Monthly Archives: October 2012

Church Day

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As you know, the Catholic Church had a pretty significant influence in this part of the world back in the day.  Our plan for today to help endure the cold and see how elaborate some of the local churches might be (especially given the dullness of the Cathedral) was to take a look at the Franziskanerkirch (Franciscan), Dominikanerkirche (Dominican) and Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit) churches.  If you've seen earlier blogs from Europe, you'll note that we visit a lot of churches and cathedrals as we enjoy the architecture and the history it reflects as well as observing the great effort that was made to make these extraordinary places for the worshippers to visit.

They all three topped the Stephensdom in their elaborate interior decor with the Jesuits going the extra kilo in their effort to be the apparent leaders in countering the reformation.  THE PICTURES ARE A BIT BLURRY BUT THE CHURCHES WERE EXTREMELY DARK AND I DID NOT HAVE A TRIPOD.  SO THE BLUR REFLECTS THE UNSTEADINESS OF THESE AGING ARMS DURING LONG EXPOSURES.

Otherwise we spent some time enjoying the great retail here.  I don't know how these brick and mortar operations are holding up during this new age of retail but for now they were a pleasure to see.  We had dinner at Patara (http://www.patara-wien.at/) which is one of our favorite restaurants in London.

Vienna

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It was a bit longer trip to Vienna than scheduled with a flight delay in Washington that caused us to miss our connecting flight in the very nice Frankfurt, Germany airport.  We were re-booked on a flight four hours later but then it was delayed due to weather closing one of the runways in Frankfurt.  So five hours late to Vienna but with our bags in hand this time.

Those who know us will appreciate the irony of this.  We have a nice two bedroom sixth floor apartment in the Innerstadt directly above a Starbucks.  How did that happen?  So after our 24 hour journey we managed dinner at an Indian restaurant around the corner before settling in to an extended night of recovery.

Although we started our Sunday quite late, the switch back to standard time saved us an hour for touring.  The downtown area is very impressive with its combination of winding streets and spacious squares that filled with an incredible selection of retail establishments, much of it very high end.  We visited the Stephansdom, a cathedral that is more impressive on the outside than the inside.  On a site that has been occupied by a church for over 800 years, the outside is beautiful (and in the process of being cleaned and restored) but pretty ho-hum on the inside.  We moved on to the Peterskirche which apparently received the interior design budget that Stephansdom did not.  Very beautiful.

After a bit of walking on a very cold and blustery afternoon, we settled into the Hofburg Quarter with most of our time spent in the Sisi Museum which tells the sad history of Empress Elisabeth, wife of the long reigning Emperor of Austria Franz Joseph.

A wonderful dinner at Weibels Wirtshaus (http://www.weibel.at/wirtshaus01.html) and done for Sunday.

At The Hop

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Saturday night October 6 saw a resurgence of 1960s classic music at the Roy Stevens Gymnasium in Liberty, Indiana with a Classic High School Sock Hop presented by Bob Jenkins, the nationally renowned auto racing broadcaster.  The event supported the Union County Educational Excellence Program, the school district foundation that supports unique educational opportunities for Union County Students.
A crowd of nearly 300 ranging in age from the very young to at least 87 years old danced the night away listening to Bob spinning the digital 60s “discs” followed by “Forever – The Tribute”, a very entertaining Beatles tribute band.  A quick survey of attendees indicated a strong desire for a repeat performance next year.

UCEEP thanks everyone who attended for their support of this inaugural event and is especially grateful to all who worked so hard to make it such a success.