2015

Day 30a: St. Augustine

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Greed and curiosity are a dangerous combination. After careful consideration and planning, I decided to attend an organ concert at St. Augustine Church in the heart of Vienna’s tourist center, near the Hapsburg Palace. The palace is a messy complex of buildings that have been extended over 300 years. Spaces between buildings have been filled in, and arcades and passageways were added for protection from inclement weather.

After locating the church yesterday and inquiring again today to make sure that there was a concert, I felt pretty confident I was at the right place at the right time. The priest at the door advised me that I should make a donation at the end as there is no charge for the concert, and I thought that was pretty fair. As I entered just a few minutes before 11am, I was surprised to find that the church was full. I quickly found a single spot in a section full of visitors.

The organ music started promptly and the priest and his entourage entered. Hmm, I thought. Pretty big regalia for a concert. Only then did it enter my mind that this might be a “Mass”, and not just an organ concert. It was, after all, Sunday, wasn’t it?? Shortly after the introductory music stopped abruptly, the priest began reciting a lot of words very slowly in German. Initially I revelled in the high German spoken so eloquently and the few words I could recognize, “Heiligen Geist” and “Jesus Christo”. It was a Mass!, and not just an organ performance! Uh Oh.

A few hymns and stand ups-and-downs later (I even hummed along), I realized that those around me weren’t the expected tour groups or even individual tourists that I had been accustomed to tolerating at performances. They weren’t even the smattering of Italian or Spanish couples and their families I had seen gesturing and heard rolling their R’s on the U-Bahn. I was in the midst of German-speaking devotees, who could recite the verses on cue and sing all the hymns unprompted.

As I started to sweat uncontrollably, I decided that I should just tough it out. Make myself obscure. The sermon wasn’t any different from listening in English, only better. The music was lovely. It was a complete Sensurround experience, with the best operatic voices I have ever heard in a church. The high ceilings and refined arches were a cross between a Lutheran Church and Cologne Cathedral. All the senses were covered. The incense swung at the beginning, creating a waft of mystic trance. The music, which was my purpose in attending, was truly heavenly to your ears. Everyone there touched the sacred ground the church was built upon. And, if you are baptized, you get a little wafer at the end.

Unfortunately, my only exposure to Catholic mass in the past has been very limited, so my apologies to those believers reading this. The last time and only time I went to a mass was at Mission Delores with Gee Kin’s niece from New Zealand maybe ten years ago. That was in English and it was still intimidating, so I don’t think it’s the language issue. It’s when everyone gets up, kneels, and goes for the wafer. So you stay seated, admitting guilt for your sins? Or do you go get one and fake your devotion? Obviously I opted for the former, feeling that I should get mileage points for honesty and bravery.

I had been to plenty of musical performances in churches in Leipzig, Paris and elsewhere. Boys’ choirs and concerts were normally held in the afternoons or evenings. I had failed to take notice the “messe” word in the German program. And despite Gee Kin’s niece prompting me at the mass I attended with her, it was a long time ago and I was a bit rusty on the protocols.

Maybe all the Germans there were only mimicking each other for the same reason I was there? It really wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t made to feel uncomfortable in any way. You just want to know what’s going on and what you are supposed to do. How did I manage myself into a situation like this? Was it greed, curiosity, ignorance, or all of the above? I muttered my regrets between my breath. This was an experience equivalent to a Vegan showing up at a Chinese wedding banquet and not knowing that meat is on the menu.

In the end, it was quite a respectable ceremony. The music was beautiful, and obviously why so much classical music was created for and from the Church. (Haydn, Mozart, and Bach were on the program). The size, shape and proportions of the cathedral were perfect acoustically and better than any symphony hall. The operatic singers could project their voices and make the music more godly and beautiful for everyone. Despite my mishap, I came out glad to have been there. But I have to remember what happens sometimes on a Sunday morning.

2015

Day 29: Sugar Pie Honey Bun…

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…Can’t help myself! Everywhere you go this is where you’d died and gone to heaven. Sacher Torte, my death potion this time, was a tough choice against apfel strudel with custard, vs. traditional. I have to try them all, so this is my pick.

Entry to the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Dessert options
decadence in front of decadence in front of decadence

Ed. Note: this is a real time post from the cafe of the Kunsthistorishes Museum in Vienna, at approx. 2pm Saturday, August 22.

