Crazy Keys at the Technical Museum in Vienna

On a recent weekend trip to Vienna, Frau A and I spent a morning at the Technical Museum of Vienna.  The exhibit that I really wanted to see was on musical instruments.  This collection alone was worth the trip east from Munich.

The items represent a great combination of music and technology.  For example, the "piano maker's workshop" has instruments along the evolutionary tree of the modern piano including harpsichords, spinets, clavichords, a tangent piano, and finally the earliest forte pianos.  Even better, they have working, "cutaway" examples of the key mechanisms for about 8 different instruments, so you can see into the guts of how the sounds are actualized -- here's one example of a modern piano:

Most interesting to me were the esoteric instruments that pushed the envelope (in their time) for the type of sounds created, the method of playing and level of musical control, or even automation of the instrument(s).  I took photos of my favorites and will briefly describe them here.

Pictured below is the Janko keyboard.  Theoretically, the Jankó keyboard had a number of advantages with regard to playing technique: the same finger set for all keys, a natural hand position (the thumb always lies lower than the rest of the fingers), a broader range than a normal keyboard, as well as Glissando possibilities in all scales!  As in the chromatic keyboard, the semitones are distributed in equal sequence on a double (paired) row.

For playing-related reasons, three of these double (paired) rows are arranged with one on top of the other like a terrace. Each key thus has three points of touch. In order to facilitate orientation the familiar black and white coloring was kept.  In vented in 1882, the model below was created in 1885!  Of course, it never really caught on.

The creators did try hard for acceptance, though, even developing an instrument with both standard and Janko keyboards!

Another neat model on display had effectively the first pitch-bend for an electronic instrument.  A French music teacher and "amateur radio enthusiast" designed the "Ondes Musicales" after meeting Lew S. Termen (yes, the creator of the Theremin!).  To bend a pitch, the player slides the the metal ring along the draw string on the front of the keyboard.  The instrument won the Grand Prix de l'Exposition Mondiale at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris.  This particular model is a later version (the earliest versions had nothing but the draw string, but it was too hard to pinpoint specific frequencies so they keyboard was added) built in 1960, and production continued until the early 1980s.

Background:  simply stated, electronic (analog) instruments create sound with valves or transistors that make audible electrical oscillations.  Unfortunately, the basic oscillation is usually pretty boring.  In order to make the timbres more interesting allow playing creativity, instrument builders had to add transient controls (change the attack & decay profile of the output), filters (adds different kinds of complexity and distortion to the wave, introduces vibrato, etc.), and other mechanism to alter and shape the output.

The Akaphon was invented around 1963 by the director Institute for Electroacoustics at the Vienna Music School.  (Cool that they already created an institute for that topic.)  Helmut Gottwald manipulated attack and decay responses through the use of light bulbs and photo resistors!  It's like the first modular synth, but limited to transient controls. no filters yet.  Here is is below, built into an upright piano cabinet!

I joke a bit with my friends when I call the next example the "first workstation".  This monster was developed by the Hupfeld company and dubbed "The 8th Wonder of the World".  Released in 1907, in incorporates a piano and three violins -- and plays them "automatically".  Each violin had only one active string, and various bellows were used to control the bow and "fingers" (bellows = pneumatically actuated).   Like a player piano, punched/perforated paper rolls dictated the action.

Technologists continue their assault on the violin with the "Schlüsselfidel" or "Nyckelhar".  A keyed violin.  The strings are played by a bow as normal, but slides and tangents are used to change the oscillating length rather than the player's fingers.  Variations of this instrument have been around since the 1400s, and still in use today in Sweden.

Brass instruments too were targets for automation.  Below is a photo of mechanical trumpet.  Again, punched tape controls mechanisms that shorten/lengthen the effective instrument length to change the pitch.  From the mid 1900s.

Filed under the category "bigger is better" must be this organ - sorry, forgot to capture the details.

Finally, things would not be complete without homage to Bob Moog.  If you don't know who he is, check Amazon for tons of books about his life and creations.

There was so much more there:  a Hönig Synthesizer from 1965, an AKA 2000 from the 1970s, and a Trautonium which uses a resistance wire (pressed by the player) to change the pitch of the oscillator...a similar model was used to make noises in Hitchcock's "The Birds", and Hindemith composed a piece for it!!!

Well, that's as much as I "brought back" to Munich with me.  The exhibition is highly recommended if you visit Vienna.  Cheers.

