Road Trip in Italy!

Back from Rome, flew on Sunday as Elowyn started school again on the Monday. 

The Almalfi Coast was breathtaking! We stayed in Sorrento for four nights; what a lovely town! Our hotel was overlooking a deep gorge and also had a pool, but after the first day, it was too cold to swim as the temperatures dropped 10 degrees to only highs of 14C or less during the day. The food there was amazing! The gelato from a place called Davids was really fresh and had bits of fruit and nuts in it. It was a family run company and the owner told us about his grandfather inventing different flavours. My favourite was one called 'Parfume de Sorrento' which was a mix of lemon, mandarin and orange with bits of candied orange peel in it. So good! Apparently, the travel guru, Rick Steves comes there at least once a year and it's his favourite too!

We hired a driver for the day (8 hours!) to tour the Almalfi Coast as Steve wanted to see the towns too without having to concentrate on the road. We stopped in Positano, Almalfi, and some smaller towns. We didn't go to Capris though. I did buy sandals and limoncello and bags of mixed spices and olive oil straight from the farm to take back. Also picked lemons right off the tree to take back to Germany that was right outside our hotel room! Also scarves. Sorrento has a very lively atmosphere and many Italians were there from Naples for the Easter weekend we were there. I actually caught the tail end of a service in Almalfi in a church that had like 100 steps to climb to the entrance. The archbishop was tpresent and it was taking forever for him to make his way down the aisle to the back of the church as everyone and their mother waylaid him for a chat and blessing. The rest of the people were all swarming the church taking family pictures, even right on the altar, so I went up too and joined the party! It was beautifully decorated with fresh grasses and flowers that were very bright and colourful.

The Black Procession on the Good Friday two days before was very solemn in contrast with pointy hooded figures in black holding items and symbols of the crucifixion like the cat o' nine tails whip, the crown of thorns, the big iron nails, a big cross, a rooster, a bag of money representing Judas, etc. As they slowly walked through town. Apparently, they march for three hours, the time that Jesus was on the cross. There was a mournful band at the beginning, followed by the hooded figures in black, then monks at the end singing mournful songs. All throughout, hooded people carried lit torches through the darkness. Everyone was quiet, but were recording or taking pictures. I scored a place at the front, but let kids in front so they could see. One older man kept poking me and telling me in Italian to go to the back because I was tall. I just ignored him, but he was loud until the people around us finally turned on him and altogether at once said, 'SHHHHH!' And that temporarily quieted him. He didn't like being told off like that and complained until his wife whacked him and he was finally silent. 

What surprised me was that all the stores and restaurants were open. It was quite the festive atmosphere in the streets. We were out too having a snack at an outdoor cafe; all crowded together with the locals who were greeting friends and family members. All the children were out late too. In Toronto, everything is closed. I much preferred the atmosphere in Sorrento!

Had a day trip up the volcano of Vesuvius then visitedPompeii. Can't believe that so many people are living on the most dangerous volcano in the world as it is labeled. However, apartments are scarce and expensive in Naples, and the volcanic soil is so fertile that anything grows, and grows well, so people are willing to take that risk. No insurer will insure their houses or apartments though. The last eruption was in 1944 and they are overdue for another one. The government put sensors on the volcano to warn people. Last time they had 4 days warning and everyone made it out, but there's only one narrow two lane road going down and it would be awful if the warnings came too late. Living on the edge! We could daily see the looming volcano from Sorrento. The day we visited, it was clear of clouds, but by the time we left at noon, the clouds were rolling in. Steven climbed right to the top to the caldera, but E and I rested about one third from the top as we were still suffering from the effects of the flu. The views of Naples below was spectacular, even from our viewpoint.

Then lunch and on the bus to Pompeii. I would have liked to spend the whole day in Pompeii; it was so amazing! And so large! They are still excavating and using new methods. Part of their new way of doing things is to reconstruct areas to show it used to look like in the days before the eruption. So on a few houses, they rebuilt the walls and roof which further protects the precious frescoes. I thought that was a great idea. 

