I just got word of where I'll be bunking during my upcoming trip to Austria, thanks to the Vienna Tourist Board: The Harmonie Vienna. As a travel writer, I've been fortunate enough to stay in some of the world's top hotels and resorts. But I can't recall a place that was a better fit for me, personally, since...well, ever. Here's why. 1. Location, Location,
Free Associating About Food for Freud’s Birthday (May 6, 1856)
I've been doing a lot of things, some of them useful, others stressful--for example, trying to learn German in 3 1/2 weeks--in preparation for my upcoming trip to Vienna. Freudian Food Among the useful ones: Having the book Zu Tisch du Sigmund Freud, by Katja Behling-Fischer--At Sigmund Freud's Table: Lifestyle, Hospitality and Eating Habits of the Founder of
Return to Vienna: Must the Past Be Prologue?
I'm going to Vienna in June. After writing about the city of my parents' birth for the past two years, I'm finally taking the plunge. I'm looking forward to the trip. I'm also dreading it. I was there only once before, in the early 1970s, at the request of my parents. While I was planning a trip to Europe with a college friend, Andrea, they asked me to visit the relatives
Finding the Farbers: Best Genealogical Gift, Ever
I left you in New York so long ago, virtually speaking, that springtime finally arrived in the city. As I mentioned, at the end of that trip I at long last I met Jill Leibman Kornmehl, who has contributed to this blog in more ways that I can detail. At that meeting (the proof is in the picture next to this post's title; Jill is on the right), she gave me copies of
The Jews, the Pyramids & the Importance of Questioning
I consider myself a Jewish rationalist, someone who identifies culturally with Judaism without buying the biblical myths. The Exodus story of the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, told every Passover? Just one of the many overwrought episodes in the Old Testament, akin to the stories of Noah's ark and Jonah's stint inside a whale (strange, given the desert locale, how
New York Report, Pt. 2: Family & Film, Pastry & Punctuation
I admit it: It sometimes takes me a while to unpack from a trip. On my recent return to Tucson from New York, I didn't need the winter clothes I'd brought with me (nyah nyah); only an underwear shortage inspired me to retrieve the contents of my suitcase. It sometimes takes me even longer to unpack my experiences, since there's never any shortage of stories -- only some of them
Family Trek, The Next Generation: Herbert Bratspies
I've been tracing the family of the third of the Kornmehl butcher brothers, Martin, a journey that starts in Vienna (see The Return of Martin Kornmehl) and takes us to Melbourne (see Detention of Jews in World War II: Et Tu, Australia?). Today I finish the story of the newly found Australian branch of my mother's family -- at least for now; in genealogy, you never know -- with
Survival in Paradise: Curaçao
Last July, when I posted an excerpt from Manfred Wolf's memoir, Survival in Paradise, I was pleased -- though not at all surprised -- by the positive response it got. It's a very moving piece about a young boy's coming of age during World War II. So I am doubly pleased to have gotten permission to post another excerpt from the book, this one from Chapter 12, when the
Detention of Jews in World War II: Et Tu, Australia?
I ended my last post about Martin Kornmehl's family with the promise that the continuation of their story will be happier. I'm afraid that I can't entirely keep it. The narrative led me to a chapter in World War II history that surprised me -- and not in a good way. Come to think of it, how often do you hear people say, "The more I dug into the past, the more pleasantly
The Return of Martin Kornmehl
It's hard to believe a year has passed since last February, when I took the Family History Writing Challenge. It was a terrific focusing tool and I highly recommended it -- though I'm going to have to pass this go round. That said, I have stories of two close family members, a great uncle and a great aunt, that I have yet to tell. It would be wrong to give them short shrift
Found in Translation: The Mad Butcher of Berggasse
Happy 2014. So far, this year is looking promising. I woke up on the morning of Jan. 1 to a nice surprise: The notification that the first post of a new blog called Wien um die Jahrhundertwende (Vienna at the Turn of the Century) was devoted to discussing Freud's Butcher. I was pretty sure the writeup was positive. I couldn't be certain at first, however, because
Oscar Nemon: Sculptor of Freud & Friends (Including Dogs)
My discovery of Oscar Nemon -- probably the most famous sculptor that almost no one has ever heard of -- started with a comment I received the other day on an earlier post, Richard Tauber: "How Can I Be a Jew?": Congratulations on an informative and amusing blog. As you mention Richard Tauber I thought you or one of your readers might be interested in my quest to
Asser Levy: America’s First Kosher Butcher
Knowing of my interest in the the history of Jewish butchers, the ever-helpful Philip Trauring of the Blood and Frogs Jewish genealogy blog sent me a link to a post from New York's Tenement Museum, "Keeping Kosher in 17th Century New York:" November 15th, 1660 was, by any means, a normal day in the small Dutch-controlled hamlet called Nieuw Amsterdam. People went about their
Rolled Beef: “The Giant Panda of Deli Meats”
I learned a great deal about the late Nathan Kornmehl from the many testimonials that were sent to the memorial page of this blog. By all accounts, he was a generous, kind man, someone who didn't let the tremendous adversity he faced from the Nazis make him angry or bitter. I also learned that his kosher butcher shop was the source of the best rolled beef in Buffalo, New
Did Freud Sleep With His Sister-in-Law?
Today, I'm pleased not only to return to Freud Friday after a long absence but also to give you a double header: On my friend Vera Marie Badertscher's excellent A Traveler's Library site, I review Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman (see The Steamy Side of Vienna). Although I discuss some problems I have with the book there, including my feeling that it doesn't