Italy, Florence
I’m in Italy, not the first time. My first visit was in 1961, returning to California after a year in India. My mother took us to Europe, organizing stops in Rome, Florence, Venice, then a train to Lugano, Vienna, Salzburg, …
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The War in Gaza
January 2024 I have feelings about this war—fear, horror, disappointment, but it has been harder to know what to think. I read the newspapers, trying to make up for a lack of expertise and primary sources. I want to have …
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A Californian in New York
People have moved primarily west to California, but Californians also move to New York. My family moved from New York and New Jersey to the Bay Area, in the early 1950’s, for better weather and a different life. Dad took …
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Summer 2023
my 70th. I follow the news and have been wondering if I can help the state of the world, but this summer is my 70th, and it has been much easier to cook and take care of my garden. For …
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My walks in Vienna
I love cities and buildings and walking around and exploring. My friends are often interested in theatre, art or music, and that makes sense, but for me walking is usually enough. It’s both the seeing and the anticipation that come …
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Two months in Paris
We associate the French with beauty, refinement, elegance, grandeur. These are visible everywhere in Paris, as is occasional disorder and chaos, but underlying them is a discipline that is harder to discern. This year I was in Paris for more …
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Znojmo, Czechia
Yesterday I returned to Vienna by train from Znojmo, in the Czech Republic. Znojmo was the terminus of my trip, suggesting old links with Austria; however, the train was almost empty when it reached the town on Tuesday morning, and …
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Trieste
Last week, I took the train south from Klagenfurt (in south Austria) to Trieste. Reviewing Google maps, I had assumed that the train headed directly south through Slovenia. But history or geography planned a route that skirts Slovenia completely. The …
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My Sister
I started this story yesterday and then lost the draft, so I have started it again, and I need to make hay of it. . . . My sister is a something of a hero; she is stable, thoughtful, considerate. …
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Bobby’s oral history
Among my unusual experiences in Austria was meeting other Jews my age (now 70) who grew up here. In my first months in Vienna I wanted to swim and so contacted a group run by Hakoah, the Jewish sports club …