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Navalny (or “Nawalny” as it is spelled in German)

19 Feb

There is an impromptu memorial to Alexei Navalny right across the street from the Russian embassy.

It is good to have somewhere to go to commemorate him. He was very brave and, apparently, had a sense of humor and seemed to truly want nothing more than a better life for average Russians.

It was a bit scary to go and place a flower there. There were guards prowling about. (Mind you, I get quite unnerved by the Marines guarding the U.S. American embassy,  too.) There was no interference, though. I was able to leave my flower (a white rose, for those familiar with the student resistance in Nazi Germany) and look at and read what others had written.

It was a bit scary, yes, but also moving, and I’m glad I went.

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That time of year again

23 Dec

As the year draws to a close, I would like to wish all my readers Happy Holidays, a good slide (as one says in German) into the New Year, and a peaceful and prosperous 2024. (And what would these wishes be without the annual haiku. 😉)

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Maylo

26 Jun

Some of my readers know from other sources that my darling dog, Maylo, is no longer with me. He got sick around Easter and all the vet and other care in the world didn’t make him better. Then he took a sudden turn for the worse, and his very kind vet came in especially on a Sunday (June 18) to end his suffering. He died peacefully in my arms. One word people have used a lot in sending their condolences is “companion” and, indeed, he was my wonderful companion in walks and more for over 11 years.

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Die Wiener Zeitung

12 May

I was introduced to the “Wiener Zeitung” (newspaper) by my former partner who is a lawyer and, like all lawyers, had to subscribe because certain official announcements, about new laws, for example, were published by requirement in the “Wiener Zeitung”. He also read the rest of the paper with interest and pleasure, finding it a wonderful source of edification. At some point, I did catch on to the interesting tidbit that it is the oldest daily paper still in print. That will end on June 30th this year after more or less 320 years. (To be precise, the first issue appeared on 8 August 1703 so it’s not a full 320 years, but what do the few weeks matter with a timeframe like that?)

What happened? In April, the National Assembly passed a law that did away with the requirement described thereby pulling the financial rug out from under their feet. It is the way of all things, and it is still sad. I wanted to commemorate it briefly here.

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International Women’s Day

8 Mar

One of the biggest demonstrations I’ve ever seen in Vienna. And one of the loudest. I was teaching and had to interrupt the class!

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The Pandemic (remember the pandemic? ;-))

25 Feb

The front page of the Kurier reminding us that it was three years ago today that the first coronavirus cases were detected in Austria. Things moved very fast after that. As of March 1st this year, most of the restrictions will fall. Public transportation in Vienna has been something of a holdout, still requiring FFP2 masks. Even that will no longer be the case, although a third of Kurier readers polled have said they will voluntarily continue to wear them.

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Stories from the Trafik

14 Jan

This morning, as on every Saturday I’m not teaching, Maylo and I went to the Trafik on our way home from our morning walk. He got his treats and I got mine (newspaper and instant lottery ticket). Then because it wasn’t busy we got into a chat, quite a heavy chat as it turned out.

The Trafikant, nearing 80, was born in Vienna during the Second World War and told how his mother would wrap him in a blanket and carry him down to the air raid shelter in the cellar.

One of his employees then started talking about her experiences during the war in Bosnia before her family fled to Vienna, how she, too, spent time in bomb cellars. From her accent, I could tell that she wasn’t Austrian born, but we had never talked before about where she came from. (I personally am so allergic to the question “Where are you from?” when I have lived here over half my life that I very rarely ask it of others.)

We had gotten onto the topic of how each time we thought it was the last war in Europe and how the whole misery is being repeated now in Ukraine when another customer came in and Maylo and I left.

I think Trafiks are often microcosms of the world around us.

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Pelé

30 Dec

One more great lost this year. Of course, his soccer playing was incomparable, but I will miss most his smile, his humanity, and his humanitarian efforts. I’ll never forget that the day David Beckham arrived in Los Angeles with great fanfare, Pele was playing in a match to benefit UNICEF. The article in the NYT reminded me of the beauty of Rob Hughes’s (essentially philosophical) writing about soccer and introduced me to that side of Pelé’s greatness.

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Haiku 2022

26 Dec

With warmest holiday wishes also for a healthy, happy New Year full of peace!

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Pension office

22 Nov

I went to the pension office this morning to clarify a few points and saw that some things have really changed in Austria and some things haven’t.

One thing that has changed: the woman in front of me in line at the reception desk was talking about her “Partnerins” (female partner’s) appointment. When there was some confusion about her name, she explained that when they had married she had taken on her partner’s family name and officially changed it on all her documents. Then I overheard that she herself isn’t self-employed but rather her partner, and she would like to be covered under her partner’s insurance.

This would have been unimaginable even five years ago (Austria enacted “Ehe für Alle” or “Marriage for All” on 1 January 2019, building on the civil union that became possible in 2010). For anyone who would like more information, here is a website (in German) giving an overview of the history of same-sex marriage as well as legal details: https://www.familienrechtsinfo.at/eherecht/ehe-fuer-alle/

Something that hasn’t yet changed? When I came out of my appointment, there was a man waiting, with his large, well-behaved, non-service dog. Wish I’d known I could have taken Maylo!

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