Doors and Windows

A diversion of sorts, if you will indulge.  The path to Vienna for our family has been filled with the sound of doors closing and windows opening (and breaking).   Or perhaps it's a different sound....."The Sound of Music", a movie Jake watches repeatedly and will no doubt watch again this very weekend.  Put me on Team Fraulein Maria when she exits the Abbey toward her future and says, "When the Lord closes a door.....somewhere He opens a window."

There are times, however, one needs to take a moment and embrace the closed doors without hurrying to find the open window.  A stroll along our street is one of those times.

My head really needs to be on a swivel stick as I fully expect to bounce off a pole someday and I don't mean a long lost relative (insert family shout out here-come visit!).  The first time we walked from StadPark to Rennweg, all I could say was "the doors!....ooooh the doors....oh, look at those doors!"  Repeated so many times you would think Jim Morrison was taking a curtain call.  Doors both beautiful and closed, guarding the mystery inside.

Neo-Classical

Art Nouveau

Circles and Scrolls

Art Deco Combo

1912

Actual Door Closed-Window Open

1905 Dude Over Greek Key

Detailed Delight

Geometric

Shell Game

I Broke The Apartment

It was bound to happen because nothing is ever perfect, try as we might.  30 minutes until company arrived.  The rain storm had rolled through and the steamy weather gave way to refreshing evening breezes.  Diana Krall was jazzing up on the new wireless stereo speaker, the champagne was chilling along with the prosciutto and melon appetizers.  

Elegant Evening Ahead

I stopped snapping at the "help" (Mike and Jake) to clean faster and decided to take one last walk through to make sure we were ready for guests.  After all, this was our first small soiree in a new home and I was nervous, the apartment had to be perfect!  It was at that moment, I decided to open the living room windows for some fresh air.  It was also at that moment, a gale force wind blew through the room slamming both windows closed causing the exterior window to shatter.  Shards glass crashed to the street below, scattering along the sidewalk and on top of parked cars.  It was a scene from "The Omen" without the creepy music or decapitation.  

I frantically closed what was left, leaving the curtain flapping outside the apartment, my screaming causing the other windows to shake in their frames.  Mike rushed down to the street to make sure no kinders, puppies or Porsches were injured and began picking up the glass.  When he returned and asked what the bleep happened, I told him: "I broke the apartment."

Missing His Buddy

Pane Full to See

Shards Still on the Sill

Today, my reflection is on the perfect moments, instead of the perfect apartment.  The clink of the crystal instead of the crash glass.  The happy memory of cheers and conversation.  The relief that there were no injuries or damaged property below.  The prayer that the rental insurance adjusters have not seen The Omen.

Where The Streets Have No Name

It seems that everyone got the same telegram:  Go to Prague STOP It will be hot and humid STOP You will cram the streets STOP This is your vacation STOP.

Well, we did what we were told and just spent the better part of 5 days in Prague along with most of Italy, Japan, Germany, England and America.  The City of A Thousand Spires was crawling with humanity in a horrendous soup of heat and humidity.  A smelting pot, if you will.

There is a big difference between Prague and Vienna.  In Vienna, the moment a pedestrian steps into the street, drivers stop the car.  They might not be thrilled, but they stop and wait.  In Prague, drivers not only speed up, they do it gleefully, hoping to run you down.  Jake will attest to the fact that children are fair game.  We adapted to this new order in short order.

For visitors, Prague is a walking city, a cobblestone city, a Bohemian city, a hostel and backpacking city, a beer city, a patchwork of elegance and despair woven together.  It is a city curving with art nouveau facades mixed with the geometry of the cubist movement along with shards of Communism.  It is also a city where the centuries old Jewish Ghetto is now adjacent to the modern day luxury shopping avenue, where Jesus and Jazz coexist on the Charles Bridge.  We hoofed it through a crossroads of history, from Prague Castle to the Museum of Communism.

Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock est. 1410

Colors of Old Town

Pick Your Poison

Havel Market est. 1232

Marketplace Goodies

Ooo, hoo Witchy Woman

One of Many Fine Czech Brews

Old Jewish Cemetery 

Prague at Night

Estates Theatre

Charles Bridge

View to Prague Castle

Jazz and Jesus

The Johnsons Take Prague 

St. Vitus Cathedral 

Cubist House of the Black Madonna

Relics of the Past

Museum Next to McDonald's and Casino

Church of Mother of God Before Tyn from Astronomical Clock Tower Take 1

Take 2

As we left Vienna last Sunday, a neighbor asked if we were escaping to the lake country.  "Oh, NO!" I exclaimed with excitement, "We are going to Prague!"  As the elevator door closed he responded, "Well, Prague is a city."  Now I know what he means.  Everyone should look both ways and experience Prague, the City.

Wednesdays with Laurie

Attending the auction at The Palais Dorotheum 3 out of 4 weeks in Vienna makes me a self-proclaimed creature of habit.  Attending with a 9 year old boy in tow makes me certifiable.

The Dorotheum was established in 1707 and is one of the largest auction houses in Europe.  They host specialized auctions, accept consignments and run a number of retail store fronts selling estate art, antiques, decorative objects and jewelry.  Think Pawn Stars meets Louis Vuitton.

Palais Dorotheum

The Dorotheum also runs daily auctions every Wednesday at 2pm.  This is where we enter the picture.

