July 15, 2016
HOW A COUNTRY CAN RENEW ITSELF
A few weeks before leaving for
Europe we had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and the fortune cookie,
prepared by the Peking Noodle Co., promised: A
much needed vacation will bring a great deal of enjoyment. The Chinese
were right and the trip to Bavaria and Austria, which
had a professional as a well as personal component, was indeed most pleasant.
Delta does not have a direct flight
from Salt Lake City to Munich, which was the first destination. To reach the
continent one has to go either via Amsterdam or Paris. I chose Paris and
happened to come face to face with the fact that goodness exists in people
everywhere. The flight itself was uneventful, but in order to make the
connection to Munich one has to go once more through security which
necessitates the placing of one’s belongings, watch, wallet, glasses etc., in a
basket. Since I am no longer capable of walking the distances of modern
airports I’m condemned to a wheelchair which has, however, the advantage that I
don’t have to be scanned any more. A swipe of the hands with some specially
prepared tissue is sufficient to convince the security personnel that I haven’t
been engaged in making bombs. While the wheelchair attendant and I were sitting
in a staging area waiting for a bus to take us to the gate up comes running one
of the security officers waving my wallet in his hand. It had been left in the
basket when I was handed back my belongings and I hadn’t missed it. It was a
gift from heaven.
The short hop to Munich was unremarkable and as promised my
daughter, Krista, met me at arrival. She is a confirmed world traveler, had
left the US about 10 days
earlier, spending the time in Russia,
Israel, Lebanon and Jordan. She had already arranged
the rental of a brand new Ford at the airport which served us very well without
a single mishap and since it ran on Diesel it got better mileage. We then set
out in a steady drizzle on the Autobahn for Graefelfing. The latter is a
little town west of Munich
and not a tourist attraction but it served a professional need. The scientific
program I’m using for analyzing the brain’s electro-magnetic activity is
produced there and I spent the next day with the programmers discussing
potential improvements.
The next overnight stop was Innsbruck where I had an appointment with colleagues at
the University Hospital. The city can be reached within
a couple of hours on the Autobahn but we were in no hurry and planned to spend
the day touring the countryside on the way. Of course, it drizzled and it was
somewhat cool but Krista, who is an avid mountain hiker, wanted to show me the Zugspitze near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Obviously, since I can hardly walk any distance on the flat I’m not able to
walk up a mountain, but it’s not necessary in the Alps.
Cable cars and Gondolas take even the most decrepit senior citizen all the way
up to the top of the mountains where there is always a restaurant with good
local food. But when we got there the lady at the ticket counter took one look
at me and advised against the trip. I had only brought summer clothes (it was
June after all) and she told us that up on top the temperature was at the
freezing point and in view of the clouds no visibility. We abstained and went
on south towards Austria.
Lunch was at a little restaurant in Mittenwald, which prides itself as housing
Germany’s highest elevation brewery and invites one to spend some time there.
We went on, however, and passed into Austria. All of us have heard about
the phenomenal congestion at the border because of the refugee problem, but
there were none in sight. We drove across as if we were going from Utah to Idaho
and the only way of knowing that we were now in a different country was a sign
on the road that had the EU symbol and the flags were no longer the German
black-red-gold but the Austrian red-white-red. Borders, visas etc., are
currently as obsolete as they were prior to WWI and one can only hope and pray,
in view of the most recent political developments, that it will stay this
way.
In Innsbruck we stayed at the Hotel Sailer
on a quiet side street with good accommodations. This and all the other hotels
we stayed in have gratis Internet connections so that one can remain in touch
with the rest of the world. I shall give the names of the hotels we stayed in
because they can be recommended for Americans who intend to include Austria in
their vacation plans. The next morning was spent at the EEG laboratory of the
University Hospital and in the afternoon we headed up the mountain in beautiful
sunshine. The Nordkette
is on Innsbruck’s
doorstep just like the Wasatch here at home. The elevations of the Alps are
lower than the Rockies but they also start a sea level while our home in Sandy
is already above 5,000 feet. As such the views of the mountains are comparable.
