Sound of Music Gazebo

"I am sixteen going on seventeen"... yeah, I wish. Actually, no I don't. I'm so glad to be past that age, and no longer in my teens.

Here I am with my friend Fal (visiting from Hoboken) at the famous glass gazebo where Rolf and Liesl professed their affection for each other. This gazebo became so popular with fans that they rebuilt it, residing permanently in the gardens of Hellbrunn Castle.

If you'd like to see more pictures of Salzburg and the vicinity, I've uploaded a bunch more on flickr.com. Please see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/73459909@N00/

Salzkammergut

Lake Wolfgang was absolutely breathtaking. On our train from Prague to Linz we met a Czech lady familiar with Austria who shared the Salzkammergut (lake region) was her favorite and Lake Wolfgang, in particular. I was thrilled to find out our tour included a stop in this precious gem. Some of the opening shots of the the movie were shot here.  

Colors of Autumn

These trees and their palette of fall colors blew me away. There is something so peaceful about the onset of autumn... 

Leopoldskron Castle

Our first stop on the Original Sound of Music Tour: Leopoldskron Castle, the front side of which was used as the Trapp family home. The children played in boats on the lake, falling in to the Admiral's dismay (Maria's, too).

The morning started out with fog and slight rain. Austrians like to say, similar to the British, "we don't have a climate, we just have weather." 

Do, a deer, a female deer ... Re, a drop of golden sun...

This past weekend one of my childhood and adulthood dreams finally came true… the hills are definitely alive with the sound of music! After twisting my friend Fal’s arm, we boarded a train from Prague to Linz and then to Salzburg, Austria on Friday. Fal has been here for about a week and we determined it was time for a trip outside of Prague. We couldn’t have timed it better. Fall is hitting most of Central Europe and Austria, in particular, was breathtaking. I tend to think, however, that Austria is pretty much ALWAYS beautiful. I woke up on the train just before the Czech-Austrian border to catch some amazing sights of autumn. Vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow covered the rolling hills. Along the way I couldn’t help but think of my beloved Upstate NY. For me autumn will always have a special place in my heart of hearts—despite the many years since high school, it still represents an hour more of sleep, pulling out warm sweaters, sipping hot chocolate, early morning Saturday swim practices, and attending Friday night or Saturday afternoon football games.

Salzburg is world renown for the local boy, musical genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and, thanks to Hollywood and Rodgers and Hammerstein, the Trapp family. According to our guide, more visitors come to this famous Austrian city of 185,000 to catch the Sound of Music tour than to celebrate Mozart, but there are still many, many people that come to hear Mozart. One of the first things Fal and I did was visit Mozart’s birthplace and home. The third-floor apartment dwelling included his actual viola and harpsichord as well as many other personal items of the boy wonder. Each room in the house contained a different theme, and of course, different operas or compositions provided constant background music. The wunderkind wrote his first composition at age five and taught himself violin and the organ by age seven. I learned quite a bit about how his father Leopold took him on tour as a child, about his troubled relationship with the Archbishops and the court, how he eventually struck out on his own, and fun things like how to best powder one’s wig.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early for a traditional Austrian breakfast. Imagine if you will a fresh selection of breads, rolls, cheeses, yogurts, fruit, and deli-sliced meats. Lecker schmecker! Soon we were off to Salzkammergut to view Austria’s lake district, where the opening shots of Sound of Music were filmed. Words can’t do justice to the Austrian landscape: the green hills and mountains, the alpine waters, wooden-tiered houses, sheep and cattle … it is really something one would find only in a fairytale. From what I understand, the crew of Sound of Music did not exactly experience ‘fairytale’ conditions when they came to Austria to film. What they thought would take 6 weeks in reality took 6 months because of bad weather. In the middle of August, poor Julie Andrews was taken in a box-cart up Mountain Untersberg in a fur coat to guard her against the harsh cold and chilly winds. We, however, had a lovely day once the morning rain passed. There is nothing quite like the clean air and verdant mountains of Austria, its flowing beer taps, crisp white wines, schnitzels, apple and cheese strudels in custard, and the Austrians themselves. In all honesty, I was sad to leave Salzburg. I hope I'll find future opportunities (many future opportunities) to return!

