Bratislava, Slovakia

Thursday


On this morning, Katherine and I checked into Hotel Kyjev, a Communist-era hostel with rather eccentric 60s nostalgia, among other interesting features. For one, they had round mirrors, crappy wood paneling, epically slow elevators, and a taxi in the lobby. Let me take the chance to elaborate on these elevators. Katherine took the opportunity to film the doors opening, as they moved at the kind of pace you would when waking up and taking a slow stretch. One time, when we could not resist our impatience for the elevator to climb to the sixth floor, we decided to take the stairs. All was good and well until, after reaching the first floor, we realized that there WAS NO EXIT. The stairs just kept descending with no visible end. We were too freaked out to see if there was a bomb shelter at the bottom, so we quickly trekked up to the first floor to take the elevator, only to find it open up to the people who were waiting with us on the sixth floor! We laughed about it a bit, and then explained that there was no way to get out of the stairs. Good thing we didn't need an emergency exit!


Our first sight-seeing adventure started with the church of St. Elisabeth, which is also named the "Blue" church. And most appropriately, it seems to be, considering that the entire church is painted in different shades of pastel blue, even on the inside. (see St. Elisabeth and the Miracle of the Roses)

We then took a stroll to Old Town Square (Hlavné Námastie) to see the historical building (Slovenské národné divadlo) and the various famous statues (Hans Christian Anderson, for one). Keep in mind that it was sweltering hot the whole day, and we were walking under the sun in the humidity and suffering a little. Thus, when we reached the Hrad (Bratislava Castle), all we wanted was some shade and breeze to save us from death by UV ray. Thus, we walked up to the castle, took a few pictures, and then sat (or fell asleep in my case) under a shade tree by the entrance. This was quickly interrupted by a gigantic semi truck (which we thought would not be able to make the clearance under the castle gate) and a horde of fat Austrian tourists who tried pitifully to avoid being squashed by the truck.


We decided to find refuge in a less crowded area, so we bought a pineapple popsicle and a grapefruit Fanta from a convenience store (for less than 2 euro!) and parked under a tree in the Grassalkovich gardens (Grasalkovičov palác), where we sat in the soft grass and watched a bird catch slugs. On this lovely adventure, I was intrigued by scattered remains of a dismembered pigeon, which fondly reminded me of Claire and her fascination with these rats with wings. As usual, I snapped a few photos for her enjoyment.


Katherine and I headed back to Old Town. On our way, we heard some music coming from the Primaciálny palác, so we stepped inside. Katherine was a bit wary, wondering if it was a private party or if we had to buy tickets. I noticed that no one was exchanging money, nor did anyone have a special ticket to get a plate a free food and a glass of wine, so I told her we should stand in line. She also worried that they would start talking to us in Slovak and we wouldn't be able to respond - we saw the police come to shoo away the homeless guys, and we didn't want a similar thing to happen to us, the tourist impostors. Luckily, we just smiled and walked down the table, picking up fresh cheeses and bread with olive oil, piling up our plates. We enjoyed watching traditional Slovak dancers sing to accordion music. It was wonderful!

After a relaxing afternoon under the shade, we went to the opera house to buy tickets to Lucrezia Borgia, the current production (see synopsis).

At last, we had dinner at Gazdovský Dvor, where I had halušky (like gnocchi) with cabbage, and Katherine had it with sheep's cheese. We ordered what they considered to be a carrot salad, but it turned out to be a bowl of shaved carrots with lemon and orange slices on the side. What amazed us was the price - we both had a main dish, a salad, a beer, and coffee, and the total was 17 euro!

Friday

Friday morning, we took the rickety bus to Hrad Devín (Devin Castle). All the while, we tried to figure out how to request a stop. The bus would violently jerk to a halt at various stops, open its doors quickly, honk, and then slam them just as fast. It took awhile for someone to request to get off; that was when we noticed that she pushed a button on the ceiling! In addition to being scared for our lives because of the bumpy ride, the middle-of-nowhere forest surroundings, and the lack of visible English, we were not comforted to know that the only way to get off of the moving bus was to jump up and push a button on the ceiling. We decided that there was no hope for Katherine, as she could only reach it when the bus was stopped. Good thing we were the last stop.

We arrived a little early, so we took a walk around the nature reserve, which was nice until we were viciously attacked by mosquitoes. We watched the hydrofoils cross the Donaj and the Morava rivers and noticed how the water color changed significantly at their intersection. At 10:00, the museum opened, and we bought student tickets (only 1.3 €). It was interesting, because you can tell how hard Bratislava tries to be an attractive tourist destination. The castle grounds were pretty cool, but they were rather scarce, considering Napoleon blew up the place in the 1800s. We were also suspicious about how much of the ruins were actually ruins and which were rebuilt.


Upon our return, illy (a Starbucks-type chain) was passing out free iced coffee (which was the point where we decided that Slovakians just liked passing out free stuff every day), which was refreshing after our hot bus trip. We ventured on to see the Pállfy palace museum, where they had a neat exhibit on Italian haute couture - dresses made for JLo and Naomi Campbell and a bunch of supermodels. We also went back to the Primate's Palace to see the hall of mirrors and tapestry museum, which was free for students. Finally, we stopped by the Pharmacy Museum at the Red Crayfish, which gained us access to the Museum of Arms and the tower that overlooked the city.

