Saturday, August 22, 2009

Three's a charm

I was wrong. I thought Randi was nuts for planning a three week vacation.

I'm a confessed workaholic. The idea of three weeks off was causing me heavy stress.

It's all over now and I'm proud to say that I not only survived the long vacation, I've become a convert. A week and a half in, I stopped checking email every other hour, my phone stopped ringing, my heart beat slowed and now, even back home in NY, I feel like I've really been somewhere. Which, of course, is true.

Three weeks in Europe.

There's something about being somewhere long enough that sets you into a rhythm. You start to see the cycles, sense the traditions. You start to know your way around.

The third (and final) birthday we celebrated was on our last day there. It was three year old Emilia Bercow's. As we sat in the front of the Maier's house and celebrated, I suddenly felt like we were no longer tourists. The neighbors knew who we were. A lady passed by, handing out a notice for a funeral. The Schwimbad attendants were sad to see us go.

We weren't just returning home. We felt like we were leaving somewhere, too.

Of course, compared to Larry, we'd barely set in a toe. It's pretty hilarious. Everyone who knows Larry Bercow thinks of him as a died-in-the-wool Manhattanite. Before he met Klaudia, I couldn't even get him to visit me in Brooklyn. Now he's setting up shop in smalltown Austria and them there hills have become his new Soho stroll.

It's awesome to see and, to be honest, I hope he stays. With Larry and Klaudia in Austria full time, I just have to figure out what I'm doing with the other 49 weeks, next year.

They organized a carriage ride for Emilia's 3rd birthday. I love this video. It shows small town Austrian traditional life, plus there's a ton of really weird stuff going on here. First, everyone's wearing clothes worn for Austrian traditional events. Klaudia is wearing a Dirndl. (She said she hadn't had one on in 20 years but I guess she's starting to feel Austrian again. Plus, she looks kinda cute!) And Larry is wearing Lederhosen! We all almost died laughing when we saw him. Also, the carriage driver turned out to be Klaudia's former "socialist youth group" leader. They pulled over for beers and schnapps along the route (Emilia had a soft drink, I think) and the driver told Klaudia that Obama's election was 'one of the happiest days in my life'.

75 years ago, Hitler made a whistle stop at the train depot here. Now, the lederhosen-wearing carriage driver is kvelling about America's first black president. I guess some traditions are actually nice to break!

2 comments:

  1. Eddie - what a great way to get a Rosenstein fix. I noticed your post today on FB & porceeded to read all of it, start to finish, & watched every video to boot. I was supposed to leave to get a baby shower gift about 1/2 an hour ago, but I am happily distracted. I can't believe how tall the boys are! Thanks for sharing your Eddie-thoughts with us. :)

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  2. I hope you come back often !!!! We really miss you!!!! xoK

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