In Germany, about 60km north of where we live is a medieval town of Xanten which was originally a Roman town. The Roman ruins are all outside the town and it is as vast or bigger than the area of Pompeii. But what they have done, is rebuild many of the buildings. For example, they rebuilt the wall and towers around the town as well as a partial rebuild of the amphitheatre. There are also temples and huge public baths and you can see their water and sewage systems. They have planted gardens too and reconstructed them to the same types of plants the Romans grew there. They also reconstructed a series of houses on site and a Roman villa which has a wonderful indoor and outdoor courtyard with tables and chairs to have something to eat. There is a Roman food menu and a regular German food menu. You can also book an evening meal Roman style. They have colourful togas for you to wear and encourage people to wear sandals and dress the part for a Roman type meal that includes entertainment. Lots of school groups go too. There is a huge museum on site with all the extensive artifacts they dug up and also, there is an ongoing archaeological dig going on too as about 40-50% was left unexcavated for future generations with different methods. It was pretty cool. We're going back in July for the big Roman festival where they'll have Roman artisans there to show you how to make things, also games and theatrical performances in the amphitheatre and Roman food to try. Should be fun!  

After our time in Sorrento, we had to leave at 7:15 on our last morning to drive to Rome and return the rental car by 11:30. We were on the toll roads to save time, but at one point there was a huge accident that we bypassed with one SMART car being sandwiched between a van and another car. We only saw the wreckage, hope no one was hurt. The other delay was the toll booth. They are automatic tolls and you just throw your money in, but there was a huge delay and no one was moving. Honking started, then people all got out of their cars to see what was going on, then yelling, then people brought out sandwiches and started eating by the road while discussing the situation. We started laughing and got out of our car too! Finally, the police showed up and they were yelling at everyone, and everyone yelled back. There was a lot of talking with the hands, but eventually, everyone packed up their picnics and went through the broken toll booths without paying as the police were yelling at everyone to leave. Sounds good to me! 

We made it to a parking garage to return our rental near the Termine Station in Rome with seconds to spare! Then we  taxied it to our airbnb apartment and was met by the manager of the apartment. Great apartment with two large bedrooms, two terraces, one on street side and one on the quieter courtyard side. Elowyn was happy that she had her own room! We finally did all our laundry and hung it to dry right from the balcony on built in lines like everyone else.Toronto needs this! There are laundry lines everywhere. 

Loved Rome! I think it's now my favourite city of every city in every country that I have visited. First, the food was amazing, the local people are really friendly and welcoming, the sites are a mix of ancient, medieval, Renaissance and modern, and thank God that the entire city is not over-run with tourists like Florence, because as much as I loved Florence, all the historic sites are close together in walking distance and you can not go anywhere without hoards of tour groups at every step. I cannot believe how many tour groups there were! Very pushy, selfie sticks high in the air recording everything and bumping into you. Even the locals were commenting; good money though for vendors as they were buying all the luxury goods in bulk, probably to copy, then undercut the merchants with inferior quality and inferior goods. The merchants were complaining about that too. 

We saw the Vatican Museum which was spectacular, but totally overcrowded with tour groups so that we felt like cattle moving along. The Sistine Chapel was jaw dropping, but again, we were only allowed 10 min. I loved the map room too and the gardens. The Duomo of St. Peter's basilica was better as the crowds were dispersed throughout and not crowded into narrow galleries.

Later, we saw the much less crowded, but no less spectaclar, Burghese Galleries in the Burghese Park. Not only was the heart shaped and extensive park full of fountains and statues and pathways everywhere with mature trees, but the villa itself was a showpiece with the beautiful statues by Bernini and ancient Roman statues and gladiator mosaic floors found on the vast estate. Only two floors and you have two hours to go at your leisure without pushy crowds to enjoy the sculptures and  paintings. There is even a Circus Maximus on site! I loved it!  

