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

Hi Everyone!

Yes, I’m horribly late but this is a week that is rare for me. I actually have people here from the US and that makes me excited. Yeah, sure, they’re actually here for a meeting in regards to my husband’s job but along the way, I’ve become good friends to many of them. And for that I’ll be forever thankful.

But to be honest, this past week in Austria has been boring. And I’m not saying that just because there was nothing to do but more in relation to what was going on. This is one of the few weeks where there isn’t a festival of some sort and that’s because school started on Tuesday.

However, the days have been cooler and I’ve slowly got back to where I even wanted to do things. Like long walks. So, on Sunday we finally got to walk through city center and all around the old part of Vienna. This is one of my favorite things to do as the streets are narrow and you’re never quite sure what you might find.

Another thing that we noticed during this long walk was that the leaves from certain trees were falling off. Many were on the ground and we’re wondering just how the trees are going to fare for the winter since they are dropping them way too early. I’m pretty sure it was because of the massive heatwaves we’ve been having for much of July and August. Now, that’s changed but it’s much too late to reverse the damage to the trees.

Leaves at Resselpark

Leaves around the Brahms statue

We also noticed a wonderful display at Resselpark in Karlsplatz. It didn’t take long for my eyes to tear up as I walked through gazing with wide-eyed wonder as I lived a second time something very important. The world has changed greatly since I was born but one of the greatest changes came when I was in my early thirties because the world as I had known it was suddenly gone.

Communism's Fall

Pictures from the Fall of Communism in Europe Exhibit

My husband had direct exposure to some of the events as he ended up stuck in Germany for 6 weeks as they, mean Russia, tried to decide the route it was going to take. And that’s a lot of what the exhibit was about. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the events leading up to the end of Communist Europe. It was a stressful yet exciting time as we negotiated just who was going to end up with nuclear weapons, who was going to rule the now free states and how Europe was going to look afterwards.

Informative Exhibit about the Fall of Communism in Europe

I can say, I think they turned out pretty good. For that I am grateful as I am allowed to cross borders easily and see places it quickly. My husband was in Europe during that time and he definitely likes this place much better than before. We both didn't realize until seeing the pictures just how much had gone on while we were young. It all came to a head when the Berlin Wall came down but had been stewing for many years prior. 

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

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

Harpist at Schottentor

Hi Everyone!

Okay…another late post…but yesterday was my birthday and I decided to lounge an extra day. That means I did absolutely nothing but walking around, trying new things, drinking beer at a pub and having a glorious couple of days. But enough about me…that’s not what you come to the Monday column to see…you want to know all about Austria. So, one with the show!

This week has been interesting in a variety of ways. We’ll start first with the weather as that seems the easiest to think about. LOL! Yeah, one of those weeks. Before we even get there, notice I’m not really late as noted in my explanation. If you’re wondering why, tune in tomorrow as it all has to do with my so-called writing live.

Now, back to the weather. We have gone from hot and humid to cold and humid. Matter-of-fact, last night I should have worn a coat. At least at the beginning of my walk but I only wore a sweater. It doesn’t matter that I peeled it off in the last 1000 steps, the fact is I had it on. That to me is so very, very weird. If your own personal experience tells you that something isn’t up with the weather, you haven’t been paying attention.

Closeup of Harpist

Everyone here in Austria says that the weather has changed since they were kids here. I know that I say the same about Nevada. My kids have been complaining about the humidity there. And with 110 degree temps, I don’t blame them. When I was a kid there, we always had blue, blue skies. In the years before I moved here, and the times I’ve visited in the summer these past few years, there are more and more clouds in the sky. Meaning it’s more humid. At 110, a person has a hard time tolerating 25% humidity as well as the heat. It’s just not good for you.

