Summenabitch, hey....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_of_Austria

This lady was to be my theme today. The only Empress of the Habsburg empire, and was very progressive for her time, and managed to have sixteen children and ruling an empire. A power Frau, in other words. She warred with Prussia, and lost, but had a secret diplomacy, namely marrying her offspring to other ruling houses in Europe, and thus cementing the influence of her empire. (Only, her youngest, Marie Antoinette... well, as we know, that didn't end so well....)

Why am I mentioning her, you may ask? Well, she did spend a night or so in the palace of Eggenberg, which some of you have seen, and there is a room named for her, and the bed is still there. Doesn't look all too comfortable, but what the hey....

And last Friday, I was restlessly waiting for my 'chauffeur' aka bus driver... but he's my 'chauffeur', as I am normally the only person on the bus... and was pacing about and found a plaque near the door of the Gasthaus zum Goldenen Löwen next to the stop. (The Golden Lion Inn). There isn't a restaurant there any more, but they rent rooms still. The plaque commemorates the fact that the Empress and party stopped there, seemingly for refreshment, in the year 1758! And I thought, 'now that is damned awesome.... America wasn't even born yet. And here is this inn, in very good shape, and it survived all the turmoil and strife of centuries, and the stone lions are still outside the entrance. Little ones, but lions all the same...'

Sigh.... Whatever, I thought that was really sorta kinda cool, you know? So my main objective today was getting a photo of the place and the plaque.

Ya think.

There are some days when I am just a spaz... And if I get my nose in a book, something will definitely go wrong. It was just my everyday garden variety of being distracted and scatterbrained. And being pre-occupied. I took a couple of photos from the train window, and started getting into my book. And before I knew it, we were approaching Ehrenhausen, and the stops are very short, so I thought I packed everything, and debarked.... only to find I had forgotten the camera on the seat next to me, and I wanted to jump back in and get it.... but it just chugged off to the end of the line, the next stop on the Slovenian border.

/end photo op. /end camera. And that is when my first colleague came to mind with what he thought was a real swear word, and I yelled, 'summenabitch!'

Ok, let's re-cap this wunnerful wunnerful day. First Werner, waking me up at six-thirty in the a.m. and totally freaked, because his gypsy woman wants to re-open the assault case against him, which is absurd, because he was sleeping in my house the night it happened, but he didn't want to drag me into it, and goes totally bonkers and gets paranoid that they are going to hang it on him, and he doesn't want me to testify, because... whoa! he was staying in my house. It might reflect on him, or something, I can't get behind what he is thinking in this case....

Hopeless, I tell you.... absolutely hopeless. Gawwwd! If he had been dangerous, I would have been the one to be afraid, and believe me, he's pretty strong, but I never was afraid. He is basically good, and he probably did awful things in the Legion, but.... uh-uh. He's decent.

Then came the losing the camera thing, and I was really, violently pissed off about it. So I didn't get the picture I wanted, and everything is beginning to bloom, and I saw a mess of opportunities, and nada, nothing, and it made me even angrier at myself.

My 'chauffeur' arrived, and I vented. And made him laugh while doing so. I sort of like that, and he thinks I'm 'funny'.... as in humorous... And it sort of wound me down, so when I debarked, I was calmer... sort of....

Did it end there? Oh no, Preciousses... it was another beginning. I grabbed a corfee on entering, and there was this intern on the reception, and she asked me what I was doing there, and I said I was going to see Peter, and she wanted to know if I knew what room he was in, you know? She is probably nineteen or so.

And before I could answer, the regular administration lady came out and wanted to read her the riot act. 'When someone comes in here, you say 'Grüß Gott'!!! And you don't give them the third degree!'

And I jumped in to her defense and said, 'Listen, I think it is totally right to ask a question if someone comes in, and not let them walk all over the place, and it is good security... She did the right thing, as far as I can see.... And I found nothing impolite.'

I absolutely HATE it, when people criticise others in front of third parties. That belongs in four walls, and between two people. The kid was instinctively doing the right thing. There is a lot of responsibility there, you know?

Besides which, it made me feel good, that they just aren't automatons running on empty, and going through the motions.

Yup, I know, am crazy...

So I got up into the dining room, as lunch was still being served, and Peter was really angry, as he hadn't gotten his yet.

And oh.... Jeebus H. Christ. His table is the one with the charmers. Not... Two ladies who are going way into twilight time. And there were a guy and a gal from Slovenia, it turns out.... and Slovenia is just across the border not far from there, and they were cutting their food, and mashing them up, and spoon feeding them.

However... they did that with great care, and I don't think they found it was a chore, or something. They were careful, didn't hurry them, and it took as long as it took.

