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| Europe |
| The People of Graz |
| 2005-12-27 |
| (original) The efforts of the city fathers of the Austrian city of Graz, often described as the "hometown" of Arnold Schwartzenegger, to make political capital and assume the moral high ground may have backfired. That is, they thought to chastize Arnold for his decision to not grant clemency to a murderer, and show how enlightened and liberal they were, despising the "medieval" practice of the death penalty, and scorning Arnold for doing his duty. But according to a German friend of mine, this has lead to the creation of a new German language expression, one which he refused to share, insisting that it did not translate well to English. Perhaps it is an Austrian colloquialism. Something to the effect that "The people of Graz are ungrateful/disrespectful/indian-givers/deceitful/pragmatic/etc." He said that this expression is new, and is being used like the infamous "A person from Porlock". The town of Porlock, if you might recall, had been forever cursed when a single resident interrupted the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, right when he was composing his masterful poem "Kubla Kahn", just to chatter about something inane and stupid. Coleridge lost the creative thread of the poem because of this, never finishing the poem, and attributed it to "A person from Porlock", a town that is forever associated with tedious bores interrupting creative pursuits. In this spirit, then, "The people of Graz..", for their betrayal of their once beloved son, may not profit as they had supposed, but instead may be cursed forever by this equally painful, if Germanically inscrutable, expression. Perhaps deservedly. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 Rafael - there's another way up for us I have some wonderful memories of Salzburg, like the cold, rainy December day a bunch of us from the youth hostel spent in a keller in the Altstadt just off (IIRC) Kapitalplatz, drinking cocoa or coffee and passing around a love letter one of the Engish-speaking girls was trying to write to a German guy she had met in Germany a couple of weeks before. (None of us was very fluent in German; can't remember at this point if she was British, Canadian, Aussie, or American.) Each of us who knew some German would make corrections (we hoped) and pass it on to the next person for more help. I've always wondered if he was ever able to decipher it. :-D There was an old cemetary in front of the Catacombs (St. Peter's? it's a long time ago) that always moved me to tears each time I passed through. It actually was a good shortcut, if you knew about it. Ancient tombstones - some so old their inscriptions were worn off - still lovingly tended, in most cases by the family. I'll never forget the gravesite of an American Army major who was assigned to Salzburg in the occupation following WWII and came to love the place so much that he requested to be buried there when he died. (IIRC, that information was on his tombstone.) I used to know his name. I can think of worse places to spend eternity. A lovely city - I hope I can go again someday. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-12-27 22:04 |
| #4 I lived in Austria for slightly less than a year, c.1981. Never met more friendlier people. I assume you made that steep climb to see the castle in Salzburg? At least that's what I remember, 'twas one hell of a climb. No stairs, just a steep slope of cobble stones. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2005-12-27 20:41 |
| #3 Y'know, some of my paternal ancestors came from Austria (more precisely, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire). I've been to Austria a number of times (though not since 1990) - beautiful country, nice people. Old Town Salzburg is heartbreakingly beautiful (though the more "modern" part was grey and drab); the Neuseidlersee (Lake Neusiedl) area is breathtaking beyond description - and yes, given the chance, I'd go back there in a heartbeat. Same for Salzburg. Never made it down to Graz. Apparently I didn't miss anything. Never will now, even if/when I do go back. I can't see wasting even one dime in a town that celebrates mass murderers. Pfui. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-12-27 19:29 |
| #2 Austria GDP: $255.9 billion (2004 est.) Population: 8,184,691 (July 2005 est.) Area: 83,870 sq km (land and water) California GSP: $1.4 trillion Population: 35,893,799 Area: 163,707 sq mi |
| Posted by: Glailing Ulusing4418 2005-12-27 17:48 |
| #1 interrupted the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, right when he was composing his masterful poem "Kubla Kahn", just to chatter about something inane and stupid. Ima call Persecute! |
| Posted by: Leon Clavin 2005-12-27 14:47 |