home sweet home

We made it home today, with 2/3 of our checked bags arriving with us. Thanks to a strike of air traffic controllers in France, we got bumped to a British Airways flight instead of American Airlines, a marked improvement in service and food.

Its very good to be home again. Sleep beckons.

vienna, krakow, and coming home...

Wow. We got back in Vienna today after 5 really great days in Krakow, Poland. That was a lot of fun, and I'll have stories and pictures to tell once we're back in the States. I "blogged" the old fashioned way (aka "wrote in a journal") so I could keep track of what we had done (and eaten!). We just finished repacking the suitcases for the long journey home tomorrow. Somehow we seem to have less stuff coming home, even though we bought stuff here. Perhaps we're defying some law of physics, or perhaps its because Krysta and I didn't pack together in LA. Los Angeles feels worlds away right now, and there's going to be some strangeness about coming back even though we haven't really been gone that long. We miss our animals and our friends and our own bed, and we're excited to get back to those things. We'll miss the food, the walking, and our friends and family over here. There were lots of things we didn't get around to doing/seeing but we also tried to keep the pace sort of relaxed. I'm sure we'll be back someday.

In the meantime, I'm going to get some sleep so I'm well rested for that longest of days: flying west across the Atlantic.

vienna, day 4

Today was probably our last full day in Vienna, depending on when we decide to come back from Krakow. Its a little sad because we're really just getting the hang of everything and settling into the city. That's how these things go, I suppose.

This morning we started off (after a quick kaffe and croissant, of course) with a visit to the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury). I can tell you that the Austrian rulers over the centuries amassed a serious amount of jewels. There was a sword with a handle and sheath made of of Unicorn horn!? Ok, so it was Narwhal tusk, but they thought it was unicorn horn. Again, I couldn't really take any photos here, because they kept it dark and flash was verboten. I took some video that will be up somewhere at some point. It was a really impressive collection, however, and a morning well spent.

For lunch, we followed a friend's recommendation and made our way over to Sieben Stern Brau, which is a restaurant AND micro-brewery. I had my first (and best) experience with weiner schnitzel, Krysta had a yummy spinach strudel, and we both throughly enjoyed their beers. Our waiter was a very kind old man who I think was excited to practice his English, because he kept apologizing for it while complimenting our mediocre German. In any case it was a tasty lunch in their serene little garden.

Speaking of serene gardens, after lunch we walked over through Burgarten and posed with the nice statue of Mozart. It was nice to take a different, scenic walk home and see some new corners of the city. After dropping some stuff off at home we went over to the Naschtmarkt (farmer's market, essentially) to soak in the sights and smells. We bought some chocolates and soaps, and enjoyed a nice "melange" before coming back home to repack some things for tomorrow's travels.

This evening we set out to do some wandering down one of the major shopping streets, but found most of the shops closed even though it was only about 7pm. After getting a little bit, u, confused as to our location, we ended up hopping a train back to Stephenplatz with which we've become rather familiar, and settled into a nice little trattoria for some pizza and wine. I also finally got some Apfelstrudel, which was quite tasty.

In all today was a nice leisurely paced day with some touristy action mixed with some low-key "vacances." We're a little sad to leave Wien and leave our hosts, but I'm really excited to see Poland for the first time. No more blogging until we're back from Poland. I'll have more stories later next week!

vienna, day 3

Krysta shared an observation about this city earlier: everything seems to work on the honor system. This came up after our outing this morning to the Spanish Riding School, where these guys ride horses for show using really old techniques. This is the extent of my understanding of horseback riding. We attended their "morning exercises" this morning, which was a bit of a disappointment, in part because of my lack of knowledge of the sport. Krysta enjoyed herself a bit more because she used to ride in middle school, so she could appreciate the finer points of what we were seeing. To me, it just looked like some horses walking around.

Back to the honor system, at the Riding School there were several signs and announcements that taking pictures or video was "verboten", and yet I think I was probably the only American there who followed that rule. Now, they did only have one elderly usher who would walk around the gallery and remind anyone he saw with a camera out, but they usually just waited until he left and then pulled it back out. People were even taking flash photos, and one of those spooked one of the horses, drawing some stern glares from the rider.

I pointed out that there was so little enforcement, and thats when Krysta pointed out that people here just seem to accept, largely, that the rules are meant to be followed. We have yet to be asked to show our weekly metro pass, 3 days and lots of rides into the trip. And people here obey the walk/don't walk signs religiously. Its a really lovely thing, I think, and it probably helps the trains run on time. It also makes me embarrassed when my countrymen come in and assume, as Americans so often do, that the rules simply apply to everyone except themselves.

/rant

The weather here continues to be gorgeous, much warmer than we anticipated. After our morning at the "Reitschule" we walked northward to a place called Bio Bar, a vegetarian restaurant Krysta found on the internet. Our food was yummy, and I enjoyed some more good Austrian beer (this one was organic!). Then we headed back down to Neue Berg, which houses the Museum of Musical Instruments and the Museum of Arms and Armor. These were pretty cool, although I have very few pictures because it was so dark in most of the rooms. I have a lot of video though, because that was faring better in the low light. There were some incredibly ornate keyboard instruments, and some oboes carved and painted to look like dragons.

We had another museum we had hoped to get to today, but we were feeling done with museums, so we sat and had coffee and a rasberry soda, then strolled over to the gardens in front of the Rathaus (town hall). It was a lovely setting.

We met up with our hosts as they were finishing up their rehearsal for a production of Cossi fan tutti. On our walk there we stopped for a milkshake! It was pretty fun to watch an opera dress rehearsal. I was watching to conductor for a while, and it surprised me when he started speaking in German. I was so lost in watching him spur on the orchestra in motions understood by any musician regardless of langauge, that I had simply forgotten he was Austrian.