Still, even with weird weather, I did get out and about this week. I think I’ve mentioned my spa that I go to. If I didn’t, here’s my plug for them. They are called Aisawan and are in the heart of the city. They are on a street literally behind Stephansdom or the huge church at the city center. They are also in a building that was once part of the old city. Meaning, they dug out the basement and are located in the ruins from probably the 1200s. Lots of the shops and places take advantage of what’s under them in that area. For a spa, it makes it lovely as it’s cool and mostly quite below street level. Since other spots around them are being excavated too, you can sometimes hear that noise but it still makes no difference as the environment is so relaxing you just don’t care. And if you want to see what it looks like, I couldn’t take better pictures, so I’m sending you to their website here: http://www.aisawanspa.at/

One thing we did this week, and it was associated with my birthday, was to take a Strassenbahn line and ride it to the end. Now we already knew where a few started and stopped. Like the D that runs our street ends at Beethovengang and starts at the Hauptbahnhof right up the street from us. We noticed this week, theirs is going to be a new end place past the Hauptbahnhof soon. Anyway, we picked a line we knew a little about and definitely knew where it started. There are a bunch from a place called Schottentor or Scottish Gate, so we started there.

We decided to take the 43 and see where it ended. We’d been on part of this line before as our doctors are located about 4 stops in. This time, we went past that and got into the foothills. We past a lovely looking vineyard and finally stopped. Getting out, we found a wonderful little restaurant and continued walking up the small trail. It looked like a very nice place but we had to abandon the walk because it started to rain and we didn’t have rain gear. So back in the train we go.

We go all the way back to Schottentor and decide to take a 41. While it didn’t end up in a great place, the architecture that we saw on the way was fantastic. There were some art-deco buildings, some pre-WWI buildings and everything in between. We also saw a few buildings from the mid-1800s like ours is. Because these were far away from the city center, a few of them survived WWII. My husband and I hope to again go on these adventures to see where the line will lead us.

The pictures this week are simple and there are just three. Two are of a harpist I’ve seen quite a lot at the Schottentor Strassenbahn station. Quite frequently, you will have musicians setting up shop in a variety of places. Most of them are professionals and have applied as well as received a permit to play in public. While it all seems impromptu, many times it has been planned in advance so that there is no overlap of the pros. I don’t know how they do it but I do know that I find it fascinating they can work it out somehow.

Pup Harry and the DH in front of Karlskirche

The last picture is of my husband and Pup Harry on one of our many night walks. The church in the background is Karlskirche and is one of the most interesting churches in the area. We went to a concert once when my husband’s parents were here. The acoustics aren’t the greatest but the church itself is awesome with some great frescos throughout.

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

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

The Botanical Garden Trail

Hi Everyone!

Yup…late again…and I just need to get my butt in gear to post on Sunday. Today, my dear husband had a goodbye party for a colleague that he wanted me to attend. Since I don’t get invited to these things very much because of all the cut backs, I was happy to go. This one was put on by individuals and therefore cost nothing to the groups who employed everyone. Little more on that later.

The weather has been very humid, which is very bad for me. I have to be careful because I overheat and sweat. A lot. So much in fact, I’ve come close to passing out. Any time I exert myself too much, I get wet. Today at the party I mentioned above, I came in and was doing fine with minimal sweating. Within twenty minutes of being in a non-air conditioned room, I was dripping. Within thirty, I had to find a chair or risk passing out. Humidity is not my friend and I’ve been this way all my life.

On most days, it isn’t a problem because the temp is in the 80s and the humidity doesn’t get over 40%. That’s good. But this last week, the temperature soared as did the humidity. Most days there wasn’t a cloud in the sky but the last two have produced some thunderstorms in the area, so the heat wave has been broken with the temp going down but the humidity climbing. I am so not looking forward to this next week.

During this hot summer days, we try and do as much inside as we can. During the day, we catch up on reading in the afternoons and try to get all shopping done before noon. Most of the time we’re successful but occasionally we realize we have forgotten something and zoom off to get an item in the afternoon. I get water at every stop and keep the afternoon walking to a minimum if possible.

