I got nothin’.

Seriously.  There’s bugger all going on here. 

It’s just a Thursday.

Mind you, they did put up one of Vienna’s state symbols just yesterday.

 

They’re pretty darned quick about it too.  By last night at seven, it was complete.  They had only started in the morning.  At least I think so,  since I didn’t really notice right away.  I don’t run outside every hour to see who is building what. 

The building where our hair lady is located is almost done,  but now they’re working on the one next door.

Swell.

That’s where they put the crane.  It’s in the courtyard in the back.  I guess there wasn’t enough room on the street.  Or maybe that tree in front there messed it up for them.  I’m sure the hair lady will be happy when they take away all their junk in front.  Nothing has really happened there for a week or so. 

And that,  I’m afraid,  is that.  

No long drawn out essays on national socialism or Zionism or even hedonism.    If you have to look up any of those,  I won’t hold it against you.  I’d just prefer you didn’t admit it to me is all.

 

Keep those sticks on the ice.

 

Thanks for coming by.

 

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It’s all about choices.

Thankfully,  when we were looking for Viennese digs back in September of 09,  we chose air conditioning.  

That’s all I’d like to say about that.  I thought I could once again “handle it”  since there was a breeze.  *ppfft*  To heck with that!   Once the thermostat inside hit 27°C,  I had had enough.  The one outside is sitting at 32°C,  but it’s been in the sun ever so briefly,  so that’s quite likely an exaggeration.   But not a big one.

It’s Bibi’s birthday today!   That would be Daughter Number One. 

Here she is from last year at this time,  toiling over a hot pot and being a goof.

Of course,  I can’t reveal just how old Bibi is today,  since that would then mean two things.  Well,  three really.  *One*, I’d be telling you her age.  (bad karma)  *Two*,  you’d then be able to figure out how young/old Travelling Companion might be and then,  *three*,  I’d get to go home. 

Unfortunately it would be in a pine box.  

I’m just trying to avoid the “pine box program” for a few more years.  Not ready for that just yet.  Thanks.

*Hm, thinks.*  I wonder if they’d mind if I made my own,  I have some woodworking skills?   Could save some money!

 

Being in a bit of a quandary as to what to get Bibi for her birthday,  and being so far away,  I hit upon the idea the other day to order her something from Amazon.ca.  

 

Ooh,  lookie!

It’s OK,  you can gasp.

Just happened to be one of those deals of the week things,  and I had regretted not getting her one for Christmas.  If you’ve never had one of these puppies,  you don’t know what you’re missing. 

So that worked out well.  It turns out that Amazon.ca  has a warehouse in Mississauga,  and it arrived yesterday morning at another location,  and will be delivered whenever Daughter Number Two can swing by and pick it up.    Daughter Number One never gets a chance to read the blog,  so I’m not too worried about blabbing on the net about one of her presents.  She has internet at work,  but apparently it’s some sort of cave like setting,  since they can only visit certain websites.  Probably the best for all concerned.  No facebook or blogs for you!

There was another possible present that we picked up a couple weekends ago at that Outlet Mall,  but we were kinda nervous about sending that in the mail.  If it somehow vanished it would be very, very bad.   How shall I put this?   I could fly home and hand deliver it for what we spent that day.   So no trusting that present to the wonderful Austrian/Canadian postal knuckleheads.

Well,  I’d have to fly economy,  but still.

 

 

I had noticed this monument before on the way to the Westbahnhof,  but these days the name on the plaque has a little more significance.

“Oh right.  That guy.”

See,  Dr. Karl Lueger was one of the mayors of Vienna (among other things I suppose)  and it just so happens that he wasn’t overly keen on some of our Jewish friends?

I’m just trying to keep with the “choices” theme here.

 

So it turns out that the city of Vienna is going to be renaming part of the “Ring” to Universitäts-Ring.

Take a good look,  since that sign won’t be there for too much longer.

Sorry about that Karl.  Seems if folks don’t like history,  they can just change it. 

See,  if you just erase this guy from history,  aren’t you also erasing the goofy ideas he might have had?  Hm?   Personally I think I’d sooner have the controversy.  Then people can be reminded of how not to behave.  But that’s just me.   Eh, it’s just a street name I suppose.  There will still be scads of monuments all over the city.

Every so often there are going to be some nut jobs come along, but the hope is that people can be well enough informed so that they can make up their own minds as to just how far off the scale a person might be on the “nut job-o-meter”?

Remember this nut job?

 

He and Karl would have got along just fine.     He was about an eleven on a one to ten “nut job-o-meter”.

 

The unfortunate part about this second nut job is,  he didn’t really do anyone a damned bit of good.  At least Karl Lueger fixed us up with a fresh water supply.   I’m just saying.  There were a few other “pluses” as well. 

Oh,  and a note on the pronunciation of his name.  The “e” after the “u” does NOT make it sound like ü.  That’s not correct,  apparently.  It was “Loo-eh-ger”.   Hope that helps.   Then you’ll sound like a true Viennese. 

I’m sure you care.

 

Remember to keep your “nut job-o-meter” handy!  

 

So as to end on a positive note,  here are some nice poppies  tulips. (I stand corrected)

Ain’t they perdy?

 

 

Thanks for lookin’.

 

 

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It’s Labour Day!

Like that matters one tiny iota.  

All it meant for us was that there was some planning involved in the grub department,  since the stores are closed.

T.C. once again worked from home,  and had at least one conference call.  It seems it was set up by someone in Switzerland,  which is just about the only country in Europe where it’s NOT a holiday.  No big deal. 

We briefly entertained the idea of tooling down to the Volksgarten and wandering around,  but after a couple parades went by,  we began to get the idea that it just might be a little crowded around all those buildings and other places where not only hoards of tourists hang out,  but on a day like today it’ll be mobbed with the rest of Vienna.   We can go any time.

Now,  I apologize to anyone with limited bandwidth,  but here are a couple snippets from today’s “parades”.

 

 

 

 

 

I thought the second group were considerably better.   One of these fine days I suppose I’ll invest in a proper digital video camera,  but for the purposes of giving you just a “snippet”,  the one I have will have to do.

 

And for anyone who doesn’t have the bandwidth,  I’ll throw in a picture.

The only signs I could figure out were ones with stuff like,  “Privatization is Annihilation”  (um,  in German of course,  hello?).   That kind of stuff.  These were “Labour Day”  parades after all.

 

We were trying to come up with where exactly we were last year on May the first,  and I suppose it must have been in Hungary.  I seem to be missing a couple blog posts. Not that they went missing or anything,  I just didn’t have anything to say,  so I skipped a day or two. We had a visit from Daughter Number One and we were in Budapest.   I had plum forgot.   This is when blogging gets kinda significant.  

Anyway,  that’s my justification for taking up too much bandwidth.

And that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

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