Goethe!

I noticed in the paper the other day that a movie is coming out about the life of the young Goethe...

Of course, I have to go see it, right? I mean, a) it's about Goethe's life and any self-respecting German major would go see for that alone; b) though the reviews were not great, it has eye candy (Alexander Fehling, anyone?) and it's a costume drama. What more could I ask for? As far as I'm concerned, it's already tied with Young Victoria...and c) whoever titled it put an exclamation mark at the end. Genius.




So, I'm looking up showtimes online...and guess what? It is playing in Vienna, or Linz. Not Amstetten. And, yes, Amstetten does have a cinema. This means that I have to make an "excursion" to see this movie!!! WHY?? Well, my options are limited, and must wait until the weekend. This weekend, perhaps! Because Tuesday is Austria's national celebration, (26 October - which is incidentally, my parents' 25th wedding anniversary this year) I get a four-day weekend! Which will most certainly find me in Vienna. Because, well, Amstetten isn't big enough for a four-day weekend. Plus, isn't it always exciting being in a capital city on the day of national celebration?

I was in Berlin on 3 October three years ago (Tag der deutschen Einheit) and I was in Paris on 14 July two years ago (Bastille Day) but I was never in Washington, D.C. on July 4.








 Sad sad sad, because when I was 12, we took a road trip to see certain Civil War battlefields, and catch up on some American history. It was really one of the best family vacations we ever had. We went to Vicksburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg; took a tour of Monticello and Madison's house, Mount Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg. We got into Washington D.C. on  July 6. Two whole days late! And we didn't even stay there. We took a bathroom break near Capitol Hill and moved on to Gettysburg.

Parade at Colonial Williamsburg

Well, I would consider these things important! National pride and all...it's always great to get an insider's view of such things - if you can objectify your own nation's world P.O.V. Which I think I can do (and do do) pretty regularly.

You may have picked up I have a thing for the Enlightenment...or the 18th century on the whole...

I think it's the hairstyles. This picture is of men, and, thus, cannot count. If you're in doubt, look up Marie Antoinette. Oh. That and the whole Enlightenment attitude of "pure faith is not good enough! We must find truth in analysis!" I analyze things to death.