Praterstern's Hauptallee

Our longer walks are done in the evening and some of them have lasted a couple of hours as I try to get a certain number of steps every day. Yes, I have a FitBit Charge HR that is my lifelong companion and it keeps track of my walking. It’s one of the things I’ve had since I got here as I knew with my increased activity, I’d finally lose some of the extra weight I’ve been carrying around for years. That first year, I lost over 50 pounds and now I’m at around the sixty pound mark. I had a couple of hospitalizations that have made it slow going these past two years. Then last year my father passed away and I wasn’t thinking anything much but about numbers.

And if you all don’t know about a FitBit it’s all based upon the fact that everyone should walk a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. I started with a regular pedometer then graduated to a FitBit Flex that automatically recorded my steps. I’ve finally got what’s called a Charge HR that tracks just about everything. That’s all I did combined with just watching what I ate. Nothing fancy believe me as I’d never kept to it. I want the freedom to choose and do currently with the way I’m going about weight loss. But no matter what is happening in my life, I can do numbers. I have maintained a food diary for over a year and have been counting my steps daily since 2012. That’s without missing a day. The only times I had off were the personal things already mentioned. If I can do it, anyone can.

Vienna is perfect for the walking dieter. That has been my main form of exercise and I’ve been recently upping it since weight-loss wise, I’m at a standstill. Frankly, I just want to be healthier and if nothing else, this place has made me that, all without doing anything out of the ordinary.

The places one can walk here are absolutely amazing. At first, I would huff and puff and threaten to kill my husband with every step. I’d cry if it was too hot in the summer. Now, I’m only grumpy if I get the humidity headache. No headache will find me slogging along to get my steps in or see something new.

I’m always amazed to see something here I’ve never seen before. Like on Sunday, we went to see the movie Jurassic World. Loved it by the way and I’m a die-hard fan of the series. Anyway, I was low on steps and suggested we needed to walk home. The theater is two separate train rides away from our flat, so it’s definitely a bit away.

My husband decided to go a way I’d never been before. We went past some restaurants that I want to go back to and we also discovered that Pup Harry has been on that walk before. The DH thought it was me. LOL! Still, it was a wonderful look at the backstreets of Vienna that I normally don’t get to see. I enjoyed it very much and if it were daytime, I would have taken some pictures.

Amazing Schonbrunn Garden

One last thing this week, if you follow me on Facebook, you’ll note that Pup Harry had some trauma this week. On Saturday, he turned into a snarky terrier when the DH wanted to look at his paw. We had to muzzle him and perform minor surgery as we took a nearly half-inch thorn out of it. We aren’t sure how much was actually embedded in between his toes as it was covered in hair but we know it was some. Still his relief was palatable when we pulled it out. He’s happily on the mend.

Our pictures this week are of some of the places we walk to like the Botanical Garden, Praterstern and Schonbrunn. Yes, it really is that lovely at all those places.

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

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

Hi Everyone!

Well…the best laid plans…LOL! Yes, I was totally ready to get this up way before time and low and behold, my internet was down. Most of the time it’s not an issue but today, when I had things to post and work to do, it was. So, that’s the first part of my post…internet is very, very sucky today in Austria.

And no, it’s not because the weather is bad. Quite the opposite, except for the humidity. We have had sun-filled days of near perfect temperature. This can be good and bad as it always makes me want to know just when the other shoe will drop. Life I’ve said over and over and over again, there was a reason the allies complained about the weather.

Again, because outside was so good, we decided to walk to Praterstern Park. It’s one of my favorite places here and I would go daily if I could. Well, let me rephrase that…I should go more…because there is nothing holding me back. But walking there with an excitable dog is a two-person gig and I normally wait for the weekends when Mr. C can go with me.

This weekend was no exception as we spent Saturday grocery shopping and lounging around the house. Sunday was spent outside. The only sad thing was that everyone had the same grand idea. We saw more people than normal. The real clincher came when we finally got to the park and header toward the bathrooms, we noticed they were porta-potties. Sometime during the last couple of weeks they had dug up the normal bathrooms and left a hole in the ground. Sadly, they didn’t do normal maintenance on them and it was no wonder that everyone walked by quickly.

