I have learned...

I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants
to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is
obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach the top of the hill.

I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his
father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life.

I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at
another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.

from Gabriel Garcia Marquez says goodbye*

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, famous writer from Colombia , and Nobel Peace
prize winner for literature, has retired from public life for reasons of
health. He has a form of cancer which is terminal. He has sent a
farewell letter to his friends.

It's Official

On December 5th I am going to turn into a Canadian. I am going to take the oath of citizenship and swear to be faithful to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. I know, it sounds far fetched, so far away, across the ocean. But she is the Queen of Canada. Mmm...does that turn me into a Brit then too?

Canada has been good to me. Not many countries allow you to become one of them so "easily" . I say that now that that my memory is fading, forgotten are the stacks of form, that I had to fill out, medical exams, and the fingerprints, I had to get in both Canada and Austria years ago. And believe me, the Austrian authorities were testing my patience. Sending me up and down the stairs 5 x, charging me 70 Euro and then telling me: "Too bad that you are not a criminal: then you would have gotten the fingerprints for free. " Of course, they send me up and down the stairs again to pay the 70 Euro.

But still, at least it IS possible to become and feel like a Canadian. It wouldn't be that easy to become an Austrian. In fact, in Austria I'd be/ feel like a foreigner, if I moved to the other side of the country (In Tyrol, you are Tyrolian first, then Austrian, I hear). They would hear my Eastern Austrian accent, and treat me as such.

Here in the New World, I feel accepted, even with my Austro-Canadian accent. Arnie, the Styrian Oak, might have plowed the way for me. Although I think I am pretty good at saying "about" ::abAOUt:: :) And who knows, maybe the friendly Canadians do talk funny behind my back.

So thank you, all of you warm hearted Canadians out there in chilly winter wonderland, for accepting me as one of yours!

Yours forever,

Immigrant-Annie (aka Newcomer-Annie for my politically sensitive friends :)

Geocaching

I was happy to run into Gerald on the train in Austria. Yes, I know, this post is about a month late - I don't know, what happened, I was sucked into this black hole without computers over the last few weeks...

We made plans to meet to pursue Gerald's "bizarre hobby" - as he described it himself: Geocaching. Gerald aka Fetzo is a master geocacher, with over 200 geocaches discovered.

We met in Fetzo's home, where he gave us the intro to his hobby on http://www.geocaching.com/.

In a nutshell: some other geocacher hides a little tupperware container somewhere, preferably at a somewhat exciting location. Then registers it on the Geocaching website, including coordinates and some hints, so that people can go on a "scavenger hunt" with a GPS. Sometimes there could be little presents in the tupperware container, as a "souvenir" from the trip. In return, you leave another little present - pour les prochaines - they want to find something too.

We decided to go to Wilhelmsburg, about 20min south of STP. A cache was hidden on a hill by "gallows" from 1800 - you know, where they hung people.

The GPS is our friend. And off we go. I love walking - once I am out there. But without a reason, I find it hard to get myself motivated to go for a walk. I need a friend, a dog, or a destination to get me going. Geocaching is good this way. It speaks to the ancient hunter/explorer/discoverer in us :)


It turned out to be a rather short walk. To spice the walk up we added some excitement - well, we jumped over the ditch.

We are getting closer. On the way, we pass this old, beautiful oak tree. This mighty oak is definitely at an age to have witnessed the hanging of the crooks, murderers, and hopefully not too many innocent people, that have occurred some 200 years ago.

Group Photo: Judith, Matthias, Gerald, Anna and the Oak

And here is our destination: the gallows. Built in 1800, the emperor gave the jurisdiction to some monks that lived close by. So, the monks made the decision whether a person was to get hung or not. What can I say. I am happy to live in the 21st century.

Judith is our star. She discovers the treasure. And it was not easy: the hint that was given said: it's under some shrubs close to the gallows. Well the shrubs were gone, but nevertheless: Judith found the treasure under a rock.

Unfortunately not a chest of gold, but tupperware in a plastic bag, which took away some of the excitement. We forgot to bring little presents for the cache, so we decided just to sign the log book, and not to take any of the presents in the cache. But I must say none of the presents rocked my world anyways - neither the scruffy stuffed animal nor the hair elastic.

Thanks Gerald for the photos!

Amsterdam

Amsterdam did not dissappoint me. The city is lovely. Almost every time, when i was on my way to exploring the city, I managed to get lost within 2 minutes, and found myself in a fairy tale.

Everyone rides old, mostly black bicycles around the city of grachten. Mothers with kids, young people talking on cellphone and girls looking for something in their purses while riding. I even saw guys on bikes carrying big things like a string bass or a ladder. They must have a sixth sense, the do-not-crash-at-the-uncontrolled-intersection sense. Because these uncontrolled intersections are plenty. But for some reason, they manage to handle these intersections without problem.

Vondelpark - where the wild parrots hang out. I wasn't dreaming, someone else saw them too, as the youtube clip below shows.