Saturday

A day of visiting with friends and family.

B and I met her parents at a nearby restaurant, Brummbarli. Click the link and you'll see some pictures of the place, which features hearty Austrian fare. Not a place for people who are afraid of toy bears, however...

Her folks, always thoughtful, brought presents for us---a couple of bottles of wine and some large chocolate St. Nicholas figures. I've written before that her folks are what I'd like to be at their ages: active and lively and engaged in the business of enjoying life, even in their early 80s.

Home for a few hours of rest and preparation for our trip to Zurich and France, then we left for an evening with friends at the annual Krampus party, which has been going on now at Tony and CiCi's for thirty years. (Nobody dresses like Krampus, that's just what they call it because it occurs around the same time each year.)

Our hosts live about an hour drive outside Vienna, and the first part of the drive takes you through the beautiful Vienna woods. It's too dark to see much but it's a pleasant drive through the winding roads until arriving at the highway that leads to their village.

Lots of good food and good drinks and good conversation. There must have been about fifty people crammed into the house. Tony is a dedicated amateur photographer with his own studio in the house, and he showed me some of his portraits and still lifes. Nice work, and I had camera envy---he shoots with a Canon D5, with a monster 28-70 2.8 lens. Boys and their toys.

Got into interesting conversations with some Brits. One, the wife of an Austrian, obviously of the British upper class, who was very nice but who shocked me when the talk turned to Dickensian London. I mentioned that Charlie Chaplin was a product not exactly of that time, but certainly of those conditidions, growing up dirt-poor in London. She gave me a quizzical look: "Chaplin was British?" The food almost fell out of my mouth when my jaw dropped open.

"Yes, he certainly was..."

"I didn't know that."

Then just before leaving, a great conversation with a couple of recently retired Brits here on holiday, who were friends of one of the host's friends and so were invited to tag along to the party. These folks were very friendly and down to earth and I wish I'd encountered them much earlier in the evening. The talk went everywhere but mostly we focussed on the social systems of our respective countries and our collective head-scratching RE: the foreign policies of our governments. I don't think people anywhere can ever understand what the hell their governments are up to...

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B has to work much of next week. So today, we're flying to Zurich to stay with friends overnight. Then taking the train to Strasbourg, France. While B is at work, I'll wander Strasbourg like a homeless person. Maybe take a train to nearby towns for a walkabout.

So no blog posts for several days, probably not until next Thursday when I hope to have lots of new pics and my impressions of Zurich and Strasbourg.

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It's snowing this morning in Vienna. Big fat flakes falling softly, but no accumulation. B is watching skiing on TV in the living room, and I hear her yelling at the skiers occasionally. Especially the Austrians when they fuck up.

Friday Walkabout

Today: took public transport into the center of town. Saw an exhibition at the Künstlerhaus Wien, which I'll talk more about in a future post----we didn't see all the exhibit due to time constraints, but we can get back in for 1/2 price next time and finish looking around. More on this in a future post.

Then walked along the old cobblestone streets of the center city to Cafe Griensteidl to meet B's sister and her friends for a cup of coffee and some conversation.

Then another walk across the street to the basement of a bank where they were having yet ANOTHER Advent Market. Here I saw some interesting items (interesting from a design standpoint, that is), mostly clothing and accessories. Most interesting to me were a collection of briefcases and bags made from recycled inner tubes. They were rugged-looking and (one assumes) waterproof, but not something for someone on my budget. Unlike everything in the US, which is made in fucking China, here a lot of items are made by local people (at local labor rates) and so they're FUCKING EXPENSIVE.

For instance, a man-purse I kind of liked was €118, or about $177. Forget it.

But I liked the idea of using recycled inner tubes as a sturdy construction material.

It gets dark early in winter, about 4:30, and since Monday when I arrived I've only seen the sun for a few hours (yesterday). Still, it's not dreadfully cold and I kind of like the gentle rain on the cobblestones. Below, a few pics to give you a flavor of the evening...

IN THE CENTER OF TOWN

ALSO IN THE TOWN CENTER

 

A HEURIGER (WINE TAVERN) ABOUT TWO MINUTES WALKING DISTANCE FROM OUR HOUSE

 In summer this courtyard is filled with tables,and the tables are filled with happy Viennese enjoying good food and wine. In winter the fun moves indoors, where things are cozy.

P = 4

S = 1

as of 19:45 Vienna time

Random Thursday Thoughts

According to a letter to the editor of SMITHSONIAN Magazine, November 2009, Mark Twain said:

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

That, and it's tough to get a decent Schnitzel in Oklahoma.

CHURCH COURTYARD IN VIENNA'S 3RD DISTRICT

You wouldn't know it from looking at this peaceful scene, but there's a very busy main street to the right and pedestrians all over the place, scurrying wherever Austrians scurry.

B was at the dentist while I walked around looking for trouble. Found none. When she was finished with her appointment we strolled around, including a trip to an old-fashioned, very upscale grocery. I couldn't afford most of the stuff they have there, but it's fun to look at all the specialties offered.

Outside, in their window display, they had a collection of Armagnac in small 20cl bottles (a bit less than a cup) from various years, going all the way back to 1920. For your convenience, I've included a photo of the price chart. Find your birth year and figure out how much a cup of fine brandy would cost you.

 CLICK TO ENLARGE. TO CONVERT TO US $, FIGURE 1 EURO = $1.50

Please sip, don't guzzle. Not at those prices.

P = 2

S = 0

(Please note this blog post completed at 4 PM Vienna time, therefore data cannot be considered a normal or average daily total.)