a weekend in paris

(This entry is a work in progress...)

My goodness, where to start. As you may have read earlier, I was in Paris last weekend to see the city and meet my second cousin Peter, who played a bunch of shows in France last week (his music is really great -- peterbradleyadams.com). I have to admit that I was not exactly looking to spend time in Paris this year--as with London, I figured I'll have other opportunities to get there someday and I should spend my time and money seeing other places. But when the prospect of seeing family aligned with a European airline's big sale, I decided to go for it.

To prepare for my trip, I emailed my dear Winston friends Catherine and Allison. They've both spent significant time in the city and we have the same tastes in basically everything (TV shows, wine, and other things that matter), so I figured they would steer me in the right direction. Armed with some printed emails and my best pashmina scarf, I left the Flow House at 4:45 AM in a Mercedes taxi that would get me to my early flight. (Aside: several taxi drivers in Austria drive fairly new Mercedes cars; apparently they must pay an emissions tax each year, and the low tax associated with Mercedes vehicles offsets the higher cost of the car!). I will not tell you about the 140km/hr speeds at which my driver drove for no apparent reason, nor will I mention the poor strung out gentleman who tried to join me in the cab at a stop light. I got to the airport just fine, and my flight was quick and easy.

...By now, you've probably skipped down to the pictures.


I arrived in Paris by 9AM, and headed straight to a great little place that does walking tours of the city. The next three hours were spent walking all around with my guide (my age, from St. Louis) and a young couple from New Zealand.

"Look at me! I'm a tourist!"

Though it felt a little cheesy stopping at the big places to take pictures and hear stories, I felt totally oriented by lunch and really enjoyed getting to know the other three folks.


As you can see from the pictures, the weather was absolutely beautiful. It stayed this way (sunny and upper 60s) for the entirety of my three days in Paris.

I could go on and on in my slightly flowery prose about what I did and how it smelled and how I felt, but I think I'll give you a more condensed version of my favorite things and moments in Paris:

• Nutella and banana crepes. I must thank Catherine Davis Hornaday for introducing me to my new favorite food. Ohh, I could eat one right now.
• Realizing that I had nutella all over my face about an hour after eating my third banana and nutella crepe. Can't trust the French to tell you these things.
• Musee de l'Orangerie -- home to an incredible display of Monet's waterlilly paintings (he did over 300 of them all in all, inspired by a pond and garden he created on his property in Giverny). Monet created eight paintings for two oval-shaped rooms in the museum...a sort of panoramic 360 degree view in each room. The bigger paintings are up to 17 meters wide. To learn more, click here.
• Oh, the Luxembourg Gardens. I've got to go to bed, but I will write more about this place tomorrow.
  
• Tara Jarmon's store on the Champs Elysees. No harm in trying on dresses without the slightest intention of buying, right?
• Peter's concerts, obviously...
  

paris!

In a word, Paris was fabulous.



I was totally unprepared for how much I'd love it. I look forward to writing about some of the highlights soon, but for now, if you'd like to see some pictures, just click below:

http://bethstravelpictures.shutterfly.com/

I will be using this website to house the bulk of my pictures from here on out, but will still write on this one often.

Catch you soon!

go black and gold.

I would just like to say how proud I am to have my two schools ranked in the top 25.

...And clearly, the Steelers will rally next week against Baltimore.

on friday

Friday was such a unique day that I don't want to miss writing about it. The first half of the day was spent with Terry, an American woman from the church I've been going to. She is an artist and is married to Bill, who works as a writer for the Associated Press. Bill's job assignments have taken them all over Europe and they've lived in Paris, Geneva, somewhere in England, and now Vienna. Terry is really involved with the church's programs for kids, and helps coordinate a high school youth group every Friday afternoon with students from the American International School (absolutely incredible school). So, on Friday from 11am-3pm, Terry and I made cookies, brownies, potato salad, hamburgers, and other stuff for that day's youth group. What a blessing it was to be in a beautiful home with someone who speaks my language and wants to get to know me!

