Welcome to the Heart of Europe

They do happen. More or less often. They are called flash backs. A dramaturgical instrument in movies and books... well, and in real life.

"Like thunder & lightning - it's so exciting," memories from the past century (when the quoted Thin Lizzy were still around).

Hello ...and Good-Bye!

Playing Memory. Know the game Memory? It is fun to remember moments, as we do once in a while by looking into old photo albums and have flashbacks of past times in good company, hopefully. In a way, this website is another picture book, a virtual one. Various images are connected by texts and thoughts, which occasionally jump wildly from one topic to another. Sometimes it is hard to discover the actual connection, which may be also due to the fact that several sections were compiled from bits and pieces that were written during several years. They intend to share memories of things experienced and lessons learnt, sometimes the hard way.

Hardly Recognizable. Pictures bring back memory, but after a while it can happen that you lose any idea about the situation itself and just remember the photograph. Over the years many people have crossed over paths and left into different directions again, including colleagues, friends, mates and more. Drifting apart and losing track of each other is one thing, another is meeting again after a while. Many have changed their appearance, as if unsatisfied with what they had been, some in their heart, bearing a burden too long. And there are others we may only hear rumours about any more, of what they have or have not achieved since. Let's be open for further development and still not forget where we came from, respecting those simple things that had also meant a lot to us back then. Whatever will be, let's try to think of it with a smile, at least try...


Hello, How are you?

Meaningless Pleasantries. "Hello - how are you. Have you been alright, through all those lonely nights..." Such is the beginning of the ELO song "Telephone Line" about wondering how a person has been, ringing him or her again after losing sight of each other for some time. What I have been struggling with on the other hand in conversation is the usage of "How are you - Wie geht's" as a greeting while just walking by. Not even giving time for a "Fine, thank you - Danke, gut" in return, which is not too outspoken either. Or a "Fine, and yourself? - Gut, und Ihnen?" in an attempt to start a short conversation at least. Some may just respond "Thanks (for asking) - Danke (der Nachfrage)" and one particular German colleague would even use "Wie Sie wollen - As you like," as if suggesting the counterpart to fill in the appropriate standard answer him- or herself. In times of recession and cut back, one would occasionally be confronted with the reply: "I am still there." Questions about our personal condition have become a ritual, while degenerated into hollow phrases, asked without any interest, really. In German language there are more traditional salutations such as "Guten Tag - Good day" and "Gruess Gott - Greetings with God", as derived from "Gott gruesse/segne Dich - God may greet/bless you".

Saying Servus. One may just say "Hallo - Hello", which has emerged from usage in telephone calls to a common greeting. And there is especially the calm "Servus - Hi", a greeting among friends meaning "At your service" that originates from the Latin word for servant or slave. In China, one word makes the difference: "Ni hao" means "Hello" and "Ni hao ma" means "How are you?" On the phone though you would often say "Wei" for "Hello." Just like that "Szia" in Hungary, a word of the same origin as "szervusz" by the way, which can be used both for hello and good-bye. As the Austrian entertainer Peter Alexander had put it: "Sag' beim Abschied leise Servus, nicht Lebwohl und nicht Adieu, diese Worte tun nur weh. Doch das kleine Woerterl Servus ist ein lieber letzter Gruss, wenn man Abschied nehmen muss - When you're leaving, say gently 'servus', not good-bye and not farewell, those words only hurt like hell. Yet the little word 'servus' is a lovely last salute, when one has to part for good..."


Baba and don't fall...

One Hour by Car. Besides that joyous "Hello," there is always that sad "Good-bye," standing for departure, separation and loss. When I was at a summer camp as a boy, during those two weeks I made one very close friend. But before going back home, we didn't even exchange address or telephone number, for we lived 50 kilometers apart, at that time maybe one hour by car, and for us as kids it seemed impossible to overcome that distance. Years later we would have family and friends on different continents. Distance has almost become meaningless, well, almost.

