As I type this I am looking at a large wall calendar gifted me by the Sushi restaurant I visited on Monday. I am sure in part due to the fact we were about 15 people, not only did we enjoy the low low sushi prices (€6 for 13 bits of sushi), we also got free lychees! I am by no means a sushi expert, so all I can say is that it was tastier than yo sushi and that I especially enjoyed the horseradish sauce/paste stuff (much to the shock of my companions...) Why is the sushi in a landlocked country so cheap?? Conspiracy theorists apply within.
Edward-san arrived on one of the more horrible days I have experienced in this fine city, and while I did enjoy taking him on a long meander through the relentlessly architecturally impressive city centre, I did feel that perhaps that Vienna was not showing her best side. The Naschmarkt was practically empty, meaning that every vendor stood behind their stall and shouted 'Gruess Gott!' or 'Bitte schon!' when you came within 10 metres of them. Mulled wine sellers deliberately take the lids off their wares and exaggeratedly waft the tempting smells towards you... Despite this high level of attention, we still managed to actually purchase some things, most of which we actually wanted. Ed was rather taken by the taste of the traditional still-fermenting wine drink known here as Sturm, which in Ed terms means he will attempt to make some when he gets home. Other purchases were some Medlars (they look like they are rotting/are actually rotting, but that is how they are meant to be eaten and they taste pretty good), some good Austrian cheese and some PROPER pickled gherkins. Ie the kind that are actually fermented in salt water rather than just added to vinegar. No need to keep them in the fridge. I have wanted to try some ever since I learned that what I thought were pickled gherkins actually weren't anything of the kind, and I am quite satisfied with them. Also bought were important ingredients for delicious stew, that evening's meal.
Thursday is the day of extreme lectures, so Ed was unleashed and set to roam free through the city. Thankfully the weather improved, turning into one of those lovely winter days where everything is crisp in the cool sun. He met me after university, appearing unscathed, and I showed off to him some of my favourite more modern architectural marvels, the Mullverbrennungsanlage and the Flakturm. Then we met up with Mirva at the Siebenstern brewery, to eat food Austrian style ('no vegetables please') and to try as many of the beers as possible. All of them proved good.
On Friday there was a veritable deluge of UCL students as we were joined by another friend from home, on a weekend visit from her erasmus year in Munich. We dined once more at the home of the 'best falafel in Vienna', which is indeed very good, though a difficult statement to fully prove, then returned to the market for more Sturm shenannegins (sp?). We explored the centre of town and then climbed the tower of the Stephansdom just as the sun was etting. The view IS worth the 343 steps, although the windows you look out of are rather small and I was hoping for more of a precarious balcony tbh.
Because things never happen spaced out, but instead all at once, Saturday was Mirva's birthday, so I took her to lunch. We debated going somewhere stupidly grand, but in the end settled on a proper Viennese cafe we had already visited once before. the Cafe Eiles is a large and quiet hotel style cafe,with no tourists (except us, we took many photos), just people sitting around reading newspapers clipped to these amazing and very handy newspaper holding wooden frames while sipping coffee. In common with a lot of the less touristy cafes and bars I have seen, it has an old fashioned vibe, harking back not only to the early 20th century but somehow also to the 80s with the posters and applainces on display and in use. I cannot explain it, maybe it is just that eerything still looks like it does in the 1980s published guide to Vienna I happen to possess. It is something about the lack of bright colours. I do not mean by this that it is unpleasant, far from it! It just has very interesting vibes.
Of course as mentioned previously the world is bad at scheduling, so Saturday was also the day I visited the opening of the large christmas market in front of the Rathaus. Beautiful and sparkly with smells of punch, cinnamon, gingerbread and cheese wafting in all directions among stalls of slightly ridiculous christmas decorations and hand made things. What you are really supposed to do is ignore these and just drink mulled wine and punch and enjoy the atmosphere, so we did.
Sunday I rested from the enforced actually having to do things (kidding guys, I enjoyed it) then went on what is becoming an almost traditional Sunday late afternoon walk. I am really enjoying playing around with my camera, I almost wish I had time to learn more not just by experiment, but I am pleased at what I have been getting recently anyhow.
Above: spot the chairBelow: spot the Mirva
This week: more work, less gallivanting, hopefully.
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