Off to the Circus!

And it's not what you think.   I just came back from the garage.  Good Lord.

 This is the place where we keep our tires,  and I typically stop by for fuel when needed since it's just down the street from the parking garage on Zieglergasse.  AND it's full service.  I know!  Full service gas stations are pretty rare,  and I have no problems whatsoever letting some dude pump my diesel.

 Since the car was due for an oil change,  I had called on Monday to make sure they could do that as well,  and was assured it was no problem.   I'd just have to wait a little longer.  No biggie.   What I really was trying to avoid was having to go to the dealership here in Wienerland,  since the last time I was there,  I pretty much decided I never would set foot in the place again.   That's a whole other story.  We won't go there.

This place is basically wall to wall tires,  since it's virtually all they do.  


So they balance the winter tires and put them on, move the car out and I'm beginning to wonder if there had been a miscommunication about the oil change but no, that was next.
 Now,   I've done my share of oil changes and observed just as many,  since I've had some sort of vehicle with an internal combustion engine since 1977 or there abouts,  but what I saw next was something I had never seen before.  
Rather than put the car on the hoist and drain the (hot) oil,   they simply sucked it out.




Alrighty then!

That camera angle is a pretty good indication as to just where I like to be when somebody has their noggin under the hood.  I don't really care whether the car belongs to me or to Lease Plan,  I want to see the oil going in.   I want to see the guy check it,  and I want to see him put the cap back on.

I think you get the idea.

At one point there,  this place was so busy it was like a mini traffic jam.  Cars trying to get fuel.  Others waiting for tires.  All of this is going on in what amounts to a courtyard in amongst the buildings.


At one point,  I happened to notice a lady pull away from the pumps after having paid for her fuel and her gas cap hadn't be replaced.  I literally bolted out in front of her to tell her to just hold on a second while I put it back and closed the little door.   She probably thought at first I was some nut job,  but had that look of quiet thankfulness on her face when she realised what was going on.

I think it was at that moment that I muttered something under my breath along the lines of a "circus".
I'd also like to repeat what I said above about seeing the clown put the oil cap back on.


Always a good idea to keep an eye on the clowns.

..../....


 I do realise that I sometimes neglect to pass on every little detail of our lives here in Wienerland,  but if I could use the smoking analogy I mentioned a few entries ago,  there were times when I would smoke my brains out,  and other times when I didn't really feel like it all that much.
 This is kind of the same.   Some days I just don't have much to say,  and I'd rather not bore you any worse than I already am....

 Here's a brief run-down:

Due to the "THERE IS NO POSSIBLE"  of last week,  confidence was not too terribly high when it came to simply going down to Karlskirche and hoping there would be some decent seats for the Four Seasons.

We didn't go.

Remember what I said about "once in a life time"?   I'm not going to sit or stand at the back,  when with just a little bit of planning I can have decent seats at a performance.    If these people had actually taken our money and said we'd need to pick up the tickets at the "box office",  that would have been fine.   We've had to do that before at that particular venue when an ensemble came in from Salzburg to do Mozart's Requiem back in August.
I have no problems with that arrangement,  even though I'd prefer to have the tickets in my hot little hands ahead of time.
 
Saturday I got sucked into doing some shopping,  which is going to be the rather annoying theme for the next several Saturdays  until we blow on outta here on the tenth of December.
 Happens every year.
Travelling Companion has nobody else to shop with.  Sometimes she'll head out on her own,  but not too often.
I could mention where we went,  but that would be just a tad too much information.   This is a public forum after all.  Not much of a surprise when you can read on a blog what you're getting for your birthday. 

 Suffice to say,   muggins here had to make a trip to the post office on Monday.




And yes,  there were Christmas presents too,  but they don't get shipped home in a box.  We have suitcases for that purpose.

I guess I can say we stopped for lunch at Café Diglas.

It's on Wollzeile,  just down the street from Figlmüller.


We've gone here before,  last year some time.  More than once I think,  since the food is half decent.   Here's the thing though.   If you go in there as a tourist,  you're probably going to find the attitude of the wait staff to be somewhat "off putting"?  shall we say?   First of all,  we were offered a seat right by the front door.  What?  Is the food free?   I doubt it.   That wasn't going to happen.   "Nicht sehr gemütlich"
I'm working on this technique of being diplomatically forceful.   So fine,  we were ushered to a very much nicer area in the back.  We sat in that very same spot the last time we didn't want to sit right next to the door,  now that I think of it.
So,  our service was OK,  and as I mentioned the food was fine.   One of the customers right next to us however,  had the unpleasant experience of having the dipshit waiter spill water on her.   (see,  they bring you a glass of water with your coffee,  'cause it's kinda strong)
 Now,  in my brief experience in a full service restaurant,  if any of my wait staff spilled anything on a customer,  they got to eat for free.   Couldn't give away the booze,  since we have laws against that in Canada,  but the meal was on the house.
So sorry,  we'll try not to do that again,  and to show that we mean it,  here you go...


 Not only does that not happen here in Wienerland,  but the waiter was trying to make as if it was no big deal,  since it was "only water".  (ya,  and that's only my knee in your groin....)  Needless to say the lady was not happy that he had spilled water on her suede coat,   and I kept a pretty close eye on this clown when he brought our drinks.

There we go with the clowns again!!



On Sunday we decided to go to the Albertina  since there's an exhibit of the drawings of some Italian dude.

OK fine,  it was Michelangelo



I didn't think I had a photo of the Albertina from this angle,  so I took one.


(If I don't upload any of these pictures I take,  I'm not sure what else I'd do with them...)


You may recall that we went to the Albertina back in January to check out another exhibit (it was Impressionism,  but whatever)  and I had had some minor issues with the way that things are put on display?
We're kind of keeping with the circus theme here I've noticed.

Again,  poorly displayed.

   There were some neat ideas,  like showing the interior of the Sistine Chapel along with a lot of the drawings that had been made by Michelangelo ahead of time, on big flat screen TVs.

It's fine to put the exhibits at "eye level",   (unless of course you're in a wheel chair and then you're screwed) with tiny little cards next to them that are barely legible,  but not the TVs.    Ever see a TV directly behind the bar at a sports bar?  No,  it's way up high where all the patrons can watch what's going on.   The folks who work at the museum obviously don't get that idea.
I need to get myself on one of these committees.   Seriously!   Then I'm going to jump up on the table in the middle of the room and ask,  "OK,  can everyone see me?   Why is that?  Put your hand up if you know".   The "put your hand up"  thing is what you do with little kids by the way.
I'm sure the place looks just wonderful after hours when it's completely empty,  but when it's crowded well,   it just doesn't work.
 So after about an hour and a half of shuffling around looking at the backs of people's heads,  we had had enough.


I think that's all I have for now,  since the time is slipping by.


 Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.



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