News from my Office Window

Today at approximately 10:12 am, a large shadow began ominously descending over the sky.

At approximately 10:15 am, after hearing a series of bumps, this vessel appeared outside my window. [Note my view. Not bad for an intern, eh?]

What Could this Mysterious Capsule be?
A magical flying pirate ship (from either Peter Pan or Pirates of the Caribbean, with preference on the latter)
A sort of time machine
George Jetson
UFO
A very primitive form of espionage (possibly Bulgarian?)

At approximately 10:16 am, everything made much more sense.

Two guys were washing the windows. They just smiled and waved. A few hours later, I received a security notification regarding possible 'gondola' traffic on the 37th floor.

News from the Patio

This should really be News from the Patio: Third Edition because two other noteworthy events have taken place back there.

(1) Neighbors in #8 abruptly stole the lawn table and chairs!  This treachery occurred five days after I moved in. The first sunny and relaxing Saturday of my trip, my decision to dine al fresco met with a horrible shock. The garden gate was swinging open. And there. On THEIR patio was the sightly dingy white plastic furniture. These shameless intern-patio-table-thieves did not even have the decency to stash their loot and only use it when they knew we were gone. Oh, the gall. [Comment: these are the ones who have small children. I hear their shrill voices travel along the pipes in the bathroom and their Saturday morning cartoons through the bedroom wall. End Comment.]

(2) I planted a pineapple top in the backyard. Sadly, it died five days later. It is now buried behind the large holly bush. :(  Rest in Peace, small Hawaiian friend. You traveled far and tasted delicious.

(3) We have a red rose bush (shared through a fence with the abrupt neighbors in #8). Saturday, the first rose was only beginning to open. This morning, it was huge! What a wonderful thing! It helps compensate for the losses incurred in previous patio newsworthy events.

It occurs to me that I devote a significant amount of this blog discussing flowers. I was going to apologize for this, but apologies usually accompany a change in behavior. So I better not.

Vienna International Chapel

Sooo you might be wondering about church here. My first Sunday in Vienna, the English-Speaking Methodist Church was having their annual conference... it was crazy! The service was in German and then translated into English (or vice-ver sa) so it took approximately 3 hours. Although the service was nice, I decided to keep looking around because there are at least 4 English language worship services around the city (but unfortunately all far away from me! why is that?).

For the last three weeks, I've been going to Vienna International Chapel. The service is in the afternoon at 4pm, so the distance matters less. It's actually past where I work... so Saturdays are the only day I avoid the hour-long commute across town!  I always thought it would be really glamorous to ride the subway in a fabulous capital city. But it's not... it's sort of smelly (but less that Paris) and monotonous and squeaky. At least there's good time for reading. I'm falling into some sort of rhythm with the 40A bus... but unfortunately, it's one of me being 2 minutes too slow and watching it pass by me just as I'm approaching the corner... Running shoes really make sense here.

Anyway, Vienna International Chapel is great. Three of the other interns have gone, too! The pastor is British, and they have an incredibly international congregation. People come and go from all over the world. They seem to both send and receive missionaries. The other people my age are twins from Tanzania, a guy from South Korea, a half Austrian/half American girl and a half Brazilian/half Austrian guy. It's been fun getting to know them. It's the most beautiful blessing to be able to go to church and fellowship with people here.

International Organizations

 This article in the Economist is really interesting- and all too true

http://www.economist.com/node/16436337?story_id=16436337&fsrc=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+economist%2Ffull_print_edition+%28The+Economist%3A+Full+print+edition%29

The part about the burden the place on small countries is something I've really noticed - the US Mission has at least one person in charge of each major area of the UN in Vienna, but most of the smaller countries just have a few people covering the whole organization. Instead, they tend to consolidate their efforts in like-minded blocs like NAM, the EU, or the G-77. 

The SALES! Des SALDI! Les SOLDES!