Photoblog - Vienna (Ice Skating)

Hopefully you saw the post about skiing in downtown Munich!  Siemens built a mini slope for skiing and sledding right in front of their world headquarters and it was a lot of fun.  We were in for another surprise on our weekend getaway to Vienna.

In Vienna we found something similar.  It was built by the city (rather than a corporate sponsor) and sat in front of the Rathaus (City Hall).  It's called the Wiener Eistraum (Vienna Ice Dream).

Instead of sledding and skiing, this is for ice skating.  When you think of ice skating, you might think of an oval rink, but Vienna added a twist -- skating routes.  They feel a bit like a lazy river at a water park.  Check out the map below and you'll see the ice skating paths on the left side.  

Here's a view from the front, taken from the sidewalk.  You see the giant Rathaus looming in the background and notice lights that ensure people can skate until 20:00 in the evening.  It looks like a typical ice skating rink...

...but now in this photo, we zoomed out a bit and you can just barely see the entrance to the skiing route on the front left.  The guy with the backpack is just starting onto the path, and the guy in the green jacket looks like he will follow.

Now we panned left so you can see the path.  It's wide enough for maybe four across, and the skating pace was quite leisurely.  A couple teen guys were moving pretty fast (as usual), but in general it looked like a relaxed way to go.  It's hard to see in the photo, but if you look at the ice skates of the woman with the blue jeans and hat (foreground, right side) on top they look almost like ski boots.  I think the child behind her has the same thing.  That's because the rental skates that were available had ski-boot like buckles on them!  Those quick-lock mechanisms work fast, are familiar, and much more convenient than long laces.  Very cool.  They should have those in the U.S..

Now we're moving further left in the scene, and the photo below (shot from the sidewalk again) shows the people skating by on the ice path.  With the Rathaus in the background it was a really pleasant atmosphere.  The had music playing...

 

... and of course tents with food and drink available.  Frau and I had some glühwein and it really warms you up on a cold day.

Now we're even further left and looking back down the sidewalk to where we started.  You get a better feel for how long the path is -- you can't see the entrance from the rink anymore.  And this is just the first leg of the path going across the front (check the map again)!  We thought about renting skates and giving it a whirl, but had other things to see.  Just another reason to go back to Vienna.

 

How Quickly Things Change...

Well, when things change, they change quickly... I'd thought I'd landed a job starting in May or June and had finally gotten into the immigrant language course after many months of dealing with the Arbeitsamt. Then I got a call late Saturday night when Herr J and were in Vienna. A "well, things have changed, can you start next week?" call that came as quite a surprise.  And while standing outside an après ski bar in Vienna, I accepted a job.

March very quickly became "travel month," as we used some train tickets I'd purchased last year. We made our tours of Vienna, Stuttgart, and Fulda-Eisenach-Point Alpha. Here I am in New York for a couple of weeks of training and leave Schnitzelbahn in Herr J's very capable hands.

Best of all, I'm finally wearing real shoes - not boots, which is all I've worn for months now! Hello Spring, I'm so glad to see you again!

Time for Easter Eggs

It's possible that Germany outdoes the US in the holiday candy area - Easter candy seems to come out on February 15th. Though I can't really complain...the holiday chocolate here is top quality!

Similar to the Christmas ones, Kinder has giant Kinder Surprise Eggs for Easter.

Inside the milky, chocolatey shell, we find a cute little chick. He's supposed to hold your pen, but he also will hug the neck of a wine bottle...we found a similar stuffed penguin in the Christmas giant eggs.

Tips for Shopping in Germany

A significant part of any travel/tourism experience is shopping.  Most visitors to Germany are looking for memorabilia rather than day-to-day items like groceries and clothes.  You usually eat in restaurants while travelling, have packed the clothes you need, and want to bring home items that are long-lasting reminders of the experience.  Besides, the groceries and clothes are not THAT much different than in the U.S. and cost considerably more.  (Thanks, VAT!)

However, Frau A and I live in Germany.  I need to get groceries, replace dress shirts & shoes, and yes, get new underwear.  I've learned a few things about shopping in Germany, and want to help ex-pats and tourists get more for their Euros.

1)  Stores are NOT open Sundays or Holiday.  Therefore, Saturday is complete chaos.  Especially before a long holiday weekend.  You get your things then, or have to wait until next weekend.  Brace yourself.  
Also, make sure to check their Saturday hours...it's only in the last 15 years that stores could be open past 4pm on Saturdays, and many of the smaller stores still close earlier than the Bavarian 8pm closing time. (Check your city's hours....the laws vary by state - Frankfurt has some open until 9 or 9:30; Stuttgart has an unbelievable midnight closing to some stores!)

