How not to travel to Vienna (5.)
It was Sunday when we woke up to a cold morning in our hotel room. I always had a habit of waking up early in the morning and getting ready for the day. Today, we had long walks through the Christmas markets and small purchases of souvenirs for our families, since the regular grocery stores were closed everywhere. I like the fact that Austrians know how to relax honestly and most working people in these sectors have time off and time to themselves to relax.
For the first time in a long time, I looked forward to a quiet morning at a common breakfast in a hotel atmosphere where we could choose from all sorts of goodies like scrambled eggs with crispy bacon, fresh fruit, or toasted bagels with famous salami and good cheese. We were greeted by friendly staff who, after making arrangements, allowed us to sit at the table with our little, always-hungry pet on a leash. The lovely Hungarian-born waitress showed us to a large table in a quieter part of the dining room, while managing to "infect" us with a positive mood and a warm smile, and straight away revealed her fondness for our little dog, who in return greeted her with a cute dog bark.
At the table, we enjoyed the view out the window, where we noted the beautiful sunrise, but also knew it was going to be a big freeze outside. My husband went to the breakfast counter first to load the treats onto our plates, while I went to get some delicious coffee from the machine. Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relief and let someone else hug me and spoil me once too.
My taste senses were delighted with fresh fruit, white yogurt, and a ham and cheese sandwich, and I added fresh vegetables. To finish off my coffee, I nibbled on a small croissant spread with delicious jam. My husband enjoyed his favorite crispy bacon, warm beans, and English-style sausages. Under the table, I could feel the bumps on my leg from the dog's snout, which made it clear that I should "intentionally" drop something on the floor. I secretly handed him small pieces of sausage and bacon so he wouldn't be mischievous and have the strength to backpack around town all day.
Fortified, we went back to our room for a while and equipped ourselves with warm clothes for the journey.
The little one got his dog jacket, and we put on our new ones and slowly made our way to the metro, which according to the map was supposed to take us to the famous Stephansplatz.
Upon exiting the metro, we just stared at the mass of people, Christmas stalls with all sorts of goodies, and the beautiful St. Stephen's Cathedral, which wowed us with its elaborate construction and spires.
I was once in Vienna when I was a kid, which was several years ago, and I have to say that a lot has changed, but the attendance has remained the same, if not higher.
As we walked among the throngs of people and smelly kiosks with friendly owners, we took a few photos, and snapshots to remember. We were freezing, but the smile on our faces never disappeared. We proceeded towards Maria-Theresian Platz where they were already offering other products for a change, such as knitted clothes, jewelry, carved ornaments or pure wool, and small souvenirs. We also melted at the smell of homemade punch or really strong mulled wine, which they poured into symbolic Christmas mugs, which you could either return at the end or keep as a souvenir. It was impossible to cover such a large area in one day as all the markets were spread out in other places.
We walked towards the Vienna City Hall, fortified by punch and sumptuous apple strudel, where there were already smaller attractions for families with children, such as the very famous carousel, the ice-skating rink on the
skating rink, music groups to liven up the atmosphere, and of course other booths with a wide range of traditional delicacies.
You didn't know where to jump first to avoid running over something. We skipped the food for now, as we were still full from the previous stop, so my feet first headed towards the booth with gloves and winter hats. Since I had forgotten to pack warm headgear (given my rather short haircut, a normal person would have thought of that), I wanted to at least buy a non-biting headband to cover my ears, since they hadn't felt good for a good 2 hours and seemed to fall off like icicles.
I also sometimes suffer from an exposed forehead in the winter, which then causes sinusitis, so I didn't want to risk it. My husband threw his eyes into the pillar, but I said it was unavoidable, to keep me warm, especially in those places, and to keep me from getting sick. After all, we still had miles to go back, so I didn't want to whine about 3rd degree frostbite. I immediately picked out a pair of burgundy-colored gloves to go with it, which also matched my modern greenish jacket, so I also met the requirements of the fashion police.
