La Fête des Rois Mages, Epiphanie

Well here we are in January 2014 the New Year has started and we are at the last holiday of the Christmas Season, Epiphany.

The weather in Canada has been frigid and made for a difficult start for this new year, power failures in major cities, snowfall, extremely cold weather. During the Season we travelled to see family and we entertained friends and neighbours at home, we were also the guests of friends for dinner.

H. Bosch, Adoration of the Magi, c. 1499

We also celebrated with our friends L & Y in Montreal their first wedding anniversary at the restaurant of the Sofitel with a nice champagne luncheon. They had kept their nuptials secret for one year and announced it by sending a beautiful agenda of their courtship with photos. A real labour of love given the elaborate script in 3 languages.

Plum Pudding flambé at dinner on New Year's Eve 

We had our traditional Plum Pudding flambé and some good champagne, one bottle being a Moet et Chandon 2004 vintage. It had a wonderful taste of crisp apples and honey. We listened to the traditional 74th edition of the Vienna New Year's Day Concert from the Golden Hall of the MusikVerein on Austrian Radio. We also played operettas by Franz Lehar and Will waltzed with Nora who was a bit lost.

We also received from our friend J.H. his traditional Christmas Fruit Cake, for the last 30 years each year we get one and they are superb. I do not think that even a person who is not fond of fruit cakes would be able to resist his creation. In a class by itself, I do not know how he does it, if there is some secret in the recipe but they are unlike any other fruit cake made by anyone.

John's Fruit Cake 2014

2014 is a Municipal Election Year in Ottawa and in Ontario for that matter. In Ottawa voting day is October 27.  Lots of new challengers to the posts on City Council and Mayor Jim Watson is running again. The issues are multiple, from the LRT train tunnel construction, public transit, intensification of the centre core of the Capital, re-development of major city streets and the new plan favouring pedestrians and cyclists. Possibly a more European approach to city life.

We are also celebrating the 450 Birthday of William Shakespeare and the 150 Birthday of composer Richard Strauss. It is also the centennial year of the start of the First World War (1914-2014) which had a great impact on Canada as a Nation.

In 2014 we are travelling to Salzburg, Austria for the Music Festival in early June and to Stratford, Ontario for the Shakespeare Theatre Festival.

Prosit NeuJahr!

Vienna, Wein, Sunday

It is January and still cold in Vienna, -6C today, it was -10C last night, normal temperatures for this time of year. We went to the Opera and then later had a late dinner at the Café of the Opera which is open until midnight. Walked quickly to out hotel because of the cold down Kartner Strasse. Today, we visited the Albertina which is located by the Hofburg palace, there is currently an exhibit on native South-African William Kentridge, displaying sketches, animated film projections on various topic, like colonialism, the cultural history of post-revolutionary Russia, Apartheid. I liked the short film on The Nose from Gogol's writing.  See www.albertina.at

From the Albertina view of the Hofburg (new palace wing)

Afterwards we visited a special exhibit at the old Imperial Library built by Emperor Charles VI now known as the Austrian National Library on the 100 anniversary of the Opera Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, it was first premiered in Dresden in January 1911. The history of this opera which became an instant hit in Europe, beautifully presented in the great hall of the library.

Austrian National Library, Augustus hall, it is part of the Hofburg complex.

There are 200,000 books on the shelves and many more in the archives, all of which is being digitalized, many books are centuries old and very fragile. We saw a map on display from the 5th century of the Imperial Roman Postal system, showing the routes taken to deliver mail throughout the Empire. This is what I like about Vienna, there is always an exhibit, something going on that you have never seen.

Dome ceiling the apotheosis of Emperor Charles VI

The book shelves hide secret doors where more books can be viewed.

Door to the Office of the Director General of the Austrian National Library.

We are now relaxing at our hotel, tonight we take the over night train to Rome arriving at Termini tomorrow morning at 09:15am. Apparently the temperature in Rome is +15C.