Dilapidated building on Prespostska I street near Bratislava Castle

Sites such as this are fairly common around Slovakia. Some buildings look beautiful and others have been left to the ravages of time. With limited finances, it's simply impossible to renovate every historical building. In Trnava, we actually happened past several abandoned buildings in the former Jewish quarter or ghetto. I'm not sure which. For the most part these buildings were just sitting there replete with broken windows and falling plaster. Pavol informed me that the local government had opened up some of the city's abandoned buildings to the Roma gypsy population. As we passed one of these buildings the gateway opened; outwalked a father with two daughters. I peered in and saw a courtyard with hanging laundry and more dilapidated structures within. According to Pavol, many of these makeshift housing units do not have modern infrastructure; that is, toilet and modern plumbing. But, the Roma are content to live under these circumstance so they say. It's hard to comprehend.

Trnava Synagogue - Now Art Gallery...

I visited an exhibition of international posters while in Trnava. This synagogue, which now functions as an art gallery, was one of the venues.

I was a bit shocked by the poor condition of the synagogue. Of course, I've read about many of the old synagogues of Central Europe either totally destroyed or used to house equipment during Communism. This building from what I understand was almost totally lost because of water damage and lack of repair. However, some bit of money must have been invested to keep it afloat.

Not only was the poor condition of the synagogue kind of startling, but I was also a bit shocked by some of the museum's explanations regarding the few Jewish artifacts it had on display. Namely, when you entered the museum there was a plaque noting that several Jews were accused of 'blood libel' and summarily killed. Blood libel is a charge dating back to the middle ages alleging that Jews kidnapped Christian children and used their blood for rituals. Having studied Jewish history in Central Europe as well as anti-semitism through the ages, I have read about this accusation, but somehow this mention on the plaque hit closer to home. My good friend Hanka, a Slovak, has shared that anti-semitism was very ripe in Slovakia. Sometimes coming face to face with history is an unpleasant, uncomfortable encounter. 

Novy Most - "New Bridge" in Bratislava

This is Novy Most, which I mentioned. On the other side of the bridge is Petrzalka, a sort of
'model' socialist development. Saturday was very hazy, but you should be able to make out the blok after blok of apartments.  

Part Two- Yet another piece to the puzzle…

“Appropriate what you inherited from your fathers, so that you possess it.” – Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Sunday morning I woke up to a “Valent” breakfast: yogurt, an array of breads, a choco-croissant (how did you know!), and Nescafe coffee. Valent’s wife, Dagmara, is in London for 2 months, helping out her daughter and son-in-law with their young son, Sebastian. According to Valent, this is the first time in 28 years of marriage he is without his wife, but to his credit he seemed to be managing quite well. After a few pictures in his backyard poolside, we made our way using GPS to his nephew’s apartment in Trnava, what Slovak’s like to call “little Rome.” Valent has quite a keen, dry sense of humor, but his reliance on GPS for navigation really was the icing on the cake for me.

Some interesting facts I found out about Valent: he was born and grew up in Vysne Repase, a village in the Spis region of Slovakia just south of the high Tatry. The village dates back to at least the 14th century. A historical pamphlet put together for the 650th anniversary of the village named 60 families that were native to the village around the time of Maria Theresa (1740s): the Fecko family was among these 60. Don’t ask me or my cousins about the change in spelling… One guess is that Fetzko is the ‘Hungarianized’ or “Anglicized” version my grandfather inherited. Who knows?! And how are Valent and Pavol Gura related? They are the descendents of my great-grandfather’s and great-grandmother’s siblings.

Back to Valent, his major at university was the science of “keeping trains from crashing into each other”… seriously, I think that’s what he called it. In other words, he has an engineering background, but also went on to study computer science. All this eventually led to jobs with Andersen Consulting and most recently Hewlett Packard. For HP, he has really traveled the world: Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Besides his daughter in London, he has a second daughter Datka, who lives at home and works at the Bratislava paper, Sme. Oh, and least I forget, they have a 30-year turtle Sissina (sp?).

After one mishap with the GPS system (it failed temporarily), we finally arrived in Trnava at Pavol’s, Valent’s nephew. Pavol is very close in age to me, is married to Mirka, and has a little daughter Sara. He and his wife had purchased their flat about 2 years ago and are gradually finishing renovations. Despite the fact it was situated in a typical socialist block of flats, their apartment was very bright and nicely remodeled. They explained that purchasing an apartment is a big ordeal, and land or a house even more so.

