Vienna

>
> Frohe Weihnachten und ein Gesundes, glueckliches Neues Jahr 2008
> senden wir Euch vom schoenen Wien.
> Eure Sigrid und Richey
> (Tele 0043-1-904-9026)
>
> Liebe Verwandte und Freunde:
>

Fwd: photos of apartment

Subject: Bilder der Wohnung

Brigitta's Enkelin

Is this a copy?

Vaihingen, den 15. 1. 2008

Our last letter concerned mainly our Vienna experiences at Christmas: Christmas Eve in St. Ruprecht Church and later in the Stephan's Dome, then two Holidays: 25th and 26th, as Christmas is celebrated throughout the German Speaking regions (we don't know about the other European countries). We were surprised at the difference in mood here during Christmas, and strong emphasis on family, much less on presents and shopping than in california. Christmas Days are used for family gatherings, and feasting, similar to our Thanksgiving holidays. On Christmas Eve most families light their Christmas tree, then sing Christmas songs together before exchanging gifts, this seems to be done within the close family grouping. First and second Christmas Days belong to the larger family: alternating whose parents to visit on the first and whom on the second Christmas Day. 

We went to the revolving cafe on top of the Donau Tower  and treated ourselves to the spectecular view of Vienna from above at sunset: and of course, to the traditional Viennese ice kaffee.

The second Holiday was also special: not only did we visit the Freud Museum, but we treated ourselves after wards to a visit to Grinzing. this time the weather was a bit friendlier and we scouted around in Cafes and" Wine cellars".. Thus ended our untraditional  Christmas celebration. We confess, we had to try hard, not to miss family and friends at this special time of year .... So we made many telephone calls bto the States.

We had just recently discovered a back-house internet and telephone shop which was near our subway stop. It seemed to serve foreigners , usually from Balkan and Middle Eastern (Turkish) countries. We were overjoyed to discover that it was open during the Holidays and we could make long talks to family and friends. We must have spoken for a good hour and did not care about the cost; after all this was Christmas! To our great surprise our bill was less than ten Euros...

The following day our apartment had a power outage, gone were light, And heating, And TELEVISION too!! Luckily Brigitta had plenty of candles around, but they dont give out heat.... Richey tried to fix the blown out fuse, replaced one, ventured down to the basement of the building ... to no avail; so we went to bed by 7 o'clock that eve to stay warm! What should we have done in those unfamiliar blacked outsurroundings? 

The next day we could not find a store that carried fuses.... 

But to our joy, in the evening, when Richey fiddled again with the fuse box,  voila... magically the electricity came back on and we had heat, hot water, the refrigeration and above all, our light. Now we had TV for our evening amusement. The next day we had the sniffles ad stayed home to recuperate. 

To our relief Brigitta, our hostess  returned on the 30th from Los Angeles, and when the electricity struck two more times during our last week, at least she took care of the problem and arranged for the necessary repairs. 

Our most unusual and most delightful days in Vienna were yet to come: 

On New Years Eve Viennese go wild: If they don't go to city Hall for the Merry-Making similar to Times Square, they go up on rooftops andproduce their own incredible fireworks: What we in LA must do under strictly controlled conditions, Viennese can do freely from their rooftops whereever and whenever they want during Sylvester night: Brigitta also took us on her rooftop - all bundled up against the bitter cold --- with a bottle of Champaign and glasses in her basket. The firework displays were lighting up the sky everywhere and for hours. And Brigitta had to  assure Richey again and again that no permits were required and the spectacular displays were legal, individually funded and shot off from roof tops and plazas. What about fires, we asked? Oh, there may be one or two, she replied, but so what ....

Despite the cold, it was a magical, clear night: the spectacular, colorful explosions in the sky, the good champaign and of course the wonderful company and surroundings are unforgettable. 

The next morning we had to listen to the yearly TV transmission of the famous Viennese New Year's Concert. We had been sad that it had been impossible and unerschwinglich to hear the concert in person, but the transmission was absolutely first class and we listened enthrolled and with glassy eyes.

Yes, this is what we had come to experience here: music, first class performances, familiar tunes and audiences that were similarly to us, transported into music heaven.

