It took two tries, but I finally managed to buy train tickets for Maylo and me from the machine. I was a little surprised that Maylo (all 5 kgs or 11 lbs of him) cost 30 cents more than I did. I felt somewhat better when I realized that the person at the next machine was having some trouble as well. I mentioned in the face of his sounds of frustration that I had had some difficulties, too, and added that my dog had actually cost more than me. He thought for a moment and replied that pets in Austria are highly valued. Even more than people, I pointed out.
Boxing
3 JunAs usual, I am reading the Kurier at Saturday breakfast and am learning something. Boxing is not a sport I associate with Austria, and indeed there is only one professional female boxer in the whole country, Eva Voraberger-but she is the world champion in the light bantamweight class, which means she weighs 52 kgs (about 114 lbs) or less(!). Who would have thought?
Hot
30 MayIt’s currently almost 30°C (about 86°F) in Vienna. All the benches in the shade are taken and all the benches in the sun are free.
The linden trees 2017
30 MayThe linden (or lime trees, if you’re British) are in blossom. (Just thought you’d like to know. ;-))
Watch “🇦🇹 ❤️ HOW TO SPEAK VIENNESE USING ONLY ONE WORD. Video Tutorial” on YouTube
25 MayExcept for the vocal fry, which shows she’s spent too much time in the U.S., this short video is amazingly accurate and quite funny.
Wow!
18 MayI’m just taking the 13A bus across town from one appointment to another. The weather is gorgeous and we keep passing one park, square, and sidewalk café after the other where people are going about their business in the leisurely and yet purposeful way typical to Vienna. There even was a small farmer’s market. What a city!
Empress Maria Theresia
12 MayWow, I have been busy and keeping my head down. Today celebrations for the 300th anniversary of Empress Maria Theresia’s birth are starting and I’ve missed the whole run up. I think of her as Austria’s equivalent of Queen Victoria, strong woman, deeply in love with her consort, with many children (one of whom was Marie Antoinette).
Judasbaum
25 Apr
This is a 200-year-old Judas tree (direct translation because my usual Wikipedia method didn’t work this time) on the grounds of the Old General Hospital (now the university campus). For many years it has been part of my spring celebrations to visit and admire it. Finally, I am sharing it with you, too.
Marathon
23 AprNear perfect weather for the Vienna City Marathon today–cool, dry, and hardly any wind. 🙂
Watch “Eurovision Song Contest 1967 – Sandie Shaw – Puppet on a String (WINNER)” on YouTube
8 AprShould the question ever come up when you are playing Trivial Pursuit “Who won the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest and in which city?” the answer is: Sandie Shaw in Vienna (captured on film, link below). If you’re thinking “I didn’t even know they had a Eurovision Song Contest in 1967,” I can only say “Neither did I.”
Many thanks to the Saturday Kurier for this indispensable piece of information.
