Circles

I am often amused and awed about how life operated in circles.  Remember that favorite toy you had as a kid?  Perhaps a game or doll?  And now that we are grown our children want the new updated version of the game or are watching the reboot of your favorite childhood cartoon or television show.  Proving once again that there is really nothing new under the sun.  It is amusing and somehow comforting, I think. 

The awe comes in when you run across something you knew long ago and put away or forgot because it wasn't trendy anymore or you just got too busy.  Then somehow the universe brings you back to it when you need it. 

I was surfing around the internet this evening looking for a quote for another blog post and ran across the official website of Robert Fulghum.  You remember him, the author of "All I needed to know I learned in Kindergarten"?  It was big in the 90's.  Good book.  The premise of it all was how we learned what we needed to survive in life early on.  I don't have all of them,(there's that copyright deal) but a few are when you've hurt someone say you're sorry, cookies and milk are good for you(I really like that one) wash your hands, put things back where you found them and something about being aware of wonder.

Well, it hits me that this is still pertinent for today.  We are so obsessed with being right all the time and making our mark that we don't do that.  Say we are sorry and be aware of wonder, I mean.  We should.  It's so easy when we are little.  You are learning about the world and even the mistakes are important.  Maybe not fun...but you are more careful in the future which is important to learn too.  And to be able to say we are sorry to friends or family?  How easy it is when we don't have an ego on the line.  Sometimes it's rough being a grown-up.

But I also think that to do both of these things show maturity.  It's hard to say we are sorry for anything these days.  It's seen as an admission of wrongdoing.  More, I think it's seen as an admission that we don't know everything and a license for others to use that against us.

But to say out loud "Yes, I was wrong, I apologize for that." takes guts, self confidence, and selflessness.  I also believe that it shows respect for others.  To admit that your truth isn't the only truth.  And your truth may not even be truth.

Which circles us back(see how I did that?) to wonder.  Because to admit you were wrong opens up possibilities for learning and exploration.  There is so much in this life to experience if you're just aware of it.  And those times are wonderful.

I spent so much of my time in Austria open to learning and exploration and I didn't go a week without being awed by something.  It could have been as simple as a new taste,(like Troja's kebaps or the Zotter chocolate) as everyday as entering the library office, as comforting as having dinner with friends, (or as Katrina would say the intern family) or as new as climbing a mountain.

Each experience was full of wonder and wouldn't have happened if I had stayed home thinking that was the safe, practical route.  I was wrong about that.  Yes, it was safe and practical.  But it wasn't right. 

How much do we miss by doing safe, practical, protective things in life?  How often does the universe put signs in front of us by circling us back to what we knew once, but forgot or left behind?

I know a person who firmly believes in karma.  Life circles around vindicating those who need it and tearing down those who need that.  It may take years, this person told me once, but it happens.  It may not be major, but it does happen.  All you have to do is be open to it and pay attention. 

So your assignment for the week is to be aware of wonder.  Report back on what wonder you experienced.  Big, little, simple or complex.  Extra points if there's a circle involved. 

And to kickstart wonder here's something that took my breath away, and was one of those experiences I wouldn't have had if I stayed home applying for jobs and doing my usual routine.

Sound of Music (again)

I was reading an interview with Christopher Plummer(Capt. von Trapp) and he was a little annoyed when people bring up that movie.  He made the point that it has taken on a life of it's own that has nothing to do with the movie itself and his character.

Having spent 2 months dealing with the crazed fans of the movie coming and taking photos, sneaking into the grounds and generally wandering around Salzburg, I understand in part where he is coming from.  

Someone I met went on the bus tour and thought it was bizarre.  Here's where they filmed this part of the movie, and you might remember this from the end of the movie...ect.  Not the normal sightseeing tour at all.
As I mentioned before I did find it a bit creepy when all these people would be standing across the lake and staring at the schloss and taking photos.

Even odder was when people just came into the grounds and started wandering around.  I mean there were signs saying Private!  I had to politely but firmly kick out 3 Asian tourists my last week there.  They wanted a tour.  I should have charged them 10 euros a head and given them one.  Then stuck the money in the library fund.  We could have used it. 

