Sometimes I wish I lived in Europe

It's not really a childlike wish as much as it is a contemplative thought.

What is America, you say? Ask any coy European and they have a list to playfully strike you down.

Fat. Cheerful. Overworked burnouts. Rude. Insensitive. Ignorant. Unorganized. Bland.

It's...true. And not.

When I think of culture, I think European before anything else. I think of castles older than my country. I think of sprawling museums with relics of the past, paintings that give a window into what life was long ago. I think impressive architecture, long histories and bloody feuds that sustained between infamous families.

My country doesn't have that kind of feel. America was created to be stripped of bias and tyranny. America is production, not preservation. Individual achievements over community benefit. Making the new, and tossing the old.

Culture? If diversity were a culture...

We are a melting pot. We identify ourselves with nothing that's the same but "American"--and in the loosest sense, it means that our strongest sense of pride is in that one word that our country is named after. That's our strongest link, but by no means a close, communal one.

Europeans have nations, but they also have traditions, and cultures that transcend national barriers. Regional bonds and familial traditions are tighter than any country label they have. Europeans are fond of preservation and history, dedicated to traditions.

Americans don't have an identity; they must make one for themselves.

Yes. Americans can be greedy and materialistic. Americans can be offensive. Americans can be the sweaty, exaggerated, fanny-pack travelers that they Europeans snicker at behind their backs. They may not be graceful explorers.

But keep in mind; next time you see an American huffing and puffing up the narrow stairs to the castletop, or squinting at a Louvre painting, or taking pictures after pictures of the rustic arches of the Roman forum, know that a part of them is trying to seek and capture a beautiful, tangible culture that they long for, but don't have.

Mozart's Impact

I think there was that Seneca quote that went like, "Life is like a play; it's not the length, but the excellence of acting that matters."

I think that's especially true in the case of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

I don't think this will be an incredibly informative post. It certainly won't be a scholarly analysis of his works, or on specific facts of his life.

Other than this one: he was a brilliant musician. He was a solid genius that managed to pack into his short 35 years of life what others can't attempt  to create in a century.

Mozart's K333 Sonata was the last piece I ever played at a piano competition, you know.

Other people may attempt to pound out his achievements. Because even though I was never good at music competition, I have a good sense for music, and personalities. I want to try to describe the character of Mozart--first, through other composers.

Beethoven (9th symphony) was tempestuous and explosive, Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake & Nutcracker) was illustrious, intricate, and ethereal and Prokofiev (Romeo and Juliet) was ponderous and heavy. Composers were constantly looking to make their "mark"--through a certain music style, or through a manner of composition execution or through their trademark nuances. They wanted a legacy--and being mad genisues, they wanted a dramatic legacy.

Mozart wasn't that.

Mozart is constant, comforting. His music, though not repetitive, certainly creates this straightforward sense of dependability that other music geniuses lack. His pieces have solid, melodies, with perfectly simple, mathematical rhythms that a child could count out. After he gained fame, he didn't succumb to it. He still created the same music he had all his life.

They are not hard to play. But the genius in Mozart's music isn't in the ability to play it. It's in the ability to understand it.

Behind the frills-free sonatas lie an inner musical working that is miraculous and bafflingly straight-laced. Each note has a symbolic meaning; each chord is meant to resonate a certain way.

I loved music, but I hated practicing. I didn't appreciate music until I quit piano a few months ago--and it was then that I realized that all the things my brilliant teacher said--all the meanings behind each embellishment and each --how they contributed to the whole of the creator--the composer.

In the end, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart let his music speak for himself. In his short life, he still made an enormous legacy for himself.

Try it for yourself. Listen to the composers I listed above, and then listen to Mozart's K333 Sonata. You'll know what I mean.

Chocolate: Belgium vs. Switzerland

Source: http://kitchentalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Kitchen-Talks-Swiss-Chocolate.jpg

If there's ONE thing that makes me want to go to central Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium) more than anything, it's this: the chocolate.

I still remember that time my dad brought a tin of German/Swiss truffles back home. Let's just say that I claimed the box, and it was clean and empty within three days. 

