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Vienna is where five stories by Jonathan
Carroll, at least partially, take place. If one remembers that
he is living there, the author's love for the city is more than
obvious.
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I loved Vienna from the beginning. The Viennese
are well fed, obedient and a little behind the times in almost
everything they do. (Voice of our Shadow) |
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There are cafes where you can sit all morning over one cup
of wonderful coffee and read a book without anyone ever disturbing
you. Small, smelly movie theaters with wooden seats, where a
couple of sad-looking models put on a "live" fashion
show for you before the feature goes on. I had a favorite Gasthaus
where the waiter brought dogs water in a white porcelain bowl
with the name of the restaurant on the side. (...) (Voice of our Shadow)
Because of so many old people live there, the city's personality
is a reflection of theirs: careful, suspicious, orderly, conservative.
It is a town where you needn't be afraid, where taking a walk
is still a great visual pleasure, where real cream is used in
the cafes. (Sleeping in Flame)
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Most visitors like Vienna at first sight (including
myself) because of the Opera or the Ringstrasse or the Breughels
in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, but these things are only grand
camouflage. The first summer I was there, I discovered that beneath
the lovely gloss is a sad, suspicious city that reached its peak
a hundred, two hundred years ago. It is now regarded by the world
as a delightful oddity -- a Miss Havisham in her wedding dress
-- and the Viennese know it. (Voice of our Shadow) |
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It had the clean, orderly, tight-assed feel of a Communist
city with Western frills: stores full of goodies, every other
car a Mercedes, well dressed women... A town where people were
suspicious and kept secrets.
Places like Vienna are perfect museums that're happy with
their permanent collection. (Outside the dog Museum)
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One of the first things that struck me about
Vienna was the funny-sounding street names: Schulz-Strassnitzkigasse,
Ottakringer Strasse, Adalbert-Stifter-Strasse, Blutgasse. Usually
you took a big breath before saying one of these names so you
wouldn't run out of air halfway through the pronunciation. (Sleeping in Flame) |
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Any guidebook will tell you that Vienna is one of the great
walking cities in the world. The streets are either wide and
three-lined, or else crooked/narrow and filled with interesting
or odd stores. The automobile is part of the city but doesn't
own it yet. (Sleeping in Flame)
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The first thing I do whenever I return to a town I know is
eat a favorite meal there. In Vienna it is Melange and a Topfen
Golatschen. (Sleeping in Flame)
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