Pavol, Mirka, and Sara - Trnava, Slovakia

Pavol has such a warm and welcoming way about him, I immediately felt at ease and at home with him, Mirka (his wife) and Sara (their daughter). We seemed to have an immediate connection. He appeared to have thoroughly read my letter and emails, even checking out the website where I work, and had a number of questions for me from the start. It was great to just dive in. Although there were a few moments of silence, for the most part, our conversation flowed rather nicely. What amazed me was that he almost always knew the intent of my questions and he even had a way of pointing a few things out about me (pure observation and intuition)! On a walk in the woods behind their flat Pavol pointed out that my gate was quick and determined rather than leisurely. I didn’t appear to be someone out to take in the sights. I had to laugh: yes, I’m a speed walker by nature. But, his observation struck a deeper chord: I frequently am more concerned about getting from point A to point Z than I am interested in taking in my surroundings and just being. Well, this sort of stopped me in my tracks ... I started to walk a little slower and tried to breathe in the peace of the woods and tried to enjoy the rays of sun on my skin, the simple life pleasures of a beautiful autumn day.

Back in the apartment I also browsed through the CD collection and came across many groups I personally like. It turns out Pavol is also a big fan of old Jazz greats, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Edith Piaf as well as Pearl Jam. (I actually saw Pearl Jam here in Prague in September). It was very neat to find these interesting similarities in tastes.

My visit with Pavol also provided an avid Eastern European history buff like me the opportunity to hear about life during communism and the personal experience of his family. Pavol told me how some of his sisters were denied entrance at university because they indicated belief in God on entrance applications. On the other hand, sometimes the powers that be awarded the sons and daughters of villagers a place at university because of their work as farmers and workers of the state. Pavol is part of the last generation that really remembers what life was like during communism. He also remembers the visits of my great cousin Albert Fecko who visited Slovakia over the years starting in the late 1970s. It was very apparent speaking to Pavol and Valent that they have a profound attachment to their beloved village Vysne Repase. In fact, Valent’s laptop opens to a picture he took in November 2005 of the village. Pavol simply beams when he talks about the mountain views. “It’s very different, very special there, you know, Christine,” he said.

And, I somehow know exactly what he means. For sure, Vysne Repase has a large list of troubles: the village numbers about 100 inhabitants, 2/3 of which are widowers. There is no industry save for subsistence farming (as far as I can tell). According to Pavol, alcoholism is a problem in many Slovak villages and men have been known to freeze to death after passing out. Despite these problems and the harsh nature of life in Vysne Repase, there is beautify found in the truth of this human experience.

How the World Turns

My next step is planning a trip to Vysne Repase...to see, in a sense, where it all began. Hopefully, I will accompany Valent and Pavol the first weekend of November.

Pavol has already given his mother a full report about my visit and my mention of different foods we still prepare in the United States. I was so surprised when I rattled off our typical Christmas Eve meal and he didn’t wince an eye. In fact, he knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned my grandmother’s special cabbage soup “machanka”. No one, not even friends of Slovak descent in the States, has ever recognized that name. I went on to tell him about my grandmother’s practice of preparing paska at Christmas and Easter, and how she would bake each grandchild his/her own paska (a round, white bread with raisins) at Easter every year. He knew paska as well and was quite surprised himself at my description since his own wife wasn’t entirely familiar with all of the dishes prepared in his family. So, I understand Pavol’s mom is going to prepare me some pirohy (pierogi) and maybe a few other surprises. I really can’t wait. The Czechs don’t do pirohy and I couldn’t seem to find them on a menu in Bratislava so perhaps it’s a food coming from northeastern part of Slovakia, close to the border with Poland.

After spending most of Sunday with Pavol, Mirka, and little Sara, Pavol drove me back to Bratislava and accompanied me to my traveler’s hostel. Before departing he gave me an absolutely fantastic photography book, How the World Turns, with pictures of life and specific individuals in a small village in eastern Slovakia. The pictures are deeply moving, filled with emotion, each telling a story and bringing you so close you could touch the human spirit. I have to say… it might just be one of the very best gifts I’ve ever received. As I began to flip through the pages of pictures, tears welled up in my eyes: making this trip, tracing family roots, connecting with distant relatives, learning about the past … this was a longtime desire of my heart. I can only say thank you Lord for making this possible! What a beautiful journey it has been...

PART ONE - Arrival in Bratislava

Family and friends,

This past weekend was a bit like finding a missing piece to the puzzle…I arrived in Bratislava on Saturday morning without a problem. It was smooth sailing! The weekend weather could not have been better, well, perhaps a few degrees warmer on Sunday and Monday, but I shouldn’t complain; I was able to walk around most of Saturday without a coat. The seemingly strong rays of the sun on my skin never felt better.

