat trail to Uli's house. When we got up the next morning we were treated to this vista:
Yeow! We hiked around the village and then went back to the house to make music.
I ended up playing the recorder! Uli had this lovely concerto by Pepusch for Two Recorders, Two violins and Continuo. It was the obvious thing for me to play as there was no viola part and no one else besides me and Uli who plays the recorder. It was a ball! I played soprano and tenor, and since I hadn't brought any with me, I got to play Uli's mother's Moecks. WOW!! It was fantastic! We played for about two hours, had some lunch and then hiked over the mountain to the booming metropolis (by comparison) of Bad Aussee. We checked out the Christmas market, then went back to the house for more music. Uli invited some close friends over for a mini-concert. There was schnapps, music, champagne and cheesecake!! What's not to love?
It snowed most of the time that we were there, but once we came back to lower elevation Salzburg, it turned to the usual gray and rainy day. But it didn't matter. It had been a great weekend and not even wet foggy weather could dampen our spirits!
That's me on the left, then Virginia, Cathy, and Uli. Marta was taking the picture.
We arrived in Altaussee, the village where Uli lives, after dark. It had been raining at the lower elevations, but once we got some altitude, the rain changed to snow. Cathy was really quite excited about the whole thing because it doesn't snow in Columbia.
The local people were having a bonfire and serving hot "punch" which was cider and cinnamon and probably a fair amount of schnapps, judging from how quickly we all relaxed.
The best was yet to come. All of a sudden we heard roaring (for lack of a better word) and the Krampus arrived!!
The Krampus are a uniquely alpine tradition. They travel with St. Nicholas who as you may know brings sweets to the good children of the village. The naughty children get floggings from the Krampus. The Krampus are dressed in goat or sheep skin and wear masks that look like devils. Here's a picture of some Krampus in Salzburg. They are very trendy looking for the tourists.
The Krampus in Altaussee were a little more down to earth. While it's true that they flogged us with homemade switches, it really didn't hurt. They wore real sheep's horns and had carved their masks out of wood. They looked a bit more like Yeti with an attitude. I'll try to post a picture. When they weren't terrorizing the villagers, you could see them opening their masks, drinking punch, and kissing their girlfriends. I would say that they are "user friendly" Krampus, although I'm sure Virginia would disagree.
Someone must have pointed out to the Krampus that there were foreigners in the crowd. We were easily identified, or more specifically, Virginia was easily identified by her white hat with the big pompom on top. I think she got her face washed with snow 3 or 4 times! She must have been super naughty this year!
Many cups of punch later we piled into the car and headed up what must have once been a goat trail to Uli's house. When we got up the next morning we were treated to this vista:
Yeow! We hiked around the village and then went back to the house to make music.
I ended up playing the recorder! Uli had this lovely concerto by Pepusch for Two Recorders, Two violins and Continuo. It was the obvious thing for me to play as there was no viola part and no one else besides me and Uli who plays the recorder. It was a ball! I played soprano and tenor, and since I hadn't brought any with me, I got to play Uli's mother's Moecks. WOW!! It was fantastic! We played for about two hours, had some lunch and then hiked over the mountain to the booming metropolis (by comparison) of Bad Aussee. We checked out the Christmas market, then went back to the house for more music. Uli invited some close friends over for a mini-concert. There was schnapps, music, champagne and cheesecake!! What's not to love?
It snowed most of the time that we were there, but once we came back to lower elevation Salzburg, it turned to the usual gray and rainy day. But it didn't matter. It had been a great weekend and not even wet foggy weather could dampen our spirits!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Service with a smile.... and a gun!
I went to the US consulate in Munich on Monday to deal with my lost passport. While the security people were friendly, they were still packing some heat.
Today (Thursday) I received an email telling me that my passport had arrived at the consulate.
Now that's service!!
Today (Thursday) I received an email telling me that my passport had arrived at the consulate.
Now that's service!!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Cover Your Eyes!
If you are easily offended, cover your eyes, for here is a picture of the tour bus mentioned in the previous post. You can't say that I didn't warn you.
Ask your doctor if this picture is right for you. Side-effects include, but are not limited to: gasping, lifted eyebrows, rending of garments, gnashing of teeth and hysterical laughter. Blogspot assumes no liability.
The F Word
I'll bet THAT got your attention.
It's funny how things that are commonplace and innocuous in one culture can become somewhat dangerous in another. For example, in the States a "thumbs up" is usually a positive gesture. It can mean "Good job!" or "I agree!" or "Way to go!" But in Iran, a thumbs up is the ultimate insult to those of the gentlemanly persuasion.
So it is with the "F word." It means one thing one place and something entirely different in another. British English uses the word in a rather carefree fashion. It doesn't seem to have the same hysteria inducing capabilities in Great Britain as it does in the States. After all, it's one of the words that is still bleeped out on commercial television in the States, even though you know darn well what's being bleeped!
Imagine my surprise then when we pulled into the parking lot for the Rothenberg Christmas market and saw a tour bus with the F Word emblazoned across the side. The letters must have been three feet tall. I kid you not! We even had to go around the lot again just so I could take a picture of it. 'Twas then that I discovered that the batteries in my camera were conveniently dead.
Bummer. You'll just have to take my word for it and imagine a busload of tourists riding around in a bus that says "F*&#ER" on the side. Both sides. Apparently it's an uncommon surname in German but a surname nonetheless.
