Seeing Through Viennese Eyes

After a few thousand steps these last few days I decided That this would be a lazy weekend just chilling. I’ve seen the icons of Vienna many times and they are beautiful! But today I just Wanted to be a local.

So after meeting up with Nico from Argentina to purchase some beautiful jewelry, I hit The back streets. I know My direction fairly well after 4 times here so I just Walked in the general direction trying to get to the Danube canal on which all the locals walk or bike. Hidden wonders of beauty arise right before your eyes. Everything is beautiful!

And walking along the canal is just peaceful period! The overbearing clamber of the crowds fades into the simple solitude of the walk, though graffitied is quite peaceful and centering.  

I must have walked for almost an hour or so. I knew I wanted to get to the Stadtpark - famous though I haven’t been once in all my visits. I knew I was getting close from what I thought I remembered, Sure enough, pull it up on Google Maps and I just barely passed  it....I was at a juncture so took it and headed back following my phone and still looking up at all the beauty. I loved just walking as if I were a local. Just walking and taking in the serenity of it all. 

Soon I was at the park, marked by two crazy head statues. The park is larger than  Burggarten with more walkways and benches. I LOVE that Vienna has a multitude of benches EVERYWHERE for folks to sit and just be! Just BE! With the light breeze I was near heaven, I know. It was beautiful! After scouting out shade and solitude I found three benches in a U formation with NO ONE! That was it - my spot for the next 90 minutes of reading from Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning!

The park itself had some neat things and was beautiful...

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I then headed for the Albertina and Stats Oper (again walking in the general direction figuring I was on the right track) to get a Kasekrainer from the famous sausage shop there. This is a holiday weekend so there were more than the usual swarms of people! I waited in line for 15 minutes, I bet! Just for the best Kasekrainer in town ... for my friend!

Sitting in the Burggarten eating lunch and just soaking in the atmosphere was special to me. I felt Almost like a local! Off to the Naschmarkt - I wanted to get some hummus and pita and check out the prices for some pants like Kelsey got last year (yes, she wants ANOTHER pair). It was FAR to busy for my liking....and much less for the locals than I would imagine. I only had 7 euro in cash so I was pretty sure there was no bartering that low for the pants. They started at 20 and only got down to 15. I guess He didn’t believe me that I ONLY had 7 euro. Hahahaha

I left and stopped by the local Hofer grocery store (equivalent of Andi back home) for some essentials - yogurt, cheese, rolls, and milk. I have only been eating OUT once a day! Trying to save money and eat a lot less too. 

Home is a nice place to be, even if it just a small apartment in Vienna. I can still here the police and their crazy sirens but not much else. I’m near, but not close to a major road so it is fairly quiet! 

All my students - except one - went to Venice, Rome and Zurich. So I met up with Rachel to check out the city at night. We went by the Rathaus to check out the Life Ball - it is Pride Month and there were so many cool costumes and people dressed up in everything. We couldn’t get IN, but saw from the outskirts. 

We checked out the Volksgarten and all the beautiful roses then wandered the back streets til we found some place to eat. Even found an old (like 1600s old) little relic in the middle of the city that had been hidden for years. Beautiful!!! Rachel ordered (unknowingly) the exact same thing she had at Bier und Bierly the first day. We laughed. We split our meals....Bier und Bierli was MUCH better for her dish. 

We stopped by the Stats Oper to watch part of the opera on the jumbo tron and then headed home. It was late and I was getting up early for church. Fun evening for sure!