I'm a little behind the times here in Austria - but apparently the biannual summer sales event began last weekend and everywhere is in a shopping frenzy. A tide of shoppers met me as I stepped out the front door yesterday morning. In France, they could only legally have sales (even as low as 30% off) twice a year - and while I'm unclear of the domestic legislation, it's probably the same here.

So the goal for the morning was to find oil pastels (compromise between oil paints and the colored pens in my purse now). All the art supplies in Vienna must be hiding someplace (in the basement at the Art Museum?) because I can't find them anywhere! This doesn't make sense.

Then I spent the afternoon in the Art History Museum as a consolation. 

Yep, that whole building is filled with art.

And cheered on the US team against Ghana in the World Cup game at Molly Darcy's Irish Pub (not to be confused with Waxy Murphy's Irish Pub - why do they all end in 'y's?)

Look at my very patriotic friends! The game was great... until we lost by one point in overtime.

Drosophila

Did I mention that Thursday I got to see the world's largest population of fruit flies? Will never quite forget that smell.

The IAEA isn't just about the safety and security of nuclear weapons and reactors - they also use nuclear technology on development projects involving food, water and livestock. They create practical techniques that they can transfer to the member states. It's really incredible the things they are working on for cancer, food security and water safety. It turns out that isotopes can do a ton. Considering how tiny they are, it's like an ant dead-lifting the country of Austria. We took a tour of Seibersdorf, the IAEA's lab just outside Vienna and saw all sorts of projects. Several of the projects were done in partnership with Texas A&M University (and not many other universities were specifically mentioned).

So here's the story on the fruit flies if you're curious:
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Multimedia/PhotoEssays/OliveFly/

strong Instantcoffee with some whitener

Oh yeah, and this week, I FINALLY found a bad translation. It's taken a month!! (Today is the official one-month mark). This was found on a vending machine at the UN. Yes, you can buy cups of coffee in vending machines here, a tiny plastic cup pops out at the bottom. Best 25 cents you can spend in Vienna.

Red Cowboy Suits and Undying Curses - at the Opera

So, as you may have surmised, the opera was gorgeous.

This place is like the throne room of classical music and opera. And it looks accordingly palatial. If you take public transport, there is even a rather dramatic build up to the Oper itself. All the way down the U-bahn tunnel you hear a rousing rendition of Strauss's Danube Waltz. There are Hollywood-style stars in the ground marked with the names and signatures of classical music greats - Bartok, Callas, Mahler, Mozart. Then you come around the corner, expecting some sort of stately musical group, and you realize the music is coming from the Opera Toilet Experience!

I haven't paid for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity yet.

The building was constructed in 1869, and there is a picture of it up on another post, so I'll just show you a peek inside. People stand around before the show drinking champagne and eating dainty hors-d'oeurves and tiny Sacher tortes. Not a single Austrian had come up to talk to me (on the bus or anywhere) until this night, when 2 ladies commented on my lovely dress. One was over 90 and told me she went to the opera as often as she could. Would such surroundings become routine over time?

So we took our seats in the fabulous hall. The show began. Act 1 seems to be consistent with most operatic plots. Guy [Don Alvaro] falls in love with girl [Leonora] and tries to get her to run away with him. Girl prevaricates because of his low social status. Her father is accidentally shot when he catches them before they elope. Her brother swears eternal curses on both of them, and the two are tragically separated.

Act 2 is one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen. Maybe someone can explain. I think it took place at a monastery; however, it involved people dressed up in RED cowboy outfits (chaps and hats included) holding a bible in one hand and slinging a pistol in the other. And they danced a cheesy, amateurish dance. How can the Viennese Philharmonic stand for this? And is this supposed to be a parody of Americans, specifically those from the south? And apparently by the end of the dance, war had been declared, and Don Alvaro had saved the brother (unaware of Alvaro's identity) from death. Curtain falls. Intermission.

