Tag Archives: travel

The Open Door

More on Vienna. I had found a thrift mall on Google Maps, so having some time to myself I strolled across town and discovered a Carla thrift store. Note that in Austria they often use English for adverts, as the sign announced “second hand, second chance”. Inside I saw a typewriter brand I’d never seen, JAPY.

Japy P68, a French made version of the Oliver/Patria/Swissa line. I bought it for 30 EU. It was in remarkable condition for being made in 1956, complete in the wooden case, and I was able to carry it onto the plane as hand luggage for the return trip.

Although French made, it has German characters, which is all good but for the Z-Y exchange that slows me down a little. Back at the hotel I sat down and typed a short tale inspired by the current goings on. I was tagging alone with my son, a psychiatrist, who was attending a big conference. He had toured Sigmund Freud’s house the previous day, and was regaling me with other psychiatry trivia, one in particular that involved a well known figure reputed to have always left his room door open in the hope that one day he would encounter a beautiful stranger, or something like that! Well, he might have, but I don’t know if he did….

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Filed under Thrift shop finds, Travel, Typewriters, Uncategorized, Writing

Cafe Living

I recently discovered in Austria, or was it in Hungary? that an Americano is a cup of drip coffee. What Starbucks calls an Americano is actually a doppo longo, made in an espresso machine. But I suppose that as long as Starbucks can sell you a cup of coffee, they don’t really give a crap about being technically accurate. However, it seems that Starbucks is dwindling here, even though they’re still everywhere, only less so these days. They’re even in Europe, which is puzzling, until you realize that anything from here is semi-exotic over there. I saw so many NY ball caps there I was flabbergasted. I wonder of any of the wearers of those caps are aware that the NY stands for the Yankees baseball team?

All that aside, most of the cafes I saw on a recent jaunt to Budapest and Vienna, were not chain stores but locally owned small cafes. Although I no longer drink coffee because it disagrees with my stomach, I nevertheless had a few lattes in Buda and Vienna, which did me no harm and were terribly delicious. Here is a lovely bookshop cafe in Budapest that drew me in to have a snoop. There were a few typewriters in the window, so I couldn’t very well not go in.

Olympia Simplex - never seen that one before
Mercedes, the typewriter! Not a Benz.

As for the cafe life, one could live it to the full in Budapest or Vienna, if one could stand drinking that much coffee, or – heavens! that much lager beer. Yes, cafes sell beer there. Beer is not a crime in Europe it seems. Sadly, it all tastes the same, pretty much, but it is beer after all.

they said this was a sandwich!

Although I had a small sketchbook with me the whole time, I was generally too busy having coffee, beer, langos, goulash, and walking my butt off all day long, to bother to get out the watercolours. But one fine afternoon I was wandering around on my own in the north part of Vienna and I sat down for a beer at a cafe and made a sketch. There were cafes on either side of my cafe, and everywhere there were people in theses cafes. When I returned home I was out downtown walking and I passed a number of sidewalk cafes, all of which were empty. It seems that all we do here is work! Where are all the cafe crowds?

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Filed under Beer, Cafe life, False advertising, Sketching, Travel, Typewriters, Uncategorized

Saints Alive!

Another HV Morton arrived in the mail today, from the UK. This one is entitled In Search of Ireland, and it was published in 1930. Eagerly inspecting the photos, I came across one depicting the town (village?) of Glendalough, a place associated with St. Kevin, one of the patron saints of Ireland. How the world has changed since 1930. I wish I could return to that time, if only to see the places Morton saw before they were ruined by cars, roads, wars, developers and overgrowth. What would this view show us today?

Glendalough, the place with 2 lakes

I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting the Emerald Isle, so for now I will content myself with the book. Morton brings to life the places he visits, which explains the fact that this volume is from the 16th printing in 1943. It is not an autograph edition, at least not by the author, but autographed nevertheless, by Lt. L.W.H. Pollard, R.N.R. He must have been proud of his rank, that chap.

In keeping with the design themes that Morton’s books followed, this book is bound in green cloth and has a shamrock cluster embossed on the front cover. How Irish!

I wonder what the girls of Connemara look like today? Ripped jeans, leaning on a Tesla?

Two Connemara girls

Last Christmas I bought my wife a bottle of Glendalough Irish Whiskey, and that is how I learned about St Kevin. History from whiskey bottles. I used to read cereal boxes, but they didn’t have much to teach, and never anything about saints.

Glendalough, the whiskey

Every Morton book of travel includes maps showing where he went. In this case he went all around Ireland, hitting most of the well known spots. Ireland isn’t that large, so I suppose Morton could scarcely have done less travelling and gotten enough material for a book.

Map inside the covers

Now to finish up reading Morton’s “In The Steps of St Paul”, so I can delve into Ireland of 1930!

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Filed under Book Reviews, Books, History, Travel Books, Uncategorized

Understanding Literature Through Typing

I know, this has been done, but so what? I thought I would try it out. What I would really like is to get a grant to go to Venice and do it beside the Grande Canal, watching the occasional dead dog carcass float by. If anyone is interested I will frame my work for a reasonable sum.

Particulars:

typewriter: Royal Caravan (same name and brand as Bob used, but not strictly the same model, since I don’t own one of those)

subject: Like a Rolling Stone, by Bob Dylan NL (Nobel Laureate).

choice of subject matter: LARS has been voted to be the greatest song ever written, in the pop genre (modern era). Its author has been recognized for this too (see above).

IMGP6827-001

the machine:

IMGP6826

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Filed under ecstatic typing, Music, Typewriters

A Surprising Event

My son likes to surprise us by returning from the far side of the earth unannounced. This time he did it with an extra bonus – a wife. We knew he was married of course – they’ve been waiting to get a visa for ages. With typical government efficiency the crack Canadian Department of Visa Delaying Tactics turned it around in a mere 18 months, although they like to inform the public that it generally takes 6 months!

(Note to typerati: new typewriter – ’65 SM9 with ‘Modern Pica’, two tone keyboard)

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Travelling Companions

Webster

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Loneliness of the Long Distance Biker

WHAT IS REAL?

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Campfire philosopher

get yer kicks

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Category: travel (fiction)

dinner with view

A GRAND DAY ON THE GOLDWING

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