Snapshots With Words

Meandering down a wooded path on my husband's arm, absorbing the beauty of this wintry, fresh snowed paradise, finds me in the only place I want to be in this moment. As we walk along slowly I can feel the roughness of his wool coat brush my cheek as I turn to look up at him and tell him how beautiful this day is to me. We walk to a familiar park, but on an unfamiliar path. The discovery makes life new again. Around each bend treasures wait, and every time it surprises me to find the beauty of nature in a city. I grew up in the countryside, miles away from even a small town, so finding a breathtaking path by a stream or through the trees seems miraculous. The wooden fence along this particular stream has almost two inches of snow balancing on its ledge. The stream is a dark shadowy color in late afternoon with only an hour or so before darkness envelops it, and the snow white trees on its bank create a breathtaking contrast. My husband waits excitedly for me to catch up wit...

Here is a glimpse into my mental musings of late. To my left on the coffee table sits the sheet music for "Four Hymns for Tenor and Viola" written by Ralph Vaughn Willams. My husband and I are working on the last two hymns for an upcoming concert. Outside the window to my right I can hear the intermittent sounds of a tram or a car passing by. At this hour on a Sunday evening most people are at home relaxing and preparing for the week ahead. The bells at the Graz Herz Jesu Church ring every weekday evening at 7:00, signaling the end of the workday. On Sunday mornings the bells toll at 9:15, just in time to remind you to start making your way to church. Sundays in Graz are quiet; with all of the businesses closed save cafes, restaurants, and one Spar supermarket at the Hauptbahnhof. Klimpt, my faithful viola, reclines on the love seat to my right, and sounds of my husband cooking drift down the hallway from the kitchen to my left. The mood in here is warm and peaceful, now that...

Having just passed our one year anniversary of living in Austria, my perspective has been tilting along with the earth's axis, albeit in its own unique rhythm. I'd say we're just coming out of winter and into a warm, lovely spring, as far as my mood is concerned. One thing I have always valued in life is honesty. Nothing gets my goat more than when parents leave out the challenging portions of their youth through the retelling of stories to their children. If human kind suffers from feelings of inadequacy, then only telling people about the sunny days will make them wonder if the world as they know it is coming to an end every time a bit of a storm gathers overhead. I am speaking metaphorically, though my thoughts are drawn to the first images of hurricane Sandy's devastation in the Eastern portion of my country. They should be waking up in a few hours to see what kind of damage occurred during the night. The leaves are gathering in the courtyard behind our apartmen...

While traveling by train from Stuttgart, Germany, to Graz, Austria, my husband and I who have been living in Austria for nearly eight months had the privilege of overhearing a fellow American. We were sitting across the isle from a lovely couple who looked like newlyweds. The pair spoke to one another in German as well as a middle-eastern sounding language, and they used English to order coffee and to politely ask if we could take their picture. Here in Europe one has the privilege of intermingling with people who have learned to dedicate time becoming familiar with other cultures and languages. Stuttgart Marktplatz While we enjoyed a beautiful view out of our picture window of the German and Austrian landscapes, our serenity was interrupted momentarily when we heard a man's voice utter in a southern American accent the words, "dumb ass." It was not long before we had confirmation that he was a traveler with little interest in learning about new cultures, when he c...

I must clarify one thing before I begin:  The country listed in the title of this post is Austria. A horrifyingly popular belief among American citizens is that this is the land where kangaroos live. Oh wait, I said Austria, not Australia. This country with a rich history including Roman occupation, Napoleon's failed conquest of Graz, the birth of the Viennese coffee tradition, and the truth about Croissants is located in Europe. Austria neighbors Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy and the Czech Republic. Popular belief has named the French as being the inventors of this deliciously delightful pastry filled with tender, melt in your mouth, buttery goodness, but the truth as far as we know it gives "croissant genius" credit to the Austrians. The legend of the croissant is one shrouded in mystery, with references to the Turks as possible originators, and Budapest is also included on the list. It is even said that monks around 1000 AD began makin...

I am sitting inside of our old fashioned Graz apartment, with high ceilings and windows that overlook the street where the Stra β enbahns, or street cars, pass by every few minutes.  If I am feeling poetic enough they sound like waves crashing on the sea shore.  I can imagine seagulls flying overhead and a soft blue heaven with delicate clouds accentuating the scenery composed of sand, rocks, and gentle bluffs that embrace the foaming sea.   Our Austrian apartment is on what Americans would call the second floor, but what to a German speaking European is the “Erste Stock,” or first floor.  My favorite room is the living room, where I am sitting now, with its high ceiling, tall windows, and an old wooden floor that is perfect for reflecting the softened light from the sun as it sneaks past the tops of the many storied buildings and comes in through our windows.  The structures are all built together so that they look like one and the same building, or gi...

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