"So, here I am in a very smoky cafe in Vienna - my legs hurt - I jogged all morning to see what I could see.
Mariahilferstrasse - a young lady girl woman, probably 19 - approached me clipboard in hand singing 'Help I need somebody, help not just anybody. I need you!' My first thought was: 'She knew that I'm an English speaker.' But, of course, her little Beatles rendition spilled into very German pleas for help with the World Health Organization (?) I think...or was it something to do with animals? What's the AARP? ARP? So, I said, in a deeper more gruff tone than I had expected: "Actually, I'm American. I don't speak German." (I was shy about not speaking German when expected to.) "Oh!" She laughed and smiled (she was cute), I think in recognition that her little song fell on an English speaker's ears. And now I'm trying not to inhale. It's a good thing that I took Claritin D this morning. But, this food looks so good. 1/23/09
And now I'm waiting for opera tickets. My knees would be hurting but the bar on this second aisle of the standing room line is compatibly low. Some of the obvious old timers at the front of the line - and one young asian looking girl - have stools, collapsible, - they take them to work, I'm sure - but one man has a homemade wooden stool. He is very fun so far, saying things to his Austrian brother, on his collapsible metal stool, from different languages: 'Qu'est-ce que c'est?!' And I'm pretty sure he just said "Awesome!" I'm earlier than even they said to be at the ticket booth - there is only one curl to the line so far and I'm not at the end. I think I'll make it.
And now I'm in the Staatsoper Cafe. There is this strange ritual- People with standing tickets, after buying them, line up to claim their place in the hall by tying scarves or leaving something to the lower bar of the leaning bar. All this is administered by an authoritarian little woman with white cropped hair. I left my hat and now I have fifty minutes in the cafe to drink some peppermint tea and write in my 'drawing' book. The pies and mousses are tempting. 1/23
Well, this has been an evening of confusion. Here I am at the Volkstheatre, not the Volksoper, about to watch Die Fledermaus the play, neither of which I wanted to see. What substantial is there about Die Fledermaus other than Strauss's music?
I read on Wikipedia that Vienna is more than 99/98% Austrian. At one point, it had had numbers of Hungarians and Yugoslavians up to 12% or something like that - I'm making this up now.
I thought this would be a small attendance. When I first sat down, there were very few. The theatre will be filled!
Well, I got the last standing ticket, it would have been the first, but, in a communication deficient interchange with a sales lady earlier, I had been led to believe the standing room ticket door was outside. The hour and a half of waiting by myself was when I drew the Natural History Museum at the end of the book. Naturalisch. Wait, I'm hearing a trumpet! Maybe this is Strauss's opera after all?!
So far, it's an arrangement for band instruments - cabaret style. IS that a tango version of his music? 1/24
And now I'm in my host family's house - the Bernthaler-Garzuly's of Austro-Hungarian Imperial Descent. Large portraits of noblemen and noblewomen line the halls of this tall celing antique laden home - Franz Josef's childhood rocker sits next to the front door. He was Hannah's deceased husband's great-grandfather - so, that's big. They are a ball going family and very orderly and kind." 1/25
5 comments:
I'm so glad you have access to internet, brother. We have a delayed opening (one hour) because of snow, even though we don't have school today because we're taking midterms. Fun!
love,
rachel
Joseph, I'm confused...Did you see the opera or the play? How was it?
peppermint tea is my favorite.
Three questions: Was the play a success for you after all? Would the line for the Volksoper line would have been shorter? Do you have an address I can send mail to?
Much love, your sister
"They are a ball going family."
Stick with them.
This is pretty random, but I googled Bernthaler/Garzuly and the first hit was your blog. I stayed with them in summer 2010, and I was hoping you could tell me if it was Frau Bernthaler and Herr Garzuly, or the other way around? I am sending them a thank you package a few years late... It was fun reading about your experience in their home! I couldn't speak much German when I was there so I didn't get a chance to have them tell me about all the furniture and artwork. I miss Eva's cooking, though! Hope you get this soon.
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