Thomas Zotloterep

Thomas Whilst Thinking - photo by Nigel A. JAMES

Spring Waters Run Deep


I can honestly say that I know Thomas Zotloterep reasonably well. And, with many more years still to put on until he is thirty, his feet are already planted firmly upon the path he has chosen in life. A course which is leading to a very bright future in the field of high economics.

This future high flyer, is, without any doubt at all, a very successful student, and the secret of his success can be summed up in only one word, balance!

What I’m talking about is Thomas’s three legged triangular balance of life: serious study, serious work and serious play. And each individual leg of this finely tuned three legged balancing act is essential for the attainment of his ultimate target; a goal which is drawing closer and closer as each loaded day goes speedily by.

Thomas is a party and festival man. The milestones in his life are the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, and the end of the year - all excuses for a party. There is the beginning of the year party, the middle of the year party, and, of course, the end of the year party; and all other parties such as Christmas parties, Easter parties, carnival parties, etc. in between.

But for Thomas, the beginning of the year is the return of the light in the spring; and spring is something very special indeed. Spring means Spring Jam!

Spring Jam is a party that is held by the sea, and it is three full days of pure celebration. There is a disco on the beach, there are bands, and, in the hotels there is all-night action.

The merrymaking begins at Vienna’s Südbahnhof, the station for the south, where students from all over Austria gather to board specially chartered trains for their journey to the sun and the fun!

Spring Jam is special. It is energy tanking pure! And it is the sea air, the sun, the surf and the company that does it. Everyone there is of the same thinking, and that’s the element that’s essential for an atmosphere of harmony and peace. And highly charged inner peace is the basic and most important ingredient for success in whichever branch you may be in.

Spring Jam makes sense. It is a meeting of dynamic minded people, and those who are so when they’re young, remain so for life. And all successful people are dynamic.

Language Aid

Reasonably – ziemlich

To sum up – zusammenfassen.
To sum up/summed up/ summed up.

Finely tuned – genau gestellt.
Essential - absolute erforderlich
Attainment - Erreichen
Drawing - annähern

Excuse (for a party) – Grund.

Martin's Biergartl

Martin's Biergartl - photo by Nigel A. JAMES

Looking Back! After a pleasant evening with friends, to home is where one always has to go. This is a picture of a final parting glance of Martin's Biergartl in Vienna. Evenings there are always brilliant. The beer is good, the food is above excellent, the prices are fair and the atmosphere is simply just right. Here's to many more nice evenings. Cheers!

Gerda Zimmer-Nussbaumer

Gerda Zimmer-Nusbaumer - photo by Nigel A. JAMES

Household Happiness!


Once upon a time, Gerda Zimmer-Nussbaumer used to suffer from the tedious monotony of non-challenging, humdrum and desperate housework.

The washing up was always the same dreary bubbly experience with only the occasional breakage to provide for a bit of welcome relief from this three time daily brain killing chore!

And the dusting and cleaning, being nothing more than a necessary reaction against the rapidity of the ever repeating accumulation of dust and dirt, was just as bad.

And, as for the ironing! That was something that was expected, but never really appreciated!

But that was all then! Now is different; and now is different because of one thing. One day, whilst doing the vacuuming, Gerda was struck by a stroke of magical inspiration. All of a sudden the truth of enjoying housework stood before her. All that was needed was devotion! If one were to be devoted to a job, then perfection and enjoyment would surely follow! A strange and simple truth no less!

But, how was this to be? How could this leap from hating to loving be achieved? How could one possibly devote one’s self to cleaning and dusting and ironing and washing? The answer was that you couldn’t! But then the answer, like the rising of the sun, began to evolve from the shadows of Gerda’s thoughts!

Gerda became more than one person! For the ironing she became Mina; and for the cleaning and all of the other horrible jobs, she became Agatha. Both Mina and Agatha love their respective jobs, and both are the best in their fields. And now, thanks to these two ladies, Gerda’s flat has never looked better.

