A refreshing plunge

Well, I think summer has finally arrived. As the days have passed this week, the weather has got progressively hotter and yesterday, we decided to go swimming.

When we were here earlier in the year I had purchased an 18 Euro Monatskarte (monthly pass) for unlimited use in any of the swimming baths in Vienna. The closest pool to where we live is the Döbliger Bad which boasts both indoor and outdoor pools and yesterday was teeming with people in the pools and on the lush grassy banks or in the shade of the trees. We decided to walk there rather than take public transport as it was so gloriously warm and probably just as quick, oddly.

It seems to be far more socially orientated than a visit to the pool is in the UK and families and groups seemed set up for the whole day rather than a quick plunge and then a toddle round the shops. There is a cafe and a terrace, set up with real food and real drink (even beer) and no vending machines in sight, a variety of "fun" pools with slides and water plumes and fountains and spurts for youthful cavorting and teenage frolics, there was even a "normal" one too with lanes (taken up by over-excited kids, bombing and belly-flopping from the little diving board).

The water was sparklingly clear and the chill was a blessing after the searing heat of the sun on my body after the brief walk from the main building through to the pool at the bottom of the park. My body is generally so pale that i often think that during sunny weather i actually reflect the sunlight to the benefit of others around me (it hasn't actually been seen outside since 1997 on a day trip to Sitges during a trip to Barcelona with friends). Naturally, we weren't as well set up as the rest of the visitors with their creams and lotions and cold drinks flasks and insulated picnic baskets (we had intended just the quick refreshing plunge and then a toddle around the shops!) so it was only after a very short period that we retired to the (rather warmer and quieter) indoor poor in fear of over exposure of our overly pinky pale skin.

It was too warm for hot chocolate afterwards though and we couldn't even find a vending machine to buy crisps from.

I haven't got a stitch to wear

We're going to the Waldviertlerhof for dinner tonight with friends. There are fish specials in January and February and it looks like it will prove to be a very enjoyable evening. I fear however that whatever I wear, I be upstaged by the waiting staff.

I think I'll wear black!

All under control...

We didn't miss Control, although it was touch and go as the Stadtbahn train was ten minutes late leaving Oberdöbling. We found the Schikaneder cinema on the Margaretenstraße quite quickly (thankfully), and in time too, though we needn't have worried as the usher arrived late too to allow us into the cinema.

The cinema was a long room painted black with a white rectangle painted on the wall for the film to be projected on. The seating was a mixture of sofas and deckchairs. It wasn't the best sound insulated place. You could hear traffic outside and people walking by talking on their mobiles (Händy) but in the great scheme of things, what does that matter? It reminded me of the art cinema I used to work at in Oxford whilst a student, the self-deprecatingly (though ultimately truthfully) named Penultimate Picture Palace.

Shikaneder's eccentric furnishings were much more comfortable though than the PPP ever offered, and you could take drinks in from the bar too! I really liked the cinema and hope we go again.

Control was a fantastic film. I really enjoyed it, even the boring bits! It was very beautifully filmed and thankfully, not dubbed! And even though I knew the ending (he dies, by the way), it still was very, very moving, and the soundtrack, quite spectacular. Thank you Mr Corbijn, Mr Curtis (Riley) et al.

We retired afterwards for a beer (or two) to the Café Savoy on the Linke Wienzeile which boasts some of the largest mirrors in Europe (apparently); which makes it a really good place to, erm... look at the other patrons.

More art to shake a stick at...

It was cold today. Only noticed when we left the house this afternoon tovisit the Leopold Museum in the Museum Quartier. I think it shows how well insulated buildings are on the continent compared to back home.

When we arrived in Vienna I noticed an exhibition called Zwischen den Kriegen (Between the Wars). Unfortunately it finished the day we arrived. This morning however, Tim noticed that the exhibition run had been extended, so we decided to go along.

The exhibition chronicled the artistic endeavours of Austrian artists (not necessarily in Austria) between 1918 and 1939. The gallery is an amazing space, very understated with large well lit rooms and a huge cavernous central atrium.

The exhibition was quite interesting though completely depoliticised. Odd that.

The ground floor (and part of the basement) house the largest collection of work by Egon Schiele in the world (allegedly). It was suitably impressive. I'll take you to see it when you come to stay.

We went for a stroll around the area as the gallery closed before retiring to Das Möbel, a bar/café at the bottom of Burggasse for a bier.

Things we bought to relieve our need and other needs which have arisen

mugs (from the Museum Quartier shop) featuring a red duck (pictured) and a red rabbit (not pictured). I didn't get the red poodle design due to my allergy to dogs and the stag beetle was a bit scary. a minimal salt and pepper potand maximal, baroque eggcups (complete with lion heads on either side) which seem somehow fitting for Austria though I'm at a loss as to why!
we got some wine glasses too, which, ironically, probably hold as much as the big beakers but look a lot nicer!

Other identified needs:

• a colander
• a salad bowl
• a vegetable chopping knife