It's also a bit sad, because the schloss itself is much more than a pretty backdrop for a movie.  There's genuine art, architecture and historical interest there dating from the 18th century when the Archbishop built the place.  Now all they want to see is the outside and the seahorses from the canoe scene.

I have on my desktop at work a photo of the schloss with the festung in the background and someone came into the office, saw it and said Oh that's the Sound of Music house.  Sigh.  I don't have problems using it to gather interest in the place, but it bothers me that's all they see.

Same thing with library stereotypes.  There's always something deeper.  We don't often look beyond.  Perhaps I wouldn't have in this case if I hadn't been there.  Maybe that's what I learned.  Or at least became aware of.

Graduation

Well, it finally happened.  I graduated.  Last Friday afternoon at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston I was awarded a M.S. in Library Science and Archives Management.
And the fact I have an M.S. blows me away.  Let's just say that I always thought you needed math skills for a Masters degree in Science.
But who am I to argue with Simmons College if they say that I deserve it?  Which I so do.  After 2 years of driving to Western Massachusetts on Saturdays and studying in the evenings after work, writing papers, struggling to learn new technologies, and building my teaching and public speaking skills, I was so happy to graduate.
I really like my new accessory.  Although I am not sure lemon is exactly my color.

Now I just need a professional job to pay the loans that I had to take out to improve my lot in life.  Irony anyone?
More debt for a better life....

The Library office

I miss my(Max's) office.  Okay it was dusty and there's no storage and the computer was slow.  But honestly it's a great view and it's such a pretty office.  And I think the desk was bigger than my current one.  I especially miss the view.  Ah the Untersberg.

 It's so clean and organized now....

 And more fireproof too!

And if I had another few months I could have done more wonders with the closet.

The closet formerly known as the evil sucking vortex of hell

Well, I finished organizing the library closet.  I really did want to do that.  And not just because it scared me.  I can't say I wanted to do it as much as I wanted to create a Max space.  Which I did as well, but it was up there on the master list.  Right under cleaning.  Okay, it was a sub division(cataloger joke) on the cleaning item.
I did promise that resistance was futile.  Was I not right?  It is now a thing of beauty, in a librarian's eyes.
There are labels, organization, clearly marked materials and if there are some treasures still to be found, well it's easier to find them for the next person.

Behold.  It gives me a thrill of pride just to see the photos again. 

I even vacuumed!  The vacuum will never be the same.  But neither will the closet.

I called them unknown because it's true, and I had no idea what to do with them.  Add them to the collection, discard them, leave them?

Someone cared once about the archives.  Not sure exactly when, but they cared. 

Nightlife in Salzburg

There's not much overall.  I mean they roll the sidewalks up at 6 in the place.  Oh you can go out to eat and there are wine bars, pubs and kebap stands that are open.  And there's always window shopping and hanging out in the public spaces, but not a lot of other nighttime events.

However we managed.  There are 2 Irish pubs.  O'Malley's and the Shamrock.  Both are on the Getreidestrasse.  O'Malley's is a bit better.  More atmospheric I thought.
Our favorite was a local place though. The Alchemiste Belge in New Town.  Yes, it is a Belgian beer pub in the heart of Austria.
Good beer.  Even I can tell that.  The varieties were amazing.  From dark to light beers all served in wine bottles.  The music was great and the art funky.  Not to mention the tables outside.
We used to walk into town over the river on Fridays and sit for a few hours with a few bottles and just talk. 
And then go for kebaps.  Troja has the best in the city.  Kebaps are like gyros.  But somehow better.  It might be the spices.  Just so yummy.  We'd climb the stairs of the Kapuchinberg and look out over the city and river.

Not a bad way to spend Fridays.

Festspielhaus

We had a staff event a few weeks ago where we got a tour of the Festival theaters.  It was a private tour because the Seminar and the Festival have a long history dating back to Reinhardt(obviously).

It was very cool.  Except of course they are doing construction in the Summer Riding School Theater(see Sound of Music theater) and we couldn't see it.  Bummer.  I was kinda looking forward to that.  I mean I'm not a huge SOM fan, but it's iconic.

