So I'll have to step up my game a little bit today...I have a new possible reader from the Orrock family. Their father Ray was one of my favorite daily reads and I have just joined a Facebook page devoted to reading (or re-reading) his old articles. I mentioned that I like to write and, well, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this new contact could very well take me to the fame and fortune I have been desiring since I began writing in my little corner of the web. Just kidding. It does my heart good to see, "Ray Orrock likes your post" on Facebook whenever one of the administrators clicks on something I've written...I know it's not him, but I can pretend.
Enough of that, I, we, all of us, are in Europe for crying out loud! If I can't come up with something worthy of writing about in Europe I should just give up my blog. Hmmm...ummm...we saw stuff today.
Well that's the end. That was easier than I thought. I'm going to bed now.
Ok, you got me, I'm not done.
We did see stuff today, but it was a little more than that. Just a little. We were in Vienna for the past couple of days. If you haven't been, I would highly suggest it! Of course I would also highly suggest being married into a wonderful family that has outposts all over Europe who feel compelled to feed you and cater to your eery whim whenever you stop by. (To be fair, we do the same for relatives who want to visit America...but I think the Europeans would win if it were a contest.)
In Vienna (Wein if you are here, from here or any place other than America) you have some of the most beautiful architecture in the world. St. Stephansdom (Stephan's cathedral) is a sight to behold. We were there with about three thousand of our closest friends. It was a small gathering, candles being lit. Books being sold. Music being practiced. And the kids wondering if the alters with Latin writing were really crypts that held the remains of the people whose images were on their plaques. I used my extensive training in Latin, and my apprentisship in BS'ery to unequivocally state, "No! There is no one buried here." Not sure exactly, but I think the odds of the kids actually reading one of the travel books Sylvia purchased lies somewhere between getting hit by lightning while riding a unicorn...and getting your pet pterodactyl from a traveling salesman who enjoys playing with his time machine...so I'm safe.
We met with Sue Sonne (Sylvia's cousin's daughter) in Wein, after she got off work.
Let me just take a moment to personally praise Europe. We were driving a camper so we didn't wish to try to drive through historic arches, park in underground garages, or be involved in a chase scene with Jason Bourne...so we used public transportation. (Although Mr. Bourne's would-be assassin did use me as human shield at one point). Aside from that, we were able to park at the campsite, walk to the train station, and travel to anywhere in the city for about thirty euros. We got passes that worked for every form of transportation for 72 hours and we used the heck out of them. Give Sylvia a map, a pass, and a destination...and she could rule the world. We got to say things like Donauplatzstrasse and Schwedenberg while zipping through tunnels and having little kids look at us like, "mom, aren't those people a bit old to be talking gibberish?" We made it to our destinations easily and when it was time to meet Susanna, we found her relatively quickly. It would have been completely quickly but when we got out at the station by her apartment we zigged when we should have zagged...but that isn't Vienna's fault.
Sonne took us to the biggest store we had been to on this trip (judging purely by the selection of cereal...most places have three choices, this one had twenty) and we bought fresh bread, cheese, drinks, some sweets, and pickles. She apologized, as we walked to her quaint little apartment, for living in the poor part of town. The section that had the least green. We assured her that it was great and not to worry. Then we found her door nestled between two (ahem) businesses for (ahem) working ladies. Things are different in Europe. She and her "half fiancé" live in a flat that they have fixed up quite nicely. Then they showed us the picture of what it looked like before and we were amazed. SiouxSonnay is an architect and enjoys using her creative side.
We, as we are growing accustomed, laughed and talked and ate and laughed and we all learned a new expression that made us laugh and laugh and laugh...but I don't think I can say it here. Then we all rode the train over to the Prater. It's a carnival where we were able to ride a Ferris wheel that had cabins the size of cable cars to see Wein by night...and several stories in the air. After we walked around in this place we bid them adieu and wished that it wasn't so expensive to travel to visit each other. That is by far the worst part of a trip like this. Saying goodbye to people who you will not be able to easily see for a long time.
The next day we traveled back to the city and got a tour bus that showed us the highlights in the main circle. We bought wurst from a street vendor and had an impromptu picnic in the very large park. We walked along the river, talked to someone who seemed by glad to hear English, and ended the day by eating ice cream (eis) at a famous eatery. It was a lot of fun and we could have spent days and days there, but we needed to come back to Rosel and Hermann's house because there will be a family gathering here on Sunday. Besides, you know what they say about stray cats...feed them and they always come back. The way Rosel fed us, we may never leave!
I got a little more of the story about why this place is so important to my mother in law. I would like to take a thoughtful look at that in a posting that is dedicated only to them. But I will not do that today.
So finally, I come a close. I hope that you are enjoying my silly little travelogue. I had mentioned that I had read through some of Ray Orrock's columns before writing here. I noticed that his articles were a little longer than mine usually are. I will now add some bonus writing to show prospective newspaper editors that I can write with the big boys and have a lengthy article too.
Vienna was very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very nice!
(Helloooooooo Pulitzer!)
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