Austria -- parliament approves funding for Jewish cemeteries

Jewish cemetery, Eisenstadt, Austria. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

The AP reports that the Austrian Parliament has approved €20 million euros for the restoration and upkeep of the more than 60 Jewish cemeteries around the country. As I reported at the time, the funds were initially pledged last December.

The bill foresees annual government payments of €1 million ($1.4 million) into a special fund over the next 20 years. The country's Jewish community will supplement the government's contributions each year through €1 million in donations.

The measure, which takes effect in 2011, also asks local municipalities where such cemeteries are located to maintain them for at least 20 years after they have been restored.

 The Austrian Jewish Community web site has an extensive page listing all the cemeteries and giving their history, size, location, condition and notes on any current or recent restoration efforts.

Chung Ling High School 25th Anniversary Reunion (1985)

The Event was held on 10th & 11th September 2010 at Chung Ling High School for 2 days. It was organized by the group of students from year 1985, 25 years after they left the school.

Chung Ling High School at Penang

History of Chung Ling High School, Penang :-
"In 1915, members of the Union Tan Sin Cheng, Khoo Beng Cheang, Chee Yong Aik, Lim Joo Teik and Khaw Seng Lee and others expressed a resolution to establish a school. It was named “Chung Ling School” at the suggestion of Chee.
The school was inaugurated on February 9, 1917, occupying the upper storey of the Penang Philomathic Union, with an enrolment of 81 and a staff of three. The first principal was Mr Goh Ah Long.
The enrolment had increased to 130 by 1918, and 65 Macalister Road was purchased with the funds raised by the Union members, to be used as classrooms and hostels. Chung Ling High School was formally established on January 20, 1923. The formation of the high school allowed primary school students to continue their lower-secondary studies in the school. Soon the enrolment was again outgrown the classroom capacity, and a shop to the left of the premise was rented. The Lim Trustee later donated funds to build two classrooms at the site. In a 1931 joint-effort, the Chung Ling Old Boys’ Association raised funds for the extension of the classrooms, while the Board of Directors sponsored the modification of the aft corridor into rooms. The government extended assistance in 1932, renovating the lower storey of the left wing into science laboratories, while the lower storey of the right wing was made a library. In addition, shop No. 63 was rented to create additional classrooms..." For more, please click here.

Everyone were gather at the canteen that day around 3pm. Where many of them saw many familiar faces and also many un-familiar faces, because some of them not even meet after school for 25 years! Haha!

The arrival of Mr Lee Lai Hock - cycling from Sungai Petani to Penang.

(I like his spirit Very much!)

After saying 'Hi' to each of them, everyone was searching for their familiar area within the school...

The canteen. Expanded to double size...

The familiar rows of classroom

The familiar back alley of the school

The familiar corridors...

After a while, the school bell rang?! Oh! Games began...(not back to class, ok?)
Those Big Boys suddenly jump into the field and play some Maradona action! This was Really went well with the Theme - Back to School! Then I realized why the ambulance was 'stand-by' beside...it was all because of the Big Boys (43 years old) in the field! Haha!

Luckily, nobody was being rescue by the ambulance even after the game finished. Everyone was Healthy enough! No Heart Attack! :)

Beside the Maradona action, there was also a Tele-match next to the soccer field, matches were play by family members. Where you can find all the joyful moment in the field! I was attracted by the actions within the Tele-match...:)

The non-stop laughing moment brought them back to year 1985...

It was The Rejuvenation Moment! Haha!

Some want to Shake...

But he said : "Hold On!"

Some fall like a kid...

The first day event was went smoothly and felt like riding through the Time Machine! Everyone acted like a teenage and back to year 1985! Haha!

The canteen was open for everyone later, and you can eat and drink as much as you can! Let you taste the foods you had it since 25 years ago...but definitely all the foods standard improved!

The Chung Ling High School 25th Anniversary Reunion (year 1985) event was planed and organized by a group of committee members lead by their Chairman. They started to call and trying hard to contact all students who spread everywhere in the world since few months ago. Without their effort, there will be No Reunion on the day!