A funicular railway takes one about a quarter of the way up then come gondolas
and one ends up at the Seegrube
where there is a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and the city of
Innsbruck below. Most impressive were the mountain bikers. One can rent a bike
before ascending and it was amazing to see what narrow, steep, rock-strewn goat
tracks they negotiate on their way down. Some intrepid souls even bike up, albeit
on somewhat wider roads. In regard to goats. We didn’t see many but there were
contended cows grazing or just passing the time of day as well as sheep on the
mountain meadows, and I couldn’t help thinking that they must be providing
better milk than their poor relatives who are penned up all day as is the case
in our industrialized agricultural system.
From Innsbruck we went to Zell am See of which I had fond memories
from a 1965 visit when I spent an hour glider flying. The little town is
overrun by tourists and more expensive so we stayed at “Zur Burg” a nice local hotel in nearby Kaprun. Next day via a series
of gondolas we went up the Kitzsteinhorn where people were still skiing on its
dwindling glacier. Thereafter we headed
for Schladming. I had never been
there previously but knew about it from the international ski races that are
regularly held and I wanted to see the mountain. We stayed at “Die Barbara,” in honor of the Saint,
which is located right across the street from the gondolas the lead up the Patai. It’s not
often that one talks about restrooms but the toilet at ground level of the
lifts beats all expectations. One sits in the stall surrounded by wall
paintings of a winter wonderland. Another feature of public toilets is that
they are ecology conscious. There are two levers to push; the smaller one for
liquid and the other for solid waste. By the way they are also installed in
private homes when modernization is undertaken.
The next day was spent on country roads
to Vorau, a
small village in eastern Styria where a friend of mine (former Professor of
Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of Zurich) is spending his
retirement in a house inherited from his parents. From there we went on to Mariazell, Austria’s
biggest and best known pilgrimage center. We said our prayers for the family
and the world at the basilica that dates to the middle of the 17th
century.
In the afternoon it was off to the Salzkammergut via
the Autobahn. This is the way to travel if one quickly wants to get from point
A to point B, but it’s no way to see the country. Sound barriers or planted
trees protect the locals from noise but this obliterates the view. On the other
hand the road is superbly paved in striking contrast to what one sees in parts
of our country. We wanted to be in the neighborhood of Salzburg where we have friends and were
offered free lodging. But I also insisted on a lake because I’m addicted to
open water. Krista had searched the Internet and found the Hotel Seegasthof Stadler
near Unterach
directly on the Attersee.
That’s where we headed and found it an excellent choice. The facility has been
in the Stadler family since the middle of the 19th
century and is still run by them. The parents and adult children take care of
the business as well as waiting on tables at mealtimes and in one of the
hallways is an old photograph which depicts the original restaurant as built by
their great-grandparents. It was refreshing to see that in some places the
hectic pace of time has not produced profound changes, only improvements. The
great-grandparents clothes were the same “Trachten” as today and only the
quality of photographs has improved and complete modernization well as
enlarging of the facility has taken place.
As mentioned, the hotel abuts the lake
with a lawn one can spend time on. Mountain bikes are for rent, so are some
small boats and there is also direct swimming access. But beware, the Salzkammergut
lakes are leftovers from the last ice-age and bitter cold. This is not a
problem for the locals but takes some getting used to by tourists. In order to
keep the lake clean and avoid excessive noise only sailboats or electric power
boats are allowed. I thoroughly enjoyed the warm sunshine on the lawn after
days of drizzle but underestimated its power. Now a word of explanation. One
can’t sit in the sun in Utah during spring and summer because at our elevation
it stings to an extent that one has to head for shade. Since this was not the
case in Austria
I stayed a couple of hours and paid for it later with massive sunburn that
still peels after nearly a month. Nevertheless the hotel and area were so
pleasant that we decided to return after paying visits to friends in Salzburg and subsequently Vienna.
