This time you don't have to learn German, but simply enjoy the atmosphere on the so-called Silvesterpfad in Vienna.
So, right on time - here's my christmas video! It's a nice medley of various christmas carols. In German it's called "Stille Nacht", in French "Douce nuit", in Spanish "Sainte nuit" and in Russian "тихая ночь".
Well, that's me again on a so-called Christkindlmarkt, the name for a Viennese Christmas market. Guess what? - Yep, my next lesson is available - right now and here:
Well, know it's been quiet some time since I last wrote something, but it's just because I'm really busy working on my new language lesson. Guess, I've already been to all possible Christmas markets in Vienna, as my next lesson will be about Christmas.
Never thought that my videos would be featured in Latin America, but as you can see on the right side, it appears on the website http://utubersidad.com
Better late than never, but here's my 11th German Lesson. This time it's about the Vienna Central Cemetery.
Wanna go to the Heurigen and drink a glass of wine? Well, here's a little something about the Vienna Heurigen + Lesson No. 10!!! CELEBRATE!!!
What you've hopefully been waiting for - here it is:
Yes, it's got windows! Doesn't it already look like a real house, at least from the exterior? Inside things look a bit different, as there are cables and cables and even more cables. But one can already imagine what it will be like when it's finished.
This is the "Bahnorama"-Tower. From up there you get a view onto a huge construction site, where the new central railway station is being built. It will not only be a new station, but also a complete new quarter of Vienna with apartements, offices, a park and a lot more.
Hi, everybody. I proudly present you the Vienna State Opera. Hope, you've been waiting for it.
Me in the Vienna Opera Museum. It's been really interesting watching all those pictures and reading the bylines. The entrance fee is only 3 Euros and those of you who are real opera fans will surley like it. It's very clearly arranged with lots of portraits and information. What a shame that I didn't go there earlier. You know, I live here in Vienna since the day I was born. But, maybe it's just the way it is. You never pay attention to the attractions and the beauties of your hometown.
Here is a photo of the demontation of our video studio. It's not really been easy to unplug all those cables and get rid of the old equipment. Technical things are really getting too old too fast. So, one should only buy all this stuff when excessively using it. Otherwise it's nothing but an unnecessary expenditure. Anyway, we did use it for several years and so it's time to make a new start. Nevertheless, it's a dirty job!
Yesterday I've been at the famous Seefestspiele Mörbisch, though I must confess, it wasn't really planned that way. My sister-in-law, opera singer Alexandra Reinprecht, my brother and the rest of my family were just in the middle of the celebration of the 90th birthday of our beloved granny in a relaxed atmosphere, accompanied by some glasses of wine. Suddenly Alexandra got an emergency call from the director in Mörbisch. He begged her to substitute her collegue, who fell ill. So far so good, only problem was, that this "nice" collegue had cancelled her appearance only two hours before the concert. So my brother, Alexandra and me raced to Mörbisch to save the production. Well, I didn't safe anything, of course - Alexandra safed the show, but I was really glad to watch this unique outdoor spectacle. Despite the few glasses of wine, Alexandra sang exceptionally well and performed as gorgeous as usually. I guess, I'll always keep this evening in mind - it will be a long lasting memory.
Yep, finally made it. Lesson No 7 for all those who wanna learn German. Never thought I'd have so much fun doing it. Hope, I won't lose my energy and my ideas, but I've already planned the next three or four parts. So, here are the links to youtube:
After the severe thunderstorms of last week we found our patio looking like this. The storm had just blown away this big tree here. Fortunately the strong winds didn't damage our warehouse on the right side, as the tree crashed straight forward onto the ground. However, I was pretty amazed when I saw what the thunderstorm had done. To me it seems as if the storms are really getting worse each year, all over the world. Until now we were quiet safe here in Vienna but who knows what the future will bring. I only hope that we're not getting any tornados or hurricans within the next decades.
Me struggling with tons of cables. As we're moving our audio-studio to another place, there's no way of avoiding this kind of work. But I usually try to see it as a form of meditation. Eventually I even started talking to the cables like, "where do you come from" or "where are you leading to". Before I got into this uncomfortable position I coded the cables, writing down where they were plugged in, in order to get them into the right inserts afterwards. So, I guess, plugging out all cables and devices was the easier task. Plugging them in again (so that everything works) will be a much harder thing to do. 
Isn't it beautiful and breathtaking? Today I've been in the Nationalpark "Donau-Auen", just one hour from the center of Vienna. We drove there with the so called "Nationalparkboot", which is actually a boat taxi on the Danube channel. By the way, it's been a quiet ancient boat, dating back to Soviet times, as you still can see some russian writings and instructions on the walls and the panels. Nevertheless we've really enjoyed the trip into the national park. There we went 
So, here is something new. It's about the Vienna City Hall and I've also added a short video clip of the Life Ball 2010.
