Hunting for Our Christmas Tree

Here, they don't slap the Christmas tree up on December 1. Nope; the tree goes up a day or two before Christmas (which is celebrated in Austria on the 24th, NOT the 25th), is almost always a REAL tree, almost always ISN'T three stories tall, and is often taken down on January 6 (Epiphany, which I guess is one of the thousands of Catholic-church inspired holidays Austria has; I can't keep track of them all.)

We've passed a number of tree markets here in Vienna but the trees, having been cut days or maybe weeks earlier, aren't always so fresh-looking. So B asked around, called around, and finally we decided to drive an hour or so outside town to a tree dealer she'd discovered.

Found the place, finally, and pulled into the parking lot. Lots of trees there, but for different reasons they weren't right----too tall, too spindly, too thick, too short, no smell, the needles were too pointy. But no problem! One of the employees grabbed the pickup (which they DO drive in the countryside here, if not in Vienna) and off we went, outside the village to the place in the hills where the trees grow.

The road was steep and still filled with snow, so the guy switched to 4WD on the way up. There were the trees, awaiting their premature deaths. We asked the guy how long it takes a tree to grow to a height of 2 meters. "About six years," the guy said.

So we walked around and finally found a specimen we liked. The guy whipped out his chainsaw, cut it down, and threw it into the back of the truck.

Back in the village, I saw how they prepare trees for transport. 1) Stick it in a fiberglass tube about 3 feet long, trunk first. 2) Pull on the trunk and the tree goes through the tube, simultaneously 3) getting wrapped in a thin plastic net which compresses the branches together, so the tree is kind of the shape of an unopened pine cone.

While B supervised all this, I walked over to a little kiosk where I'd noticed customers and staff munching on stuff throughout our time there. "Do you have anything warm to drink?" I asked her. "Glühwein," she said, a warm spiced white wine. "Please deliver it unto me," I said. When I got ready to pay, she wouldn't take my money, so I guess it's a perk for customers. 

We had to do some fancy re-arrangin' to fit the tree into the car, but it fit. Drove home, and stuck the tree out on the balcony until tomorrow when we'll bring it in and decorate it, including with real candles. I'll be sure to post a pic of the tree, decorated with candles blazing, so you'll be able to tell the authorities exactly how our house happened to burn to the ground.

(Just kidding---it's perfectly safe.)

To Market

The sun vanished again, and the streets are dirty-slushy with sand and gravel and salt and old snow.

We hung around the house until about 2, then took the tram to into the center of town. Stopped off at a bookstore where I picked up a few Christmas presents for friends here.

Then to the Naschmarkt, the big public marketplace. Had a goulasch and a beer in our favorite cozy spot, a place filled exclusively with men except for B, and the lady who served us. B explained that most ladies would prefer a nicely lit place serving tea or cakes, rather than the dark, wood-paneled, rather rustic place we ate.

Hence a crowd of regulars like these guys, below:

regulars at the goulasch place at the Naschmarkt

another stolen image captured at the goulasch place.

A lady's tea room it ain't, but the food is really hearty.

Then a stroll around the Naschmarkt, gathering food for the upcoming holiday (and for my Tom Yum soup, a Thai specialty I enjoy preparing.)

Stopped at Kaseland for some more cheese, and once again were served by the very friendly and knowledgeable Franz Kammer (the guy with the beard, if you look at the pics on their site.) And, once again, he was generous with the cheese samples AND gave us a little wedge of a special cheese he likes, before bidding us a Merry Christmas.

B stopped off at a microscopically tiny shop where they sell specialty meats and cheeses--and, this time of year, there's warm wine or Punsch to drink inside. I watched outside through the windows and the two guys serving the customers, and the six or eight people crammed elbow to asshole in the place, laughed and joked and enjoyed themselves in there. Wondered what all the hilarity was about, and when B came out she told me about the drinking, so it all made sense.

Barely room to breathe in this place, but more than enough room to stand around drinking while trying to decide what meat or cheese you want to buy!

Then we stopped off for a warm cup of wine, then took the subway home in the dark.

Planning Book

I went to the store. I bought a new planning book.

The cashier asked me: "Do you have lots of plans for 2010?"

"My main plan was to buy this planning book. Now that I have," I said, holding the book up with a sense of pride, "mission accomplished!"

Now I have some free time to kill.

It pays to plan ahead.