During our stay in Salzburg we toured
the surrounding lake country and some of its historic sites in the Salzkammergut, which might be translated into Salt
Chamber region. This alpine lakes area is shared by the provinces of Upper
Austria, Salzburg
and Styria and provides not only stunning views but also excellent recreational
facilities. Its name is derived from the previously most important industry:
the mining of salt. For our forefathers salt was white gold without which
civilization was not possible because it was the only available food
preservative. The salt-mines at Hallein and the
nearby village of Hallstatt are
reported to have been in operation since pre-Celtic times. A large burial
ground from the early Neolithic was discovered near Hallstatt during the middle of the 19th century. From
here salt was shipped far and wide, people became wealthy and the era from
800-500 BC has subsequently been named the Hallstatt
Kultur for the distinctive artifacts they
produced.
Since we had visited with the entire
family the salt-mine at Hallein in 1965 we abstained
this time, although I can strongly recommend a visit if one has never been
there. It is an experience one doesn’t forget. Instead we went this time to
Hallstatt where I’d never been. The weather was good and we took a boat trip on
the lake amongst numerous Korean, Japanese and Chinese tourists who had arrived
by busloads. Coming home I read on the Internet that Hallstatt now has a sister city in China. It is one of Austria’s most
picturesque villages and a photo taken from the boat is pasted below.
After a three day stay in Salzburg we
headed on the Autobahn to Vienna which is a trip of about three and a half
hours. We stayed there free of charge due to the courtesy of the son of one of
my schoolmates. The father, who actually was responsible for me having chosen
the medical profession, had become an ophthalmologist and after his death the
son converted the previous office into a guest apartment, which perfectly met
our needs. While Krista visited museums I spent the time with family, friends
and neurological colleagues. We intended to go up to one of our favorite
restaurants the Haueserl am Roan in the Wienerwald but it rained
cats and dogs so this was not feasible. Instead we headed for one of my other
favorite must go-to restaurants in the inner city Zum Leupold. Our evening dinner with another old school
chum and his daughter at the Bristol ended this leg of the trip.
I had frequently returned to Vienna over
the years and was impressed how well the city functions but I had not been in
its outskirts the former workers’ districts of Simmering and Favoriten. Although there were no slums, just apartment
buildings, nevertheless one just had no reason to go there. But on the taxi
ride from the home of one of my colleagues at the outer edge of Simmering through Favoriten to Hietzing I marveled at the change
that had taken place. The area he lives in has single family garden homes and
then one drives along a thoroughfare that is dotted with brand new gleaming
office buildings serving private as well as public functions including for the
EU. American city planners might want to take a look how a city that started as
a Roman military outpost has not only weathered all the disasters that befell
it in the intervening years but has completely renewed itself. This was not
done by tearing down the old structures but by cherishing tradition and
renovating them to an extent that they look new and the truly new ones are made
to blend in with their surroundings. In addition the interiors of old apartment
houses were modernized to the extent that was feasible.
With official functions and family
business having been taken care of we returned to the Stadler Hotel which is now one of my favorite places. While there we
further explored other lakes in the area and the town of Bad Ischl where Emperor Franz Joseph had
his summer residence. The Kaiservilla is open to tourists and one can even see the
desk where the old man signed the fateful declaration of war on Serbia which
led not only to the carnage of WWI but all its ensuing disasters, which we
still have not overcome. He had been duped and told that the Serbs had already
opened fire at Austrian troops which was not the case. “Dann muss man halt zurueck schiessen” (Well, then we’ve got to shoot back) was his
answer. This scenario was actually repeated on August 7, 1964 when President
Lyndon Johnson signed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which led the US into the
unwinnable Vietnam War. It was based on the report that American ships had been
fired upon in the Gulf
of Tonkin which was not
true. These tidbits of history should give us pause and reflect on the current
activities of our media and politicians.
