Some other thoughts from Vienna. For the Orthodox community it is common to keep men and women separate while praying. This is done in one of two ways: the balcony or the mehitza (a curtained region that keeps the women to the side). In the old shul (synagogue) in Vienna (the only one to survive Krystalnacht), they have a couple of balconies. I have always found it frustrating not to be able to reach out to touch the Torah and to participate at will. But, this time, with the baby, I was able to watch from on high. No one could reproach me for having a noisy baby with me. Additionally, my friend Jack mentioned how noisy it is downstairs. Because the balcony was really over only the bima (the raised portion of the synagogue where the Torah is read and the prayers are led), I think that we were able to hear and see better than most of the men. I will have to revise my thinking about separation.
My other thoughts were about language. It turns out that trying to learn German and Dutch concurrently would be impossible for me. If you already know German and English, then Dutch is a relatively easy language to pick up, but it doesn't work the other way. So, since I am trying to learn Dutch, I had to revert to English in Vienna. This worked okay, as Vienna is a pretty international city -- since the UN has a portion of the city. I have to say that the Viennese knew more English than the people of Uden. One of the women in the balcony at the synagogue (who looked older than Eileen's grandmothers) acted shocked that I would even ask if she spoke English.
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