Vienna & Back On The Road Less Traveled.

An international day for the Bobster and I.

Bob's parents are here on holiday and yesterday we went to fetch them at the airport. Or should I say, collect them? Standing at an airport arrival's gate is akin to waiting at the post office for your parcel. A mingling of people standing there waiting with balloons, banners of welcome or mere taxi-pick-up boards. Oh, and there were we, eagerly awaiting the arrival alas, sans balloons, banners or cameras but equipped with big smiles.

Mingling at an international airport is like being on holiday and why does one not simply take the kids for a day at the airport? All the attractions are there. The feel of a mall ( no going on holiday without stopping at a mall ), a McDonald's, a bookshop and several food emporiums. Not to mention the fact that all types of people and languages are about. Personally, I felt as if I've been on a holiday and am so so so glad to be back home...

From our home in the midst of Burgenland it is about two hours to the airport and usually involves a long stretch on a busy highway complete with trucks and irritated rash drivers. Not that much fun. Well, Bob found a wonderful new way to the airport and the best part of it is that it only takes an extra 30 odd kilometers, perhaps an extra 20 minutes and in the process leaves you your sanity intact.

Navigating the many turns on a highway around any Mega city is not for the faint of heart and definitely not good for marital bliss!

We drove the rural roads via Eisenstadt, Purbach and Neusiedl am See to get to the airport. Oh, how absolutely divine. The scenery was breathtaking especially now that the blossoms are ubiquitous dotting the landscape with brightness. We drove through quaint villages and in the process saw yet more of this magical place called Burgenland.

We've seen the usual airport route so often but yesterday, driving the road less traveled made it seem like a Sunday drive. The cherry on top being that the actual driving on a highway was a mere 30 odd kilometers and it took us straight to the airport, circumventing Vienna itself. Well done to Bob for discovering this route and showing me yet another beautiful facet of our new home...

Biggi

Some Call It Winter, Some Call It Hibernating.

Is there anything better than hibernating the days away?

The other day I had the pleasure of sharing a table with a new crop of villagers. Yes, new recruits to the fabulous and delightful life in a village, or should I rather say, our village.

They have relocated from one of the most beautiful cities, Vienna, to one of the most beautiful villages, Deutsch Schützen. Rather a lot of couples choose to spend their retirement years in a less hectic environment some because they were born here and some because they want to slow down their lifestyle and find the time to actually enjoy their life after working hard for most of it.

Oh, I know that moving here from Vienna is a bit of a culture shock. We haven't got museums, hordes of people nor any traffic lights. What we do have is undulated hills, vineyards, forests, stunning scenery and the most wonderful bunch of people. Friendly people, who mostly aren't afflicted with the big city syndrome of having to do, see and have everything.

Both of the couples I met, still had the Viennese shine to them: dressed in a certain way with big city flair and expensive togs. Soon, they will dress more for comfort than show. Naturally, some do take dressing for comfort to the extreme and go to the local shop with sweats ( tricky to know whether they were used as leisure or sleep wear ) and bed hair...you know, the unbrushed, just out of bed look.

One of the nice traits of small village life is that ( mostly ) we aren't judged by what we wear.

They were discussing the upcoming Winter season and their plans for it. Goodness me, they weren't sure if they could last the whole time here and have planned escape hatches. A flat in Vienna. Fair enough, but I think that a summer filled with the delights of village living will have changed their outlook quite a bit. Let's wait and see...

This cold season ahead of us is lovely. Cold yes, but also a time to hibernate over a nice book while enjoying the warmth from a fireplace, a time to relax and reflect. Our Winters are't as harsh as elsewhere and lend themselves beautifully for long walks among the vineyards or day trips to the numerous Spas around us.

Biggi

Vienna: The Charm Of The Viennese Captured On Celluloid.

The charming excellence of the Austrian Movie Industry: Vollywood?