Oh yeah a tiny screen in front of you translates the lyrics. It really helps because it takes forever to sing every word. Each of the subsequent war scenes moved up in time, from cannons to WW2 jets. I was hoping there would be another in which tanks ripped through the desert. After Leonora commits her life to worshiping God in a cave, we find out that Alvaro is really an Incan prince. He almost dies, and the brother finds out who he is and vows to kill Alvaro despite the earlier rescue. Alvaro ends up at the same monastery in Spain as Leonora (unbeknownst to either of them). Five years later, her brother tracks down Alvaro and challenges him to a duel that results in the brother's death. Leonora happens upon them, and her brother kills her right before he dies. Surprisingly, Alvaro does NOT then kill himself (he walked around looking like he was about to fall on his sword, but did not). Curtain falls. The end.

I loved getting to watch the orchestra pit, specifically all the cello players. By the end, I was getting a bit antsy. But maybe that's just because I'd been sitting in meetings all day. It would be great to go back, but it will be tricky because the musicians all go on vacation in July and August. Many questions remain though: Why do so many tragic love stories take place in relation to monasteries? Why did the singers take 8 curtain calls? And again, what do red-bible-totin'-gun-slingin'-cowboys have to do with any of this?

La Forza del Destino

This is what I'll be seeing tomorrow! My awesome roommate has tickets and decided to take me!

Summer? Why?

There are some good things about summer in Austria.  

Special Summer Edition Ritter Sport Bars, for example

But mostly it's just cold. The price these people pay for green grass and multi-colored roses is high. It's been 50 and cloudy/rainy/windy for a week. Weeks? And I only brought one blue light-weight sweater that my co-workers have become quite familiar with. And I brought NO socks or long pajama pants. I distinctly remember considering it and then putting them back after I remembered how hot it was in France. Argh. Murphy, stop applying your laws here.

Mr. Blue Sky, where are you?

Sunday in the kitchen

Bisquick--slow

Buttermilk biscuits. Of course, I am overcome by an irrational craving for buttermilk biscuits in a country that bakes pumpernickel and tough yeast rolls. So... remembering my baking adventures in France, I decided to take a crack at them.

Incredibly, Austria sells "Buttermilch"... and I sort of knew how to find baking power in tiny packets because that's how they sell it in France. The only thing I screwed up on is baking soda. I saw this little box.

Wouldn't you think on a box with a picture of a BISCUIT on it, there would be some sort of baking soda inside? No. False assumption. There are these mini-disks made out of starch. Apparently they are the "wafer" bottom of a cookie. 

This brings us to butter. Like in France, they are very particular about butter and what kind of grass/ cow nationality the milk that is made in to butter comes from. I bought "summer butter" made from Austrian cows that ate Austrian grass only in the summertime. Not sure what "summertime" is defined as ... it's still 55 and rainy. 

Oh yeah, and then you get to measure everything with one of these. Notice my sad little basil plant in the background... I think it's not getting enough sun? Maybe it's just too cold here? Anything that grows well in Texas can't be too hearty here.

 So I kneaded and rolled with a fake rolling pin (a old paper towel roll covered in aluminum foil) and ended up with these. Doesn't the one in front sort of look like a puppy dog? Yes. It does. 

Images from this weekend

Saturday, I started at Karlsplatz.  Look at this Jugendstil U-bahn (Metro) stop designed by Otto Wagner. Vienna is ridiculous.

 The platz famous for this baroque church that was built during one of the plagues to commemorate Cardinal Borromeo... the patron saint of getting rid of plagues. It was designed by Fischer von Erlach - who also worked on a lot of the Viennese palaces. [Comment: The left side of the building had unsightly scaffolding. So I took this picture so you only see the good bits. End comment.]

What's cool about this church is that you can go up in the lantern of the dome because they're doing restoration - straight up into the dome (not just the perimeter or the spires), up about a million flights of stairs.

It's awesome to see from the middle how they painted the dome fresco on a curvature.

Then somehow I made it to the Belvedere Palace. Built for Prince Eugene of Savoy... 