2015

Day 28: Schonbrunn to Apfel Strudels

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Today’s adventure was to Schonbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the Hapsburgs. The featured image above is the SIDE of the palace, not the main elevation. That’s about 5 times the width of this view. As mentioned earlier, this tops Versailles in my mind. The Austrians, in the tour guide’s words: are “crazy”. The palace tour provided proof of the royalty’s propensity towards personality disorders. There were numerous amusing stories and morbid details. The guide repeated several times “don’t believe what you see in the palace—it’s all an illusion”, referring to the wooden chandeliers painted to look like solid gold, pictures of important dignitaries who were not present at an event, and elaborate settings that even the royalty couldn’t hack.

Schonbrunn Palace

Among the many amusing stories were those about hygiene and infestation. Thanks to the Catholic Church, the priests promoted the idea that bad men smaller than the eye could see existed in the water. They could get into your pores through water and make you die. For thats reason alone and for 400 years no one wanted to wash. They only took baths once or twice a year. Slowly through a catholic edit they were able to wash once a month.

For that reason, so much death and dying occurred. Infant mortality was very high; the queen and women spent many years bearing children, many of whom died in infancy. Out of 15-20 children, only 2-4 would survive. During this time, someone you knew either died of smallpox, influenza, or the plague before 35. The fact that some people, let alone royalty, lived to 50 years old would be considered our present-day octogenarians or older.

The concept of the “flea Market” comes from one of the few activities that both rich and poor engaged in. During that time, monkeys were used to deflea and delouse inhabitants. All people were living and breathing biosystems infested with organisms that bred on the human body. The average person’s idea of a spa day was going to the market where they could get deloused or be rid of fleas in public. The monkeys ate the lice and fleas, and everyone was entertained in the process. The royalty didn’t do it in public venues, but had their own monkeys trained to do the same for them. It made me itching to watch someone I know partaking in this purging and richly satisfying event.

The pompadours and hair styles of the royalty often weighed more than several pounds, as they were from many years of growth from their own hair. In order to wash their hair, it took a lot of planning, help from others and a full day’s activity. Like washing, this was another once-to-twice a year event, because of the difficulty in organizing the cleaning (there were plenty of other distractions and more interesting things to do than this). They also had to wait an entire day for the hair to dry—sorry, no Vidal Sassoon dryers were on hand.

Obviously, I was inspired and paid more attention to this tour than others in the past. I guess this one of gore and filth really appealed to me and reminded me that I didn’t want to be one of the royalty anyway. I gave the tour guide 5 stars, though.

Dinner at 8
Pram Prom

I’m attaching a few off-the beaten track photos I took while cruising the grounds.
image
I indulged in apple strudel at lunchtime and had that AHA moment. The dough is stretched like pizza to make it chewy, and they add breadcrumbs to the apples to soak up the liquid. I was reading the recipe from a cookbook I bought for that purpose and realized that I was eating what I was reading. So here it is to share with you. I am also attaching a recipe for Salzburger Nockerl for those of you who were wondering what I was talking about.

Apfel Strudel
Decadence Defined
Salzburger Nockerl

A few of VV’s Random, Spur-of-the-Moment World-Wise Travel Tips:

1. The supermarket is your friend. Find the nearest one as soon as you can, and buy fruits and vegetables for salads to maintain your diet. It can at least balance the rich foods you will be pigging out on in the restaurants. Eating out is often cheaper than eating healthy, so you have to swim upstream on this.
2. Do your own laundry. After not having any options in Russia, I finally started washing my own laundry. I managed to avoid this for a long time, even on all my travels. But now I am borrowing Gee Kin’s tips to use bath gel or shampoo to wash my underwear and even my designer jeans. I finally resolved that it takes less time to do this on Day 1 of a five-day hotel stay and have plenty of time for the items to dry out, than searching for and going to a laundry. You will find creative ways to hang garments on clothes hangers, such as any door knobs or projections in the hotel room—even on lamp shades!
3. Take public transit. Forget taxis, unless you are in a jam. I love cracking the entire bus and mass transit system if there is one.
4. Stay cool. Stay in the shade whenever you are at those palace grounds, walking 3 miles to the gazebo. Wear a wide brimmed hat and check your path before you move. Don’t follow tourists who are notoriously stupid about these types of things.
5. Save a screen shot of your arrival point to the hotel. Its often easy to forget. If you are taking public transit your phone is not often connected to wifi at the train station or airport. You can also show these at tourist information counters where you want to go, and point to it if you don’t speak the language.
6. Get a phrase guide for the country you are visiting off-line on your phone. Use it to practice while you are on the road.
7. Use wi-fi only in the hotels and turn off your cellular phone coverage. Check your provider in advance for options to cellular access but only if needed.
8. Bring bandaids for sore feet.
9. Find the biggest, flattest royal grounds to walk or run 3 miles every chance you can get.
10. Can’t make it to 10, so it’s the Top Nine.