I just came back from a little go-kart race in Teesdorf, Lower Austria. Though we were only four pilots (Horsti, me, Norbert and Alexandra), we've really enjoyed the speed. What I didn't enjoy so much was the bad weather - cold, windy, light rain. We had fun, anyway. Especially me! I drove a very passionate race with full energy, but somehow the car didn't do what I wanted it to do. In it's former life my car must have been a lawn mower, rather than a racing go-kart. It's been about three times that I involuntarily slipped off the track, two times I rattled across the meadow and in the last round I nearly bumped into a crash barrier. Still I must say that my lap times weren't that bad. My fastest lap lay by 34.654 seconds. Horsti's and Norbert's top speed were about 34.34 seconds and even Alex made it to 35.344 seconds in her very first kart-race. What I've learned from this experience is: Little less passion, more brains!
As I don't wanna let you wait any longer, here is the video short cut from the red carpet (before the thunderstorm).
Everything started so well, preparation, decoration, organisation and then ...
Hi, everybody! It's not that I'm lazy, but I've simply had no time to blog something, at least, nothing of interest. Besides, right now I'm pretty busy in the office at Kleine Zeitung as my collegue is on vacation, so there's not really much to say. But now I've just finished my 5th German Lesson and I proudly present you the following links:
Ready! Just loaded up my "masterpiece", a musical short-cut of the Danube Island Festival that took place last weekend. I'm quiet proud of it as I did it with only one camera and it's been a lot of cutting work on the computer. So, here's the result:
Crowds of people as far as the eye can see and guess what? Yeah, I actually made it to the very first row!! I really got a brilliant position for my video recordings. I've been there about four hours earlier, waiting for the main act, our local legend Reinhard Fendrich. Everybody in Vienna knows his songs and the crowd sang along with him. It's really been a great atmosphere. The groups before Fendrich were also pretty good - The Dubliners, Die Seer and lots of other not so well known artists. I enjoyed the whole show, though a few steps behind me a man collapsed and fainted away. The securities had quiet some difficulties to lift the heavy weight guy up and carry him over the metal barrier that separated the crowd from the stage. Don't know what happened to him, but I hope he's well.
This is Manuel Ortega, one of the many artists that performed on the Danube Island Festival. I tried to film as many bands and singers as possible and hurried from one stage to another. Though the atmosphere is really great, I'm a bit glad that today is the last day. My feet are really hurting and I'm pretty tired. It'll be a lot of work cutting all the acts in post-production. Guess, I'll enter the Guiness Book of Records as the one who filmed (as a single person with only one camera) as many acts as possible.
Yesterday I've been on the Danube Island Festival to prepare lesson no. 5 of my German course. The weather was very pleasant, not too hot, not too cold. In the beginning there were not too many people and so I could get quiet close to the stages. But towards evening things changed and the path leading from one stage to the other was overcrowded. Yet I managed to push myself through. The picture on the right shows me stuck in the middle of enthusiastic Billy Idol fans. Unfortunately I was a bit too far away from the stage, but I'll have to check it on my video. Maybe I can use at least some video-shots.
Well, it's getting bigger. Despite the heavy rainfalls during the last weeks (or shall I say months?) the construction works went on and the result isn't that bad. By the end of next week they wanna be ready with the first floor, which would be really amazing. The only thing that isn't too good is the water all around the house and in the cellar. As there's no roof yet, it's raining in and frankly, I don't know how they wanna get rid of all the water, but I'm very positive that they will manage it somehow. Thank God, the weather forecast for the next weeks isn't that bad so I'm still hoping for some sunny days. At least, it's summer!!!!
Today it's been the third time that I visited the Vienna Zoo. To be exactly, the third time within only one week. It's because I'm working on my German Lesson No 4 and it's because it's simply impossible to get good pictures from all animals in only one day. On my first day it was so hot that all animals were asleep and didn't move an eye. Not quiet what I was looking for. So I had to go again and again and ... again! Thank God I bought a "one-year-valid-card", though it hopefully won't take that long until I have my video done. It's really nice walking around the Zoo and watching the animals, if only there were not so many school classes with screaming and yelling little animal lovers ;)
Now, here's my 3rd lesson of "German with Sonja". This time the feature is about the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna. Hope, you enjoy it. I won't write too much as a video says more than a thousand words!