Modern Gallery

Rug and Antique Gallery

If I play my cards right, by that I mean literally win The World Series of Poker, I will someday buy a treasure at the auction.  For now, it is a watching and learning experience.  Oh and with Jake in tow, I need to make sure he does not stretch or else we will be walking out with a pair of 19th Century Russian Kommodes for 4000 Euros.

Jake with One Russian Kommode

The auctions are in German (for some reason I expected English, I really must be delusional) and they have a cadence all their own, the announcement and description of the lot, a picture on a large television screen, the bidding, and finally a small bell then sold! to the highest bidder.  There is also a handful of "usual suspects", people I've noticed at every auction, the big spender who bids on and wins multiple lots in a row, the elderly woman who collects porcelain, the rug couple and the train guy.   Interestingly, there have only been a handful of times when there have been multiple bids, usually on art.  The Dorotheum adds 25% at the closing bid for the house.  If you bid, 8 times out of 10 you will win.  Those are some pretty good odds, so for now, we sit with our hands glued to our sides and enjoy the show.

Lights, Camera, Auction!

I was able to snap some of my favorite lots until I was snapped at for breaking the rules.  Whoops.

18th Century Joop! Closet 

Marquetry, Parquetry, Marble, Ormulu, Oh My!

It Don't Mean a Thing, if it Ain't Got That Bling

What's in Your Closet?

Please do me a favor.  Right now.  Walk into your bedroom, open your closet and whisper these three little words:  "I Love You."  The bottom line is that we don't realize how much we take household conveniences for granted, until we don't have them.  Like air conditioners, frost free refrigerators and built in bedroom closets.

Today, I am having a Meat Loaf moment, because right now I have 2 out of 3.  And that ain't bad.

Back to the question, "who intentionally moves into an apartment with no closets?"  Well, we did.  We must have been so taken by the Viennese charm of the place that we overlooked that little detail.  Or perhaps it was too many schnitzels and beer.

Closets are not part of the floor plan in many older apartments.  Last I checked, ours was built in the late 19th Century.  Between you and me, there has been plenty of time to right this wrong.  One week ago the space in our bedroom where a closet should be was looking like this:

What you don't see are the additional 4 wardrobe boxes lining the hallway.  So started the Great Closet Search of 2013.  We quickly learned two things:  closets are sold with bedroom sets and they are not cheap.

Training the Youth not to Expect a Built-in Closet

Then there is JOOP! Actually, that was the sound I made when I opened the closet and saw the price.

JOOP!

Holy %$#ing JOOP!  

Yes, that is the price for the closet only.  About $3000. depending on the exchange rate.  It was at that moment, Mike decided to take control of the situation.  I've never seen him shop with such gusto.  Eagle Eye Johnson quickly zeroed in on the deal of the day and his Bank Austria credit card flew by me in a flash.

We Have Clearance Clarence

Less than one week later our bedroom closet was installed, prompting Jake to ask "When do I get a one?"  I think I will leave that to Eagle Eye Johnson, who quickly sorts through the JOOP! to find the gem.

Closets are a Girl's Best Friend

Now, with temperatures expected to hit 99 degrees with 60% humidity this weekend, the only question that remains is:  "who intentionally moves into an apartment with no air conditioning?"

Dora the Explorer

Of course I promised Jake we would spend our time exploring Vienna as soon as we arrived.

He decided to cash in on that promise last week.  Like Dora and Boots, we planned an adventure every day, except for Tuesday when our household shipment arrived.  Truth be told, getting out of the apartment daily is a good thing, only so much time can be spent with a roll of shelf paper and a swiffer.

Monday we toured the 40 public rooms at Schonbrunn Palace, the Rococo summer digs of the Hapsburg monarchy.  Schonbrunn is also where that Salzburg sensation, six year old W.A. Mozart (and his sister) performed in 1762, much to the delight of Empress Maria Theresia and family.  After the Palace tour, we climbed the hill behind Neptune Fountain to the Gloriette for some views and a much needed strudel and ice cream break.  We also took our first iPhone "selfie"which is preserved on this blog for hilarity's sake.  

View from Gloriette to Schonbrunn Palace

Gloriette

Our First iPhone Selfie

Behind Neptune Fountain

Getting Misty at Neptune Fountain

A View Toward Great Parterre

Garden at Great Parterre

Jake and "Baby Mozart"

By Wednesday, we were back out again.  This time a stroll through the Albertina to view "Monet to Picasso", a collection spanning 130 years of art history.  We each picked our favorites from the collection-I went traditional, while Jake selected the avant-garde.

Emil Nolde "Moonlit Night" 1914

Georg Baselitz "B. fur Larry" 2006 

Thursday's outing was dedicated to Mozart.  St. Marx Friedhof Cemetery (1784-1874) is where Mozart was buried in a mass grave in 1791.  The current marker sits at what is presumed to be the correct burial site.  We quickly located Mozart and spent the rest of our time wandering the cemetery overwhelmingly filled with blank markers and stones worn down by time.  Restoration on some gravestones is taking place and we really enjoyed the spooky vibe.  Until we reached the open crypt.  Then it was time for more strudel and ice cream.  Oh and Mommy needed her gespritzer weisswein (I am learning German, one drink at a time.)

Mozart View One in A Minor

Mozart View Two in A Minor

Eternally Blank

Dont' Fear The Reaper

A Row of Stories Unknown

Friday we shopped for closets.  Really.  Stay tuned for the excitement of closet shopping in Vienna.  Makes St. Marx Friedhof Cemetery look like one hell of a party.