We stopped at a little café near the Hrad for a Greek salad and a Coke, and then back to the hostel to shower before the opera. Although the opera house was pretty and the tickets were cheap (5 € for balcony seats), the production didn't begin to compare with Vienna. I don't remember much of the opera, because it was in Italian and the subtitles were in Slovak, but I did notice the pit orchestra. There was one violinist in particular who was wearing a strapless black dress (which is NEVER done in a professional orchestra, mind you) and had this obnoxious red scarf over her chin rest. What bothered me most was that she came in late at every rest, barely moved her bow, and didn't turn the pages in time for her stand partner, even though it was her job. I have never seen a professional musician who faked the entire performance. And then I said to myself, "The guidebook said that the Bratislava opera was world class??" This is where my skepticism got the best of me. Katherine and I decided that she managed to get in based on good looks and made up stories about her fling with the conductor during intermission.


For dinner, we wandered in Old Town among the drunk stag partiers and the loud American tourists and managed to snag the last table at Pressburg before a couple behind us took it. There, we encountered way too many English speakers, which made us worried about how touristy the restaurant was. Needless to say, the Americans left, and our food arrived. To our enjoyment, the meal was fantastic. I had garlic soup, which is cream-based and traditionally comes in a bread bowl. Katherine had pumpkin cream soup, which was also delicious. I ordered a traditional cucumber salad, and we both had Topvar (Slovak beer on tap). It was a great meal for the price and the atmosphere, and we went back to the hostel with full stomachs and smiles.

What I learned

1. Garlic soup is amazing

2. Bratislavians like free stuff

3. Four inch heels are common, sensible walking shoes

4. Bring mosquito repellent

5. The UFO bridge only looks like a UFO when you see it in person

6. It is okay to apply deodorant while on the job at the post office. Don't expect better service.

7. If you buy animal postcards at a dumpy shopping mall, expect for the cashier to get excited and force you to take a bunch of free ones from a gigantic box. Also expect her to try to practice her English and tell you she lived in London for two years.

Istanbul

Pictures from Turkey are up! However, I have yet to put up captions and such. This time, I will just post a picture blog. It figures that I am crazy busy at the end of vacation. I suppose I should do homework...
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This week I may go to the Cully Jazz Festival with Marie, Yvonne, Gil, Leticia, Claire, and Sharon. It's free at night, and it's the perfect venue because they open the wine caves and have food (probably in some form of molten cheese), local wine, good music, and fun.
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Then, in a few weeks I am going to the Caravan Palace concert with Yvonne. Abby might be visiting during that week as well.
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Lots to look forward to this month!

Claire's Arrival

On Monday, I gave my mom a tour of Lausanne, including a trip to the St. Francois church, le Barbare for lunch and a hot chocolate, and the children’s clock near the Hotel de Ville.



Claire arrived Tuesday morning, the same day of mom’s departure, so we took the train to the Geneva airport, picked up Claire, and sent mom on her flight back to Des Moines. We spent the day touring the city with Claire’s Tandem partner, Thierry. We met up with my new Belgian roommate, Sharon, at Flon and went to le Barbare once again for a hot chocolate; seriously, this hot chocolate never gets old. Now, Claire is all settled in her room in Bourdonnette, and we are now off to meet some friends at le Satellite!

Lyon, Day II

On Sunday, we took the tram to the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation and took a breakfast stop at a little pastry shop on the corner. The museum was all about famous people in the French Resistance during WWII, especially influential women who risked social criticism and death threats to help Jews and restore many of the lost cultural items of the country. One woman in particular re-captured much of the artwork taken by Hitler; she moved to Germany to become a spy and kept in contact with many museum cultivators who were constantly recuperating missing artifacts.

For lunch, we went to Pizza Pai, a “buffet” type restaurant that had great pizza and an amusing ambiance similar to American restaurants. The goal was to whet our indulgence for Americanized international food, or maybe it was simply that we didn't want to pay that much for lunch. I was constantly surprised that in all of the restaurants in Lyon, they had water sitting on the table when you got there or it was automatically brought out when you arrived. I wish they gave free water in Switzerland….

We spent the last few hours in the city at the fine arts museum – which had a temporary Picasso and Matisse exhibit – and the museum of miniatures and movie props. The fine arts museum was swarming with locals wanting to see the famous Fauvist and Cubist paintings. We managed to access the entrance from the inside through a courtyard, where we just missed a line that stretched from the door to the end of the block. Instead of having to wait in line to pay for our tickets, we again flashed our city cards and they gave us our free tickets. The exhibit was very crowded, and I was constantly worried about women with their oversized purses because they always seemed to stand dangerously close to the paintings. I’m surprised they weren’t more closely monitored, considering their significance in art history.



There was an enormous fountain outside the museum that was beautiful and majestic. This was the Bartholdi Fountain built in the late 1800s, depicting a woman who controls the four rivers of France (symbolized by the four horses).



We took our last hour to tour the museum of miniatures, where they had costumes, masks, and stand-ins from famous shows and movies like Star Wars, Men in Black II, V for Vendetta, Terminator, The X-Files, and Planet of the Apes. Some of the props were pretty gruesome with blood and guts and rotting monkeys and such. It was really interesting, however, how they created such realistic props for horror movies. We also saw some amazing origami and incredibly small paper cutting and sculptures.

We took the 6pm TGV back to Geneva and had another late dinner at about 10pm.

