The Big Hike

Listening to the radio a bit after noon today, and they were talking about the heat wave in the US. They specifically mentioned Oklahoma...

Here, it was warmer than the extended forecast predicted---about 80 F.---so about 1 PM we headed out for a hike through the nearby woods.

It was a quiet hike, not too many people out (a workday). We'd pass vineyards, and then disappear into the wood, then out again for a bit in the vineyards. At one point we had a long steep hike through the woods, finally emerging at Kahlenberg. There's a panoramic picture on the linked page; click it to enlarge, and click it again to scroll left and right. That's the view from up there---pretty impressive.

The Kahlenberg may be only a mile or less as the crow flies from B's house, but we ain't crows and only fly in our dreams. It took some leg work to get up there...

On the way back down the mountain is a little "mountain hut" restaurant where we wanted to eat but---surprise---it's closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

 The elusive Austro-butterfly of love, showing off for us along the hiking trail.

I've shared pics of this place before; it's a kind of Buddhist / hippie

compound along the trail, no doubt operated by one of Vienna's true eccentrics.

Tree houses, wooden bridges across the creek, prayer flags, neat yard art.

So we went a bit further down the mountain, again into the vineyards, and came first to the Sirbu, a Heurige with lots of outdoor tables and a good view of part of Vienna and the Danube below.

At two nearby tables, about 20 young people. Average age, 18. A few younger. Drinking wine. No problem. The drinking age in Austria is 16 for beer and wine, 18 for hard liquor. The kids behaved themselves, and unlike American high school kids, there wasn't a dollop of obesity to be seen. Go figure.

What we had for lunch at the Sirbu.

An ancient dozer still used by one of the vintners.

The view from our table at the Sirbu.

We hiked a bit further down and came to the next Heurige, Hajszan Buschenzshank. Again, outdoor seating, great wine, and probably the best view of Vienna and the Danube you can get.

A guy reading to his boy at the Hajszan.

People bring their dogs with them to these Heuriger, and the waiter brings out a bucket of water for each dog to drink. The dogs just lay under the table and relax until it's time to go, while their people sip wine and talk amongst themselves. Very relaxed, and a perfect place to come sit for a few hours, nursing a small bottle of wine while you read a book or write in your notebook...

Our walk down the mountain through the vineyards,
Vienna and the Danube below us.

All in all, good exercise on a bright sunny day. We were out about five hours---four walking, and one eating / drinking.

Wandering Around

An overcast day, which put us in a relaxed, kind of dopey mood. So we didn't leave the house until after noon.

Took public transportation back down the the Danube Canal, to try the restaurant aboard the Badeschiff-Wien called Holy-Moly. B had a coconut milk-tomato soup and I had a vegetable curry soup with rice. Both excellent, and we enjoyed a nice talk with our waiter, a young guy from Italy who is recently back from 9 months in Australia. He's going for his PhD in the history of economics (I think he said). And I thought: If I ever move to Vienna, I'll be waiting tables for guys like him...

Walked around the 1st District a bit. B found a gourmet ice-cream shop she'd heard about. I'm not much of a dessert or sweets guy but I enjoyed my strawberry cone very much, while B had a cup with a small scoop each of banana, lemon, and sheep cheese (!) ice cream. All of it top-quality and very tasty.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is under constant renovation

I saw this bright green thing on a motorscooter. I thought it was a toy

the guy had glued on there for a joke, until it started moving it's antenna.

We came upon the Capuchin Crypt. A very interesting place, and not as creepy as you'd think. 

From the link: "The Imperial Crypt (German: Kaisergruft, but usually called Kapuzinergruft, "Capuchins' Crypt") in Vienna, Austria lies below the Capuchin Church and monastery founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632. It is on the Neuer Markt square of the Innere Stadt, near the imperial Hofburg Palace. Since 1633 it has been the principal place of entombment for members of the Habsburg dynasty.

The bodies of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are deposited here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses. The most recent entombment was in 2011. There is room for only one more entombment. The visible 107 metal sarcophagi and 5 heart urns range in style from puritan plain to exuberant rococo. The Imperial Crypt is one of the top tourist attractions in Vienna.

To this day, some of the dozen resident Capuchin friars continue their customary role as the guardians and caretakers of the crypt along with their other pastoral work in Vienna."

It costs 5 Euro to get in. You go down into the basement, and there are all the caskets, which I think are made of bronze-like alloy. Many are very elaborate:

Down there, of course, is the very latest crypt, added just this past weekend, that of Otto Habsburg. You should have seen all the stunning floral arrangements scattered everywhere, from all over Europe. The florists of Vienna probably made 50% of their income in the days leading up to Otto's funeral...

I don't know what to think of all this. To me it's just another kind of celebrity worship---if it ain't movie or sports stars, it's royalty. True, the people buried here influenced history, or would have influenced history if they'd reigned longer. But indulgences shown to the rich (usually by the rich) just kind of turns me off.

We walked to the Naschmarkt, Vienna's big outdoor food market. Bought some excellent cheeses from our favorite cheese store, Kaseland, and then some great cured meat from a nearby meat market.

Got hunger? A fishmonger in the Naschmarkt.

B and I split up then. She went home and I went off in search of the bookbinder who'd made my blank book for me on my last visit. But I couldn't remember exactly where his shop was, or exactly what subway stop to use, so I wandered around quite a while not finding him. I'll try another day.

I'm not the only Okie in these here parts. Come see Wanda Jackson on Halloween.

A woman and her book-end dogs in the Stadtpark.

Speaking of dogs, I bought a hotdog from this woman moments before

the Polizei showed up demanding their monthly shakedown.

God said: "Let there be Neo-Conservatives on all the sidewalks of the land." 

And Neo-Cons sprang forth.

Swimming / Supper / Soccer

The Austrians feel they're being cheated out of their summer this year; it's been cooler than usual. Therefore there's been less swimming (almost none by B and her family, for whom swimming means summer.)

Sunday, though, it was warm enough and everyone met at the family swimming hole.

For me it wasn't hot enough to want to cool off in the water, so no swimming for me. I studied my German and talked with the parents, and kind of dozed off for a little while...

Below, some pics from the Badegrund.

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I made an unusual supper:

You can buy a thin dough used for making croissants. It comes rolled up in a sheet, maybe 18 inches by 10 inches. I laid this out on a cookie sheet. Then I sauteed some squash, onion, and garlic in olive oil and spread the mixture over half of the dough, leaving about an inch border at the end and sides.

To this I added thin-sliced ham, some salami, and some crumbled blue cheese.

Then I folded the sheet of dough over on itself and pinched the edges off to seal it together. It looked like a small pillow, which then got brushed with olive oil.

Bake in the oven until the exterior is brown and flaky, like a biscuit. Pretty good! I'm sure there's a name for this kind of dish but it escapes me.
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We watched the women's final soccer match between the US and Japan.

It looked like the US would stomp the Japanese at first, but they couldn't find the goal. And many of the misses weren't by a few inches or a few feet---some were way high, like they were trying to kick a field goal in American football.

The match was finally decided in a penalty kickoff and the Japanese women won.

After all the trophies were handed out, the Japanese team walked around with a banner that said:

"To our friends around the world: Thank you for your support."

A true demonstration of class and humility in victory.