This little piggy went to market...

But these little piggies stayed at home and were so hot they couldn't be bothered to do anything except loll about in the mud!

To-ing and fro-ing (or "Is a change as good as a rest?")

Our move back to the UK is imminent too (a week tomorrow in fact!) and in preparation for the big move, two weeks ago, I took a full bag of clothes, papers, books, grocery items back with me during my recent return to Newcastle. I figured this would be really clever thing to do; to leave here with a full bag and return to Vienna with an empty bag thereby cutting our eventual final cargo by 19.5kg.

We've had wall to wall visitors since I returned from the UK (this is perhaps the main excuse for not having written anything here for a while, and I'm sticking to it!) and we have trekked and wandered and eaten and drunk our way around this little central European nub until I have worn holes in the bottom my shoes. The weather had been so hot that I felt like I had "done good", assigning those unworn jumpers and jackets back to the drear summer the north east of england is experiencing at the moment.

I have to admit to feeling slightly smug, but, as all you good folk know, pride comes before a fall.

This week, the weather has taken a distinct turn for the worse! The rain has poured for the last couple of days and the temperature continues to drop. No matter how pretty/nice/quaint/interesting places are, they do lose some of their appeal to visitors and guides alike in the drear sublit gloom of miserable rainy summer afternoon/evening.

Thank goodness for good company and idle chit chat.

You're the one for me fatty!

When I was here in the cold, cold, coldness on February and March, I would punctuate each day with a bowl of home made soup for my lunch.

As I work from home, I felt it was important to move away from my desk for slightly longer than it took to make a sandwich each lunchtime to prevent me going a bit cross-eyed and so standing in the kitchen, peeling and chopping, onions, celeriac, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers (... you get the idea) seemed preferable to wandering outside in the windy chill of the Obkirchergasse.

This slightly ritualistic, or obsessive behaviour, depending on how kind your worldview is, resulted in me losing quite a lot of weight. Quite a feat in the land of dumplings, believe me!

Now, when I returned, I was eager to give the soup regime another go (cheaper than Champney's anyway) to shed the pounds I had regained upon returning to the land of the pasty. But alas, it is too hot to even contemplate boiling the kettle during the day because of the extra degrees it adds to the ambient temperature!

I have been further thwarted by the discovery of Ruccola Frischkase and Rote Ruben Frischkase at Radatz, the deli round the corner. This is basically cream cheese (probably 100% fat judging by its general deliciousness) mixed with rocket and beetroot respectively (the latter having the marvellous addition of horseradish too and being the most glorious colour of pink as to make you question all the declarations of the lady behind the counter insisting that it is "100% bio" (German for organic)) and it has become a regular occurrence at breakfast (and other indulgent snacky) times, replacing light cottage cheese and curd cheese as the breakfast bread spread of choice. Yum yum!

My trousers certainly don't feel quite as loose as they did when I arrived but I think I am retaining water in the heat.

A walk by the river

It was so hot yesterday that we were barely capable of doing anything!

We had intended to go for a swim again but as I have been suffering a little from a pulled shoulder after trying vigorously to swat flies which were pestering me, plus the imminence of the pool closing, we decided to go for a walk along the Danube.

W got the train to Friedensbrucke and walked into town as far as Schwedenplatz and then turned around and walked back on the other side, this time as far as Spitelau and the Hundertwasser Fernwärme (power station/heating works designed by Austrian artist and bonkers architect, Freidensreich Hundertwasser).

The walls by the river walk are filled with graffiti, some of it banal, some of it really interesting. Have a look and see what you think:



Even Amy Winehouse made an appearance!
This is the Fernwärme I mentioned:

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 am returned

Well, I have arrived safe and sound, after a particularly uneventful journey, all efficiency and smooth-running on-timedness can lead to a very dull blog entry. The only minor trauma was getting slightly disorientated in Schipol Airport (easily done, I'm sure you'll agree). Terminal 2 is very big, but it took me a bloody long time to find it!!!

The bags were off the plane by the time the passengers had reached the baggage hall and mine was one of the first which meant that I left the airport about half an hour before I expected too. No stress, no trauma, no rudeness, I was almost shocked.

On the way back to the flat in the CAT taxi there were loads of people on the streets being silly, waving flags and honking horns with painted faces like flags. Apparently there is some football thing going on at the moment in Vienna...

No post today!

Sorting stuff for the return trip to the UK tomorrow and deciding what to leave for our return in June. We shipped two crates (makes them sound much bigger than they actually are, they were more like big shoe boxes!) of books back to the England on Saturday for a whopping (? was it? I can't tell!) 40 Euro.

Then we have to clean the flat. The dust never sleeps!

Therefore, no proper post today, I shall endeavour however, to update (along with the promised snow photos) soon after we get home.

A change is as good as a rest

The day after our return from Chicago, the lovely Bridget came to stay.

It felt odd when we were in America and getting ready to "come home", that the home we would be coming back to was Vienna rather than the UK, and I don't think either of us was really looking forward to it. Having a visitor to stay however does make you focus on "nice" and "interesting" things to do rather than the mundane or irritating. We had a very jolly few days in the end.

B hasn't been to Vienna since the late '70s, so there were a lot of "architectural walks" to keep us busy and re-familiarise her (and us) with the delights of the city, including several stops along the way for a drink and something to eat.
The weather wasn't great. It was cold and windy most of the time, and we even had a flurry of snow at one point (on Thursday I think). The 14 degrees celcius promised for Friday didn't materialise much to our disappointment (until Saturday) and so planned trip up to the Kahlenberg to survey the city and its environs took place in pouring rain and low cloud. On arriving we took a very cursory glance at the the gloomy city wrapped in mist below, and almost immediately scurried back to the bus before it left and went into town for another drink and something else to eat.