When we thought that nothing could possibly beat such emotional  highlights, Brigitta asked us to accompany her to Grinzing for supper the next night. Little did we know what awaited us there: The elaborate supper buffet sporting all kinds of traditional local rustic food as well as delicacies of all sorts. Brigitta prepared large platters of traditional food for us to taste... We enjoyed the novel experience, and did not mention that we found it to be on the heavy side, excellent with the good glass of Heurigen (new wine). As we were finishing our feast an accordion player wondered in -- singing and playing. When he spied Brigitta he stolled over to our corner table, set down next to her, and played all the old-familiar Viennese tunes for us, singing and playing and alas--- drinking his Heurigen which Brigitta kept ordering for him. We were moved to tears (probably partly due to the wine we were sipping) and tried to hum along with the familiar Viennese tunes and Strauss Waltzes. Did we dance? No, we probably did not trust our legs anymore at that point....

train system-- free?? no control/honor code but everyone buy's yearly'tickets 

We returned to Vaihingen more than a week ago and are pleased to be "home" for a while resting up for our next adventure with family and friends. Cousin Werner, our host, has given Richey to his 80th birthday a wonderful present: a 4 day trip to Weimar, the Goethe town, and Erfurt close by, both are historically and culturally important German towns.Of course we are excited about that tour and are looking forward to it. We will leave at the end of January for 4 days, return to Vaihingen, and leave for Berlin on February 12.    

 

Vienna

Subject: Vienna

Mozart

Mozart's clock

practical a of collecting horse apples in Vienna

The Danube Tower

Sunset view of two Danube Arms from the Danube Tower Restaurant

Fwd: Photos

Vaihingen, den 23. 1. 2008 (belated letter for the End of year in Vienna)

The Advent Season has passed and Christmas is fast approaching. In Austria it is regarded as a two and a half day family celebration. Traditionally the  evening of the 24th belongs to the nuclear family: Mother, Father and children; the following two days are reserved for visits to both sets of grandparents, one set for each day. Usually these family days are joyful gatherings with traditional foods and merrymaking, very much like our Thanksgiving festivities. We do not know how much these old traditions are still observed by the youngest group of parents.

On Christmas Day we were a bit gloomy and missed our family. Fortunately we had discovered a telephone and internet shop near our subway station which was going to remain open during the holidays. So we went there on both Christmas Days and made many long calls to family and friends in the States.  

When it got dark, we took the "Ring" street car and felt good by being surrounded by throngs of cheerful, well-dressed holiday revelers. We ended the ride at our favorite Cafe House, sipped our Cafe Melange, enjoyed "Apfelstrudel mit Schlag" and observed the other lonely people ...

One late afternoon, soon after Christmas, our electricity suddenly went off. We were in total darkness, without heat and hot water. Luckily there were plenty of candles about. Richey found the fuse box and replaced a blown out fuse; but darkness persisted; so he ventured down six flights of stairs to the electrical switch box in the basement, but all to no avail. By now stores had closed and there remained nothing better for us to do but postpone our problemto another day. We were in bed by 7 p.m. and joyfully recalled younger days when we would have appreciated such an opportunity. 

The next morning Richey checked the fuses one more time, and voila... magically the electricity came back on! Heat and light returned, the refrigerator started humming, and the hot water heater kicked back on. Our breakfast was prepared in no time.

On the next day we had the sniffles, stayed inside and enjoyed the warm, comfortable apartment.

Brigitta, exchange partner, returned from Los Angeles on the 30th. When the electricity disappeared twice again, we were glad and relieved that she was there to take care of the problem. 

It is one thing, to have a technical problem in your own home. Richey would either be able to fix it himself or would know whom to call for help. Being in someone else's home is a totally different matter. We were surprised how clueless and utterly helpless we felt, acted, and actually were...

New Years Eve ("Sylvester") and New Years Day were wonderful and emotional days for us: The Viennese "go wild": City hall plaza transforms into a Times Square-like ocean of revelers who gather to ring in the New Year. We did not feel up to late-night partying. Instead we enjoyed Andre Rieu's Year-end concert on TV. Shortly before midnight Brigitta took us to her roof top balcony to watch the Midnight fireworks. It was bitter cold, so we got all bundled up and toasted in the New Year with a bottle of Champagne. The firework displays were spectacular and lit up the sky everywhere for an hour or more. According to Brigitta, all these fireworks were done by private parties from the rooftops, in the streets, or from public squares. She insisted that all this was done by private individuals and perfectly legal and no permits were needed. What about fires, we asked? Oh, there may be one or two, she replied, but so what ....