The Apple Store in downtown Munich. It's a war out there.

2)  Store employees:  excellent know-how... if you can find somebody.  In Germany, the store employees in general really know what they're talking about.  They get significant amounts of training and are constantly learning about the latest products.  They can explain the different thermal properties of wool vs. synthetic materials, what brands tend to run bigger or smaller, and know every single pocket/zipper/secret compartment on every backpack in the store.

The problem is actually getting someone to help you.  The store employees are CIA-level experts at moving around undetected.  Also, the level of competence described above has a price -- they are often posted only for a very specific part of the store.  The person in the skiing jackets area will NOT help you with hiking jackets or boots, because they have not been trained on those products.  So even if you do find someone, it is likely that they will have a great reason why they cannot help you.

Recommendation:  As is typical in Germany, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.  You need to be assertive -- keep finding and bugging store employees until somebody helps you.  If you can't find anybody, go to the checkout and ask for them to send help.  Start talking a little more loudly (it escalates the request) and if you have to ask a third time, tell them you are unhappy and want to talk to the manager.  Don't make it personal or too emotional -- that is not respected here.  Actually, this is good general advice for the culture here.  You need to be assertive and strong, without being emotional.  It's a battle of wills -- hang in there and you'll eventually get pretty good assistance.  

You will get customer assistance... IF you can find her, IF she's not on break, IF this is her department, IF... 

3)  Clothes:  know your size, as defined in Europe.  You might be targeting leather in Italy, wool shirts/jackets in the UK, and hopefully a nice dirndl/lederhosen for Oktoberfest here in Germany.  Rather than having to try on a dozen different items to find your size, be prepared so you can focus on style.  Different web sites show conversion charts, but they don't all agree.  This is what I carry with me on my Blackberry for reference (check out Wikipedia and OnlineConversion for more):

Underwear
The most common, and critical, emergency purchase.  Just be prepared for underwear on hangers rather than in packaging, and lots of skin tight options (boxers are available, but not as common).   

Store employee to me: "Old men get underwear in a package. You should get it on a hanger." Well....OK. Thanks.

US size 34 = European size 5 to 6
             36 = 6 to 7

T-Shirts
Large = 102
XL    = 107

Pants
Overall pretty straightforward, because it is absolute measurement in centimeters rather than inches (multiply by 2.54)

34 inch waist = 86 cm
36 inch waist = 91 cm

30 inch inseam = 76 cm
32 inch inseam = 81 cm

Dress Shirts
17 1/2 = 44 to 45

Men's Suit / Coat / Sweater
U.S. 38 = 46 to 48
       40 = 48 to 50 ("large")
       42 = 50 to 52 ("large-XL")
       44 = 52 to 54 ("XL")

       Warning:  For "short" and "tall" versions, these numbers might not work.
                        I am usually somewhere between 48-52 (Germany) but got a leather jacket that is XX.
                        I think it has slightly shorter arms, so I'm guessing that they just halved the typical size
                        to indicate that it is a XX but with shorter arms (?)
Socks
10 1/2 = 41
11       = 42

Shoes
10 1/2 = 44 to 45
11       = 45 to 46

In shoes, as in clothes, European bodies are just skinnier (Americans "fatter").  I have to specifically request the wide brands of shoes or I will rip the sides out in no time.

4)  Good strategy:  Stay within Europe's/Germany's strengths.  Don't buy Levi's jeans over here.  You'll pay double for something you can get in the U.S..   This is true for any brand widely available in America.  Instead, look for things like:    

• Local/regional products.  I have found a Swiss brand of dress shirts that I love.  Eterna.  They're a little pricey, but you can find them on sale and the fit is fantastic.  Plus Swiss quality.  Nice.  I also have had good experience at THE men's store in Munich, Hirmer.  Good suits, decent prices, and the assistants really add value (knew the suit that would fit me best -- turned out to be right).  Ask the store assistant for recommendations on local/regional products that they would recommend.
• Things that the culture values.  Think Alps.  Germany is a real outdoor culture, and has hiking and skiing products that reflect it.  I love the backpacks from Deuter, and trekking wear from Mammut (another Swiss company), and Maier ski wear.  The Alpine sport section at Schuster is great -- you'll never again see so many kinds of hiking shoes.
• Things that are unique to the culture.  In this case, maybe not clothes but culinaria.  Frau A and I just got individual feuerzangenbowle holders from the FireCupCompany and LOVE 'em.  Also, consider a small raclette/grill...
  ... However, I draw the line a patently ridiculous attempts to bleed tourists of money.  For example, haggis-flavoured potato chips.  Really - there is demand for such a product?  Skip such novelty items.