While lounging at the Atterse Krista
also suggested that we should go up the Untersberg which is shared by Austria and Germany. We tried,
but the cable car was under repair. We, therefore, went on to Bavaria
and Berchtesgaden’s
Koenigssee.
It is a short hop of a little over 20 miles and in Berchtesgaden one can’t miss the sign to the Obersalzberg.
Having grown up in the Nazi era the Obersalzberg, where Hitler’s mountain retreat was located,
had almost mythical connotations for us at the time. During the mentioned 1965
visit we had also passed through Berchtesgaden
and I found a trip up to the Obersalzberg in our rented VW bus irresistible. The area was
strewn with rubble and the Berghof obliterated, but one could enter one of the bunkers
that had been dug into the mountain in case of air raids. We heard about the Adlerhorst –
Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s “tea house,” on top of the Kehlstein
Mountain but didn’t have
time to explore it.
This deficit was now made up and
provided some surprises when compared with 1965. Tourism has become
industrialized with German precision. One drives uphill to a staging area where
buses await one for the rest of the trip. The reason is that this mountain road
is so narrow that only one bus can go either up or down and congestion from
private vehicles would be impossible to tolerate. There is a small parking
space on the side of the road where a given bus can pull over when the driver
is informed by radio that another bus is coming from the opposite direction.
The buses have a convoy system of six at a time and these take one to another
staging area up on the mountain where there is an entrance to a tunnel. One
walks somewhat over 400 feet through the tunnel and then comes to an elaborate
(and I mean elaborate) elevator that takes one about 430 feet through the
mountain to the “Eagle’s Nest” or Kehlsteinhaus as it is currently called. Luckily the British
bombs on their raid of April 25 1945, which severely damaged the buildings on
the Obersalzberg, had missed the Kehlsteinhaus. It is in original pristine condition and currently serves as a
restaurant and museum. The view from the top is magnificent with the Koenigssee
nestled amid the mountains to the west and the Untersberg with Salzburg to the east.
Since world history was made at this
mountain site I not only bought a brochure about the area but also a DVD at one
of the staging areas. The DVD is excellent but the English language in the
brochure definitely needs improvement. The Bavarian government would be well
advised to commission another edition where the text is provided either by
someone for whom English is the first language or an English literature
graduate from one of the universities. When one glosses over the language and
some misprints the content is quite informative. Since this information is not
widely known I’m now going to present some highlights.
The idea to build a “tea house” on top
of the mountain originated with Martin Bormann, who at that time was overseer
of renovations at Obersalzberg, as a present to Hitler for his 50th
birthday. Ing. Fritz Todt
was charged with the project which had to be completed essentially within the
span of one year. Houses on the top of mountains, especially as shelters for
mountaineers, are commonplace in the Alps. At somewhat over 6,000 feet the Kehlsteinhaus
would have been one among many. For instance the Ottohaus at 6,585 ft. on the Rax, one of Vienna’s closest mountains, was built in 1893.
But it could be reached by cable car which transported the building materials.
At the Kehlstein there was, however, neither cable car
nor road. Todt was confronted with a steep granite
mountain that previously had only been climbed hand over hand by dedicated
mountaineers. The mountain was, therefore, first surveyed for a potential route
and then about 3000 stone masons went to work to laboriously chisel away the
rock into manageable blocks and create the road. Apart from dynamite everything was done by
hand and all the material had to be carried on one’s back up the mountain. The
actual work started early in 1938 and had to be finished for Hitler’s birthday
by April 20 1939. Time pressure was enormous especially when one considers
alpine winters with snow, sleet and avalanches. Work went on in shifts around
the clock and the brochure tells us that it was mainly Italian stonemasons who
did the cutting job. They were well paid and promised life-time employment as
well as social services. The mission was indeed accomplished in record time and
as the DVD tells us even prior to April 20. The internet has a number of
entries including pictures one may want to view.