Some are obvious, some are not. The ones at the top are from the fact that I have battled with these for years as a world traveler, tried to avoid them, and then finally resigned myself to facing the music. No magic bullets. Some learn faster than others.

2015

Day 27: Vienna

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National Library, Vienna
National Library Collection
Neoclassical Ceiling
Vienna as a World City
1848 Revolution

My arrival in Vienna was punctuated by a performance at the Hofburg Palace, the winter residence of the Hapsburgs, to hear Viennese waltzes and Mozart arias. This was not before I made a deviation to a nearby exhibition in the adjacent building entitled: “Vienna: the World City”, that happened to be located in the Austrian National Library, one of the treasures of the world.

When Vienna was about to host a world exhibition in Vienna, Franz Josef decided in 1857 that it was time to demolish some of the old parts of the city center for a Ringstrasse, or Ring Road. As part of this development, he implemented a number of improvements for the city. Among them were the water distribution system and the Vienna Opera House. He set up a competition for the water system that was won by Suess, an Austrian geologist. Unfortunately, the architects who designed the Vienna opera house never saw its completion as one committed suicide after harsh criticism, and another died before the opera house was finished. It’s worth reading the text attached if you are interested.

You can also read a synopsis of Viennese and Austrian history that helped me get a better understanding here: http://www.vienna4u.at/history.html

The Hapsburg Empire lasted over six centuries, one of the longest reigns in European history. As a result, the grandeur of the royalty remains among the most opulent and excessive of any city I have seen. While it has been nearly 50 years since I was first in Vienna, I do not recall any other city with such a display of pomp and wealth as this one.

Ironically, back to my undeniable and insatiable consumption of culture generated by wealth and greed. That will take more than another long essay to reconcile. Maybe these travels will finally kick me of this addiction.

The performance was the perfect end to a long travel day: Viennese favorites Johann Strauss Walzes and Mozart operatic arias led a debonaire Andre Rieu-like conductor with a humorous flair.

IMG_7981

2015

Days 24-26: Salzburger Knockouts

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I’ve been trying to get my dose of Salzburger Nockerl, a famous local dish made from pure egg white meringue. Unfortunately, it has eluded me so far. I either wasn’t in the right cafe that serves it, or didn’t have the 20 minutes it takes to prepare it.

Despite this oversight, I finally struck gold in many other ways on my last couple of days here. I got it all and what I love about traveling: quality architecture, quality museums, quality music, quality food, and of course, quality people! The tag posts seem to tell it all.

I’m trying to reduce and concentrate the number of posts to only a few a week (Wednesdays and weekends) so I don’t flood your email boxes. Unfortunately, it makes the posts longer.

Here’s a spread of what this richly, well-endowed, and now much appreciated little city of Salzburg has to offer. To make it a little easier, I’m including a summary so you can skip to the parts that interest you:

1. Salzburg Fortress (Festung)
2. Mozart Houses (Birthplace and Living Quarters)
3. Performances (my raison d’etre for being here, but not necessarily the most exciting)
4. Food and People

Garden in front of cliff
Graves with Flower Beds
Beautifully honed Stonework, Salzburg
Fortress in Distance

1. The Salzburg Festung, or fortress, was very informative and an excellent excursion today. Gee Kin would be proud of me-I trooped up the hill and partook of the view from the top. Because Salzburg is so overrun with tourists, the city has managed to take tourists’ needs to heart. They provide excellent displays and explanations in English (for those of us brain-dead in German). They even had a electronic kiosk soliciting feedback at the end of the tour.

There were many architectural or design features I had not seen before. Those listed are not in any particular fashion. Follow the captions for specific items. You can hover over the photos now to see the captions.

