Part 18: Tis’ the Season

If you work at a school, the busiest times of the year are just before the end of the quarter/semester and just before major breaks.  So, my last few weeks have been incredibly busy and sleep-deprived and I am now procrastinating on my giant pile of grading that has recently fallen by the wayside as I became more and more busy with other things, such as:

1.  Balkan dance for the Christmas Concert.  Every year the student Balkan dance group and the parent Balkan dance group perform at the Christmas Concert and a special group of teachers (mostly international, though a few Bulgarians join in) is created.  So, we had a few practices to learn our dances, or horas, and work out our line-up, by height (I was in the "short" section, imagine that).  We also got to wear traditional Bulgarian dresses.  They were red wool (i.e. hot) with a white under dress and a bright, multicolored apron.  They don’t do much for your shape.  They mostly make you look very square, like a sturdy peasant woman that spends her days milking cows and churning butter, but they do make it possible to dance outside in the snow without getting cold. 

Wednesday night was the first performance.  A lot of parents and alumni came to the evening performance.  No one fell off the stage and it was a lot of fun.  Afterwards, we went to the alumni reception to eat free food.  Thursday afternoon was the second performance that most of the students go to.  Needless to say, we got a lot of applause.  After the concert, we went outside and formed a giant line to dance in the snow with everyone.  It was fun and I only slipped and fell once. 

2.  Christmas parties and Secret Santas.  We had our faculty party, complete with Santa, last Friday.  The food was great and almost everyone from the school came.  We also found out (though most of us had already guessed) who our Secret Santas were.  My was Z, from the public relations office.  She gave me a really nice planner and picture frame.  I gave gifts to R, who really liked the scarf I got him almost as much as the cookies I’d given to him earlier in the week.  P played Santa.  And oh, what a Santa he was.  Very jolly but otherwise indescribable.  Let’s just say he was awesome and future Santas will have trouble living up the standard he set. 

The international teachers also did a Secret Santa and party, which is nice since we don’t have our families here and most of us aren’t going home for Christmas.  A. cooked great food for all of us and we exchanged our gifts.  Oddly, B was my Secret Santa and I was hers.  We were the only two people that had each other and neither of us figured it out before the party.  I got some pepper-nuts (tiny gingerbread cookies) and a clock-picture frame combo- sorry, a blue clock-picture frame combo.  All my favorite things rolled into one. 

3.  Going to see the Nutcracker.  I enjoyed the performance, but it was unlike any Nutcracker I’ve ever seen before.  They didn’t seem to have enough strong dancers to fill all the parts, so Clara and the Nutcracker were pulling double duty.  She danced the Sugar Plum Fairy and they both danced in place of the Snow King and Queen.  Also, the choreographer was a huge fan of the flexed foot.  When the characters are dolls, this makes sense, but they continued this in the second act when they are alive and it drove me crazy.  Also, the characters (like the Russian dancers) had “Buzz Lightyear chop chop arms” (anyone from my dance class knows what I mean).  It was part of the choreography, but drove me crazy.  I guess I just prefer a little more ballet in my ballet.  Still, it was a fun diversion from all the work that was piling up at home. 

4.  Christmas Eve dinner.  The internationals that are left on campus today are having dinner tonight, which means that after I am done with this post, I am going to the grocery store to buy food so I can cook something to bring.  Cooking… yay. 

5.  Planning for Italy J  Ok, so due to all the aforementioned things, we still haven’t really planned well for Italy, but we have places to stay and plane tickets, so that is a start.  Anyway, I’m leaving on the 26^th and won’t be back until Jan 5.  I’m excited for warmer weather and pizza and NO WORK!

Until I get back, Весела Коледа и щастлива нова година everyone! 

Alexander Nevski Cathedral in the Snow

Part 17: The AmCham Christmas Party, Dec 7

All school employees are invited to the American Chamber of Commerce Christmas Party each year.  Apparently, it is the “party of the year.”  However, the guy saying this works for the chamber, so he may be a little biased.  I don’t really party like a rock star (as the saying goes), but I still had fun. 

We finally made it through Sofia traffic and arrived at the Sheraton where the party was taking place.  On the way to the coat check I almost fell down the stairs and died, but managed to recover by swinging my arms back so rapidly that I threw my gloves back up the stairs. 

Upstairs the party was very crowded, but I managed to find some food, get my water (straight up, of course) and found the table with the rest of the people I knew. 

I’m not really a drinker, but I find it interesting to watch how the night progresses for those that do drink.  Straight-laced, “I don’t dance” men end up with ties on their heads, swaying to the music.  Some people get very friendly (I haven’t been hugged that much since August).  Then there are the older women put me to shame on the dance floor.   I can dance, but only if it is choreographed for me.  Not that my lack of impromptu dancing skills keeps me off the floor.    

