The circus comes to town.

OK, maybe that's a bit harsh.
However,  in keeping with our weekly visit to yet another old Church in Vienna,  we (well,  there's really no "we" about it,  but you know what I mean)  decided to head to The Saint Francis of Assisi Church at Mexikoplatz.

It's a building that we've seen many times on our way to the Arcotel Kaiserwasser
which is where we stayed on one of the first trips to Vienna.
Not that you care.

Anyhoo,  this Church was reported to have a service in English each Sunday at 10:00.  Now,  I'm not sure why having a service in English is all that necessary?  The program is pretty much the same each week,  except of course that this past one was "Palm Sunday",  although I didn't see any palm fronds.   Only pussy willows.

I'll have to do some research on that one.


Meh,  maybe not.


Here's a pic I took on my way back from parking the car a couple kilometers away.  Seriously,  I don't mind paying to park in a parking garage.  There just has to be one.   Only street parking around this one I'm afraid,  and street parking just about anywhere in Wienerland is usually a challenge.
Yesterday was no exception.

Here's the thing:

First of all,  it was Palm Sunday.  OK maybe "pussy willow Sunday".  Whatever.
The English service was due to start at 10:00.
Fine.
I let my travelling companion out at the curb and drove off looking for a place to park.

I think I staggered in the door at maybe 10:10?

No biggie, since they were still trying to get organised.   Apparently there was going to be a service in Croatian at 11:00.    I only know this because of the hordes of Croatians who had already shown up by this point,  and continued to dribble in over the next hour,  during the service in English.
Not only that,  but the priest thought it would be oh so clever to clear out some pews up at the front for all the English speaking people to crowd on up there.

We didn't budge.

This also meant having to find someone who could speak Croatian,  since none of them understood the tiniest bit of English,  and wasting the next ten to fifteen minutes trying to get the front dozen or so pews ethnically cleansed.
Or something.
  I don't know what they were doing up there, but I would have quite happily left at that point without a twinge of guilt.
By now we're coming up on 10:30.   Service should be half over.
My bladder is ticking away the seconds.

What followed what a cacophony of  bleating children,  slamming doors,  shuffling feet....muttering Croatians...






We won't be going back.



......./........


And now for today's German lesson.

We'll start with a picture.
Since I'm too lazy to actually go down there and take a picture of the place,  this is a picture of a picture.....

If you look in the lower left corner,  someone has very conveniently written "Rathaus".
And for a non German speaker,  such as my travelling companion,  that's just what it is.
Since it is actually the Vienna City Hall,  one could conclude that it is where all the "rats"  hang out.



End of lesson.




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