Another great thing that happened this week was we were invited to a classical concert at the Muth Concert Hall. This was put on by the European Union for their anniversary and was well attended. The seats were the best I’d ever seen in a concert hall and the acoustics wonderful. It’s the same hall that the Viennese Boys Choir performs.

The pictures this week are from Praterstern but a couple of years ago during the fall. The park itself is timeless and there are many places that remind you it used to be a royal hunting grounds. I just love the green, the trees and the ponds everywhere. Of course, there’s the amusement park and more as well.

I wanted to remind everyone of my monthly giveaway. I give 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. The winner is chosen randomly via random.com for those who wonder. If no one comments, no one gets the gift certificate and I really want to give one away soon!

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop

Hi Everyone!

Another late week and I swear allergy season will be over soon. I will get it together…promise…thanks for understanding.  This week is all about Pup Harry and how he’s missing jogging.

I’m sure you’re asking what but the fact is that with Mr. C gone on travel, Pup Harry’s jogging days are done as I don’t jog. But we do walk. A lot. And it’s one these walks that I see some of the neatest things in Vienna.

So this week, I’m just sharing pictures of Pup Harry on some of our various walks throughout the year with a little narrative. Let’s start with the morning routine. If I don’t answer his call when he wants, he’s all for kissing me awake.

Next comes one of his favorite parts of his walks. Being in the grass. He loves that most of all.

Here’s one of him in a backpack in Rome.

And another in Praterstern park.

The last one is a from winter...Pup Harry loves snow!

Yes, Pup Harry is a well-traveled dog and one of the reasons my allergies are going strong because someone has to walk him. LOL!

            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 and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

Sunday, Oh, Sunday

You know Sundays are meant for sleeping, breakfast in bed and great trysts before the whole house wakes up. Sigh. Now, it’s been years since I’ve had that type of Sunday morning and today more than ever, I am missing it. And I want it. Sigh.

Instead, I’m woke at the crack of dawn by a dog who wants to jog like he does every morning. Even just letting him out to do his thing will not get rid of the need to go out for a run. What’s with him? I’ve heard this from tons of people recently that jogging is good for you. Really? In my case, my boobs bounce, the fat jiggles and my shins remind me every moment why I should not jog at all.

Me, I’m a walker, a hiker and I just love those long romantic walks. Yeah, who am I kidding. We used to go to the mountains or one of the many walking trails around my home at least once a weekend. Not any more. Now it’s a hurry up and rush around to do what we need to do then to fall into bed tired. What is it when you get to middle age and everything is more important than taking care of yourself? I just don’t get it at all.

I don’t know who or what inspired to really get it together to lose weight. I mean, I know ultimately it was me as I am tired of being fat but for weeks I watched on Twitter as Shiloh Walker informed us about her run. I’m thinking ‘Ugh. Are you kidding?’ but when I saw she didn’t like it any more than I liked losing weight, I knew I had to get my nose in the grindstone and get it done.

Finally, I started walking and it’s made all the difference especially now that I’m on a maintenance part of the food portion. Now, I have to set the nearly thirty pounds I’ve lost into my system so it won’t want it back. LOL! So far so good. I’m maintaining within a 1-2 pound weight and some days I lose a little more.

What does this have to do with Sundays? Everything. We do family day on this day. I got see my oldest and my grandsons. They all want to eat where they want: fast food, Red Robin or maybe even Buffalo Wild Wings. I have become the ultimate dieter when it comes to those places. I know what I can get and how much. They were all surprised on Sunday when we went to Buffalo Wild Wings and I ordered the chicken grilled salad without cheese or dressing or croutons. That was a hard week as I love wings. Sigh.

When I finally got up this morning, I thought about where we’d eat today then I decided while the husband and dog were jogging, I’d dance in my office. When I was younger, I stayed slim because we went out dancing every Friday or Saturday. I don’t know about you all but I can remember the sweat pouring from me not matter what I drank. So, I have a track on my iTunes I call the dance track and the moment I saw them leave the front yard, I pulled the head phones out of the jack and played some of those songs.