Like any good Austrian would, Terry and Bill have two beautiful dogs. I plan to take Zoe (their golden retriever) on walks so that I can pretend I'm Austrian. Have I told you that Austrians are more in love with their dogs than any people I've ever seen? Most dogs are extremely well-behaved and seem to be treated like children.

Anyway. At 3, we met four other helpers my age (Petro and Petrina, twins from Tanzania; Em from South Africa; Celine from Sweden) and headed to the American International School to pick up the high schoolers. Several of the girls were American, but hadn't lived in in the States for quite some time. So, despite the fact that they sounded totally American ("Oh my God, give me some of those Oreos...I hate Miley Cirus"), they also said they knew little about the States and would like to take a year off before college to drive around and get to know their country.

When we got to the River, we met a guy named Peter from our church. Peter is some sort of investment banker in Vienna, and is one of the nicest Austrians I've met thus far (he's wearing a red jacket in the video below). He chartered a little boat for us, so we hopped on and rode around the river for a while. This video won't be quite as exciting as the one with liederhosen and trombones, but I wanted to give you a sense--

The building at the end there is where Peter, his wife Virginia, and their little daughter Alexandra live. After our sailing adventure we went to their apartment for our barbecue. They live on the very top floor, and you can literally see all of Vienna from their balconies. Ridiculous. Also ridiculous that they let a bunch of teenagers with dirty tennis shoes run all around their penthouse apartment, but apparently they're quite generous and have various groups at their place all the time.


Here's a fuzzy picture I took from a window--the impressive United Nations Building is below (Vienna is one of only four UN headquarter cities; Geneva, Nairobi, and NYC are the others.)


So that was Friday. We had a great dinner and a really engaging discussion with the students about some of the ways they question and struggle with the idea of Christianity, particularly its juxaposition with Catholicism. I loved hearing their questions and was just so glad to be a part of the day. Unfortunately, my travels during the next month will keep me from these Friday afternoons quite a bit. What great kids though. I was glad to hear that many of them will be at the youth retreat I'm helping with at the end of October.

I was not necessarily planning to be so involved with a church during my time here, but have really loved the people I've met and found it easy to get plugged in and help out with whatever's going on. Huge blessing.

flowers and chocolate

This afternoon, I went for a long walk around my neighborhood and down to Sieveringerstrasse, my new favorite street (lots of good shops, cafes, and people watching). As it turns out, Sieveringerstrasse turns into a big garage sale on Saturdays (or maybe just this Saturday--who knows). The street was blocked off and people had tables along the sides to sell anything you can imagine (e.g. jewelry, boots, old ski equipment, toys, dishware, flowers, DVDs...).

Luckily, I always keep 20 euro in my jacket pocket precisely for times like this. Here's what I came away with:

• 10 retro little wine glasses for 5 euro (Our house manager stopped buying them each semester because he's sick of replacing glasses that will just get broken again. We keep saying we're going to go to IKEA to get some but it's pretty far away.)
• 3 kiwi and 1 chocolate pudding from the discount grocery store for 86 cents
• 1 apple bran muffin from a really good bakery for 1,76
• 9 gorgeous orangy-yellow roses for 5. Here's how it went:

Me: (holding up roses) Sprechen Sie Englisch?
Him: Nein.
Me: (nervous laughter)
Him: (taking roses) Sieben. (seven)
Me: Fünf? (five)
Him: (rolls eyes, and suddenly I wonder if this is too nice a place to be bargaining. Yet, the roses won't get sold tomorrow because nothing's open on Sundays...and they're definitely a few days old.)
Him: (smiles) Sechs.
Me: (confused look)
Him: Fünf.
Me: (smiling broadly) Ser good.

I clipped some shrubbery from nearby Turkenshanz park (just like we used to do at College Village...wait until there are no cars/people, and discretely rip off the branches or berries), and made what I think is a pretty nice little arrangement for the kitchen table.

Seven of the students went to Budapest this weekend (the others are at Oktoberfest), and should be back in a few hours. I love being here when they get back from trips; they're always bursting with stories and it's fun to listen to them talk about what they saw. Yesterday I found some chocolate chip muffin mix, so I'll try my hand at baking in metric with the hope of having something for them when they get back.

filling up the planner

Lots of planning this week. I'm a little ambivalent about this: I love that I'm getting some more structure from weekly commitments and weekend travel plans, but I also love walking out the door in the morning in search of some way to spend the day. I'm sure there will still be plenty of time to be aimless.

