Grimmingtor from Ödensee

Sonnenwendfeuer

Last night I was invited to experience the Solstice Fires in the Ennstal. This is one of those unbelievably ancient and inspirational traditions in which I’ve been privileged to take part the past few months. I walked to my friends’ house in Raumberg and had a light dinner of salad of fresh garden vegetables, meats, and cheeses with pumpkin seed oil (available at Calandros South, $13). Then we went for a walk to gather the 11 flowers, leaves and grasses for a solstice nosegay (only Zittergras eluded us). The fireflies (called glow worms here) were just coming out as we returned to town. In the distance, an oompah band played Austrian Volksmusik.

At sundown bonfires are lit on the mountain peaks in a scene reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings. It wasn’t quite that dramatic, but we could see a good 10 fires from the terrace at Raumberg school. Imagine, people have to climb the mountains with all the wood for the bonfire on their backs, then they have to walk back down the mountain in the dark. With binoculars we could see a long line of people with head lamps walking down the mountain trail. We even caught a glimpse of a fire on the Grimming but it was so windy up there that it couldn’t be kept going.

We went back to the house and had drinks and cake on the balcony, then at midnight my friends walked me halfway home.

My most authentic Austrian experiences (hiking, sledding, etc.) have been with Franz and Eva, who also happen to be one of the happiest married couples in the Ennstal. Their secret? “Little compromises every day...” Unfortunately, they were unable to produce a nice Austrian man for me to jump over a fire with at midnight so that we could enjoy the same bliss F & E share!

Irene's Garden, Pt. 2

When I was in preschool, the teacher sent a note home to my parents indicating that my artistic talents should be fostered. Although I've had some success with various projects and crafts over the years, I've never really taken it seriously. But Irene's garden is so inspirational with its sculptures and flowers, that I have taken to sketching scenes that catch my fancy. This is one of my better attempts:


Besides read, write, and sketch in Irene's garden, I am allowed to do three things for the good of the order:

1) Weed the terrace
2) Weed the pebbled walkways
3) divert mosquitos from biting Irene


As a result of last night's weeding, I woke up with about 30 mosquito bites! What exactly are the consequences of too much mosquito venom, I wonder?

Wo man sich wirklich wohl fühlen kann...

Hard to believe, but I have just about a week left in Irdning. Sitting here in my apartment, I can smell the warm scent of mock orange on the evening breeze, and when I think about leaving this place, I start to get all weepy. The first year has been FABULOUS and I am so happy to be returning for 2008/09. I know wonderful new adventures await in Iowa and Louisiana this summer, but even so, I feel like I really belong *here* in the Ennstal. There is something about the people, the pace of life, and being surrounded by nature that I simply can't get enough of!

www.disapprovingrabbits.com

Looking back on everything I've done over the past year, it seems like my whole life has been leading up to this point. And although I've had my ups and downs, I am generally happier than I've ever been, doing things I really enjoy (writing, sketching, getting paid to read books, watch movies, speak English and explain the idiosyncracies of American culture!). I've made some good friends, live in an apartment where the rent is reasonable, my roommate agreeable, and my landlady does my laundry. I can hop on a bus or train any time and go to a concert, a festival, a museum, or just poke around a new town to say I've been there!

I've also reconnected with music, although I'm one of the five people on the face of the planet who does not own, or want, an iPod. Right now, I'm listening to the dB's on my laptop, and echo their sentiment: "I feel good, good today..." and "It's good to be alive!"

Germany!

Last summer I went to my friend Alli's wedding in Germany. This was a glorious event but the time we spent at her home was too short. So she invited me and another friend from LSU to visit her this past weekend.

Friday I took the train for 10 hours from Irdning (did I mention that Alli is a GOOD friend?!) Alli met me at the train station and I invited her to dinner at the local Döner shop. Döners are a little bit like gyros or schwarma, and the ones in Betzdorf are the best I've ever tasted. We then proceeded to her hometown which consists of (I am not making this up) two houses and several farm buildings. We were warmly received by her mom, dad, and grandmother. Because it was so cold, we sat on a bench next to the wood burning stove in the entry way, drinking wine and eating peanut flips (like cheese curls but peanut flavored). We stayed up til 2:30 am talking !

The next day Alli's dad set off for a motorcycle ride to Austria. When Charly left, Alli and I drove into Betzdorf to pick up her friend Todd who had taken a night train from Paris. We went shopping, then returned to Schmalenbach and had a fabulous breakfast. Todd was ready to "crash and burn" (one of my favorite expressions) so Alli and I went on a tour of the region. Oh.my.goodness, what a beautiful area she lives in! We visited the castle in Crottorf which is still the residence of Count Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg-Dönhoff, and the charming town of Freudenburg with its "zebra houses." When we got back, Alli's uncle Peter and Aunt Ruth from Dortmund had arrived. We had coffee and cake with them, then started cooking for the evening meal. We had been invited for a BBQ but the weather was not cooperating.