Arch Description
Arches Exposed
Knotty Threshold
Crane Display
First Combo Toilet and Confession Booth
Turned Stone Columns?
Matching Metalwork

1. Stone columns honed in a fashion the way wood is turned on a stile;
2. Matching metalwork
3. Torture elements–aha! can anyone venture a guess what this contraption is?? (see below)
4. A wooden threshold that was so old and worn that it exposed the “knuckles” of the knots from the tree, like aged knuckles on a centogenarian
5. A section of real arches that shows how they were constructed.
6. A display of how they created cranes to haul stonework up the mountain.
7. A latrine that was one of the first of its kind
8. Romanesque arch construction displayed

And a few morbid items from the torture storeroom to remind us of our mortality.

Description of Torture Display
Always wanted those Armrests…
Hmm…

Since the fortress was built in the 11th century and over a period of hundreds of years, the museum was able to trace its construction history. It was an exciting architectural exhibition of walls, innovations and construction methodology. While most of the fortress was reinforced and expanded in the 15th century, it captures the various early periods from Romanesque beginnings to High Renaissance.
2. Mozart’s Birthplace and House:

Room in Mozart’s House
Stage Set for Festunghall
Costumes for Mozart Opera
One of Mozart’s Pianos

3. Performances:
Curtain Call for Werther with Angela Georghiou
Curtain Call for Iphegenie et Tauride with Rolando Villazon and Cecilia Bartoli

The star quality of these performances have been a bit mind-boggling. The interesting point is that my favorite opera star, Jonas Kaufmann, was not at the top of his game in Fidelio. The music was deep and entrancing, but his performance was weak. The opera performances shown here were much better. These performers can really deliver full-bodied voices and their skill and dedication really shows. Audiences were very responsive and clapped heartily.

Antipasti with Prosecco
A real pork cutlet
Lardery of Local Specialties
A table reserved for me!
My view outside

4. Food and People: On my last day here, I decided to go for the two-hour lunch instead of the evening dinner option. My lunch was celebrated at the Heimer Specery. I took my time, had a small antipasti plate of eggplant, sun dried tomato and roasted red pepper with Prosecco, followed by the house specialty, a succulent full bodied pork chop that comes from the establishment’s own piggery. Along with a glass of rose, this was the chef’s recommendation so it had better be good. And it schmecked, or tasted delicious! I had just told Gee Kin that I thought pork was often disappointing as a dinner entree. I often found it dry and uninspiring. After your third bite you wish you had ordered the branzino. Well, I wasn’t disappointed this time. This little restaurant around the corner from the Festival Hall delivered to demanding regulars and I was a beneficiary.

The night before, I took my place at another restaurant (the one I went to for lunch today was fully booked 2 nights in a row, thus the lunch decision). As I was about to hog a table for four all by my lonesome, another gentleman was looking for a single at the same time. He asked if he could join me, the very exact same time another woman came along and did the same! I was very flattered, and didn’t mind the company at all. I was even more delighted when I learned that neither of them spoke English!

The three of us ended up with a very friendly conversation, and I had a chance to practice my elementary German. It was frustrating as I could ask basic questions but never “got” the answers. They drifted to fairly complex conversations about what the two dinner partners thought of the Greek Crisis, Angela Merkel, and the operas they were seeing. The gentleman’s nephew was performing in the opera we were about to see (Angela Georghiou in Werther). He was a baritone and did very well.

What I like about traveling is connecting the dots. I was flashing on how non-English speakers must feel when they are asked questions. After a few pleasantries, a zero-tolerance policy toward any non-English speakers seems to drift into the picture. Native English speakers tend to expect everyone to speak English, even in non-English speaking countries!

Well, the tables were definitely turned here. I felt stupid, unable to respond to simple political and economic questions. While it made me more determined to learn German, it made me reflect on how hard it is for many people in many countries to master English. I certainly came to that conclusion as I realized I could only sit and muse as the two native German speakers became very engaged and animated in their conversation. Sadly, I could only plaster a smile on my face and pretend that I understood everything.

German women seem to like short spiky hair, blow-dried behind the ears. Subtle platinum highlights, or jet red. Less Gothic these days. The woman who joined me was of the subtler version, and very svelt. She worked for a pharma company in Regensburg, and drove two hours each way to come to the performances this week. The gentleman from Innsbruck was a retired German teacher. It was, despite my misgivings, really fun trying out my German with no English back-talk.