Finally warmed up, I dipped into the special pet stall with our little treasure on a leash. The gentleman was offering us special vegan dog cubes, but I immediately switched towards my husband: "Your puppy won't eat this because he's not a rabbit, he's just for meat!" He laughed and suggested that since he was so brave, we should buy him something and let him get something out of the trip. I thought my thoughts, but in the end, he tried to buy it for him on a trial basis so he would have something to chew on when we got back to the hotel room.
We slowly made our way back to the beginning and it was our turn for a "standing" lunch. We stopped at a booth where they were grilling their famous sausages, cabbage dishes, or stuffed pretzels.
We walked a rather long line to the corner of the next booth. The little one was shaking with hunger, the big one was drooling from the side of my jacket, and I was waiting to finally be served.
Since there was nowhere near a high table where we could put down the many dishes, we ended up like donkeys at the overflowing bin, where there was a clear wooden strip to put anything down, though it wobbled a bit, we had to be careful.
"Watch out you don't get that sausage stained, you've got a new coat!" I warned my husband of the potential danger of stains, but before I could finish, a piece of greasy bite landed on my brand-new jacket and ended up bouncing right into the dog's mouth. I started cursing loudly, but the advantage was that the tourists didn't understand me, so I could get really angry, I was relying on the intelligence of the people standing around us and they must have realized that I wasn't smiling at the world at the moment.
I quickly grabbed a tissue from my purse and tried to get the worst of it off, but of course, the grease soaked into the fabric quickly and I thought I was going to slap myself with anger. I couldn't enjoy the food that much anymore because I was paying very close attention and I was putting my fork in my mouth like a retarded housewife who can't eat out.
Mission accomplished. The three of us ate and threw the empty trays and cups into another half-empty trash can and I had to flush it down with another mug of strong orange punch to make me walk more freely and not think about the jacket accident. We took the subway on the way back because we were running low on energy with full stomachs.
We ended up postponing our souvenir shopping until the last day, as we decided to go back to Parndorf, where they have special shops for that, where you can get a large number of gifts at reasonable prices, and where they have quite a large selection.
We got to the hotel around 4 pm, unpacked our bag in the room, and rinsed our little devil off so he could snuggle into a comfortable bed with us. I always wash his paws and bathe him regularly so he doesn't lose his amazing clean doggy smell.
My husband and I then hopped in the shower where we cuddled under the hot shower head, soaped each other up, and reflected on a great day of adventures.
There was still plenty of time before dinner, but we weren't eager for any more food. All we could think about was wrapping ourselves in soft hotel robes and jumping under the warm covers, watching Saturday's movie program on TV, and relaxing with the dog in our midst.
The little one fell asleep in a second, then my husband paused, and I picked up my book for a while longer. When I noticed the commercial on the TV, I read only a few pages and put the rest of the content away for later. They had started playing a movie classic, my favorite film, Love Actually, so I enjoyed a moment to myself, plus made myself some hot tea, which was available in our room as part of the hotel service.
"It was a great day!" I thought, smiling at the sight of the two sleeping darlings and feeling grateful for their presence.
I devoured the entire movie, even though I knew it by heart, so I felt like this was exactly the kind of movie I needed right now to be completely satisfied.
They were both sleeping like dead, while I caught my second breath and after watching the movie decided to give our room a little makeover. I made dinner for the little one, cleaned up the scattered items so they wouldn't get in the way, and rushed into the bathroom for my beauty ritual to give my dehydrated skin the care it needed from the cold.
After a long nap, they both woke up, my husband's crumpled face smiled at me and he decided to grab a bite to eat. We took the opportunity to walk the little one some more so we could quickly return to the warmth.
We fell asleep exhausted but happy.
However, the next day I was in for an unpleasant surprise that was like something out of a bad movie.
"Oh my, enough, please! Doesn't anyone wish us a holiday?"
