Vienna Wrap: Loos and Banks

We will be leaving tomorrow, so we decide to just include a couple of last-minutes sites. Kitty wants to see the ornate underground toilets off the Graben, and I’m eager to see Otto Wagner’s secessionist building, the Österreichische Postsparkasse. We ride the bus into the city center (first time we’ve done this), and enjoy passing… Continue reading Vienna Wrap: Loos and Banks

You Just Never Know…

Today we expect that our trip to local wine bar or “Heurige” would be the highlight of our day. Who would have thought our spontaneous stop at the power plant at Spittalau would end up being even better than wine! This morning we breakfast in the nearby “Crème de la Crème” on Lange Gasse. I’d… Continue reading You Just Never Know…

Lunch with a View

The day was brisk with bright sun.  We headed over to the train station to buy our tickets to Budapest and Graz.   While riding the trams it is expected that people will get up and give older people, pregnant ladies etc. their seats. I see people get on and most of the time think “wait they are… Continue reading Lunch with a View

All those people…

Kitty and I adore an obscure British film from the 1940’s by Pressburger and Powell, I Know Where I’m Going. Wendy Hiller plays a snobbish gold-digger who in the introductory scene establishes the pettiness of her character. She describes her intended wedding to a rich industrialist to be held in a remote Scottish island, “away from… Continue reading All those people…

You Say You Want a Revolution…

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… Continue reading You Say You Want a Revolution…

Driven versus Settled

Travel experiences for us tend to unfold along the fault line between planning and spontaneity. I’m more of a planner than Kitty, and have a not-so-healthy drive to check off goals. I literally spend months planning, reading and researching, and approach travel as a limited opportunity to try to identify what I might value and… Continue reading Driven versus Settled

Was that a buck or a Capriole?

Poor Lorena did not sleep well.  She woke up at 1:00 am and could not get back to sleep.  When I awoke at 6 am she was furiously writing political essays and expressing envy at my sound night’s sleep.  Jet lag is a beast.   My fitbit total tells the whole story.  We were up and out early and walked… Continue reading Was that a buck or a Capriole?

Be Your Jet Lag Best

Flying these days makes it almost impossible, in the inimitable words of our First Lady, to “be best.” If we can get by without major delays, missed connections or cancellations, we feel as though we’ve achieved a victory. Actually, if we can maintain civility and not devolve into fetal positions or temper tantrums, it’s a… Continue reading Be Your Jet Lag Best