Gosh, I can still remember the times in my youth, when I was addicted to watching Austrian movies. Those classics made in the 1930's and usually with that icon of Vollywood, Hans Moser. An actor in his own class and still bringing posthumous joy to countless movie fans.

Hans Moser Classic Edition [5 DVDs]

As you know, we have been living in Burgenland for the last 5 years, and as would be the same all over the world, counties are often denoted by the accent spoken. Even the villages in a 50 km radius from us all have their own distinctive patois. Imagine, poor Bob trying to get to grips with this...but he is!

In a way, my ears have always been attuned to languages and accents, which has been helpful to say the least. Of course it is easy to distinguish the spoken Austrian from the spoken German
( on paper they are the same ) but somehow, I can pick out a proper Viennese accent a mile away without even having to glance at their car's number plate.

Recently, Bob and I have had the pleasure of getting a six months series & movie subscription for free and we are in the midst of gorging ourselves on them. Luckily, there is a treasure trove of Austrian movies and series. The real McCoy! Many Saturday afternoons have seen me entranced with the charm of life in Vienna.

But, Vienna is a mere city of concrete after all, and it is the calibre of Austrian Actors, that make it so enchanting and enslaving. They are actors, who still act with expressions ( might they have escaped the Hollywood lure of Botox? ), mimics, shoulder shrugs and they all manage to emit in their own wonderful way that special something, which makes Vienna so great.

Often, the lives depicted have a touch of Utopia about them, but watching a bit of Trautmann / Der Aufschneider / Schnell Ermittelt makes me wonder whether we don't all try and make our lives more complicated than they are? Taking the time to enjoy a cup of coffee, a small schnapps and or perhaps a glass of wine coupled with a bit of real conversation ( sans Smartphone ), can dispel many a dark mental cloud.

Trautmann: Die komplette Serie (Neuauflage) [5 DVDs]

As much as I have admitted to being a Viennese fan, there is one place the Viennese are not that attractive: Behind the wheel, they are a bane for us villagers...they drive around our gentle, quiet rural treasures as if they are back on the Gürtel or any other fast moving streets in Vienna...Perhaps the Viennese can learn a bit of patience from us humble villagers!

Viva Vienna...!

Biggi

Aufschneider [2 DVDs]

Carlsbad Spa In The Czech Republic, Moser Glassware & History Galore.

Our area of Europe is steeped in the most amazing history.

In our era of now, today, this second & can't miss a thing, even the art of taking in the waters at a spa is not what it used to be. The idea of going for a fortnight has been eschewed for a quick weekend. Not the best way to relax at a spa now is it?

Any Georgette Heyer fan worth her salt will know the importance of going to a spa to partake in the waters. Apart from the health benefit, it is a social highlight of course. Bob and I saw a series of programs about the world famous spa in Carlsbad Here is a list of all the places to stay.. We saw, fell in love with it and both of us made plans to someday be part of the water experience.

Gosh, the Czech Republic was almost an abstract name of a country. One that I have never been to, but one that I do want to visit very soon. It is so beautiful and just on our doorstep. Granted, we only saw a program on the spa region but it did the trick.

There are a series of spas in that area and they have hosted Goethe, Beethoven, Mozart and many more royals and celebrities throughout the ages. The fountains might be sprouting the eternal hot spring water but the buildings and gardens firmly sprout forth a sense of history, culture and maybe a few love intrigues through time.

Living in the heart of Europe ( yes, Burgenland has yet another plus for it ) gives us the opportunity to experience history firsthand instead of from the pages of a history book. Carlsbad, is about six hours drive from us and as only happens in Europe, even the drive there might be littered with historical spots of interest and beauty. A six hour drive could easily stretch into a six week one...

Oh, should a Viennese read this, I might be in a tad of trouble, because they are even more central in the heart of Europe. Vienna itself is of course the forerunner of anything to do with history, beauty and is a must see when one is in Europe. For those not fond of history, the Sacher Torte alone will pied pipe them to Vienna.