Weekly commitments, thus far:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday mornings: German class with the students
• Monday afternoons: Counting linens and towels, trying to not incur the wrath of the man who picks them up
  
• Tuesday, Thursday afternoons: Art History with the students
  
• Wednesday mornings: Bible Study with women from my church
• Wednesday afternoons: Lunch with middle schoolers from the Vienna Christian School, then meeting with certain students individually or in small groups
• Thursday evenings: US Embassy lecture, if there is one
• Sunday mornings: Helping with high school Sunday school class
• Monday evenings: Cooking dinner with/for the students...still a little up in the air, but we do love family dinners here in the Flow House. They really like watching me cook for some reason, and ask lots of questions about the herbs I use and why I stir a little water in eggs before scrambling them. Sometimes I make up answers.
• When necessary: answering the buzzer, Rosetta Stone, and trips to the grocery store.

As far as traveling goes, here's what's coming up for me:

• Paris, France (9/25-27. I'll get to see my cousin perform.)
• Prague, Czech Republic (10/3-5. Wake Forest trip with students and faculty.)
• Dublin, Ireland (10/10-14. Fall Break...I just wanted to go.)
• Spain--Madrid, Salamanca, Valencia (10/14-18. Visiting friends.)
• Small town outside Vienna (10/31-11/2. Helping with citywide youth retreat.)
• Cracow, Poland (11/7-9. Another Wake Forest trip.)
• Athens, Greece (11/26-30. The students are planning to spend Thanksgiving in Greece and have convinced me to join them. The flight was super-cheap, so I just booked it tonight.)

Should be cool.

schottenstift abbey

And just like that, it was winter.



Okay, not winter exactly. After living in the South for six years, though, my tolerance for cold weather has gone out the window. Monikierken's cold, rainy weather had found its way to Vienna by the time we returned Sunday night, and it's been just gross outside ever since.

Still, there's been much to do and see.

I accompanied the students on another Art History tour yesterday afternoon. We met our professor at the Schottenstift Abbey, a monastery founded by Duke Henry II in 1155 (click here to read a little about him and see his statue outside the monastery). Dr. H first took us down into the crypts, which used to have sandy floors and candles lighting the way for burials and services. As you can see below, the area has been totally updated for an extra worship room, but people are still buried all around.

And by all around, I mean in the walls (behind these plaques, for example):

...And in really old caskets.

Duke Henry II brought his favorite monks to this monastery. The monks were from Ireland and Scotland, and were known to be well-educated and eager to help others in basic ways--they founded lots of hospitals and started a school in 1310 that still runs today. This hand-written section of the Old Testament has a Celtic vibe, don't you think?



I can't quite describe why I loved this place so much. I just really loved it. As with so many places in Vienna, I had the distinct sense that much had happened where I was standing.



Another section of the building houses an incredible variety of paintings, including a really interesting panel called the "Schottenmeister-Altar". Didn't get a great picture, but here's some of it:


The panels were completed by anonymous artists during the 15th century and depict various scenes from Jesus's life and crucifixion. Funny thing is, they also depict various scenes of 15th century Vienna. In fact, we were told that the city scenes behind Jesus (and the unmistakable roof of St. Stephen's Cathedral) comprise the oldest topographically correct view of Vienna.

So yes, a good tour. Had dinner with my US Embassy friend Michael (Japanese food tastes especially good after a weekend of Austrian cuisine), and came home to spend some good time talking with the students.

--

This morning, I attended my first Bible study in Vienna. A group of about 15 women from my church will meet every Wednesday for the next 8 months to go through a book of scriptures and challenges written especially for women. My two new favorite women from the morning are Georgia and Kirsten. Georgia is a beautiful older women from Tanzania who lives here because her husband works for the UN. She helps take care of seven children who still live in Tanzania and told heartbreaking stories about the difficulties they've had there. Kirsten, on the other hand, is from Memphis. We were both in Nashville at the same time; she went to Belmont and graduated in '04! She married her high school sweetheart, who plays trombone for the Vienna Staatsoper Orchestra (read: bigtime). They're expecting their first child in a few months.

