Visiting the Habsburgs

Getting into the Habsburg spirit with a piece of Sacher torte in Vienna

Elliott and I had often talked about taking a trip to Vienna and Budapest.  Unfortunately, his overseas travel days ended before we could travel to these cities. About a month or so after his passing, I started thinking it was time for me to take the trip.  I considered signing up for a tour, but when I thought back to my pre-marriage travel days, when I routinely made solo trips all over the world, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to challenge myself.  I wanted to find out how I would deal with traveling for an extended period of time without a companion, guide or group. 

I’d forgotten how much time and effort, not to mention stress, are involved in the actual planning for an independent trip.  For several weeks prior to my trip, I was consumed with researching air transportation, rail connections, hotels, in-city public transport, maps, phone and internet service, currency exchange, foreign transaction fees, opening hours for museums and other sites of interest, restaurant reviews, and helpful phrases in Hungarian and German.  Having most of this information available online is helpful but it also means that there’s no end to the research one can do.  It also forced me to stretch my tech abilities as I learned about Dropbox and Google docs and screenshots. 

My preparation also included brushing up on the history of the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of a large empire over the course of several centuries.  One of the books I especially enjoyed was a work of historical fiction, The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki.  The novel was based on the life of Elisabeth of Bavaria (known as Sisi) who married the Habsburg Crown Prince Franz Joseph and became Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid-1800s.  I also learned a lot from Frederic Morton’s A Nervous Splendor, which focused on Vienna from 1888-1889.  During this decade, great changes swept across Europe.  And two days before my departure, I attended a full-day Smithsonian lecture program on the Habsburgs.  As a result, I gained a wealth of background information that helped me put the sights into a historical context. 

Also as a result of all this preparatory work, I was already exhausted by the time I got onto the Austrian Airlines plane at Dulles Airport on Monday, June 6.  After making a connection in Vienna, I arrived in Budapest where I proudly used my newly acquired (and very limited) Hungarian language skills to purchase tickets for the subway and bus.  My hotel, the Gerloczy, was perfectly situated in the Inner City and adjacent to the Jewish Quarter.  In addition, the attic room I’d reserved offered the quaint charm I was hoping for.  It did not, however, offer the most modern plumbing.  (More about that minor inconvenience later)  Also, the Hungarians are obviously very conscious of conserving energy.  In order to get electricity in my hotel room, I had to insert my key card into a little box on the wall.  An unintended benefit was that I never misplaced my key card in my room.  

My attic refuge at the Gerloczy in Budapest

Zsuzsa in her hometown

Shortly after I checked into the hotel, I met up with my friend Zsuzsa, who taught ESOL at AHS a few years ago as a Fulbright Exchange teacher.  Since we were both starving, she took me to Kek Rosza (Blue Rose), a somewhat basic, i.e. décor-less, restaurant with an authentic Hungarian menu.  I selected cold sour cherry soup (Zsuzsa insisted that all Hungarian meals begin with soup), chicken paprika (rich and creamy sauce) with dumplings, and a sampling of salads – tomato, cucumber, and picked cabbage.  All of the food was delicious and the portions so generous that I wasn’t able to consider ordering dessert, much to Zsuzsa’s disappointment.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to getting acquainted with Budapest, which dates back to Roman times.  The city is filled with buildings constructed in a variety of architectural styles, including Gothic, Renaissance, Ottoman (thanks to the Turks), Baroque and Art Nouveau.  Many of the buildings in the center of the city were constructed in 1896, the year Hungarians celebrated the 1000^th anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars. 

The city center, with many of the major tourist sites, is quite compact and very walkable.  Of course, once Zsuzsa left me on my own, I managed to get lost temporarily.  But even when I took a wrong turn, there was always something interesting to look at – or a gelato stand in close proximity.  That afternoon, I had my first of many ice cream cones.  I wasn’t surprised that the ice cream was so good.  Dairy seems to be present in some form in nearly all Hungarian food.  

My first Hungarian meal - at Kek Rosza (Blue Rose)

One of my first “real” stops was the opulently styled opera house, dating back to the time of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef.   An elaborately costumed Sisi impersonator welcomed visitors into the lobby.  The interior of the building was quite splendid, with lots of gold and deep red, and a guided tour provided my first taste of the Baroque style that dominated the world of the Habsburgs in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. 

All 3 photos taken in the Hungarian Opera House

Not far from the Opera House was the equally impressive Basilica of St. Stephen.  The church honors Hungarian King Arpad, who converted to Christianity in the year 1001, changed his name to Stephen, and became the patron saint of his land. 

Saint Stephen's Basilica in Budapest

Soon it was time for my second Hungarian meal of the day.  At the Drum Café, located around the corner from the Grand Synagogue, I ordered the “kosher” 3-course meal, which featured Hungarian Jewish specialties.  The first course was green pea soup (cream-based, of course, and topped with lots of shredded cheese), which was served with matzah.  The main course was quite unusual – a crepe stuffed with an egg-mushroom-dumpling mixture.  The stuffed pancake was topped with sour cream and spices.  Finally, the dessert, called flodni, consisted of pastry layered with apples and poppy seeds.  It was exciting to be trying so many new menu items, and the cost was very reasonable.  Along with a bottle of mineral water, this satisfying meal cost under $10.  

