Vienna Vacation (part 3)

Am back.

To reality.

I mean, back to work.

Oh, Vienna was real alright.

Just that when you're a stranger in a strange land, things just feel different.

Like an alternate reality.

OK, I'm reading too much SciFi. :)



Returned to Singapore yesterday. Got back to work this morning. Now clearing my personal emails and catching up on some blog alerts...

Ah, heartening to know the library@orchard citizen bloggers have been really active. Which reminds me... I've got maybe a day or two to put a video for the Moving On party (don't panic Ivan, don't panic!)

Learned from a google alert I set up that Mr. Miyagi's blogge about using the library's enquiry service again. He viewed the service as a "great resource of last resort" and suggests that users "Google first" before bothering the librarian. Heh.

Oh, I've got an email from a librarian from the Neatherlands! Jaap van de Geer, who works for DOK, Delft Public Library. He read that I was visiting Vienna and asked if I could make a detour to Amsterdam to visit Delft. Got his message too late though. Anyway, he mentioned how they are trying to get ideas to build a new library. He and two other colleagues (Erik Boekesteijn and Geert van Boogaard) completed a road trip in the USA last month, in search of best practices and innovation within libraries. Results of that tour at www.shanachietour.com.

Interesting! I've sent a quick reply to him. Will watch the videos at the site later (they edited it on the fly, according to Jaap).

I'll have to find time to complete the SeaStars music album with Adrian. By December. Incidentally, this music video will be screened at the inaugural Songcraft Year-end Concert next month.

And in between, I'll have to blog more about Vienna.


[Free-hand sketch, from a photo I took, of the Schonbrunn palace]

I don't know how to adequately describe Vienna.

So I won't.

The Travel Guides do a better job.

Go read them. : )

But I'll certainly be blogging about the visits to the Central Public Library in Vienna (Buechereien Wien), and a visit to the United Nations building (the library of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to be exact.

BTW, guess how many photos I took?

One thousand, three hundred and forty-seven.

[Reference: Part 2]

Vienna Vacation (part 2)

You know you're in Austria when you type in "google.com" and you're automatically redirected to "google.at".


It's Saturday 10 November, 10.52pm in Vienna, as I blog this (six hours behind Singapore). Using my wife's laptop, via the free Internet access in the hotel room (not all hotels offer free Internet access though).

Been a good learning experience so far. Walked alot. Got lost alot (I guess that's how one learn sometimes, though my wife would grumble at me for not asking for directions).

Today my wife and I stumbled quite unexpectedly to the Austrian National Library (to my non-librarian readers, it's a National Library like this one, not a Public Library).

We knew the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) was in the city area but we weren't really looking for it. We more or less stumbled onto it, so we decided to pop in to have a look.

It looks very grand from far away.


I couldn't help but imagine -- in an alternate universe, where statues would come to life, if you've been tardy in paying your library fines (assuming you could borrow things from the National Library), they'll send this imposing horseman to your house!


And if that's not enough, there will be these mean looking warriors accompanying the horseman.


"Excuse me sir, are you sure you've paid your fines? Try explaining to my trusty broadsword!".

Just kidding!

Seriously, it's a very grand looking building (Greco-Roman architecture?)


You walk up the steps and you next face this grand entrance that's well over four metres (of course the door that you actually open is the standard two metres or so).


The foyer area is also very grand looking.


Ah, I quickly learned that the Austrian National Library doesn't open on weekends (maybe I've been too used to our own National and Public library opening hours).

So I snapped a shot of the member's reading room from outside the sliding door.


Notice the "No Dogs Allowed" sign? (first one from the left). In Austria (like in Germany), people bring their pet dogs with them when they go shopping. It's not surprsing to see dogs and their owners in restuarants and shopping districts.

The "No Smoking" sign may seem odd to Singaporeans too (third one from the left). But in Austria, the norm is to be able to smoke in buildings, restuarants etc. For a non-smoker like me, it's not an enjoyable experience dining in a place with second-hand smoke as an ingredient.

So far, my wife and I are enjoying Vienna even though it's been cold (between 2 to 6 degrees Celsius) and wet. Been drizzling. Good thing we were prepared for the weather.

Today's our third day in Vienna. We've been to some of the cultural attractions (the names are lost to me... will check/ blog later). Paid quite a sum in entrance fees too.

Speaking of expensive, seems that most of the public toilets here costs money to use -- 50 cents (Euros). That's about SGD$1.20 just to pee. Darn expensive pee. The next time I use a public toilet in Singapore, I'd be more appreciative that I hardly have to pay for using most of them.


Overall verdict so far: Vienna's nice.

It's safer and more tourist-friendly than I expected.

(p.s. I won't be blogging from Vienna that often, if at all. Will be moving to another hotel, and the Internet access isn't free. Plus it's really tiring to be able to blog properly. And no, the musical genuis of Mozart and Strauss have not rubbed off on me. Heh.)


