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!

January 1, Buon Anno!

On this sunny and cold morning of 1 January 2014, Feast of the Circumcision of the Infant Jesus.  A Happy New Year to you all!

Here is a photo of the snow sleigh of Frederick Lord Stanley of Preston, Governor General of Canada taken in 1893. Notice the attendants in heavy furs. Probably beaver or black bear fur to keep warm.
This photo was taken by the huge toboggan run which back then allowed people to slide from the cliff above the Ottawa river all the way down, quite the ride.

Of course the other tradition today is the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna, the 74th year, which is broadcasted around the world. The Viennese have made New Year their Holiday par excellence, to the point that the World thinks of Austria when thinking of the first of the year.

I love listening to the concert each year, this year Daniel Barenboim will conduct from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. We are reminded that 2014 marks the 100 anniversary of the First World War which saw so many dramatic changes in the World and the end of Empire in Austria. Let's not forget that 2014 is the 150th Anniversary of Richard Strauss (1864-1949).

http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at

Prosit 2014!

The Skateway on the Rideau Canal is open from Somerset street to the Bank Street bridge. Happy skating to all.

Wir wünschen Ihnen PROSIT NEUJAHR!!

This is an portion of the New Year Concert broadcasted each year by the Austrian Radio Service, ORF. This year with the broadcasting of the concert, the dance-waltz portion was filmed at the Shönbrunn Palace, which just completed a 20 year renovation project at a cost of 682 Million Euros.

This concert comes every year from the Golden hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, in 2013 we  celebrate the bicentennial of Verdi and Richard Wagner. The concert today under the baton of  Franz Welser-Möst, General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera, conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. This concert is somewhat different from previous years with pieces by Verdi and Wagner and the Strauss Family of course. I re-worked this entry since publication; Correction, I have now learned that the Blue Danube and the Radetsky March are not part of the usual programme and are an encore, some broadcasters may not carry these encore pieces.

It also seems to me that there are more modest floral arrangements compared with past years, last year they were lavish if not extravagant. Nonetheless they are beautiful. If you wish to attend this yearly event you can do so by going to the site of the ORF.

http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/2013_nyc.html

You must register between January 2 and 23 at the site if you wish to purchase tickets. Tickets are drawn by lot. Lucky winners will be notified at the end of March and details given on how to complete the purchase. Tickets are fairly expensive to this prestigious concert.

 Josef Strauss, Hesperus' Paths Waltz.



Finally after reviewing again the Concert and comparing it with other years, I am left somewhat not as happy with this year's edition. The conductor FWM leaves me somewhat indifferent in his style of conducting. So I am wondering is this concert becoming a little too commercial? I should point out that there are other New Year Concerts in the world, one my attention was brought too is the Capodanno Concert from La Fenice Opera House in Venice.

In the end it remains beautiful music.

First Day of the rest of my Life.

Well today marks my official retirement day from the Foreign Service, so I am officially a pensioner now. Would like to join these fellows ( see photo below), smart uniform, nice hat, living in London in Chelsea no less. Apparently I do not fit the bill to become a pensioner at the Royal Chelsea Hospital, pity, I do fancy those tricorne hats.

At any rate I am busy with different projects as a volunteer at the National Gallery of Canada and at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Social Sciences. I have the dogs to look after and lots of other things, like Mr. W. I have also started to read more books, thanks to our friend in London, D.N. who has come up with lots of nice books I can order on my Kindle. What I like about the Kindle is it takes no space at all and books are a lot cheaper electronically, I love reading so its a good fit. I just started reading Sonechka by Ludmila Ulitskaya, a very popular Russian author at the moment.

What is fun about retirement is that I have no stress anymore about the job and what to say and not say and a million details about policy and decisions. I can also express an opinion now which I could not before since I had to be mindful of Government Policy or position papers. Someone said once that being retired was like getting out of jail, I see what they meant now.

Strangely enough I just learned of the death of General Norman Schwarzkopf who led the American forces in Kuwait against Iraq in 1991, I remember that time well, I was posted to Cairo and we went down to the Suez Canal to see the Canadian Warships cruise down towards the Red Sea. These were events that marked my years there.

So this is my new image now, having lunch in Vienna in the old greenhouse of the Hofburg Palace

Or watching the Tiber flow by on Tiberina Island in the centre of Rome

To celebrate this first day we are going to Al's Steak House on Elgin street, love the place, it is a sort of a Who's Who spot and they have my favourites on the menu like the giant shrimp cocktail served with the spicy sauce and the steaks are always done perfectly, good wines and good friendly service, very much the way restaurants use to be 40 years ago, best of all no families and no kids. Have nothing against children, I just believe they should not be seen.