Lyon, Day I

The next morning, we took the InterRegio to Geneva and then the TGV to Lyon, France. We arrived with relatively little sense of direction, only basing our orientation on Rick Steve’s suggestions. Since there were about 10 exits out of the Lyon Port-Dieu train station, we struggled to find the direction of our hotel, despite the fact that it was the Radisson, the tallest building in the city. I stopped to ask an official about directions, and then we walked 15 minutes with our bags to the hotel. It was odd, there. When we arrived, the concierge was on the ground floor, but he said that the check-in was upstairs. Thus, we took the elevator, only to find buttons for the ground floor and the 32nd floor. After a brief bout of confusion, we decided to press button “32” to see if this was the right place. Evidently, they don’t use the first 31 floors. Who knew? There was a separate elevator on the 32nd floor to get to the rooms. What a bizarre use of the building….

After having settled our things in the room and laughing at the small cup of mini-bar M&Ms that cost 7 euro, we asked the concierge about good dinner spots and how to buy our day passes. The city of Lyon offers a great tourist opportunity where you can buy a day pass that allows unlimited museum and public transportation access. You can take the tram, metro, bus, or electric car anywhere in the city, and you don’t have to wait in long museum lines. They just hand you your “free” ticket and you walk right in. Easy as pie.



Speaking of pie, we were quite hungry for lunch when we arrived in the city centre – Bellecour. We took the advice of an avid food blogger and tried le Giraudet, an all-natural bistro that sold the famous Lyonnais “quenelles” in a cup and some delicious soups – mom chose a chestnut soup with bitter cocoa powder, and I ordered carrot with curry and coconut milk. I also had a salad with roasted tomatoes, parmesan, and fried quenelles. Our lunch order included one of their hand-made desserts, so I indulged in a chocolate pistachio cake, and mom got fromage blanc with mango coulis (like yogurt with fruit purée on top). We were so pleased with our choice that we bought bottles of both soups to take home.




In addition to museums and transportation, the pass included a free walking tour and discounts on shopping and special tourist activities. We took advantage of the tour and saw the St. Jean cathedral with the moving rooster clock, Vieux Lyon with the museums and Middle Age housing complexes, and streets devoted to the sale of different foods. To explain, since people were largely illiterate during the Middle Ages, they named streets after the good that was sold there; for example, “Cow Street” was where butchers sold all of their beef. They also had a fish street, pig street, cheese street, etc. Since the people couldn’t read, they also put statues of the animals or the foods above the street names to indicate the good sold. Not a bad idea.



We ditched the tour a few minutes early to visit the puppet museum (le musée des marionettes), which had different puppets from all over the world. They showed famous clips from old television broadcasts and performances. They were all unique and expertly crafted with hand-sewn costumes. The end of our museum visit left us hungry for dinner, so we took a stroll in the bouchonnerie quarter. The history behind the name of the famous Lyonnais restaurants is that “bouchonner” means to brush horses, and the workers, after a hard day, needed a place to eat simple food for a low price. Thus, this type of restaurant was named after the profession of its clients, and they remain relatively inexpensive and absolutely wonderful. We went to St. Josef, a recommendation of my French roommate, Marie. I had grilled salmon and my mom had sole with some kind of sauce. For dessert, I had a pear pudding with strawberry coulis, and she had apple tart. After our dinner, we walked around and saw Hippo (a restaurant that reminded us of a funny experience in Paris) and bought French soap from a department store. (I know, the peak of shopping excitement).

Mom's arrival!

Mom arrived today, and we first went to my apartment to unload her stuff. She brought a huge hard-cased suitcase just for things that I requested: snowshoes and poles, crochet hooks and yarn, etc. I was hoping that a lot of the things she brought would be useful for time-occupiers during my three week vacation. We then bought train tickets to Vevey to see Ada. We had lunch with her – salmon and spinach pastry with hollandaise sauce and a salad with winter greens. It was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, she fractured her leg the week before, so she couldn’t accompany us to the thermal baths in Lavey.

After our lunch, we bid our farewell and took the train to St. Maurice, where we walked for about a half an hour in the snowfall to the baths. When we reached Lavey, we saw the steam rising from the pools and started to get excited about three hours of relaxation in the pools and the saunas. We even discovered something new from my first visit. In the indoor pool, there is underwater music every hour for 15 minutes, and the idea is to relax your body with sound waves. You lie on these flotation pads (or on your back), and you stick your ears underwater to hear dolphin calls or classical music, and it is supposed to have a relaxing effect for body and mind. After our three hours of rejuvenation, we walked back to the train station in the freshly fallen snow. While we were on the trail, two unleashed dogs approached us and started barking manically and mom was worried that they would bite, as she had previously bad experiences. In the end, though, the owners were rather friendly and asked us if we were okay or if the dogs frightened us. Fortunately, we received no dog bites that evening. The rest of the walk was tranquil and refreshing – a nice transition from hot water to cold, fresh air in the snow.

We arrived in Lausanne rather late – about 9pm – and ate a quick dinner of peanut vegetable soup and polenta with marinara sauce that I had made earlier in the week.

Off to Vienna to See Christine!

