There are some moments I want to talk about. Moments of reflection.
Those moments of reflection that you experience, after not having taken time to
reflect for a long time. During which long time you’ve done so much more than
you can recall, even in the most lucid moment of reflection. So much more, that
when that instant of reflection finally breaks through the thick barrier of
constant and unbroken experience and accomplishment, it shatters that pristine
unity into a thousand tiny fragments, some of which fall between the cracks of active
consciousness and reflective thought, never to be retrieved again.
This is how I feel after the last several weeks of my life. After a fantastic blur of trains, cars,
couches, and hotel rooms, I have finally settled down for a second to breathe
and realized just how much I’ve done even since I last wrote. This entry will
be the feeble attempt to piece together those last couple of weeks in some
semblance of coherent order for you to understand. Here goes the impossible....
So. I've been traveling with me ma across Europe over the past two weeks. Our first stop was Paris, where I met
her. We decided to take this vacation very relaxed...not have a full schedule
of things to do or see every day, but rather to have a couple ideas in mind,
and seeing how the day progressed. The main goal of each day was to eat and eat
well. Among the multitude of comestibles we rapaciously consumed, the items we
devoured the most were wine, cheese, and yes, pastries. Lots of pastries. From several patisseries a day. More
than any being should consume and still have a properly functioning heart. From
croissants to macarons, pain au chocolat and tartelettes, they were delicious
every time. I’ve never been to place with such a highly developed pastry
culture, and my oh my was it tasty! But they culinary adventures didn’t end at
the patisseries...one day we even lunched in the Champ du Mars just before the
Eiffel Tower on a grand feast of cheese, baguette, and red wine. Also, we
visited a couple of great bistros, at which I had escargot, black pudding over
roasted apples, and other delectables.
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| Mmmmm apricot tart!!! |
Of all our gastronomic escapades, one stands out above the rest. This
is the first time something like this has ever happened to me, something that
doesn’t happen just any old day. It happened when went to an Italian
restaurant—Augusto, in the 3rd arr.—for lunch with my couchsurfing
host around the corner from his apartment, a little two-man operation tucked
away on a small street. Throughout the meal, the chef/owner came to speak with
us a few times, as he is friends with my host and likes speaking with his
customers. During the course of the chat, it was mentioned that I want to open
a cafe and so we got onto the topic of running a restaurant and the like.
Anyway, by the end of the conversation, after having expressing interest in
wanting to work in my cafe for a little bit once I get it operational, he ended
up doing offering me something beyond my wildest dreams: the chance to work
under him for two weeks, to learn how to manage a restaurant by myself!
And so it shall be: after emailing him a few times to agree upon a
date, we decided that I’ll come back on May 20 and work there until June 3.
Although he’s unfortunately not able to pay me, his teachings will more than
compensate for whatever money he could give me. This is the perfect opportunity
to learn exactly the skills I need to for opening my own, small restaurant,
from how to manage inventory to which food suppliers to look for. And I’ll doubtless pick up some fantastic
recipes along the way! I’ll have to dedicate an entire blog post to these two
weeks—so look for it in a couple of months!
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| Me and me ma before that big tower thingy |
Our stay in Paris culminated the
next day with another lovely occurrence, albeit planned rather than a surprise
like the last. On our last evening there, we met up with two couchsurfing
friends, Justin and Flo, whom I hosted in Pittsburgh the autumn before last.
They are a couple who’ve been living and studying in Paris for the last few
years, and I had intended to visit them since arriving in Europe in September.
They took us to a small bistro with—allegedly—the best steak tartare in town.
While I had nothing to compare it against, it certainly was delicious. But never mind the food. Seeing those two again was
lovely. So far, I’ve seen most couchsurfers whom I’ve hosted or whom have
hosted me at least one more time, usually in a different corner of the world.
It’s so lovely to make such lasting connections within the couchsurfing
community, even though circumstances usually don’t presage our seeing each other
again after the initial meeting. I fully intend on hanging out with them some
more when I go back!
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| Me and my couchsurfing friends David (second from left) and Justin (third from left) with one of David's friends. We just so happened to run into David while heading to dinner. |
After Paris, my mother and I took a train to Cologne. Due to negligence
to double-check our schedule, we ended up missing our train because I thought we
were taking a later one than we actually were. Which unfortunately led to us
having to buy last-minute tickets, which were by no means cheap (sorry Mom!).