Blue bird of Happiness!

Today I went to the Notre-Dame Cathedral on Sussex Drive in Ottawa to the Advent-Christmas Carol Service in the presence of the Archbishop. The weather was especially bad today making the short drive treacherous. There were quite a few Lutheran and otherwise Protestant music pieces in what was suppose to be a Roman Catholic Service. We had 3 choirs, two in front of the High Altar and one in the balcony above the main entrance where the Casavant organ is located. The music was accompanied by the organ, a piano and a brass ensemble. It was a very nice concert-service, unfortunately because of the bad weather is was not so well attended. The Cathedral dates from 1841 and is a magnificent building in high Gothic Canadian style which is somewhat like Austrian Rococo, overly busy.

While listening to Radio Swiss Classic I heard this piece sung by Placido Domingo. It is a Christmas Motet by Austrian composer Johann Ritter Von Herbeck, (1831-1877), Pueri Concinite. The first composition though was by Jacob Handl (1550-1591) Herbeck will rework the music and give it a different tonality.

You Tube has several versions and not of equal value or quality. However this one by the Vienna Boys Choir, is somewhat good. I would have preferred the Domingo rendition but it seems that a Boys Choir is the favoured way of presenting this piece. The other singer who recorded this in concert is Jean-Baptiste Maunier of Les Choristes, the problem I find is his strong French accent which colours the Latin pronunciation, though is voice is beautiful and especially so if he sings a French song.

Intermède musical, Emile Waldteufel, valse Flots de Joie, Auf Glückes Wogen

Brimming with joy, Flots de Joie, Auf Glückes Wogen

Emile Waldteufel (1837-1915) born to an Alsatian Family in Strasbourg, he went to study music in Paris and spent the rest of his life there. He had a very famous orchestra and was Court Pianist during the Second French Empire, often playing for Empress Eugénie. After 1870 he became a favourite of the French Presidents and often played at the Elysée Palace. He also had admirers in England in Queen Victoria and her son the Prince of Wales. His style is said to be more languid and anthem like very different than the style of Johann Strauss who was more robust in his waltz composition. Pianist are said to like Waldteufel's work because it is easier to play. He is well known for his most famous Skater's Waltz, a favourite in winter everywhere.

Wien Meidling Bahnhof to Roma Termini

We boarded our train this Sunday evening at 19:29 for our night ride to Rome. Meidling is being used at this time apparently because the Sud-Bahnhof Wein is under re-construction, not surprised it was fairly old, 1950 vintage full of big staircases, no escalators and no elevators, try managing that with luggage. Meidling is modern, well organized and is also connected to regional train lines and the S-Bahn (subway). This being Sunday night, Vienna is fairly quiet, so we bought our dinner to go at NordSee which deals exclusively in seafood and fish, very fresh and so good. We got 2 tuna wraps and 6 giant shrimps with cocktail sauce, and then we got some nougat and nuts at a shop next door. Vienna has little to offer on a Sunday night so you have to plan ahead. The overnight train to Rome does not have a restaurant car but the Steward can bring you, wine and schnapps, beer, coffee, tea, juice and water. They will also serve continental breakfast in the morning.

Our suite on board the train is very comfortable and private, we have a small sit-bedroom, full bath with shower, towels etc. Lots of young Austrian soldiers on board tonight, they are probably going to Klagenfurt or Villach in southern Austria, very polite in their uniform. We will cross the border into Italy at Villach, which is a very small village with the sad distinction that it received more bombs in the final days of the Second World War than Berlin, incredible but true. The reason being that much of the German army retreating from Italy made a desperate last stands there to no avail. Then we enter Italy at Tarvisio Boscoverde, unto Venezia, Ferrara, Bologna, Firenze, Orvieto and finally Rome.

We had a great vacation in Austria like always but we are looking forward to coming home to our puppies Nicholas and Eleonora who will be two years old in February.

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. 

The New Year MMXI, Auguri!!!!

Here we are, a new year, moving forward, life waits for no one.