Here are a few random street shots. The urban planning and insight for local Salzburgers and tourists alike are appreciated and well used in high density pedestrianized areas borne out of necessity. Delivery trucks and taxis drive right over the fountains and gutters, and everyone shares the paths in a symbiotic way.

Public spaces in high density zone
River of Fun on Pedestrian street
Pre-School Field Trip

2015

Special Guest Report: Reflections of the TME by GK Chou

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As many of you know by now, I don’t let traveling alone stop my intrepid wanderings. But I love to travel with Gee Kin and others when the timing works out. On this year’s world tour, Gee Kin wanted to go on the Trans-Mongolian Express (TME). In particular, he was interested in getting a glimpse of Russia and understanding why it gets such bad press. I thought it might be interesting for you to read his own penned version of the three weeks we spent traveling through China, Mongolia, Russia and Berlin, Germany together. If any of it sounds like you heard it before–well, I plagiarized them earlier!—VV.

Since I love trains, I got what I wanted from riding the TME. I found the experience soothing and serene. It allowed me to think, to meditate and to reflect. Even if the scenery was mainly birch trees, it WAS constantly changing. I was never bored. It was good to be off-line. Sharing the experience with Vickie reminded both of us that we really don’t need a lot of stuff to be happy.

Understanding Russia was a different challenge. I only scratched the surface, but I am resolved to learn more. I regret not stopping for a few days in Siberia. I know Russia is going through difficult economic times and Moscow is not Russia. Perhaps on another trip. Speaking of stopping, going to a public toilet in Russia was a pleasant experience; “having to go” in China is still stressful.

Here are some of my quick, superficial impressions from Moscow and St Petersburg, and a couple of comparisons with Beijing with which I am more familiar. All 3 cities have humungous, clean and efficient mass transit systems (one of my “must-have” factors to be considered a “great” city). The Chinese (“my people”) seem to have pushing and shoving in their DNA; I found the Russians in crowds patient and polite. I did not see one person on the Beijing subway reading a book, newspaper or a magazine (but devices were everywhere); I noticed many Russian commuters reading hardcover books.

And OMG the women in Moscow! Nearly everyone that was on the street or that we encountered looked like a model. Even Vickie was looking ☺.

But I have come to realize what many of you probably already know. Although many Russians look “European”, Russia is not Europe — it is Eurasian.

While the feudal system was pretty much gone in most of Europe by 1500, the Russian serfs, who comprised the majority of the Russian population, were not legally emancipated until 1861, and then in a way that left most of them heavily indebted to their original masters until the October revolution in 1917. Since the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1721), Russia has wanted to be recognized and accepted as one of Europe’s major players. But because of historical, political and cultural differences, Europe (and the US for the past 100 years) has often been suspicious and demanding of its giant neighbor.

Sadly, this seems to be where things stand today. Everyone just wants peace, to be able to relax with friends and family, and a better life for their kids. I hope this current state of affairs does not turn into violence and tragedy.

Despite all the big questions that beg for more answers, my most profound memory from this trip is that of the staff of the TME. They prepared their meals from scratch every day. Nearly every time we passed their cabins, someone was chopping vegetables, mincing meat, mixing dough or making dumplings. And despite the constantly changing timezones, we knew when it was time to eat when the staff gathered together for their meals.

Yes, Chinese life revolves around preparing food and eating together. It takes up a tremendous amount of time and energy. But I don’t think this is a bad thing. Perhaps it would be a more peaceful world if all cultures did the same.
–Gee Kin Chou, August 19, 2015

Baozi made in pantry
Baozi made in pantry

(Ed. note: Photo is the one and only photo that inspired Gee Kin to take on his Iphone camera or any in the last 20 years that I can remember)–VV.

2015

Day 23: The Hills are Alive…

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Yesterday’s travel ended me in Von Trapp land. Out of curiosity, I googled it and got not only the history of the family from the Sound of Music fame, but also its website for their mountain resort in Vermont. I was just researching some places to stay for my upcoming Fall Foliage tour of New England and thought I’d check it out. The rooms start at $399, so I decided to pass this time around.

Austrian Countryside
Outside the Window of my rail car

Back to the ranch in the Austrian Alps. Salzburg is jammed with tourists, not just for the festival, but for its stunning beauty. This small little town around the size and shape of Sausalito is having a hard time keeping up with demand. Nevertheless, it draws a huge crowd every year for this annual musical event. It is laden with big names for opera and classical music. All my favorites are here, and I can see Jonas Kaufmann, the new Andrea Bocelli-like opera divan (is that the male version of a diva?!?)

