“A Viennese coffee house is where time and space are consumed but only the coffee appears on the bill.”
Hope they open again soon! (But safely.)
Tag Archives: pace of life
The Third Day of Christmas
27 DecWhat a surprise it was to step onto the street today shortly after 8 a.m. for the first walk of the day and find people and cars and open shops and simply activity in general!
For many, my surprise will be incomprehensible. Was it really so quiet the last few days? Yup. Shops usually close in Vienna at midday on Christmas Eve and remain closed for Christmas Day and the Feast of Saint Stephen (known in the UK as Boxing Day). This year, however, Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday, when most shops are closed all day anyway, which meant that we have had three days of wonderful peace and quiet (and a most unusual abundance of free parking spaces) with the Viennese enjoying one of their favorite things–Ruhe (also known as peace and quiet).
January 7th in Vienna
7 JanToday the city came alive again. The 12 Days of Christmas are over, and everyone is going back to work. I, for one, am glad. I spent the holidays home by myself nursing a badly injured little dog and feeling very alone. Vet’s office closed for days in a row as I worried about whether the latest development warranted calling the emergency number and getting the vet away from her celebrations and, on top of that, many friends out of town. Now life is getting back to normal. And the sun is coming up noticeably earlier. It was already bathing the park in a rosy pink at shortly after seven this morning.
Christmas greetings
24 DecSome things, thank goodness, never change–or at least they haven’t changed yet.
I am in the process of sending out my Christmas and New Year’s greetings by e-mail and am getting a slew of auto-replies back. Almost all of them say that the recipient is out of the office until January 7. Apparently, people are still honoring the twelve days of Christmas here. What a wise folk! 😉
ecbinvienna 