I continue to marvel at the connections I've made during my first month in this place.

Tomorrow, I will meet with a counselor who works for the Vienna Christian School and finally start to piece together how I can be of service to their students. I'll also get to have dinner with a family from my church--they live just a few blocks away, and I look forward to getting to know them a bit.

the hills are alive...

I am happy to report that the girls share my affinity for recreating scenes from The Sound of Music whenever possible.


I traveled with the students to Mönichkirchen this weekend on the first of three group trips sponsored by Wake Forest. Mönichkirchen is a very small ski town located two hours south of Vienna. Main attractions seem to be a bakery, a church, and three or four really nice ski lifts.



We hopped on a bus early Friday morning, arrived by 9:30, and hiked about a half hour up a ski slope to our little hotel, Alpengasthof Enzian. There are several little places to eat and stay sprinkled throughout the mountains, and they all look just as you imagine they would:




We spent the day exploring ski slopes, napping, eating things like hirsheintopf (deer stew) and nudelsuppe (noodle soup in a beef broth), and watching Austrian TV--always entertaining (e.g. Harry Potter and Who Wants to be a Millionaire in German).


Both dinner and breakfast were included in our stay, and everything I ate was absolutely delicious (homemade apricot jelly, freshly made yogurt and milk, a variety of cream cakes...I could go on and on.).

We were up early on Saturday--first for the hot breads delivered by the town's baker, and then to hike up and through the mountains (about 7k each way) to a small local celebration of the area's cows. First, some pictures from our hike. It was quite foggy and cold in the morning:







By the time we arrived at the festival, the air had begun to clear but it was pretty cold (maybe 45 degrees F). We caught the end of a small Mass, then were seated at picnic tables for a lunch of soup, tea (with or without Schnaps), and what was essentially meat and potatoes. Liederhosen and flowers were everywhere.

So were cows.

I wanted to capture a bit of the scene for you, and am now wishing I had taken a longer video! The last few seconds (accidentally) feature Gunter, our German teacher and house manager. He's the one with the "Wake Forest Police Dept." hat and a little ponytail. Funny guy. Very good teacher.




As we headed back, the weather warmed up a bit and the sun even came out. We even saw what the students determined was a 'legitimate Alp':




I could write lots more about our weekend, but I think it's sufficient to say that we had a really great time. Our next weekend together will be in Prague (October 3-5). We're preparing already by learning a little about Franz Kafka in German class.

Auf Wiedersen, Mönichkirchen.

tuesday is german and art history day!

In German class this morning, we read poems that incorporate a particular phonetic sound (today was a, as in father). This was my poem:

Das Taglicht schwand, der Abend kam,
Die Nacht begann zu strahlen
Und Sterne, klar und wundersam,
Auf blauen Grund zu malen.

(James Krüss)

Roughly translated, by yours truly--

The daylight shrank, the evening came,
The night began to gleam
The stars, brightly and wondrously,
Painted the ground blue (not as sure about the translation of this last line)

I am enjoying the learning much more than I thought I would. German's flexible nature (basically, you can make up words and stick verbs wherever you want) is frustrating but also kind of fun to play with. Once I can actually make sentences, I'll share more with you.


The picture above is from our visit to the St. Charles Church. Finished in 1739, it's a famous example of Baroque design and is really gorgeous. A few more shots:



For Art History class, The students and I met Dr. Antonia Hanreich here for a brief discussion of the church's history and a partial tour of the Wien Museum. Dr. Hanreich is a substitute for our already beloved Dr. O, who unfortunately was in a car accident last week and is recovering in the hospital for a bit longer. The Wien Museum is dedicated to the history of Vienna, and uses several art forms and presentation styles to engage visitors. If you're interested at all in the long history of this city, click here to read a succint Wikipedia article. Dr. Hanreich took us from the Roman settlements (which started right around the time of Christ's birth) to the the beginning of the Hapbsberg empire (which lasted in Austria from 1278 until World War I!). We'll do more next time.

long-winded highlights

Well, hello. It's been a few days. Time seems to be moving fast around here; my schedule is starting to fill out a bit more with classes, meetings, and working on a project for one of my dear professors back at Wake.