[Reference: Part 1]

Vienna Vacation (part 1)

Apparently the word "Vacation" has its origin from the word "Vacate". At least that's how I understood it from reading this definition from Dictionary.com:

Origin: 1350–1400; vacātiōn- (s. of vacātiō freedom from something; see vacate, -ion)

I'll be going off for a two-week vacation in Vienna.

Yeah. Where the Danube river flows and inspired Strauss to compose one of his masterpiece (at least the part that flows through Austria, I think).

But I certainly don't feel free, and my mind isn't empty of work. At least not now.

The irony (to me) was that in trying to prepare for my vacation, I'm spending more time doing work now, so that I can clear as much as I can before I go for my break.

I suppose it's necessary to give me a greater peace of mind, if I know that I've done my share of the work. And that my colleagues aren't cursing and swearing in my absence, for having to do my share, heh.

Anyway, part of this "lack of peace of mind" was because I was totally clueless about Vienna.

So I did what I usually do when preparing to travel.

I hit the library.

The Travel Guides section, to be specific.

Now, it's not that I don't check the Internet.

I did.

In fact, it was the first thing I did (let's face it -- Google's just at my finger tips, and I'm facing the computer most of the time, than wandering among the library shelves).

But there's always a point where I want to check what's in print as well.

It's not that the Internet resource isn't reliable or credible (they are, and more updated than a printed edition sometimes). But somehow I find comfort in verifying the information in print.

Plus I find useful information in print, that might not be presented the same way on the Internet site.

For instance, this guidebook I found today -- "Wallpaper City Guide: Vienna (Wallpaper City Guide)"

ISBN: 9780714847344
NLB Call No.: 914.361304 V - [TRA] (travel guides section)

It was in a handy pocketbook format. Plenty of pictures (more so than what I found at a single website). It suggested specifically on what one could do when exploring the city.

There's a section "24 Hours: See the best of Vienna in just one day" that suggests on a few notable places to visit. Shows the insides of restaurants; there's a "Architour" section showing some of Vienna's iconic buildings (all modern architecture).

The "Essential Information" segment (2 pages) provided useful addresses and telephone numbers.

I like how they provided a short "Cost Of Living" segment, on transport costs (airport to city centre is 40 euros), a cappuccino (2.90 euros), daily newspaper (1.20 euros). Gives one a benchmark on how much things would cost there.

This particular guide covers shopping tips (come to think of it, almost all travel guidebooks never fail to include shopping).

I decided not to borrow the guidebook though.

I learned from two other guidebooks (I may blog about them if there's time) about the Vienna Woods. That interested me more than shopping. So this guidebook didn't mention how to get to the Vienna woods and the Danube river.

Overall this guide seems to cater more for the up-market travellers rather than those on a budget. Unfortunately this guide doesn't indicate when it was published.

So I'll borrow some other guidebook instead. Still, having browsed this one gave me a better idea of what I might not want to do, so that I'm more focused when planning my itinerary.

My vacation starts on the 7th.

In two days.

But maybe I should borrow another sort of book.

Not a travel guide.

A book that teaches one how to empty one's mind.

I think I need to do that first, in order to really enjoy my vacation. : )

Back from Beijing (Part 6) - My misconceptions about the Great Wall

[From: Part 5 - Walking on the Chinese Wall]

As far as scenic views go, there isn't much to see at the top of the Juyong Guan wall. There wasn't meant to be. The wall was built for defense.


Prior to visiting the Great Wall, I used to have this mental picture of Emperor Qin Shi Huang standing on top of a hill, looking down on the wall being built by slaves, who are falling to their deaths by the thousands.

Blame it on some ill-conceived illustration in a school text book in Primary School!

I now know (from the tour guide and the books I consulted after the trip) that:
(1) The wall was not always a continuous structure;
(2) Its construction started before Qin Shi Huang came into the picture;
(3) No sane ruler, especially one who could unite China, would depend entirely on slave labour to build something as important as a wall for defense.

OK, I'm not too sure about the last part. It might have been conscripted labour, or a mix of conscripted labour, soldiers, paid craftsmen. I'm sure there's some scholarly article about its construction in some library somewhere.



In reality, the "Wall" was built in parts by earlier dynasties, throughout their rule. It dates back to the Warring States Period (453 - 221 B.C.), built as defensive measures against rival kingdoms. It was Qin Shi Huang who had all sections connected after he unified China (see this page for reference as well).



There are different sections of the wall that is open to public. The one my wife and I visited was at "Juyong Guan". Other sections (at some distances away) are at locations like Ba Da Ling, Jin Shan Ling, Mutianyu, and Simatai -- all which I've not visited, in case you're wondering.


