Friday 29 August 2014

Visitors (Habsburger, Hundertwasser and Heuriger)

Last week the joys of Vienna were heightened by two sets of lovely visitors!

First, Charlotte and her sisters Lucy and Emily came from Switzerland for a holiday. Charlotte and I did not choose our degrees strategically for our friendship, as she was away in Russia last year and I am away this year, so this may have been our last meeting for some time! It was great to meet Emily and Lucy too, having heard so much about them. We had a lovely time doing some tourist-y things, eating, cooking and catching up. Highlights included a visit to Schönbrunn palace and gardens (a summer residence of the Habsburgs), watching an outdoor screening of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice at the Rathaus with Tom (see his blog here), and just drinking tea in my WG room. There is something about hosting people that makes a place feel more like home.

Emily, Lucy and Charlotte at Schönbrunn

I then spent Friday with the wonderful James and Judith Gardom. First up was the Kunst Haus, a gallery focused on the work of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Studying Hundertwasser as a cultural topic for A-level turned our whole class into devotees of his architecture (more on that another time), but it was lovely to see more of his artwork too. In the evening we took the tram to the edge of the city and walked up the Kahlenberg through the vineyards to Heuriger Sirbu (pictured).

James and Judith at Heuriger Sirbu on the Kahlenberg
Heuriger are wine-taverns up in the hills where visitors can drink the most recent year's wine (heuer = this year) and eat traditional local food (James and I both enjoyed Bratwurst and Sauerkraut). The evening light was particularly beautiful. Idyllic.


Tuesday 26 August 2014

The Austrian Latin America Institute - "Die Andes liegen in Wien"

Way back when I was applying for jobs and thinking about what skills I had to offer, it occurred to me that organisations with a Spanish or Latin American link might value my combination of languages. My emailed enquiries bore fruit: a month-long internship on the reception of the Institute, working from 2-6pm Monday-Thursday. Although unpaid, this seemed like too good a bit of crossover to pass up, and is providing me with some great work experience while leaving me with plenty of free time to explore the city.


That's it on the corner there. Yes, the reception area is round!

The Institute offers Spanish and Portuguese language courses, organises and advertises cultural events, and promotes academic collaboration and exchange between Austria and Latin America. Most of the reception work relates to the language courses, but as the first point of contact I also deal with enquiries about any of the LAI's other activities - and occasionally things that we don't actually do at all. After three weeks experience of the Institute's work, I am gradually overcoming the deathly fear that initially overcame me whenever the Dread Ring of the Telephone was heard - Austrian dialects, lack of visual cues and limited knowledge of the organisation one is representing are a potentially lethal combination. Fortunately (in this case) customer service is notoriously bad in Vienna, so I can usually acquire some credit just by saying hello in a friendly voice!

As an extra bonus I get to speak some Spanish with the language teachers, as well as do a little reading from the library if I have nothing else to be getting on with (which is rarely). The other staff are all very kind and ready to help out if necessary.

Two of the teachers are artists and some of their paintings are on display: recognise anyone?










Monday 25 August 2014

Ausdruck der Woche #3

jemandem ans Herz wachsen = to become dear to someone (literally: to grow on someone's heart)

[ENGLISH SUMMARY BELOW]

"Sie sind mir richtig ans Herz gewachsen"


Der Ausdruck dieser Woche hat keine besondere Geschichte und benötigt auch wenig Erklärung, da ähnliche Redewendungen und Bilder im Englischen existieren: vgl. „grow on someone“ (wörtlich: an jmdn. wachsen) und „be close to someone’s heart“ (wörtlich: jemandem dem Herzen nah sein). 

Das Herz wird in den meisten Kulturen sinnbildlich als emotionales Zentrum der Körper betrachtet: insbesondere als Ursprung von Liebe und Empfindenden von Liebesqual. Das hat natürlich im Deutschen sowie auch im Englischen zu einer langen Reihe von Idiomen geführt. Wenn jemand/etwas meinem Herzen nah steht, geht es also wirklich um emotionale Enge.   

[Diese Rolle wird interessanterweise auf Guaraní, indigener Sprache von Paraguay, von dem Magen („py‘a“) übernommen, was entsprechende Redewendungen auch hervorgebracht hat.]

Wachstum ist noch ein Beispiel von einem ursprünglich organischen Begriff, dessen Ausdruckskraft jetzt in zahllosen Kontexten – u.a. emotionalen – verwendet wird.