We had a lovely New Year's Eve dinner last night, excellent food and wines. Just 7 guests, a fun table at home, the dining room decorated in a Silver and White theme. The menu was Foie Gras from Provence with a Sauternes, Chateau d'Arches 2003, followed by a Polish Mushroom soup, an old family recipe of one of our guest, it was very good, the mushroom porcini delicious. Then two roast Capons with pea concassé, accompanied by a white wine Flere from Cerveteri,Tenuta Tre Cancelli, for dessert plum pudding with hard sauce and a red wine Le Malvasie 2005, Cantine del Mattino, Salento and at midnight Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin, vintage 2002.

Then this morning, we listened to an old recording of the operette A night in Venice by Johann Strauss II with Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Nicolai Gedda and Erich Kunz.  Then to the live broadcast of the traditional Vienna New Year Day Concert from the Golden Saal of the Grosser MusikVerein with the Wiener Philarmonic Orchestra in Vienna on RAI 2, Franz Welser-Möst, conducting. The Golden Saal was decorated with massif of white and pink roses and lush green garlands. There is always a sequence from the StaatsOper with the dance company dancing in the grand salon and the grand staircase of the Opera house, again the flower arrangements are spectacular.

New Year's Day always has lots of promises, one of which is that Spring is coming. For us we finalized our trip to Padua, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna at the end of January. We got tickets to go to the Opera in Vienna, which is always fun. It is also our last 7 months in Rome, so will make the most of it.

Now off to make soup stock from the capon bones. A very Happy New Year to all.

No Kangoroos in Austria!

We are at gate B34 at Vienna Airport waiting for our flight home to Rome on Alitalia. The neat thing about this airport is that the internet access is FREE. We had a wonderful time and now we want to go home. Tomorrow morning I go pick-up Nicky and Nora at the farm. They are apparently doing well visiting with family in the countryside. Very impressed with the service in Austria and the country as a whole, we always enjoy our visits here. Luckily this is a short flight 90 minutes to Rome.

The weather throughout the vacation was a little uncertain, today per example we had hot and humid and windy and cold all day, on and off, sunny and dark clouds. No wonder people catch colds, you do not know how to dress from hour to hour.

On our last day we went to visit the Belvedere Palace in Vienna,in fact 2 palaces the upper and lower belvedere, once the Residence of Prince Eugene of Savoie-Carignan,a French noble at the service of the Hapsburg, his feat, he stopped once and for all the Turks at the gates of Vienna 1683 in a decisive battle with the help of King John Sobieski III of Poland. Thus he became a national hero in Austria and a European hero, the Pope called him at the time the Savior of Christianity. He was also notoriously gay. Had he not succeeded we would live today in a different world, less Christian and more Muslim. Prince Eugene was also a man of the Baroque age, a philosopher, an art collector and a great Statesman. This special exhibit on his life which is on until 6 June 2010 is well worth seeing. The Belvedere Palace today houses a beautiful painting collection of Monet and Manet and many other German and Austrian painters.

On his death in 1736, Prince Eugene only had one heir, a cousin, Princess Victoria, who was short, fat with beedy little black eyes and very miserly. She sold the contents of his art collection to her cousin the King of Savoie-Piedmont and the art collection ended up in his palace in Torino. If you visit Italy today you can see the collection there. The Savoie became the Royal Family of Italy in 1860.

Prince Eugene also had a menagerie of exotic animals and Princess Victoria sold off the animals to hunters for fancy hunting parties. The Emperor of Austria was a little scandalized by the attitude of Princess Victoria and society in general was disapproving of her doings, but she was the legal heir so she could do as she pleased. It is said that after the death of Prince Eugene the Austrian state started its long descent, there really was no one quite like him as a Statesman, Diplomat and Soldier.

Finally Rome Fiumicino airport, on time on a Wednesday evening, how to we know we arrived, simple as we step down from the plane unto the tarmac to take the bus which will ferry us to the terminal building, I note how driving along the runways in Rome Airport is a bit like Formula One, speeding is common, as we arrive at the terminal building, a Alitalia service vehicle is illegally parked blocking our access to the terminal door. Which other airport in the would have vehicle parked illegally.
Home sweet home.

Now where are we...

So we drove Nicky and Nora to Capena down the Flaminian road to the farm where they were born and where their moms and dads live with other relatives. Nicky and Nora were put into the general pound to socialize with the cousins, Nora did not seem impress with them and Nicky looked down right offended, I did not think of taking a picture but it was so funny, with his big mustache standing up like Kaiser Wilhelm, he just looked at them with an imperious air of, have we been introduced, who are you? sort of look, obviously living in the Citta Eterna has gone to his head. The cousins where probably thinking what is with this guy.

