Took the tram to the center of town. I love riding the tram. They're powered by overhead electrical lines and so are relatively quiet, and the automated recorded voice of some guy announces the stops as each one comes up. The same guy recorded all the tapes for all the public transportation in Vienna, and I've gotten pretty good at imitating his somewhat metallic, robotic cadence. Much to B's annoyance.
I followed my nose. Wound up at the Nachmarkt. I was looking for the place where I bought Absinthe a couple of visits ago, but couldn't find it and was eager to get to Mariahilfestrasse to find the fucking sandals, so didn't spend too much time in search of liquid dreams.
When I got there, the sidewalks were packed as usual with all kinds of people. You name it, I saw it---punks, old people who could barely walk, rich people, the whole stew of humanity wandering the place looking for something to spend their money on. I found a discount shoe place, and actually found some trekking sandals for about $30 I could live with---until I opened the box and discovered there were two right sandals in there, not the usual one left and one right.
I approached a clerk about this who (in German of course) tried to tell me this was OK. Maybe, if it had been two LEFT feet (John don't dance, but his boxing footwork ain't bad, it must be said. So go figure.) So I said fuck it, put the box back, and roamed off in search of another pair of sandals. Which I didn't find, of course.
Took the subway to Simmering, where B was raised and where her folks still live. (In fact her mother was actually BORN in the house where she's lived her entire 80 years.)
They took us to a late lunch at a place located in the Böhmischer Prater, a kind of old-fashioned working class amusement park. But! The restaurant, the name of which escapes me, served pretty good food like this:
and this:
And after eating this stuff, I felt like this:
So when we got back to B's parents' place, I took a nap.
Here's the deal about naps: I never take them at home because there's always something to do, and because of my fucked-up work schedule. It's quite refreshing to just go along with what your body wants to do---if you're hungry, you eat, if you're sleepy, you sleep. And that's what should happen on vacation...and, truth be told, in life.
When I woke up, B and I went outside to pick tomatoes. She planted them this year at her parents' place and the things went absolutely wild, unlike my crop which failed miserably.
Her plants are very tall, over six feet, and yield like crazy. Here's a pic, and it's a bit deceptive because it doesn't really show the sheer volume of fruit picked. That's a deep vegetable storage bin in the fridge, so imagine several deep inches of tomatoes:
Then we drove to the AKH complex to meet our friend Vivian for dinner and drinks.
The AKH is an old hospital which has been converted into a branch of the University of Vienna. Adjoining the building are green spaces, and restaurants have sprung up around the AKH, and it was at the Stiegl Ambulanz where we met Vivian, sitting outdoors in a nice crowd of people who were really enjoying the nice summer evening. (If you click on the link, go to where it says zur 3d tour and click that link to get a panoramic view of the wonderful outdoor garden.)
I ate this:
This is a goulash of chanterelles, (wild mushrooms) and dumplings made of pretzels!
It was very tasty, especially with a couple of beers.
Tomorrow, we might go into the mountains before the rain comes on Saturday.
I'm thinking of my pal Howard, and how much he would enjoy the mountains. He's a true mountain man who has made climbs with primitive equipment that would curl your hair. Accounts of his climb of The Wedge in NM curled my hair, back when I had some.
I also think of my friends Will and Electric Patti and Maureen The Knife who I think would love this place, the hum and vibrancy of this wonderful city. I think of my sister Mary who I hope will come here next year and let us show her around. She is the matriarch of the family now and has been a real friend and an even better sister to me since I first slid down our mom's chute 51 years ago.
I think of my friend Modcon, who would enjoy the great beer and all the fine dining. Wish you were here, Paisan.
Wish all of you were here....
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