Some of the committee members...the heros behind...

Follow by the Reunion Dinner on the next day 11th September 2010 at the school main hall. I will blog about it in my next post.

Related post :-
*  Chung Ling High School 25th Anniversary Reunion Dinner (1985)

Location map of Chung Ling High School, Penang

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Poland -- New director at Galicia Jewish Museum

The ground-breaking Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow's Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, has appointed a new director, Kazimierz-born Jakub Nowakowski. Nowakowski has worked at the museum since 2005, most recently as its education direction. He will replace  Kate Craddy who has returned to England, to take up an appointment at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham. Craddy herself became director after the death in 2007 of the museum's founder, the British photographer Chris Schwarz. The museum's core exhibition is formed by Chris's photographs of Jewish heritage sites, taken mainly in the 1990s -- they also form the basis for the book Recovering Traces of Memory, with text by Jonathan Webber.

Nowakowski has an MA in History from the Department of Jewish Studies at the Jagiellonian University, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Management and Marketing from the Kraków School of Economics and Computer Science.  He also holds a Tour Leader’s Licence from the City of Kraków.

Krakow --Cheder Cafe

There's an ever-growing number of venues in Krakow's old Jewish quarter Kazimierz where you can  eat, drink, hangout.... and they have expanded far beyond the Jewish-style cafes that first began appearing on Szeroka St. 18 years ago....Only a fraction of the venues are now "Jewish" or "Jewish-style." The Krakow Post highlights one of the latest in this grouping -- the Cheder cafe, an offshoot of the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, which opened about three years ago in a former prayer room in the High Synagogue complex.

Conceived as something more than just a hangout with a Middle Eastern feel to it, Cheder (pronounced “headair”) also serves as a cultural and educational centre – perhaps no surprise given that this is an offshoot of the Jewish Culture Festival Association.

On entering the venue, guests are enveloped by a soothing ambiance - especially so for those who enjoy cosy, library-like surroundings. This comparison is not random – high wooden shelves with ornamental carvings in the shapes of Hebrew letters (which form a lion – symbol of Jerusalem and Jewish culture) are heavy with books, and guests are welcome to browse amongst them. Other Jewish ornaments are discreetly placed in such surprising spots as coat racks or a menora-shaped lamp embedded in the wall. This distinctive design, along with matching Oriental, yet kitsch-free music, made me want to linger a little longer.

France -- Festival (and stereotypes?)

 

Poster for Jazz 'n' Klezmer festival

► ◄

I've just posted a link to the 9th edition of the Jazz 'n' Klezmer festival in Paris, which takes place Nov. 21-Dec. 13, with some big names taking part -- David Krakauer, Balkan Beat Box, etc.

What I find interesting are the iconic stereotypes used in the poster (see above) -- a sexy Black woman to symbolize jazz and a (sort of sexy) beardless Hasid to symbolize klezmer.....

Romania/Ukraine/Moldova -- New Book by Simon Geissbuehler

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

The Swiss diplomat Simon Geissbuehler, who has just completed a posting in Bucharest (and moved on to a new one in Warsaw), has published another book on Jewish traces in Eastern Europe. This one is called "Like Shells on a Shore: Synagogues and Jewish Cemeteries of Northern Moldavia" -- it is a slim monograph, essentially a travelogue that  documents journeys that Simon took through neighboring parts of today's northern Romania, Ukraine and Moldova, mostly in an area demarcated by the Siret and Dniester rivers. An abbreviated account can be viewed online HERE.

Simon documents the Jewish sites her finds in the region, mainly synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, but he also gives thoughtful views on the nature of heritage, Jewish heritage and memory in these places -- memory that is fast receding if not already extinguished. He reluctantly concludes that there is little will or desire there to remember the destroyed Jewish world preserve its physical relics.

The most striking places that Simon documents in his book are the huge abandoned Jewish cemetery outside the remote village of Vadul Raskov, Moldova on the bank of the Dniester -- also documented in words and images in the Moldova Impressions blog

Photo: Moldova Impressions blog

 

-- and the ruins of a magnificent 18th century synagogue at Raskov,  just across the river, in the self-proclaimed state of Transnistria.