Virtual Visits. New technology and connectivity through internet makes it possible within milliseconds to fire an e-mail or a chat message around the globe. Data lines replace telephone wires and modulate voice over IP as well as live video streams, captured with a webcam. Tons of information is available for download from webpages all over, accessible from nearly everywhere, as far as not filtered in some areas. What a change! And still, despite of all these new opportunities to stay in touch, people say good-bye to each other and are not sure, whether they will ever meet again in person in this life. "Until we meet again - in the eternal hunting grounds," as American Indians might put it.

As time goes by in our lives, so do some people.

Greetings to Dad. There is a big difference between the hoping "Good-bye" and the ultimate "Farewell". Good-bye is derived from the phrase "God be with you." In apparent analogy to "Good day," the word "God" had been replaced by "good." Good-bye neutrally leaves the possibility open to cross paths again, as in "See you again" or in German "Auf Wiedersehen". Farewell however may imply closure and that you may never meet again. Kind of like not just wishing someone a nice day, but a nice life. The typical Austrian farewell greeting "Baba und foi ned - Bye-bye and don't fall" served pop singer Wolfgang Ambros as a song title. A tricky word variation causes a change in its meaning towards the end. The original suggestion not to stumble and tumble "Baba und fall nicht nieder - Bye-bye and don't fall down" is ultimately changed to an advice not to draw attention: "Baba und fall nicht auf - Bye-bye and don't fall into trouble!" The word "Baba" is said to originate from the phrase "Gruesse an den Papa - Greetings to your dad." Also among the young Slovak folk "Papa" is common for good-bye, as it is with Hungarian kids. One of the remaining things the former Crown lands of the Austrian monarchy have in common. It sounds quite similar to the English "bye-bye." Which on the other hand appears to be imported into Chinese as "BaiBai" that is used besides the more formal "ZaiJian." But that is also harder to pronounce. Well, what is hard anyway? I will not forget a speech by a Viennese bishop, back then head of the Caritas, the Catholic charity organization named after the Latin word for merciful love. He mentioned, whenever he would use the sentence "Gell, Sie haben es auch schwer gehabt - You must also have had a hard life, haven't you?" in a conversation, people would sigh and pour out their heart to him. For they would sense that he cares, really.


Final Thoughts

Poem for a Late Mother. Departure usually doesn't make one happy. "The sun is shining, but it's raining in my heart," as Buddy Holly used to sing. Or will it be like that promise in the "Alias"-TV-show: "We'll find each other. We'll always find each other (Season 5, The Horizon)." A resolution held on to in times of greatest despair following separation and loss. Will we also make it true? There was a famous wartime song in England, it goes like this: "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when. But I know, we'll meet again some sunny day." During these hard times, people wanted to think of nice things! I picture a soldier holding the ripped off head of his friend in the hand and starting to sing. Very sad! As Ozzy would assure you: "But I know, I'll see you once more. When I see you, I'll see you on the other side..." A creative colleague wrote the following sentence for his mother's tombstone: "Earth's light has dimmed with your passing, but Heaven has a new star... its brightest ever." Some people feel, they can connect when they look up to the stars from different places, when they are lonely. Springsteen got this remarkable song about loneliness and onlyness: "Jesus was an only son (as he walked up Calvary hill)." Walking on the via dolorosa, the trail of tears. Many do that these days.

Post Scriptum. Now I was going to write more about heroism, unreal mysticism that helps escaping everyday life. Movies are full of this, condensed into entertainment-portions of one or two hours, fast, stunning, surprising, and still stereotype. Then I was going to mention books and the true adventures in the head, where pictures form of events, places and people never seen, with fantasy unleashed, imagination without borders. But I won't elaborate on this any further, for life is too real and sometimes you have to face it, without escape, without comfort, without shining example, just yourself and no one else. It is true, sometimes cold, but can be so rewarding. Looking back is often great. As a kid you want to grow up as fast as possible to be "allowed" to do more on your own. As an adult you wish, you had some of the enthusiasm back that your memory tells you, you once had had. Is this word repetition required by the English language, or do I already stammer, as if getting nervous talking about it, or excited to face reality and future? Weird, isn't it? Maybe, but there are more important things now. Let's turn off the Internet connection and get started!

See you.
Maybe.