Despite the cold, it was a magical, clear night: the spectacular, colorful explosions in the sky, the good champagne and of course the wonderful company and surroundings are unforgettable. 

The next morning we listened to the yearly TV transmission of the famous Viennese New Year's Concert. We had been sad that we could not attend in person, but not only had the tickets been sold out months ago, it was way too expensive for us.  The live TV  transmission was beautiful and we listened enthralled and with glassy eyes.

When we arrived in Vienna a month before, we had not known  what to expect. Yet we must have felt some deep longing for connectedness and we found it here through the magic of music. We thought than that nothing could possibly match such emotional highlights. 

Next night Brigitta invited us for supper in Grinzing. We had no idea that a real treat was awaiting us. 

First the place: Grinzing had been and supposedly still is a small wine producing village. Over the centuries this suburb has become famous  for "wine, women, and song", tasting the Heurigen (new wine) and eating and spending a weekend evening with family and friends. Many old farm buildings and barns have been converted into modern, rustic-style restaurants with large fire places, and wooden tables and benches.  "Our" restaurant had a very large entrance-dining hall (probably the former barn) with a beautiful large, tiled fireplace. We got a table next to it. In the center of the "hall" was a large round buffet, set-up with traditional Austrian dishes to one side and international foods, salads and desserts to the other. Brigitta selected for us some traditional Viennese foods.This tasting-experience was fun, just a bit on the heavy side, but accompanied by a glass Heurigen, it was a perfect meal. As we were finishing our feast, an accordion player wandered in. He spied Brigitta and strolled right over to our corner, all the while playing familiar Viennese tunes, singing and drinking his Heurigen. Soon we were moved to tears, mostly due to the glasses of Heurigen which we were sipping. We sang and hummed along.  Did we dance? No, we probably did not trust our legs anymore at that point. I hasten to say that we did get home o.k. later that night... on the subway!

A note of praise for the Viennese transportation system: it is a very modern, super-efficient, cheap and convenient system for moving the masses of people. Most users are frequent travelers who purchase monthly or even yearly tickets at very low cost. There are no (visible!) ticket inspections: during our month in Vienna we did not once get checked, neither on the bus nor the subway. Vienna has one and the same price for traveling in the city on any of the urban transportation systems, regardless of distance and the number of times transfers. This system seems to work on an intrinsic honor principal (like our supermarkets and department stores used to be). Some people buy their tickets in automats at the station, or on the bus or train. In addition to day tickets, you can chose tickets valid for a week, a month and even for the whole year. Brigitta, e.g. has a year's pass which her bank purchases for her and charges and renews automatically. A great many people seem to have these arrangements. After buying and validating one time our one-week tickets, we simply walked onto any bus or subway for a week, without any control whatever. 

We got a bit jealous and embarrassed when thinking about our one-size-fits all American transportation system: cars and highways. Why can't we too, like the Europeans, put our emphasis into creating more and better public transportation facilities? 

As you can see we were very impressed by Vienna and have probably written too much about it. We'll try to be more concise in the coming episodes about our German adventure.

IMPORTANT NOTE: our email address continues to be <s.r.novak@cox.net> . Please do NOT try to reach us any other way or we will not get your mail. 

For some crazy reason, WE must SEND our outgoing letters from abroad  via the <@mac.com> address.

Weihnachtsgruesse

Subject: Weihnachtsgruesse aus Wien

Frohe Weihnachten und ein Gesundes, glueckliches Neues Jahr 2008 senden wir Euch vom schoenen Wien.

Eure Sigrid und Richey

(Tele 0043-1-904-9026)

Liebe Verwandte und Freunde:

Vaihingen/Enz, wo wir bei Werner Hamberger unser "Hauptquartier" haben

(es liegt direkt auf der anderen Seite des Schlosses)

Wien, den 23. 12. 2007

Liebe Verwandte und Freunde:

Aus dem romantischen, schneebedeckten Wien senden wir unsere Weihnachtsgruesse und wuenschen Euch alles Gute fuers Neue Jahr. Vor allem hoffen wir, dass Ihr diese schoene Jahreszeit bei guter Gesundheit feiern koennt.

