Gustav Klimt and the Beethoven Frieze

On the bottom floor of the Secession building is Klimt's masterpiece the Beethoven Frieze.  The room that houses it is roomy and expansive and the frieze itself takes up the upper half of the room.  The piece was done for an exhibition held in 1902 whose central theme was to honor Beethoven.  It follows in the Jungendstil tradition that Klimt is most famous for.  It is an interpretation of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and humanities search for happiness.  The picture I am attaching shows facing the 'Hostile Forces'.  The shaggy creature is part ape and part serpent.  Its eyes are made of mother of pearl which gives it a decidedly creepy look.  The three women on the left are his daughters the Gorgons and the three to the left represent Lasciviousness, Wantonness and Intemperance (large belly).  Behind the Gorgons are Sickness, Madness and Death.  (Thanks to the very clear explanation that was in the pamphlet provided by the exhibit.)

 One of the more amazing things is what good shape the frieze is in.  It was not intended to be permanent and was purchased after the exhibition.  The collector had the frieze cut into 8 pieces (along with the underlying support structure).  Later it was resold, and stored away during WWII.  After the war it was moved but continued to be in storage. 
It is an amazing piece and an absolute must see if you ever go to Vienna 

Rathaus Film Festival

All summer long there is are free outdoor film festivals in Vienna.  The one at the Rathaus specializes in opera and dance films.  We went last Sunday to see OperaVox, which does animated opera shorts. 
Before the film, you can visit the food and drink vendors.  We had both spanish and israeli food and (of course) beer.  The really interesting thing is that they do NOT use disposable anything.  The plates are china, the silver is real and the beer is sold in glasses.  Very cool and a great example of how to be green.
We saw three animated operas, Das Rheingold, Rigoletto, and Turandot; each condensed down into 30 minutes.  The best was Das Rheingold, but they were all interesting.  This was one of those experiences that so often you miss when you are staying for just a few nights.  How lucky we are to have had such a long time here.

Meeting Up With Friends Part 1: Markus

One of the best things about traveling is forming new friendships.  It doesn't happen very often, someone may start a conversation helping out with the menu or directions, but usually either you or they are preoccupied and in a moment the encounter is over.  But sometimes there is a special karma at work and that is how Alan and I first met our German friends Markus and Heidi.  We met in Trier, Germany.  We were having dinner next to each other in a restaurant and Markus struck up a conversation. (I think he was telling us a dish/desert he thought was especially good, but I might be wrong about that.)  We were going to be in Frankfurt for an over night where they live and they invited us to call them when we arrived, which we did.  A friendship was born.  
This year the gods were with us and Markus had a business trip come up in Vienna while we were here.  He managed to get the afternoon free (thank you ECB) and we met up for lunch and a great deal of catching up.  It was delightful, the only sad part was not seeing Heidi, but we spoke briefly by phone.  We hope to meet their 2 children (Marius, 3 yrs old and Malin about 4 months old) in the not too distant future. We are very lucky to be able to count them among our friends.

The Author

The basic question Alan and I had when we formulated this vacation was: Will it be conducive to writing? Our hope, of course that away from the distractions that are always surrounding you at home that writing be more focused.  So, here's the update.  Since we arrived Alan has edited one chapter he had written and completed  5 new chapters!!  The experiment (and vacation) can be declared a success. 

Cool snakes & lizards

We went to the Haus des Meeres in the Mariahilf (6th) district.  This is located in an old flak tower that the Germans built as an anti-aircraft tower.  There are several in the Augarten near where our apartment is located, but here they turned the tower into an aquarium of sorts.  They actually had a very big emphasis on snakes and lizards.  There were several species including huge boas, a mamba, several types of monitor lizards and gila monsters.  There were lots of fish and a small tropical area where birds were able to fly about freely.  Species weren't always clearly labelled, but kids would really enjoy this place.  This was right next to the Museum of Torture which was located in an underground bunker.

Green Mamba Snake

Torture: The Museum

So, we went to the Museum of Torture for two reasons.  1) it was mentioned in Michelin's Green Guide as a sight with Amnesty displaying an exhibit there; 2) on the outside it had explanations about the museum in german, french, italian, english and spanish so we thought there would be enough english to understand the exhibits.  The real torture was going through this museum with very tacky exhibits, very poor quality  mannequins (I've seen better in most halloween shops), and of course no english.  Now, I do not necessarily expect exhibits to be labelled in english - and am generally grateful when they are.  It just felt a bit misleading to have all the different languages on the outside and only german inside.  And, Michelin...say something is really tacky if it is.

Cycling: The 'other' July Tour

Like many Americans, I didn't become aware of cycling until Greg LeMond won the Tour de France in 1986.  In the pre-internet, pre Lance Armstrong age it was generally difficult to follow the Tour de France and there was no news of any other races.  What I love about cycling is the combination of factors that contribute to someone becoming a winner.  There is the chemistry of the team, the strength and determination of the individual rider, how much pain you can suffer and the use of strategy and the dynamics of physics that all need to come together, as well as luck.  I love the strength of will the riders display as they ascend the peaks of a mountain and their fearlessness on descent.  
On Sunday we were able to see the final stage of the Tour of Austria as they entered Vienna.  Yes, the Tour of Austria is the 'other' July race, much shorter than the the big Tour.  Alan compared it to the triple A teams of baseball, which is a very apt comparison, I think.  A-list riders are in the big tour, those either still honing their skills or compromised for other reasons (injuries, etc) will ride here.  The skill level is still superior and it is thrilling to see these riders whisk by. 

Riders on the final laps around the Ringstrasse in Vienna, 7/10/11 

We also had the chance to see the Tour de France final laps in Paris - this was the year rider Floyd Landis 'won' - later to be disqualified due to doping.