Today, the Vienna Philharmonic, Ricardo Muti and Anne Sophie Mutter are sold out. The program includes Tsaichovsky’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, and Brahms Symphony #2. I felt very smug to have ordered tickets before they were issued last year. It was so thrilling to see Mutter. Like others, I was sweating from holding my breath at the end. She was enrapturing and you could hear a pin drop as she reached a series of crescendos. She partnered with Muti to lead the orchestra as well as play beyond perfection.

IMG_7761She eventually earned a standing ovation, but not because the audience wasn’t sure. In true European style, the audience very deliberately withheld letting her know that they approved of her performance. And, in reply, she responded with a delayed second piece. Do you know how hard it is to get European audiences out of their seats? Unlike the Americans who are easy to please, the Europeans are very grudging with their compliments. You have to really earn your stars here.

Well, the well-healed (no typo, I mean there is alot of spa time going into this crowd) got up on their feet and gave her an ovation you would not believe. Maybe that was the reason for the delay. But that’s after they spend three minutes stamping their Bruno Maglis on the hard floor. Anne was lovely and gracious as could be. This was her kind of crowd, honed to perfection themselves. You could tell this was a huge honor to her.

Other observations of this thrilling performance…there are strictly Tattinger-sponsored champagne breaks here…no beer and pretzels. The Austrians tastefully dress to convey their age-appropriate super-wealthy reserved style. I think of myself as reasonably self-aware in my black concert dress but I felt like a slob. The 11:00am Sunday performance (ok let’s miss church today) gave the older crowd (hey, that’s me too) at least 12 hours sleep beforehand to stay awake, so everyone was frisky.

I think mine’s at the end….
Dirndls and Lederhosens Alive and Well…
Tattinger Break at Half-time

The aftermath of the concert consisted of weaving my way through the fleet of 30+ Audi S8s in front ready to whisk patrons away to an after-event. I looked for my name but they were only by number. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to retrieve the code beforehand.

2015

Days 20-22: Planes and Boats and Trains

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Such has been our busy week of flying from Moscow to Berlin, taking a hydrofoil to Peterhof from Moscow, and the train from St Petersburg to Moscow. We enjoyed the Sapsan train the best, which turns out to be the same as the ICE train I am taking from Berlin to Salzburg. We assumed the Russian premier long distance train was its opportunity to showcase Russian engineering, but it looked suspiciously similar to the German trains.
IMG_7686Yesterday, on Gee Kin’s last full day in Berlin, we took a day excursion by local train to Sans Souci Palace in Potsdam. We didn’t visit the palace as most visitors do, but took a three-mile walk between Sans Souci and Charlottenborg Palaces in the scant shade of 99 degree weather. A UNESCO world heritage site, Potsdam was the chosen site for the summer palace of King Friedrich. Here’s a Wiki link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci

The event planners were preparing for the Sommernacht at the palaces the following day. It sounded like a wonderful celebration of German classical music in a beautiful venue, but unfortunately we were leaving. It would be worth coming back one day for the festivities and fireworks in this elegant location.

In our 36 hours in Berlin, we had launched our stay with a leisurely walk in the neighborhood of Potsdamer Platz, through the zoological garden in the middle of the city. It was calming and provided time for us to reflect on all the Siberian landscapes we had just traversed.

Those of you who know us are aware that we like long urban walks, 5-10 miles a stretch. This was yet another “walk in the park”. (For the curious, I have a website, http://www.crazyladywalks.com, that provides detailed information on Bay Area walks). It may seem pricey to go halfway around the world for a walk, but these are the most memorable and enjoyable ones to us.

We managed to balance the rest of our three days with local tours and attractions. We found a good Turkish restaurant in the more local area around the Zoo. Gee Kin slugged out on the museum track so we did a Young European concert with the Kiev Orchestra last night.

Sandwiched in between our morning walk and the evening concert, we visited the Reichstag dome. Being one of the hottest days ever in Berlin, we wondered how we got ourselves into this predicament. Masses of local tourists had come from all over the world to the Reichstag for their German civics lesson, on this one day. We not only fried at every pit stop, but then we were sous-vide under the dome, which resembled the George Forman griller.

