The North Cascades Beckon!

One of the features of a drive along Interstate 5 between Birch Bay and Seattle is a view of the Cascade Mountains lying to the east. During the first part of the drive, weather permitting, Mt. Baker (a dormant volcano and third largest peak in Washington state) provides irresistible scenery.

Mt. Baker with Bellingham in the Foreground

Though the mountains have been frequently in view, I have sampled the Cascades mainly through visits to Mt. Baker, driving on a few occasions to Artist Point in the latter part of summer when the snow is finally cleared and the road to it is open. Also, I have sped several times across the Cascades driving on Interstate 90 to get from Seattle to points east. Driving this four-lane highway, I have enjoyed quick glances around, especially when crossing Snoqualmie Pass. However, I have yet to take the time to get out of the car to look around.

My resolve to devote more time to exploring and enjoying the Cascades was fortified when I recently read The North Cascades Highway: A Roadside Guide by Jack McLeod. This book has convinced me that it is time to explore the mountains. They are simply too close to ignore. My Birch Bay condo, according to Google maps, is a mere 90-minute drive from the start of a spectacular 83-mile drive across the mountains on Washington State Highway 20. The drive starts at mile 97.6 of the highway (in Rockport) and ends at mile 180 (in Mazama).

This highway, whose construction took decades, was completed only in 1972. Even now, parts of it close in the winter when deep snow and avalanches from the Washington Pass area cover it. Typically the closures occur from late November to late 
April.

When driving the highway during its open months, first-time visitors will find likely McLeod’s book of great value. It advises visitors of the best places (identified by milepost number) to stop for superior views, and it suggests trails to take to see vistas not visible from the highway. In fact, one of the main messages of the book is to get out of the car and look around.  

From the highway, visitors can see numerous high peaks (with such colorful names as Bonanza [9,511 ft.], Stiletto [7,660 ft.], Switchblade [7,805 ft], and Cutthroat [8,050 ft.]) and mountains (such as Hozomeen Mountain [8,071 ft.], Jack Mountain [9,066 ft.], Sourdough Mountain (6,120 ft.], and Crater Mountain [8,128 ft]). Also, the drive follows the Skagit River for many miles, and it goes near three large lakes (Gorge, Diablo, and Ross Lakes), all man-made to provide power to Seattle.  

A couple of the Passes (both not far from Mazama) have especially interesting features. Rainy Pass (mile 157) is, according to McLeod, “the final barrier to moisture-filled clouds from the Pacific, which drop a yearly average of fifty-six inches of rain. The pass separates the wet west from the dry east.”  This pass is also “a trail hub for hikers of all levels” writes McLeod, who suggests some alternative walks. Of course, the truly brave could get on the Pacific Crest Trail near this pass and walk a couple thousand miles to Mexico.  

Five miles from Rainy Pass lies Washington Pass (mile 162.2), which according to McLeod is “the most spectacular and most photographed slice of the North Cascades” with views of the Liberty Bell and Early Winters Spires. Because of the type of rock in this area, it is a favorite place for rock climbers.

Next year when I travel this stretch of Highway 20 for the first time, I intend to have The North Cascades Highway at my side to help determine where to stop and to assist identifying what I am seeing. The book is stuffed with pictures of views from the highway with labels identifying the prominent features. In addition to the travel advice, the book is heavy on geology (answering the question: What kind of rocks are those?), with a smattering of poetry and exhortation (“Get out of the car and look around”).  

When making this trip, I certainly plan to get out of the car and walk some (short) trails. To help with that, I am going to consult another recently published book such as Hiking the North Cascades: A Guide to More Than 100 Great Hiking Adventures by Eric Molvar or one the other books that have been written on this topic.

Danielka's Fayetteville Adventures: Summer 2014

Circumstances have made it impossible for me to spend much time at my home in Birch Bay, WA during July and August, and that was especially disappointing because my Godson – the twelve-year-old dynamo from Podolsk (Moscow Oblast, Russia) – arrived on July 5 for his annual visit. The trip to Birch Bay, with his mother Oxana, was fifth time that Danielka Kalmykov (also known as Ka-Boy “the majestic and the powerful”) has traveled there to spend much of the summer.

Awesome Danielka

When it became clear that I would not be in Birch Bay most of time when Ka-Boy and his mother were there, Danielka’s Godmother and aunt, Natalia, proposed that he, his mother, and she travel to Arkansas and stay a week in Fayetteville, where I am presently required to be. I thought that was a great idea, and the trip was on. I flew from Fayetteville to Birch Bay, where my Subaru was sitting; then the four of us drove for 32 hours to get to Fayetteville.

 The four days on the road first took us through the noteworthy scenery of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.  We poked through these states, enjoying the views and vowing to return for longer stays at different cities and sites.  During this part of the trip, Natalia and Oxana, denizens of the back seat, kept pointing out buffaloes and elk; Danielka and I responded with proper skepticism and scorn. We, in turn, kindly pointed out the grazing unicorns and dragons along the way.