Bratislava’s main rail station is not so great, but it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming to the senses as Kyiv’s Borispol airport. Of course, once outside I saw several Roma gypsies, which is a common sight throughout most of Eastern Europe, and Slovakia, in particular. But, in contrast to past trips to Poland where Roma and drunken beggars come right up to you, people let me go my merry way.

Without much ado, I made my way down Stefanikova ulica and happened into the Presidential gardens. Yes, I just happened to peer in and noticed what seemed to be a park and walked in to enjoy the view and different modern art sculptures. After a few pictures of the changing colors of the leaves, it was on to the historical district. In just a few minutes I was in the vicinity of St. Michael’s gate and took a picture for a gentlemanly group of guys from New Zealand. How pleasant not to run into a band of stag party Londoners!

Bratislava has a compact, but lovely old town. It’s definitely not on the scale of Prague, but I found my visit really refreshing. I left behind the hoards of tourists in Prague and really felt like I had a city at my fingertips to explore. Bratislava has a number of churches, historic squares (e.g., hlavni namesti – “main square”), Bratislava castle, galleries, and museums that are worth a visit. On the advice of my travel bible (Lonely Planet), I decided to spend my afternoon taking in views of the castle and its various museums. From castle top, I had a terrific view of the Communists' flagship building project, Novy Most (“New Bridge”), which required the bulldozing of the former Jewish quarter. Across the Danube on the other side of the bridge is another ‘gift’ from the Commies: a model communist city called “Petrzalka”, which is comprised of one tall, sterile, ugly block of socialist flats after another. I understand this might be hard to imagine for those of you who have never visited a former Eastern Bloc country, but let me assure you: save for our inner city projects, we are really very blessed in the States.

Highlights of my afternoon included learning more about the Austro-Hungarian empire, including its military weaknesses, frequent insurrections, and use of “heyduck”, hired fighters from the Balkans. The music museum had a small exhibit on the Albrecht family, chamber music (i.e., how middleclass families in the 1700 and 1800s enjoyed communal music; how spontaneous playing occurred frequently, which sparked conversation, commentary, and further musical exploration), a section on hymns, including liturgical hymns in Slovak, which were early fruit of Slovak national consciousness.

At 5 p.m. was the moment I’d been waiting years for… to meet a distant relative … anyone hailing from the Fecko clan in Slovakia. After a little confusion, Valent found me, the lady in a pink coat waiting on the corner of Zidowska ulica (“Jewish Street”). As my eyes moved up from the pages of my guide book, I was overjoyed to see none other than a familiar pair of eyes, nose, and cheeks. I had to catch myself, but I really felt like I saw my grandfather in Valent, even some of my dad. Later that night we looked at old pictures from Vysne Repase, the village where the Fecko and Parana families come from. I showed Valent a picture of my dad and he immediately saw Fecko and Parana features. He then proceeded to show me pictures of his uncles, Mihal and Jan, with whom he thought my dad shared some common features.

Of course, there’s more to the story, including pictures… hope you’ll tune in for Part Two…

Off to Bratislava on a Quest..

So, I'm officially off tomorrow morning at 7 am to Bratislava to connect with members of the Fecko family. I can hardly believe it. After a few hours of sightseeing on my own I will be meeting Valent Gura, a distant relative who shares both Fecko and Parana lineage. The next day Valent is taking me to visit his nephew, Pavol Jr., who lives in the town of Trnava, often called "Little Rome" or "Slovak Rome". We shall see!

And, after several long weeks at work, I've finally submitted several drafts for a big project I've been working on. What a feeling! I admit work has been pretty consuming of late so I'm looking forward to a change of pace. It is much needed. I think I'm also due for some adventure.

Next week when I return to work I'm scheduled to take a course called, "Exploring Radio". Essentially, it is a course on broadcasting for non-broadcasters. This will hopefully spur my creative juices and provide me the opportunity to put together my own radio program (well, of course with the help of our trainers and other class participants :)). Can't wait! Yes, I know I'm a bit nerdy at times, but I can't help it.

Well, what in the world is everyone up to these days? I have failed miserably in developing interactivity on this blog. Please don't be shy!