The cherry on the cake was when they mentioned the worlds finest Glassware company Moser Glass was only a whisker away. No, not glasses you buy at a chain store, but glassware that is used by royalty especially for weddings and state functions.

The glasses produced are of the highest quality and fit for a king, or someone with enough wherewithal to experience a royal pleasure while savouring their drink of choice from the golden rim of a Moser Glass.

Biggi

Dear Vienna, You Are Nice, But Burgenland Is So Much Nicer!

A half day in Vienna shows Bob and I how much we love our life in Burgenland.

Gosh, I bow my head in admiration for the weekend Pendlers of our village. A pendler is a person who works in Vienna during the week and only comes home on the weekends. Each weekend, I must say. Why? Of course the jobs do pay better up there but the children have different ( better ) childhoods in the country.

Bob needed to go to the Embassy in Vienna and we drove up yesterday morning. We look on these trips as adventures and mini holidays. Bob did the driving and I did the co-driving or as we say in the marriage business: the nagging.

I dutifully sat next to my darling with a handwritten sheet of instructions, which Bob had copied from Google Maps. If only these directions would have been spot on, the Mister and I wouldn't have gone through a vigours bout of name calling in our car. ( But, when we got home, we both decided that bickering and so forth are not a bad thing in a marriage and rather refeshing, now and then! )

Vienna is a great city and can offer many features and attractions. A tourist's delight no doubt and Vienna can read any wish from a shopper's lips and provide it. Sitting in traffic ( as one does in these places ) a Ferrari, and some other exotic vehicles passed us. The roads themselves are rather bumpy ( tram lines everywhere ) and the tyre shops must rub their hands in glee.

Getting into the city was a bit of a catastrophe as the navigator was on the blitz. How to read signs and road posts when they flash past at such speed? We got lost and eventually pulled over next to a row of shops. I hot footed it into a bakery with a cunning plan of buying a tasty morsel to eat. Well, the cakes on offer seemed very nice, but standing there for a minute, the server never bothered to greet me. Not even a nod or eye-contact! No, that wouldn't do.

I had remembered seeing a Bank two shops down. As soon as I entered, an assistant greeted me with a smile ( Banks do know about customer care... ). When I had explained my conundrum to her, she quickly printed out a new set of directions for me. While I was waiting at the counter, I couldn't help but notice a variety of cakes, cookies, orange juice and champagne standing on offer.

" Oh, that's nice. You offer food for your clients. Are you a Private Bank? "
" No indeed. Today is World Saving's day! "

Drat, now we had missed out on a free lunch back at our Bank in the village. Last year we even got some presents...maybe, just maybe they had saved something for us!

We got to the S.A. Embassy and everything was fine. Walking back to our car, Bob, the Big Chief, decided to throw caution to the wind and follow his innate sense of directions and not use the G.P.S. ( Girl Persistently Shouting ) Weeelll...of course we took a wrong turn but we both decided that it was our own unique way of doing a bit of sight seeing in Vienna. Tempers remained mostly calm.

Driving through Vienna made both of us realize how much we both love our part of Burgenland and the friendliness that goes along with it. We love the simpler living and it's far less stressful then trying to navigate the traffic beast in a big city.

This was a house that we drove passed because we were lost somewhere in the 19th district. Somehow, this type of building is how I imagined Vienna to be. History and charm.

Cars everywhere. For us it was crowded, but for Viennese standards it must seem empty. This was in a lovely part of town. Houses and villas abounded. Still in the 19th district.

Bob and I had a heated discussion of whether we were allowed to drive in the tram lanes. They are everywhere and Bob had visions of being crushed by an on coming tram!

A tram drives past. How surreal and kind of picturesque.

Driving back home on the highway, this was a most welcome sight. Still in Styria ( Steiermark ) but the open fields and emerald green grass were Panacea for our souls.

Biggi