Making Sense of It All in Vienna

After five days in Berlin, we are completing our fifth in Vienna.  Yesterday I thought about a surprising thread of meaning.

Beethovens Bed In Baden:  One day we went out of the city to visit the famous spa town of Baden, where people have been coming to enjoy the natural sulfur water as a form of relaxation for centuries.  Baden was a favorite place for Beethoven to stay and composed in the summer; it was here that he composed his 9th Symphony in 182…I visited the house he had rented which is now a museum.  In addition to the dining rand composition room was his bedroom.  I was surpirsed the bed was only two feet or so off the ground and it was set in its own enclousure, like a closet.  I leadnred at this time in his life, he was not only deaf but suffering from frequent abdominal pains and other ailments that made sleeping difficult.  His best creative moments came from long walks in the surrounding countryside.  The music he composed when he lived in this house has become one of the most inspiring creations of the human spirit.  But I couldn’t help think about his sleepless nights he spent here as he was trying creating timeless music.

The next day I visited the Freud museum, which turns out to be a short walk from our Airbnb.  Freud lived here from 1891 – 1938, when he was able to go to London to evade the Nazis.  It was here he raised his family, did all his writing, and saw his patients:

Here’s a picture of what the waiting room looks like:

The actual couch where people laid back for analysis is in London, but here’s a photo of what the room looked like then: 

Obviously, this was a couch for reclining while you are awake,not for sleeping.  But just as Beethoven tossed and turned on his bed, I imagined all the many people who laid back here as Freud helped them explore their inner thoughts, hidden desires, and hope for living a meaningful life.

And here is the bed I’ve been sleeping in at our apartment in Vienna:

I do not think this humble space will have any historical significance.  But this is where I lie awake thinking about all the art I’ve seen (medieval to modern) and all the music I’ve heard (from Mozart to jazz to “The Sound of Music” performed in German). I try to integrate it all and what it means to me.  This is also where my dreaming has been taking place (though, bone-tired from the day, I’ve been sleeping so soundly that I would not have much to offer Dr. Freud).  I think of all the human beings in Vienna who are engaged in the same process every day and night, as are all our fellow humans around the world, including you.  How earnestly we are at work trying to live day by day! How grateful we are for the music that inspires us, the art that helps us see in new ways, and the relationships that nurture us.  What a grand and glorious mystery.

Today we head to Amsterdam.