 

Natalia, Danielka, and Oxana at a Scenic Spot in Washington State

Danielka claimed the shotgun seat with some vehemence. He pointed out that during the past five years or so, he had been forced to sit in the back seat. Now that he has reached 12, and of course his soul is 14 years old, it was his turn to sit in the front. The main problem with him occupying the front passenger seat was that he was not heavy enough for the sensor to know that someone was sitting in the seat. With him sitting there, a light indicated that the seat was empty and the air bag was not on. To solve that problem, every time Danielka got into the car, he carried a heavy box of books with him. When we got the signal that the passenger air bag was on, his mother would take the box and put in the back of the car.

Danielka Enjoying the Ride

Midway in the trip, we left the mountains to travel the straight roads of South Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri. We sped through these states, and Danielka amused himself by reading the Hunger Games, which he enjoyed.

On one long stretch in South Dakota, Oxana – who recently got her driver’s license in Russia – volunteered to drive. She had never driven before in the U.S. She took the wheel for an hour or so. Not only was she very nervous, the rest of us had white knuckles waiting for the inevitable crash. She did fine, at least until she ran a red light at the exit. Fortunately, we all survived and celebrated by stuffing ourselves at a Denny’s.

 

Oxana Drives for First Time in the U.S.

After leaving on a Tuesday, we arrived in Fayetteville on Friday, early in the evening. The week that followed was full of fun and firsts for Danielka. They included:

A Sunday concert at the Fayetteville Public Library. It was a surprisingly good concert by a Barrett Baber, Fayetteville singer and songwriter, who also teaches sometimes at Fayetteville High School.  He writes some great songs and is a strong performer, and he has had some recent successes, including an appearance at the 2014 Grammys. His song “Arkansas (Get There from Here)” has been selected for use in advertisements promoting tourism in Arkansas. If you have not heard him, check him out at this site:  http://www.barrettbaber.com/  or on Facebook. He will be performing with the Razorback Band at halftime of the September 20^th football game.

Danielka, who has become a serious student of the guitar, sat on the front row to watch the fingering of Baber as he played his guitar.

Danielka closely watches Baber play the guitar

First peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Danielka had his first taste of this delicacy at the Eleven Restaurant at the Crystal Bridges Museum. His mother, Oxana, also had her first taste of grits, enjoying the Shrimp and Grits selection. I savored my 3,000^th meal of tasty brown beans and cornbread. Natalia was underwhelmed by the High South Chicken Salad. See the Eleven’s lunch menu here:  http://crystalbridges.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Lunch_feb.pdf

 

Oxana enjoys her first grits

First Grapette and Moon Pie.  Later the same day that he enjoyed the pb&j sandwich, Danielka got his first tastes of Grapette (purple, containing “no fruit juice”) and Moon Pies, bought at the store at the entrance of the Walmart “Museum” on the Bentonville square.  He found both to this liking.

 

Hard-to-Find Grapette

First B-B-Q Ribs.  When the four of us stuffed ourselves at Penguin Eds, Danielka ate his first BBQ ribs.  Eating ribs was a homage to his cousin, Denis, Natalia’s son. In late 1996, when Denis arrived in Athens (GA) from Ukraine as an 11 year, he took mightily to ribs, and for months that is all he wanted to eat whenever we went out to a restaurant. Ka-Boy ate the ribs with evident enthusiasm.

Danielka chomping BBQ Ribs

First Frosty Mug of A&W Root Beer. After losing (again) some bet with Danielka, I owed him a frosty mug of A&W root beer, which I had assured him had no equal it came to slaking thirst on hot days. Shortly after getting to Fayetteville, I was chagrined to learn that Fayetteville no longer has an A&W drive in or restaurant (though the Sonic drive ins are ubiquitous). Checking the internet, I found that the nearest A&W restaurants are in Fort Smith and Siloam Springs. So the last full day on the visit, we all drove to Siloam Springs to have a large frosted mug of root beer. It did not disappoint.

Danielka and Natalia Enjoy A&W Root Beer in a Frosty Mug

A trip to Tahlequah, OK to see the Cherokee capital. We took one afternoon to visit Tahlequah. I am not sure that I have ever visited this city, though I vaguely remember playing baseball there in the early ‘60s. I was surprised to find, after a 90 minute drive through Ozark foothills, an attractive downtown and several historic buildings. We devoured tasty pizza at Sam and Ella’s Chicken Palace, which is stuffed with chicken pictures, knick knacks and artifacts (for reviews of this restaurant, see http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g106178-d1172904-Reviews-Sam_Ella_s_Chicken_Palace-Tahlequah_Oklahoma.html )  Then we spent a couple of hours at the Cherokee Heritage Center, located a short drive from downtown Tahlequah. There, we learned a little about the history of the Cherokees, and Danielka scored a colorful tee shirt that will be unique among his friends in Podolsk. See http://www.cherokeeheritage.org/

Danielka watches a demonstration of  wool dying at the Cherokee Heritage Center

On the way to Tahlequah, we stopped by the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park for a quick history of the battle and a look at some of the old buildings. (See http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/prairiegrovebattlefield/events/ ) 

The park seems improved very time I go there. 