Then of course, there was the audience with the pope; us and 60,000 other people, but we got there early and were quite close, especially when Pope Francis made his rock star rounds in the pope mobile! Lots of screaming and cheering...and that was from the nun section!  Lots of teenage school groups too, from many countries, even Canada! There were two Italian school groups in front of us and they were doing a religious song sing off like Glee. We were laughing. Everyone was in a great mood, and when the pope showed up at 9:15 am, everyone stood on their chairs...everyone! Like we were all at a rock concert. Even the grannies climbed up and cheered.

We took a tour of the very crowded Colosseum and then the much less crowded Forum; both spectacular. At night, we came back for a couple of shows going through the underground tunnels of Julius Caesar's Forum, then into the forum area itsefl where we all had headphones and listed to the commentary with music. They also projected images of how it used to look onto the walls and re-enacted Caesar's death etc. It really brought the Forum to life and was really well done. At 10pm, we walked over to the ruins of Augustus' forum and they did domething similar on the ruined walls, including a simulation of an earthquake and fire that happened. Totally recommend. Those shows! 

We saw many of the other churches and basilicas in Rome including the Scala Sancta and also the Archbasilica St. Giovanni de Laterno which is the oldest church in the world, (founded by Constantine in 324 AD) and is the seat of the pope and the official cathedral of Rome. I didn't know that this was more important than St. Peter's, but it is and also much older. It has many relics including a fragment of the table of the Last Supper. Apparently, Helena, Emperor Constantine's Christian mother went on a shopping spree in the Holy Land and brought back all sorts of relics, including the 28 marble stairs that Jesus climbed on the way to his trial with Pontius Pilate. There are still blood stains on them, but they have been protected by an outer wooden staircase with slits cut in so that you can see the marble. The steps are only allowed to be climbed on the knees and then your sins can be forgiven. It's like a penance. A lot of people were on their knees. There is a copy of the Shroud of Turin in a chapel on top in one of the rooms. 

So much history!  

We wandered the streets and stopped in churches and gardens, refilled our water bottles at the many free public fountains, and of course stopped for yummy pizza and pasta, and Caprese and Caesar salads, and dinners and gelatos. I had my best gelato ever at one tiny shop near the Burghese Villa and savoured it on a crowded bus as we rode public transit with the locals who were on their way home like us. 

We also threw a coin in Trevi Fountain to come back because 5 days in Rome is not enough after you've fallen in love with this eternal city. 

February Ramblings

We really didn't have a winter here as it really never got below -4C and most of the time it was 4C or above. No snow on the ground here; ever! Tomorrow it's going up to 12C, so I guess that's it for winter. 

The thrice weekly market didn't stop for winter; still selling fresh everything and now flowering spring bulbs. I didn't wear my boots once! Shame that I packed them.

It's good to be out of the snow and being able to wear shorts and tees. I'll really miss my garden come spring. Good that getting some sunshine and vitamin D; very healthy.

I wish my mum would consider a Carribean resort at least, but she is very stubborn. I remember when Lydia's mom went with Helen and Paul to the Carribean for the first time, and Lydia said she'd hate it, but when the Baba came back, I asked her if she'd go again and her eyes lit up and she said YES! with a big smile. Well who wouldn't? No cleaning, no cooking, no making your bed, and everything is done for you so you can just sit back and relax and enjoy the sound of the ocean waves and get a cool drink from the bartender. Heaven!  She should have gone years ago.

I'm reading all about the Hapsburgs through the eyes of Sissi, aka, the reluctant empress, a Bavarian princess who was cousin to Germany's Ludwig II of Neuschwanstein Castle fame. She married the emperor at only 15 years old and was totally dominated by her controlling mother-in-law Sophie and the snobby royal critics of the Viennese court, and rarely got to see her own children! They Aristos thought she was a dullard because she was really quiet, but in reality, she was observant and very intelligent and was quite liberal in her views and politics and in her late twenty's finally realized her power (she was considered a great beauty), and cajoled her husband to give Hungary back their constitution. She never did learn French like her mother-in-law insisted, but went ahead and became fluent in Hungarian which is like a hundred times harder to learn...just to spite her in-laws as they all hated the Czechs and the Hungarians and considered them vulgar. She also pissed off the court by speaking English with her visiting siblings from Germany so that no one could gossip about her, plus, the Viennese didn't know the language! Quite fascinating. 