The Juyong Guan wall is also famous for a building called "Yun Tai" or "Cloud Platform", a base for a temple (see this reference). Unfortunately it was closed for restorations and I wasn't able to get a decent picture from the outside.

The Yun Tai's significance, as pointed out by our tour guide, was that it housed the (lost) script of the Xi Xia language.

Xi Xia was a relatively small state that was eventually conquered and whose written records were deliberately destroyed by Genghis Khan's armies during the 14th century. In essence, the Xi Xia race ceased to exist. Literally wiped off the face of this earth.

Genghis Khan's armies wasn't the first to deliberately destroy a people's recorded existence -- and they certainly weren't the last.

Aside: Imagine all of the human race's records and heritage stored on digital devices. Then we either run out of power, or the technological know-how to retrieve that information. Eventually the physical equipment deteriorates and all stored information is lost.

Hmm... Perhaps that might indirectly account for some of the words, symbols and names carved onto the Wall -- the equivalent of "Killroy was here". I noticed quite a bit of that. Some are obviously quite recent. Maybe deep within our subconscious, we humans are wet-wired to leave some physical mark just to prove that we exist.



Uh, no -- I didn't leave any mark on the wall.

[This is the last scheduled post regarding my Beijing vacation. I've more pictures and stories but I won't be blogging about them. My wife and I plan to visit Beijing again, and most certainly China. Wonder how much China will change by then.]

Back from Beijing (Part 5) - Walking on the Chinese Wall

[From: Part 4 - Up the Great Wall of China]

"Walking on the Chinese Wall
Watching for the coins to fall"

Anyone recall Philip Bailey's "Walking On The Chinese Wall"?

Lyrics here; scroll down this page for the song preview.

"Walking On The Chinese Wall"
Words & Music: Roxanne Seeman & Billie Hughes
Source: www.noanoamusic.com

Butterfly
Spread your painted wings
For an answer from the Ching

By the stream
Stretching in the rocks
Tiger on the mountaintop

Walking on the Chinese Wall
Watching for the coins to fall

Now the sun
Is rising in the East
Looking for my golden fleece

Ivory skin
Scarlet color deep
Lips that burn but do not speak

Three misty nights
Waiting by the shore
Maybe that my lover comes no more

Red Chamber Dream
From the sky above
Ancient tale of hidden Chinese love

On the Chinese Wall
Watching for the coins to fall

Blue red silk
Burning on my chest
Go to sleep but not to rest

Stepping stones
On the Yellow Sea
Dreaming she’ll be there for me

Walking on the Chinese Wall
Watching for the coins to fall

Come down the clouds
To the sea of flames
From the mountain hear the cry of pain

Red Chamber Dream
From the sky above
Ancient tale of hidden Chinese love

On the Chinese Wall...

Next: Clearing my misconceptions about the Great Wall

Back from Beijing (Part 4) - Up the Great Wall of China

[From: Part 3 - Inside the Forbidden City]

While approaching the Wall at Juyong Guan by car, it didn't appear all that impressive.


The walk up the wall would be a piece of cake. It's gonna be a breeze to get to the top most guard tower, I thought. Ah, my city-bred cockiness knows no bounds, heh.


All sense of cockiness quickly vanished as took the stairs (it felt more like a climb). The thinner and colder air, along with the biting wind, soon had me panting and sniffling. Each step became slower and stiffer.

You're not supposed to suffer on a vacation! What was I thinking of, climbing the Great Wall? It seems my wife and I just like to subject ourselves to physical exertion while on vacation.

The guide later told us that each time he brought vacationers to the wall, 80% of them never make it past the first guard post (which was maybe 50 to 100 steps). They all chose to turn back and wait in the bus.

Thinking back, I can understand why. You're lulled into a sense of complacency as you start your walk up the wall. You see steps and handrails, and you wonder how hard it would be to walk up a flight of stairs. You tend to underestimate the effort required.

I think most overseas vacationers (like myself) fail to take take into account the wind, the cold and slightly thinner air. But what is first to go aren't our muscles but our mental strength.

About 50 steps up the wall, I haboured thoughts of turning back. I was making excuses why there's no point trying to make it up to the top. Where was the top anyway? There's nothing to see but dull coloured hills.


But my wife and I decided to continue. We walked and rested as much or as little as we wanted. Much of the walk up the wall, all I saw was this.


All I heard was my breathing, the wind against my windbreaker, my shoes on the stone steps (that were quite worn out on the side where there were railings, which made me wonder just how many feet it required to wear out the step like that).

At one point, I looked back and saw this.

Might as well just keep going up.

The walk became easier. I was able to moderate my exertion (reminding myself I'm not the 19 year old anymore). Winter was an off-peak tourist season so there weren't large crowds to contend with. I was able to take in and enjoy the sights.

It's not a contest.


Next: More pictures and learning points from Walking the Chinese Wall.

