Vienna

Between Paris and our trip to Vienna, we experienced another Jewish holiday in The Hague, Shavout (Shavuot began as a harvest festival, but it also commemorates the revelation at Sinai and the giving of the Torah.) (source- http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Shavuot.shtml0) I find that holidays are some of the hardest times to be away from family, but it was actually a very nice experience celebrating with our new friends in The Hague. The first day the synagogue had a lunch, which we enjoyed and the second day we had 9 people at our house for lunch. We always like to entertain in our home and it was lots of fun.

A few days after the holiday, Scott went off to Dubai for work. What an experience for him. He said it reminded him of Las Vegas with all the lights and new construction. He had the opportunity to go to the top of the tallest building in the world and while he was there he was able to clearly see the solar eclipse. He flew via Vienna, so we had decided to make a mini trip to Vienna on his way home. I met him there on Friday. He was there before me, so set out to buy some food for us for Shabbos and he went to an art museum. Then we met up and took a tram tour around the city. Vienna is so beautiful and most sites are within walking distance. Friday night we want to Sabbath services in one of the oldest synagogues in the city and then had dinner in a kosher restaurant. The interior of the synagogue was lovely and it was so nice to see such a large turnout of people of all ages for services. The rest of the weekend was spent visiting the famous Vienna Hofburg and Schoenbrunn palaces, some art museums, Sigmund Freud's house, one of the city’s Jewish museums (which was the site of a synagogue from 1492 before the Jews were expelled from the city) and we even went to see the famous ballet Giselle at the Vienna Opera House. On Sunday we had lunch at one of the kosher restaurants and actually had kosher Chinese food. It was amazing. We had such a great weekend and immensely enjoyed Vienna. I know Scott would agree that this has been our favorite city we have visited so far. The weather was good, the kosher food was good and the sites were something to see.

European Travels

Over the past few weeks, I have had the chance to go visit some interesting towns in Holland and Scott and I went to Paris. In May, I had the chance to visit Haarlem and Delft. Both are towns very close to The Hague, with a great deal of history and interesting places to see. I went to Haarlem with a friend and we visited the Corrie Ten Boom House, which is the home of a Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. In the home you were able to see the wall where Jews/Dutch Resistance workers where hidden for short periods of time when they were in between going from hiding place to hiding place. It was very fascinating as Corrie Ten Boom was a Christian missionary, so was interesting to see a part of the war from that perspective. Then we went to visit the Teylers Museum, which is the oldest museum in Holland. This museum houses a great collection of old musical instruments, fossils, paintings and geological stones. Another town I visited with a friend was Delft. Delft is famous for its blue pottery. We went specifically to see different pottery exhibits, some more fascinating than others as well as some interesting museums. It is great to live in a country with such history and wonderful museums and sites. Scott and I hope to visit some other of these little towns around this country this summer. Then last weekend Scott had two days off from work for a company holiday and we went off to Paris. It is amazing that it is only a 5 hr. drive from our home. We had a great drive there, but were not happy as when we arrived in the city our car was surrounded by people trying to wash the windows and get money. It was reminiscent of what used to happen all the time in NY, but these people were much more aggressive, which was very scary. Finally we got away from them and drove around the city trying to find our hotel. Driving thru the city when you don’t know where you are going can be very annoying as many of the streets are one way and it is hard to actually see the street names. Finally we arrived, dropped our luggage and went out to explore Paris. First we had some lunch yum, yum and then checked out the shuls for Shabbos and arranged a meal for Shabbos lunch. There is a restaurant that is open on Shabbos that all you have to do is book in advance and then you can eat there. After this we went on a tour of the famous Paris Opera House, which was spectacular. The ceiling was painted by Chagall and it was a place to see. Then we went off to see the Eiffel Tower. Even though it was my third time seeing it in person, it never ceases to amaze. Yet there was no way to get to the top as the lines were so long, so we figured we will save that for the next trip. After this we took a lovely cruise down the Seine River and then went off to dinner and what a dinner it was. We went to this fancy meat place that you would never have even guessed was kosher from looking at it. The food was amazing. It was so nice to be in a place with such great kosher restaurants. Then as was dark outside, we were able to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up in its glory and on the hour it sparkles which is a sight to see. Friday we went to the Dorsey Museum, and enjoyed the Van Gogh paintings, then we went off to the La Marais district for lunch. We went to this famous falafel place and had amazing food. Afterwards we walked over to Notre Dame and sat in a café by the church and just took in the scenery. Then we went over to the Arch De Triumph to take some pictures. On Shabbos day we went to the Spanish Portuguese shul for davening which was quite an experience and then went over to Bistro 26 for lunch. It was so great. We met a lovely young couple from Israel and shared a table with them. The food kept coming and we ate so well. I highly recommend this place to any travelers to Paris for Shabbos. After lunch we walked over to The Louvre and were able to see the museum in its glory. Then on Sunday we went to the Jewish Museum and saw a great Chagall exhibit and really enjoyed the exhibits and layout of the museum. Then we got our car and headed to another section of the city for lunch and to do some food shopping. We had hoped to bring back lots of meat, but the butchers were closed. Oh well. All in all was a great weekend away. It is amazing that we can just jump in our car and a few hours later can be in Paris.