Wie Ihr wisst, verleben wir ein ereignisreiches, wunderschoenes Jahr hier in Old Europe: nicht nur, weil wir Euch wiedersehen koennen, sondern ausserdem auch viele interessante Menschen kennenlernen und neue Erfahrungen machen. Vor allen Dingen aber, weil wir wirklich zum erstenmal in vielen Jahren unser Leben einfach geniessen koennen, ohne irgend einen Tagesplan, Programm, oder bestimmtes Ziel fuer den Tag vor Augen zu haben: Morgens lassen wir uns von der Sonne aufwecken, und wie Ihr wisst, ist das NACH 8:30 hier. Wir wohnen ganz in der Naehe von Schloss Schoenbrunn, machen Spaziergaenge oder lesen und Schreiben noch zu Hause. Nachmittags nehmen wir die U-Bahn in die Innenstadt , wo wir uns Schaufenster anschauen und Leute beobachten. Wenn wir davon genug haben, kehren wir ein in einem der vielen Kaffehaeusern, geniessen eine Melange und Apfelstrudel mit Schlag; lesen Zeitung, unterhalten uns mit Wienern und  machen es den vielen anderen Wiener "Lebens-geniessern" nach...

Zum Glueck wohnen wir in der Naehe einer U-Bahn Station, die uns in wenigen Minuten ins Zentrum der Altstadt bringt, zum herrlichen Stephansdom. Von hier aus entscheiden wir uns dann fuer ein Nachmittagsprogramm. Gestern, als endlich mal die Sonne durchblickte, entschieden wir uns schnell, zum Prater zu fahren. Vom Riesenrad aus hatten wir in der Tat einen herrlichen Blick ueber die verschneite Innenstadt.

Fuer den Abend versuchen wir, musikalische Veranstaltungen zu finden. Leider sind die  interessantesten schon im voraus verkauft. Meistens  schauen wir uns Wiener und Deutsche Fernsehprogramme an und geniessen dabei Gluehwein. Wir konnten aber doch Karten fuer  Hoffmanns Erzaehlungen in der Volksoper bekommen (fanden es aber nicht befriedigend); zu einem schoenen Mozart/Strauss Konzert im "intimen" Palais Auerspach; und Mendelssohns "Elias" im grossen Saal des Wiener Konzerthauses (war ein besonders schoenes Erlebnis). Ein Trompetenkonzert in der kleinen St.Anna-kirche in der Innenstadt war schoen aber auch traurig: die "Zuhoerer" waren fast alle Senioren, ebenso bei einem Adventkonzert im Stephansdom. Die Fussgaengerzonen dagegen, z.B. die  Kaerntnerstr. direkt nebenan, waren vollgepfropft mit juengeren Menschen (unter 65!!). Dort konnten sie sich mit Kind und Kegel bei den vielen Staenden und Buden amuesieren mit Gluehwein und vielen anderen Wiener Spezialitaeten.

Uebrigens, wir wohnen in einer interessanten Dachwohnung (in der Naehe von Schloss Schoenbrunn) Sie hat einen hoechst ungewoehnlichen Grundriss: Das Haus ist ein 6-stoeckiges schmales Reihenhaus. In der MITTE des Gebaeudes hat es Aufzug und Treppe, und unsere Wohnung umgibt diesen Mittelturm wie eine Donut (= wie ein Ring): der Fahrstuhl oeffnet sich DIREKT in unser  Esszimmer. Die anderen Raueme umringeln den Fahrstuhl/Treppe vom Esszimmer- ins Wohnzimmer-ins Buero ins Badezimmer, ins Schlafzimmer, in einen kleinen Gang zur Toilette, danach weiter in die Kueche und zurueck ins Esszimmer. Ausserdem gibt es  vorne, entlang der ganzen Strassenseite ) einen schmalen Balkon; auch nach hinten hinaus einen zweiten, aber viel breiteren Balkon, der auf einen grossen Innenhof schaut.

Die Tuer zum Fahrstuhl (und der daneben-liegenden schmalen Treppe) muss immer auf- und zugeschlossen werden. Zum Beispiel, wenn wir aus dem Fahrstuhl ins Esszimmer treten, duerfen wir nicht vergessen, die Fahrstuhl-tuer von innen wieder ABZUSCHLIESSEN. Koennt Ihr Euch diese ungewohnliche Ring-Wohnung vorstellen? Faszinierend!