The next day we flew Alitalia to Vienna on a Bombardier Canadair regional jet which holds 98 seats and is like flying with your own private jet, very smooth flight, these inter-city jets are famous around the world and the only competition for Canada is from Embraer Brazil.
In Vienna we were met by the driver of the hotel, who had sent a car. Very nice hotel next to St-Stephen's Cathedral, Kaiserin Elisabeth, you cannot escape the imperial family in Vienna, they are everywhere. See the hotel site www.kaiserinelisabeth.at

Big room and very clean, spotless hotel, very quiet also, though it is full. You hear nothing, even in the breakfast room in the morning, guests behave themselves. Today we went down for breakfast, beautiful silver service on each table and very nice presentation of breakfast food. If they do not have it on the buffet, just ask and they will be pleased to bring it to you. Free selection of international newspapers available. What I like is that the hotel feels like you are at home, quiet service, polite, always courteous to a fault, it is understated and it leaves you smiling. When we arrived the front desk recommended a very good lunch place, just a feet steps away down the road, Imevoll, its a typical Austrian restaurant and wine bar, ten page wine selection menu, great food, plain and simple. Now is Asparagus season, so they have lots of dishes featuring beautiful white asparagus. There was a white asparagus lasagna on the menu and asparagus with small white potatoes in a bearnaise or bechamel sauce, asparagus soup and of course other Austrian dishes of meat, veal, chicken, beef.

You also cannot come to Vienna and miss the pastries, cakes, marzipan and chocolates, everywhere coffee houses with beautiful pastries and sandwiches, a true delight. We went to Gerstner which also is the official caterer of the State Opera House and has been around for 175 years.

For dinner that night we went to a new Austrian cuisine restaurant called Artner, (www.artner.co.at) it was wonderful, the waiter kept calling me Commendatore, usually in Italy I am simply Dottore, this was a real promotion. This is another facet of life in Austria, everyone has a title, you simply cannot go through life here without a title, you do not have one, don't worry they will give you one. The food was excellent as was the service, this restaurant has a wine shop and the wine selection goes on and on. We ate too much but it was so good. I started with a home made goat cheese, made I was told by the mother of the owner, wrapped in bacon and served on a bed of grilled white asparagus. Followed by a filet of Austrian beef with green beans sauté with a slice of bacon. We had a Riesling with dinner and for dessert, fresh berries sorbet with mint leaves. Both at the beginning of the meal and at the end the chef sent little bouchés to open the appetite and to close the meal. While we ate, the restaurant being across a small square of St- Hieronimus, we saw a procession from the Franciscan church with parishonners singing hymns, holding candles, this is Pentecost week.

On this first day we also did some serious shopping, Will wanted a Trachten jacket so we went to the Trachten shop, they are all over Austria, they sell essentially traditional Austrian clothing for children, men and women. I bought a Sakko jacket and a shirt and 2 ties and will bought a Trachten jacket, pants and shirt and tie. (www.Kettner.com) The sales personnel are very nice and self-effacing but very helpful. We were on the second floor of the shop, men's area where they sell clothing and hunting rifles, riding gear, and foot wear for the serious sportsmen, all of it of the highest quality.

So all in all not a bad first day.

May program

In May we will be going to Salzburg for the Music Festival. This year marks the 90th Anniversary of the Whitsun Festival, a beautiful program of music awaits us, see the site of the Festival for an idea of what we will be hearing and seeing, www.salzburgerfestspiele.at
This Festival is dedicated to a period of time in the history of Music and the director of the Festival is Italian Maestro Riccardo Muti, he titled it ''Naples, Metropolis of Memories''.

We fly this time to Vienna with Alitalia, a short flight and will spend a day there, we would usually take the train to Salzburg via Innsbruck but the schedules are all changed and the Eurostar trains have been replaced by Regional trains which makes the journey longer from Rome. No matter, we have not been to Vienna for about 10 years and it is a beautiful city. We will then take the train from Vienna to Salzburg a journey of about 2 hours through the Austria countryside, always picturesque.

You could say this is a musical vacation since we have 2 musical events per day, it will also be a formal wear weekend, even for morning concert, men wear dark suit and tie. I have never seen anyone in jeans or casual wear, it is not done. All the venues are beautiful. We are staying at the Bristol Hotel, which is a gem of an hotel, the way hotels use to be 50 years ago, with professional staff, it is a family owned hotel and they know how to provide service.

BUT before I go to Salzburg I have to go to Albania a completely different kettle of fish. I leave this weekend for a week.