Frau A and I will try to post some more German shopping tips, as well as conversions for women's sizes - leave a comment if you're looking for a specific recommendation in Munich.  Good luck!

Veltins Pilsner and the Export Beers

As we didn't have enough German Pilsners available in my Munich supermarket, we included three Exportbier in this bracket. (You can find some other pilsners if you go to a beer store, and you can find a few Czech pilsners in my market, but we didn't have 16 German Pilsners in my store).

First, what is an Exportbier?

It's exactly as it sounds, but what was considered an Export was anything that was exported to another city. The realities of transportation prior to engines and refrigerating meant that the beer had to be brewed slightly differently to survive the journey. An exportbier is still a lager (bottom-fermented, etc), but it is brewed with a higher original wort (12-14% gravity) than a Pils or Helles (typically 11-12% gravity). This also results in a beer with a slightly higher alcohol content (5% vs the usual 3.5-4%)). Often the beer was diluted with water once it reached its destination. Thanks to the higher alcohol content, the beer had both a longer shelf life and lower transportation costs.

For many years (until the 1970s), Exportbier was one of the most popular varieties in Germany, when it was overtaken by the Pils. It's important to note that there are two different types of German Exportbier, as well as a more rare Vienna-style Export:

1) Dortmunder Exportbier is the most well-known - It's a pale lager brewed in the Dortmund area since the mid-1800's. Dortmunder Exportbier became the favorite of the region's industrial workers, as the regions coal and steelworkers needed a good brew to drink. Though it still has a hoppy taste, it has a strong malty and slightly sweeter taste, too.

2) Munich Exportbier - This is what we're trying today. The Munich style typically is darker than a Dortmunder, due to darker malt and higher temperatures in the kiln. This also gives it a slightly caramel flavor. Not surprisingly, the Munich Exportbier is less strongly hopped than the Dortmunder.

So, onto the beers....

In this bracket, we also have our last Pilsner, Veltins Pilsener. Recall that Veltins, the 7th largest brewer, is the beer of FC Schalke and runs a 5km beer pipeline from the brewery to the taps at the arena. Veltin's primary brews a pilsner style beer, though they do also sell light, alcohol free, radler (beer/lemon soda mix), alcoholfree malt, and the V+ range of flavored beers as is very trendy today. Veltins brewery began in 1824, brewing the usual beer types. In 1926, it decided to focus only on the pilsner style of beer.

Here, Veltins goes up against Hacker-Pschorr's Münchener Gold Export Bier.  The Münchener Gold was first brewed in the late 1800s, and then was brought back in 2005.

While the Veltins is an excellent Pils, we preferred the maltiness of the export beer. Just a matter of personal preference...

In the next round, we get a fairer competition, as it's between two Munich Export Beers: Augustiner Edelstoff Exportbier and Tegernsee's Max I. Joseph Jubiliäms Export. ("Edel" means "noble", meaning that this beer uses the "noble ingredients." You often will hear of "noble hops" in Bavaria).

This beer from the Tegernseer brewery was brewed in 2006 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria by Max(imilian) I. Joseph. King Max, as he was known, also purchased the Tegernsee monastery and brewery from its baron owner in 1817, a decade or so after the secularization of Bavaria. Under his ownership, Tegernsee became a cultural and economic center. Hence the beer to honor King Max and Bavaria.

The Augustiner was a relatively light colored exportbeer. This was almost a tie - Augustiner had slightly more body (due to a fizzier feeling in the mouth). The Tegernsee was a bit sweeter, and we didn't love the feeling of its carbonation.

Then we have Augustiner vs Hacker-Pschorr to decide who goes on to the Sweet Sixteen. Again, the Augustiner had what we call "more body." It just felt like a more solid beer and had a very pleasant level of carbonation. Also, it had the great hint of malty taste, but was not too sweet - it was just a great balance between maltiness and hoppiness. The Hacker-Pschorr, on the other hand, tasted flat and sweet compared to the Augustiner.

Night Photography with compact cameras

As you might have read, I finally got a new camera.  One aspect of getting to know a new camera is learning to get good night photos from it.  Until I do, I wanted to talk about using my old compact camera to get night shots.

