Ey ey ey. I cut my first class in Vienna last week. It was a class about Beethoven's Eroica. I believe the professor focused on Napoleon so I decided to relax at home and get other work done. I also didn't really feel like going because I had gone to the gym earlier that day. You might know me as the scrawny little boy who can't lift more than 150 pounds...not anymore. I am as brolic and buff as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOlJixJAhPM&feature=related (that guy). No, no...I went with the Schweppe and Adam because they have memberships at a gym. It had been quite some time since I last worked my legs on the leg press. It felt oh so good.
Moving right on, last night was incredible. I didn't expect it to be much when I was cooking me some Penne a la Rutkowski. But when I brought my fork down in a stabbing motion, I heard someone cry out "Daniel, stop cooking." It was Señor Chris. *Going back to the fancy IES 60th anniversary party on Friday for a quick second...while mingling at the reception, my friends made friends with an elderly couple. Apparently they hit it off so well that they planned a dinner date sometime this week. In fact, it was to be last night. Now because Adam was already busy last night, lucky me got to go in his stead. So Chris bundled up and I bundled down (as you folks well know) and we set off. I could not wait to have dinner with a mysterious old couple that I never met.
I was very curious as to what we were going to talk about for the duration of dinner. By the end of the night, though, all I wanted to do was talk to these two folks four five more hours. Their names were Jane and Walter. Jane's an American who came to Vienna through IES in 1951. While here, she met Walter (I believe a Slovenian or German or Austrian man). We went to a rather famous Heuriger (wine cellar/restaurant) named Esterhazykeller. One of the many fascinating stories told by Walter was a tale that took place at one of those tables where a once anti-semitic friend of his stood on a table and apologized to everyone in the restaurant for the doings of the Nazis. Another Nazi-related story he told his captivated audience made up of Schweppe, Chris and I was about how at the age of 10 or so, he touched once touched Adolf Hitler. I could be real mean and and leave that as ambiguous as possible, but I'd never do that. He was with his father who was a member of the Nazi party and at some event where Hitler drove past wee little Walter who had the foresight to touch the arm of The Mass Murderer. Pretty wild eh? We spent about three hours in that Heuriger sipping on delicious white wine, eating tasty Viennese meat and vegetables, and discussing our lives and aspirations. It was magical. They were so interested in a couple of American music-loving 20 year olds and we were so interested in their intriguing stories, lives, and environmental work. Yeah, that's right...they're a couple of environmentalists who live in Mariazell (in the countryside where I spent my first weekend abroad) and Vienna. I hope...we all hope to see them again.
Prost! Cheers!
Daniel
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