Back to Vienna

Where in the world is Bernie’s birthday party? (Insert Carmen San Diego theme song)

Continuing with the clues to where we are going for Bernie’s birthday, here is the next clue;

1.) This place has been inhabited since prehistoric time. Over 6,500 dwellings have been identified.
2.) This place is home to a colony of miniature albino donkeys.
3.) The language is based on Latin but still bears the influence of the ancient languages of the Nuraghic period (such as the word Nuraghe itself) as well as smatterings of Catalan, Corsican, Arabic, Phonecian and Genoese... legacies left by the many invaders.
4.) They have a toxic local herb which causes convulsive laughter in its victims. There is an English phrase that comes from this herb.

Two people so far has guessed correctly! Congratulations to Martha Fosnaugh and Irene Cleenewerck (Fosnaugh). Sorry it is not Germany, Lombardy, or Estonia.

We returned to Vienna on our way back from Prague to explore the city and visit a few more of my relatives. We were graciously invited to stay with Oscar and Rosie (my second cousins). On our first day we visited my grandparents and great grandparent’s grave as well as Oscar’s family grave.

Afterwards Regi and I headed out on the town and saw Stephansdom (St. Stephan’s Cathedral). It was a very gothic style cathedral with huge towers. During World War II the roof collapsed in one of the bombings and my mother bought one of the bricks that replaced the roof after the war. The knowledge of that was special to me.

After Stephansdom, we headed to the Haus der Musik. It was an interactive museum where we could explore all the different aspects of sound and how we react to it. In one room they recreated the sounds of being in the womb. The heart beat of the mother was quite loud and there was a gentle whooshing sound of liquid all around us. It was quite comforting actually. On another floor they had different rooms for the major composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Handle. We saw the actual spectacles that Schubert wore and the door to Beethoven’s house. A modern fung shui expert also assessed why Beethoven moved approximately every six months. She concluded that he was an earth sign with an imbalanced masculine to feminine side and for some reason that didn’t jibe with the apartments he lived in.

Today we decided to get away from the crowds and take a walk along the Danube River. It was a bright warm day out just perfect for a walk. I was excited to see a man on a high wheeled bike. Regi wanted to go for a swim. She said the water was almost just right.

Tonight I plan to photograph the city at night. It is truly my favorite way to photograph cities. They always seem to look better at night.

Tomorrow we are off again to Innsbruck were we might do a little cross-country skiing before we start our work on an Italian vineyard.

Chouse (bye)