To make it simple, there are 2 challenges with low-light photography.  First, your camera will boost the "gain" on its sensor to try and capture every last photon that strikes its surface (camera speak: increasing the ISO).  The problem with this is that higher ISO levels increases "noise" - makes a photo look grainy becuase of a scattering of white pixels that the camera thought it captured.  Second, the camera wants more time to capture the light (camera speak:  uses a slower shutter speed).  The problem with this is that moving subjecs (or a shakey camera) will cause blur.

One solution is to get better hardware of course.  Frau A has an advantage here -- she has one of the best low-light DSLRs made, the full-frame Nikon D700.  That's why it is used by so many professionals for weddings (lots of movement in low light).  Most of us use smaller cameras that don't have this asset advantage.  However, you can get interesting results from compact cameras.

Here are some random thoughts and night photo examples from some compact cameras (my now-dead Canon SX200IS and Frau A's Panasonic LX3):

(1)  Use a tripod to reduce camera shake and  (2) go after static subjects.  The first reduces blurriness due to camera shake, the second elimiates blurriness of moving subjects.  I like to (3) set a 2 second timer to the shutter, so there is a brief pause between the moment I press the button and when the camera starts the exposure.  It's the same thing you do to take a group photo and run to get in the picture.  This makes sure you don't disturb the camera during the exposure.

You can also try (4) your camera's "Night Scene" or equivalent mode.  It helps a bit, especially if you don't have a tripod.  But often the mode will not quite be "smart" enough to get a good result, so you'll have to take more manual control.

In the first example, I simply set the camera on a wall (no tripod available), changed into "S" or Shutter Priority mode, and experimented with different shutter speeds.  I found one that game me some resolution & color without over exposing too many of the small lights in the scene.  I just wanted a good memory, not a printable work of art, so this worked fine.  It's a view of the skyline in Doha, Qatar.

You will usually get better results when (5) shooting subjects that have some modest light available.  This church in Mallorca was lit from the right, and did not have any lights facing directly into the camera.  It's a little hazy due to the noise, and the colors are not that consistent top to bottom, but it's not bad.  I did not have a tripod, but was again able to set the camera on a short wall, which really helped reduce blur.  If it's a static subject with a little light on it, you can probably get a passable photo.

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar was also well lit.  Of course, the bottom of the frame is almost black, and some of the lights are overexposed, but that's the cost of doing business with a camera that fits into a pocket.  Good enough for me, not for a pro though.  Fortunately, there was enough light at dusk that the shutter speed could be 3x faster than the photo of the water and skyline (above) - otherwise the people here would be much blurrier.

When you are trying to take any photo where a light source is coming straight at you, you will have issues (including in the daytime, facing the sun).  In camera speak, you will go beyond the limits of the sensor's dynamic range - the ability to capture bright and dark together in the same photo.  Like the difference betweenthe foreground and the museum in the picture above.

You could do (6) exposure bracketing (capture multiple photos: some get shadow detail, others get light area detail -- and them merge them in software like Photoshop), but most casual shooters don't do such post processing.  Another option (7) is just to accept the facts of physics and artistically work within the limitations.  The photo below was of the moon and a tree.  If I captured the detail in the moon using a shorter/faster shutter speed, the tree would be basically black.  Therefore I let the moon get "blown out" (just white smear, no detail, because the shutter was open longer) as a sacrifice but got an interesting effect in the clouds, and just enough color in the trees.  Looks more like art than reality, but OK with me.

In fact, sometimes the "artifacts" produced by small sensor compact cameras (like the color in the clouds above) can be nice.  In the photo below, I was a one of Munich's biergardens, and tried a few photos with shutter speed ranging from 1 to 5 seconds.  The camera was simply set on the table rather than holding it by hand.  This was the nicest one, especially because of the "star" effect that the lens/sensor produces with some night lighting.  In this case, the light coming directly into the lens worked OK, the moving people are not too blurry, and it leaves me with a great memory of that evening.

Subject-motion blur us usually not wanted, but there are a lot of running-water photogaphs that are nice -- having a "blurry, fluffy" effect on the water.  In the case below (again in Mallorca), the fountain is blown out, but I can live with this because is has interesting shading near the top and I get some reflections on the water.  Again, if I were to keep the water exposure withing my camera's limits, we'd see nothing but black palm trees.

None of these photos are professional quality, but they do depict an interesting scene and, more importantly, capture memories. My recommendation:  (8)  get a tiny tripod (many are just a few inches long for compact cameras, fit in pockets/bags, and cost $15) and (9) experiment.  Go into Shutter priority  or "S" mode, use the 2-second timer to ensure a stable camera, and try different shutter speeds in different situations.  See what happens and have fun.