Wir werden Weihnachten und Neujahr hier sein und Euch danach wieder berichten.

Jetzt muss ich schliessen, denn wir wollen heute Nachmittag das Kunsthistorische Museum besichtigen. Vorgestern waren wir im Wiener Museum und lernten viel ueber die Geschichte Wiens. Uebrigens, Wien hat nicht nur eine Roemische Vergangenheit, sondern war schon vor 5000 Jahren besiedelt (vielleicht von den Kelten?)

Nochmals ganz liebe Gruesse aus Wien,

von Euren Novaks, Sigrid und Richey

Prater: Riesenrat-Fahrt

Wiener Christkindlemarkt vor dem Rathaus

Clothing?

Feb.7

Notes about Carneval-Fasching after experiencing five Carneval Celebrations in different parts of the world: In New Orleans, Mardi Gras( many times); the famous Carnival in Rio; Karneval in Mainz, Germany, when we were students; and now Fastnacht in South Germany in the university town of Tuebingen and in the  small town of Neckar-Zweihingen near Ludwigsburg. By pure coincidence we were treated to a fifth Fasching in the University town of Erfurt. To us, the local small-town Fastnacht was the most enjoyable and genuine: it was obviously prepared and produced totally by the initiative of the small town's people and their local clubs, not staged by professionals: "it was for the people and by the people".  

The well-known religious meaning of Karneval is "fare-well-to meat" (carne=meat; vale=farewell), the day preceding lent. But we could not find the original story of Fasching (a name which also indicates "fasting", but it's a ritual very likely having much older  roots); the "allemannische" Fastnacht in the Black Forest Region appears to have its roots in a pagan rite of chasing out the winter spirits and preparing the land for spring. Thus the horrifying carved masks to scare away the dark spirits, the brooms for clearing out winter.  To us, this small-town local recreation of the ritual was especially attractive because of its genuineness: the "parade participants" mingled with the spectators, some chased youngsters in the crowd, danced with old-timers like us. There was merry-making and joyfulness all around, and a reflection of the relief that spring was approaching.

I must recount one small incident:  Their 60+ area groups and bands were loosely organized and improvised freely. We were practically in the midst of the activities: some witches and goblins left the parade to play tricks on the spectators,they chased them, danced with them, grabbed the girls, frightened the kids chased onlookers with their brooms or threw candies or  confettie into the crowd. What impressed us was the attention given to the youngsters in the crowd. Most masques and costumes were home-made, thus looked ruff and thus wildly unique and colorful, but scary; bands sounded like local Hi-school bands except with the spirit of New Orleans;); some stepped out and kissed children, threw candies into the small crowd and often chased after people, playfully scaring them and chasing them with sticks and  brooms. The crowd participated enthusiastically and Ziggy danced several times and loved it. Some goblins "fraternized" with the children, spoke to them kindly and lifted their terrifying masks to show their real faces underneath, and soothed them with hard candies.

TV has nightly shows which are spectacular, professionally created carneval parties. These are professional spectacles with performances reminding of N.Y. Radio City Music Hall;  we watched a couple of nights, mostly for the music, but we were not at all touched the way these local celebrations have.

 Long elegant cashmere coats:  

We had always maintained that clothing, appearance did not matter to us. Now we found out how nice it felt to know to look good and respectable. We admitted that we had made a virtue out of necessity....

Estelle wrote:

Aspen is one of those most unusual American towns that has excellent public transportation though and it's free for senior citizens. 

We returned to Vaihingen more than a week ago and are pleased to be "home" for a while resting up for our next adventure with family and friends. Cousin Werner, our host, has given Richey to his 80th birthday a wonderful present: a 4 day trip to Weimar, the Goethe town, and Erfurt close by, both are historically and culturally important German towns.Of course we are excited about that tour and are looking forward to it. We will leave at the end of 

Fasching

Jan.23.

The parade is approaching

Let the show begin!

Arrival in Market Square

The Parade approaching the Old church (name?)

Return of Fire (warmth) and Sun?? 