Was mir deshalb an diesem Ausdruck als besonders schön auffällt, ist die Kombination von dem langsamen, organischen Prozess von Wachstum (vgl. „grow on someone“) und der Rückkehr des Herzensymbols zur immer noch metaphorischen aber trotzdem deutlich körperlichen Bedeutung. Für mich drückt das Bild wunderschön die Idee von der allmählichen Entwicklung unserer Beziehungen aus. 

Foto: amotiofive


English summary:

There is no particular history to this phrase and it requires little explanation. I like it because it combines two images with organic roots (growth and the heart) and brings them back from their bleached metaphorical meanings to a more physical (though still figurative) plane. For me, the organic and physical image of someone growing on(to) your heart expresses the process of developing intimacy quite pleasingly.


Saturday 23 August 2014

How many flatmates does it take to change a lightbulb?

Living in a rented flat as opposed to college accommodation has its advantages - you get to choose your own furniture, you can stick things on the walls, and being around for longer makes it worthwhile to 'nest' more extensively. Although I obviously didn't choose the furniture personally, the WG still feels more like a proper, lived-in home than the perfectly serviceable and yet somewhat sterile Earl Building that was my university base last year (though it was of course filled with wonderful people!).

However, when your light bulb burns out, there is no Maintenance Book in the lodge to write a note in. P found a spare light bulb in the back of a cupboard and I duly changed it, with a disappointing lack of incident given the number of jokes on the subject. I'm sure you could concoct one about Germanists, give that light bulb in German is "Glühbirne", which would translate literally as "glow-pear". Suggestions welcome - otherwise please just enjoy that image for a moment!

I was left with a no-longer-functional light bulb and decided to do something with it as it seemed too pleasing an object to throw away. We hung the result in C's room to be a welcome home present:

Monday 18 August 2014

Ausdruck der Woche #2

nullachtfünfzehn (0815) = average, run-of-the-mill 

[ENGLISH SUMMARY BELOW]

Der Ausdruck „nullachtfünfzehn” wird umgangssprachlich als Adjektiv verwendet, um etwas (meist ein wenig abwertend) als durchschnittlich und mittelmäβig zu bezeichnen. 

Der Ursprung der Redewendung, der heutzutage kaum bekannt ist, liegt eigentlich weit zurück im Ersten Weltkrieg. Das 1908 von Hiram Maxim hergestellte Maschinengewehr wurde im Jahr 1915 weiterentwickelt, was zur Typenbezeichnung „08/15“ führte. Als Standardmaschinengewehr des deutschen Heers stand das 08/15 für die langweiligen, eintönigen Übungen und Routinen, die Soldaten jeden Tag durchführen mussten. 

Die 1954 erschienene Roman-Trilogie 08/15 von Hans Hellmut Kirst (Bild unten) hat den Ausdruck weiterverbreitet. Es wird jetzt unabhängig von der Ursprungsbedeutung verwendet.


Auf dem Bild unten ist ein Friseursalon in der Nähe von meiner WG zu sehen. Jetzt koennen wir alle das Wortspiel genieβen...


English summary:

This adjective, used to describe something average or mediocre, would translate literally as “zeroeightfifteen”. The origin of the phrase apparently lies in weapon production in the First World War. The standard machine gun model was referred to as 08/15 (it was originally produced in 1908 and further developed in 1915) and came to stand for the monotonous routine and exercises required of soldiers. The term was further disseminated by the 1954 trilogy of novels ‘08/15’ by Hans Hellmut Kirst (pictured). Today the expression is used independently of its original meaning, although the link can of course be seen. It has even spawned puns, such as the hairdresser near my house (last photo) which is called "Zero Eight Sixteen".

Friday 15 August 2014

From Lima to Vienna (or, Die Welt ist ein Dorf)

As most readers will know, I spent six months of my gap year volunteering in a school in Lima, capital of Peru. At an ecumenical service in Lima's Lutheran church, I met Milena, a girl a few years younger than me who coincidentally happened to speak the same combination of languages as me and was also staying in Peru for six months. We saw each other several times during our time in Lima and have kept in touch since via letters.


Milena's mother, Cecilia, is Peruvian, but her father is Austrian and she grew up and currently lives in Vienna. So we meet again, two and a half years and half a world away from our first encounter. We find ourselves slightly at a loss as to which language we should speak: our previous interactions were exclusively in Spanish, but German is a little more appropriate to our current location...
I also discovered that Cecilia is a researcher at BOKU, where I am starting work from September!