Me (not in the picture) and friends from Spain and Latin America in the Burggarten, celebrating the Mojito-Party of the Havana Club. The drinks were for free, but don't ask how we got them. I stood for about half an hour in a crowd of people waiting for my free drink. There was no way back, no way forward and no way out. Anyway, it's been an interesting experience. Next time I'd rather pay for my drink ;)
Just came back from my little video-tour to the Hundertwasserhaus. I recorded the introduction to my third German lesson. It's still not so easy to concentrate on my text - at least not in four foreign languages, though I have the impression that my ability to memorize things has already gotten better. You know, when I started acting in front of the camera (filming my self in public and saying something into the camera), I felt a little uncomfortable, as I was distracted by people passing by. I simply couldn't concentrate, as I was constantly thinking: "What are they thinking? Why are they staring at me?"
It's been more by chance than on purpose that I've attended the demonstration against Israel that took place here in Vienna. But I'm really glad, I've been their. Though you could feel the anger about the brutal attack of Israeli soldiers shooting at civilians on the ship Mavi Marmara, the demonstration was peaceful and the atmosphere was absolutely breathtaking. For those who don't know about the facts: On June 1st, Israeli soldiers dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship and started shooting directly into a crowd of sleeping civilians. The attack has happened in international waters and violated international law. I've taken a couple of photos that you'll find on my website www.sonni.tv (Photos, behind the camera). I believe that it is important to support peaceful movements in order to prevent the Israeli government from such kind of criminal actions. I also think that Palastines have the right of an own country and that Gaza should be free!
Well, work in progress, despite rainy days. 
Song Contest Party in the mansion of Peter Müller (picture), one of Austrias most successful producers. We were about ten people, among them Elisabeth Engstler (TV-host), Michael (Mosaro) Scheikl, Jack Fronczek and René Reitz - also well-known music-producers. Anyway, we had a lot of fun voting and guessing who would make it to the top. Only one of us made the right guess (not me). I voted for Greece or Serbia, but also enjoyed the songs of Iceland, Denmark and Ireland.
Well, I know, it's been a couple of days since I last blogged something. As you'll probably know, I'm working on this German course (in four different languages!). It's not as easy as I thought it would be, but it's fun getting lost in translations. In the trailer to my second lesson I wanna feature the Vienna Prater and so I just came back from there. As in this new part, I'll be talking about the Giant Ferris Wheel and the fantastic view over Vienna, I couldn't help but getting in one of those big red wagons. Maybe I didn't mention it, but I suffer from a severe kind of aerophobia, so to me it was quiet an experience - not a good one. I only dared to "wheel around" because I wanted these damn video recordings. Otherwise I never would have done it. However, you'll soon see the second part of my German course, including this short sequence showing this "wonderful" view of the Prater area.
Now I've uploaded my russian version of "German with Sonja". Maybe a bit daring, as my russian is not really that good, in fact, I'm still on a beginner's level. Anyway, it's been fun doing it and I hope some people in Russia will enjoy it and benefit from learning German. So, here's the link:
Today the construction team was working on the foundation. Everything went fine until the moment when - due to the rainy weather - a piece of the earth wall broke away. So, it seems that some planned things need to be postponed. Anyway, to me it's been a very interesting experience. What a pity that I'll have to work next week, so I'll miss a lot of exciting things that sure will happen in the construction zone.
A deep hole in the ground is the obvious sign that the construction works have finally begun and now there's no way back. It's still hard to imagine that this is the place where the future house will be standing. Only time will tell. These two tiny persons on the ground are my brother and his wife, the proud home builders. If you take a closer look you will also see our family dog Mimi (left side of the picture) and if you're focusing on the right side, you may spot my white tennis shoes, which I took off before I climbed this huge mound of earth (about 4 or 5 meters high). The rest of me is on top of it, enjoying the "marvellous" view and wondering how things will be going on.
Did it! - I just put my first german lesson online. So you can watch it right away. As I've probably told you before it is not only a language course, but also a little documentation about Vienna. In this first edition I'm talking about St. Stephan's Cathedral. To take a picture like this (on the right) I had to climb up 343 stairs to the so called Türmerstube, situated in the South Tower of the cathedral. So, here is the link for the English version:
Hi, everybody! Sorry, it's been a couple of days since a last wrote something, but it's just that nothing really important has happend. Today I've been on the Cobenzl, from where you've got a fantastic view over Vienna. You know, what I have in mind is creating an Online-German course for Spanish and/or English speaking people. But in addition to that I wanna film some places of interest and do a little documentation on St. Stephans Cathedral, Karlsplatz, the Vienna Prater, a.s.o. The bad thing about it is, that I've got some technical problems with my laptop and Adobe Elements, resp. Pinnacle Studio 11. Well, though I've solved some of these annoying problems, I still need a little time to finish it and put in online. Once, I've done it, I'll tell you and link it to my website. However, it's not as easy as I thought it would be, as I've got to meet my own expectations concerning quality and the way of making it.