Inside they have an art museum and a cafe. So, after all my lengthy wanderings, I had to try this:

It's strawberry passion fruit torte. I'm thinking if I put enough pictures of cakes up on this blog, people will come visit me.

So inside the art museum, they had lots of crazy things, including Klimt's The Kiss

And a series of very entertaining character heads by Messerschmidt. 

This one is entitled the "The Enraged and Vengeful Gypsy." They all had funny names, such as "The Incapable Bassoonist" or "The Constipated One" and most of them fit, but this one just doesn't!

Jungle cats and global politics

This is one of my first jobs that doesn't involve interaction with children. I am beginning to feel like a competent professional, one respected by adults (not just feared by children!). Not babysitting anyone. This strange new feeling lasted around 3 weeks.

So at least half of the staff at the mission is in flux now - relocating, or retiring or arriving. At a recent going away party, it took precisely 45 seconds for all 3 kids to run up and jump on me (kids that I'd never met before). Two dressed as princess fairies (or tinkerbells??) and had wands. They would only move whenever the wands lit up and made noises. The other was some sort of jungle cat. I was immediately taken captive in the kid cave, helping dress crystal princess ponies and putting on imaginary makeup. How did they know??? So much for being in the grown up league.
 

It's die kleine things

So my supervisor is going out of town most of next week.
Here is her current out of office message:

I will be out of the office with limited BlackBerry coverage until
Thursday.  In my absence please contact Laura Joost at +43 1 31339-xxxx.
Thanks, X.

:) Makes me inordinately happy!

Sacher Torte

Let's talk torte. Although Vienna is famous for cakes, one's fame stands high above the rest. Sacher Torte. Going to resist making any soccer/sacher world cup jokes. Make up your own. Anyway this cake was invented in 1832 by accident by a sous chef to the Hapsburg Emperor. Apparently the main confectioner was on vacation, and a visiting royal dropped in... and Sacher just threw this cake together.  Alton Brown, on Good Eats always talks about how many of America's favorite foods were just impromptu creations like nachos, buffalo wings, and chocolate chip cookies.

It's two layers, with apricot filling, covered in chocolate. It's a fairly dry cake, so it's served with a giant swirl of whipped cream. This sounds gross to some people, but it's delicious! There are imitations all over the city, but only the Sacher's know the exact 36 step process that results in the perfect one.

By the way, a Starbucks opened right across the street from the Hotel Sacher.. some people complain, but I think it's cheeky and like it.

Appointment Affadavit

Today, I stood in front of the American flag, and lifted my right and hand repeated the following words:

I, Laura Joost, do solemnly swear and affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

That was intense. Never having taken marriage vows, I can't really compare the two with any certainty, but I definitely felt like a ring should have been exchanged and that I'm now wedded to the United States Constitution. We should be very happy together.

More than anything, I wonder exactly how literally I'm required to take this oath. How far do my legally binding obligations extend? For example, would I ever expected to deploy Nicolas-Cage-National-Treasure-style antics to defend the Constitution from foreign and domestic enemies attempting to steal it? If someone besmirches the honor of the US Constitution, must I tackle them in the street? Does it matter that I was trying not to giggle while taking this oath?

Then I visited a magical rooftop garden overlooking the Belvedere Palace. This is an abrupt transition, I know. But it was a very diverse day at work. Maybe the garden wasn't magical, but it had all my favorite plants: ripe raspberries, fuchsia, lavender and so many more. So jealous. Now I want a rooftop garden. So, I bought a basil plant... but that just is not even worth mentioning in this same paragraph. The garden itself went up and down along the roof line of this gorgeous 7 story building. It had a 360 view of the city center! Can't communicate how breathtaking this was.

THEN we went to pick up the new intern in my office. His name is Peter, he seems cool. Did I mention my roommate arrived last night? Her name is Erica, and again, she seems cool. Her arrival was a real mix-up, too, but she's in good spirits about everything. So for all the isolation of the last few weeks, it looks like companions have arrived!

