Why I just *love* winter.

Well actually.  I don’t.   If my assignment were to write a thousand word essay on that particular topic,  I don’t think I’d get too far.  And I’m pretty freakin’ wordy.

The eye watering cold air.  The trudging, whenever applicable.  The lack of daylight.

Oh wait!  I have something.  I can wear a wrinkled shirt with impunity,  knowing full well that it’ll be covered up with either a coat,  or a sweater and a coat.  Depending. Such a savings in the ironing department.  Mind you,  if I have to take off any outer layers at my destination,  that screws that idea. 

 

Speaking of dressing up like a complete idiot,  I saw these in a shop window yesterday.

I’ve heard of “leg-warmers”.   Are these somehow “knee-warmers”?  Do you roll them up,  down?   I have a set of knee pads at home that come in handy for doing tile work and such,  but they don’t look anything like that.  I’m confused.

Yet another one of those little fashion items that goes right past me.

 

Saw these guys out on the street yesterday as well.  Somebody’s gotta do it.

 

Using the lift is certainly the best way to put up Christmas lights.   This is only the beginning too.  Vienna gets entirely nuts as we get closer to Christmas.  Don’t get me wrong.  I like it.  It’s pretty freaking awesome. 

This is one of the reasons why Travelling Companion likes it that I get behind the wheel whenever the two of us are in the car.  She gets to gawk at the buildings,  and in the next few weeks,  all the lights.

Speaking of the car,  it was just a few more things besides the snow tires that had to get sorted out on Thursday.  I think perhaps the dealership hadn’t quite anticipated that there would be a bit of a list?   I managed to find what would pass for a work order in the glove box on Saturday as I was whiling away some time while T.C. was shopping.   There was a shock in the front that needed replacement,  they turned the front rotors, (and put on new pads I’m guessing?) replaced the burnt out headlamp,  and did an oil change.   They also placed a little sticker up in the corner of the windshield,  with ‘210’ on it.   That happens to be the maximum speed in kph that should not be exceeded with those snow tires.

I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that here in Austria,  but I suppose they figure if we were to head up to Germany for whatever reason,  we just might need that little reminder.   In the Netherlands,  the guy just said,  “These things are only rated for 210”.   It wasn’t a big deal there either,  since even approaching those speeds was only something I was willing to do in the best of all possible conditions.   Certainly not in the wintertime.

 

When it comes to maintenance and such, it’s a bit of a different arrangement in these parts when it comes to a “company car”.  The car is owned by a leasing company,  and while something like a leaky shock might not even be given a second thought in the North American way of doing things,  the objective is to keep the car in top shape for as long as it’s being used by the employee.  There’s also this minor thing called a TÜV,  which stands for Technischer Überwachungs-Verein.   Basically speaking, it’s a safety check.  It has to be done every two years,  and I noticed they did an emissions test as well.  There was some gibberish about parts per million or…something.  Hey,  I can bring the form in,  scan it,  and you can try to figure it out for yourselves if you really think that would be necessary.  How’s your “mechanic speak”?   In German?   Right.

Just take my word for it.

Oh,  and they washed the car.  That was good.

 

I think that’s all I have for today.  If I get too carried away, it’s just going to be negative and crappy.  Like the weather.   Can’t have that.

 

Keep those sticks on the ice.

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

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