It was snowing in Vienna. Franko was good as gold, there to meet me at Wein Westbahnhof, in his long trench coat. He asks, “Is this all you brought?” I love it. Snow was swirling around us in the blowing wind. He told me this was the most snow they’ve had since the war (WWII). I’ll be staying with them until I head out to Košice next week.

— Meanwhile, I am writing this recap on my train ride through Slovakia, to Košice. We just crossed over a river and the train stopped in Trenčín, a town with a large fortress over a hill and a nice park. More students got on the train.

Reuniting in Vienna to Košice

Fritz hailed a taxi and we went to their apartment on Priendlgasse. The two little girls Vera 5 and Sophia 3 look like Luise. They are very sweet and Sophia is a snuggle bug! They warmed up to me right away. Leon (3 months+) is a little blob, but still a sweetheart in his own way.

— The last stop was at a town Púchov, where we stopped at Považská Bystrica. Before that we passed higher hills and a frozen lake on the north side of the train. Here they don’t have platforms and stairs. Passengers have to cross over the railroad tracks,  by foot. For the second time a phone is ringing next to me, but it belongs to another person.

Reuniting in Vienna

As soon as we got into the apartment, Fritz popped open a bottle of Champagne. That was excellent! That’s my Lulu, don’t waste any time, get right to the action. We talked and the girls climbed around on me. We ate some fish herring stuff in mustard, with sour cream and preiselbeern (cranberry) jam on bread. Shmeckt. (Delicious.) The girls counted and ate capers like they were bonbons.

— I just saw signs for farm shares and co-ops.

We stayed up looking at pics from Peking (Beijing). Fritz was in Tibet in March, accompanying their minister on a state visit. He was their interpreter. Very unusual and interesting trip. He had a photo in Lhasa of the Potala Palace. Luise and Fritz made a lot of German and New Zealand friends. Luise was ordering from Land’s End, Victoria’s Secret, and getting Martha Stewart magazine. They have all the Disney videos and watched American T.V. in Peking. There was Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts, and McDonald’s, which the girls had for dinner Friday night in Wein. They had Happy Meals mit (with) nuggets and fries. And each got a bug toy, from the movie “A Bug’s Life” oder “Eine Grosse Grabben,” which I saw on my birthday, but hasn’t come out here yet.

— By the looks of what I’ve seen, I don’t think my Košice apartment will be all that nice.

Let it Snow

Finally, we went to sleep, and it was still snowing. We aired the house out and slept well. I slept in the study, decorated with red curtains, Buddhist Temple, and red bed coverings. They brought so viele (so much) stuff with them from Peking! They filled a 40′ container. Twenty feet was for the car, and the rest was furniture, China, porcelain, large wall hangings, sculptures, ceramics, and clothing. They went on a shopping spree their last two months there.

— I must be crazy. We just crossed over a small river. It’s still very grey, dreary, and unimpressive. Now the train is travelling along a river and we passed a town, Lena. We passed another large fortress, seemingly built into the rocks, atop a high hill. Then we crossed over a river, and went through a series of tunnels.

At Luise’s on Samstag (Saturday) morning Sophia and Vera came into my room, and onto my bed, to have me wind up their bugs for them. They are sweet. Sweet Luise brought me Kaffee ins Bett, auch) coffee in bed, too)!

— We’re passing a ski resort area- looks really old. Now mountains on both sides. Next stop is Vrutky Nova. Its crazy, people are standing right next to the trains, in between the tracks as trains come in! All he buildings we’re passing look dilapidated. They’re old, dreary, even deserted. There is wash hanging out to dry in the cold,dirty air. Even my friends Dagi, Luise, Michael don’t have dryers. They only have small mini washers. Good thing I already lived a year here in Austria to break me in. I know a little of what to expect.

Samstag morgan Früstück (Saturday morning breakfast) at Luise’s. Alles schönes gemütlich (everything is beautiful, cozy) comfortable Fäschings Kräphen (special crepes) for breakfast. The girls are singing their cute four verse Fäschings Lied (song for Fäsching). I hum along and sing the “cha cha cha” part. It must be nice to have a sweet family like that, I muse, but still to travel and be interesting.

Braving the Snow in Vienna

We watched the snow still falling, since yesterday, the days before, and overnight. Finally, Luise and I ventured outside an braved it. We bundled up, took the umbrellas, and headed out in the foot plus deep snow. We did a combination of walking and riding the Straussenbahn (streetcar), while battling the snow and wind.

— Just crossed over two more rivers. Now we’re riding next to a river. There are hills. It could be pretty if it weren’t so grey. The hills are covered with bare brown trees and snow. I saw the Sun trying to glare out. Passed a boat dock with SOKOL written on it. The river is flowing easterly. I saw a snowman made from three balls (A snowman is a snowman). The ski slopes with skiers looked almost empty. We passed a church.

— How many times today have I asked myself, “Self, are you crazy?” This is not romantic. But right now the scenery is quite nice auf jedenfall (anyway). If the windows weren’t so dirty, it might look better. This is a 12 car train and the mountains are quite high. More ski lifts and another church. Smokestacks, deserted or disintegrating factories, and unlively looking houses, apartments and streets.

— Interesting train station. Turquoise blue with gold trim. Looks like some of the left over paint was used on neighboring buildings. I noticed graffiti on train cars and station area walls. Just passed some type of surface mining area.

Vienna “Fast Food”

So, we were with me and Luise braving the winter storm. It was the longest continuous snowfall Austria’s had in ten years! We walked a bit around Ringstrasse. Ate the BEST Schnitzel ever-so huge it falls off the sides of the plate-beautiful golden color. It’s Baroque. We shared, and it was still huge! Had an excellent mixed Salat (salad) and a gespritzt wine (white wine mixed with sparkling water). Wienese “fast food” mit klasse. We got there just in time, as a large crowd was waiting after us.

Then we walked down Graben. Graben a famous Viennese street that’s been there since the Middle Ages, when it used to be a ditch. Now it’s a pedestrian zone and well know shopping district. We visited Aunt Helga (Johanna’s mom) at her beautiful linen, bedding, and towel shop on Graben. It’s three stories high, and located right near the Plague monument. Tante Helga is very Viennese. However, I caught her trying to push the sell on Luise. No go.

Later, we made it back to the house. Got all warm and cozy. We drank tea and watched T.V. with the girls.

 

This is an excerpt from my Kosice Journal, documenting my exodus from a (relatively happy) bustling life in beautiful San Diego, to (voluntarily) take a post teaching English in the newly independent eastern capital of Slovakia 🇸🇰 during a very cold winter 1999.