I also learned that Belgium used to be owned by the Hapsburgs, but they started losing a lot of money in badly timed wars, so gave it to one of their royal cronies in the Netherlands to rule over. Now I know why so much Flemish art ended up in the Vienna and the Rikj's museum in Amsterdam! It's all connected! 

The 2000 Year Old German City of Mainz...and the Gutenberg Museum

Driving in the dark on the autobahn in Germany in winter for four hours is no picnic, especially with non-existent street lights, but Steven did it. Thank goodness we've been blessed with ideal traveling weather sans snow for the 13 days we were on the road. Mainz was to be our last stop before home.

We arrived at our airbnb late around 6:45 pm and met our host and got settled. Reason for an apartment instead of a hotel was to do laundry. We put on three loads that night and got it all clean and dry before we left the next day. Nothing worse than coming home and having to lug all those clothes to our basement and bring it all up again. Needless to say it was a late night for some if us because we decided to explore the old city. It was the 12th day of Christmas the day before, so Jan. 6th was Epiphany and everything in Bavaria was closed as it was a state holiday in the Catholic south where we stayed in Nürnberg.

I chose Mainz as our last stop for the number one reason that the Gutenberg Museum was there. As an avid historian, I was keen to see a working printing press, especially like the ones Gutenberg created, and also to see three surviving copies of his printed bibles of which only 49 remain. But more on that later.

Mainz, what's left of the old town is strikingly beautiful. It is situated on the Rhine River and was a hub for trade back in Roman times, and cultivated artists and craftsmen and people who lived there of historical note. Sadly for Mainz, it was heavily bombed during the allied air strikes during WWII. Not much is left of the otiginal half-timbered and baroque houses of the wealthy merchants. You can see the old, mixed with the new, and many buildings have since been lovingly restored, but as you view old photos of the devastation you cannot help but be incredibly sad about the destruction and suffering caused by war and how futile it always is. 

We walked along the narrow, dark grey, basalt cobbled streets gazing up at the lit houses and also soft yellow Christmas lights and stars still strung across the narrow streets while peeking into boutique shops selling unique clothing and articles for your home with steep prices to match. The lights above sway gently in the breeze as we walked along searching for dinner. We wanted Italian and found a good one in the old town, but it was completely full, so we made our way to our second choice and were glad we did. Pasta for dinner!

We had to wait to visit St. Stephen's until morning to see the most precious thing in that cathedral...its stained glass. Now, from the outside, this church looks quite ordinary; pale yellow limestone with red sandstone at its corners and rounded spires. It was heavily bombed during the war and all of its medieval and renaissance stained glass was shattered and much of the inside and outer walls were destroyed too. One priest made it his life mission to rebuild this church and it was lovingly restored over the years, but the new windows remained clear. Then something extraordinary happened. The priest wrote to a very famous and very old artist in 1970 whose work he greatly admired, telling him about the church and about the windows. He asked him to come to Mainz for a commission to create new stained glass windows for the entire church. The artist was a Russian Jew, one of the types of people who had been persecuted by the Nazis. But this artist was also a deeply religious and forgiving man and he told the priest that he would love to do it - that artist was Marc Chagall.

Chagall had a vision of what he wanted, and that vision was blue. In the past, the most vibrant blues in the world were derived from a semi-precious stone called lapis lazuli that was ground down to a powder and mixed with linseed oil or egg to create colour pigments for art, most notably for the blue of Mary's cloak. Chagall worked with over 26 different blues to create the effect of peace, harmony and a connection between Christians and Jews. He finished his last window at the advanced age of 98 and died three months later, not seeing the effect of all his work. His assistant who had worked closely with him for 26 years finished the rest of the interior.