Photo by Sergey Bulanov, at http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11876585

Hole In The Wall Floating Restaurant at Kilim Geoforest Park, Langkawi Island

On the 3rd day early morning (our last day in Langkawi Island), I went to purchased the 5.30pm return Ferry ticket then proceed for our breakfast follow by shopping for whatever we haven't buy...

After everything settled, we check out from the Grand Continental Hotel from Kuah Town and headed to The Hole In The Wall Floating Restaurant (N6 25.018 E99 51.793) for our lunch. (We were actually attracted by the name)

The Floating Restaurant is located at Kilim River which is at the East of Langkawi Island (You can refer to the picture of Google Earth here). The duration took about 20 minutes from Kuah Town to Kilim Jetty. Once we reached the Jetty, I made a call to the restaurant, and we waited for the boat transfer at the Jetty. (Please call the restaurant before you drive to the Jetty to make sure they are open, then call them again once you reach the Jetty. The boat transfer is Free Of Charge)

After about 10 minutes from the Jetty, we reached The Hole In The Wall Restaurant.

The Hole In The Wall Floating Restaurant

The surrounding of the Restaurant was calm and cooling, like it very much! There were many yachts anchored within the river too! The restaurant was not crowded when we arrived, maybe because the lunch time was over. :)

The area is Clean and Tidy!

We were starving at that moment, quickly placed our foods order without wasting time!
Before the foods serve, the restaurant invited us to walk in their Fish Farm. Nice!

The Fish Farm of Hole In The Wall Restaurant

This fish farm was bigger and more organized compare with the One we visited yesterday. And the Show was same as every fish farm.

Stingray feeding...

The Excitement of the Ray...! :)

After 15-20 minutes, the waitress informed us that our lunch was ready and already served on the table!

Special Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice

Mango Salad

Baked Fish - Ikan Bakar

The food was Delicious!
I like the Special Fried Rice served with 3 big prawns and fried chickens, the fried rice was tasty! The Pineapple Fried Rice was nice with the presentation. Mango Salad was above average. We liked the Baked Fish very much!

We spent more than 2 hours to enjoy our lunch on the river because of the atmosphere. The Beautiful Scenery hold our legs to keep us stay longer...The air was cooling on the river even in the Hot sunny day...we Like it very much!

The Damage : MYR103.95 for 2 adults and 1 child included drinks. The charges was reasonable especially the environment. I will be back again!!

Rated : 4.8/5

Once we paid the bill, the boat was waiting to take us back to Kilim Jetty...(but you are allow to stay as long as you want)

We supposed to have some shopping before we leave Langkawi Island, just because we spent more than 2 hours at The Hole In The Wall Restaurant which was not in our schedule, so we had to catch our Ferry in time and forget about the shopping.
Once we reach the Langkawi Jetty, return the Red Isrrari and got our deposit back...we jumped into the Ferry and said Bye-Bye to Langkawi Island! We will see you again in next year! :)

The Hole In The Wall Restaurant

Tel : +604-9675301

Related post :
*  My Trip to Langkawi Island on September 2010
*  Grand Continental Hotel at Kuah, Langkawi Island
*  Underwater World of Langkawi Island
*  Sunset Of Cenang Beach (Pantai), Langkawi Island
*  The Lighthouse Restaurant at Tengah Beach (Pantai), Langkawi Island 
*  The Langkawi Cable Car at Langkawi Island.
*  The Famous Sky-Bridge of Mount Machinchang, Langkawi Island. 
*  Restoran Nasi Kandar Tomato at Cenang Beach, Langkawi Island
*  The Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island
*  The Eagles Feeding at Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island
*  The Fish Farm at Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island
*  The Bat Cave at Kilim Geoforest Park of Langkawi Island
*  Wonderland Seafood Store at Kuah Town, Langkawi Island

Location map of The Hole In The Wall Floating Restaurant

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