My impressions about Vienna

I believe that when we visit a place, we bring a unique perspective with us. And no matter how many people have been there before us, how many travel logs we read or shows we watch - when we experience something with our senses first-hand, we form impressions that are truly ours.

Most of us are no different from Columbus or Neil Armstrong- the first stranger in an alien land. The small town girl who marvels at the city lights for the first time, pilgrims who make arduous journeys overseas, the foodie who seeks to taste exotic flavors in foreign lands, even the mother who finds the courage to visit her children settled abroad after having spent her whole life in the same neighborhood. We are all explorers. Maybe not celebrated or renowned, but in no small measure either.

One of my favorite ways to explore a new city is to walk in it. I use Google Maps on my phone to get a general direction of my destination, then grab my camera and some comfortable shoes and set out. It is best if the weather is sunny and breezy, but a light drizzle never mars my spirits. You can take some amazing pictures of an overcast sky, which you would miss on a sunny day.

Pictures on an overcast/rainy day 

Inside St. Peter's Church

Architecture
During the cab ride from the airport to our hotel, I had glimpses of the monumental buildings in the city. Some of the most noteworthy buildings include the Parliament, City Hall (built in Flemish Gothic style ), the Burgtheater (New Baroque) the State Opera, the University, and the Museum of Natural History(Neo-Renaissance). Dramatic figures in marble abound.

 Statue of Hercules bashing Antaeus

You will also find Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, in a gilded helmet and armor, standing on a pillar, guarding the parliament.

Food
The first thing I tasted upon arrival was Weiner Schnitzel (Weiner=Viennese, Wein=Vienna, German). Traditionally, it is thin, breaded and pan-fried veal, often served with parsley potatoes. Another favorite I discovered was an apricot filled ice cream with hazelnut crust (Eis Marille Knödel) from Tichy Saloneis. Don’t try it from anywhere else. They make them fresh that don’t freeze your teeth like the knockoffs.

City folks in traditional Austrian clothes

We chanced upon a weekend market at Rathaus Platz and tasted some local Austrian beer, ripe cheese, and wine. The people were enjoying their weekend. Kids played in areas inside straw bales while the parents chatted away. Some of them wore traditional Austrian clothes: Girls in Dirndl and guys in Lederhosen. It is the clothing of Alps country folks/peasants and often seen in Austria, Germany, and some parts of Italy.

Art
I had a chance to visit the History of Art Museum (Kunsthistorisches Museum), Leopold Museum, and Belvedere Gallery.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is a palatial building on Ringstraße and is the current domicile of several art collections & antiquities. Tablets with information on the artifacts are available on benches on one side of the room. The museum is huge and anything less than 3 hours would be criminal. I hope to go back again someday. I have missed the Natural History Museum, Albertina, and the Sigmund Freud Museum.

Men dressed in Mozart tout tickets to tourists for concerts at Museumplatz. A friend said that they sold bogus tickets meaning to rip off the uninformed. What surprised me was that they were doing it right in front of uniformed police officers. Maybe some of their business is legit.

Leopold Museum houses modern Austrian art, featuring artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Richard Gerstl. Though I find the work and life of modern and contemporary artists fascinating, I am slightly partial to classical art.

The Belvedere was the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Cameras are not allowed inside the exhibits except for a dedicated selfie point and the marble work on the ceilings. However, you can take as many shots of the spectacular view of the city from the entrance.

One of the most interesting things we did was take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city from Michaelplatz. You may make a special request for a ‘porcelain ride’ that was used to transfer porcelain in earlier days. The slow tread of the horses is so relaxing you will want to do it all day.

We spent some good days in the city. Dinner with friends, walks after dinner, coffee shops that are open past midnight. A special shout to Gautam Mama and Gopa Mami for all their love and attention. They took us to Schönbrunn Palace gardens and Donau Tower that offers a 360 degrees view of the city.

I fell in love with you Vienna. Can’t wait till we meet again.

Norway trip 2015

We flew to Longyearbyen from Oslo via the international terminal, even though Svalbard, an archipelago of islands north of the mainland,  is Norwegian territory. In fact, we had to make sure that we had at least 2 or multiple entry Schengen visa for re-entering Schengen zone from Svalbard. There is a passport check inside the airport. Norwegian Air took about 2 hours 40 minutes to reach the northernmost commercial airport. As we descended, the view of the Arctic landscape promised an adventure of a lifetime.

An American named John Munro Longyear started the Arctic Coal Company in 1906 in Spitsbergen (German: Spitz= Peak, Bergen= Mountain), now Svalbard. The settlement of 500 people, formerly known as Longyear City, is now called Longyearbyen (Norwegian, byen= city).

There are no indigenous people in Svalbard. Everyone is a migrant from another part of the world. Established as a mining town, now most of the mining facilities are closed, except for Mine 7, which takes care of the local needs.