Now, walk with me and imagine entering a sea of blue illuminated walls like the vastness of the ocean enveloping you in a feeling of stillness and harmony. The figures on the windows in contrast of flashes of yellow and red and stand out from the blue. And as in all churches with stained glass, the pictures tell a story, and this one is of hope and forgiveness and peace. Sit down in a plain wooden pew and gaze around you, drinking in the blue and feeling the love that the artist pored into his work wash over you and be at peace. Beautiful! 

The next stop was St. Martin's Cathedral and it was very old, built upon the ruins of a Roman temple. Outside, the red sandstone was striking against the pale grey blue sky of winter. Inside, massive rectangular columns anchored to the stone floor reached upwards, connected to one another by rounded arches. The windows were small with rounded arches as well signalling that this was a Romanesque church. The altar was unususual in that there were more than a dozen steps to climb, thus elevating the choir area high above the crowds for better viewing. What was also unusual was what appeared to be two altars at both ends of the cathedral. 

In one corner to the side was the beautiful hand carved nativity set, life size. The backdrop was a forest of fir trees still giving off a strong evergreen scent. The trees were simply adorned with an assortment of straw braided stars in intricate patterns as all the Christmas trees seem to be in the European churches. Big stone edifices of baroque nobles lined each column with hands folded in prayer, their eyes raised to the heavens asking forgiveness for their sins, while angels above raised a stone curtain to the heavens representing hope, while skeletons leered from below and behind reminding everyone that death is inevitable.

While we were there, an organ concert started and we were graced with music from the old pipes for almost an hour as we gazed around and enjoyed sitting out of the cold, for surprisingly, this cathedral was heated! Yes! It is rare to find a heated cathedral in Europe, and they seem to be the oldest ones built on Roman sites. There were old iron vents along the far walls of the church with warm air rising from the engineered hypocausts below, a Roman engineering marvel. Not that you felt much of the heat from the benches, but it did take the edge off the cold, and we were grateful for it. 

Onwards to explore the old market which was quite lively with Saturday shoppers buying fresh fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, meats and pastries. A rare Renaissance fountain which miracuously survived the bombs, stood to the side, heavily decorated with lively figures and soft pastel painted guild houses surrounded the square. It was at this market that we found our shop from our childhood, E.Otto Schmidt Lebkuchen from Nürnberg. My sister and I rushed in with anticipation to buy a decorated tin of Nürnberg filled with lebkuchen, stöllen cake! Elise lebkuchen, dominoes and my favourite, spekulatius spiced cookies. Alas, the Christmas visitors to the city had almost completely cleaned out their inventory and not one tin was to be had, along with much of anything. The windows were all decked out with tins and cookies and we asked to buy some from the window displays, but the clerk refused saying she was not allowed! What?!? We had come all this way, only to have our hopes dashed. We settled on a package of Elise lebkuchen and butter crescent cookies and ate one as we left for the Gutenberg Museum.

I was really looking forward to this museum since it's the reason we chose to come to Mainz. Plus, we hadn't been to many museums on our road trip except for the day before in Nürnberg, so I very much wanted to see Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, the original Bibles he produced, and to learn more about him.

We were not disappointed! Now the thing is, I don't like to be hurried when going through a museum, and everyone likes to see different things, so as par for the course, we all split up and went our separate ways, agreeing to meet back at the cafe in a couple of hours.

It was like a treasure trove for me. Old books that were printed using various models of printing presses from Gutenberg's original model. So what did I learn about Gutenberg? First, he came from a wealthy family, but surprisingly, no painted portraits survive of him which is highly unusual as the son of a well to do family back in the first half of the 1400s. Second, he got his idea of a printing press from watching how old wine making presses from Roman times worked. He was not the first person to create a printing press as most people think. Printing presses were already around and the method was to use a block of wood to engrave a series of letters, even pictures on it, ink it and print it. However, the process of making these blocks was very time consuming and expensive and the results were often blurred or imprecise. One block could only print one page. Gutenberg's claim to fame was inventing a better mousetrap as it were.