Anyway, once my ears were bleeding from the extremely loud music (I’m sort of an old woman in that regard), we headed out.  We grabbed a taxi being driven by a man who apparently can’t understand Bulgarian when you have an American accent.  We said the address at least three times before he figured out what we meant.  Then, we wanted to stop at McDonalds for some French fries.  And so began the best part of my night. 

My roommate K, asked him to stop at McDonalds (and she asked in Bulgarian).  He didn’t get it at all.  So we all started saying, “McDonalds, McDonalds.”  My other roommate S added, “Golden arches”(needless to say, that didn’t clear it up for him).  Finally we were close enough to point to McDonalds and he says, “Oh!  MacDonalds!”  McDonalds vs. MacDonalds?  Really? 

Anyway, he starts laughing and the taxi ride becomes hilarious.  As we pull up to the window, he informs the worker that we speak English, but we order our fried potatoes in Bulgarian, while he keeps laughing.  When our food gets handed to us, he even checks to make sure we got our sauce. 

He also tried to talk to us about where he is from or where we are from.  It was confusing.  Something about Italy and Germany and who knows where else.  It ultimately ended with him comparing his skin tone to my pastiness and laughing (but I’m used to that since that happens everywhere).  We then continue on, him laughing at our MacDonalds and us trying to give directions to the school, since he didn’t really know where we were going. 

We finally made it.  We laughed, said “thank you” and ciao and went to our house to eat our McDonalds. 

Now that my ears have stopped ringing, I’m going to sleep. 

Part 16:ViennaNovember 24-27

For the Thanksgiving holiday, Vienna seemed to be the destination of choice, as 6 of us independently ended up there.  The Christmas Markets were a big draw for some, with their ornaments and mulled wine, as for me, I pretty much just like going places, so I tag along for the ride. 

We left Sofia early on Thursday morning and landed in Vienna around 10 am.  We then proceeded to take the train into downtown.  That’s when the adventure started.  It took us over an hour to find our hostel.  We had to stop at a McDonald’s (where you have to pay for ketchup, what’s up with that?) to Google map it again.  However, once we were there, we headed out again to start some major walking. 

We didn’t really know what we wanted to do for sure, so we decided to do a walking tour of Vienna from the guidebook I had downloaded to my Kindle (which was very handy, but my hands were frozen from having to keep taking them out of my pockets to hold it, in spite of the fact that I was wearing gloves).  Our tour was supposed to start at the Opera House, so we began heading that way.  On the way, I saw a Steinway piano store.  Be still my heart.  If you are not a piano player or you have never had the experience of playing a Steinway, you probably won’t understand.  Let me put it this way, Steinways are to piano players as Iowa is to pork (the best, obviously).  Sigh.  Ok, moving on.

We made it to the Opera.  The Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) was built in 1863 and was highly criticized for its appearance upon its opening.  However, it grew into a renowned Opera that has hosted all the greats.   In 1945, it was hit by an allied bomb and most of it was destroyed except for the very front entrance and salons and the emperor’s lounge.  It was rebuilt (obviously), but now most of the building has a 1950’s style to it, since recreating the 1800’s style was cost-prohibitive. 

We then walked past the Hotel Sacher, a popular hangout for spies in WWII, the Albertina Museum (which we didn’t go to, but had its steps done up to look like a Monet painting) and the Memorial Against War and Fascism.  It is a very graphic memorial, which if you’re warning against something, makes sense. 

Our next stop was the Church of the Capuchin Friars.  It is a very unimpressive building that was built in the 1630’s.  The impressiveness comes from below, where every Hapsburg ruler since 1633 has been buried.  None of the titles are included with the names.  The questions “Who comes here,” is a traditional question during the burial ritual and the answer (on the monarch’s behalf) is, “We come with a sinful mortal.”  However, that is where the humility ends.  The vaults are very impressive.  Baroque style coffins are something to behold. 

Walking, we also passed Vienna’s famous auction house (the Dorotheum) and several buildings of the Hofburg Palace complex, including the National Library.  Continuing on, we saw the parliament building and the Burgtheatre, wherein we were sidetracked by the amazing Vienna City hall and the giant Christmas Market in front of it, where my friend finally broke down and bought a pair of gloves. 

After a few more churches (there were a lot of churches on this tour), we arrived at the Plague Column.  This ornate column was erected by Emperor Leopold I in thanks to God for delivering Vienna from the Black Plague in 1693.  At the top, of course is God, but Leopold is on there as well, praying for deliverance.  By this time we were on the fancy shopping streets that are pedestrian only (although, in Vienna, cars actually stop for pedestrians rather than speed up, so it is less needed).  There is a tree trunk, preserved in a building behind glass that was a place journeymen would hammer a nail into to signify putting down roots.  The tree lived from 1400-1440 and some of the nails were added while the tree was alive.  Then, we saw St. Stephan’s Cathedral.  The largest church in the Austro-Hungarian Empire after it was finished in 1433.  Whew.  Like I said, we walked a lot. 