I've seen lots of great things since Tuesday, but unfortunately haven't captured anything on my camera for you. Still, here are some long-winded highlights:

On Thursday, I attended a lecture by American editorial cartoonist Chan Lowe. The US Embassy sponsors lots of great programs which are free to the public. Mr. Lowe's speech essentially explained both the election process and some of the theories about why Americans vote the way they do (he talked a lot about the Religious Right, for example, and said that some base their votes entirely on a candidate's stance on a single issue, like gun control. He also spoke about 9/11's effects on our voting--one of his main points was that fear drives our decisions more than anything else. He argued that Bush's campaign for '04 was successful because he convinced Americans that they should be scared and that his administration would protect them). His speech was illustrated by several political cartoons he had drawn. If you click on his name above, you can see a bunch of them.

I was sitting in quite an international audience (I'd guess there were about 50% more non-Americans than Americans in attendance) during all of this. What an intriguing experience it is to watch someone explain your culture to people who aren't familiar with it! I saw and heard first-hand the anti-Bush feelings among most Europeans (if anyone didn't hate him, they certainly didn't say it!). I was also very interested in the questions people asked after Lowe's lecture. One woman asked (with several others nodding in agreement) why Americans would care at all about an elected official's family or off-the-clock activities. "Because politicians are sold like products," Chan replied. "And when Americans are looking to purchase a product, they want to know everything about it."

There was a lovely reception after the lecture, and I was glad I had dressed up a bit for the occasion. As I was looking for a place to sit, a middle-aged man approached me and told me he absolutely had to tell me something. "You smiled at me when I passed you on the way here," he said, "and I don't think I've ever had that happen leaving the U-bahn [subway]!" He went on to say that Austrians are such stoic people that they rarely greet each other while walking in the city. I wonder how many Austrians I've smiled at and surprised during the last three weeks.

I also met a new friend, Michael, after the lecture. Finally, someone my age who speaks English! Michael is from Washington, D. C. and is doing a foreign services rotation at the Embassy for two months. We enjoyed a visit to the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) on Saturday, which is housed in a gorgeous 19th century building with just tons of exhibits--we saw collections of East Asian ceramics (absolutely stunning--my favorite exhibit), European lace, stained glass windows, art nouveau fabrics/jewelry/houseware, Austrian designed chairs...if you can wear it/drink from it/sit on it/use it somehow, we saw it. Admission to the MAK is free on Saturdays, but in the three hours we were there I never noticed even the slightest crowd. Click here to read about the museum's collections.

Then, it was off to the grocery store again. Stores close early on Saturdays and remain closed for all of Sunday. There are so few exceptions to this that it's essential to make sure you've got everything you need (chicken and chocolate, pretty much) by mid-day on Saturday.

Most of the students were gone on Friday and Saturday. I didn't mind a quiet house for a few days, but I was glad to have them back Saturday evening. They were full of stories from their travels and definitely in need of showers. We watched Wake Forest beat Ole Miss on the classroom projector; the online feed was just about perfect.

Yesterday, I visited the church from last week and was welcomed by name as soon as I walked in. There was a pot luck lunch after the service, and I met girls my age from Vienna, South Africa, Grand Rapids, and Kenya. As per ususal, the food was amazing.

The last thing that comes to mind is dinner Sunday night. I've been looking forward to cooking for the students since I accepted this position in May. We had a great family-style meal together--sauted chicken with garlic/rosemary, roasted potatoes, and green beans/red peppers. And, everything was ready at the same time...bonus.

I really can't tell you how much I love these students.

a day of wandering

A few highlights and photos from today:

After pouring over (and trying to decipher) some ads for a grocery store I've not frequented, I decided to set out in search of Nutella 25% off. I plotted my route and began to forage (FYI, in addition to driving directions, Google Maps now offers walking and public transportation directions-- amazing). On the way, I saw an entrance to a little shop and decided to go inside.