Tracing Family Roots

Happy Friday! Whoooo. These past few weeks have been pretty busy. Man, I thought I left that in Washington, but I guess not. At work I am trying to finish up a major project before taking a break to travel and then moving on to a new assignment with a different office. This has meant slightly longer hours and my mind thinking mostly about work issues, with little time to make travel plans and such and fewer time spent at the gym. However, I realize this is kind of unhealthy so I'm making an effort to take care of other important things. For one, I'm researching a possible trip to Slovakia, the far eastern reaches to be exact, to connect with the old homeland of my great-grandparents and to possibly meet a few distant relatives. I'm not sure if it's going to happen. With the help of a kind Slovak friend I wrote several letters and put them in the mail about a week ago. No response yet. We shall see. I've been told our distant relatives live in the middle of no where... in remote villages near the famous Slovak High Tatry mountains, the Slovak version of the Alps. Originally I was hoping to make this trip with my dad, but unfortunately he is unable to visit for the time being. If you're a praying person, please try to remember to keep him in your prayers as he undergoes radiation this month and into the next. By the way, this picture here shows my dad (in the middle) surrounded by his older brother Tom and older sister Mary Anne. Isn't it precious? I dare say you can even see a bit of me in my dad's eyes and nose. Part of my quest to Slovakia is to see if I can find others bearing the Fetzko cheeks.

I'll keep you posted on this trip or what other possibilities might arise. My friend Becky who I met at church in Hoboken is a flight attendant and we've made a practice the last few years of meeting up in random places. Last summer it was the Tirana Rinas Airport at midnight (in Albania). I kid you not!

If you have time to gallavant over here in Central Europe with me let me know. Unfortunately my good friend Leah has already tried out the cheesy Sound of Music tour in Salzburg without me earlier this year. :( I still want to see Austria though and its many Christmas markets. Let me know!

A Great, Big, Fat Czech Wedding...

Hanging out in the Litomysl monastery gardens on Saturday morning was not only necessary (after an early morning bus ride from Olomouc), but it was also a real treat. We had a coffee and dessert and people-watched. This is one of several wedding parties that passed through the gardens. It's great to see local traditions, and of course, people out celebrating. 

UNESCO-protected Trinity Column in Olomouc

This is not the best night picture, but it sort of gives you an idea of the beauty of Olomouc's main town square. Olomouc is a city of many fountains. We enjoyed discovering fountains and columns around many a corner! 

Hanging Around the Monastery Gardens in Litomsyl

Here I am with my friend and colleague, Imelda. She is actually Indonesian, but married to a Czech. Pretty crazy! I am deeply grateful to Imelda, who helped figure out the train and bus schedules and wasn't afraid to use her Czech to make sure we were headed in the right direction. She also tried to pacify me when I ran into some problems with an ornery Czech lady at one of the museums. For Pete's sake, I walked outdoors, onto a balcony, and began to get my camera out to take a picture of the lovely countryside and this woman yelled at me and gave me the sternest and most unpleasant look I've seen since Moscow museum women yelled at me. She indicated that photography was never allowed anywhere on museum premises. I tried to communicate in limited Czech, but ended up making her suspicious of me. She thought I had photographed a special exhibit of religious monstrances. Me-- look suspicious? Come on... This lady then wanted me to put my camera in Imelda's pocket book. Imelda wisely said no, but I ended up having to put it in my pocket. This type of crazy mentality drives me up the wall. If you can't tell... I'm infuriated once again by the memory... okay, moving on...

Litomysl Renaissance Castle Courtyard Facade

Just have a look at these frescoes! In Europe I find it fairly easy to come down with church and castle fatigue, but my visit to Litomysl's famous Renaissance castle (actually situated next door to Bedrich Smetana's family home) to be refreshing and fascinating, a real pleasure to view and explore. 

Late September Travels: Olomouc and Litomysl in Moravia

As some of your know Prague lies in the Czech land of Bohemia. At the end of last week my friend Imelda and I decided to head out of town to visit a couple of small towns in the other part of the Czech Republic: Moravia. We visited Olomouc, which has many famous "seconds" after Prague and Litomysl, home to an exquisitely beautiful Renaissance castle. This happens to be a picture of the Renaissance castle which we toured. 

Home sweet home! Hotel Ukraine

What a gem of its former days! This mammoth structure sits upon Independence Square. We had the pleasure of staying here 3 nights.

Hotel Ukraine Interior

You gotta love the 'updated' former commie hotels. The ceiling was something to behold. 

Onion Domes Galore

In the distance you see St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. Kyiv is full of these lovely churches and monasteries. Two to three days was just not enough! 

St. Sofia's Cathedral of Kyiv

This is how St. Sofia's currently looks. You'll notice in the lower left corner some of the original romanesque architecture.

You might think ... not that impressive... well, the inside is very neat, but you can't take pictures! I still tend to think the St. Basil's in Moscow is more interesting, but I really enjoyed the fresco paintings in the upper levels.