Anyway, along the way we had to sit in between carriages on the fold-down seats
near the lavatory since the Thalys was over-booked (as always, apparently). But
it ended up not being too bad, especially since randomly I had a chat with
another Fulbrighter, who just so happened to also come from Pittsburgh, who’s a teaching assistant near Hanover.
What are the chances!
In Cologne, while my mother swam in the hotel pool, I took the chance
to enjoy a two-hour run along the good ol’ Rhein, my old pal of yore. For
dinner that eve, we met up with Mark, my friend from Duquesne who moved to
Cologne to marry the love of his life, Katharina, whom he met in Pittsburgh
when she was an exchange student there. My mom had her first taste of Kölsch,
Cologne’s famous brew, as well as a proper Cologne Brauhaus experience at
Päffgen, a non-touristy favorite hang of the locals. Two days later, on Easter
Sunday, we took to the Dom for the biggest Easter mass I’ve ever been to in my
life (I mean, it’s only in the fourth largest cathedral in the world...).
Though I was there three years ago for the very same service, my mother hadn’t
seen it yet, and was quite delighted to have gone. And while I’m not into all
the whole religion thing, I must admit I was quite impressed with not only the
service, but also the setting. Gotta give ‘em some respect.
That afternoon, we boarded another train (the right one this time)
headed for Munich. The whole ride we were looking forward to enjoying our first
home-cooked meal of the whole trip, but were unpleasantly surprised when I went
for my run the next morning. Apparently, the day after Easter is also considered a holiday in Germany, and thus all
the stores were closed, including, most oddly, most of the restaurants. Since I
had been in Berlin the month before our trip, I had absolutely no food in my
apartment, and so we were forced to go out yet again. We met Michael, one of my
best mates here, for dinner at a Greek restaurant in Schwabing. Otherwise our
stay in Munich was quite peaceful, walking around the city center and enjoying
the hoards of buskers that were out that day. The next day (Tuesday) we shipped
off for Vienna on yet another train.
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| Serious buskers in Munich |
Vienna was definitely our favorite city. The ‘City of Music’ indeed—every
night, there’s quite lit’rally two operas, three musicals, a couple of plays, a
handful of symphonies, and every other kind of performance imaginable being put
on. Of course, we took full advantage of such offerings, seeing three concerts
(two classical piano, pieces by Bach and Chopin, and latin flamenco-jazz by
Diego el Cigala). Otherwise we relaxed, supping on (of course) much schnitzel,
strudel, and Sacher Torte. Though I must say the Sacher Torte was a bit of a
disappointment, the coffee was certainly not. We also found a lovely restaurant
that offers dishes centered on apples and potatoes, two main crops of Austria,
near our hotel: Jonathan und Sieglinde, Riemergasse 16, 1010 Wien. They had
most delicious creations (including, thankfully, lots of veggie dishes), and
the most extensive selection of apple wines, juices, and ciders I’ve ever seen.
It’s rare to see such creativity, albeit simple, in restaurants these days.
Above all ones that offer more than just a couple vegetarian dishes.
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| Sacher Torte and a coffee-hot chocolate drink at Cafe Mozart |
We also visited the Museum Albertina, one of the most well-laid out and
structured collections of art I’ve been to. Not only did they show their
artwork chronologically, but they also gave extensive biographies of the artists
whose work in prominent in their collection, as well as a good deal of context
behind their paintings. For once, instead of aimlessly wandering through a
confused maze of colors, I learned about the significance of painters’
contributions to the art world, and what they did to become famous. The two
rotating exhibits were on Impressionism and Gustav Klimt’s drawings.
Well after four days in Vienna, I saw my mother off to the airport,
from where she flew to Paris to catch a connecting flight to Pittsburgh the
next day. Her flight was at 6:20 in the morn, so I returned to the hotel and
slept till check-out, moving myself and my bag to yet another couchsurfing
friend’s place, whom I had hosted in Munich over New Year’s a few months ago. Kathi
was quite busy, needing to study for a large test and I was pretty exhausted
from my extensive jaunting across Europe, so we just pretty much hung out for
the weekend, watching a movie and cooking together when not reading or
studying. I made her a lemon meringue pie, which we ate after enjoying some mushroom
risotto and red cabbage salad. After a day and a half’s rest at Kathi’s place,
I caught one last train home to the Münch, to actually live in my apartment
again after nearly two months of not being there for more than three
consecutive days.
