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!

Yeah…I’m late…but when the weather has been enjoyable and there’s not much going on, what can I say? LOL!

Really, it has been nice with no rain even though the days are humid and humidity does not get along with me. I tend to have headache, sweat constantly and generally want to hole up in my office watching something on my computer, writing or even reading. Imagine that.

And there were quite a few days where the sun was bright but I stayed inside with the air on. Then I discovered Penny Dreadful on Netflix. That and the fact that it’s not available in the States. I even had a chat with them because I thought something was horribly wrong.

See, many times I log in remotely to a computer at home so that I can see a handful of TV shows I like. I will also watch Netflix then as well. I can’t do it very often as it really bogs down my internet, so I try to pick one day a week for using the State side computing power. I have to get in everything possible in a few hours then I’m back to being here in Austria.

Where we watch hardly any TV. MOF, I’ve been wondering just why we even have cable. When I’m at home, I load up on purchases at Amazon of movies, shows and more then I watch them at my leisure in my flat. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered Netflix is here in Austria and in English.

What is absolutely amazing is that the shows are so different. I mean, I have a lot of the BBC shows that aren’t available at home except on cable or by purchase. That means, I get to watch Penny Dreadful for free over here on Netflix. That and a whole lot more. I’ll let you know the amazing things I find when I catch up with this wonderful Victorian paranormal. It’s just right up my alley.

This week I have three lovely pictures for you. The first, at the top, is of Pup Harry in my living room on an oriental rug I purchased at the local flea market. It was deeply discounted and had all the tags on it so we can track the provenance. It will need some cleaning when we get home but it was an excellent purchase.

The next is one of Pup Harry in his travel bag. We couldn’t find him one day last month and when we did, we were amazed. He’d crawled in the bag and it’s a wonder he didn’t pull it off the chair. We’re figuring that he’s telling us we need to go on a trip sometime soon. I know that I’ll be going on one next month without the boys. Yeah, me.

The last one is of a statue in front of Karlskirche or Karl’s Church. Sometime this last winter, we rounded the corner and noticed that the front of the church got tagged with yellow graffiti. It took them a while to get all back in order.

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!

Today, was spa day! Yes, that’s why this post is up later than normal. Twice a month, I go to one of the many wonderful spas located here in the city. On one visit, I get a massage just like I have for years. Massage is very therapeutic and is probably one of the reasons I have few back problems. The other day, I get a facial, manicure and pedicure. Those are just for me to relax and enjoy life. Both of those things and have helped me tremendously bide my time while so far away from home.

This last week was totally filled with rain. The days would start out sunny then go to downhill and end up raining. One day, it was just sprinkles then next a full blown thunderstorm. It lasted all week until Friday and even then the night ended with sprinkles. We fully expected not to be able to do much on Saturday as the prediction was – you guessed it – rain!

But we were pleasantly pleased when Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. We were concerned when it clouded over but no rain was to be had. On Sunday, it was even lovely with only the big fluffy cloud types that make the sky so beautiful. We decided to take a long, long walk. We went our usual way through Stadtpark, across the Parkring up toward Stephenplatz.

Again, we were surprised because when we got to the top next to the cathedral, we ran right into the celebration called Stefflkirtag or Stephensdom church day. It goes right along with Friday, May 29 which was the ‘Long Night of the Church’ where the churches were open to everyone throughout the night. We had forgotten all about it because of the rain. If it hadn’t been raining, we’d have walked from church to church to gaze upon their wonders as many of them now charge a fee. But on this night, people can come in and look as they please.

The Stefflkirtag has a variety of booths to showcase some typical Austria goods, a beer stall with songs and a wurstel stand. It also had a shop for all sorts of sausages and a caroseul for the kids. It’s all around the church and is very interesting to go people watching as you’ll see a variety with tourists and locals alike.

From there we continued walking toward a place called Schottentor or Scottish Gate, in the hopes of finding a café where we could enjoy a cup of something. However, on a Sunday afternoon in Vienna there are few places with a seat. And since this was one of the first absolutely beautiful weekends we’d had since May started, everyone out.

All in all, the weekend and the week were a huge success. The pictures this week are of Stephensdom, with two of the outside and one of the inside. The first one is looking at the church from the front. The second one is of the inside and see the marvelous arches and the last one is a side view. Yes, I get to walk by that everything I walk my dog if I choose. We normally go that way on our longer walks.

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

Lynn 

Monday's Austria Scoop ~ #AWriterInVienna #LynnCrain #BYNR #MSSAuthors

Hi Everyone!

WooHoo! Today I’m relatively on time. At least the column's up before 6 am PST and this is a very, very good thing. This past week has been pretty great with a lot of spring weather. In Austria, that means a lot of clouds, a lot of humidity and a lot of rain. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Trees in Stadtpark

Unfortunately, with the overall good weather, came the winds and the flowers got pummeled. Many petals have been floating around and it makes for a very unkempt look to the many parks with huge flower displays. I’m a little saddened by all the tulip petals around on the ground as you normally don’t see those. When you do, you know the winds were strong.