A cynic now might well say: what a waste
of time, money and energy on a stupid whim. Yes it was a whim, but the project
needs to be seen in the light of the era. Massive construction was going on all
over Germany
at the time. To combat the depression, with its attendant joblessness, the
German infrastructure was completely modernized. Roads were built, of which the
Autobahn is simply the most famous, airports, vacation ships as well as decent
housing for workers arose, in addition to public as well as private buildings. Germany was booming and it was a “New Deal” Roosevelt could only have dreamt about. Of course, there
was also re-armament but it is wrong to assume that arms were the only or main
commodity the Nazis produced. Obviously, all of this cost a phenomenal amount
of money. In order to come up with it Hitler took the country off the gold
standard (a practice followed by Nixon in 1971) and the printing presses at the
Reichsbank went into overdrive. Hjalmar Schacht, the
finance minister, has been reported as having told Hitler in 1939 that this can’t
go on forever but was told: There will be a war. If we win we’ll have plenty of
money and if we lose we are all dead anyway. Judging from all I have read about
Hitler this seems to be true to his character.
On the return trip to the Munich airport
we went via the Chiemsee where we had lunch at a rest stop on
the Autobahn while admiring the numerous sailing vessels engaged in regattas.
The night was spent at the Seehotel Leoni
on the Starnbergersee. Although in the
upper price range it was the only one Krista could find that was directly on
the lake. As it turned out this would not have been necessary because it rained
all afternoon and most of the next day. So we just took a three and a half hour
boat tour in the morning which covered the major sights of the lake. Schloss Possenhofen
is of special interest to Austrians because this is where Elisabeth the Empress
of Austria, fondly called Sissi, spent part of her
youth. On the East side of the lake there is a cross in the water to
memorialize the spot where the bodies of King Ludwig II and his psychiatrist
were found. The mystery surrounding their deaths has never been solved. With a
10 a.m. departure for the States on the following day the last night was spent
in the neighborhood of the airport at the little town of Schwaig in a thoroughly Americanized hotel which had nothing to recommend
itself except proximity and a relatively decent price.
All in all it was a memorable trip, and I
marveled how Austria has changed since I left the country in 1950. At that time
it was at its nadir. Partitioned between four occupying powers, three of whom
warily watching the fourth, its cities largely in ruins and its people just
making do with minimal prospects for the future, a pawn in the hands of the US
and Soviet Union. But in the Christmas address of 1945 Chancellor Figl implored the people “… believe in this Austria!” What
he meant was that the strife between the Socialists and Conservatives that had
ruined the country and paved the way for Hitler’s take-over was now over, there
was a coalition government which, conscious of past achievements as well as
errors, will overcome all the enormous hurdles and re-emerge in freedom and
prosperity. The people did and with American help (UNRRA and thereafter the
Marshall plan), which will always be gratefully acknowledged, the country
became once again free and independent. The State Treaty of 1955 demanded
absolute neutrality on the Swiss model and with this anchor Austria can play a
mediating role between East and West, especially since it is not a member of
NATO.
This is Austria’s message to the US in
its current turmoil: Stop demonizing each other, join hands across party
divides and most of all stop warmongering. It could be done and the problem
that prevents us from doing so is conceptual. I often think of Goethe’s
greatest drama Faust where in the
depth of depression he curses the world and all that is in it. I’ve taken the
liberty to change one paragraph slightly because that makes it more relevant:
Cursed be the deception of opinion with which the mind ensnares itself. This is
the crux of the problem. It is our thoughts, and nothing else, that can lead us
to prosperity or doom. This is the idea that should be realized and pondered
upon if we truly want to create a better world.
I have stayed away from the political problems
facing Austria and the EU after Brexit. They will be dealt with, including the
outcome of the political Conventions, in the August 1 issue. For now I would
just like to close with a most hearty THANK YOU to my daughter Krista who has
helped her old father literally at every step of the way to make this trip not
only possible but also most enjoyable.
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