Richey needs to rest a bit and to recharge. Unwittingly, he  sat down

with the Mayor of Tuebingen (very young Oberbuergermeister with a

real story: his "poor" father, an eco-farmer, had tried all his life 

to get elected mayor, supposedly anywhere and everywhere, but never

succeeded. Then his "upstart" young son ran for mayor of Tuebingen,

first time! and got elected OBERbuergermeister off the bat!

Werner insists that we were given VP treatment and sat at the table 

for dignitaries (not true at all, we just bought a Heinerle beer and

a sausage at the adjoining booth, a far cry from behaving like

dignitaries). This is the story: Before letting us leave his home

that morning, Werner had insisted we wear his beautiful long Cashmere 

coats and shawls and gloves for warmth. I do admit, we did look and

feel pretty "cool" AND also stayed "Poodlewarm".

Note the Beer name!

Prosit, Heinerle! 

Pretty spectators, UUUGLY witches!

Strange Water Critters, I guess helping the town get rid of the ice

1. Introduction

Thank you so much, dear Chris, for setting up this blog! I'll try to send you the mail which we have written about our journey. This is the first installment. A big thank you hug from Ziggy Novak

House exchange arrangements via the Univac Exchange Program:

November 3-December 10  in  Vaihingen/Ens (South Germany, near Stuttgart)

(our home base for the year)

Werner Hamberger (cousin)          Almut Scholtz van der Hewel (sister)

Dec. 10-30. in Vienna

Brigitta Goeschl-Pratsch

  

Carnival- Fasching - Fastnacht Season    

Feb.12-March 8. in Berlin

Nikolaus Basedow

March 10 -April 15   in Berlin/Tegel 

Anita Malchow-Juncker 

April 17-May 15 outside of Paris

21. 4.-15.5.//Janet Ingram & John Cary 

May 20-June 15  in  Wroclaw/Breslau. Sigrid's hometown in Silesia, now Poland

. Stanislaw & Sofia Bogdanski

 Wroclaw/Breslau:

+cottage near mt Sleza  & Radunia in Sulistrowiczki

Left OPEN on purpose

these are possibilities:

 Rykyavik, Iceland; 

North Germany/ Dresden/ Rostock 

Barcelon, Spain

Scotland

Introduction

Ten years ago we retired to Rancho Palos Verdes, the most desirable location imaginable: perfect climate, stunning natural surroundings, a beautiful condo complex with all the amenities and facilities one could imagine, and above all, congenial neighbors who soon became good friends. During these ten years not a day has gone by without us thanking our good fortune for having been so lucky as to find such idyllic retirement conditions after a stressful and difficult working life. 

A couple of months ago three things happened almost simultaneously which changed our lives: Richey's 80th birthday was approaching; two good friends and neighbors of our age died unexpectedly; and  at that same time an email arrived from the INTERVAC agency containing an offer for a home exchange next spring with a couple from France.  

Thus an idea was born for adventure: Yes, let us check out this home exchange opportunity in Europe. What did we have to lose by taking risks when we can lose it all while staying in our paradise? We definitely needed a change, but did we want a challenge too? Could we still take such a risk in our late 70s? Didn't we have health issues lately?

Our ideas and questions came fast and furiously: Home exchanges? Of course we could offer up our beautiful condo for exchanges. Where would we want to go? Probably to Central Europe. When would that be? As soon as we can organize it?  For how long would we want to stay? A month? A year??? What about experiencing a whole year's cycle with the local populations: Oktoberfest in Munich... Christmas and New Year in Vienna... Carneval along the Rhine or Fasching in the Black Forest? Spring in Paris? Why not? Why not aim for it all? 

What would be  most important for Richey? What are my priorities?

We had not been as alive with ideas and projects and hopes in many a year!

It was then that the awareness struck us : Yes, we did need to challenge ourselves and why not do it in the way we like most: traveling, exploring, living abroad for a while; in Europe? In France? Germany? Austria? Why not do it all!

The real question was: how soon could we leave?  And we now knew: As soon as we could set up home exchanges; because without rental expenses, we could live abroad indefinitely. Our day-to-day expenses would be essentially the same as in RPV. Thus transportation would be our only real problem. 