We then went and me our other friends for Thanksgiving dinner (totally legit with turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie) at 1516 Brewing Co.  Clearly, a restaurant that caters to ex-pats and not Austrians. 

Day 2 started out with lots of fog and a trip through the royal treasury.  Lots of gold (which would become a theme for the trip) and jewels and robes and tunics from the 1100’s that somehow survived.  One of the crowns in the treasury was also seen on a skull carved on a coffin from the crypt the day before.  Very cool. 

After the treasury, we went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum.  Located in a former palace-type building, it is a great art museum.  It holds a lot of ancient Greek and Egyptian art as well as lots of the Dutch masters (such as Rembrandt).  Plus, there was a really interesting exhibition on winter paintings.  We learned about the symbolism and the development of paintings made to represent and take place in this season.  There was even a crucifixion scene that someone had painted in snow (which is probably not how that actually happened, but, you know, art). 

We went to eat at the Naschmarkt, a giant open-air market (which must be incredibly cold in January).  We had great food.  I had a chicken wrap, which doesn’t sound all that impressive, but it was really good.  And, it was my birthday dinner J  That evening, we took in yet another Christmas Market by St. Charles Church (Karlskirche).  On the way home, I wanted chocolate cake.  Where, you ask, did we find chocolate cake?  McDonald’s.  The McCafe, to be specific.  So, while I felt ridiculous getting my birthday cake at McDonald’s, at least I got cake.  Besides, it was a super classy McDonald’s with columns and crown molding. 

Day 3 we went to St. Stephan’s early in the morning.  I learned that I love Gothic Churches.  They are not covered with stuff from wall to wall, but have many interesting architectural elements and carvings.  It was really impressive.  It even had 3 pipe organs, one of which was gigantic.  We then climbed the 343 steps (almost all spiral staircase- we were a little dizzy) to the top of the south tower.  The north tower has an elevator, but it was never finished, so the view is not as good.  Besides, we’re young, right?  The view was amazing.  Well worth the climb.  Then, on the way back down, we saw some gargoyles out one of the windows. 

From St. Stephan’s, we went to the Hofburg Palace.  First the ticket gets you in to see the royal dinner service.  I know that doesn’t sound that interesting, but it is basically rooms of solid gold plates, candle sticks, serving dishes, salad dressing holders, and butter dishes.  Along with some silver sets and more china patterns than JC Penny.  It probably took us 30 minutes to walk through it all before entering the palace rooms and the Sissy Museum. 

Sissy, or Empress Elizabeth, was 5’8” and 108 lbs.  She was tall and thin and has the typical story of hating the monarchy and wishing her husband was not the emperor.  She was very interesting and sadly was assassinated.  But, you can Google her, if you really want to know.  The palace was done up in red and it was beautiful.  It was interesting, however, that the emperor’s bed was basically twin sized and the empress’s was not much larger.  They almost looked out of place in the grandiose rooms.  Interesting fact: the emperor was the only monarch in Europe that had open audiences once a week.  Basically, any subject of the kingdom could come and the emperor would hear their concerns. 

After the palace, we went on a tour of the Opera house (see above paragraph for the main details).  It was really beautiful inside and I was really impressed by the stage.  It is a 200m deep stage anyway, and then there is an additional 200m of backstage.  So, it is 400m deep.  Then the side stages are 50m a piece.  This is humongous.  Also, the lifts and hydraulic system for moving set pieces is impressive.  They can drop an entire set through the floor, push it backwards, and then raise another set in less than a minute.  This is handy, since they do a different production every night.  Additionally, the opera house employs 1,000 people (the Vienna airport employs 4,000).  That is a production in its own right.   We then went to the Opera museum across the street and looked at some fabulous costumes.

Since we were in Vienna, we decided we should walk by the Blue Danube (we even hummed the waltz to make it extra authentic), so we did some more walking.  Down by the river and then to the Prater, which is an amusement park with a giant observation wheel.  We subway’d back to the Opera House to get in line for 4 Euro standing (though, I was almost willing to pay for a chair at this point) tickets to that night’s production, a modern ballet “Schritte Und Spuren.”  Parts were really beautiful, and parts were really strange.  You know, it was modern dance. 

The next day I got up early to go to Mass.  Ok, so I wasn’t really interested in the Mass part (especially since it was in German and I don’t speak German… at all) so much as the Vienna Boys Choir that performs at said Mass.  I was excited and you know, they were kinda good. 

Then I walked back to the hostel, pried our luggage from the stuffed (and I do mean stuffed) luggage room and headed to the airport. 

Overall, here is my impression of Vienna:  It was fun and beautiful and impressive.  I cannot function in German, at all.  However, it was nice to blend in since I look very German (I definitely do not look Bulgarian).  Ultimately, it was a city and I’m sort of a country girl at heart.  So, it was a fun trip, but Auf Wiedersehen, Vienna.  I don’t think I’ll be coming back.