It's funny how things that are commonplace and innocuous in one culture can become somewhat dangerous in another. For example, in the States a "thumbs up" is usually a positive gesture. It can mean "Good job!" or "I agree!" or "Way to go!" But in Iran, a thumbs up is the ultimate insult to those of the gentlemanly persuasion.
So it is with the "F word." It means one thing one place and something entirely different in another. British English uses the word in a rather carefree fashion. It doesn't seem to have the same hysteria inducing capabilities in Great Britain as it does in the States. After all, it's one of the words that is still bleeped out on commercial television in the States, even though you know darn well what's being bleeped!
Imagine my surprise then when we pulled into the parking lot for the Rothenberg Christmas market and saw a tour bus with the F Word emblazoned across the side. The letters must have been three feet tall. I kid you not! We even had to go around the lot again just so I could take a picture of it. 'Twas then that I discovered that the batteries in my camera were conveniently dead.
Bummer. You'll just have to take my word for it and imagine a busload of tourists riding around in a bus that says "F*&#ER" on the side. Both sides. Apparently it's an uncommon surname in German but a surname nonetheless.
Ouch......
'Tis the season for Krampuss, glühwein, Christmas Markets, and sadly, pickpockets. This time of year people of somewhat desperate circumstances take to roaming the Christmas markets and tourist areas and help themselves to what cash they can glean from someone else's possessions. This hardly explains WHY my wallet was stolen on a four block ride on the bus WAY south of the city center. The only other time my wallet was stolen was at my own church on a Sunday morning.
Having my wallet stolen at home is one thing. It's a bit different when you are in a foreign country. It's a bit different when the contents of your wallet include your student ID, some cash, your check card, a bus pass, your room key, your cell phone and the saddest of all, your passport. It was tough enough to wade through the bureaucracy here in Austria the first time. Now I have to do it all again, only this time there are fees and I have no cash, nor access to any. I must rely on the kindness of friends and they have been very kind, generous and supportive.
I was planning on visiting friends in Nuremberg for the Thanksgiving holiday. They are American, at least he is, so they celebrate Thanksgiving. I went anyway and had a marvelous time. We went to the Christmas markets in Rothenberg (probably the best example of a Medieval city in Europe) and Spalt which I may have mentioned is this charming hamlet of hops houses. While the market in Rothenberg was pretty touristy (I heard WAY more American English than German) the market in Spalt was fabulous. Lots of artisan Christmas things. In a way, it was a blessing that I had no money to spend because I certainly wouldn't have had any to speak of after a visit to that market. All in all, it was a lovely weekend. You really can have fun with no money!
I stopped in Munich on the way back to Salzburg because there is an American consulate there. It is conveniently located quite close to the Orff Zentrum. Munich is pretty big, but I know how to get to the Orff Zentrum. From there, it was an easy short walk to the consulate. That's about all that was easy about the process.
You have to go through airport style security to get in to the consulate. Since I had some knitting in my bag, I had to leave the yarn and needles at the checkpoint. That was okay. The tough part was not having ANY ID of any sort, and not a lot of cash to spend on passport photos that were inadequate the first time! I had to go to this little booth and feed the machine 5 Euro only to be told after the fact that I was too close to the camera and would have to repeat the experience.... with another 5 Euro. My first pictures actually looked semi-reasonable, but in the second ones I was definitely wearing the crabby face. I got a bit testy with the people behind the bullet proof glass and they gave me homemade cookies as a peace offering.
$100 (which my friend in Nuremberg loaned me), two forms and 10 Euro later I was done with the whole process.
I can't wait to take on the residence permit. Ouch.
Having my wallet stolen at home is one thing. It's a bit different when you are in a foreign country. It's a bit different when the contents of your wallet include your student ID, some cash, your check card, a bus pass, your room key, your cell phone and the saddest of all, your passport. It was tough enough to wade through the bureaucracy here in Austria the first time. Now I have to do it all again, only this time there are fees and I have no cash, nor access to any. I must rely on the kindness of friends and they have been very kind, generous and supportive.
I was planning on visiting friends in Nuremberg for the Thanksgiving holiday. They are American, at least he is, so they celebrate Thanksgiving. I went anyway and had a marvelous time. We went to the Christmas markets in Rothenberg (probably the best example of a Medieval city in Europe) and Spalt which I may have mentioned is this charming hamlet of hops houses. While the market in Rothenberg was pretty touristy (I heard WAY more American English than German) the market in Spalt was fabulous. Lots of artisan Christmas things. In a way, it was a blessing that I had no money to spend because I certainly wouldn't have had any to speak of after a visit to that market. All in all, it was a lovely weekend. You really can have fun with no money!
I stopped in Munich on the way back to Salzburg because there is an American consulate there. It is conveniently located quite close to the Orff Zentrum. Munich is pretty big, but I know how to get to the Orff Zentrum. From there, it was an easy short walk to the consulate. That's about all that was easy about the process.
You have to go through airport style security to get in to the consulate. Since I had some knitting in my bag, I had to leave the yarn and needles at the checkpoint. That was okay. The tough part was not having ANY ID of any sort, and not a lot of cash to spend on passport photos that were inadequate the first time! I had to go to this little booth and feed the machine 5 Euro only to be told after the fact that I was too close to the camera and would have to repeat the experience.... with another 5 Euro. My first pictures actually looked semi-reasonable, but in the second ones I was definitely wearing the crabby face. I got a bit testy with the people behind the bullet proof glass and they gave me homemade cookies as a peace offering.
$100 (which my friend in Nuremberg loaned me), two forms and 10 Euro later I was done with the whole process.
I can't wait to take on the residence permit. Ouch.
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