The main course of my dinner at the Drum Cafe.

When I finished dinner, I should have walked back to my hotel to catch up on sleep.  Instead, I realized that the nearby Grand Synagogue on Dohanyi Street was still open.  Sleep would have to wait.  I spent the next hour exploring the synagogue and the adjacent Jewish Museum.  The complex also includes a Memorial Garden dedicated to the Hungarian Jews who lost their lives when the Nazis occupied the country in 1944.  Prior to the Holocaust, the Jewish community in Hungary was one of the largest in Europe.  The sense of loss swept over me as I looked at the museum’s photographs, Torah scrolls, and religious items.  Hungary had a vibrant Jewish community for several centuries.  In fact, the Dohanyi Street Synagogue is still the largest synagogue in Europe.  While it remains standing and attracts large numbers of tourists, the Jewish community of Budapest is gone forever.

Inside the Grand Synagogue on Dohanyi Street

The next morning, the sun woke me early.  I shrugged off the jet lag and had a nourishing breakfast at the hotel (whole grain ciabatta studded with walnuts, the most delicious butter, eggs scrambled with cheese and mushrooms, and coffee served with a piece of Valrhona chocolate!) to ready myself for an ambitious day of sightseeing.   

Notice how the bread is served at the hotel.

My hotel was on the Pest side of the river, a few short blocks from the Danube, so I walked along the river, taking in the views of Buda on the opposite bank.  

Street scene near my hotel

A walk along the Danube on the Pest side

When I reached the Chain Bridge, I walked across to the Buda side for a visit to Castle Hill.  A funicular brought me to the top of the hill, the site of original Roman fortifications.  This is also where the royal palace used by Franz Josef and Sisi was built in the 1800s.   
 

Fishermen's Bastion on Castle Hill

The view from Fishermen's Bastion on Castle Hill

Street scene on Castle Hill with St. Matthias church

Fountain outside the castle

For an hour or so, I wandered through the winding streets lined with small art galleries, souvenir shops, porcelain stores (Herend china is made in Hungary), cafés, and restaurants.  At the Fisherman’s Bastion, I was able to look out at a panoramic vista across the river.  Today, the former castle houses an excellent collection of Hungarian art from the Middle Ages through modern times.  It was especially interesting to see the art being produced in Budapest during the 19^th century, the time period covered in my most recent art history class at George Mason.  Like artists in other parts of Europe, Hungarian artists in the late 19^th century were going through a similar struggle to cast off the strictures of traditional academic art. 

By the time I finished my tour of the museum, I was feeling in need of some rest.  So I fortified myself with an ice cream cone (it works wonders, in case you’re interested), walked back across the Chain Bridge.  I took a break from walking with an hour-long boat ride on the Danube.   

View of Parliament from the boat

For my second dinner in Budapest, I was craving a change from Hungarian food.  Fortunately, Budapest is filled with Turkish and Middle Eastern restaurants and kebab stands, so I had no trouble finding a spot for dinner.  I dined contentedly on moussaka and Greek salad, all for less than five dollars.  And even though I was stuffed, I managed to find room for coffee and a piece of pistachio-strawberry cake at a nearby coffee house before I finally gave in to my need for sleep. 

I rose early on Thursday to be ready for a full-day group sightseeing tour to three historic towns outside of the city.  The first stop for our multi-national group was Esztergom, about 30 miles northwest of Budapest, near the border with Slovakia.  This was the early center of Christianity in Hungary, and its basilica is the third largest church in Europe.   

Esztergom basilica

Our next stop was Visegrad, site of a medieval royal residence.  At a beautifully situated hilltop restaurant outside the town, we enjoyed views of the Danube and a typical Hungarian lunch.  This time, the soup was a meat broth with pasta.  The main course was a mammoth serving of schnitzel (chicken or turkey) accompanied by boiled potatoes.  Dessert, as expected, was a rich concoction of pastry puffs, cream and chocolate sauce.  Needless to say, this is not an easy country for dieters, vegetarians, or vegans.  

Selfie time near Visegrad

 

Szentendre

Szentendre

The last stop on our tour was the town of Szentendre, which turns out to be Hungarian for Saint Andrew.  The quaint town, on the banks of the Danube, was originally settled by Serbs in the 1700s. Various populations arrived in the years that followed.  Four early churches remain standing, two Orthodox and two Catholic.  Today Szentendre is known as the home of approximately 160 artists and craftspeople.  I didn’t buy any of their wares, but I stopped for a much-needed cappuccino before boarding the boat for the hour-long trip back to Budapest.  Dark clouds were gathering, but that didn’t prevent many kayakers from enjoying their time on the river.  

On Friday morning, I faced one of the major challenges of my trip, i.e. washing my hair in the beautiful old clawfoot bathtub.  Once I was in the slippery porcelain lined tub, the slightest shift in weight sent me sliding and crashing against the sides of the tub.  And the hand-held sprayer meant that I shivered throughout the washing procedure.  However, the experience brought back happy memories of my early days in Fayence, before Elliott rigged up a contraption to provide the semblance of a shower in our bathroom. 