12/19
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I arrived at Geneva airport hoping that 2.5 hours would be plenty of time in advance. After waiting in the information line for 1.5 hours, someone told me that I was supposed to check in somewhere else - I felt rather idiotic and ran upstairs, where I still couldn't find the check-in counter. I proceeded to security, where the guy told me it was okay to come through with only my standby ticket. I believed him and went to the gate, only to have the ticket agent chide me for not checking in beforehand. She told me the flight was full, but then she proceeded to hand me a boarding pass - I don't even begin to understand the ways of European air travel. I finally arrived at the Vienna airport and took a bus to Westbanhof (West Train Station), where I met Christine. We returned to her apartment and made no-bake lasagna because she doesn't have an oven. We went to this bar called Centimeter, where we met Christine's friend Andrea from an internship at General Mills (who happened to know my friend Chris's roommate Brian from freshman year because they went to the same high school, thus reinforcing the incredible smallness of this world). She was visiting her friend Jesse who spent a year of high school in Hamburg. He spoke fluent German, which was helpful when we went to restaurants and such. Afterwards, he and Andrea went to a restaurant, and we went to a Christmas market near Alser Strasse; I noticed that at one stand, there were these two African guys speaking French, so I struck up a conversation with them that lasted a good 15 min or so.
After our return, we talked to Urshka (Christine's Slovenian roommate whose name means "bear" in Latin) and Nina (her friend from Slovenia). We had a great time sharing tongue twisters and talking about our schools and languages. We didn’t get to sleep until almost midnight, right as they were going out.
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12/20
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In the morning, we got up early (6am), just as Urshka and Nina were returning from their Indie Techno party. We arrived at the Hofburg Palace at 7:30 to attend mass. They let us in at 8:30, so we had plenty of time to freeze our butts off and talk to this Australian girl who was taking a year off from her job as an educational psychologist to travel around the world. We then took a place in the free standing room at the back of the concert hall to attend the mass (given in mostly German, some English, Italian, and Latin) and listen to/watch the Vienna boy's choir. At the end, the boys came out - dressed in their naval suits as per tradition from the Habsburg empire when they had a coast - to sing Kyrie. As soon as they came out from their balcony, everyone started taking pictures with flash, which was rather tacky and distracting. The boys were about 7 years old and had very high-pitched voices. We didn't expect them to be so little.
We were too cold, so we went back to the apartment to put on more layers and drink tea. Andrea called, inviting us to go to the Wienerwald (Vienna woods), so we ate a lighning lunch of cheese tortellini and sauce prepared from the day before. We took the bus from Heiliganstdt to the top of the woods (called Leopoldsburg), which was some sort of castle that overlooked the snow-dusted city. Because it was too cold to hike the descent, we waited for the bus to return and take us back to a Heuriger area (traditional wine/food place), where we went to an Asian/sushi buffet and had Genmaicha brown rice tea. After Christine and I watched Andrea and Jesse make a pathetic attempt at eating 6 euro worth of buffet food, we went next door to a cafe to have coffee and cake. I had a tiramisu that tasted heavily of rum and Christine chose the traditional Sacher Torte, which is a chocolate layer cake with apricot jam and chocolate frosting.
Jesse had to leave to study for a final, so the three of us - Christine, Andrea, and I - went to the Schonbrunn Palace - the summer home of the Habsburgs - to visit the Christmas market, where we saw beautiful stands and ate party/pizza pretzels. Because the fountains were completely frozen, there were children and a couple of parents walking around on them, so we thought it would be a cool idea to "ice skate;" however, the security guard didn't like our idea so much and wouldn't let us have our fun. Andrea had to find a bathroom anyway, so we left in search of them inside, where it was much warmer. When we exited the toilets, we saw that a large group of children were "skating" on the fountain...the irony.
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12/21
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On Monday, we quickly showered and ate breakfast to avoid the cleaning lady (who gets very upset with visitors and charges 12 euros per night). We met Andrea at Volkstheater (People's Theater) and toured the city center, where we saw the Hofburg Palace, the Augustinian Church (where all the Habsburgs got married and Marie Antoinette walked down the aisle), the Spanish riding school, and the monument to war and fascism (where several hundred people were buried alive when the cellar they were hiding in collapsed during bombings of WWII), After touring, we settled in a Starbucks (the first time I have been in an American franchise since coming to Europe) and then Billa, a local grocery store that sold Riedel wine glasses on super sale as well as the famous Viennese Mozart chocolate (filled with marzipan and strawberry jam). Andrea had to catch a bus to take her to the airport (going back to Berlin, where she was studying for the semester), and we then found a McDonald's (American franchise #2) so that Jesse could use the toilet. We returned to the city center so that Jesse could buy a Sacher Torte for his Hamburg host family from high school, and we saw the Plague Fountain, St. Stephen's Cathedral (the big one where Mozart was married, famous for being the center of Vienna), and the Baroque church (where there are two skeletons in glass boxes that flank the altar). The bodies were of martyrs of Christianity; however, I don't know the whole story on this one. After a morning of tourism, we parted ways with Jesse and went to Hofer (Aldi grocery store) to buy the week's food, including ingredients for chocolate cake in a cup - the dessert designated for my birthday. It was quite a microwave adventure.