In another gap year link, one of the daughters of the family I lived with during my time in Munich is now studying Psychology at the University of Vienna. I stayed in her room while she was away travelling in Australia. Die Welt ist indeed ein Dorf.




Monday 11 August 2014

Chance encounters

1st August 2014

On my second full day in Vienna, I was sitting peacefully on a bench by the Donaukanal, watching the water, the cyclists and the world go by, and perusing my Luther in a somewhat perfunctory fashion, when I was approached by a German tourist seeking directions to one of Vienna's many parks (the Augarten). Although newly arrived, I did have in my possession a map and rather a lot of free time, so I decided to go along.

It emerged in conversation that my companion was reading a book on computer science ("which probably isn't that interesting for you") - I did not disagree, but demurred that my father was in fact a computer scientist. It turns out that the book was about Haskell, and that I had by chance encountered a bona fide Haskell-worshipper - and Dad, in his words, is "der Gott von Haskell!!!!".

I was suddenly elevated to celebrity status.


Ausdruck der Woche #1

Weißwurstäquator

[ENGLISH SUMMARY BELOW]

Der Weißwurstäquator ist ein Scherzbegriff für die vermeintliche Sprach- und Kulturgrenze zwischen den nördlichen Regionen von Deutschland und den südlichen (insbesondere Bayern). 

Was ist denn Weißwurst?
Weißwurst ist ein ganz typisch bairisches Gericht, das so eng mit Bayern verknüpft ist, dass es quasi als Symbol des Bundeslandes und vor allem dessen Esskultur dienen kann.


Wo verläuft der Weißwurstäquator?
Das ist ein umstrittenes Thema. Wikipedia versorgt uns mit einer liebevoll ausgearbeiteten Karte, auf der die unterschiedliche Theorien angezeigt werden:



Und was hat das mit Wien zu tun?
Als ich wusste, dass ich nach Wien fahren würde, hat man mir mehrfach angemerkt, dass einige Vokabeln in Österreich und Deutschland sich wesentlich unterscheiden: zum Beispiel, Kartoffeln werden in Österreich als Erdäpfel bezeichnet, Tüte als Sackerl, usw. Für mich aber bemerkenswert (beim Lektorenunterricht in Oxford zum Thema) war, dass viele dieser angeblich „österreichischen“ Vokabeln mir schon ganz vertraut aus meinem Aufenthalt in München waren, z.B. war es für mich selbstverständlich, dass Brötchen „Semmel“ oder Weckerl heiβen. Unsere österreichische Lektorin hat uns dann mitgeteilt, dass die Österreicher eigentlich meinen, Bayern gehöre ja mindestens kulturell eher zu ihrem Land als Deutschland.

Die zwei liegen auf jeden Fall unter dem Weißwurstäquator!

English summary:
 
Weisswurst (white sausage) is a traditional dish in Bayern and the 'Weisswurst Equator' is a humorous term for the supposed cultural / linguistic border between Bayern (the south) and the rest of Germany. The map shows the various posited locations of the 'equator'.
Some Austrian vocabulary differs from typical High German usage, however several of these terms were already familiar to me from my time in Munich, as they are also used below the Weisswurstäquator in Germany.
Austrian sources have informed me that Bayern is considered to be culturally an extension of Austria :)

Sunday 3 August 2014

Wilkommen in Wien - Arrival

Fully equipped for the hot, humid weather in my winter coat and walking boots, I embarked on the first stage of my Year Abroad on Wednesday 30th July. As it happens, it was more time and cost-efficient to fly to Bratislava (over the border in Slovakia) and take a bus to Vienna - take note, potential visitors!

I am joining a three-person WG* consisting of P, A and C. A is going to do a semester abroad in Spain and so I am effectively replacing her for the duration of the winter semester. However, she hasn't left yet, so I am temporarily occupying C's room while she is away on holiday. I think I've struck gold - the flat is lovely, the rent is very reasonable and my new flatmates are all delightful - kind, friendly and of course German-speaking! C left me a welcome arrangement on her desk:


The WG is in the 18th district, about 10-15 min cycle from the historic centre and 10 min to my main workplace, making it all in all an excellent location. It's the yellow building in the picture. C and in due course A are lending me their bikes.

Vienna also welcomed me with some dramatic thunder, lightning and pouring rain - so the coat came in useful after all!

*In Germany and Austria it is very common for young people (up to age 30+) to live together in shared flats or houses, known as Wohngemeinschaften (living communities, abbr. WG). Available rooms are advertised on one or more of a few central websites, making the search for accommodation considerably easier.