Here are two pictures from the Hofburg, the old royal palace of the Hapsburgs- sort of the Louvre, but not. This is where I started the day on Monday.
Michele invited me to go with their group of students for a guided visit to the Royal Treasury, where the crown jewels and other goodies are kept. It was led by an art historian who was really knowledgeable and good at explaining things. The treasury contains such wonders as the crown used by the Holy Roman Emperors- at one time it was believed that it was worn by Charlemagne, but that was disproved! and also Joseph I's personal crown, for when he wanted something a little less formal! But the whole place is full of really fascinating and historically important objects.
Afterwards, I spent several hours just walking around in the center city, particularly on the main shopping street, Mariahilferstrasse. I had a few errands to do, and mostly it was fun just looking at the different stores and exploring what was where. It was really exciting to find some stores that had things I needed, instead of just classy clothes that I wasn't going to buy anyway! Lots of fashionable folks here, as well as any number of stores we all know, such as Esprit, and Claire's which is kind of dispiriting. Also found a big bookstore with a large English section, as well as DVDs in English.
Monday was Rich's first really big work day. He had to give a seminar for the faculty of the Technical University about his work, and then later in the day, he had his first class. He was not sure of what was expected, but apparently it went very well. THe Fullbright info had said that people are very formal here, and he even wore a suit for this presentation! For him, that is really something! The typical response after a professor speaks, if they like it, is for people to rapp on the table, rather than clap hands. And apparently they liked it because the rapped loudly! And he found out that he was the most formally dressed person around! Last time the suit comes out for school! Also he got about 20 people for his class, which everyone said was quite good, so he was pleased. And in both presentations, they seemed to get his jokes and even laughed! That is definitely success in his eyes. Wait til they find out that he is going to ask them to do projects and papers for the class- apparently that is not usually done here. Big surprise waiting for them!
So that was Monday. Tuesday was pleasant but uneventful. I spent the morning around the apartment and then went down to Karlsplotz to meet Rich for lunch. We went to a very nice fish place at the Nachmarkt, then we spent some time walking to various music venues to get tickets for several concerts. There are so many concerts in this town, but they are mostly all well attended and unless you get tickets way in advance, it is hard to get them. So it is forcing us to plan ahead- what a thing! Maybe we will return as changed people, but don't count on it!
Tuesday night I went to a yoga class in German. Rather a challenge, but the teacher knew I didn't speak the language and occasionally gave me instructions in English. It was more of a Bikram class, altho it was not advertised as such. But they did lots of breathing techniques that I am not used to, and the room was pretty hot, altho not as hot as for hot yoga. I hardly understood a thing, except a long list of words that ended in hund, which I realized was "Downward facing dog!" Otherwise, I just watched everyone and did what I could. It was good enough that I am going back on Thursday. I actually don't like doing it at night, so I am going to try a morning class then.
Today is Wednesday- can't believe it. The days are going so quickly. We have now been here for 2 weeks and we are really getting comfortable with this city. It is really pretty small and the transportation systems make it really easy to get around. Once the weather gets warmer, I think we will be walking everywhere. As it is now, there are so many busses and trams and subways that you don't have to be out in the cold very much if you don't want to.
Rich stayed home today and worked this morning and then we went to the Albertina Museum in the afternoon. It is part of the Hofburg palace, and was a section built for Maria Theresa's daughter Maria Christine. There are several areas for temporary exhibits, and today was the opening of a show of Markus Lupertz, which we really liked. Also a show of Andy Warhol's cars. The main section had a show on Jacob and Rudolf Von Alt, who were father and son watercolor artists of the early 19th century. They were hired by the king to go around to many of the foreign lands owned by the Hapsburgs and create realistic landscapes, mostly to inform people about other parts of the empire. They were often displayed in something they call a peepbox, which had a concave lens in front of the painting to concentrate the eye of the viewer and make it seem more 3D. WE also saw a number of the official royal rooms where the rooms were lined by works by Durer, Michaelangelo, Rubens and Schiele, among others! Not bad. All in all, a pretty interesting place.
It was getting a bit warmer, so we walked home- about an hour. On the way, we happened on a small kosher store that was open so we went in and were able to find some matzah and other passover food. Most of what we will need, but extremely expensive, compared to what we pay in NJ. But I was really glad to find it.
So Rich has managed to get my cold and we are trying to let him rest and get over it so we can push on to more exciting activities! It is still cold here, but I saw the light fuzz over the trees today that shows that the leaves are coming. I am ready for spring, and everyone else here is too. The stores are putting out flowers everywhere, and cleaning and putting out their outdoor tables and chairs.
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