Creamy, was what I thought. It was rich and smooth and velvet that melted on your tongue. There were subtle flavors; hazelnut layering on coffee-hinted dark with just a whiff of vanilla. The outer shells were marvelously crispy, while the insides were heaven to my taste buds. 

(If I'm making you salivate, then I've done my job.)

There's no question; they have the best chocolate in the world.

But what about the best of the best--Belgium and Switzerland? They have quite a chocolate rivalry, but they both boast of proud chocolate histories and special techniques that make the delicious confections taste so spectacular. 

Belgium: 

Taste: Belgian chocolate is known for its quality of the cocoa taste in the chocolate. The flavor is stronger, more brusque, but also more pure. 

Contributions: The Belgians invented the praline in 1912--a man named Jean Neuhaus was credited coming up with the idea that would change the face of the chocolate manufacturing. He would make a chocolate mold (the converteur), and add soft fillings such as cream, nougat, or toffee (there are different flavors--hazelnut is a popular choice.)

Switzerland:  

Taste: Swiss chocolate is known for its smooth, creamy taste--since Switzerland is credited for the invention of milk chocolate, it has perfected the soft texture that melts in your mouth. 

Contributions: The Swiss had many chocolate innovations, but the most important of them came from a man named Daniel Peter. Originally a candle-maker, he switched to chocolate when he was said to have been besotted with the daughter of a chocolate-maker. He began experimenting with chocolate, and eventually ended up with a product known as milk chocolate--something that is so common today that it is unfathomable that the Europeans back then had only dark chocolate to eat. 

Which is better, you ask? 

I don't know, actually. If I ever get to go to Switzerland and Belgium, I will definitely find out for myself. 

But regardless, chocolate is a food that is quite near and dear to my heart, and it's quite cool to learn how two countries dedicate themselves to the innovation of chocolate. To have each person constantly strive to improve the technique of production and the taste--that's what gives European businesses such credibility and uniqueness. Sometimes, when I think of Europe, I think of homey, family-run businesses and individual shops that counter the American mindset of mass-production and major chain industries that, at times, sacrifice identity and quality for convenience. 

Food for thought, isn't it?

I hope you're still salivating. I certainly am.



Sources: http://earthlydelightsblog.com/belgian-vs-swiss-its-a-chocolate-off/
http://www.venere.com/blog/belgian-chocolate/
http://www.zchocolat.com/en/swiss_chocolate.asp

Cuckoo Clocks!

So, thanks to a documentary in my German class, I've discovered a little novelty with German origins.

The cuckoo clock.

Source: http://www.cuckooclocks.com/get-image.aspx?file=1-0260-01-c.jpg

Isn't it so cute?
Short history: The cuckoo clock from the Black Forest--Schwarzwald. The very first (primitive) cuckoo clock was made in around 1630. Eventually, clockmaking became a popular trade among the farmers of the Schwarzwald. When the winters were cold and the farms were covered in snow, what did they do?

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Clockmakers_black_forest.jpg

They made clocks. 

These days, cuckoo clocks are made with astonishing details--along with the rhythmic cuckoo chime that sounds off the hours, there can also be waltzing figures, miniature soldiers that move their limbs, and beautiful, intricate design and setting. 

The BEAUTIFUL CLOCKS
Source: http://www.cuckoo-palace.com/cuckoo-clocks-blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Schwer_17.10-225x300.jpg

The inside is no less fascinating than the outside--all the gears, wires and dials fit in this one boxlike structure called the movement, which is the heart of the clock--and the timekeeper. Cuckoo bellows are fit snugly on top of the movement, and are connected by wires and a pendulum that sets the movement in motion. 

Left: a cuckoo clock, and right: the movement
Source: http://public.media.smithsonianmag.com/legacy_blog/early-cuckoo-clock.jpg

Here's an incredibly interesting and informative 5-minute video on cuckoo clockmaking. 

To this day, cuckoo clocks are still a long-standing tradition in the Black Forest. Many of them are still family businesses that create wooden masterpieces that are not only excellent timekeepers, but a marvel and a work of art.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57NTH-v2GXU --the video above
http://www.cuckooclockworld.com/history.htm