Hi, everybody! Today I've been in the Vienna Prater, which is our most famous amusement park. Due to the celebrations of the 1st of May, there where thousands of people strolling around. I took some pictures and made a little video that you can watch on youtube. I've added the link at the end of this post. Well, though I know that Vienna is really a multi-cultural city, I was surprised anyway to see so many different people from all parts of the world. Of course, there were a lot of tourists too, but most of the visitors are inhabitants of Vienna. I originally intended to film some of the Prater attractions, but in the end it turned out to be a video on human beings, on a variety of faces, languages and smiles. Only for those who may not know it, on May Day we are celebrating the social and economic achievements of the labor movement. There are also a lot of organized street demonstrations going on.
As nothing really exciting has happened, I think it's about time for a little poem. This one is out of my book "200 Erlesene Gedichte". Sorry, it's German, but maybe you're just about to learn our beautiful language and in this case you may want to memorize it in order to impress your student colleagues. It is a poem of love and the headline says "Silent Desire". So, here it is:
... people in Latin America are really innovative and we were playing a lot of funny "baby shower games" like making a guess of the pregnant lady's belly size with a roll of toilet paper. Everyone teared off a certain length which we compared afterwards. I was close to being the winner, but someone else had won the prize. Than we tried to hang some clothes correctly on a string, while nourishing a baby and talking on a cell phone. It's really been funny! Another difficult thing was memorizing some baby stuff in a basket. It was not my best performance. What the hell are the spanish words for "nail scissors" or "soother"? To make a long story short, I enjoyed this party and I feel a bit sorry for us (the Austrians) that our sometimes uncommunicative and reserved mentality prevents us from having real fun!!!
First of all, sorry for the bad quality of the picture. I took it with my new mobile-phone. By the way, it does not synchronize with my computer so I always have to remove the SD-card from the cell phone and put it into the computer slot. But that's not, what I wanted to say right now. Today I've had the pleasure of being invited to a real "baby shower party". A dear friend of mine from Venezuela is pregnant and only 10 days away from giving birth to a new human being. There were about ten people from all over Latin America and Spain. We ate a lot and were talking about all kinds of subjects. Of course, I've had some difficulties do understand each and every word, but I'm glad that all these women accepted me right from the start. I've never heard of such a party before. Here in Austria, or especially in Vienna, people are celebrating after a child was born and there's another interesting fact: When we say "celebrating" or "partying" it normally means that people come together and chat and drink alcohol (in most cases more than they should) and that's it. But in Latin Ameria it's different ...
I just came back from the polls, or let's say from the Presidential elections that took place in Austria. There were only three candidates, two of them rather unknown to the public. The third one, Mr. Dr. Heinz Fischer, had been reelected. I've also voted for him, although I think he is a bit colorless and unspectacular. If you want to put it positively, you could say that he is cautious and diplomatic, if you look at it in a negative way, you'd have to describe him as boring and indecisive. Anyway, I'm sure he won't cause Austria no harm. At least he is not a selfish man. However, I think that the salary of a Federal President is much too high. He earns about € 319.872 p.a.!! A first step into the right direction would be to cut back the salaries of all politicians, but I doubt that this will ever happen. I'd be happy with far less, but unfortunately I didn't stand as a candidate. So, I celebrated my birthday and, believe it or not, I'e already grown used to the new cipher, which is now 42!!
Today we've celebrated my birthday - the 42nd!! - Well, time goes by so quickly. Unfortunately my parents had both catched a cold and so we did not go to the "Heurigen", a kind of wine-tavern, where wine-growers serve the most recent year's wine. Normally they offer a limited selection of food and in "the good old days" you were allowed to bring your own food. Anyway, we didn't go there and started our little family-party at home. I enjoyed the birthday cake and was quiet happy to receive some very useful gifts, like money and somewhat like a care-package with a big bottle of shower-gel, a t-shirt, some candies and several other cool things. But the best about a celebration is always the good atmosphere and that everybody is happy. Furthermore, I practiced some piano pieces and tried to get familiar with my new cell phone. I kinda like it, though there are still some open questions.
Yeah, got it! - Finally it's there! - My new cell phone, a Samsung Galaxy Spica. Okay, I confess, I originally wanted an I-Phone, but simply couldn't afford it. So, I thought the next best thing would be this little baby here. I'm not quiet sure, whether it works the way I am expecting it, but we'll see. At least it can't be worse than the one I've had over the last five years or so. Well, right now I'm a bit in a hurry as I've a meeting with my language-partner from the Ucraine, but I'll tell you more about my experiences with this new cell phone when I've grown used to it.