The morning of my last full day in Budapest was devoted to a visit to the Hungarian Parliament.  I had already seen the Parliament building from a distance – from the Danube boat ride, when crossing the Chain Bridge, and from the top of Castle Hill.  It’s a very impressive sight, and the Hungarians are justifiably proud of their Parliament Building.  Built a little over a hundred years ago in Neo-Gothic style, it calls to mind the British Parliament in London.  It’s actually slightly longer than the British Parliament building.  Zsuzsa assured me that I shouldn’t miss taking a tour of the interior and I’m grateful for her insistence.  From the French-speaking guide (English language tours were sold out!), I learned much about the history of Hungary while admiring the Baroque décor.  

Hungarian Parliament building

The highlight of the afternoon was a visit with Zsuzsa to a small museum devoted to the work of Budapest-based artist Miksa Roth (or as the Hungarians would say, Roth Miksa).  From the late 1800s through the early 1900s, Roth produced stunningly beautiful stained glass windows, mosaics and furniture.  The museum is located in the artist’s former home, and was one of those little hidden gems that hadn’t been mentioned on any of the travel websites.  When the guide casually mentioned that Roth died in 1944, I couldn’t help thinking of the thousands of Jews deported from Hungary that year when the Nazis occupied the country. 

Mosaic by Hungarian artist Roth Miksa

  

I decided that my last dinner in Budapest should be a real Hungarian meal so I headed back to Kek Rozsa.  I was pleased to discover that I could order a half portion of chicken paprika, which left me enough room to try potato langos (similar to potato pancakes) and a special Hungarian dessert – a crepe-like pancake with rum, sour cherries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce.  Really, it was too much to eat, but sometimes when you travel, you have to sacrifice comfort for authenticity. 

The next morning, I bid farewell to Budapest and boarded the high-speed train for the trip (about 2 ½ hours) to Vienna.  I had a long list of places I wanted to visit in the Austrian capital and I didn’t waste any time getting started.  As soon as I arrived at Vienna’s main train station, I bought a pass for unlimited use of public transportation.  Without even stopping to check in at my hotel, I made my way by U-bahn (their highly efficient metro system) to the Ringstrasse and hopped on the Ring Tram.  The 30-minute ride covers the entire ring with recorded commentary pointing out sights along the way.  The building of the Ringstrasse was a major accomplishment of Emperor Franz Josef in the late 1800s.  It was his way of showing the world that Vienna was just as fashionable as any other European city.  The project ran into numerous difficulties and took many years to complete.  Although the buildings are a mixture of different architectural styles, the overall effect is very impressive.

My Vienna hotel, the Hotel Kugel, was located in Neubau, a trendy and non-touristy area just outside the Ring.  On this Saturday afternoon, the streets were thronged with local people out shopping, dining, and simply enjoying the beautiful weather.  As for the hotel itself, the Kugel had plenty of charm along with modern plumbing!  But before I took a shower, I had to do some exploring. 

Vienna is a much bigger city than Budapest.  After studying my maps, I walked in what I thought was the direction of the Ring only to find myself completely disoriented.  By chance, I had stumbled into the Museumsquartier, with its array of contemporary art galleries, museums, cafés, and large public spaces for hanging out.  Not surprisingly, it is a favorite destination of the younger generation.  After checking out the scene, I navigated my way back towards the hotel, stopping for a healthy dinner of salad and grilled chicken at a Turkish restaurant with outdoor tables.  And then the gelato stand beckoned with the daily dilemma of which flavor to choose. Like Budapest, Vienna has some of the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten.  

Relaxing in the Museumsquartier

Before I went to bed, I spent a good hour or so planning my activities for the coming days.  Vienna has such a wealth of treasures that I knew it would be impossible to fit everything in.  I intended to get an early start to my sightseeing the following morning.  However, I hadn’t anticipated the extremely lavish breakfast buffet at the Kugel.  Here is a list of some of the items on the buffet tables:  scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, three different types of cheese, three different kinds of ham, multi-colored grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and peppers, deer sausage (a local specialty), individual dishes of assorted berries next to a giant-sized bowl of whipped cream, bananas, apples and pears, containers of yogurt, two different kinds of muesli, orange juice, sweet rolls, Kugelhof, poppy seed cake, a variety of whole grain breads and rolls, croissants, butter, six or seven kinds of fruit preserves, Nutella, honey, a dozen types of tea, and a machine that produced coffee drinks and hot chocolate.  My new favorite coffee drink is the Viennese mélange, a mixture of equal parts coffee and foamy steamed milk.  

I resolved to sample a bit of everything over the course of my 4-breakfast stay, and I made a stupendous effort that first morning.  Is it my imagination, or does the food taste better in Europe?  After the hour-long food orgy, I knew I’d have to spend the remainder of the day working off the calories.  So I headed out into the rain, confident that I knew how to walk to the Hofburg Palace.  However, I soon realized that I was walking in circles.  Forty-five minutes later, soggy map in hand, I finally reached my destination. 

Hofburg Palace

The sprawling Hofburg Palace was the residence of the Habsburg rulers for over 600 years, and its splendor was on full display.  As recently as the 19^th century, life at Hofburg was extremely formal, with the every detail of every activity controlled by a strict protocol.  Today, visitors can view the lavishly decorated imperial apartments used by Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Sisi.  Unfortunately, photography wasn’t allowed in this part of the palace.  It was also possible to see the huge collection of the imperial silver, china, gold-plated centerpieces, and other ornate tableware used for formal occasions and everyday.  It’s obvious that the word “restraint” was not in the Habsburgs’ vocabulary when it came to matters of decorating.  One interesting fact I learned – the Habsburgs had their own top-secret napkin folding technique to impress visitors to their table. 

