Journal

Traveling alone is adventurous, frightening, exciting, exhilarating and bold. It is certainly not for the faint at heart because you never know what to expect and you cannot plan for everything. Nevertheless, one must and should take the plunge. Sit down, look at a map or pay attention to one of those travel shows. God knows, I have done both of those many times prior to deciding where to go. Sometimes it comes down to what sounds interesting or advice from a friend.

It was some friendly advice that led me to Vienna, Austria. I like clean, neat, and culturally sophisticated places and Vienna certainly fit the bill. It is a very beautiful city with pastel-colored buildings, a lovely Opera House, palaces, Mozart's music, and housing created by Friedrich Hundertwasser. What's not to love. I visited and stayed in an area known as the Ringstrasse.

It houses famous museums, parks, palaces and St. Stephen's Cathedral along the boulevard. I made it a point to walk as much of it as possible. Of course, I always meet people, and this time was no exception. A gentleman who worked at my hotel offered to give me a walking tour of the city which I accepted. I was glad that I did because I got to see things that I would not have been able to see otherwise. He showed me the pitiful Holocaust Memorial hidden away in an unassuming section of Vienna. I was shocked since no one would recognize this monument as such. People seem to pass it by every day, all day without a thought. Heck, I almost did. It was also disheartening because Haider was the prime minister of Austria at the time I visited, and he was an admirer of Hitler. The things one can see if only they have a local to show them. I took a picture to remind myself of the significance of the object.

I think in hindsight, it is all the more ironic given what has transpired of late regarding Israel and October 7, 2023 which was my birthday by the way. I was also in Vienna or Wien as they call it for my birthday that time. I did not set out to talk about this part of my trip to Austria, but it is unavoidable since these actions and people's voices have been amplified. Some things never change. It actually ties into my trip to Auschwitz but that is yet for another time. My vacation continued onward and upward as it were.

In Vienna, I also met a young man who was a refugee from Kosovo. He was selling concert tickets to performances at Schoenbrun Palace. Being a lover of classical music, I bought a ticket. I also kept in touch with this man from Kosovo while in Vienna. He told me a bit of his story. He was a student in Vienna, but he was distressed too because the Austrian Government was increasing the amount of tuition he was going to have to pay. He was in no position to do anything about it. He was able to put that concern aside to spend time with me. I decided since I did not know anyone in Vienna, I would hang out with him when he was not working. We passed the occasion seeing the city and having quite dinners. It was quite a romantic time. I will always remember that period fondly. I was glad and relieved that my trip was not so depressing given the subject matter that kept creeping up, saddness, injustice, horror and frustration. Your time is what you make it no matter whom you meet or what happens while you're there.

During that trip I also visited two other countries, Czech Republic and Hungary since they are inextricably connected in history. I will save those recollections for another time.