We at a late lunch at about 4, and we needed to eat some old apples, so I made an apple/clementine crisp in a sauce pan with cinnamon and butter and sugar and muesli (which had raisins and banana chips and figs and other dried fruit). We watched some CNN and Antiques Roadshow on BBC. While lounging around for a few hours, we planned the rest of our week, including going to see the opera "Tristan and Isolde," the ballet "The Nutcracker," the Jewish museum, the Art History/Egyptian museum, the Habsburg Treasury, Haas House, Rathaus, and others.
We managed to see almost the entire city via tram, bus, and U-Ban, which was very convenient and relatively efficient.
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12/22
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On Tuesday, we went to see the Jewish museum and Holocaust memorial, which were built on the old site of a burned-down synagogue from the 1400s. The museum cost 2.5 euros to get in, which was a good price, but it was lacking in its offerings. It included graphic art pictures of the Warsaw Ghetto, a room of recovered artifacts from the destruction of the synagogue, pieces of the syagogue foundation that remained, and a short film talking about Jewish life in the ghetto of Vienna. It took all of about 40 minutes to get through this.
We then had plenty of time before the Anchor Clock went off at 12 noon, so we took a break at little café to have some tea and Sacher torte. Although it was warmer outside, we needed to rest from such little sleep. After we arrived at noon to see the clock (and after taking several minutes of painfully slow film), we decided that the clock wasn't really that interesting.
We then decided to return to the apartment to make lunch and pack something to eat for the opera that evening. We had to arrive several hours early to get a good spot in line for standing room at Tristan and Isolde; the opera started at 5:30, and we arrived at 3:00. When we got there, the line was already pretty long, and many had brought fold-out chairs and books to wait for the ticket booth to open. The opera itself was 4.5 hours long, which meant that we were there for a total of 7 hours. The story is as follows:
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Tristan und Isolde
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Composer: Richard Wagner
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ACT I. The legend of Tristan and Isolde (Tristram and Iseult) takes place during the Middle Ages, when knighthood and the chivalric code prevailed. On board ship from Ireland to Cornwall, a sailor's voice resounds from the rigging. His song about an Irish girl annoys the fiery Isolde, who is being taken by Tristan as bride for his uncle, King Marke. Isolde wishes the ship would sink rather than take her to her hated destination. Her companion, Brangäne, tries in vain to calm her. Instead Isolde is enraged by the knight Tristan, whom she sees standing on the afterdeck, avoiding her: by delivering her to his uncle, he shows no regard for her feelings. She sends Brangäne to summon Tristan, who sends back courtly, evasive replies. His plainspoken companion, Kurwenal, however, tells Brangäne that Tristan is not a vassal to answer Isolde's beck and call. Embarrassed by this outburst, Tristan sends Kurwenal away, but not before the latter has intoned an insolent verse about Isolde's fiancé, Morold, whom Tristan killed in combat some time before. Sailors pick up the refrain as the crestfallen Brangäne returns to the furious Isolde, who recalls that after Tristan came to Ireland to collect taxes for King Marke and killed Morold, she herself nursed him back to health, using her mother's knowledge of herbs and magic. When she realized he was her fiancé's slayer, she bemoaned her charity — but when he looked lovingly into her eyes, she took pity on him. Now he delivers her like a chattel to his uncle. She hurls forth a curse on his head and wishes death for both of them. Brangäne tries to tell her that it is no dishonor to marry a king and that Tristan is simply performing his duty. Isolde replies darkly that it shows his lack of love for her. When Brangäne reminds Isolde that her mother charged her with secret arts, Isolde tells Brangäne to prepare one of her mother's potions — the one that brings death. Cries from the deck that land is in sight are followed by the arrival of Kurwenal, who bids the women prepare to disembark. Isolde retorts that she will not accompany Tristan until he apologizes to her for his offenses. Kurwenal takes the message to his lord while Isolde forces Brangäne to pour the potion. Tristan appears, greeting Isolde with cool courtesy. When she announces that she wants satisfaction for Morold's death, Tristan offers her his sword, but she will not kill him. This would violate King Marke's hospitality and her own unwilling vows, she replies. Better that she and Tristan make peace with a drink of friendship. Understanding that she means to poison them both, he drinks, and she does the same. Expecting death, they exchange a long look of love instead, then fall into a passionate embrace. Brangäne admits she mixed a love potion as sailors' voices hail the ship's arrival in Cornwall.
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ACT II. In a garden outside Marke's castle, distant horns signal the departure of the king and his retinue on a hunting party. Impatient for a rendezvous with Tristan, Isolde believes that the party is far off, but Brangäne cautions her about spies, particularly Melot, a jealous knight whom she has noticed watching Tristan. Isolde says Melot is Tristan's friend and urges Brangäne to put out the warning torch so that Tristan can approach. Brangäne knows this would be unwise, but when she laments having switched the potions, Isolde tells her the power of love rules all destiny and guided her hand. Sending the girl to stand watch, Isolde herself puts out the torch and welcomes Tristan rapturously. Both hail the darkness, which banishes the light of everyday reality and false appearances. It was the forces of daylight, Isolde says, that caused Tristan to behave conventionally and bring her from Ireland; the potion, the power of love, has released them from this delusion. Feeling safe in the truthfulness of night, they welcome its embrace. Brangäne's distant voice warns that night will soon fade and danger be revealed, but the lovers equate their oblivion with death, which will give them the total union and safe removal they crave. Their idyll is shattered as Kurwenal runs in with a warning: the king and his followers have returned, led by Melot, who denounces the lovers. Moved and disturbed, Marke declares that it was Tristan himself who urged him to marry and chose the bride, asking how a knight he so loved could bring dishonor on him. Tristan says he cannot answer, then turns to Isolde and asks whether she will follow him into the realm of death. She accepts, and Melot rushes forward, sword drawn. Wounded, Tristan falls in Kurwenal's arms.