Natalia, Danielka, and Oxana at the Latta House in the Prairie Grove Battlefield Park

Daily dog walk. One of the pleasures of Danielka’s visit was a daily morning walk by or near Lake Fayetteville and its trails with my mother’s two dogs, Abby and Peppy (aka Pepsi). Danielka does not have a dog, and has not spent much time with them. He managed to make the dogs his friends through a liberal dispensation of treats. 

He and his mother were impressed with the Lake and its trails.  See http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/parks_and_recreation/documents/maps/Lake%20Fayetteville%20Trail%20website.pdf

Danielka gives Abby a treat

Unfortunately, the trips to Lake Fayetteville raised some concerns. On the first day, we spotted a truck near the trails that. we think, was following us to conduct secret surveillance. Every day we went to Lake Fayetteville, the truck was there. The truck, as shown below, apparently belongs to the notorious secret police of the Soviet Union, the KGB.

If the KGB was listening to our conversations, they learned that Danielka was engaged in a battle on Minecraft against a ruthless and evil player who had stolen some valuable weapons from him and was a threat to other players. Ka-Boy was enlisting other Minecraft players to stop the bad guy from further misdeeds. Also, they would have heard of the elaborate prank that Danielka was planning to play on his Birch Bay neighbor, A.J., who is near Danielka's age. The goal was to scare him as much as possible. Danielka planned this prank, in part, because A.J. had not responded to a letter Danielka had sent him when A.J. was at a French Camp. In addition, they would have gained valuable details about Claire, A.J.'s dog with whom Ka-Boy had been playing, and a smart Chihuahua who belongs to a friend of his dad in Podolsk. 

In all, it was a great week in Fayetteville that went by quickly.  Natalia and I appreciated getting the opportunity to see the mind and energy of a robust and happy kid in action. Danielka and Oxana enjoyed their new experiences in the South. 

The Past and Present of Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngass 9: The Site of Vienna’s Café Louvre

Wipplingerstrasse 27/Rennegasse 9 is the address of land located at the corner of Wipplingerstrasse and Renngasse in Vienna. It lies in the city's 1st district about three blocks from the Schottenring. This land is located near the back of Vienna's stock market (Wiener Börse). Also it is a block down Wipplingerstrasse from the massive Central Telegraph Office, which still stands but is closed. 

At present, a five-story building stands on this site. This building was constructed after World War II to replace the one destroyed during the war. Its first floor corner space is occupied by a store selling high-end furnishings.  

The street-level corner space of the previous building on the site was the location of Café Louvre from about 1895 (and maybe a couple of years earlier) until 1940, when it closed. During its final 15 years, Café Louvre was the main hangout for Anglo-American journalists. Around 1925, Robert Best, a reporter for United Press, started working out of this café, and it soon became the place where foreign reporters visited daily to keep up with breaking news. The reporters had a Stammtisch (a reserved table for regular customers) over which Best presided. More about the Café Louvre during this time can be found here at the following links:

http://www.eclecticatbest.com/2012/02/great-night-at-cafe-louvre-in-vienna.html

and 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/81223692/Vienna-s-Cafe-Louvre-in-the-1920s-1930s-Meeting-Place-for-Foreign-Correspondents

The Central Telegraph  Office on Wipplingerstrasse in 2012

Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9 in Roman Times

The history of Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9 can be traced back to the last years of the Before Christian Era. In about 50 BCE, Rome established a military outpost called Vindobona in an area that makes up much of Vienna’s present 1^st district. Vindobona existed until about 500 A.D.   

Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9 lay just outside of the fortified Roman military camp (Das Legionslager) that was defended by about 6,000 Roman soldiers. Its location is shown in the map below as the red dot by the label "Geländeabbruchkante," which means escarpment edge. The map indicates that this land was separated from the Roman camp by a stream (Ottakringer Bach) but not an escarpment. 

Map on Roman Camp and Surrounding in Vindobona
Source: http://www.roemermuseum.at/

Artifacts from Vindobona were found at Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9 when work was done there in 1908 to replace a floor. A sketch of those artifacts are shown below in a picture taken from this website: http://www.roemermuseum.at/roemer/karte/renng.htm

Also remains from the Roman settlement were discovered at Wipplingerstrasse 25 (which lies across Renngasse from Wipplingerstrasse 27). The building on that land was torn down in 1896 to prepare for the construction of a new one. During the demolition, builders found Roman ruins that were described by Siegfried Weyr in his book, Wien: Magie Der Inneren Stadt (Vienna: Magic of the Inner City), published in 1968.  The following is a translation of his description of what was found on the site:

Over the centuries much has been built in Wipplingerstrasse and the construction has often exposed Roman walls, most of which, admittedly, were usually demolished and taken away. It was only in the mid-19th Century that people started paying greater attention to the ruins.

