Living The Fairy Tale

            When I was a young girl, I wanted to live in a castle in some far away land. Now that I’m older I find myself living across the street from a castle in a one-hundred and fifty year old building complete with ghosts and so very, very far away from home. To be honest, I never thought I’d say I miss the desert but I do: I miss my children even if they are dependent upon me far past the time they should be, I miss my animals who couldn’t come to live with us in our far away adventure, and I miss seeing my grandchildren grow up.

            In May of this year as you all know, we said goodbye to our house and family and everything I have ever known to run away from home, moving to Vienna, Austria. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy about what was happening but I understood it. I understood that it was a fantastic opportunity to live somewhere and visit all those places I only thought about when I was a kid. I knew it would be great for my husband’s career. But knowing and understanding didn’t matter to my heart in the beginning and now with my first Christmas in my new foreign home fast approaching I can say this is still the case.

            First I would say to those who envy me, be careful what you wish for but that would be a lie because it’s all a matter of perspective. When we are young, everything looks cool because it’s different than what we have or where we are. When we’re older, we look at things differently like what’s the economic impact it might have on our lives. My thought process was ‘how can this make my writing better’ and a million other things concerned with writing. Then as in now, I am trying to focus on the positive though some days it is very, very hard. So let’s look at some of the basic reasons a move like this could make a writer better:

            1) A look at different cultures – Living in a place that isn’t where you grew up may be uncomfortable at first but it will also make you realize that the world is a big, big place. Here people watching takes on a whole new meaning as one can see things here they will never see at home...like a big bike race on the main street with over three hundred bikes...or a political rally on the very street you live on. In any given day, I will see people from Indian, the US, Turkey, Greece, Ireland, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic to name a few...those are just the ones who live in the same building as I do...imagine what’s outside those doors.

            2) Broaden one’s horizons – Living in a foreign country means I have to learn a different language to communicate to those around me. It means I have to understand a socialist system because that’s where I’m at right now. I also have to realize the way things are done where I come from aren’t the way things are done here. I also have to learn a public transit system, why Vienna is divided into districts and why people here don’t seem to change very much. This can be translated into some very interesting things for my stories.

            3) Teach my native language – I have been asked by several people if I would be interested in teaching English to upper level students. Boy, if this won’t make you hone your skills in writing, I don’t know what will. I really find it interesting that they want me to teach American slang as opposed to learning the Queen’s English. In order to teach here, I need to get permission to work and that will be a whole other adventure to address on another day.

            4) Make new friends – Now this has been the most difficult for me as writers are pretty reclusive and I tend to be that way myself. Matter of fact, as you all know I was so lonely I got me a puppy and in the process gained a whole new group of friends who own the same type of dog. People over here can relate to those with dogs better than those without or even those with kids. This is making me put myself out there and in some ways I cringe and in others I excel.

            5) The place oozes history – This place has an incredible history. Like I’ve said many times before, I live across the street from the Palace Belvedere and the Palace Schwartenberg. Belevedere was once a summer home for the Habsburgs and in particular Prince Eugene. I’m still trying to understand where Palace Schwartzenberg figures into all of this but I do know there’s a house on the grounds for rent. We’re actually thinking about checking it out. Now the street I live on is named after after Prince Eugene and called Prince Eugen Strasse. That’s just the start of everything: there’s the Hofburg, Schonnbrunn, Carnuntum which is a Roman ruin, Stephensplatz, Karlsplatz and churches like you wouldn’t believe. Early man lived here as did the Celts. Just reading Wikipedia to get the overview can be overwhelming...but...think of the opportunity for historicals, for contemporaries or for anything a writer can think up. Here’s a few more pictures to show you what I mean.

            While this is the view out my office window, I should make note that not only do  I see the guard quarters for Belvedere as well as part of the grounds, but history. If I look a little harder, I’m sure I can see the Emperors and Empresses of a day gone by, of kings and queens and their children.



             Here’s some pictures of Carnuntum, the Roman ruins.







            And finally, one of my favorite places to see, Schonnbrunn.





            There’s the museums.