Back from Beijing (Part 3) - Inside the Forbidden City

[From: Part 2 - Entering the Forbidden City]

Our tour guide, a Beijing resident who has about 15 years of experience in the business, could easily rattle off the names of the halls and courts we were in. I certainly cannot. As I look through the photos, I have trouble remembering where is what.

This should be the "Hall of Mental Cultivation" (as verified from a picture found at this page; see also the map of the palace).

I took this shot as I wanted a picture of the huge bronze urn. Such urns could be found throughout the inner court. Apparently, in the old days, they were filled with water and were they functional equivalent of fire-hydrants. If fire broke out, the palace staff would obtain water from the urns to douse the flames.

According to this same page, this hall has a series of smaller rooms/ buildings where the emperor summoned individual officials to discuss state matters (like modern day conference rooms?)

This room was where the Empress Dowager Cixi "ruled behind the curtain". Her story is the stuff of soap operas and dramas (many Hong Kong serials have been produced over the years, btw). You'll notice two seats with yellow cushions. The seat nearer to the left was where the emperor sat as he discussed matters with court officials. Behind that was where Cixi sat, with the yellow veil/ curtain dropped down.

In a nutshell -- as the child emperor was too young to rule over the state, Cixi (as queen mother) effectively directed state matters. However, for the purpose of keeping up with appearances, she had to do so behind the curtain.

The imperial palace is marked by the 'Outer Court' and the 'Inner Court'. The former was where the emperor and the court officials held their official business. The latter was where the living quarters of the royal family (court officials, I was told, had their residences located outside the palace, within the city). Leading in and out of the inner and outer courts are corridors like this one.

To get a sense of how wide the corridors are, try spotting the three tourists in the picture.

What was it like back then? Were corridors like this bustling with activity, with court and palace officials hurrying about? Did soldiers patrol the place? Or was it deserted, cold and forbidding?

***

Everything in the Imperial Garden looked brown, bare and grey to me (it's winter!)


We saw these old gnarly trees, some of which sported coloured metal tags. The different coloured tags denoted the age of the trees. I think they ranged from 100 to 300 years old, if I remember correctly.


We made our way out by passing through the "Gate of Divine Prowess/ Might":


I thought I'd see the streets after passing through the north gate but there's still a long stretch. There's a mountain in the distance.

I mentioned in the previous post how the design of the palace was based on geomancy principles. Generally, it was deemed as auspicious to have "mountains behind one's back", taken to mean "having strong support" or "strong backing". My own understanding is that with mountains at the back, it meant that the palace was protected from enemies' attacks from the rear. Whether it's science or superstition, something must be working right for the palace to still exist after 500 years.

To the left and right of where we walked was the moat.


Walking out, my mind was still filled with a sense of the ancient. Meeting the first road upon exiting the Forbidden City, I tried to picture horses and carts instead of fuel-powered vehicles.


The road was not too congested on a Saturday afternoon. I'd expected more bicycles on the road. The tour guide said generally there were less cyclists because (1) it was winter, and (2) Beijing has grown so much over the years that it's become impractical to cycle long distances.

Next: Climbing the Great Wall at Juyong Guan

Back from Beijing (Part 2) - Entering the Forbidden City

[From: Back from Beijing (Part 1)]
The toll gates from the airport to the city gave a hint of the architectural designs one might get to see in Beijing, particularly the Forbidden City -- the imperial palace.

According to the Frommer's travel guide that I borrowed (2006; 4th edition; Call No. 915.155604 FB; under the Travel section in NLB libraries), "sourcing of materials for the original palace buildings started in 1406 and construction was completed in 1420".

What stood out for me was how the palace was constructed according to geomancy principles -- from the geographic location of the palace grounds, to the schematics of the buildings. Our tour guide did a wonderful job in explaining all that, at least enough for me to make some sense from what little I knew about geomancy. Unfortunately, I didn't take notes and can't adequately explain them here.

Anyway, you might make something out of these maps here, here and here (the last one is a satellite picture).

We started off at Tiananmen (天安門) or the "Gate of Heavenly Peace".
天 "Tian" = "Heavens/ Sky"
安 "An" = "Peace"
門 "Men" = "Gate/ door"



You step through the entrance (right under the portrait of Mao Zedong) and walk through...


... into this courtyard that's before the Duanmen (the "Upright Gate", which is in the distance).


Then after the Duanmen, you reach the Wumen ("Meridian Gate").


At this point, I lost track of what gate or location I'm at. I'm just following the guide absently, taking in the sights, wondering how it was like 500 years ago. The wind was biting. My hands turn numb as I kept taking and putting the gloves on and off to operate the camera. Basically, there's more walking and you have more gates to pass...


... before you reach where the emperor holds court.


Whew... talk about 'Red Tape'. LOL.


Next: More pictures from the Forbidden City.