View from Street
Reichstag, Berlin
View of Ground Floor
Another view from Interior
Top of Dome
View of Interior

Nevertheless, it was still fun to see and experience Norman Foster’s masterpiece. Luckily for you, the photos can never effectively convey temperature. But I guarantee you, the open vents in the building were insufficient ventilation for the once-in-a-hundred years heat wave. My dead straight hair went curly and the wood on our paper fans are permanently warped from this day at the Bundestag.

Three activities in one day’s 99-degree weather may be asking for trouble. Gee Kin’s alternative was to go to some delightfully soothing, air-conditioned art museum and he picked this?? Granted, the tour to Reichstag was pre-booked. We had failed to do this a few years back on our first trip to Berlin around 2012. And I was a day off on the booked date. Being our last day, we were not going to forego these paid-in-advance commitments so we had no choice but to go. So our last day was a bit of a marathon but it was penance for our lethargy the first 48 hours.

As mentioned, we went to a concert at the Konzerthaus Berlin, in a renovated building in a lively area in the middle of the city. But that’s not saying much, as everything seems to be in the middle of the city. Rome and San Francisco feel intimate like this, but not Moscow or Paris. Those are honking huge BIG cities, that dwarf your existence. That may be due to the six-plus-lane wide ribbons of thoroughfares used for pomp and circumstance.

Gendarmerie Area in Berlin
Facade to Konzerthaus
Gendarmerie Area
Interior of Konzerthaus
Kiev Orchestra Curtain Call

I am at this very moment passing through Bamberg, where Gee Kin and I first discovered Cameron Carpenter. He is an amazing Curtis-trained contemporary organist who can do both classical and popular music. Some of you saw his performance at the SF Symphony Hall last year. He is one of our favorite new artists.

I am sitting in the dining car for lunch, noshing on bratwurst and cold potato salad. (See photo). IMG_7743The quality of food is less important to me thanthe total experience–environment, ambience, and PEACE. This was it, enough for me to write all of this discreetly in a maple-veneer and leather-lined carriage. Prices were reasonable by American standards. I had my .2ml wine (a bit more from the split bottle but you can measure if you want from the mark on the glass), entree and dessert with coffee, with a priceless view and free opera music via my IPhone to boot! To me, this beats a table at French Laundry.

Am heading to the Salzburger Festival and will post from there in a few days. Til then, stay wet (not dry
for SFers) and cool (for Deutschers). Clouds on the horizon.

2015

Day 19: Day of Reckoning

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We’re leaving Moscow today, heading for Berlin and the Western World as we know it. Russia feels more Eurasian and part of the Asian Continent than Europe in many ways. It has been a fascinating foray into the Russian culture, environment, and history.

Catherine the Great costumes–note trains
Jewelled Manuscript Cover

I am posting a few miscellaneous views of Moscow from the Kremlin Armoury and from on our last day here. Gee Kin has finally mastered his fourth word, uttering Hello! and Good bye! in one conversation. We are now aware of what it takes for foreigners to say “Ni Hao!” in Chinese, and the tables are turned. I am sure the Russians are wincing as we did when others spoke to us in elementary Chinese greetings.

State Historical Museum
TUM Department Store
View of Red Square from Kitay

Photos, above:
1. View of State Historical Museum, where some of the relics below are located.
2. GUM Department Store, a shining example of restored buildings in Moscow Center
3. View of Red Square from shopping street

Photos below, from inside the State Historical Museum:

Rare Double Mummy
Mongol Invasion, 13th C.
Map of Mongol Invasion, 13th C.
Early Stone Carving

We are sad to leave and feel woefully lacking in knowledge about any of Russia’s cultural treasures. Other than what we read in the local paper or magazine articles, we never pursued any information beyond the information we were fed. I suddenly discovered Wikipedia and Biography.com on this trip and have been using it regularly to search for all the Russian writers and composers that have been mentioned in guides.

I am passing a few on for those of you who are also curious: For Tsaichovsky:
http://www.biography.com/people/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-9503375#synopsis
It is interesting to note that Tsaichovsky was also a music critic. While he considered Beethoven a worthy composer, he was critical of Brahms, Schumann and Wagner. Anna Netrebko often sings in and promotes Tsaichovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” opera around the world.
For Pushkin: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pushkin
For Borodin (remember “Stranger in Paradise” from Kismet?):
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Borodin
Dostoyevsky:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoyevsky
Prokofiev: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Prokofiev
I asked our guide about Baryshnikov. He made a face as if I mentioned a pariah. He is a persona non-gratis. Remember, he defected while on tour with the Bolshoi? Oops. No monuments to him, unfortunately.

