Category: Uncategorized
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The Balkans: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
September 8, 2024: Albania Then and Now Some of my subscribers particularly enjoy historical perspective. This is for them. If that’s not your thing, then just delete this. No offense will be taken. (I’ll never know anyway, and there will be no quiz.) Albania had a history that was not terribly different from the other…
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The Balkans: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
(Just Ask Neil Sedaka) Upcoming Travels with Stan and Stef: The Balkans, September 9 – October 1, 2024 Talk about “West Meets East!” The Balkans is where the Ottoman Empire faced off against western Europe, and it was really not clear who would prevail. The Turks were literally at the gates of Vienna until late…
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“Vienna Waits For You”
Postscript, August 9, 2024. We just received our Google photo album for the Vienna trip. Stef is so good at preparing and formatting these things. Today we noted the bad news from Vienna: Two terrorists planned an attack at a Taylor Swift concert. The good news: The Viennese authorities thwarted it, with help from intelligence…
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“Vienna Waits For You”
July 20, 2024: Plachutta & MAK Final post for this series. Saturday, our last day in Vienna. Just two things on the agenda: Lunch at Plachutta and the MAK. The restaurant Plachutta is a place for classic Viennese dishes, such as Tafelspitz and Wienerschnitzel. Tafelspitz (boiled beef) was a favorite of Emperor Franz Joseph, and…
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“Vienna Waits For You”
July 19, 2024: The Hofburg, Sisi, Sausage and Sachertorte Today we went to the Habsburg downtown palace, the Hofburg. This is where the Imperial/Royal Family lived when they weren’t summering at Schönbrunn. It’s also the home of the Sisi Museum. As previously noted, Emperor Franz Joseph ruled the Austro-Hungarian empire from 1848 (he was 18…
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“Vienna Waits for You”
July 18, 2024: The Leopold Museum, the Heuriger Experience The Leopold Museum, founded by Rudolf Leopold, opened in 2001, with more than 5,000 pieces of art on display. To be sure, there is a bit of controversy about how Rudolf (a physician by training) obtained his collection. He has been described as a “too passionate…
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“Vienna Waits for You”
July 17, 2024: Schönbrunn, Naschmarkt, and Karlskirche We took the UBahn this morning to Schloß Schönbrunn, the Habsburg summer palace. We took a self-guided tour of the State Rooms, a small portion of the former imperial palace: These included the Lantern Room, the Great Gallery, and the Hall of Ceremonies. You will note, as we…
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“Vienna Waits For You”
July 16, 2024: Vienna (Our Jewish Heritage) Today was the day we’d planned to see all the Jewish history/heritage stuff. First stop was the Stadttempel, the main synagogue of Vienna. We were really looking forward to this, since Stef had discovered some family history that linked her to this Shul. She has some information indicating…
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“Vienna Waits For You”
July 15, 2024: The Belvedere As part of my Vienna fixation, I’ve been re-reading the mystery series by Frank Tallis (a British psychologist), which has been serialized for television as “Vienna Blood.” It involves a Viennese police detective who teams up with a Jewish psychiatrist (who is also an acquaintance of Sigmund Freud). Together, they…
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“Vienna Waits for You”
July 14, 2024: Walking Tour, Tram Tour and Dr. Freud Today, we took Rick Steves’ self-guided walking and tram tours. Walking tour first. We started out at the world-famous Opera House (not my photo): Here’s where the greatest of stars (e,g.,Gustav Mahler, Herbert von Karajan, Maria Callas, Placido Domingo) have made their marks. The pavement…
Something to Declare 