For example, when in 1896 the structure at Wipplingerstrasse 25 – the corner house at Wipplingerstrasse and Renngasse – was removed, the excavation of the floor of the entire building block revealed almost uniformly above the natural clay and gravel, which lay only 4 feet below, the following layers:  (1) a layer of small, iron oxide coated pebbles,  (2) over that lay a carbon layer 5 to 15 centimeters thick, and (3) over that was at last dirt, richly mixed with fragments of roofing tiles along with two-prong iron hooks, which were used to attach the suspended ceiling tiles to the wooden floors above.

On one fragment of the ceiling tiles one saw the beginning of the seal of the 10^th Legion; on another was that of the 14th Legion. Further, small pieces of bronze, numerous bones, and vessel debris were found, including a 25 cm bottom portion of a very large bowl whose sides were approximately 15 cm, a fragment of a second similar dish, pieces of terra sigillata, bowls with carved letters M G and S, bowl fragments with fighters, others with running and lying rabbits, fragments of containers, and clay pots with fluted handles. Also found were pieces of flooring, which might have consisted of a coarse mosaic, diamond-shaped, gray, small stones that were 6 cm long, 25 cm maximum width, 2 cm thick. The debris included very many large and small plaster pieces.

In the courtyard of the house, near the adjoining building plot to the west, one found fragments of sculptures in a wall, including the torso of a boy on whose right shoulder rested a large hand, a second large hand holding a fluted container. What eternally unsolvable mystery of murder, fire and burning -- howling, club-wielding Germanic savages, emerging from sudden night, flinging fire, screaming a piercing war cry – is hidden in these shambles! Roman Vienna was destroyed twice by fire.  (pp 387-388)

The Early Years of Café Louvre: Zionist Meeting Place

While I have no documentation of how the land at Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9 was used during the first 1400 years after the Romans left Vindobona, I do know that in 1895 it was occupied by a five-story building that had been there for some time. In 1895, and perhaps for a few years earlier, the first floor of the building was the site of Café Louvre.
  
Although the year of Café Louvre’s opening cannot be determined with precision,it is certain that it was operating in 1896 and some evidence indicates that it had been open for a few years previously. The evidence can be found in a book by Yoram Hazony, The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul. He wrote about events in 1896 that took place in Café Louvre. These events centered on Theodor Herzl and the development of the international Zionist movement. In discussing a key meeting held on September 15, 1896, Hazony wrote:

Vienna was home to a number of Hebrew enthusiasts, veterans of the Kadimah dueling society, and other Zionist oddities, who had been meeting every Tuesday night at the Café Louvre for years without much of anything to show for it. Herzl had kept the Vienna Kadimah at arm’s length since the publication of his pamphlet [Die Judenstadt], but now he called upon them to assist in establishing a head office, which in short order began agitation for a Jewish state among Jews everywhere. (P. 119, Italics added).

Thus, according to Hazony, Café Louvre had been a meeting place for Zionist “for years” before 1896, when Herzl returned to Vienna and began actively leading the Zionist movement. Harzony's statement was backed up by another author, Ernst Pavel, in his book From the Labyrinth of Exile: A Life of Theodor Herzl. He also observed that “Zionist stalwarts” had been meeting, prior to 1896, every Tuesday night “for years” at the Café Louvre (p 309).

The name of the owner of Café Louvre is not certain. However, it likely was Wilhelm Aldor, who ran the cafe with his wife Karoline.  Friedrich Scheu, a Viennese who was part of the circle of journalists who frequented Café Louvre in the 1930s, wrote in his book Der Weg ins Ungewisse (p. 298) about its closing on June 1, 1940, noting that its owner was Karoline Aldor, widow of Wilhelm, who had died in 1936.  

Whoever opened Café Louvre and whatever its opening date, it appears that from its beginning years it was frequented by Jewish intellectuals and Zionists. Mark Gelber wrote in his book, Melancholy Pride: Nation, Race, and Gender in German Literature, that Café Louvre was "a meeting place for Viennese Zionists and aspiring Jewish writers" and it "served as de facto headquarters of the [Die Welt]." (p. 26). Die Welt was a weekly paper founded by Herzl as the voice of the Zionist movement. Its first edition was published on June 3, 1897 and it survived his death in 1904, remaining “the central publication of the Zionist movement until the start of WWI.” 

