Que sera, sera

As I was walking through Karlsplatz today, I heard someone playing Que sera, sera on an accordion. It was dusk. I was flanked on one side by an enormous, baroque church, in front by a modern sculpture placed off center within a pond/fountain area, to my right by a row of distinctly European benches and a neat alley of sycamores, and behind me the Wien Museum. And I thought to myself, yes, que sera, sera. How I arrived here, how this is not ordinary, how happy I am, and how at home I feel - que sera, sera. The future's not ours to see... I'm thinking that might be my new theme song. (I should say that hearing the music did strike me as a bit odd at first since the far off accodion sound is really something more fitting to Paris, but I went with it anyway.)

But on to more serious things. What a day! I slept for 13 hours last night. That was a sleep in the making. I had been up for 36 hours (short sleep the night before I left, little sleep on the plane, hit the ground running when I got here). It was a glorious sleep, full of odd dreams and mini-wake-ups with myself saying, "It's only 6 a.m., go back to sleep." Several of the dreams involved me being half-naked, wrapped in a towel in work situations. It seemed I was late getting there and just came as I was. I can't decide if I'm feeling vulnerable at work, rushed through life, or just plain sexy. Probably some of all of the above.

Anyway, I didn't leave the hotel until 2 p.m. I walked down Parkring and straight to the Belvedere. I wandered through the gardens and spent a good amount of time in the Upper Belvedere Museum. There are some rooms there that are at least three storeys high with marble decorations going floor to ceiling; gilded everything; frescoes everywhere; and bas relief like it's going out of style. Some of the rooms have been preserved with the frescoes like they were when the aristocrats lived there, and you can just feel the sense of entitlement when you walk into these rooms. Amazing.

And then there's the art. They have several rooms dedicated to Klimt, with works like the Kiss and Judith I. Having seen so many reproductions of these works, it's nice to see them finally in person. They are truly stunning and stand the test of time. Especially worth seeing the detail he put into his work and his mastery of working with gold leaf and other non-traditional materials. I also just enjoyed walking a museum, which I haven't done in a while, and seeing artists that we don't normally see at home.

After this, I wandered down to the Wien Museum. This museum was staffed by a group who were not the friendliest people in the world. When you hear the announcement that the museum is closing in 15 minutes, they really mean leave now. However, the museum does give you a great sense of the history of Vienna through religious objects, maps, clothes, materials, art and military objects. Yet it is very much geared to a German-speaking audience, which, if you think about it, seems odd. Wouldn't you want others outside of your country to understand the position your city and country had in the world? I'm going to make a note of that the next time I visit an American museum or iconic place.

After that, I sat in Karlsplatz and listened to the 6 p.m. bells toll outside the church. It is truly lovely. I then wandered around the Ring for a bit. What struck me was how Vienna truly lights up at night. Very much like Paris that way - you can really take in how impressive the buildings are with all of their detail.

I ended the day at a lovely cafe (the Moritz) with a friendly waiter, who took great care of me. He served a wonderful Viennese Chardonnay and I had fried calamari. Not the kind we usually get at home, but really good non-breaded calamari grilled a light garlic/basil. It came with nice veggies and some of the best small cooked potatoes I've had in a long time.

Now I'm ready for another long nap. And best of all, it's daylight savings time tonight so I get an extra hour! (Or as the Viennese say, we're changing to wintertime.) Whatever will be will be!

Wien

I arrived in Vienna this morning at around 10 and by 11 a.m. was safely at the Marriott, having taken a nice, warm shower. My first interaction with Austrian culture was when the Austrian Airlines flight landed and the canned music came on. It was Strauss, naturally, with the Viennese Waltz. Within moments of the music starting, about four people on this very small plane were whistling along and smiling at one another.

One of my friends put me in touch with a college friend of his and we had lunch today - Cuban fusion. Not what I had expected, but amazingly delicious. She then showed me the part of the wall that used to surround Vienna and pointed me toward some of the more famous areas and went back to work. (Very nice of her to take time out from work and we're going to be having drinks shortly.)

Anyway, I wandered around the Stephansdom Quarter and climbed up to the top of the spire of Stephansdom Cathedral. Just to give you a sense of the height, I've added some pictures. (I'm going to have a big dinner tonight!) The Cathedral is famous for many things, one of which is the roof. It was destroyed in WWII, but put back together, needless to say.

I then strolled over to Peterskirche (mostly because it's hard to miss). When I walked in, there was an organ concert going on and only a few people there. It was so amazing because the church isn't that large - very tall, but not deep or wide - and the music was so strong it just went through me. Plus, I smell like candles now, which is a cool thing. These pictures don't do the place justice, but give a feel for the opulence.

One of the highlights of the day was the fact that a few people started talking to me in French. One woman at the top of the Stephansdom spire just started rattling off how she didn't want to walk back down and she was going to stay right there forever, but weren't the views wonderful. Made me feel good that I appeared French. Not to mention that a Japanese tourist (speaking German) and someone else (speaking German) stopped me for directions. I must look like I know where I'm going.

Good first day.

Happy Dog

Shadow and I went to the beach a few weeks back. When he hit the beach for the first time, he didn't know what to make of it. He jumped and spun in circles like a mad dog, ate sand, drank salt water and threw up a bit later. But man, did that dog love the beach! He played with other dogs and also just liked hanging out.

This shot is my favorite. We were at a state park beach and had the whole place for miles to ourselves. I sat down near the dunes just to chill out and Shadow curled up next to me and just watched the waves.

Now that's a good day.