The secret Habsburg napkin fold

Some of the tableware used by the Habsburgs

After my visit to the Hofburg, I headed over to the State Opera House.  This building dates back to the 1860s and dazzles the eye with crystal chandeliers, wooden carvings, Baroque-inspired frescoes, and gilt work.  It was easy to imagine making a grand entrance from my horse drawn carriage and sweeping up the staircase in a long ball gown.  On the guided tour, I also got a look at the immense and very busy back-stage area.  The Opera performs a different production every night and sometimes there’s a different afternoon performance as well.  

The interior of the Vienna State Opera House

After a quick lunch, it was on the Albertina Museum.  Its permanent collection of paintings contains works by many familiar artists, including Impressionists, Pointillists, Matisse, Expressionists (Kandinsky, Nolde), and Picasso, among others.  And a fascinating temporary exhibit on Russian avant-garde painting (Chagall through Malevich) showcased different styles and developments in the early 20^th century.  By the time I finished up in the galleries, I’d been on the go since early that morning.  No time to rest, however.  A quick coffee and an apple strudel at the museum’s café revived me.  

Vienna’s public transportation system is superb – extensive, reliable, punctual, and clean.  And for all of my Washington area friends, I’d like to note that each U-bahn (subway) station had escalators that worked!  After the Albertina, I hopped onto the U-bahn for a short ride to the opposite end of the Ringstrasse for a late afternoon visit to the MAK Museum, Vienna’s museum of applied arts.  I wish I’d spent more time there because the museum’s permanent collection contains examples of Austrian design in glass, ceramics, wood, textiles and metal.  I went primarily to see a special exhibition on architect and designer Josef Frank, who was active in Vienna until the forces of anti-Semitism led him to flee the city in the early 1930s.  I especially loved his colorful and very graphic textile designs, one of which you can see in the photo.

My non-stop day of sightseeing continued with another search for the Mozart Haus, which I’d failed to locate the previous day.  I made what must have been my twentieth pass through Stephansplatz, and this time, Eureka!  I found the right hidden side street and found the apartment that Mozart shared with his family.  A very thorough audio tour helped me learn more about the composer’s life in Vienna.  By the time I staggered out of the Mozart Haus, it was time to head back to the Opera House so I could catch a few minutes of the live opera broadcast of that evening’s performance on the big screen outside the building. 

St. Stephen's cathedral in Stephansplatz 

Finally, around 8 pm, this sightseeing marathon came to end.  I stopped for dinner at an Egyptian restaurant, Café Nil, located just a few steps from my hotel.  My tasty vegetarian meal began with the most delicious lentil soup I’d ever tasted.  Afterwards, I had just enough energy to walk a couple of blocks to a gelato stand for a scoop of hazelnut ice cream.  Did I mention that the ice cream in Vienna is fabulous???

I gave myself a bit of a break on Monday.  Instead of traipsing all over Vienna again, I took a full-day organized tour outside the city.  After a short bus drive through the Vienna Woods and some very green rolling countryside, our group boarded a boat in Spitz bound for Melk in the Wachau valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  As we made our way up the Danube, we saw vineyards on steeply terraced hillsides.  So, of course, when it was lunchtime onboard, I had to sample the local Riesling.  My verdict?  Once is enough.  Besides, the calories could be better spent on ice cream or apple strudel.  

Sailing through the Wachau Valley

In Melk, I took a leisurely walk through the gardens and found the pink pavilion, which contains interesting pastel-colored Baroque frescoes from the mid-1700s.  The subject of the frescoes attests to the Europeans’ fascination with the “exotic” people, animals and plants from other parts of the world.  From the hilltop perch, I had wonderful sweeping views of the Wachau valley landscape.  

Pink Pavilion (Melk)

Frescoes in the Pink Pavilion

View from the hilltop in Melk

Our group also toured the fabled Benedictine Abbey.  The original abbey dates back to the 11^th century, but it has gone through much reconstruction over the centuries.  At one time, it was used as a fortress and served as the home of the first Austrian rulers.  Today, the enormous structure houses only 30 monks.  The Abbey is famous for its extensive library (12 rooms with ceiling frescoes), which contains close to 100,000 volumes.  In the 1700s, the original abbey church was transformed into a Baroque showcase, which is truly dazzling.   While I stared open-mouthed at all the paintings, sculpture and gilt work, I couldn’t help wondering what living conditions were like for the common people at the time when the Church was spending so much money on lavish art and decorations. 

Melk Abbey

Interior of the church at Melk Abbey

On the terrace at Melk Abbey

For my last full day in Vienna, I once again fortified myself with a hearty breakfast before setting out for sightseeing.  First on the agenda was Schonbrunn Palace, the imperial summer residence on the outskirts of the city.  This massive Baroque palace, which contains over 1400 rooms and is surrounded by extensive gardens, is Vienna’s number one tourist attraction.  After having seen several other Habsburg palaces, I knew what to expect in the way of art and décor.  The most interesting aspect of the tour was the glimpse I got of the rooms occupied by Emperor Franz Josef, a workaholic who started his day around 4 a.m., and his wife, Empress Elisabeth, a non-conformist who chafed under the constraints of court life.  Sisi was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time and is especially known for her ankle-length hair, which required two to three hours of care everyday.  She also worked hard to maintain her svelte figure in this land of cream and carbs.  Several pieces of her exercise equipment were on display.   

