An afternoon walk

Yesterday afternoon, I went for a walk around the University of New Orleans campus. It was SUCH a gorgeous day, albeit too warm (85 and felt like 89) for this time of year. I needed to clear my head a bit. I have a super giant trip coming up after Easter and while I'm very excited about it, I'm also a bit nervous. It's to a place where Americans aren't welcomed often and in this time of "Trump talk", volatile angers, and pent up frustrations from some Americans manifesting themselves in negative ways, it's even more nerve-wracking to know I'm going to stick out even more than usual. I've become extremely strong though so I should hopefully be fine. Life is SO SHORT. I wish humans were better to each other in general.

                   

Between now and that trip, I have two festivals, three more days of classes, and a whole joyful mess of solemn Holy Week services. I LOVE Holy Week, but having classes makes it so much harder. I miss the times when we had spring break at the university so I could devote my whole self to the services and to a different sense of being. Even more, I cannot wait until I devote myself fully to liturgical endeavors. I need to prep for my trip too, get some lectures down, put together some music to take with me to give away, and ponder life in general.

Anyway, in spite of the hellish pollen that's coating every particle of every particle, it was a nice calming walk and beautiful too. I need to schedule more time to do that. I would also like to get out to the lakefront more often and to my favorite haunts in City Park!!!

                

The UNO campus was virtually destroyed in hurricane Katrina and hadn't really been too lush before that, but it's grown in the ten years I've been here into a very pretty space with pockets of flowery beauty, trees, and even some of those lush areas! Currently, they are re-doing the lily pond and I'm hoping the ducks will like the finished product and stick around!

Innsbruck

Innsbruck, Austria - a gorgeous city surrounded by snow-capped Alps, the capital of the state of Tyrol, a superb cultural center! The Inn river flowing throughout the center of the city provides the most awesome breezes and scenes in addition to relaxing settings. I LOVE IT!


Innsbruck was inhabited by the time of the early Stone Age and populated continuously since pre-Roman times. It's on the earliest and easiest route through the Alps which today is known as the Brenner Pass. It's pretty safe to assume that the Brenner Pass is one of the most breathtaking scenic train rides on our planet! In fact, I'd venture to say that it's pretty dang hard to take a bad picture here. You'd have to really work at it! :-)

Emperor Maximilian the 1st lived in Innsbruck in the end of the1400's. I'm not a history buff, AT ALL, but I like that because he surrounded himself with scholars and artists and therefore the city has become a lasting cultural center filled with art, architecture, and musical tradition! There is an Alten musick (early music) series, a Promenadenkonzerte (main palace square and promenade concert) series, a Tanzsommer festival, an organ master concert series, several festivals (including a New Orleans Festival that begins tonight!) and so much more! Schloss Ambras (castle Ambras) was built by Ferdinand II the archduke of Austria and that is where the early music series is held.

To the right is the beautiful and somewhat curious Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof). Built in 1500 by Maximilian I, it's decorated with 2657 fire-gilded copper-plated tiles. Now, it's a landmark where people get married!


Aside from the historical notes, a cool thing about Innsbruck is the lovely Inn river itself! The color is unusual and I have not seen any rivers or lakes this color except for here (see below).

What I've learned is that the color is due to glacial flouring (or rock flouring). That is when fine, fiiiiiiiiiiine particles of rocks are coming from glacial erosion and the grinding of bedrock. These particulates get into the water and end up being suspended, unable to settle into sedimentary layers right away. Sometimes, the water appears cloudy (glacial milk) and sometimes it's very clear, but turquoise, blue-green, or light green! ROCKS ARE COOL!  Another interesting tidbit our tour guide mentioned (few weeks ago) is that there are different flowers on either bank of the Inn river due to the northern and southern Alps differing in material. To the north, they are composed of limestone and to the south, they are mostly granite based.

Here is a link to my Facebook album of Innsbruck pictures - so far!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100341925929517.1073741827.2613080&type=1&l=e1f0b32cfe

I am teaching for the UNO - University of New Orleans Innsbruck Program, a stellar program in its 39th year with tons of class offerings, students from several universities, and a reputation for excellence! We partner with UGA in the program and faculty are from both UNO, UGA, and can be from other universities as well! It is one of our several fantastic opportunities for students and faculty to explore the world!