Art and Bread

Guten Tag, Meinen Freuden!
When I was at the university I had a student in Western Civilization who could not grasp there were two “Aus” countries. In vain I employed a map and explained the difference between south and east. He persisted in always saying “Australia.” I guess the Austrians get this all the time because in the touristy shops are mugs and T shirts saying “No Kangaroos in Austria!” Words to live by.
A lot of museums are closed on Monday, so I went to a few that weren’t. I began by cruising by the city hall or Rathaus as we Viennese like to say. It’s a Late Gothic Fantasy copied and expanded upon from the Flemish Style, but here’s the real scoop. I scored a free pee. Yes, it’s true--a public toilet one does not have to pay for. Don’t pretend I never give you travel tips.
I like to walk places if it is all possible and what this means is that even though I carry a map, I get lost on a regular basis. It happened today on the way to the Lichtenstein Museum. I don’t worry about it; I just keep going. Well, it turned out that I got turned around and went too far and walked twice the distance I needed to. But I got there.
How can people live in places like this? Marble everything. Huge rooms. Great art collection, too, I might add, and I understand the Grand Duke has even more stashed back in the Principality. I especially enjoyed some first rate Rubens. No one is better than his best.
Next stop was the Imperial Treasury to gorge on gems and court regalia including the ancient crown of the Holy Roman Emperors. You can also see Napoleon’s son’s cradle designed to give the infant imperial aspirations--or nightmares.
I ended up at the Albertina. There’s a lot of Modern Art and some of it is good. What I liked better were the state apartments--for some reason the Hapsburgs were less grand than the Lichtensteins go figure--where the drawings were displayed. Albrecht Durer and Michelangelo. I don’t think we can do better than unless a new Leonardo pops up.
I did not have any pastry today, so let’s talk about bread. I was in the grocery store the day after I arrived and I pulled some bread off the shelf. Didn’t pay attention to the kind. I was in the store this afternoon frantically looking for the same bread. Whew! Found it. This is the Best Bread I have Ever Had. Yes. It. Is.
It’s all brown and crusty and coated with sesame and sunflower seeds. There are some seeds inside, too. When I opened the package, it smelled divine and tasted even better. It tastes like nourishment. It tastes like BREAD. This is what they were talking about when they said “the staff of life.” I could feel the goodness coursing through my veins when I ate it. And now I have some more and I can toast it up for breakfast in the morning.
Auf Wiedersehen!