The next chapter of my travels will focus on Germany, Austria and Switzerland until the end of the month. Now that the uncharted portion of my trip is over, I’ll be posting every few days instead of daily. If you are getting too many emails, you can adjust your settings to unsubscribe, and you can always check in after that by going directly to http://www.travelswithmyselfandothers.com. Please continue to send me your comments when something strikes you! I love hearing from you!

2015

Day 18: Snippits of St. Petersburg

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Costumes for Hire in Park
The shoreline for locals

As we leave St.Petersburg, I thought you might like to hear my impressions of this well-endowed city of approximatly 6,000,000 people (10,000,000 in the metropolitan area). Its jewels and pageantry are not lacking, and the glory of the Russian empire are embodied here. It feels distinctly Scandinavian in climate and culture, due to its position on the Baltic Sea. The city is perfect at this time of year.

Today, we took a break from the many museums and escaped from the city for a day by hydrofoil to Peterhof, the summer residence of Peter the Great. Peter chose this site around 1704 as a convenient location for his travels to and from other countries. Similar to Versailles, it has extensive gardens and palace buildings.

Gee Kin got a break from museum sickness, since it was a Monday and the palace buildings were closed. However, I did wrangle a quick, one-hour or less visit to the Treasury building. It was open and we were the only visitors in the tiny museum. Many of the gifts to and from other royalty were kept here.

The Admiralty, St. Petersburg
St. Isaac’s Cathedral
A Walk in the Park…

It was a lovely bright, clear and breezy day. Many families were in the Palace grounds spending the day together (along with the tour groups). On the way back, Gee Kin and I enjoyed the fresh marine air along the harbor, and stopped for a drink in the park near the hotel. We sat and watched local St. Petersburgers.

We found the Russian people very tidy, well-behaved and a very handsome people. Most of the young people dressed well, with just enough flair to be noticed. We couldn’t help but prefer their tailored look with the casual one in the States. But obesity is also a problem here, due to alot of bread and beer in the diet.

I still wonder why I hadn’t made a point to come here before. It is a long way to come, and unless you join a tour it can be expensive and the visa process is prickly. But it’s such a widely misunderstood country. There needs to be more direct interaction between the US and Russia. While this problem is also the case for China, it seems oddly apparent that more people have traveled to China and have greater awareness of its culture than Russia’s. Perhaps the sheer distance between the Russia and the U.S. has caused this poor link.

The other night, we went to a Russian folk dance performance. We were very surprised that we hadn’t seen one like this before. Their costumes, style of dancing, and mannerisms were new and intriguing to us. I vaguely remember seeing some dance troupe like this on the Ed Sullivan Show when I was growing up! How could I have missed exposure to this deeply ethnic and well-preserved culture my entire life?!?

In planning for this trip, I’ll admit that I was focused on the Trans-Mongolian Express and the journey more than the two end points (Beijing and Moscow). I wasn’t fully prepared for what I was going to experience at each end. It caught me by surprise, but in a very positive way. The Russian experience was very special, since I had not been here before.

The tourist industry is still relatively undeveloped. Despite the language barrier, the Russians were very friendly and polite to us.

Many local people do not speak English so it puts the onus on the traveler to communicate in the local language. Learning the Russian alphabet and survival words are somewhat essential. You won’t get English flipped back in your face if you struggle to utter a few words in the local language. This is a place where they really appreciate your efforts, so you will be warmly rewarded.

The Russian language is based on the Cyrillic alphabet, developed by the Bulgarians. They are very proud of it. It combines letters from the Roman alphabet, Greek letters, and a few of their own doing. I kept wondering why I felt like I was on Sorority Row in Berkeley. Gee Kin and I had a blast trying to decipher words in Russian. Here are a few to amuse you. See if you can guess what the words are. I’ll give you the answers in the next post.

1. PECTOPAH
2. NHTEPHET
3. MNHNMAPKT
4. CNTNbAHK
5. HYTOPNYC
(Note: I haven’t figured out how to add the Cyrillic Alphabet to my Keyboard yet. The N is written backwards).

All in all, I have thoroughly enjoyed our visit here. I hope you will consider coming and make a point to visit this fascinating country.

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