Because the weather had been so great, I pushed my dear husband to take some time off to recoup from all the company travel he’d been doing recently. It took a bit of talking to get him to do something like this. Normally, the only time he takes vacation days is when someone else is here so he can show them around Austria. We’ve taken a lot of trips that way but normally, when it’s just the two of us, we both work. Me writing and him going to the UN City daily to work his job.

Of course, the weather has not cooperated since. It’s been cold and rainy here since late last Thursday. Though I can honestly say that it hasn’t been in the downpour mode and I’m thankful. It reminds me a lot of the first spring we were here and there was severe flooding throughout the regions of the Danube. This year, not much snow, not much run-off and most of the rain has been light. In Scotland, it’s called a wee mist even when it’s a downpour.

So, there’s not been a lot of traveling with this vacation but more of a ‘let’s read’ or ‘let’s nap’ or ‘let’s walk Pup Harry’ mode for the past few days. Again, this isn’t a bad thing. It takes time when one travels internationally to different sides of the world for that person to get back into their time zone. And my husband needs that even though he doesn’t think so.

Rain at Lower Belvedere

For me, the week is going to be filled with writing and plotting and doing more on the many classes I’m taking this year. It’s always good to hone one’s skills and to try to learn new things. Even writers need to do that. Sure, we all have the basics down but it never hurts to learn to world-build or write flash fiction or create a language for a fantasy book you might be thinking about. One should be a lifelong learner because there is no way that you’ll know everything.

This week’s photos are just some taken when we were out and about over the years. They were all taken during the springtime and as you can see, most of the time it’s very, very beautiful around here. To see more about my time here in Vienna, check out A Writer In Vienna where there’s even more. I don’t post as much there as I do here but the posts tend to be longer and more about the special places around here. There are some writing related ones there but again, not as much as here.

Again, before I end this week’s column, 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.

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

Lynn 

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

Hi Everyone!

            Before we even get started this week, 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. Let’s get to it…

I am so sorry that this week’s scoop is late! My allergies have mainly be on hiatus while here but this year is very different and they are kicking my butt. What’s strange is that I really don’t know where they are coming from because it doesn’t seem to be any different than previous years. But what happens until I get used to living with allergies is I sleep a lot and some days more than others. 

Other than the allergy issues, this past week has been pretty much slow as life has been plodding along at a leisurely pace. The weather has been overall beautiful as there was little to no rain and the temperature has slowly risen. It’s finally turned into spring and I for one love it.

Saturday was the yearly marathon that closes down the ring as hundreds of runners take to the streets. What this means for us is that the strassenbahns, or street cars, don’t run as they go around the ring then off into the neighborhoods all over Vienna. Matter of fact, there are four of them that have limited routes during the marathon. It was really interesting not hearing them run outside my window during the day.

Also, this week, my dear husband left for a conference in the Middle East and I stayed home with Pup Harry. With the allergy issue, trust me, this wasn’t a bad trade. Pup Harry is even having his own allergy issues, so I know that this year is unique. He’s arrived safely but learned just what it meant to go to another religious country as it is the Sabbath there. His opening reception had limited drinks, including water, and only cookies for snacks. When looking at the room service menu when he returned to his room, many of the items noted that they weren’t prepared on the Sabbath. He had to pull out his emergency supply of peanut butter and graham crackers for only a snack supper. 

While here in Austria, I was enjoying the leftovers from our night out. Pup Harry enjoyed his chicken and rice along with some dry. Yes, Pup Harry is the most spoiled pup but he also has a really irritable stomach, so many times it’s just better that we feed him a mild diet that we made as opposed to wet dog food.

Since this week has been so uninteresting, I’m going to leave you with some wonderful pictures of the season. We have tulips coming up all over the place right now. They come in many different colors and brighten my steps as I walk around the city. I’ve also included some of the amazing time pieces seen at the Clock museum here. It’s a little known out-of-the-way place that we discovered when some friends were here last year. 

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

Lynn 

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

           

Hi Everyone!

            First up, the picture above is one of the many wonderful clocks at the Vienna Clock Museum. It was only when I went looking for a rainy day picture that I realized I didn't have any. I'm will rectify that at a later time. 

            Yes, I’m going into the hospital today but that doesn’t mean I can’t give you the scoop on how it’s been in Austria this past week. Weather was weird yet again. It’s been cloudy and overcast for much of it and again, I understand why Eisenhower and other WWII generals hated the European weather.

            We’ve had a very mild winter this year with only two times when the snow actually stayed on the ground for longer than 24 hours. We even had a few flurries this week as we went from warm to cold in a flash. It’s really interesting when that happens. You go out in a spring coat and realize you’re going to freeze. And that happened on numerous occasions this week.

            Otherwise, Austria has been quite pleasant. It isn’t so beautiful yet as if it were I’d be gazing out my window at all the wonderful flowers instead of writing. But things are budding and we were thinking we’d have flowers this week. However, the weather did another dive and it became cold.

            Then there is the rain. It is interspersed with the cold and makes it even more interesting because sometimes this week like I mentioned, there was little white particles along with it. I kid you not. Rain and snow, the common thing this winter. And what’s even more amazing, one day it will be a warm rain the next freezing cold.  We can’t win here. LOL!

            We did manage to go out a few times this week as Sunday was our 29^th wedding anniversary. Cold weather won’t make us stay in for that one.

            See you all next week!

Lynn