But the other theaters were interesting too.  We saw the Haus fuer Mozart, and the main theater, as well as the Winter Riding school.
And if was fun to spend time with co-workers outside of work.

 

  This is the entrance hall of the Festspielhaus.  Some great images.

This is the Winter Riding School.  They used to have demonstrations and jousting for the Prince-Archbishop in here.  Which is why you have the wooden balconies.  The ceiling art depicts victories over the Turks.  A bit violent, but since they got as close as the Viennese gates, it's understandable.

 This is the Haus fuer Mozart.  Built in 2006 for putting on Mozart operas.  It's more in line with size of traditional opera houses during the 18th century, so perfect for staging his operas.  They were preparing for Don Giovanni when we were there.  It was so cool to see the forest and all the backstage stuff that goes into putting on the operas.

 After the opera house we trekked over to the main theater.   This is the only Iron Curtain still standing in Europe(the tour guide's joke).  It's over a meter thick and a fire could rage for two hours behind the curtain before getting to the stage and seats.

For the first and probably last time in my life I hit my mark on stage!  Now I understand theater blocking.

This is another prop for an opera.  It is a copy of a house in Vienna that was destroyed last century sometime.  The Festspiele has storage space issues, something I totally understand.  So they have to shove and be creative in where they put different props when some theaters are in use.  Plus there's the construction in the third one, so...less space than usual.
The tour was seriously cool.  Then we had sausages! Which is always a good thing.

Update

I'm home in Connecticut now.  I will still post some stuff from my last few weeks in Salzburg.  Plus adding photos to some posts.  Especially the lakes.
I  have a video too!
So stay tuned.  When the jet lag wears off and my internet gets turned back on.

Salzkammergut

I was so hoping to do the lake district here in Austria.  It's known as Salzkammergut.  The whole area is seriously amazing.  The photos in my travel guide were beautiful so I couldn't wait to see it.  But then I figured out how far it is to the lakes(at least an hour if you drive) and sorta crossed it off the list.  While they do drive on the right side of the road all the signs are in German.  Go figure.

But for Easter Sunday and last Saturday some of us went to the lakes.

Easter was St. Gilgen.  That's one of the prettiest places I've ever seen.  Adam drove, since he knows German and how to get there. (And it was his idea.) The four of us (Andrea, Adam, Katrina and I)had a great time.

Mozart's family originally hailed from St. Gilgen(his maternal  grandfather was a judge there) and there is some Mozart tourism, but it's just a nice place to go.

 We walked around, mostly by the lake and stuck our toes in.  It was cold, but hey Alpine lake in late April, so it wasn't terribly surprising.

Then on Saturday we (Lisa, Darren, Adam, Katrina, Andrea and I)went to Hallstatt.  It's further out than St. Gilgen.  In fact you pass through it on the way.
Hallstatt has the oldest working salt mine in the world and ice caves.  Also an amazing lake.  We rented a boat and cruised around.

We spent about an hour exploring the Hallstatt lake.  It's the odd green of the Alps lakes and my favorite part was the castle on the other side.

We also had lunch by the lake.  I had fresh caught trout from one of the local lakes.  Yummy.  It was off-putting at first since the fish was whole.  But so good once I got over the inital, it's staring at me! reaction.
Then we walked around the town.  It's such a cool place.  A place I have to go back to.  I didn't get to see the mines or the ice caves.  And there were some great shops in this little square.

Library updates

Well, I finished shifting the downstairs and created an oversize and a folio section in the library.  Now I am doing some cataloging and creating a Max Reinhardt space.  I even wrote a sign explaining the space.  It's really more of a local history space than a Max space.  But because he created the library and helped found the Salzburg Festival, and refurbished the schloss, and his widow offered the schloss("Max's schloss") to the founders of the Seminar it's dedicated to him.

I have to finish it soon though.  The internship is winding down.  It still feels like there is more to do.  And to be truthful there is.  In fact, I think there's more to do now than when I got here in March.  I know I underestimated the cataloging. 
I talked to one of the program guys about how to create patrons in the library and he had some great ideas.  A writer/artist retreat for one.  Which makes sense since this was one during the Reinhardt times as well as in the 18th and 19th century.  What is old is new again?