Several accounts describe Herzl working on Die Welt at the Café Louvre during his time in Vienna. Also, much of Herzl’s staff for the newly formed international Zionist mass movement came from the men who had been meeting “for years” at Cafe Louvre before Herzl returned to Vienna in August 1896. In his book, Pavel wrote that the core of the Vienna general staff assembled by Herzl consisted of “dedicated but hitherto ineffectual Zionists" who had been meeting for several years at Café Louvre” (p. 309. They included physician Moses Schnirer, lawyer Ozer Kokesch, Odessa-born engineer Johann Kremenezky, Shakespeare scholar Leon Kellner, and Leopold Loebl, a relative of Herzl and a financial expert.  This list of names includes some of Café Louvre’s earliest customers.

A picture taken of Herzl and the Vienna Zionist group at the Café Louvre can be seen at the following link (the picture is copyrighted):  

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/theodor-herzl-and-viennes-zionists-in-the-cafe-louvre-news-photo/56456465  
Information about the picture provided by the agency that owns it says it was taken in 1896 at Café Louvre. However, Israel Cohen in his book, Theodore Herzl, Founder of Political Zionist, identified the picture as a “Conference for the founding of Die Welt at Café Louvre, February 1897.”  

Café Louvre continued to be frequented by Zionists and Jewish intellectuals for many years after the turn of the century. For example, the February 23, 1912 issue of the Jüdische Zeitung, published in Vienna, lists Café Louvre as a location where tickets could be purchased for a planned Jewish fundraising event. 

Of course, Café Louvre had competition for Zionist patronage from other cafes. The 1912 paper contained adverisements Café Maria Theresia,  Maria Theresianstrasse 10 (1st District), Café Jägerhof (Weiss), Porzeggargasse 22 (9^th District) and Café Marienbrücke, Rotenthurstrasse 31 (1st District). The last two cafes labeled themselves as the “Rendezvous der Zionisten".

There is evidence that as late as 1925, about the time the American and English correspondents started frequenting Café Louvre, it was still a place where Jewish intellectuals congregated. Micheal Scammell wrote in his biography of Arthur Koestler (p. 44) that in 1925, when Koestler was a failing engineering student living with his parents in Vienna, he decided to go to Palestine:

Relying on his prominence in the Revisionist movement and on his growing chutzpah, he marched to the Café Louvre and asked his friends in Unitas [a Jewish academic group] for a loan of one thousand shillings for the journey. They rallied loyally, and even helped him procure a previous immigration certificate.

Pictures of Café Louvre in the Zionist Years and Beyond

We can see what Café Louvre looked like during its early years in three post cards published near the turn of the century. These cards, two mailed in 1898 and other probably in 1900, feature the recently built Beamten-Verein (Public Officials Association) building, located at the corner of Wipplingerstrasse and Renngasse, but also show its neighbor across Renngasse from it. That neighbor was the Café Louvre.

The first picture shows that Café Louvre (in the darker building on the right side of the photograph) was on the first floor of a five-story building. It had an awning covering an outdoor seating area located along Wipplingerstrasse. The building is a darker color than the new Beamten-Verein Building, likely showing it aging. This postcard is undated, but probably was taken in about 1900. 

The second picture was taken in the same direction as the first, but from a location much closer to Café Louvre. The cafe is the first-floor of the building in the foreground on the right. Its awning and seating area lies just beyond the Josef Flamm sign. The street ahead is Wipplingerstrasse and the Beatem-Verein Building is the light building up the street from the cafe. Another large building across Wipplingerstrasse from the Beamten-Verein is on the left side of the postcard. Note that this postcard is dated December 24, 1898.

The third postcard, dated August 29, 1898, shows mostly the Beamten-Verein building, with a sliver of Café Louvre and its awning to the far right. The title underneath the picture says:  New Administration Building of the First General Civil Service Association of the Austria-Hungary Monarchy, Vienna I, Wipplingerstrasse 25, Corner of Renngasse. 

Cafe Louvre After WWI

At some point in the middle 1920's, the Café Louvre transitioned from being the hangout for Zionists and Jewish intellectuals to being the place where Anglo-American journalists, and their friends, congregated. Perhaps these two groups overlapped for some months or years, but the few accounts of the Café Louvre Circle that exist do not mentioned that the cafe was shared regularly by the two groups.

I have found no good information on the transition, but it has some irony. The man most responsible for making the Café Louvre the de facto headquarters for foreign journalists, as I mentioned earlier, was Robert Best. For some reason, likely its proximity to the Central Telegraph Office, Best started spending his time in this cafe and in the years that followed other American and British journalists joined him. By 1928, it was known as the place journalists congregated and when, for example, J.W. Fulbright arrived in  Vienna that year to visit for a few months, he went in the evenings to the Café Louvre listened to the discussions of Anglo-American journalists (see Woods, p. 36)..