Not just a shop...a shop and a studio. Even better. A woman from California owns this place; she designs fabrics which are then made into everything from napkins to handbags to dresses to stationery. In short, probably what I could do if I had the talent and the funding! Her name was Cyrille and she was great--we talked about politics and how not to look American while living in Vienna. She also knew exactly where I lived, once I told her that I was living with a bunch of American college students ("Your house always has a party for each major American holiday. My husband and I go, 'It's Halloween...the Americans are out again!'").

I bought a felt flower to pin on something (I've never actually pinned a flower on anything I own, but now's as good a time as any to start, right?), and while she wrapped it I stealthily snapped this picture so you can marvel like I did:


I can imagine myself stopping by often to visit my new Californian/Austrian friend, Cyrille Gulassa.


On to the grocery store.


This afternoon, Günter (one of our professors and the guy who manages the Flow House) took us on our second walking tour of the city. I won't bore you with all the details, but here are some highlights:

• We saw the building where Mozart died while composing a requiem for a funeral.
• We learned about Georg Franz Kolschitzky, a man who spied on the Ottoman Turks as they plotted to take over Vienna in the late 1600s. Thanks to his dangerous work, Vienna was kept safe...and thanks to his observant spying (he watched the Turks roast coffee beans), he opened the first coffee shop in the world in Vienna!

• Vienna also claims to have started the first auction house in the world (1707). This place is amazing--it's as large and decadent as a decent museum, and room after room is filled with artwork, jewelry, furniture, and other antique-y things on which anyone can bid (each item has a little card describing the piece and listing a starting bid/auction deadline). Visit its website--perhaps you'll be captivated like I was (update: website not as cool as building. You'll just have to come see it/me in Vienna). Below is one of the rooms:

I can't remember much more, mostly because I tended to lag behind and take pictures of flowers:

...and fountains:

...and flowers and fountains together.

gras darüber wachsen lassen.

In the name of immersing myself a little further into what's here in Vienna, I had dinner out last night and told myself I'd order something fitting. I ended up at a small cafe near the Stephansdom with Gulasch mit Knödel--beef in a rust-colored sauce and a dumpling the size of a tennis ball (think Thanksgiving stuffing mushed together, but in a uniform gray color and texture). I would've felt foolish taking a picture for you, but I found an image online that works.
I liked it. Not as much as the fiocco gelato I had afterwards, though. (I don't know what fiocco is, but it tastes almost exactly like the better batter ice cream flavor at Maggie Moo's.)

I then attended the Alpine Club of Vienna's monthly meeting. The ACV is an English-speaking group of folks who plan various hiking, biking, climbing, and skiing day or weekend trips throughout the year. I found their website and figured I should at least see what's going on. I met a woman from Croatia and a young man from Mongolia. Both are in the group primarily to practice their English. I also met an older gentleman who worked for the government in DC for the majority of his career and seems to have retired in Vienna. He was quite personable and told me of some other English-speaking happenings in the city. Most notable is a weekly lecture/program series hosted by the US Embassy (I'm all signed up for the one this Thursday, where a political cartoonist will talk about the US election).

I think I will go on one of the upcoming hikes later this month. The people seemed great and I think it'll be an interesting way to get to know a variety of folks.

This morning around 8am, the buzzer sounded at our gate. Always an adventure. I saw the post delivery truck outside our gate and smiled; I really enjoy the man who delivers packages to our house around three times a week. You see, we play this game together each time he comes to the door: I pretend that I know German, he pretends that he knows English, and we both laugh at what the other person tries to say. It's a pretty fun game. I greeted him with a grand "Guten morgen! Wie geht es?" (Good morning, how's it going?), which he knows is about the extent of it for me. He replied, and while I was signing, asked me "Who...to...yesterday?" After a few more tries, I realized that he's asking me what I did yesterday. I also realized I didn't know how to tell him. At this point in the game, we laugh some more and resort to sign language (I walked two fingers up my arm to tell him that I went for a walk).