Name:     Michael L. S.   [E-Mail]
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      Website:  Middle East Resource Center


 

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"...Steiner's back / Tell a friend ... You waited this long now stop debating / cuz I'm back / I'm on the rag / and ovulating" (Eminem) (Well, minus the ovulating part!! )

I was away from my blog but I had taken my laptop along so I made little notes while on vacation. On my Austrian leg of the journey I only had access to the Internet in cybercafes and the like or from the hotel... - but at hotel rates. Thanks but no thanks. The situation was much the same in Spain because I was staying with my dear friends and I couldn't really abuse their equipment in order to post my blog posts. Plus I had better things to do! Anyway, the time I had was truly wonderful. I can honestly say it was the best vacation I have ever had. Plus I've done a thing or two I would not have expected to do--at least not so soon. I'll share some of my experiences from the journey today and catch up on many interesting events and my take on them next time. Here it goes:

2004-01-04: Arrived in Graz. Comfortable enough a journey by train over four hours. It's afternoon and it's cold like a son of a bitch. But I like it that way: the hotel is warm and I feel so "protected." Speaking of the hotel, I'm loving it. If you ever visit southern Austria, I can wholeheartedly recommend this place: Gästehaus Jaritz in Semriach - Graz.

2005-01-05: Went on a day-trip to Graz (this being a ca. forty minute very comfortable bus ride away from the hotel). Wow, hadn't been to Graz in at least fifteen years. It's still a spanking place; indeed, it was the European city of culture a couple pf years ago. It brought back so many memories. The Frankfurters at the main square are not to be missed. There's also a wonderful restaurant next to Nordsee but I can't remember the name; you want to have a Wiener schnitzel at that place. Get some rice on the side and the obligatory wedge of lemon. I wish my aunt Dolie were still alive--she was the owner of the big department store Kastner&Öhler but died while I was still a high school sophomore--as she'd have taken us to a magnificent cake shop (couldn't find it by myself and my companions have never been here so... ). I have to say: you'll find the best cakes in Austria and Germany. Healthy yet delicious. They're not dairy-saturated as they tend to be in southern Europe or places like Belgium and they're not mass-produced (read: bland) like in Britain.

2005-01-06: Some kind of holiday--Ascension, I believe--so most places are shut. Back to Graz for a lot of perambulation. It's an exceedingly nice place to walk, even on a holiday when most people are out on the streets. It's not crowded, everyone's well behaved. No loutishness here! We actually want to go to a few musea and galleries but they're closed, too. Damn. Tomorrow. Actually, we'll be traversing the surrounding hills tomorrow. My goodness, we'll be eating like horses and sleeping like babies after tomorrow!

2005-01-07: Oh yeah, this is life. Since I won't be spending much time in areas where it's likely to snow, this is one of the last chances I have to enjoy the cooler (understatement) weather. The hills around our hotel (the beginnings of the Austrian Alps) are marvelous. One could forget oneself completely and walk around for hours, which is precisely what we did. It's quite exhausting because the air is cold and thin even though we are not at any great height. But it works up one hell of an appetite. Not to worry: the abundant rural restaurants (more similar to Irish pubs in decoration and presentation than to restaurants as such) will sure as night follows day not leave you wonting. We're off to Salzburg tomorrow with a day's stopover in Vienna.

2005-01-08: So, Wien. We stayed at the Holiday Inn (not our usual type of abode but I'd had it reserved previously for something that had fallen through so I simply rescheduled) although we practically only used it for sleeping. Vienna is nice enough and it's a big city--as cities in this part of Europe go--but it's nothing spectacular. The last time I was here I'd come with my high school class. It was summer and the whole place was MUCH nicer; however, we came just at around the college graduation time and the place was reverberating with all manner of the most atrocious "music" I'd ever heard blaring from an infinite stream of those floats/trucks or whatever they're called. That spoiled my impression of it no end. This time it was gray and rather miserable, everyone wearing thick coats and faces fashioned in expressions unmistakably yearning for warmer and sunnier weather. Characteristically for a European capital city, it is expensive; uncharacteristically for a European capital city, the people are very friendly, helpful and approachable. Don't get me wrong: the place is absolutely gorgeous. For those who thrive on cultural uplifting, architecture and so on, it is a veritable Macah. I just am not altogether sure I'd want to live here permanently.