He created a system of movable type where he could design his own font, create a mold of that letter, pour in lead and voila, a bunch of letters that he could rearrange on a tray to create words and sentences. He would ink them with what looked like fist sized sheep skin puffs in black ink originally, then other sections in the bible that should stand out were in red or blue. Then the whole board was locked together and placed on the board while a piece of vellum or parchment was carefully lowered onto the board. The whole thing was then moved under a giant screw and then a lever was pulled hard twice to press the inked letters to the vellum. The whole thing was then rolled back, the arm with the paper lifted, and the very first page of the bible was printed! The clearness of the letters was as precise and detailed as if it were hand written by monks.

Latin was the written language of the time and Gutenberg decided to originally print 140 copies of the Bible in Latin, but soon raised the number to 180 copies after commissions started pouring in. He sold the Bible as loose leaf sheets, printed on two sides and not bound. The buyer would then take the loose sheets and have them illuminated by their favourite artists with coloured pictures and gilt and each Bible was then bound in a cover of the buyer's choosing and was as ornate as he wished. Thus, all 180 copies of the Bible were actually quite unique because of the illumination. Only 49 original Bibles exist today, and of those 49, three are in the Gutenberg Museum, two full ones and one half one in a bomb proof vault with high security in a darkened room. The Bibles are quite big and heavy and come in two volumes even though each page is double sided. Fun fact, the pope did not get a copy of one of the first printed Bibles! 

The importance of the invention of using movable type in a printing press on the world was as astounding, rapid and world changing as the invention of computers in our lifetime. It was also instrumental in spreading the Protestant Reformation in the church later when Martin Luther came on the scene in the next century and made the Bible accessible in the common language of German instead of Latin which only the clergy or educated nobles could read.

The museum also showed how ink was made from different colours using natural materials like semi precious stones, bark, spices, metals and the like and how they were ground down to powders and boiled and mixed with other fixatives to create the ink.

In addition, there were many old printing presses to admire, although the ones from the 1400s no longer exist. Ironically, the press that allowed the Reformation to spread rapidly, was indirectly the cause of the terrible and tragic religious wars between Protestants and Catholics or more commonly known as the Thirty Years War which swept across Europe between 1618 to 1648 on a level of destruction of property and horrific deaths of innocent civilians not seen again until the 20th century. The war was fought almost exclusively in Germany with battles fought over and over again in the same places with the mostly agrarian population suffering the most. This war, originally of religion, quickly became a war of territorial rights as all wars seem to be. Much of Germany was destroyed in those fanatic times and the loss of population and suffering of the people in Europe,and especially Germany, was staggering. The Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist as a ruling entity. Who will ever know what great minds were lost in that war of attrition and what culture was forever destroyed in art, literature, architecture and science. 

Later on, I saw a couple of demonstrations of a reproduction of a 15th century press using Gutenberg's movable type and was even inspired to buy one page of a copy of the Bible in the gift shop. The original Bibles are priceless and one single page has been sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ironically, Gutenberg never profited from his invention of movable type and died penniless. 

There were a lot of other things we missed in Mainz like the discovery of a Roman amphitheatre right beside the train station. As usual, new construction in Europe always involves finding something ancient underneath. The amphitheatre has been exposed, but it is still an archeological digging site, so not open to the public. Well worth a return visit one day!

