Day 5 of 14: Rainy Day Vienna Walkabout

B had a dental appointment today. We took the subway into town. She went to her appointment and I walked around for about 90 minutes. Stuff I noticed:

1) Wish I'd gotten a picture of an elegantly dressed man who resembled Captain Kangaroo, leaning against a building on the Ringstrasse, talking on his phone. I have fond memories of Captain Kangaroo. I remember him teaching me (and millions of other kids) what he called "The Magic Words." PLEASE and THANK YOU.

What are the magic words kids learn today? Probably GIMMEE THAT and FUCK YOU.

2) I saw a guy pulling the old shell game on some tourist suckers. I'm not enough of a con-man to know all the ins and outs of it, but my buddy Tony D. The Magician knows these scams, and I would have loved Tony to be there today. We could have walked up like eager suckers, bet the farm, then revealed the con-man's bullshit right there in front of everyone...

3) On the subway, I glanced over at one of these new ultra-strollers the uber-yuppizoidal women like to roll their infants around in...one of those three-wheelers that cost several hundred bucks, so Mommy can go jogging down to Bergsdorf or wherever, her elegant sweat captured by her $200 headband. I noticed something about this stroller---

It had DISC BRAKES. I couldn't believe it. How damned fast do these women jog, anyway? Wish I'd gotten a picture of the elaborate setup, with the handbrake on the handle of the pram, connected via steel cables to the disc brakes.

Speaking of disc brakes, I stumbled upon this nice little red car:

The price, if that sort of thing interests you, starts with a 2 and ends with several 0's. SEVERAL. That's in Euros, BTW, not dollars, so add about 30% and you get the idea.

If you click on the pic to enlarge it, you might notice a little red hobby horse to the left. I didn't want to know the price, but I bet Disc-Brake Stroller Lady would know. But probably wouldn't care.

Interestingly, they also had a Ferrari pedal car on display. I'm not making this up.





Here's a somewhat interesting building in the 10th District.

Not sure if the facade is stainless steel or aluminum.













Visit any pharmacy in Vienna and you'll probably see a display like this. These are herbal teas with specific healing properties. Unlike America, an Austrian pharmacist might actually recommend these teas as an alternative to allopathic meds.

Of course we have teas like this in America, but they often are of lower quality, not manufactured (is that even the right word?) to strict quality levels.

The Austrians have such lower-quality teas, too, but they won't sell them in pharmacies.





Statue of a famous music-composing guy.

Evidently, he had the beet. Or liked beets.

Something having to do with beets, this dude had...










Your carriage awaits.

These things line up in various parts of town. B tells me many of the drivers are ex-cons, as it is one of the few jobs it's relatively easy for them to get.

There were ten or twelve of these lined up in front of the Stephansdom this afternoon, but not a lot of touristas looking for a carriage ride, I guess.



A picture of my lunch shortly before it vanished.

This is called Knoedelpfanne. It's kind of a traditional Austrian dish composed of leftover potato dumplings, a scrambled egg, some ham, and bell peppers. Very tasty.

We got it at Meixner's, a place we'd never been before. I'd like to go back next time I'm here...

In other news, the search for a man-purse continues, and I bought a pair of shoes to replace the heavy steel-toed work boots I've been wearing, the only pair of footwear I brought with me.

The boots, BTW, are made by a company called Iron Age, which sadly has declared bankruptcy. I bought my boots more than five years ago and they're still holding up fine. I think I paid about $90 for them and can probably get five more years out of them, easy. I'll be leaving them here in Vienna when I go home, so I'll have a pair on hand for hikes in the hills or winter strolls next year.

And finally, in news of The Abnormal Psychology of John X: B says my newfound interest in shopping for a murse, and for shoes, is starting to worry her.

I'm getting a little concerned about it, myself....

...next thing you know I'll be comparing disc-brake equipped prams with the other yuppie women.