Wenn Engel Reisen . . .

When Angels Travel . . . 

Travis’s mom and sister, Jeanette and Kelly, recently joined us in Vienna.  The Austrians have a saying that, when angels travel the weather behaves (Wenn Engel reisen wird das Wetter sich weisen).  This was the case with Jeanette and Kelly.  We had a wonderful time showing them “our Wien” and environs – on foot, bus, streetcar, subway, train, and boat – all with mild temperatures and only one little shower.  With Jeanette and Kelly we saw our familiar, favorite places with new eyes; we also enjoyed several new sites, sounds, and of course tastes, for the first time.  Here is a sample of our adventures.

We strolled up and down Wien’s cobblestone streets.  You can’t see charming little streets like this from no stinkin’ tour bus!  The bonus is that we are headed to eat in this and the first photo.

We ate tiny tasty sandwiches at Trzesniewski (they’re easier to eat than pronounce).

We toured all the famous sites such as Schönbrunn palace and gardens.

We shopped in Wien’s beautiful stores.  No, we didn’t purchase an Austrian crystal chandelier, but it was tempting.

We traveled through Prater park on the pink Manner Lilliput Bahn – Karla’s been waiting since September to do this.  You can see we all had a swell time.

We also traveled in a normal sized train to Semmering where we met Mutti Theisl for a Mother’s Day lunch with a view.

We visited glorious museums.  The museums (including their cafes) are often as beautiful as the art they hold.  Here you see the magnificent Art History museum, built to house Hapsburg treasures.

We appreciated churches inside and out.  Here we're standing in front of Karlskirche where a 7-year renovation is coming to an end.  In October the scaffolding and elevator inside the church will be removed.  So the next time we come to Wien we sadly won't be face to face with the frescoes. 

After taking the elevator you can continue to walk up up up and around the inside of the dome to get a closer look at the gorgeous frescoes which have now all been refurbished.

A visit to Wien would not be complete without admiring St. Stephan's.

We followed the terrific Viennese tradition of cafe sitting every single day!  Cafe Demel is certainly one of the prettiest cafes in Wien.

We floated down the Danube all the way to Melk.

The world famous Melk Abbey is breathtaking.  

And we visited our personal corner of Wien, Cafe Jensen.  Prost!

Europa Wächst in Wien

Europe Grows in Vienna

A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed yet another of Wien’s frequent festivals.  We now firmly grasp and embrace this city’s need for continuous public celebration – the Viennese are a party people.  So during the last weekend of April we joined throngs of Wieners from all walks of life for the annual Cityfest; this year’s theme was “Europe Grows in Vienna.”  The goal of the two-day cultural festival was to highlight how, through the contributions of various cultural and ethnic groups, Vienna is the heart of Europe.  To that end the festival organizers erected dozens of stages throughout the city center with fantastic musical acts and performances.  Plus, visual art could be seen any time you turned your head, and of course there was delicious food.  According to the Austrian Forum for Migration Studies, about nine percent of Vienna’s (and Austria’s) population is comprised of foreign residences – 62% of whom are from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey.  A few other cultural groups from Poland and Middle Eastern and African nations also add to Vienna’s mix.  Whilst enjoying the festival we did indeed notice peformers as well as participants from a variety of countries.

Musical acts included everything from classical and klesmer music, to gypsy jazz and Slovakian folk.  We’ve been fortunate enough to hear the Vienna Boys Choir in the Hofburg Chapel for Sunday mass, but it was a real treat to have a front row seat to see the VBC during the festival.  Their hour-long concert included accompanied and acapella songs spanning several genres and languages.  In particular, it was dear and somewhat comical to hear the little boys rock out on “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent.

The jazz venue was on the lawn of the Burggarten!

Huge panels depicting Vienna’s place in the heart of Europe stretched between the buildings above Kohlmarkt, one of Wien’s most beloved streets.

Street performers added to the celebration - and sometimes to crowd control.

A carousel in front of St. Stephan’s?  You bet!  And five feet away you could purchase all types of food, church-related items, handmade crafts, and of course, beer.

The “culinary enjoyment pavilion,” featured specialties from each of Austria’s nine provinces.  We sampled apricot schnapps from Upper Austria, pumpkin seed oil from Styria, cheese from Lower Austria, and sausage from Carinthia.  We were greatly disappointed that the purple asparagus from Burgenland had sold out.  The paths from booth to booth were made of sod – classy! 

For an abundance of additional festival photos, please check out http://www.stadtfest-wien.at/sfw2008-home/.  

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!

Wiener April

Viennese April

To celebrate May 1, we thought we’d review beautiful April.  Our faithful blog readers may recall that we experienced the coldest Viennese October in 100 years; interestingly enough, we were also treated to the wettest Viennese March in 90 years.  Although damp, we thankfully didn’t have to endure funky temperature fluctuations like folks in the Midwestern US.  The Wiener March temperatures were mild, the sun poked out a bit each day to keep us all sane, and the mercury gradually rose as the month progressed.  Then, on April 1, the Austrian angels all proclaimed, “Lucky you!  Here is the most luxuriant month you’ve ever seen.” Travis is fond of the phrase “fecund effulgence” (or "effulgent fecundity”) to describe the lush and fragrant spring we’ve been given.  Here are a few photos to exhibit our verdant Wien – our apologies for not providing a scratch and sniff blog for all you nasal learners. 

The April reflection begins closest to home –right out of our apartment window, actually.  Presenting the Jensen version of time-lapse photography.  The above photo was taken on April 1.

and April 4

and April 7

and April 11!

Our secret garden – so secret we didn’t even know our apartment building had this garden until March.  In April we took full advantage of our tiny halcyon plot, under the watchful eye of Herr Gnome.

Moving down the street just a couple of blocks, here you see a lucky shot:  our favorite streetcar (the 49) en route in front of our darling neighborhood café and its blossoming tree.

With our faithful 49 we can reach the Rathaus garden.  Karla, knocked out by the vernal splendor of the moment, rests on a carpet of magnolia blossom confetti.

Across the street in the Burggarten, Travis sniffs the peonies.  In German these are called Pfingstrosen – Pentacost roses.  This year they bloomed a bit prematurely!

Public greenspaces in Wien are quite clean given the size of the city and the number of dogs who obediently trot along with their humans.  The dogs adorably implore you to pick up noop-noop with this cleaver sign.  In Austria the word “wurst” is translated not only as “sausage” and (a-hem) sausage-looking items, it also is used idiomatically to express “it doesn’t matter” or “I have no preference.”  So, the tandem question here is, “Does this noop-noop belong to you?” and “Do you care if you get a fine of 36 Euros?” The Austrian police are very strict about the scoop your poop law – there have even been newspaper articles reporting on the “no mercy policy.”

Even the cars are sporting tender new growth.

And furthest afield, we take in the Weiner view from Cobenzl, at the edge of the Wienerwald.  Ja, it really is that green, and ja, it really does smell like freshly tilled earth from the surrounding vineyards.  And ja, we really do appreciate how incredibly fortunate we are.