We went for a nice walk with Aunt Ruth, then we all got ready for church. Alli's father in law died a couple of days before, and her husband and kids were in Michigan. So we went to a mass at exactly the same time as the funeral so that we could stand in solidarity with Brian and his family.

When we got back from mass, the real festivities began. We were joined by Alli's brother Volker and his wife Steffi, Alli's friend Birgit and her daughter Michelle. There were 10 of us at dinner which lasted well into the morning hours. I think I went to bed at 1:00 am, and had to get up relatively early the next morning to begin my journey home. Alli's mom, Christl, made me a nice lunch to take on the train with me, and Alli and Todd took me to the train station. Ten hours (!) later I was back in Irdning.

The Flood of '08

Special to the Press-Citizen, Corey Schjoth

You may recall that fifteen years ago (1993) the Midwest had a 500 year flood. Well, the flood of 2008 is said to be even worse! Thanks to all of you who have emailed to ask about my folks.

Our cabin in southeast Iowa sustained damage caused by a falling tree (actually took out two other trees and the picnic table as well). The house in Iowa City is fine, which is more than I can say for the University of Iowa. Among the buildings built along the Iowa River are the library (!), art museum (!!), Hancher Auditorium, the Union, and the English-Philosophy building where I'm supposed to participate in a writer's workshop July 6-11! In total, 19 buildings have some water damage already, and the University of Iowa Hospital has postponed clinics until June 20.

Cabin Damage in Roberts' Park

Currently there is no direct route from Iowa City to Cedar Rapids, a mere 30 miles to the north. The detour takes you 4.5 hours through DES MOINES!

For more pictures, see here: http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

You don't see that every day (Pt. 2)

Look! It's a naked snail! (quarter for scale) The six-inch black ones are rare, but there were hundreds of the 4-inch reddish brown ones in the garden in Vienna. Maybe it's a good thing that we had to hold the party indoors!

You don't see that every day!

This little fella is a hummingbird moth. He's about an inch long with a 1.5 inch wingspan. These critters frequent tidy European gardens and zoom from blossom to blossom, drinking nectar and generally being precious.

Dreams of a Court Jester

When we give a party back in the States, don't we usually just invite a few people over and provide a bit of food? Not my friends Kurt and Annemarie! They plan their annual summer party up to a year ahead of time, complete with theme, entertainment, gallery exhibit, artistic contributions (music, literary readings, interpretive dance, you name it...) and enough food to feed people for three days! They are also kind enough to schedule the party on a day when I can come, even if I have to travel from the States to do it. I usually come a couple of days early and help with all the preparations.

K & A live near the Central Cemetery in Vienna (they always joke that they have very quiet and famous neighbors -- Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert...) and their first party in 2005 was a celebration of life and death and love and art. Well, y'all know that's essentially carpe diem, so I read Horace's Carpe Diem poem (I.11) in Latin. Pictures of the cemetery taken by Annemarie were displayed with poems that Kurt had written. They set up the garden with tables and benches, and decorated with tombstones and eternal lights (did I mention that Kurt's dad is a stone mason?). They set the bar pretty high with that first party, let me tell you!

In 2006 they had a Dilettante Fest with a terrific invitation (which I could post if Blogspot would let me link .pdfs!). Last year I missed the festivities, which made it all the more important to participate fully this year.

The theme of this year's party was Dreams of a Court Jester. The weather wasn't very cooperative, so most everything took place indoors. The party began with a reading from a children's book which was projected on the living room wall. Then Kurt's colleague, Kurt, read from the memoirs of an 18th c. court jester in Austria. We broke for food, which included a MamPaPaul's King Cake from Louisiana. We changed the rules so that whoever found the baby was a "fool." You were also a "fool" if you didn't take a book (K & A collect books all year long to give away at the party).

I opened the second half of the festivities with a poem by Don Marquis entitled "The Jesters." This was followed by a performance by a mime troupe, called "Träume des Hofnarren" (Dreams of a Court Jester - hence the theme of the party!)

As a final treat, one of Kurt's current students, Bryn from California, performed some original compositions to enormous crowd response. We will forgive her for not knowing "Me and Bobby McGee" because she was born nearly 20 years after Janis Joplin's death!

The party broke up rather early (normally the last party-goers leave about 3:00 am), probably because we weren't sitting outside enjoying the cool evening breezes. I have it easy because I am the only guest who simply gets to fall into bed at the end of the hall. And the best thing about Kurt and Annemarie's party is that the next day we get to sleep until noon, and have leftover chocolate cake for breakfast!!

Here's a link to Andreas' photos: http://gallery.monitzer.com/main.php?g2_itemId=71724 There's quite a good one of me eating chocolate mousse that I was a little too modest to put on the blog!

And now for something completely different!

The following are pictures that Irene took on her trip to Nepal. I'll let the quality and subject matter speak for themselves!

Street vendor (note sacred cow)

Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man

Eye Temple (Boudnanath Stupa) Kathmandu

Monks at sunset

Sadu

Wise old woman with piercings