The frozen lake

The change in the weather has made the almost thawed lake freeze again. The view from the room looks over the beach area and during our stay, the crashing waves have been really dramatic. As things started to get colder, the edges on the sand began to freeze and the waves crashing on the frozen sand froze and the ice got bigger and bigger and bigger. I ventured out to brave the cold and ice to take some photos...

It didn't stop the joggers though!

The wind will change...

We've all heard the saying/idle threat directed at young (and not so young) 'uns whilst pulling a face, "the wind will change and you'll stay like that". Well, today (last Friday) it did.

Since we arrived, whatever wind has been blowing, has been blowing from the west. Today it decided to come in from the north, bringing with it clouds that made the view across the lake this morning look more like Morecambe bay than lake Michigan.
The main thrust of our plan today was to visit the Art Institute of Chicago. Before setting off, we had flirted with the idea of taking public transport. I had found out that day passes only cost $5, though, to be honest, after trekking around yesterday, monetary reasons weren't the only reason to take the bus. My feet were still killing me, and public transport seemed like a sensible option.

We started off with very good intentions... We left the hotel before 9am and went for breakfast at the Water Tower Place (Mall) just down Michigan from the hotel. During breakfast I was flicking through the floor plan leaflet we had been given earlier in the week and realised that on Friday, the gallery didn't actually open until 10.30am!

As in London, most of the high street shops don't open until 10am the malls are open but the shops aren't), so we didn't even have the option of an hour's intensive shopping before jumping on the bus to whisk us to Millennium Park for a bit o' culture.

So, we lingered over breakfast, and when we set off, we decided to walk down to the institute, dodging into open malls as (below) freezing temperatures necessitated and arrived joining the end of the queue just as the doors were opened.

Thou shallt have a fishy

Last Thursday was, for Tim a day of conference stuff so after a perusal of the guidebooks I decided to re-trace (more or less) yesterday's steps and visit the Shedd Aquarium in the Museum Campus, then back via the Millennium Park. The weather was bright and sunny like yesterday, but rather colder and the walk was brisk to prevent me freezing solid.

I've always been slightly obsessed with these places and feel the thrill like a little boy at the sight of the big fishes, the crocs and turtles squeal (inside) and tingle with unease when you finally do spot the spiders and cockroaches after peering round their glass enclosures for ages (I didn't take piccies of the insects ~ sorry).
I spent most of the day there amidst the screaming kids and "live" coral reef dive exhibits and finished my visit with a delicious meal in the (thankfully now) quiet restaurant in the basement with an amazing view over the lake.

I didn't have the heart to have the fish!

North, South, East and West

To conclude our walk, and allow us a little time inside to thaw out we, decided to visit the observation platform at the top of the Sear's Tower. The day was a little murky but the views were still amazing!

Views to the north:
to the east:
to the south:
and to the west:
We needed a drink after that. It's a shame there wasn't a bar up there!

Just blew in from the windy city...

To continue with the wind theme, we're off to Chicago on Tuesday.

The replacement passport did come through in time. Hooray! Just have to pack now.

They're still expecting freezing temperatures too, so my new warm coat will finally come in very handy.

There's no place like home..

Not renowned for windy weather, it came as a bit of a shock yesterday to find ourselves (well, not ourselves exactly as we were holed up at home and only ventured out to the bakery across the road to buy cake, but Austria anyway) in the grip of a hurricane.
The hurricane, called Emma, and ripped up trees in Styria and toppled a crane across the train tracks of Vienna's Sudbahnhof (Southerly Train Station).

Too hot to trot

I think there is something of the "sod's law" about this, but since I bought my coat, and wore it to the cinema, it has been far too warm to wear it again!

I know there has been a warm snap for lots of parts of Europe, but we have been really shocked by the temperatures. Last weekend, according to the little weather station outside the Sievering Apotheke at the end of the street, it was 17 degrees celcius! On Sunday we left the house decked out for what looked like a warm February day and had to turn back part way to the station as we were sweltering (actually, the main reason we returned to the flat was to get my camera which I had forgotten, but that doesn't sound quite so dramatic!).


The problem is, that we came equipped for winter, with warm clothes, long johns and hand-crocheted hats (thank you Rosie, we have worn them too, though, as yet, there is no photographic proof... maybe next week in Chicago) etc, so this early spring snap has found us entirely unprepared. At least us heading out without coats in February gave the naturally inquisitiveness Viennese something to stare at.

The last resort

I finally found a new coat!!!

After a fruitless wander the length and breadth of the Mariahilferstraße last Thursday I was prepared to throw in the towel, admit defeat, give up my quest and look scruffy until spring. We're hopefully off to Chicago next week though and the temperature at the moment has been somewhere in the region of -10 degrees celcius. So, rather than run the risk of hypothermia or a frostbitten underarm, I decided to explore the local fashion emporia of Oberdöbling (the area where we are living).

There is a gents outfitters literally across the road from us called Schlatte (which naturally we have, rather childishly nicknamed Slattern) that, so far, I had avoided, as venturing in might mean all manner of engagement in tongues foreign. I feared, through misunderstanding, linguistic interference and a tendency to agree with whatever's being said, that I would probably end up leaving with sock suspenders and collar tips rather than a coat.

There was a moment when I was wrapped in a long puffa jacket that made me look like a fat black caterpillar that I feared things may not turn out well, but Frau Schlatte was very efficient and my faltering German not quite as faltering as I expected it to be, and I was quickly kitted out in a rather fine and very warm wool/cashmere mix driving coat. Hooray!

I hope it's still cold in Chicago when we get there!

Achtung! avalanches!!

Saw some amazing photographs of avalanches in Die Zeit Magazin last week by Yann Gross.



Although I wanted snow, I'm relieved we didn't get thing much! (original photos (c) Yann Gross)