Yesterday I picked up A4 paper at Libro, as announced in yesterday’s post, and, I must confess, I picked up something else–a bicycle helmet.
I’ve been meaning for a couple of years to replace mine, which is over 25 years old, but the truth is that for various reasons I haven’t been riding my bike. Now, though, even with the relatively empty trams, I’ve been thinking I might want an alternative form of transportation.
I had already gone to the sports store near me a month or so ago to look and get some information, and yesterday I decided the time had come to act.
At the cash register the woman in front of me in line was buying a city scooter. The process was taking some time–the salesperson was making some adjustments for her–so I started a conversation. (This is something I ordinarily wouldn’t do in Vienna as it is frowned upon but seems more acceptable under these exceptional circumstances.)
I pointed to the helmet I was buying and said,”Are you thinking in terms of alternatives to public transporation, too?” She opened up, telling me that she wants to make sure she can check in on her elderly parents without taking the tram and would prefer to get to work that way, too. (She is in a job where her presence is required.) Then she pointed to the bike helmet and said, “I don’t like riding on the street so I’m getting something I can use on the sidewalk.”
By then her scooter was ready to go. She rolled away, and I finally purchased my helmet.
Somehow I have the feeling that, before this virus is under control, I’ll be getting done a number of things that have been on the back burner for quite some time.
On today’s to-list: Get bike out of cellar, pump up tires, and take bike for a spin.
ecbinvienna 
I am so amused by your comments about sociability among strangers in Vienna. Last time I was there it seemed to be less rigorously silent than it had been previously. But you are so right: one of the difficult things of living in Vienna as a young American was realizing people didn’t even know their apartment block’s neighbors. But now, in LA, it’s about the same: people don’t know their neighbors, and no one converses easily on the street anymore.