Hugo Wolf, Turkenschanz and Linneplatz

Do you know, I've always wanted to live by a park, and now I live within walking distance of 3??

They are all amazing. And on Sunday afternoons, that's where everyone goes. You see kids at the skate park and on the play ground, older ladies walking arm in arm, people asleep in the grass by the ponds, others reading on a bench, boys playing ping pong, soccer or badminton. There is even a sand volleyball court!

There are small restaurants inside and ice cream stands. The main way Austrians cope with heat seems to be ice cream. I have never seen so many ice cream vendors! And so little air conditioning. They are trying to cool themselves from the inside out, I suppose.

World Cup Mania

Everyone here is excited about the World Cup. Yesterday the South African Ambassador handed out multi-colored scarves to all the other Ambassadors to wear in honor of the games. The commercials on TV* are all about transnational unity... but really, I think this series is an eruption of miniature wars.

I'm going to watch the UK v US game soon - if only to ensure that we win.

Today has been a good day, so perhaps we will. I found coat hangers at a store called Leiner on Mariahilferstrasses, one of the best shopping streets. At least that's one victory!


*TV here is interesting - I get 5 channels of AFN or Armed Forces Network... the programming seems to be mostly kung fu and sports. Interspersed between shows are very low budget commercials on vigilance and security. Better than nothing, but by a hair. This is similar to the way that trolls are cute because of their absurdity.

Common, But Uncommon

So here are some things you regularly see when walking around Vienna:

The Austrian trash can monster (much more creepy than Oscar the Grouch)

Newspapers on sale on the street

 

Children's crossing signs that look like storybook illustrations 

Imperial Doorknobs

Signs that tell you "No sitting down on the bus unless you're an awesome bluezy jazz artist with a cane" 

(Or atleast that's my translation of the pictogram) 

 

 

Fish and Chips, Twice Please?

Yesterday, a friend in the British delegation invited me to the opening of a fashion show. Sooo even though this has been the longest week ever in terms of staying late at work, it sounded too fun to miss! We saw Fish and Chips, Twice Please?... apparently it's a British label and that's how she had ended up with tickets. The clothes were ridiculous, of course, but it was fun. Sorry there aren't any more pictures...

The exhibition was in this really fun venue in the Museums Quartier.. they have giant colorful chairs that look like large bottle openers outside in the courtyard. The munchies were strange - part German (pretzels and Rheinish wine and Mamer cookies) and part British (chips and cherry soda). Check out these nationalist potato chips.

Don't they remind you of the chewing gum in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that tastes like a whole meal?

Zum Geburtstag..

Yes. Today I'm 26 years old. I celebrated with birthday takeaway sushi and birthday cheese.

This isn't just any cheese. This is the french can-bring-world-peace goat cheese encrusted with dried fruit... when I saw it at the store last week it was more beautiful than any cake. Really you don't need a cracker. Just a spoon.

Burger, Mate?

 So imagine going to a restaurant and seeing these menu item choices:

Notice that grilled grasshoppers are offered as one element of the "Mixed Plate." I decided to have a kangaroo burger, medium well with barbecue sauce.

They put a kangaroo flag in it, just in case the customer forgets what they've ordered. This wasn't a real problem for me. I found it impossible to forget I was consuming the meat of a kangaroo.

After this classy classy meal, I went to hear the Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra play a concert in the gigantic, magnificent garden of Schonbrunn Palace. At this once-a-year, Rolex-sponsored event, the best of the city puts on a free concert.... You can't even imagine the crush and crowd of people on the metro... 

A tiny part of the palace but enough for you to get the idea. 

As you walk pass through the magnificent courtyard you see 

A huge mass of people.. and a concert waaaaaaay in the distance. 

It still sounded beautiful though! 

They played Star Wars and Strauss. Not a bad way to end a long day of work.

And in between the United Kingdom and Uruguay...