And who does the cooking? Gerda, of course. Cooking and entertaining have always played an important role in her life, and now, thanks to Mina and Agatha, this has become more fun, too. After all, there is no more cleaning and washing up to be done!

So, if you, too are suffering from housework; why not take a leaf out of Gerda’s book? Invent yourself anew, and, you, too could soon be dancing around the apartment with a duster in one hand and a broom in the other! What could be better? And another thing, relaxing is more enjoyable too!



Tedious - langweilig
Humdrum - langweilig

Dreary – langweilig, fade.
Bubbly – schaumig.
Occasional – gelegentlich.
Relief – Erleichtern
Chore – lästige Pflicht (Hausarbeit z.B.)

Dusting – Stauben.
Necessary- notwendig.
Rapidity – Schnelligkeit.
Ever repeating – immer werdende.
Accumulation – Sammlung.

Ironing – Bügeln.

Vacuuming – staubsaugen.
Devotion – Ergebenheit.
Enjoyment – Genuß.

Evolve - entwickeln

Anew – again –wieder.

Carnival in Vienna

Making Up - photo by Nigel JAMES

Time to Make Up! The day after tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday; and that means that tomorrow is also the end of Carnival! But every good end has to have a begining, and the better the start the better the party! This picture shows two girls getting ready for a Fasching (carnival) party in Vienna.

Always the Same!

On Track for Work - photo by Nigel A. JAMES

Mondays are the same all over the world! This picture shows a picture of some "not too happy" people boarding a tram. They are all on their way to work or school. A day later they were a little happier, two days later even more; and, by Friday, they were positively "weekendish".

Franz and Renate Gross

Franz and Renate Gross - photo by Nigel A JAMES

A Stony Path!



Stones and minerals possess an ancient strength that can never grow old. Stones know no time; and dealing in them is the same as selling eternity; and two such people who do just that are Franz and Renate Gross.

Their charming little shop is to be found in the 13th district of Vienna; and, once inside, one finds one’s self in an atmosphere of timelessness and magic!

The mineral and stone trade demands both knowledge and creativity; and, in this sense, Franz and Renate make up the perfect team.

Franz is a man of the earth; and nature has always played a very important role in his life. And this was probably the reason as to why his uncle gave him a piece of granite whilst they were hiking through the Austrian Alps one summer.

Franz, being only a boy at the time, probably didn’t realize the significance of his uncle’s gift. But the truth of the matter is the following: this event was to mark the beginning of a lifelong passion for minerals, and, ultimately, a very successful little shop which has brought them lots of friends and connections world wide.

Renate, too, is a child of nature, but her calling lies in art. As a girl, she used to spend most of her spare time either sketching or painting, which, in retrospect, was the perfect preparation for her stony future. All of the necklaces, bracelets and pictures that are to be found in the shop are Renate’s design and production. Renate is very much the creative force that sets this fine little shop apart from the rest.

But, dynamic people always lead more than one life. Franz and Renate have their swords in more than one stone! When not collecting minerals or travelling to England (something they love doing), they are to be found in a time gone by as a knight and his lady – but this is a story for summer; and in the summer we will be meeting them again.

Their shop is to be found in Vienna in the Lainzerstrasse at number 132. It is open on Mondays between 4 in the afternoon and 6 in the evening, and on Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays from10 to 12 in the mornings, and from 3 until 6 in the evenings.

Why not pay them a call!


Language Help


Possess – besitzen. To possess/possessed/ possessed.
Eternity – Ewigkeit.

Demand – verlangen. To demand/demanded/demanded
Knowledge – Wissen.

Hiking - Wandern

Spare time – Freizeit.
Calling – Berufung
Spend – verbringen. To spend/spent/spent.
Retrospect – Nachhinein –
Preparation – Vorbereitung.
Necklace – Halskette.
Bracelet – Armband.

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Put on Ice?

I took this photo at the Vienna Ice Skating Club. Is this little boy bored with waiting; or, has he had enough and wants to go home? In any event, he's waiting!