Fall and Winter 2022

To continue the travel theme from the last two posts, the fall included two further trips!

Prague

At the end of October, I took the train (4 hours or so) to Prague to meet up with my cousin Ben, who lives in New Zealand but was on a work trip. Prague is a very beautiful city for its architecture and river, although the old city at least seems to have fallen prey to a lot of uncreative commercialism that caters to the tourist hoards. But the main point was catching up with family, so any sights along the way were icing on the cake. We had just Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday to visit, but we made the most of it: walking and talking our way through town!

Ireland

Already around my birthday last year, I realized I wanted to do something special and out-of-the-ordinary for my 40th birthday this November. It proved to be the perfect opportunity to finally visit dear friends in Dublin.

My impressions of Ireland were very positive: The green countryside, the friendly people, the (unseasonably) warm weather. I found it funny to be in a foreign country but still speaking English, and also to be in the British Isles but still paying with euros. And, even though I knew to expect it, the whole driving-on-the-left-hand-side-of-the-road thing was really weird, both from the perspective of a confused pedestrian at a crosswalk and also from a front-seat perch in a double-decker bus, huge picture window in front of me, wondering how we were going to avoid all the little cars down below!

The nine days in Ireland were full! There was time for rich conversation, the chance to share in family life with a lively three-year-old, the opportunity to visit Jez and Sharon’s church and get to meet a few people in their international congregation, and the fun of a good bit of exploring in Dublin and beyond.

On my own, I enjoyed jogs in the park right across the street, got an introductory feel for the city by lots of walking, spent part of an afternoon reading Tolkien in a traditional pub, visited two museums (Emigration Museum and the National Gallery), and also got up early one morning for an online job interview.

I visited the absolutely splendid gardens of Powerscourt, which National Geographic heralds as one of the top ten gardens in the world! Although I was there well into autumn, when many flowers were no longer at their prime, the gardens were absolutely enchanting. Most wonderful were the trees of all sorts, some very old and grand.

Together with Sharon, I enjoyed an evening in the famous Temple Bar area – first listening to a bit of lively traditional music with a pint of Guinness, then diving into a platter of fish and chips and good conversation. Speaking of the latter, Jez and Sharon are great conversationalists – not just in the sense of having interesting things to talk about, but also being willing to speak honestly and deeply, to wrestle with ideas, to ask good questions.

As a four-some, we spent two special days in western Ireland. First, we visited a well-preserved castle for a medieval feast! While such an event could have been incredibly cheesy, instead it was utterly delightful: With just the right measure of “suspended disbelief,” we were ushered into another world for a couple hours, with lovely music (harp, violin, voices), mead and hearty fare, and even friendly tablemates (in our case, a Californian couple celebrating their honeymoon).

The next morning, we continued on to the coast to see the iconic Cliffs of Moher. Apparently there used to be open access to the cliffs, but now a sensible wall has been added. (That said, I was tempted to ignore the “don’t go beyond this point” sign, in truly Holder style, but thought better of it in this case.) The water was so far below, you couldn’t hear any of the surf against the rocks. Very grand.

On the way home, we went on what felt like a wild goose chase to find The Burren, a national park sporting unusual rock formations. It seemed hard to believe that the area really existed, as signage was minimal and the green landscape seemed to show no signs of change. Nevertheless, suddenly we drove into a completely different landscape, with a rocky floor that looked like dried, cracked mud and hillsides in the distance appearing like a sunken cake. Fascinating!

Also on the route back to Dublin, we accidently came across monastery ruins, complete with a tower built for escaping from marauding Vikings. What a surprise to discover this historic landmark!

For my actual birthday (preceding the birthday trip to the west coast), Jez and Sharon really went out-of-their-way and over-the-top to make it very special! Sharon and I went out for brunch, where I tried my first “full Irish breakfast,” followed by cake and song, followed by fireside coffee.

In the afternoon, there were balloons and prosecco.

I had a nice long talk with Hannah and Peter and baked a cake (Mitford’s “Esther’s Orange Marmalade Cake”). After the little guy had supped and gone to bed, we adults feasted on fondue. What a day!

And what a great trip!

