Okay, this is turning in to Tolstoy, so I’ll try to keep things at a reasonable length.
We were back in Vienna and once again enjoying the sort of days that saw me at the keyboard in the computer room, hacking away (work stuff – not my writing – I’ll leave it to others to throw the “hack” label at me on the writing) while the others enjoyed the fun in the sun (or more likely fun in the shade – not much sun in Vienna this time of year) outside.
Again, there are some good photos out there to see what all was going on, including a day out at the Prater and more time in cafés and parks. Really, the only outing that I’m qualified to discuss over those days in Vienna was our trip to the Wachau. The Wachau is a wine region along the Danube, near to Vienna, which has a number of small towns in it, each with a number of heurigers (mentioned before I’m sure, but a heuriger is like a winery/restaurant that only sells its own production. It’s more complicated than that, naturally, but I’m not in the mood to go into all of the history right now, so that’ll do). After spending an inordinate amount of time trying to book a boat ride on the river, finding most of them closed for the season and finally settling on an option that was short and sweet, but required us to ride out to the region via train first (which Anita naturally turned into a money saving deal – she’s damned good at that, given a little time).
We started at Krems, which I had apparently visited before but forgotten completely. And it was no big loss of memory. Okay town. Nothing wrong with it, and it has the wine thing going for it, but it wasn’t anything special. Not compared to Durnstein, the second town on our visit. Durnstein was in many ways still a medieval town (all right, maybe not medieval, but damned old). It had that classic feel to it that San Gmingnano in Italy did (see some of my OLD blogs and photos to check that amazing town out). If I loved or even liked Apricots, it would’ve been even better, as the local fruit dominated whichever stores weren’t selling wine first and foremost. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the look and feel (despite a strong touristy bent) of the town. Didn’t hurt to find out that this was the place (or the ruins of the tower above the town) where the Austrians held Richard the Lionhearted for ransom. Gotta love a history bit involving Robin Hood’s king J.
Somewhere about this time, the visit stopped being enjoyable for me, as we found ourselves racing down to the riverside, then up and down the bank trying to find the boat that we had booked. Then came a series of small events in which I apparently failed to do anything right, including not liking champagne (bubbly, overrated stuff that I only choke down on New Years Eve because it’s expected. Give me a nice Barolo any day) and smoked salmon bread (love cooked salmon, just don’t like it cold. Never have, but on this day that was an issue again for some reason). Anyway, by the time it was all said and done, I was more than ready to get out of there and head home (several sulking photos of me on the boat are out there somewhere, and that’s the “story” behind them). Dad and I did another pub quiz in the evening, which restored my mood somewhat (though we didn’t win this time), and that’s about it for the Vienna piece!
We then set off again for Upper Austria, packing for a two-part trip that would eventually see us traveling to my birth city of Nuremberg, Germany. But first, it was back to family time. The others set off on Saturday, while I stayed overnight in Vienna to work and met them on Sunday. We were all set to take the old fashioned steam engine train from Aschbach to Steyr with Anita’s sister Poldi and family (Julia, Katrin and Martin), minus papa Markus. Sibling number seven joined up with us – Gerti, along with hubby Hubert and their two girls, Jana and Lilli (yeah, I know. You need a scorecard to keep up with my blogs. Still, they’re all out there in the photos, so they deserve at least one named mention apiece, ya dig?). The train ride was fun, with Lukas, Martin and Jana heading outside at every opportunity (and who can blame ‘em, as the ride itself was bumpy as hell).
Steyr is another beautiful Austrian town (most of them are, you may have realized by now), with a great view overlooking the river and a nice old town section. We walked it, ate pizza and ice cream, took turns carrying the baby, took lots of photos, and ended up at a playground where we whiled away the last hour or two until the return trip was scheduled. A few more photos followed by a ride back which was highlighted by a trip to the refreshment car and an attempt to drink wine on an aggressively bumpy train ride (at least I was smart enough to get the white)!
Monday we went to Gmunden. Say it with me… “Another beautiful Austrian town” – where Gerti and family live. I’m sure I’ve chronicled it before. The picturesque (albeit freezing cold even in summer) lake, the swans, the ducks, the classic architecture, the city square, the ice cream… Not trying to make it sound any less great than it was/is, but we didn’t really do anything except walk along and take some photos. Afterwards, we met up with most of the family (really, it was a big, big group) at a restaurant where Anita’s niece Manuela works. They’ve got a great view, which they take advantage of with a “one way see through” toilet/outhouse. Yeah, an outhouse with a view (photos are in the “Upper Austria” album, for those of you with a strong constitution and a sly sense of humor). The dinner was predictably enjoyable, with good food and great company. Anita’s dad, Karl, joined us, then snuck off to pay the bill (really reminds me of my grandpa Glenn in many respects, and that’s a compliment of the highest order around these parts). Everyone had a schnapps shot or two (except yours truly, who had a beer already and was driving – see, I can be responsible too, in a pinch). Then we finished off the evening by strong-arming Manuela into getting her guitar and singing for us!
Okay, I think I’ve got it whittled down to one more installment (which is great, because I really should be moving on to documenting Halloween fun by this point in time)! Up next, the final chapter of Dad and Judy’s visit – Nuremberg!
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