Schonbrunn Palace

The fountain in the garden at Schonbrunn

My favorite memory of Schonbrunn is the strudel show.  Conducted in the bakery under the café, this hourly program demystifies the techniques used to produce the delicious, mouth-watering Viennese pastry.  After watching the demonstration, I know that I will never attempt to make apple strudel at home, but I certainly enjoyed eating it in Vienna on multiple occasions!  In fact, during the show, I consumed a very generous slice of still-warm strudel.  

Magic happening right before my eyes

Back in the inner city, I made another stop at the Naschmarkt, Vienna’s open-air market that operates six days a week.  In the Naschmarkt, you can find stands selling everything from Indian textiles to fresh produce to traditional Austrian children’s clothing to fragrant spices from the Middle East.  Falafel makers tempt the passersby with free samples.  A large pita generously stuffed with falafel balls and several salads will only cost you 3 Euros. The previous evening, I had eaten dinner at one of the Naschmarkt’s numerous restaurants.  There are several upscale dining establishments, but I opted for a much less formal place, the Tewa organic restaurant, where I could order some healthy zucchini pancakes with tzatziki.  

Zucchini pancakes at Tewa in the Naschmarkt

Goodies for a picnic - in the Naschmarkt

This afternoon, after my Schonbrunn strudel indulgence, the Naschmarkt offered me the makings of an impromptu picnic, which I consumed on the steps of the nearby Secession building.  Afterwards, I stepped inside to see Gustav Klimt’s frescoes.  The Secession movement was a group of artists and architects who banded together in the late 1890s to challenge the traditional view of the visual arts.  While the Emperor Franz Josef was building one neo-classical or neo-Gothic or neo-Baroque building after another, they called for a new modern art that reflected the changes taking place in the world around them. Their motto was “To every age its art, to every art its freedom.”  Secession artists, who worked in many different styles, constructed their own permanent exhibition space in 1897.  With its golden dome, it has earned the nickname “The Golden Cabbage.”  Nowadays, the Secession hosts changing exhibitions by contemporary artists.  However, Klimt’s Beethoven frieze, a fresco created in 1901 to accompany a monumental sculpture of the composer, is still on display. 

The Secession building (aka The Golden Cabbage)

A section of Klimt's Beethoven frieze

The Graben

I chose to spend the remainder of the afternoon strolling on the Graben (a pedestrian shopping street) and visiting the Jewish Museum.  The permanent exhibition examines the long history of Vienna’s Jewish community.  It is sobering to realize that anti-Semitism was always present.  Even during the best of times, Jews were merely tolerated rather than fully accepted.  Despite this situation, many Jews were able to attain considerable success in late 19^th/early 20^th century Vienna.  This includes Gustav Mahler, Theodore Herzl, and Sigmund Freud, to name just a few notables.  Of course, the Jewish community was wiped out in the Holocaust.  Today’s Jewish community consists mainly of immigrants from Eastern European countries and Bukhara.  If you are in Vienna before early October 2016, you might enjoy seeing the museum’s interactive temporary exhibit, Stars of David, which focuses on the Jewish contribution to show business, from vaudeville days through present times.  

I finished up the day with one final schnitzel as a farewell to Austria.  At Schnitzel Wirt, my turkey schnitzel was spilling over the rim of the plate.  It was tasty, but I’m sure I committed cultural heresy by scraping off much of the fried breading on the turkey cutlet.  Even so, I didn’t have room for one last ice cream cone afterwards.  

On the morning of my departure, I walked in a chilly downpour to the nearest U-bahn station.  Then it was a quick 16-minute ride on a high-speed train directly to the airport.  The rest of the trip back to Washington, DC was uneventful.  Ten days seemed like a long time to be away from home, and I was glad to be sleeping in my own bed again, showering in my own wonderful shower, eating a more “normal” diet, and most importantly, slowing down the pace.  

Before I left for this trip, I imagined leisurely afternoons sitting at outdoor cafes sipping coffee, eating Sacher torte, and reading books about the Habsburgs.  How wrong I was!  I was on the go constantly.  As a result, I was much too busy to feel lonely.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t think of Elliott often.  I knew how much he would have enjoyed seeing the architecture and the art, especially the modern art.  Many times when I sat down in a restaurant, I’d pick out the menu items that he probably would have ordered.  He would have appreciated the schnitzel much more than I did.  And he certainly would have loved the apple strudel – and the flaky croissants served at the breakfast buffet in Vienna.  I’m sorry we didn’t have a chance to share the discovery of these two lovely cities.  However, when I had time to reflect on the entire experience, I realized how much I enjoyed being accountable to no one.  I could set my own agenda and to do things at my own pace.  In fact, traveling on my own proved to be such a treat that I won’t hesitate to plan solo trips in the future.