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ACT III. Outside Kareol, Tristan's home castle in Brittany, the knight lies grievously wounded, tended by Kurwenal. To a Shepherd who inquires about his master, Kurwenal replies sadly that only Isolde's arrival, with her magic arts, can save him. The Shepherd agrees to change the sad tune he is playing on his pipe as soon as he sights a ship approaching. Stirring, Tristan asks where he is, then in delirium says he has visited the realm of night and will return there. He clings to life only so that he can find Isolde and take her with him. Tristan thanks Kurwenal for his devotion, then imagines he sees Isolde's ship approaching. But the Shepherd still pipes a sad tune: the sea is empty. Tristan recalls the tune, which he heard as a child in connection with his parents' death and which he later associated with his own near-death after the duel with Morold. He wishes Isolde's medicine had given him peace then instead of reviving him to suffer the torments of longing. Once more he swoons, then revives to imagine Isolde's smile as she draws near. The Shepherd's tune finally changes to a cheerful fanfare, and Kurwenal sees the ship. Tristan rouses himself in growing agitation. For once he blesses the day, because it lights Isolde's way to him. Recklessly he tears off his bandages, letting his wounds bleed so that she can heal them — "forever." No sooner has Isolde rushed in than he falls dying in her arms. She exhorts him to live in order that they can share a final hour of reunion, but he is dead. The Shepherd sights another ship, which Kurwenal assumes is bringing Marke and Melot, bent on vengeance. Though Brangäne is with them, Kurwenal will not listen and attacks them, killing Melot and holding Marke's retainers at bay until he himself falls, mortally wounded. Marke, overwhelmed with sadness, sees the dead Tristan, while Brangäne tries to arouse Isolde, telling her the king has come to pardon and unite the lovers. But Isolde, oblivious, has a vision of Tristan beckoning to the world beyond. Must she alone perceive this and go to meet him? She must. As Brangäne tries to hold her, she sinks, transfigured in death, upon Tristan's body.
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12/23
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Wednesday was full of milestones: one week before Christine's departure for the US, the day that Urshka moved out, and my 21st birthday. Our plan was to see the Art History Museum and the Hofburg Treasury Musuem (a 14 euro combo ticket), but they didn’t open until 10, so we passed the time by going through the Museums Quartier area and then on to Mariahilferstrasse to have a coffee at McDonald’s. It was the first time I had consumed anything from McDonald's in years, but it was amazingly modern, clean, and swanky. We had a coffee and I proceeded to snap photos of our lovely beverages. As a bonus, we had the opportunity to listen to bad pop Christmas tunes from NSync, among others.
As for the Art History museum, the building itself was built in the 1800s with the idea of a museum in mind. They constructed columns and created some really ornate artwork to accent the walls and ceilings. It featured collections of Italian Renaissance art and Northern European paintings. Because of Christine's love for Rick Steves, we followed his tour of the museum, and then wandered in the Egyptian exhibit, where we saw sarcophagi and ancient Greek and Roman statues. The most notable piece in the museum was the ridiculously wasteful million dollar pure gold Canadian coin that was on display in a glass box. I'm not really sure what made them decide to, as they put it, "raise the bar," but the coin looked fake and I was ashamed to hear that Canada would want to waste such a precious and remarkable material.
We were a bit tired from the walking and absorption of European history, so we went home for a quick lunch before setting off again for the Treasury museum. Once again, we followed good ol' Rick's tour, where he explained the significance of the crowns, sceptors, narwhal tusks, cloaks, and other royal goods. Some of the things surprised us, like a 2,680 carat emerald that served no purpose other than to be large and misshapen. They also had a lot of religious items – carved ivory crucifixes and really intricate altarpieces. There were relics such as pieces of Jesus’ cross, a piece of the lance that pierced Jesus’ side, a piece of his loincloth, and a shred of the table cloth from the last supper. It was amazing how intricate each piece was, as everything was handcrafted and, quite possibly, could have taken a lifetime to complete.
After finishing our tour of the Habsburg Treasury, we took some quick photos of the Mozart statue before heading home for dinner. When we got back home, we made some mashed potatoes with onions, mushrooms, cheese, and paprika and made microwave chocolate cake, which was better than expected. We managed to make a frosting from yogurt and leftover whipped cream that added a nice touch to the chocolate.
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12/24
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First on the agenda was Belvedere Palace, where we walked around the grounds and saw what was left of the gardens, including geometrical hedges and regal statues.We then headed to Karlsplatz to see Karlskirche, one of the best baroque churches in Vienna. We were also lucky because the cash desk was closed and we got in free!
By then, it was about noon and we headed towards the Naschmarkt, which is a dangerous thing to do around lunch time. We had fun browsing through the fish and fruit and vegetables and spices. We bought the most amazing falafel sandwiches ever, which were filled with homemade salads and sauces that perfectly complimented the fresh, piping hot falafel. Because it was Christmas Eve, everything started to close in early afternoon, so we returned to Christine's for a nap. Around 7, we went out to the Rathaus Christmas Market to look at the pretty lights and see the items in the shops. When we got there, we found that the shops were all closed and everyone was packing up… but at least the lights in the trees were on. It was a really warm night and we had fun strolling around and looking at the Christmas lights. After our short stroll through the almost dead market, we returned to the apartment to spend Christmas Eve watching our favorite holiday movies. The only thing on TV was the German-dubbed National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, so we looked for alternatives on YouTube and came across Charlie Brown Christmas and the original "A Christmas Story" in its entirety. We watched that before going to sleep around midnight.