The evening concluded with dinner at an Italian place called Firenze. Since its still "Spargel" time, I had a delicious tagliolini with white and green asparagus tips and a cream sauce. Then we all shared a dessert with strawberries and asparagus with vanilla ice cream. It was interesting, and not something I would necessarily seek out, but I enjoyed the experience.

Tomorrow is our last day here in Wien before we hop a train on Friday to Krakow. We're hoping to visit the Imperial Treasury and the Naschtmarkt. The nice thing about staying with American friends who are living here long term is that we get to go be tourists on our own during the day, and then get little glimpses of everyday life from our gracious hosts. Its been a lovely trip so far and this looks sure to continue.

vienna, day 2: mozart day

Greetings again from Osterreich! Today was our day to honor Herr Mozart's legacy in this city. We spent the morning touring the Mozarthaus, which is a museum dedicated to "Wolfie" on the spot of the largest and most expensive apartment he rented in Vienna. The museum was interesting, if not a little dry at times. It was awesome (in the non-California sense of that word) to be in the space where such a timeless genius worked his magic. Seeing original manuscripts of his music, and notations he made in the practice sheets for his piano students was really great.

Our gracious hosts Mel and Gabe joined us for the outing, and we all had lunch at a place they called "the potato restaurant", probably because it states on the menu that they use potatoes and/or apples in all of their dishes. Its "Spargel" (Asparagus) time here, so lots of restaurants are featuring asparagus on their menu. Per Mel and Gabe's recommendation, I took advantage of this and enjoyed a dish that involved asparagus wrapped in bacon, stuffed inside some sort of potato batter, then deep fried and smothered in hollandaise sauce. It was fantastic. As was my first experience with Austrian beer.

Krysta and I then went off to wander through Stephansdom, an old gothic cathedral that serves as one of the central landmarks in Vienna. Its really an amazing building. My favorite features were the carving of the man who looks like he's crawling through the wall, the dazzling roof, and the intricate staircase carvings. The organ was pretty impressive too. After the church, Krysta and I wandered a bit, stumbling across a few fountains and statues, and then stopping for some Viennese coffee and people-watching.

The evening's activity, as I mentioned yesterday, was a night at the Staatsoper to see The Magic Flute. Mel came along as our guide as we negotiated the sometimes confusing customs of seeing the opera from the "stehplatz" (standing place). The chief advantage of this is getting to see a fine opera for a mere 3.50 Euros. The chief disadvantage is, as you might expect, standing up through an entire opera. This was only the second opera I've attended, and I enjoyed it immensely. It was a very visually interesting staging, the singing was first-rate, and of course the score is one of the best. It was well worth the sore feet to see such an important work in the city in which it was born.

After the opera, I enjoyed another bratwurst "hot dog" and came home to some beer I'd picked up at the market earlier. All in all, it was a fine day full of more good food, and remembrance of W.A. Mozart. Tomorrow looks to be a full day of museum-type activities, so I'm off to bed.

vienna, day 1

It has been a loooong day. Just yesterday (well, Saturday really), Krysta and I were in Champaign-Urbana watching my little sister graduate from college. Then Sunday evening we hopped on a plane in Chi-Town and flew over to Vienna for our first trip abroad together. Although we're both very tired now, I wanted to get some thoughts down because I'm likely to forget a lot of what happened today in the haze of jetlag.

Krysta and I both had a hard time sleeping at all on the planes, but it was otherwise an uneventful couple of flights. Heathrow airport is enormous. It simply dwarfs anything we have in the States, although so much of it is unused space. Vienna airport is just way outside the metro area, meaning a 25-30min train ride through farm country. It really looked a lot like parts of Illinois or Wisconsin, albeit with smaller fields and smaller cars.

We're staying with some friends who are opera singers studying here. This is great for several reasons. It means there's lots of beautiful singing going on around the apartment, it means there's a piano in the apartment so maybe I won't lose all of the progress I've made in the last month, and they know the neat tricks about going to see The Magic Flute at the Statsoper, which is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Vienna (Wien) is a small city, and a rather clean city. After setting down our things at the apartment, we got down to the most important item of business: eating. Mel and Gabe took us to Ice am Schwedenplatz for some outstanding ice cream. Then Gabe and I left the vegetarians and wandered over to the sausage stand on Hohermarkt for the best "hot dog" I've ever had. They take these fantastic french rolls, and stab a large spike down the middle of it. Into the hole created by the spike, they pour a good amount of spicy mustard, and then put a bratwurst in there. Mmmmmm.

We walked around a bit more and got a quick taste of the city center. Here are some pictures from our evening stroll. Between the jet lag and the meandering nature of our walk, there aren't very many and I can't explain what all of them are. There will be more tomorrow, probably with some explanation.

Now, I sleep the sleep of the jetlagged gods.

in recovery

I begin by giving some respect to Andy Pettitte for giving a forthright account of his use of HGH, and at least something of an explanation and apology. I'm done with the whole "steroids in baseball" carnival, and I can't wait for there to be actual games to watch. In the meantime, however, it was refreshing to see a player speak openly and honestly about his errors in judgment. Public figures in general seem extremely reluctant to do this, and anytime one of them does I believe they should be applauded.

I also have to give much love to the City By the Bay. I spent the weekend in San Francisco to help a friend celebrate her 30th year and it was just a really good time. Every time I'm in that city I love it more. I don't need to list the reasons. You either know, or it will be self-evident when you visit. Its a gray, dreary day in Los Angeles, and I wish I were still up north.

Side note: Catchiest song about San Francisco? Written and Performed by Libbie Schrader, who is pretty great.

Well, results from WI will be coming in soon, and we'll see if Krysta's home state can keep the Obamarama going.