There’s a freedom when one dances that you can’t get with anything else. I love that freedom and I love the fact I have an office big enough to allow me to do this as much as I want. Freedom is a great thing and I love I can exercise that right in any way I want every day. Don’t you?

I know for many of you Sunday is church day and it was until I was about twenty. Then church and I had a parting of the ways. Things were said that couldn’t be taken back and I decided it wasn’t for me any more. I love the way I feel when I’m outdoors and know that’s church enough for me. But I don’t want to deter for those who do spend time in their place of worship. Everyone needs something for their spiritual growth.

What are the things about Sunday that you love? Do you do anything special on Sundays?

Winners of July's contest will be announced tomorrow...I'm just too lazy today...LOL!

Hope you all have a fantastic Sunday...see you tomorrow!

Lynn

Me & The Hot Southwest

All of you know by now I live in southern Nevada, which is in my mind one of the hottest places on earth. For example, on Monday we woke up to temperatures over 100 and some humidity. The week has gotten progressively worse in my honest opinion. It should be a time when I hole up in my house and turn the air on high.

The issue isn’t the cost of the power bill but the fact it doesn’t help me. I have a brick house and the bricks heat up during the day. Once the sun goes down, that heat slowly dissipates throughout my home. Thankfully, my office since I had the doors put on for my Christmas present is probably the coolest room in the whole place. I can actually feel a temperature difference between my skin and the outside air.

Now tonight, as I have been doing every night for the last nine nights, I went for a walk. About fifteen minutes in, I knew I was in trouble. The sweat was pouring down the center of my back and we all know where that ends up. LOL!

I kept trudging away because if I didn’t I would not have accomplished the goal I set out for myself. Eighteen days ago, I made a commitment to me and that commitment included a nightly walk with my husband and our dog. We didn’t start walking until I knew I was comfortable with my very calorie diet as it can be a shock to the system. Believe it or not, I don’t miss the food...yet...LOL! If you want to know more about me and this new diet, go to my other blog, Journey From Fat 2 Fit, and you’ll get the full scoop. Find it here: http://journeyfromfat2fit.blogspot.com/


So here I am walking and I suddenly feel this cool, cool breeze. I look ahead and see the sidewalk covered with water. The sprinklers are still going in this particular yard and the dog right along with me frolics in the decreased temperature. We both try to get ourselves as wet as we can before we move on. Granted, these were not high-powered waterspouts but enough was deposited on my shirt I kept fairly cool the rest of the evening.

Now the dog on the other hand went berserk in this yard and the next one we found. He tries to drink the water from the spray and then he immerses himself until he has to shake the water off. Once it’s all over, he gives us his goofy smile and wants to find the next wet yard. Sometimes I wish I was as carefree as my dog, going from wet yard to wet yard, making sure my immediate need of being too hot was taken care of as quick as possible.

But alas, I’m human and I have deadlines and family and a life very rich in personal as well as professional things. As I look back, wondering how I got here some days, I know I wouldn’t be anywhere else. It’s a great time in my life. The youngest is getting ready to go to college, the oldest is a father and I get to travel with the DH when everything lines up properly. Vienna isn’t going to work this summer because I’m not going to spend $2K for a ticket and that’s the going rate. It has been for almost nine months. Sigh. I know I’ll get there.

Just like I’ll get out of the hot southwest sometime. I want to go somewhere like here

Yes, that is me walking away from the camera is a cool and very green countryside.

Or how about here. Aren’t both places very gorgeous? Guess where they are and let me know. If you get both correct or even one for that matter, you’ll get a special gift!

See, I know dreams come true. All my life I dreamed of being an author, a published author who saw their books in print, who had many releases and became a bestseller. Well, three out of four isn’t bad and I am working on the last one.

So...how have your dreams stacked up to your reality? Let me know and I’ll throw an extra entry into the hat for this month’s contest.

Till tomorrow...

Lynn