            These pictures don’t even begin to do the place justice. I’m going to be putting in things from my travels to other places as well. Like Italy. If we can get it all together, we’ll be trying to go to Italy between Christmas and New Year’s. We’ve already visited Bad Ischl and Salzburg, some of which you’ve already seen in the birthday weekend post. And I promise to bring you more and more of the historical perspective on living in Vienna, Austria.

            Yes, this place has plenty for a writer to learn, plenty for me to figure out and understand. Even though the perspective has changed a lot from when I was younger, living the fairy tale can and does have its own perks.

            See you all next time!

     Lynn

Transitions

This was written June 11, 2011. I moved to Vienna on May 19, 2011.

In May 2011, I embarked upon what many friends were calling the adventure of a lifetime. Yet, I wasn’t quite sure I was up for any adventure as I was at an age where most people are seriously planning their retirement. My husband on the other hand was looking for a more exciting job and something he could really put his mark on.

I already had an exciting job. I mean, what’s more exciting than being a writer? I could visit places then write about them. If I didn’t want to visit, I could surf the net and find out everything I wanted to know about some place. Now, when I was younger, I dreamed of living in foreign places and living in the most exotic one I could find. Most of those places involved islands or Scotland but not the middle of Europe. 

I took myself out of the equation because I knew I had to let my husband make this decision. He’d always allowed me to follow my dream of writing. I’d travel to yearly conferences as well as a variety of other things writers do. He helped me in every way he could and took joy in every achievement I’d ever had. No matter his choice, I would support it. I told my kids they would support it too even though they wondered what they’d done to make their father want to leave home.

Now, why we were all stunned when he took the job, I don’t know but we only had six weeks to make it happen. Those weeks were like a whirlwind romance as we each learned it was a good thing we loved each other a lot. There were decisions to be made, items to pack and a house to prepare so we could go to Vienna, Austria. I think my dear husband was stunned the most when I told him this wasn’t the path I would have chosen but the one I was given.

Quicker than expected, we were on our way to the place we would live for the next three years. Our youngest son went with us as he was still our dependent even though he was nineteen and the older son was put in charge of the house we owned in the southwest US. The oldest and his family, along with the youngest, would be staying there while we were gone. 

We immediately went house or apartment shopping that Saturday just twenty-four hours after our arrival. We weren’t sure just what we wanted but we did know that eventually our dog would be joining us. Whatever place we chose had to have enough room for us and guests as we hoped we’d have lots of those. We’d also heard that storage would be a problem and kept that in mind as we searched.

It took us just a mere two and a half weeks to narrow it down to four places from almost fifty. I’d never looked at so many homes in my life. Our temporary housing was costing us a bundle and we knew the sooner we moved the better. Each place had pros and cons but I had a certain type of setting in mind when I thought of the old city.

For those who are not familiar with Vienna think Viennese Boys Choir or Johann Strauss. Think Mozart and Beethoven and Hapsburgs. Think humidity and grandeur and Napoleon and you’ll have an idea of the place I now call home.

Along with all the newness came an awareness of my new surroundings. This allowed me to suddenly see the world in a new light and in new ways. Instead of being stymied in my writing like I have been in many stressful situations, I’ve found myself surrounded by the peace and solitude I need to write good stories.

Finally, we found the place we’d call home. It overlooked the Schwartzenberg and Belvedere Palaces and was in a building with three embassies. It was built in 1869, had large rooms, fifteen foot ceilings and a fantastic landlord. It was a place of old world charm and definitely something I could see myself living in. It was as safe as one could be in a large European city. It also came with an indoor pool and sauna, something we didn’t have at home.

One of the most important things I’ve gotten out of the move besides understanding just how resilient I really am is inspiration for a craft I’d almost stopped being inspired for and by. Now we can go to a café and I study people again, weaving stories around what their particular situation might be. I’ve been to a foreign film festival, seen a tour-de-France type bike race and rode more trains than I’d ever been exposed to here in the States.

Yup, the next three years are going to bring wondrous ideas and writing. I just can’t wait.

Lynn