The irony of the transition is that Best, born in South Carolina, ended up being a strong anti-semite.  He stayed in Vienna after the Anschluss and remained in Germany after it was at war with the United States. During the war, his toxic anti-Semitic messages were broadcast from Germany to the United States as part of its propaganda campaign. After the War, Best was captured by the U.S. forces and convicted of treason.

So far, I have found only one picture of Café Louvre taken after World War I. One version of it -- quite fuzzy -- was published in a 1968 issue of Der Spiegel (the German weekly news magazine) to illustrate a story about Kim Philby, the double spy, who hung around the Café Louvre in 1933 and 1934. Here is the picture it published. 

The same uncropped picture is available from a Viennese website. According to information provided with the picture, it was taken on June 3, 1940,two days after the cafe was closed. 

This picture was taken from a spot on the first block of Renngasse, looking up an incline. The Beamten-Verein Building (not pictured) was located to the left of this building. Note that the awning and seating area are gone. Also, the building seems to have a light exterior, indicated that it likely had been cleaned in recent years.

http://www.bildarchivaustria.at/Pages/ImageDetail.aspx?p_iBildID=13001876

Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9 After WWII

In his memoirs, William Shirer described how he had gone to search for Café Louvre on his first trip to Vienna after World War II, but had found only a collapsed building at the Wipplingerstrasse/Renngasse site. (The Beamten-Verein building and the Central Telegraph building, however, did survive the war.) A few years after the end of the war, a new building was constructed at Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9, apparently using the plans of the previous building.  

In the new building, shown below, the space where Café Louvre was located is occupied by Roche Bobois, a French retail store selling very expensive furniture. Remarkably, if you compare the front of Café Louvre in 1940 and to the front of Roche Bobois in 2013, you will see that the windows and stone design around the windows look the same. Also, the same balcony stands over the corner entrance. Perhaps, although I cannot determine for sure, the corner entrance has the same statues decorating it.  

If visitors go by Wipplingerstrasse 27/Renngasse 9 today, they will see a facade that is very similar to the facade that was at this site before World War II.  Thus, it is still possible to get a sense of the look of the exterior of Vienna's Café Louvre seventy years after it was destroyed.

Sources:
Cohen, Israel. 1959. Theodor Herzl, Founder of Political Zionism. Thomas Yoseloff. Available at https://archive.org/details/theodorherzlfoun00cohe

Gelber, Mark. 2000. Melancholy Pride: Nation, Race, and Gender in German Literature.  M. Niemeyer.

Haber, Peter. 1997. Zionism in Austria. In Haumann, Heiko (ed.), The First Zionist Congress in 1897: Causes, Significance, Topicality. Accessed at http://www.hist.net/datenarchiv/haber/texte/105232.pdf

Herzl, Theodor. 1922. Tagesbuecher (1895-1904). Juedischer Verlag. [free Google download]

Herzl, Theodor. 1896. Der Judenstaat. Available here: 

Hazony, Yoram. 2001. The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul. Basic Books

Pavel, Ernst. 2011. From the Labyrinth of Exile: A Life of Theodor Herzl. Macmillan (available as Google e-book).

Scammell, Michael. 2009. Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic. Random House.

Scheu, Friedrich. 1972. Der Weg ins Ungewisse, Österreichs Schicksalskurve 1929-1938 Molden 

Weyr, Siegfried. 1968. Wien:  Magie Der Inneren Stadt.  Paul Zsolnay Verlag,

Woods, Randall B. 1995. Fulbright: A Biography. Cambridge University Press.

UBB President Announces New Entertainment for 2014 Spring Commencement

Note:  I just downloaded the news story that follows.  Previous news stories related to it can be found here:

http://www.eclecticatbest.com/2014/05/university-of-birch-bay-announces-june.html

http://www.eclecticatbest.com/2014/05/univ-of-birch-bay-students-and-faculty.html

(Campus Executive News Reporting Service, May 25, 2014)  McAdams Mikelas, president of the University of Birch Bay, announced on Saturday that Steve Martin will play his banjo, along with his group the Steep Canyon Raiders, at the UBB’s graduation ceremony on June 28.  The speaker originally scheduled to make the commencement speech, Alexandr Alexandrovich Sasha,  called President Mikelas early Saturday morning to cancel his planned speech because of “urgent business scheduled in late June” for the Russian Duma (parliament). Mr. Sasha is serving his second term as a member of the Duma.

In lieu of a graduation speech, Mr. Martin and his group have agreed to play music without lyrics and to avoid, to the extent possible, any controversial comments between the songs. The group recently released a new album, “Live” (see http://www.stevemartin.com/).

 

Main Administration Building, University of Birch Bay

The invitation to Mr. Sasha had stirred controversy among some UBB students and faculty members. Mr. Sasha, who owns coal mines near Mezhurechensk, Russia, is a billionaire and a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has been awarded numerous prizes in Russia for his humanitarian work and his advocacy for higher education. 

