Courting Vienna
The article starts off with a very intriguing description of a person, not of Vienna, that drew my into the piece as I wondered about the significance of this person. The concluding line of the first paragraph, " Her name is Annelies, and she, not Mozart, nor Beethoven, nor even Empress Sissi, has come to embody Vienna for me", is interesting because now the reader knows her importance to the author but not yet why. The rest of the article does a good job of exploring the author's time in Vienna up until he meets this waitress.
The whole article is about how we wants to get the local perspective of the city, instead of the tourist perspective which I know is a goal we are aiming at when we write our own pieces. His first stop of shopping in the local markets was a good move because that is really something that visitors do not do and he explored a lot of culture in that market, even learning a local's recipe for sauerkraut. I found the dialogue he put in very good and useful in understanding his experiences.
I felt like during his journey through the parts of the city, he weaved in the history very well. But there were some points, especially during the section about music and his own attempts at conducting, I felt that there was too much.
Still I liked the way he pointed out little details of life in Vienna, focusing on parts of Viennese life that is indigenous and not touristy and how he discussed his own transition from visitor to local when he talked about loving to return from the center of the city to his Vienna. Overall, I think the article provided a very good view of the city and talked about the merits of the city outside of what the every day tourist will see and experience.
I agree with most of what you say. I'd also like to point out how vivid and unique a style the author has. The description of the woman was interesting and engaging, and so were the other interactions. However, the piece doesn't seem to have an entirely clear focus.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the section about conducting an electronic symphony was a bit odd, but I think it is also useful in some respects to get at the more "touristy" elements of Vienna. Opposite to Andrew, I think the focus and angle was present and unique. The idea of one's favorite coffee-shop in Vienna being representative of their personality is intriguing (considering in America it's either Starbucks or Dunkin, mainly). The author's beginning and conclusion revolving around the idea of finding this coffee shop, is really interesting. The ending paragraphs sum this up well; "But it’s not until I find Café Sperl, which opened in 1880 and became a venue of the Jugendstil (art nouveau) crowd, that I really feel as if I’m finally settled in Vienna...I’ve been awed by the conservative dignity of Vienna’s past and amused by the quirky lives of some of its locals, but sitting in Café Sperl, refilled teacup in hand, the afternoon wearing on, there are no sights I need to see, no people I need to meet. I’m in no rush to go anywhere—content to linger like a local."
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed the author's command of language in this piece. Andrew's comment about his descriptions is spot on, when he introduced the neighbor, it was totally painting a picture of this woman and her mannerisms. I enjoyed the section about the symphony when I took it as a metaphor for being such a fish out of water that a young girl can accomplish something with simplicity that the author cannot accomplish at all. I think at times, the author can get bogged down with reminding us that he is definitely not a tourist - he mentioned the hotel a few too many times for my liking.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way the author was able to tell individual stories throughout his "non-tourist" piece of Vienna. We are able to see where this people and their families fit into Vienna and then how the author tries to do the same. But at times I feel the author got in his own way by comparing Vienna to the other places he's been and by reminding the reader that he is doing the local thing and not just seeing where Mozart lived.
ReplyDeleteThis piece moves. The narrator is moving from place to place; from historical "non-tourist-touristy" points to running into the local life. What's best about this is that the facts don't weigh down the piece and the characters he draws on are intriguing. I agree with Annie the author has incredible control of the language here. The details in places created pretty vivid mental images.
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