Welcome to Vienna! Bienvenido a Vienna!
Alright, so I’m not there yet, but I am picturing the palm trees, an ocean breeze, and soothing sounds of reggaeton? This is, of course, not what will materialize before my eyes and aurals as my husband, two dogs, and bun in the oven (affectionately nicknamed “Chubs” for now) embark on a journey to the world’s second most livable city—a close second, I might add, to Vancouver, BC—very popular, the “V” cities. The count down is on. With less than two month’s time till lift off this pregnant lady has some great expectations for our new life.
What to expect, I’m not quite sure. I’ve been doing some research.
The Third Man, 1949, Graham Green, set in Austria’s post World War II reconstruction period.
Takeaways: Vienna is basically a big pile of rubble. Everything is black and white there. The older people speak some English, not well, but enough to give you basic information about a friend who has been killed in a car accident. The cops are crooked. So are the doctors. Vienna makes people viciously greedy and provides many opportunities to make a con.
Baby names: Holly (for a boy, clearly), Orson, Hedwig.
Amadeus, The Director’s Cut, 1984, Peter Schaffer, I watched many parts over and over and over again in late elementary school when Ms. Groupe didn’t feel like teaching in Music class. She’d fast forward through the nudity and naughty bits. Emperor Joseph II is my mother-in-law’s favorite “Enlightened Despot”. Marie Antoinette was his sister.
Takeaways: Everyone wears wigs in Vienna. They also have nice clothing. There are no cars, only horses and carriages. People like opera and music is generally important. Also, Salzburg sucks. Everyone wants to be in Vienna.
Baby names: Amadeus (obviously), Costanza, Despot.
That’s as far as I’ve gotten with my research. Anyone else have some decent movies on Austria or Vienna to recommend?
12 months ago