The internet is such a great facilitator: I searched the web pages of "INTERVAC" (International Vacational Exchange), a reputable home exchange service. There I found all the information I needed to contact people who  had indicated their interest in visiting and exploring Southern California: I chose to contact those living near Paris, in Germany, in Vienna, Austria and in Wroslav, Poland,

The question of when and for how long to stay would solve itself when we see the response to our Intervac inquiries .  How long did we want to be away?  Why not aim for a whole year?  Our brain wanted to say: slow down, not so fast! But our heart yearned to fly again... For as long as we could keep it up... so why not aim for a whole year ...  and leave the specifics to chance and opportunity ... 

I got lucky which musty be a good omen: in a few weeks I had found some twelve families who were very interested in spending time in Palos Verdes. 

Once we got started, our ideas just snowballed and there was no stopping us: To venture out again, to take a risk, a leap of faith, and trust that we could have yet another adventure, other opportunities at our age ... Such dreaming was possible because we knew that we could always return to our condo in beautiful Palos Verdes at any time. With that assurance we felt safe to dare. It gave us the confidence and courage for adventure. 

     Thus the idea was borne and quickly evolved into possibility and then realization. 

Richey began writing short general presentations about America which would be appropriate to give in high schools or public forums.

This week in Berlin

Unter den Linden at 3 pm

That's what men's convenient Toilet "Pissoir" look like or rather used to look like. Very few are left.

Fernsehturm (TV tower: 368m): Tasting "Berliner Weisse" = beer with "Schuss" (a) with raspberry syrup; (b) with Waldmeister (a herb?): strange! but probably quite refreshing on a hot summer day

View from the rotating top

Our table 10

View from our window: see the clock on the church tower

The old Congress Hall (built soon after the war); Berliners call it affectionately "Pregnant Oyster"






Bundestag Building with "glass" dome which I described earlier

to the left a Barbar ad for the Konzerthaus; to the right, a wing of the French Dom of Berlin

Nationaltheater with Schiller Statue; between the Babar advertisement and at right angle and to the right: Franzoesischer Dom, and Deutscher Dom to (our) left.

Greetings from Berlin - 2/12/08

12589 Berlin, Lindenstrasse 77  (Friedrichsheim-Kreuzberg-Gegend),2-12-08
 

Hello, you all: 

Yesterday we flew our cozy, comfy coop in Vaihingen and are now in Berlin, where we are learning anew how to fend for ourselves. We are already missing Werner's helpful advice and protection! 

Our small bachelor apartment here is centrally located, it could not be more convenient: Looking out of our 14th floor top apartment, we can see nearby the Alexander Platz Funkturm, = the tall communications tower of former East Germany; nearby is the old Berlin Wall, a small stretch of which is still standing hear. This apartment is the owner's (Nilolaus Basedow) "downtown" batchelor's digs, while he lives on the outskirts of town near a lake and a large forest. He will leave for Rancho Palos Verdes next Saturday, where Heiner will pick him up at the airport and introduce him to his new surroundings in the Bay Club.

We have just returned by  foot (of course) from the former Checkpoint Charlie, the old barrier/wall gate between the US zone of Berlin(West), and the dreaded Soviet East Germany. It is the gate where hundreds of people lost their lives trying to escape East Germany in ordert o get to freedom in the West. 

We have just walked a bit to get a feel for the surroundings and the area; e.g. we found a nearby  grocery store just a couple of streets over, where we got some essential groceries; then we walked to the subway station and bought a city transportation ticket which is good for all means of public transportation for one whole month (for only 49 Euros); had a cup of Kaffee and belegtes Broetchen for lunch (oven-fresh bun with butter, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce), returned "home" tired and satisfied. Now Richey is sleeping and resting up from our "exhausting" foray.

 Our apartment  has everything we need and nothing more, not even a telephone . 

 

More soon. Greetings and lots of love and a big hug from Omi and Baba, Mom and Dad, Ziggy and Richey

 

 

A great little story:> Doesn't pay to be greedy. 

> Dumbest Kid in the World? 
> 
> 
> A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, 
> "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you." 
> 
> The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, 
> then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?" 
> 
> The boy takes the quarters and leaves. 
> 
> "What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!" 
> 
> Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of 
> the ice cream store. "Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you > take the 
> quarters instead of the dollar bill?" 
> 
> The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar, > the 
> game's over!" 
>