An Invigilating Experience

May 22, 2016 – An Invigilating Experience

This week, I had a truly invigilating experience:  I invigilated.  In fact, I invigilated two mornings in a row – in the upstairs gym at Annandale High School.  For those of you who speak British English, this may not sound unusual.  Yet for Americans, invigilating sounds rather, ummm, X-rated and possibly illegal.  I was unfamiliar with the term although it turns out that I’d been invigilating for years without even knowing it!  It was only when I volunteered to help with the International Baccalaureate exams at my old high school that I encountered the word.  

You’ve probably guessed the meaning of invigilate by now.  Still, why couldn’t the Brits and the IB program use the perfectly respectable and easily understood English word “proctor?”  Of course, invigilate sounds infinitely more impressive.

As for the actual invigilation, I must say that it ranks dismally low on the scale of interesting activities.  While invigilating, I handed out tests and answer booklets, cleaned desks between tests with disinfecting wipes, and offered pens, pencils and tissues to test takers.  But mostly, I paced, and paced, and paced the upstairs gym for up to two hours at a time.  My main source of excitement was escorting a student to the restroom.  Of course, during the exam, I was not allowed to engage in reading.  There were professional invigilator standards to uphold! 

Although IB exams ended last week, my invigilating days aren’t over yet.  Another round of Virginia’s state-mandated Standards of Learning tests begins this coming week and I’ve volunteered to help.  Therefore, I must get to bed early tonight so I’ll be ready to transform myself at 8 a.m. tomorrow into The Invigilator. 

Back from the Beach

May 15, 2016 – Back from the Beach

 

Shells and coral from Hillsboro beach in one of my fused glass dishes

It was great to sleep in my own bed again last night, but when I woke up this morning, I missed the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.  You see, I just returned from a five-day beach vacation in Florida.  Many thanks to my long-time friend Milli, who offered the use of her beachfront home in Hillsboro Beach on the Atlantic coast.  I’d never before been tempted to take a beach vacation (the thought of spending an entire day at the beach frankly sounds like torture to me), but this little getaway proved to be just what I needed.  I discovered how soothing it can be to walk in the surf or even sit on the sand, listening to the constant crash of the waves.  In a sense, it’s a meditative experience.

An afternoon stroll in Delray Beach with Milli (photo by Gale)

Growing up on Long Island, days at the beach were part of every childhood summer.  However, I never fully appreciated the beach before.  After I went off to college, my visits to the beach became much less frequent.  Even when we lived in the South of France, less than half an hour from the sea, neither Elliott nor I had a strong desire to go to the beach.  I only recall going to French beaches half a dozen times in four years.  Among my memories are the smooth stones on the beach at Nice, the wide stretch of sand in Cannes, and best of all, the miniature seashells strewn over the tiny beach near the Vieux Port in Antibes.  And while the Mediterranean was lovely, it lacked the Atlantic’s dramatic presence. 

On this Florida trip, without a rigid schedule to follow, I was able to take long walks on the beach early in the morning and then again around sunset.  Since I didn’t spend all day at the beach, I also had time to explore various sights along the coast.  In Fort Lauderdale, the BonnetHouse provides a fascinating glimpse of “old” Florida, and the NSU Art Museum has the world’s largest collection of the paintings by American artist William Glackens.  Delray Beach’s Atlantic Avenue features unique shops and restaurants.  In addition, I found time to catch up with my old friend Gale at lunch overlooking the intra-coastal waterway and with some relatives (former New Yorkers) at an early bird dinner. 

Walking on Hillsboro beach with a night heron for company

The Bonnet House in Fort Lauderdale

While I was away, I thought of Elliott a lot.  We had made a couple of trips together to Florida during his final years.  This time, when I spotted a macaron bakery in Delray Beach, he immediately came to mind.  Which flavor would he choose, I wondered.  I also knew he would have enjoyed the delicious grouper I had for dinner at Oceans 234 in Deerfield Beach and the lemon-coconut muffin that came with my lunch salad at The Tin Muffin in Boca Raton.  We could have sat side by side on the bench facing the ocean outside Milli’s building.  In fact, Elliott is still very much a presence in my life, whether I’m at home or away from home.  Recently, on Mother’s Day, when Matt asked me where I wanted to go for dinner, I automatically answered, Red Hot and Blue, because the local barbecue restaurant was one of Elliott’s favorites and we often went there to celebrate Father’s Day. 

It’s been two and half months, and I miss him terribly.  Now that I’m back home, I want to tell him all about my trip.  I’m almost like a child with an imaginary friend. I still talk to him, sometimes silently, and sometimes out loud.  I don’t think that will ever change. 

Firsts

Firsts – April 28, 2016

On the streets of Brooklyn with Sylvie

Several firsts occurred on my recent trip to Brooklyn.  Sylvie attended her first Passover Seder.  (Although she was the youngest person in attendance, she did not ask the Four Questions this year.)  Elisa hosted her first Seder and did a wonderful job.  The homemade matzah balls in vegetable broth were terrific, as was the rest of the menu.  I’ll vote for salmon over brisket any day.  And nothing beats chocolate covered matzah for dessert.  

Matzah (without the chocolate) for Sylvie

Also, Sylvie tasted ice cream for the first time!  This momentous event took place on the roof terrace of Ample Hills Creamery on Union Street.  The flavor was peppermint patty, and from the very first spoonful, it was clear she adored it.  I feel honored that I was permitted to introduce her to one of my favorite foods.   

