Vienna part two

Hello everyone,

Frank and I are writing this post on the train. We are taking a day trip Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, part of the former country of Czechoslovakia . We are quite curious to catch a glimpse of a country whose Iron Curtain past is apparently still very evident. Speaking of the Cold War, did you know that, after WW II, Vienna was divided among the 4 Allied powers, just like Berlin? It was occupied and teetered on Communism until 1955, when a treaty proclaimed it once again a whole and independent country.

We have been busy since we last wrote. Saturday involved another art gallery and a tour of a huge Hapsburg palace. I can honestly say I think I'm done with looking at art....for this trip!

On Saturday afternoon, we stumbled upon a small (200-ish people?) but noisy protest march. For a moment, possible topics flashed a through our minds: Politics, related to the election? Anti-choice (Austria is a Catholic country)? Environmental causes? Nope: the focus was the killing of Romanian street dogs. The raucous protesters were accompanied by police at both the front and back of the parade.

On Saturday night, we watched half of The Barber of Seville at one of the world's greatest opera houses. You may not recognize the name of the opera, but you know it. Remember Bugs Bunny conducting the singer -- "Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!" --  forcing him to hold a note until his buttons fly off? It was actually pretty entertaining, and we would have stayed for the whole thing if it weren't for the heat. We bought standing room tickets (3 Euro each -- can you believe it???) at the very last minute and got a spot at the absolute highest point: the ceiling was about 3' above our heads. It must have been about 85 degrees, so we succumbed at intermission.

Something that we noticed over the weekend was lots of Austrians out for the evening in traditional dress: leder hosen for the men and dirndls for the women. There was no irony or costumey-ness about it: it seemed to be about pride in their heritage. When we talked with our kids on Sunday and told them about it, they suggested the Canadian equivalent might be going to the pub in a hockey jersey. Or maybe a toque or plaid lumberjack shirt??

The food has been...okay. I think Frank's second-favourite food, after sandwiches, is hot dogs. (Hmm, do you see a theme here involving meat and bread?) Here, the "hot dogs" are quite different and Frank has been quite fascinated by the process.  Take a long bun, cut off the end and use a pointed, metal dildo-shaped rod to make a hole in it. Then squirt mustard into the hole. Then use tongs to stuff (force) the wiener into the bun. Set the end of the bun into the hole at a jaunty angle. Voila!

For dinner last night we went to a very traditional "beisl", a pub that serves hearty food. I had roast pork with sauerkraut and one giant, rock-solid dumpling; Frank had Weiner Schnitzel, potatoes and green salad with more potatoes, sliced and cold, in it. We weren't hungry afterward, that's for sure.

Yesterday, Sunday, we took a day trip by train to the small town of Melk, and toured an Abbey. Then, on a river cruise on the Danube we passed by terraced vineyards and several ruined castles. The colours of the trees and the fields and the water reminded us of Impressionist paintings. Very nice.

Well, we are now arriving in Bratislava so we will bid you a hasty "Auf Weidersain". The next time we write will be from Budapest!

Wendy and Frank