Job Hunting and Life in Vienna

Although travels make good blog post material, the main task of the autumn has been job hunting. For the visa option designed for recent graduates of Austrian tertiary institutions, I need to find a full-time position that corresponds to my level of education (but not necessarily field of study). Or at least that’s the official word – no need here to follow the rabbit trail of what one might be tempted to label as bureaucratic obscurantism. In terms of types of jobs, I’ve mostly been looking for assistant positions of some sort in university or NGO contexts, trying to find some points of intersection with my most recent studies and work experience. By year’s end, I have submitted about 65 applications and have had (or have scheduled) about 10 interviews, all for positions here in Vienna. I have met some pleasant people along the way, but it’s tiring and sometimes rather depressing work. After a much-needed week’s break between Christmas and New Year’s, I’ll pick up the search again on Monday.

When not job hunting, I’ve been doing freelance editing work, reading, podcast listening (Bible Project, Christianity Today), working at processing some of the challenges of the past year(s), and spending time with friends.

One treasured feature of the past months (and years!) has been singing with a community choir. This fall we performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah, which was a great delight (even if I joined the Covid club in the days to follow). This fall the board has been looking for a new director to replace out much-loved conductor who recently had to step down from the position. The search process has included having five candidates conduct a rehearsal, each with his or her own very different style and personality. I’m curious who will be selected!

I’ve also enjoyed time outdoors. I’m still cycling most of the time, but there have also been opportunities for a few hikes with friends.

There was a beautifully autumnal day north of Vienna along the Danube.

And there was a very wintry hike an hour or so south of town in the eastern foothills of the Alps. The temperature was indeed chilly (but with the energy crisis, maybe we’re all getting used to colder temperatures at home, as well), and the icy patches gave way to deeper snow on the plateau above. But we managed to stay at least warm with enthusiasm, and the vistas were grand.

Christmas celebrations were packed into four days of varied festivities. On the 24th, I joined friends for a lovely evening around a big festive table. The setting itself was elegant, but the conversation and laughter informal. After the turkey dinner, we sang Christmas carols and gathered round the tree: There were not just real candles on the tree, but also sparklers!

On the 25th, my friend Anne and I attended an early service at a very traditional Anglican church. It was a fine experience overall, but I didn’t realize ahead of time that a “read service” meant there would be no music at all. That was rather disappointing, but at least we provided 40% of the congregation in attendance (not including the three clergy conducting the service). The church was probably packed for the very festive mid-morning service, but by that time we had walked home and had brunch preparations well underway! Anne stayed all day, and we took a walk, talked up a storm, eventually made dinner.

On the 26th and 27th, Anne and I visited friends from church who live south of Vienna, on the outskirts of the small town of Eisenstadt (famous for Joseph Haydn, who worked there as a composer under the patronage of the Esterhazy family). It was lots of fun to get to know Márton and Kata better, as well as their two very sweet children!

Year-End Ruminations

Here it is New Year’s Eve: a morning hike (the photo below will have to suffice, or I won’t manage to get this post finished today!), some house-cleaning, and the anticipation of a game night with friends.

In wrapping up this post, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that this year has been full: full of wonderful travels, rich times with friends, nourishing books and podcasts, and hard-won accomplishment. But the year has also held what seems like more than its share of difficult decisions, unanswered questions, and heartache.

One of the hardest things about blogging (not to mention life in general), is the elusive art of realistic representation. The very genre seems to obscure the fact that the trajectory of life is usually shaped less by the extraordinary than by the common: routines for starting and ending the day, small-talk with acquaintances and heart-to-heart conversations with a friend over coffee, unremarkable duties of study or housekeeping or paid work or job hunting, habits of half-conscious reflection that nurture either bitterness or thankfulness, and fleeting – yet time-stopping – gifts of beauty (that cloud! this flower!).

It’s good to look back over 2022 and to mark the manifold gifts, big and small, with which the year has been graced. At the same time, as tomorrow brings not just a new day but also the dawning of a new year, I find myself needing that “sun of righteousness [rising] with healing in its wings.” Looking ahead, I hope that 2023 will be a year marked by growth in grace – of deeper trust in God’s expansive and particular goodness and of cooperation with the Spirit of Jesus in cultivating gentleness, gratitude, hope.