Enjoying ice cream with Christian, Sylvie and Matt (photo by Elisa)

Finally, I played my first ever game of shuffleboard at the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club, right next door to Ample Hills Creamery.  Despite excellent coaching from Elisa and Matt, I didn’t win a single point.  However, I learned that the stick is called a tang and the wooden puck is called a biscuit.  I’m sure this useful knowledge will come in handy at some point. 

Finding the New Me

April 17, 2016 - Finding the New Me

Spring is here and life is fine.  I’ve been extremely busy, with all the activities I enjoy (including a wonderful visit from Elisa and Sylvie).  At the same time, I’ve been plagued by a nagging sense that something is not quite settled.  I’m just now realizing that I don’t quite know who I am and that discovering the new me is going to be a long process. 

Miss Sylvie helping Grandma Robin

After more than 32 years of married life, I have to find my way back to my identity as a single woman once again.  I’m certainly not the person I was in my 20s and early 30s.  I’m okay with daily living, i.e. being alone in the house, preparing meals for one (much easier!), managing finances, etc.  But how will I feel about traveling abroad alone, which I did quite often before I got married?  To challenge myself, I’m planning a trip to Europe on my own.  I’ll be splitting my time between Budapest and Vienna, two cities I’ve longed to explore for many years.  Now that I am free to travel again, I hesitated a bit before making my reservations, but my love of new experiences won out in the end.

I’m indulging my sense of adventure on a much smaller scale by making solo trips in areas of DC that I’m not familiar with.  Yesterday, I focused on the area of Southeast DC along the Anacostia River near Elliott’s childhood home.  At the end of Pennsylvania Avenue, I found Barney Circle, where he said the streetcars would turn around.  The neighborhood is just starting to see some long overdue rehabilitation.  I spent some time traipsing along the Anacostia Riverwalk, a bike and walking trail that’s a recent addition to the Southeast landscape.  It wasn’t quite what I had expected.  From Barney Circle, I started down an abandoned road, which led past the back of a parking lot for RFK Stadium to a wide strip of concrete.  Aside from a couple of joggers and walkers, the area was pretty deserted.  Through the scraggly bushes lining the trail, I caught a glimpse of the river and the Sousa Bridge.  Several crew teams were rowing past.  Soon, however, the river disappeared from sight and the path joined M Street, where I had a great view of highway entrance and exit ramps.  While Elliott wasn’t walking beside me today, I felt a kinship with him and wondered what the area looked like in the 1910s and 1920s when he might have roamed through there looking for adventure. 

The Anacostia River and the Sousa Bridge

A section of the Anacostia Riverwalk

He often spoke of the Washington Navy Yard, where his father worked for many years.  As a result, I was excited when Google maps on my phone indicated that the Navy Yard was up ahead on M Street. I was hoping to get inside to take a quick look but the gates were firmly locked.  Slightly disappointed, I decided to take advantage of the perfect spring day and continue my stroll into the Barracks Row district.  The barracks are still used by the Marines, but the area has seen a renaissance of restaurants, cafés, and quirky shops.  With the beautiful weekend weather, the sidewalks were overflowing with mostly younger people and their four-legged friends.   

The Navy Yard was all closed up.

I'll have to tell Matt about this donut shop on 8th Street SE.

Ambar serves Balkan cuisine.

Quite on the spur of the moment, I treated myself to lunch at Ambar, a Balkan restaurant I’ve wanted to try for a long time.  It’s definitely worth a return visit with a group of friends so we can sample the many small plates on the menu.  I ended up at the Eastern Market metro after making a loop of about 3 miles from my starting point.  It reinforces my belief that walking is the best way to get to know a city and I look forward to many long walks in Budapest and Vienna. 

Today, it’s back to the glass studio.  I’ll include some photos of my latest work in my next post. 

Catching Up

March 31, 2016 – Catching Up

So, how am I doing?  I think I’m doing just fine, thank you.  The adjustment to life on my own hasn’t been difficult at all.  Sure, there are plenty of times when I think of Elliott, but he had gradually receded from so many of my everyday activities over the past several years that the change doesn’t feel very abrupt.  I’m still experiencing a slight sense of disorientation.  My sense of time is a bit warped, which is understandable, as I lost three or four months out of my “normal” life while Elliott was in and out of the hospital and then receiving hospice care at home. 

During the month of March, there were countless details to attend to – updating accounts, contacting government agencies, etc.  All of this took much more time than I ever imagined and I’m not finished yet.  Social Security and the government’s Office of Personnel Management operate at an incredibly slow pace, which is creating some stress for me as I wait for my income to resume. 

Life is simpler in many ways now.  Meals don’t require nearly as much planning or preparation.  At first, I was eating mainly salads, grilled veggies, and the occasional piece of fish or chicken, i.e. nothing fancy.  Lately, though, I’ve started to miss more elaborate cooking.  It may be time to inaugurate a weekly dinner party for friends. 

My family and friends have given me tremendous support and comfort as I make this major transition in my life.  My calendar is filled with lunches and dinners out with.  I’ve already made one trip up to New York to see Elisa, Christian and Sylvie and we plan to get together at least once a month.  In addition, we have Facetime visits nearly every day.  