Vienna in a Nutshell

So who goes to Vienna for three days and never steps foot inside a museum...ahem, that'd be us. Yeah, but in our defense, the whole city is a museum and we got there the day before New Year's Eve, so of course we had to get the 'lay of the land', so to speak and check out what to do on New Year's Eve. That meant spending a lot of time outdoors just walking around because my God, Vienna is beautiful at this time of year. All dressed up like a diva in fancy dress with twinkly lights and ginormous street chandeliers, booths selling Glüwein and hot cider in whimsical mugs that were shaped like lucky leprecauns, lucky pigs, or lucky pilze (red mushrooms with white spots). There was skating happening too, right at the Rathaus Square. Trees were not in the way; they merely put fences around them and strung fairy lights in the trees and the rink became a labyrinth of trails with people skating more or less in one direction with pop music playing. A skate rental place was set up and the Christmas Market satisfied everyone with enough soul warming sausages, potatoes, soup, and of course a variety of warm alcoholic drinks.

The crowd was in a good mood and were buying up wigs and animal hats from vendors like mad. Popular headwear included a white Mozart wig, a chicken hat, a turkey hat, a piggy bonnet, and red lighted devil horns. We got our 'teen angel' the red, lighted horns to better keep track of her in the growing crowds of people as the sun went down and Vienna glowed in the darkness like a golden jewel. We walked through the pedestrian streets and stopped at all the squares which all had a different theme. 

The square in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral was jammed with people at a free concert, but also with those wanting a view of the 700 year old church inside. We lined up to go inside too and had just finished blessing ourselves with the very cold holy water (medieval churches are NOT heated), when the gates suddenly closed to the inner church and a man stated that a Mass was about to begin so no more tourists. I grabbed Steven and said that we were going to Mass. He came under protest, but we nabbed some seats and I went off and took some photos while the camera crew was setting up to record the Mass since there would be a full choir and orchestra playing with the archbishop/cardinal of Vienna presiding. The orchestra and choir rivaled the TSO in quality and the acoustics in the church were excellent.

It was soon standing room only with people even crowding the centre aisles. They parted like the Red Sea when the archbishop and the altar servers, other priests and deacons made their way slowly to the front in golden embroidered robes with the altar boys solemnly swinging incense burners this way and that 'til the church was in a fog. The archbishop was in good spirits, smiling and nodding and blessing and waving to the crowds who were snapping photos of him and his entourage as the orchestra played and the choir sang. Two video screens were set up further down the church to watch the Mass. I didn't understand a word of it, but did know when to stand and sit. Curiously, there was no Eucharest given out, but the archbishop did surprise all the English speakers with a New Year's blessing for all in English! 

Afterwards, everyone went back to taking photos of the nativity crib and the beautiful altar area. 

So what did I learn about Vienna? 

1) No admission to enter a church - That's right, no paying to enter the house of God, (like in London for instance), but people gave money anyway by lighting the beeswax candles for their loved ones. This helps toward the upkeep of the cathedral which always has ongoing renovation projects to keep these ancient structures in good condition for you and me to enjoy. I think they do need to be a little more commercial and maybe sell things like ornaments or holy statues and prayer beads or even post cards maybe at the entrance to help fund renos.

2) Viennese Coffee Houses - There are a few famous ones like the Schwarzenberg Café, Landtmann's Café, and Café Central. They are famous because they are very old, had important guests in the past for lunch or dinner, and have very beautiful, traditional,coffee house decor which include paneling, beautiful chandeliers, mirrors, and lots of seats close together. You are expected to seat yourself as tradition dictates, but also because they are always very busy, so you have to almost stake out a table where people are finishing up and nab it before the next person does. Like Paris, you can stay as long as you want; no one will ask you to leave. The atmosphere is jovial and talkative with many discussions going on. The food is good too with my favourite Vienna (Wien) specialty, Weiner schnitzel ( Vienna's schnitzel), which is yummy served with Viennese potato salad that contains cider vinegar, mustard, potatoes, parsley, and salt and pepper. Delicious!  You can also get strong Viennese coffee and Oma's hot chocolate made from real chocolate and of course there is the delicate apple strudel to try or the famous layered cake, sacher torte. Coffee is ALWAYS served with a glass of water. The waiters here are very distinguished and are usually older white haired gentleman and you will be treated like royalty. What's not to love about that?