I got to sit!!!! I got to sit in the seat behind the silver "United States of America" plaque in the giant UN conference room. Behind the microphone that has 5 channels. In a blue armchair. All by myself. It was AMAZING.

The Ambassador and his crew were walking up the stairs and out the door as I was walking in, and he looked at me and grinned and said "Hey, why don't you go sit in our seat." So, I, in utter floating disbelief, walked down those stairs and sat down in the seat of power. Someone had to do it. That guy from Uruguay was inching over. No way are we losing ground to South America! The elderly gentlemen sitting in the UK's spot looked at me as if I was perhaps lost in the 'U' section. I considered implementing some sweeping policy changes in technical cooperation but decided it was best to bide my time. Maybe I'll get to sit there another day! It was just fabulous to sit there. I can't describe it. To feel like the Voice of The United States of America.

The way the seats are arranged is very odd, and it's hard to figure it out... It's partially alphabetical and partially not. But just so you know, the Vatican is the "Holy See" and is right next to Hungary. I think they chose the name to be higher in the alphabet and closer to the front. Palestine also has it's own seat.

The BoG has been interesting - lots of people and lots of things to keep up with although the meetings are dreadfully boring. Dreadfully. I spent most of the time this morning talking to a delegate from Belgium while people had the translator headphones on. There are 5 or 6 language channels. The translators do an incredible job of simultaneously listening and speaking. Mid-morning I had to take out my left contact lens because it had a terrible and persistent problem that resulted in me crying and winking every few minutes... This is not the sort of signal it's best to send at the UN.

The meetings run from 10-1.. then have a 2 hour lunch break, then 3-6. So I'm working late every day this week. Oh well. Someone has to save the planet from nuclear proliferation. It's funny because for as much time as we spend in the boardroom, most of the real work seems to be done at the coffee bar!

Oh yeah and I went to a concert last night. But that's another post... I have loads more photos!

A Very Wiener Weekend

Imagine it spoken with a German accent - a veery vee-ner veek-end.

Thought I'd put up some more photos and show you the city!

Here is the sehr Gothic City Hall. It's called the Rathaus. (Please laugh at this name.)

Across the street, wir haben die Theater. Very neo-classical. It looks like there are almost as many faces on the outside of the theater as can fit on the interior!

Here's me in front of the Art History Museum. The really big bushes and massive buildings made me feel like Alice in Wonderland after she shrinks.

Here is the Hofburg - the winter palace of the Habsburg family.
I toured the inside last weekend. They have about 10 tons of silver and gold place settings - enough for 4,000 people. Insane.

Saturday, Aaron and I went to the Prater - the former royal hunting grounds that were given to the people in1780... It's an open amusement park with a Ferris wheel that was made famous in The Third Man.



We didn't ride Ferris wheel, but we did ride the gigantic swings and a mid-size roller coaster (The same view but more fun!) You can even see our office from the top!

Waiting for das Autobus

When trying to find/ ride a bus here, I often sing the Cotton Eye Joe to myself:

Where did you come from?
Where did you go?
Where did you come from Bus Driver Joe?

The lyrics actually make much more sense in this context than in any other, especially kicking your heels up with a wheel of dancers on a floor. The buses run on time. But the stops seem to hide around corners and under trees.

That's Amore

Last night, we went out to eat for one of the intern's birthday dinner at Da Capo, an Italian Ristorante. And I'm officially in love. This is the pinnacle of Italian restaurants. There could be nothing better about it. There is no room for improvement. It has the perfect atmosphere and an incredible menu and I want to eat there every day for the rest of my life.
These are photos off their website. Imagine this setting but darker and more rustic and with delicious smells from the kitchen and heat from the wood oven.We sat out on the garden terrace under a heat lamp in little chairs that also had red blankets.

They made ravioli out of buffalo mozzarella somehow... They stuffed the cheese with sundried tomatoes, pine nuts and basil and then melted the cheese to seal it all together. What could be better?