I’m back to Pilates and Zumba classes at the gym, back to my art history class at George Mason, and back to the Workhouse to finish up some fused glass projects.  Once I start working in the studio, I lose track of time.  The hours fly by, and when I finally call it quits for the day, I think back to Elliott and how he turned to art as a full-time occupation after he retired from the government.  Once again, he’s serving as my role model. 

After postponing travel for so long, I’d like to start planning some trips. I hope to get to Europe sometime in 2016.  Budapest, southern Spain, and Ireland are high on my list of places to visit.  Of course, there are also places in the U.S. that interest me, such as New Mexico, Colorado, and Vermont.  When I was single, I did a lot of solo traveling so I don’t mind going off on my own.  However, if anyone is interested in joining me, please let me know. 

Cherry blossoms at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna, Virginia

Locally, there’s plenty to see and do in the DC area.  I had a very enjoyable day strolling through Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and viewing the cherry blossoms with my friend Kathy last week.  Earlier today, I took a long walk in the Capitol Hill area with my step-grandson, Darren, passing several DC landmarks on our way from Union Station to Eastern Market.  In addition, I spent a delightful day in Georgetown a couple of weeks ago in the company of Elisa, Christian, Sylvie and friends Caroline and Brian.  We had a unique dining experience at a Chinese tea house called Ching Ching Cha where we sat on the floor, which was perfect for Sylvie! 

Finally, I find myself indulging in compulsive de-cluttering and organizing around the house.  The goal is to get rid of as much extraneous stuff as possible.  I’m tackling one room at a time and at the moment, I’m dealing with one of the biggest challenges – the office where we had multiple overflowing file cabinets and several large boxes filled with “important” papers.  I’ve already made a lot of progress sorting through the thirty-plus years of documents related to medical care, finances, appliances we no longer own, etc.  Probably 80% of the papers ended up in the recycle pile or shred pile.  As soon as I can find someone strong enough to help, I’m going to haul our 5-drawer file cabinet out to the dump.  Of course, I need to master the art of electronic record keeping to avoid a future build-up of documents. 

Rest assured that I have not fallen into a state of depression.  I’m keeping Elliott’s spirit alive by embracing life and being grateful for every moment. 

And now, I must go to bed since I’m subbing tomorrow.

Remembering Elliott

March 8, 2016 – Remembering Elliott

at home on February 19, 2016

One week ago, we held a memorial service for Elliott at our synagogue, Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia.  The previous day, when planning the service with Elisa and the rabbi, I initially didn’t think I’d be able to give a eulogy.  I’d never given one before and I doubted that I’d be able to retain my composure during such an emotional time.  Then the rabbi asked me to tell him about Elliott.  That wasn’t hard for me at all.  There is so much I can tell others about the remarkable man I was married to for more than 32 years.  When I was finished talking, the rabbi said, “That’s exactly what you should say at the service.”  So, with Elisa’s help, I stayed up late and drafted the following remarks.  When it came time to speak before the assembled family members and friends, Elisa accompanied me to the bimah and stood beside me as I spoke these words:

Thank you all so much for being here today to remember Elliott.  He was a very special man, special to so many people, in so many different ways.  To me Elliott was friend, lover, husband, my Viking hero, and my role model.  I’ve never known anyone who embraced life more than he did. 

From an early age, he had a tremendous sense of adventure – stealing watermelons out of the farmer’s field in DC at age six, playing hide and seek among the tombstones in Congressional Cemetery.  When he was 14, he told his mother he was going out to take a walk and ended up hitch-hiking to Florida.  In his early 40s, he took a government position in Paris although he didn’t speak a word of French and instantly fell in love with the city as his taxi from the airport sped across the Place de la Concorde. 

At age 71, he had mapped out his retirement plans to spend his remaining years painting in the South of France.  But he quickly changed course when he met a much younger woman standing in line at Orly Airport.  Little did he know that he’d be married three months later and would be starting a new family. 

But Elliott was also a very practical person.  He prided himself on his problem-solving ability.  He’d never hire someone to do a job he could do himself – even if he shouldn’t, such as replacing the ceiling light fixture in the kitchen, which resulted in a fall off the ladder and drilling through his hand.  In typical fashion, he cleaned up all the blood and then drove himself to the hospital before I came home from work. 

You could also see his practical, analytical mind in his art.  While continuing his budget work for the U.S. government in Paris in the 1950s, he was also studying painting at a French art academy.  His art would later evolve in the direction of geometric abstract.  He carefully planned out his paintings with meticulous measurements and mathematically based patterns. 

Part of the secret to Elliott’s long and happy life was never acting his age.  Elliott never felt old.  He always had friends decades younger, especially during the time he taught at the Corcoran School of Art.  In his 70s, he was driving the pre-school carpool and in his 80s and 90s, he was traveling around the world.  When he turned 99, I finally convinced him to stop climbing up the ladder to clean out the gutters.  But the day before his 100^th birthday, he was out there mowing the lawn in 90-something degree weather.  However, he loved asking strangers to guess his age and found it hilarious when they were wrong by a couple of decades – he even told a waitress that Elisa was his wife when they were out having dinner one night. 

Elliott always valued his family and friends.  His relationships brought him great joy throughout his life.  Even as he came to terms with his own physical decline over the past several months, he took special delight in his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  He leaves us all with wonderful memories of someone who lived life to the fullest.