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12/25
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Christmas day in Vienna! We made pancakes, talked to our families, and then at four, we left to go to the opera house to see The Nutcracker. Again, we arrived a few hours early to get a good spot in line, and we managed to find some decent standing room, albeit the high strung women who arrived late and wanted everyone to accomodate them and give them spots. This was my first real ballet, and I was amazed to see the incredible athleticism of the dancers and their grace of presence. The costumes and scenery were beautiful, and it turned out to be much more interesting than the opera. Here is a synopsis:
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Act I: It’s a cozy Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum’s house. Their house is decorated with Christmas ornaments, wreaths, stockings, mistletoe and in the center of it all, a majestic Christmas tree. As the Stahlbaum’s prepare for their annual Christmas party, their children, Fritz and Clara, wait anxiously for their family and friends to arrive. When the guests finally appear, the party picks up with dancing and celebration. A mysterious guest arrives dressed in dark clothing, nearly frightening Fritz, but not Clara. Clara knows he is Godfather Drosselmeyer, the toymaker. His surprise arrival is warmly accepted and all the children dance and carry on with laughter. The celebration is interrupted again when Drosselmeyer reveals to the children that he has brought them gifts. The girls receive beautiful china dolls and the boys receive bugles. Fritz is given a beautiful drum, but Clara is given the best gift of all, the Nutcracker. Fritz grows jealous, snatches the Nutcracker from Clara and plays a game of toss with the other boys. It isn't long until the Nutcracker breaks. Clara is upset, but Drosselmeyer fixes it with a handkerchief. Drosselmeyer’s nephew offers Clara a small make-shift bed under the Christmas tree for her injured Nutcracker. The party grows late and the children become sleepy. Everyone generously thanks the Stahlbaum’s before they leave. As Clara’s family retires to bed, she checks on her Nutcracker one last time and ends up falling asleep under the Christmas tree with the Nutcracker in her arms. At the stroke of midnight Clara wakes up to a frightening scene. The house, the tree and the toys seem to be getting larger. Is she shrinking? Out of nowhere large mice dressed in army uniforms, lead by the Mouse King, begin to circle the room while the toys and Christmas tree come to life. Clara’s Nutcracker groups the soldier toys into battle formation and fights the mouse army. The Mouse King traps the Nutcracker in the corner, but the Nutcracker can’t overcome the Mouse King’s strength. Clara makes a desperate move to save her Nutcracker from defeat and throws her slipper at the Mouse King. She hits him directly in the head! The Nutcracker is able to overcome the stunned Mouse King and claims victory. The mice army quickly carries away their King. Clara falls onto the Nutcracker’s bed, over-whelmed by the moment. As angels and delightful music hover over their heads, the bed turns into a magical sleigh, floating higher and higher. The Nutcracker is transformed into a human prince (who looks strikingly similar to Drosselmeyer’s nephew). He gets on Clara’s sleigh and drives through a snowy forest where the snowflakes turn into dancing maidens.
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Act II: After their magical journey through the snow forest, they come to their destination in the Land of Sweets. Clara can’t believe her eyes; ladyfinger mountains topped with whipped cream whiter than snow, sweetly glazed flowers and butter-cream frosting everywhere she looks. Upon their arrival, they are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. As they reenact the night’s events, the Sugar Plum Fairy becomes impressed with Clara’s bravery and the Nutcracker’s heroism. In their honor, the Sugar Plum Fairy takes them inside the Candy Castle and throws a lavish festival. They are treated like royalty and presented with every imaginable sweet. Shortly thereafter, the dancing begins. Hot cocoa dances to the lively music of trumpets and castanets of the Spanish fandango. The women of coffee dance in veils and move their bodies like rising steam to an Arabian song, while Mandarin tea dances to an exotic Asian flute chorus. Matroishkas (Russian dolls) follow the Mandarin tea leaping and dancing to an invigorating Russian Trepak. To Clara’s enjoyment there is still more to be seen. A giant gingerbread house, known as Mother Ginger, dances onto the Sugar Plum Fairy’s court. She opens her skirt and eight little gingerbread children come dancing out circling around her. After the Mirliton dance is over, the children quickly file back into the large gingerbread house and Mother Ginger leaves the room. Soon after Mother Ginger exits, the dancing flowers enter to the tune of the harp. Perhaps the most beautiful waltz she has ever heard, Clara and the Nutcracker Prince watch with amazement. The flowers dance in beautiful mesmerizing patterns as a single Dewdrop floats above them. Silence quickly follows the end of their dance. Clara doesn’t know what to expect next. A handsome Cavalier enters the scene and escorts the Sugar Plum Fairy to the center of the room. They dance to the most recognizable song in the entire work. The captivating pair dance lighter than air. This beautiful dance completes Clara’s most perfect evening. The festival concludes when everyone comes together on the court and bids Clara and the Nutcracker Prince farewell. She tells the Nutcracker she wishes the adventure would never end and he tells her it won’t for those who have an eye to see it. Clara wakes up the next morning under the Christmas tree with her Nutcracker still in her arms.