At 78-degree north parallel, the sun sets at 3:20 pm and rises at 10:13 am in October. The sun stays below the horizon for four months after October 25. Common sense is to hire guns to protect against polar bears if you travel outside the fortified settlement. Warning signs are all over Svalbard, including on paved roads, asking people to watch out for polar bears. An adult male can weigh up to 800 kgs.

We heard stories of polar bear fatalities and attacks on tourists. The most recent one was in May when a British tourist was dragged from his camp. One of our guides also narrated how a polar bear, who he named Genghis Khan, ate so much dog food that he could barely move. It had to be airlifted and translocated to another part of Svalbard, miles away from the city.

Some Facts

Since snow boots can be messy, most establishments (like hotels and church) ask you to leave your shoes outside. The permafrost melts and uncovers graves, pushing the dead bodies to the surface. Also, the cold prevents the bodies from decomposing. Hence, it is forbidden to die in this Arctic town. The dead are transported to other parts of Norway or their home country to be buried.

During our hour-long day trip around the island, we also learned that pregnant ladies are sent to Tromsø three weeks before delivery.  The local hospital deals only with emergencies and the doctors from the mainland are usually tele-connected during the procedure.

330 ft above sea level and 550 ft inside a permafrost mountain is the global seed vault - an insurance against doomsday for humanity. All nations have their own seed repository, but this is the safest given the location and low-temperature conditions which make it a natural freezer. It has the capacity to store 4.5 million types of seeds.

We were also told that all the buildings came pre-constructed to Svalbard from the mainland and are a stacked reconstruction of the modules. It takes maximum 5-6 months to reconstruct an average building. Piping is insulated and above the ground.

Camp Barentz

Camp Barentz in Advent Valley is about 10km from Longyearbyen. A bus took us to the camp site, away from the city lights and into the Arctic wilderness. The hosts served a rustic reindeer stew cooked over a camp fire in a pot, coffee brewed over the open fire, Akvavit (typically ~40% alcohol by volume) shots to keep us warm, and brownies named 'polar cakes'. The evening concluded with a presentation on the northern lights.

Red and green auroras by Frank Olsen, Norway 

Northern Lights

The expression norõrljós (northern lights) first appeared in Kongespeilet (King's Mirror), a guidebook on how to be a king. It described the phenomenon of northern lights so the king could explain it to his subjects. The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei named it after Aurora (Roman goddess of Dawn) and Boreas (Greek name for northern wind).

The Inuits of Greenland believed that the lights were the spirits of their children, playing in their afterlife. The Saamis of Lapland believe that they were the energy from the souls departed. The Japanese consider it is extremely auspicious to see the lights and a baby conceived under a sky with northern lights is truly blessed.

The tale of Aurora starts in solar storms when plasma from the Sun blows into space. After 18 hours, they reach Earth. The Earth's magnetic field deflects the storm and funnels it into the daylight side called the daylight aurora. The southern hemisphere experiences the Aurora Australis.

  

At higher altitudes, red light is visible, followed by green. The ionized nitrogen produces the visible blue. There are also infra-red and X-ray northern lights that are not perceptible to the human eye.


Dog Sledding with Green Dogs

When we went to the dog yard, most of the dogs were yelping, 'Pick me! Pick me'. The handlers said that they are elated to see tourists because they know it is their time for a run. There were 150 dogs total. Half of them run for a week and are then allowed to rest in a yard in the mountains. A sled team can be of 5-8 dogs.

Heading towards the mountains, the leader awaits our command to start running after a small break

 
First, we picked the leader of the pack, who was a quiet, blue-eyed male. Soon, the rest of the team joined in. They love to run. The moment the handler says, 'Aha' signaling them to start, they start running with all their might. Initially, the dogs are full of energy, and they want to run fast, but the handlers don't let them do so to conserve their energy for the way back when they have to run against the wind. In summer, the handlers stop occasionally to give water to the dogs. In winter, the dogs eat ice when they are thirsty.

Our team was a group of seven Alaskan Huskies, which is not a pure breed but a mix of Siberian huskies and Alaskan malamutes. They are very efficient sled dogs, and even the breeders can not predict what kind of puppy will be born. A second-generation trait might resurface in the fifth generation.

On our way back, we were caught in a snowstorm. The dogs were running against the wind, so they became slow. I lost sensation in my limbs and was feeling tired. If I thought I knew what 'cold' meant until that moment of my life, I was grossly mistaken. Soon, we were back in our hotel and were having hot chocolate, warm waffles and a conversation with our Polish handler/guide. 

He said there are dog races that span across 2000 km of Arctic snow, desolate of any standard rescue facilities. Many get lost during inclement weather. He was a handler for a team and carries the dog tag of his favorite dog.

Later in the evening, we attended the Dark Season Blues Festival at a local pub where people were dancing to the tunes of live bands who come from all corners of the world for the festival.

It is surprising how warm these people are in spite of the cold weather. Most of them choose to live their entire lives in Svalbard. The hotels usually give perks to those who work in tourism- like a hot shower or discounts for the breakfast buffet. How little you really need to be happy!