Students objected to his role in the coal industry, by which he is, they say, contributing to global warming. Protests against his appearance escalated when, on Thursday night, Mr. Sasha was interviewed by Sean Hannity, telling him that he thought Russian laws protecting society, especially children, from gay people were “necessary.”  He added, “We are a traditional, not a decadent, culture. We protect our children and women."

On Friday, UBB students set up a large protest camp in the vast Karl Liebknecht Square. Several students wearing balaclavas to cover their faces surrounded the UBB’s administration building. One of them, Helen Haleworthy, a junior majoring in Latin, told reporters that if Mr. Sasha is not replaced as commencement speaker by Monday, students would “shut this dump down.”

Saturday morning, Pauli Manaforte’, an American who is one of Mr. Sasha’s close political advisers, issued a press release on his behalf saying that urgent business and a desire to spend more time with his family had forced Mr. Sasha to cancel his role in UBB’s commencement. Neither Mr. Sasha or Mr. Manaforte’, could be reached for comment. 

UBB President Mikelas said that he was disappointed in Mr. Sasha’s decision: “I understand that it is a busy time in Russia, what with the fascists taking over Ukraine and all.”  He thanked Mr. Sasha for his past generosity to UBB and hoped that it would continue. He said, ‘We will send this busy man his honorary UBB doctorate and a membership in the university’s alumni association by Federal Express.”

UBB is one of many colleges, including Smith College, Brandeis College, Haverford College, and Rutgers University, to change commencement speakers due to student and faculty protests. The use of wordless music, or perhaps the use of mimes, in lieu of commencement speeches is seen as a likely trend among American universities. Alternatively, some observers suggest that universities and colleges should be more careful in selecting the people on whom they bestow honor and prestige through invitations to give commencement addresses and award honorary degrees.

Univ. of Birch Bay Students and Faculty Protest Commencement Speaker, Boycott Possible

Note:  I just downloaded this story. It sounds as if the Birch Bay campus is in turmoil. 

UBB Students and Faculty May Boycott Commencement Speaker

(Campus Executive News Reporting Service, May 19, 2014)  Several student and faculty groups expressed outrage on Monday that the University of Birch Bay invited Alexandr Alexandrovich Sasha, a Russian humanitarian and businessman, to speak at its Spring commencement. The Student Society for Democracy (SSD) organized two demonstrations on Karl Leibknecht Square in the center of the campus. Also, the campus libertarian group, Hands Off Me, A**h***s (HOMA) has set up a table by the campus’s John Galt Memorial Fountain where students can sign a petition against Mr. Sasha.

Anita Asperan, SSD spokesperson, told reporters that the invitation to AAS was an insult, “an affront to all progressive students and faculty members.” She continued, “The guy runs a coal mine, for heaven’s sake. And coal is causing the slow destruction of the world’s environment. And our administration expects us to listen to this guy? Hell, no!” She said the group may boycott the commencement if Mr. Sasha speaks.

Jolly Friedman, a member of the HOMA  group, stressing that she does not speak for other members, pointed out that Mr. Sasha is a member of Russia’s Duma where he has voted for all kinds of share-the-wealth policies. She said, “The Russian government steals money from its value creators to give to people who don’t want to work. I mean, free health care, mostly free education, and free government money when you retire at age 55. That’s like Communism. Students shouldn’t have to listen to this collectivist.”

Several faculty members are also upset with the selection of Mr. Sasha as commencement speaker. Forty-five tenured faculty members of the UBB’s Sociology Department, and three tenured political science professors, have signed a letter to the UBB president demanding that the invitation issued to Mr. Sasha be rescinded. Also, they threatened to boycott the ceremony unless the speaker is changed.

Professor Friedrich Sheu (Ph.D., Univ. of Calif., 1969), chair of the Sociology Department, said the invitation to Mr. Sasha should be withdrawn immediately.  Prof. Sheu told reporters, “This guy is an atrocity. He exploits his poor mine workers to make billions. Such a monster does not belong on this campus.”  Prof. Sheu promised to bring the matter before a special session of the faculty senate. He said, “I know that is a pretty d***ed dramatic action, but it must be done!”

 

Prof. Sheu (left) lecturing to his sociology seminar on Hegemony and Praxis

Mr. Sasha, the man at the center of the controversy, is a self-made billionaire who began his life in a family of poor factory workers in Orenburg, Russia. He now owns the Alexandr Alexandrovich Sasha Coal Mines near Mezhdurechensk and is high on the Forbes 500 the list of Russia’s wealthiest oligarchs.  Mr. Sasha, who has a second home in Vancouver, is a member of the leadership of the Russian Duma and has won frequent awards for his service to humankind and his encouragement of education. He has a son studying at Harvard and a daughter at London School of Economics, from which he has an honorary degree.