The rest of the room wasn't much more fun. I told Peter, 'I don't know why, but every time I see this, it reminds me of the film 'Oliver'.... Please Sir, I want some more. I guess it is the long tables.'

Yeah, just shoot me, y'know?

But of course it isn't like that at all.

They had deep-fried chicken, green salad with potatoes in it and pumpkin seed oil, a specialty here, and pudding for dessert. You can't get more Styrian than that, believe me.

So, back to his room, got him into bed, and the duo from lunch came in to dress the wound in his foot, the remaining one. Oh boy, that was 'fun'. The woman went at him with a scalpel, and cut away the dead tissue around the old wound, and had to look at the new one. In stuff like this... you can have a wound, and it sort of creates a tunnel and festers, and comes out somewhere else. It is pretty gross, in other words. And being the bundle of joy I am and spreading cheer everywhere, I chirped up with 'I am so glad I didn't bring my 3-D glasses with me today...' It was gross enough, and I still can't figure why they didn't send me out of the room, as is usual.

He has no feeling there, so they didn't hurt him. And they called in the head nurse, and she said he was gonna haveta go onto antibiotics, and he was getting into his ornery mode, and I called her aside, and said, 'Listen... I KNOW FOR A FACT: he doesn't respond any more to about over ninety per cent of them, and it became very difficult. You should run tests before he gets a prescription.' Well... I didn't get any thanks for that piece of advice... But I tried....

So we got through that. And it was a gloriously beautiful day, so I said, 'How about a tour of the town? And he said yes, and I got him into his wheelchair... and he wanted to go to the grocery store because he wanted bananas. (Huh? ok....) So I pushed him the five blocks, because that is as big as this village is gonna get, seemingly.... Got him his bananas, and yoghurt. It was sort of surreal...

He really enjoyed being out and about. 'Oh, the sun feels so strong.' 'Yup.'

Aaand.... we got back, I got him back into bed, and whaddaya know... Blood on the sheets.

Sigh... I have to be the most idiotic jackass going. I didn't put on his footrest, because he never likes them and holds his foot out in the air, always does. Well today... he dropped it and scraped his heel and has a new wound that he really does not need.

And I thought, 'oh fuck, how stupid can you be, hey?' So off to the nurses' station which is next door to his room, gave a report... the Slovenians came in again, and I said, 'I'm going out and have a cigarette, because this is freaking me out.'

So I was sitting on a bench, wondering why some days go so horribly wrong, and who put some sort of curse on me, and suddenly the administrator lady comes out RUNNING, asking me if I'M ok... Say what?' It was surreal, believe me.

I was so glad to get to Ehrenhausen and my purgatory of waiting forty-five minutes for my train. And to get to sit outside.

Gasthaus culture has a very special and very own dynamic. A Gasthaus is sort of like a clubhouse. And only the locals are the members. If you go into one, and have a slight accent, as I do..... oh boy, you are the outsider who is never gonna get in.

UNLESS... you get introduced by a member... OR...... you just stay quiet and respectful.

So... my first times waiting were 'uncomfortable' for me and for them. I ordered my mineral water with lemon, and read a book till my train arrived. I was respectful, polite, tipped well, and after about the fourth week, the ice broke a little.

Today... after trudging up there... lots of stairs... a few people were passing me, and recognised me and said, 'Oh, Grüß Gott!' And I thought, 'Well, that is nice.' The woman at the bar was really not friendly at first, but now I get a smile.

Whatever, two people were on the platform when I was going back, and wanted to begin a converstaion. And I thought, 'Whaa?' Odd. They got on my car. They thought I was German. Say what? At least I got closer as far as language goes.... (It wasn't so long ago ....for me... that someone told a colleague of mine to tell 'that Greek guy to wake him up at a certain time, and he said, 'What Greek? He isn't Greek....' And the guest said, 'Well he comes from 'somewhere down there....' sigh...-

At least they think I'm German now. I don't know if that is progress, and would never denigrate Greek people. It was just so odd.

I got off in Leibnitz, and Elke was there, and we walked to her house. It isn't far. Her daughters are beautiful, and her husband is very nice, and she drove me crazy, putting up a huge plate of food, which was so unnecessary. After today, I really wasn't so hungry. And I know it is the rule of hospitality, but I said, 'Please don't do that again. It feels like an imposition just stopping off, and wanting to talk. I don't NEED that, ok?' We sat out in the garden, and that was very very nice. And just talked.

And her daughters are spectacular, and very bright, and somehow.... it saved the day. Even if it makes no sense. And her husband is cool too, and I met her mother, the matriach, and she is lovely....

Civility and politeness.... y'know... there is so much vitriol that I see on the intertubes, and it leaves me spitless. And despite my really awful day.... I'd prefer it to a day in 'Murka any time at all.

This is long, und good night.