3) Every building is a museum - That's right, Vienna, at least the old city, came away from WWII virtually unscathed, so their heavily baroque architecture is there for you to enjoy as are all of Austria's cities. High ceilings with frescoes and ornate stucco are ever present with elaborate chandeliers, even in people's homes. There are also strict laws and regulations to keep the old windows and exteriors of the buildings as they were 300 years ago or more. Most people therefore will erect inner windows with the double-paned glass to keep out the drafts while retaining the old glass. The old, detailed wooden doors must also remain intact and cared for. One of my favourite buildings was the baroque National Library within a palace. Wow! Ancient books in wood paneled bookcases. Statues, frescoes on the ceiling, ornate gilded stucco ornamentation and huge Earth globes from the 17th and 18th centuries on pedestals. We were lucky to see an exhibit on medieval parchment books from the 12th century onward with their bright painted pictures using ground up gems and their extraordinarily beautiful calligraphy. Best of all, we were allowed photos without a flash to better remember them later. Thank you, Vienna!

4) Most people speak English - Unlike Germany, most Austrians are fluent in English and are eager to practice it, especially those under 50. Even Steven's cousins want to send their young children to English private schools in Austria seeking to have them fully fluent in at least three if not four different languages giving them a distinct advantage to live anywhere in the European Union and travel to where the jobs are. Little five year old Constantine for example speaks only Italian with his mother, German with his father, Croatian with his grandparents, and they have a native English tutor for him until they can get him into an English school. He understood everything I said and spoke to me in English quite well. His family are even considering moving to Ireland for a year to further solidify his fluency!

5) Classical music is a big part of Viennese culture - Everyone is expected to know how to play at least one instrument well. (Steven's cousins  are excellent violinists). Music is a serious part of their education and not an afterthought to be cut when there are funding issues like in Ontario. You can easily go to see a classical music concert quite cheaply, especially students who often go for a reduced price. When we went to a concert, Elowyn's ticket was free. It is their belief to imbue children with the knowledge and understanding and love of music at an early age; therefore money, or the lack of it should not be a deterrent to enjoy classical music. I was blown away at this excellent philosophy!

6) Viennese people like to waltz - Everyone knows how to waltz in Vienna from a young age onwards. There is the famous Viennese Ball and many other balls to attend and waltzing is a part of it. On New Year's Eve, there was one section of the city totally devoted to classical music attended by packed crowds young and old, who were appreciative of the orchestra playing on stage in tails. Big, elaborately lit chandeliers swayed above the pedestrian street and the music of Strauss and other composers were heard with people spontaneously walzing in the streets with their parkas on. Elowyn's eyes lit up as she was taught walzing in school, so she waltzed to the music of the Blue Danube with her Daddy on the square, glowing with happiness. It is also the 150th anniversary of the Blue Danube Walz, so it was heavily promoted this year with dancing lessons being given on the street. On New Year's Eve, the first song of the new year was The Blue Danube Walz and traditionally, everyone starts waltzing at the stroke of midnight in Vienna as they watch the fireworks explode above them. We did too! And kept warm in the bargain! 

7) Mozart's legacy is everywhere you look - Mozart is truly the revered composer of Vienna. His image is everywhere, from the palaces and concert halls he performed in, to the Mozart balls made famous by the chocolatier, Fürst that are wrapped in blue and silver paper and are not to be confused with the less tasty and sweeter gold and red paper chocolates that are also called Mozart Kugeln. (This what happens when you don't get a patent)! There are statues here and there and schools and buildings named after him. And, you can always catch a concert with his music. For kids, there were rubber ducks molded to look like him playing violin. His image is everywhere on store fronts, magnets, tea towels, puzzles, CDs, and so much more. How ironic that this great man who is so famous today for his innovative music, died penniless and unappreciated, buried in a mass grave without a headstone. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Vienna. So much to see and do! I do regret not having time to visit the Albertina Museum with the impressionists, especially since they had an exhibit on my favourite artist, Van Gogh. Just a good excuse to go back!

Til next time!