Monday, April 20, 2015

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna #PCers



Hi Everyone!

Another late week and I apologize. Still going with the allergy thing but this week it was more of ‘I thought I already did that’ instead of anything else. Imagine my horror when I went to look at my blog to check that all went well and it wasn’t posted.
‘No problem’ I think then go to check why it didn’t post. Ugh…it wasn’t even there…and why? Because it was still in my brain. Another ugh and a shake of the head. There are some days that one shouldn’t even attempt to get out of bed. This was apparently one of them. LOL!
Last week was absolutely beautiful. The days were sunny and warm and it was some of the most gorgeous days I’ve had since I’ve been here. I just love spring in an area that has seasons. Of course, that’s as long as everything doesn’t bloom at once. Then it cause me more problems than my poor sinuses can handle.
Now that beauty didn’t last for long. No, I’m not so lucky. My DH was away on travel all week and he felt sure that I wasn’t telling the truth when it came to the temperature or anything else that was happening here. Hey…can I help it if Pup Harry decides he needs to behave and become the cutest pup on the planet? Nope, I had nothing to do with that one.
Still, the day my Mr. C comes home starts out with a really bleak grayness that I’ve become so fond of while I’m here. Remember me lamenting that I got the reasons why the Allies in WWII didn’t like the European weather? Well, Friday was one of those type of days. I decided not to go to the airport to greet him since I knew I’d be going back on Sunday. Before he even got home early Friday, it started to rain. Not a lot but just a little.

We took Pup Harry for a slight walk and then decided to do some shopping as he was going to our home in the States. I try to send some kind of present every time and so far, it works. The kids and grandkids are very nice to me for a few weeks afterwards. Still, it rained, we all got wet and the temperature was fairly cold.
It happens again on Saturday and Mr. C is telling me how I’m really a great storyteller as he can see no evidence of it being anything but cold. In his opinion, the high temps were part of my imagination and I should just not mention them again. So, we get to Sunday and off we go to the airport. He comments that it’s a little warmer and the sun is shining. By the time he leaves, it has definitely perked up and now we’re totally back to the wonderful weather I had when he was gone.
Maybe I should send him away more often. LOL!
One of the things I did was come home a completely different way from the airport. Not really so different but enough to get me out in some of that sunshine earlier. I decided to get off at a stop called Rennweg, grab a bite to eat then walk home through the Botanical Gardens. Now these gardens were created by the Empress Maria Theresa founded them with a renown botanist of the time, Nikolaus von Jacquin. It’s part of the University of Vienna and covers 8 hectacres and has more than 9000 species of plants.
Mr. C and I’ve gone through there on a number of occasions and I had no thoughts of it being anything different than normal. I got off at the station, decided I wanted an American burger and went to Burger King for lunch. Yeah, I know, it’s crazy but the need for something from home was high this weekend. Finally, I’m out the door and headed toward the garden. I see people carrying plants and more from the general area. As I round the corner, I was surprised to see my normally peaceful garden inundated with people.
I had unknowningly came upon one of the few times that they sell plants and garden things at the gardens themselves. There are a variety of herb plants, flowering plants and medicinal plants. I found myself looking over things and really wanted to have a garden of my own. I finally decided upon some small varieties of aloe vera as I figure I can give those away when I move back to the States as I know that they won’t survive the move.
All in all it was a wonderful, yet unexpected, Sunday in Vienna and that made it even more spectacular since Sundays are usually days when nothing exciting happens here. It’s a day for worship and most events are kept to a minimum. Still, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it immensely.
Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking and didn't take any pictures of this spectacular event. I was just so blown away and wanting to see everything there was for purchase. At any rate, the pictures that I do have this week are from the Alpine Garden which is an extension of the Botanical Gardens. It has plants only found in the Alps. Some of them are really awesome!

            Before I end this week’s column, I wanted to remind everyone of my monthly giveaway. I’m giving away a $25 gift certificate of your choice. The rules are all listed in the right column of the blog and here’s the recap: You must comment to enter. There’s a few other technical things but really, all you need to do is read the post and make a comment on what you’ve read. It’s that easy. I even occasionally throw in an item or two from Vienna.
Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria. See you all next week!


Lynn 

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