Von Neubau zu Neu

From Neubau to New

On April 30, dear Elisabeth (the owner of our Neubaugasse apartment) returned from her artist-in-residence gig in Frankfurt.  Of course we were happy to see her, but we were sad to leave our funky Neubaugasse neighborhood, quirky apartment, and charming neighbors.But the Universe provides:  After weeks of first internet-, and in-person searching for accommodations in our price range, we found a great place to unpack our bags for the last two months of our Austrian adventure. We now reside in Penzing, Wien's 14th district.  We’ll write more about Penzing in the coming weeks, but for now, we invite you to tour our May/June apartment.

Sitting in front of our Neubaugasse apartment, Karla acts as security guard for all our worldly possessions (minus our computers which we hang on to as tightly as our passports).

Gretchen and Max, two of our Wiener heroes, drove up to our Neubaugasse curb and loaded our worldly possessions into their car in such a fast flurry that there was only time to snap one photo!

Our new home on Missendorfstraße.  We’re on the second floor, the second to fifth windows left from the center.

Here’s our building’s front door.  Follow us up the fun winding stairs.

Grüß Gott!  Herzliche Wilkommen – and if you are tall, please mind the chandelier!  

Your tour begins in our spacious bedroom from which you can see the little park on the corner.

And here is the bedroom from the other side – this is a good angle because you can see into the living room and the kitchen area beyond the big doors.  You can also see the ironing board (what in the world is that?!).

Here you can measure just how thick the walls are – one half-moon pose thick.

Our working/dining area.  Thanks to wireless internet and a myriad of cushy seating options, we’ve also found ourselves computing on the bedroom couch, on the living room couch, and even in the kitchen.  And what is that big black thing?  We didn’t have a TV in our Neubaugasse apartment so we’re not quite sure what to think of this monstrosity. 

Last night, the third evening in our apartment, we turned on the TV for the first time.  We flipped through reality shows, variety shows, and soccer matches, and landed on these two programs:  First, Wien apparently has a public access channel.  We tuned in during the camera-mounted-on-the-streetcar show.  We were pleased with ourselves because, despite the complete lack of commentary, we knew within about two seconds exactly what we were watching.  This is due, in large part, to the fact that the 1 Streetcar line is our favorite post-ice cream transportation option.  Secondly, imagine our amusement when we turned the channel again to see native Österreicher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Red Heat (1988).

After we were in our apartment for about 30 minutes, we began to realize that, with the exception of a few cute antiques and the floral sofa and chairs you see here (surely from oma’s old apartment), pretty much the whole flat, from bedding to appliances, is outfitted from IKEA. 

Our newly re-furbished IKEA kitchen – please note the beautiful lighting and breakfast nook on the left.  You may be wondering, “Do you have a doll-house-sized fridge and dishwasher to go with the doll-house washing machine?”  Why yes – they are cleverly hidden behind the white IKEA panels.

Our newly re-furbished bathroom –with a shower and typical Austrian ½-door.   Oh, and, again, if you are tall, please mind the chandelier. 

Thanks for the visit.  Aufwiederschauen!