2005-01-09: Leaving Wien and over to Salzburg; not Salzburg itself though but a small town (village, practically) just above the city of Mozart (and, more infamously, Hitler(YSh"U)). It's called San Wolfgangsee. The first and only time I was here before was back when I was, oh, seven or so. Since the main reason it had stayed etched in my memory thenceforth was the bestest pizza I'd ever eaten, it was only meet that we should go for some, too. Naturally, after almost two decades there was no chance in hell I could find the original venue so we went to one that seemed hazily familiar to me. And yeah, they hadn't lost their touch. The food was first class and Italians--most of whose restaurants massacre the very concept of a pizza--should take note. Of course, the fact that it was freezing cold outside had a lot to do with the tastiness of our warm, succulent dinner. We're staying at Dem Wiesenhof--another family-run Gasthof and another one I can unreservedly recommend. It's splendid inn: there are few things I enjoy more than the shelter of a cozy, intimate hotel in the midst of a freezing winter. We'll be staying here for the next three days before heading off to München from where one of the friends and I will fly over to my beloved Spain.

2005-01-10/11: We've been refreshingly unproductive. The surrounding villages and hills have been so captivating that we didn't even feel the need to go down to Salzburg. It really is a beautiful region and I'm so happy we decided to come and stay here.

2005-01-12: Well, that's that: the first leg of my "vacation" is over. I, along with a friend, traveled to München which was a couple of hours' bus ride away. We were originally meant to travel straight on to Alicante but I wanted to spend at least a day in Munich because it is one of my favorite cities. (Indeed, according to the UN, it's I think the second or third most desirable city on the planet to live in.) We arrived early afternoon and had a wonderful time. München hasn't changed a bit since I came here first over 20 big ones ago... - it's retained the charm of a town while being a modern metropolis. I'm especially happy that various Turkish, Kurdish and Balkanian ethnic minorities have been joined by increasingly numerous Asian Europeans. And the Chinese restaurant we had our dinner at is a testimony to the benefits of a diverse society. Great atmosphere, great food, great company. We should be stopping here for a bit longer. But the tickets are only good for tomorrow.

2005-01-13: Ah, Alicante and Benidorm. I haven't been here for over a year. It's still a great place. Too bad there are so many sconeheads around but, well, they're getting screwed over by the Spaniards without realizing it so that's OK. Hehehe. And even thought it's a very "touristy" place, Benidorm remains nice and cheap.

2005-01-14: Went to visit a friend and his family in a town near Benidorm. Nothing unusual there. I ended up buying a flat!! Wow, talk about spur-of-the-moment shopping! The place is magnificent: three bedrooms, two bathrooms, new and modern, safe, with magnificent views. It won't be legally mine for a fortnight or so but I can move in practically immediately. So I went furniture shopping already and got a thing or two. (A word of advice to anyone interested in purchasing property in Spain or anywhere else, for that matter: DON'T DO IT the way I've done it. Do all your surveys and other due diligence. I was able to do this at a moment's notice because I had a strong support from my friends and acquaintances who are involved with this development and so have inside information, etc.)

2005-01-18: Yippee, finally inside!! I only have a crappy dialup connection as the broadband engineers haven't arrived yet but that should be taken care of soon. And here are some pictures of my new humble abode:




(Mine is the apartment in the middle.)






(Another view--my apartment extends from the balcony on the left all the way to the right. And no, that's not my auto.)






(The living room. The view is of the sea though it can't be seen well here because the day was kinda cloudy. The sofa is borrowed, BTW; I've a much better taste as can be seen from the armchairs. )






(One of the bedrooms. Fancy waking up to that view!)


(If the pictures aren't showing, try viewing them again later. The server on which I'm hosting them is very volatile.)

Well, so much from me. As I said, next time I'll comment on some of the events that took place during my two weeks away.

Have a great week everyone and shalom.

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