Andrew visits: Yvoire, Nyon, La Chaux-de-Fonds

This weekend, Andrew paid me a visit all the way from Washington, DC!
On Thursday, he arrived at the Lausanne train station exhausted and ready for a nice nap after being in transit for so many long hours. He recounted the extensive journey from London to Geneva, which involved changing of many trains, buses, planes, and other modes of transportation. Unfortunately, I had to go to class quickly after his arrival, but that also gave him a chance to recuperate from his previous adventures in the UK. When I returned, we first went to the museum at La Place de la Riponne, where they had a Darwinist exhibition, among other fine museum artifacts. It cost 4 CHF (almost nothing!) to see the museum of architecture, archeology (including a lock of Napoleon's hair), money (mostly ancient coins), zoology (with jars of mutant cats and stuffed owls), geology (gorgeous, shiny, brilliant crystals and precious stones), paleontology (fossils, bones, and ancient natural structures), and others (which I cannot recall at the moment). We learned a lot about Swiss heritage and native flora and fauna, which served as a nice comparison to those of the United States. After our nice tour of the museum, we took a relaxing pause at Le Barbare, the cafe with the famous hot chocolate. We were in heaven with the rich, pudding-like goodness of the warm chocolate. It really is a heavenly experience. We had some nice conversation in the cafe but then promptly returned to my apartment for a quick bite to eat before meeting some of my exchange friends at le Satellite, the local bar/lounge on the EPFL campus. We spent the evening chatting with people from all over the world, and the bar was very lively with old American pop hits playing over the speakers and people letting go the stresses of the school day.
On Friday, we took a boat from Nyon, Switzerland, to Yvoire, France, a small medieval village that used to be completely protected by stone walls. We were not aware, however, that the season of tourism influenced the frequency of the boat trips, so we arrived only to find that we had 40 minutes until the last boat departed from Yvoire back to Nyon. We were able to see quite a bit of the village and to take nice pictures of the medieval structures, albeit the short amount of time, though, and we also found a persimmon tree, where we pilfered this strange fruit to take home and try. It was quite an effort climbing over the mossy stone wall, but we succeeded in grabbing one! (After letting it ripen over the weekend, we tasted it, but, to our chagrin, it was rather disgusting. Due to its strong tannins, the fruit was very astringent and it sucked all the water out of our mouths. It had the same effect as novocaine.) So, after taking a train to another city to only spending 40 minutes in France, you might ask if this time was wasted. I would have to say that this was not the case. We took great delight in returning to Nyon to spend the afternoon in a lovely nautical museum near the lakeside, only to find that our tickets were also valid (for up to a year!) to the fine art museum as well as the ancient ceramic museum found in the Nyon castle. Because it was late in the afternoon, we did not have time to explore the other museums, but I hope to use the tickets in the future and profit from this wonderful little city! After everything had closed, we walked around the city center and purchased (my first!) roasted chestnuts. To be honest, I don't know why I never tried them before...maybe it is because Iowa seems to be lacking in these delicious treats, but they were quite delectable, and we happened to chance upon them once again on our weekend excursion to la Chaux-de-Fonds.
So, you may be wondering where la Chaux-de-Fonds is found on the map. It is a very small city in the northeastern part of Switzerland in the canton of Neuchâtel. My Tandem partner, Valentin, invited us to stay in his parents' chalet at la Tête-de-Ran (in the canton of Jura) for the weekend. "Jura" refers to the jurassic era, when the tectonic plates caused the region to become very hilly with many peaks and valleys. We took this opportunity to eat molten cheese, hike through Swiss hills (where we saw an expansive view of the city of la Chaux-de-Fonds), and learn a bit more about Swiss culture - idiomatic expressions, dining customs, etc. We also had the chance to explore the Musee d'Horlogerie (watch museum) and les moulins souterrains (underground mills). If you take a peek at the photo album, you will understand more about the watchmaking industry as well as the underground mill process.
On Sunday, Valentin's parents were gracious enough to pay our way for the underground mills and a tour of the city, as well as to prepare a wonderful dinner of pasta with pesto and shredded cheese, lamb chops, and fennel and carrot salad on Sunday evening. We thanked them heartily for such a wonderful stay, and we departed with Valentin and his girlfriend, Vanessa, for our return back to Lausanne. I have to say that it is rare to find such generous hosts, but I often find them here in Switzerland. I think that maybe their beautiful country and their high quality of life makes them appreciate and enjoy the little things enough to share their joy with others. Although I did not initially expect it, I have made friends with Swiss people with relative ease, and, overall, I find them to be kind-hearted and incredibly generous.

Visit from America

This Thursday, I received a visit from America. Two dear friends, Maddie and Christine, who are currently studying in Vienna this year, decided to pay me a visit in Switzerland, and I could not be more elated to show them around my new home. Not only did I show them my favorite Lausanne park - le parc de Sauvebelin - and take them to the most famous hot chocolate cafe in in the city, but showed them the beauty of anoter country - France.

After thirty five minutes by ferry, we arrived in the city of Evian, famous for its pure theraupeutic water. We traversed the historical path through the city and learned about the famous Evian fountain that healed a king and resulted in a marriage. It is incredible to imagine how such a common staple can be so powerful to a community. We found a line of people waiting to fill their empty plastic bottles and watched as families loaded their cars with liters of fresh spring water. In order to experience the full effect of this fountain, we stood among the line of people and waited our turn to fill our empty bottles and to take a picture of the event.

Unfortunately, I have not received my magical powers yet. But patience - there is still time.

On Friday we toured the natural and the man-made parts of Lausanne. We walked among the old judicial buildings, churches, and schools. After having walked throughout the centre ville, we were in need of a serious lunch. There just so happened to be a creperie near the Cathedrale that could not have been more perfect in satiating our appetites. Roquefort, egg, mushroom, nuts...so many delicious fillings to warm our empty stomachs. My mouth still waters when I think about that salty cheese and delicate pancake.

We also tasted the most famous hot chocolate in all of Lausanne at le Barbare, a small cafe near the Cathedrale. It has a rich consistency like that of pudding - almost equivalent to a melted chocolate bar - and melts in your mouth like a small taste of heaven.

All in all, the two short days were filled with enchantment, and I was glad to share it with such wonderful company. It is comforting to know that there are others who share your struggles and often seek beauty in everyday life. Such is study abroad.