K & L's Travel Blog

It’s a rainy gray day.  Windy, but the forecast promises scattered showers.  We strike out for Brunnenmarkt.  It’s Saturday, so this outdoor market promises lots of fresh produce action.  It is crowded but with locals, not tourists.  It is refreshing to not be surrounded by groups of tourists.  I get that I am a tourist but I still recoil at the self-absorption and alien presence that groups of tourists represent.  At this market, I especially liked the middle-eastern influence.  Lots of women wearing head dresses, Falafel stands and piles of brightly colored spices.  The bread stands were a special delight.  They were preparing the bread by flattening out the dough and placing it on a pillow to best push it up against the wall of a Tandori oven shaped like a big jug.  Pita deluxe with cheese and herbs.  We stopped to buy a small sample with cheese.  It was wonderful.  We stood in the street savoring the taste.  A true travel moment.  

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I am amazed at my cheapness.  After a big lunch we head back to our apartment for a nap.  We had activated a day’s travel on our local transportation card.  Essentially it costs about five dollars a day for unlimited travel on trams, buses and the subway.  We had only done one trip (2.50 dollars) this day.  It was cold, rainy, and we have been walking hard for three solid days.  Time for a rest.  It would be wonderful to stay in the apartment.  But wait, we have only racked up 2.50 on the card.  We have to go out again.  I can’t resist no matter how much I talk to myself that the 2.50 does not matter.  We head for the Prater – the famous park with the Ferris wheel from the movie “Third Man.”  It is a longer tram ride across the river.  It feels great to use that card.  

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At the Prada we end up at the Schweizerhaus beer hall to eat, drink and wait the rain out.  Sitting at the long tables many of the men and women have on the traditional German dress.  I am fascinated watching the table behind us drinking endless mini-bottles of Jägermeister. Will the man in a light blue checkered shirt continue to be able to sit up?  Can he manage to get back from the WC?  He is so drunk he can barely smoke his cigarette, but he tries hard to look normal.  I don’t feel threatened, just curious. We avoid the Jägermeister and make our way through the park once the rain ends.

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The Ferris wheel is huge.  The cars hold 10 to 15 people.  We wait in line for our turn to board.  We get to the head of the line and can see the staff scramble to set up cars as private romantic dinners complete with champagne, roses and sweeping gestures.  We see a stiff couple sit down.  Lorena says, “Are they going to have sex?  They must be planning to have sex.”  “No – it’s a romantic way to propose” I had read about it in a guidebook.  Lorena was flabbergasted. It was fascinating to stand with the riffraff watching this essentially private tableau play out.  I looked it up when I got home. They go around several times and get a different course with each revolution. It costs around 400.00 dollars for an hour if you’re interested.

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