Opposition to Mr. Sasha’s graduation speech has upset some students and faculty.  Dudley Evermore, an MBA student from Seattle, objected to actions to limit freedom of speech on the campus. He told a reporter, “I want to hear the guy. He’s made billions and earned the right to speak.  What are the protesters afraid of?  That some success may rub off on them? Bunch of losers.” 

Pro-Sasha Faculty Demonstrator Escorted from
Business School Building by Campus Police

Many faculty members in the Schools of Business, Engineering, and Poultry Science have signed petitions asked the UBB president to uphold freedom of speech on the campus.  Ranier Rainright (Ph.D. Liberty College, 1984), an economist who teaches ethics in the School of Business, said in an interview that he had heard from his pastor that Mr. Sasha was a devout member of the Orthodox Church whose message could be valuable for graduating students. He said, “I am so tired of this “Political Correctness” crap.  Why can’t a good Christian speak on this campus without the crazies waving their hands and screaming their hatred of all that is right and Holy?”

Mr. Sasha, who recently provided a large donation to the University of Birch Bay to support the construction of a new basketball arena seating 15,000 spectators, was not available for comment.

 

Sketch of Planned A. A. Sasha
Indoor Arena

The groups supporting and opposing Mr. Sasha’s speech at the UBB graduation are planning to conduct rallies and petition drives all this week.  Graduation is scheduled for June 28^th.  It will be held at the University of Birch Bay Stadium by the Bay. Each graduating student is entitled to five free tickets, which must be picked up by June 20^th.  Other tickets can be purchased from the UBB website for $15 each.

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A story about the invitation to A. A. Sasha to speak at the UBB Spring graduation ceremonies, and more information about his life, can be found here: http://www.eclecticatbest.com/2014/05/university-of-birch-bay-announces-june.html

University of Birch Bay Announces June Commence Speaker

The president of the University of Birch Bay has announced that the speaker for its Spring graduation ceremonies will be Alexandr Alexandrovich Sasha, famed Russian humanitarian who owns coal mines near the large Raspadskaya Mines in Mezhdurechensk, Russia. Mr. Sasha lives in Moscow, with second homes in St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Sukhumi, Donetsk, Kiev, Uzhgorod, Vienna, Rome, Paris, and Vancouver.

 

Office of the President of the University of Birch Bay

Mr. Sasha is widely known for his warm heart and generosity, having won the Putin Prize for Humanitarian Excellence in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.  Also, his investments in education are renowned and highly praised by the Russian presidential administration. He is owner and president of the Sasha-Putin Institute of Nationalism (SPIN), a private institution of higher education located in Mezhdurechensk that is widely known throughout the city’s suburbs. Recently, the Yew of Bee Bee and SPIN entered into an agreement for an exchange of students, faculty members, and executives to further educational excellent and promote world peace. 

Mr. Sasha graduated from public school #4 in Orenburg. He furthered his education by taking some correspondence courses during his decade of detention in a corrective facility in Glasov (Urdmurt Republic). In 2008, he received from President Vladimir Putin a complete pardon for all crimes committed and to be committed, with all of his past and future criminal records to be destroyed. Despite complaints by his critics, no evidence can be found to support allegations that Mr. Sasha has engaged in any criminal activity.

 

Mr. Sasha in Orenburg Public School #4
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Mr. Sasha’s talent for coal mining became apparent in 1996 when he was hired by the owners of several mining companies to “persuade” striking miners to return to work.  In 2000, he was able to “persuade” the owner of some mines near Mezhdurechensi to sell them to him for a reasonable price. Shortly thereafter, he appeared on the Barron 500 list of the wealthiest Russian Oligarchs.  Since then, he has moved steadily up that list.

While Mr. Sasha devotes most of his time to managing his mines, he has found time for public service. He was elected to the Russian State Duma, the country’s parliament, in 2007 and has since been re-elected. A member of the United Russia Party, he is part of the Duma leadership.  Mr. Sasha chairs the Duma Committee on the Deregulation of Coal Mines, and he has headed several special committees investigating worker culpability for coal mine accidents. 

 

Alexandr Alexandrovich Sasha Coal Mines
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The topic of his address will be “The Importance of Freedom of Speech and Tolerance in  Society (Under the Benign Guidance of a Strong and Moral Leader).”  During his visit, Mr. Sasha will be awarded an Honoris Causa doctorate. Also, he will be given a one-year membership in the Yew of Bee Bee alumni association and made an honorary Coniferous Yew.

Yew of Bee Bee Football Stadium by the Bay

The graduation ceremony will be held at the University’s Football Stadium by the Bay, home of the Fighting Coniferous Yews. In the case of rain, the ceremonies will be moved to the Vancouver Civic Center.  Next year, the Yew of Bee Bee plans to hold the Spring graduation in the new Alexandr Alexandrovich Sasha Indoor Stadium which will be completed by March 2015.