Why are Vienna sausages in that little can?

 

I hope this isn't insulting but what I know about Vienna is Vienna bread (my mom bought it), Vienna sausage (in the little can) and it’s known for music. Beethoven, Brahms, etc.

We thought about going to Austria in the spring but changed our mind. France was too expensive in the last part of August so we did some rearranging. We’ll be here a week.

We are staying in a building that is 125 years old. It is in the Währing district. It’s considered a suburb of Vienna. 

It has an interesting history. It was one of the centers of Austrian resistance during World War 2. A Catholic priest and a local citizen organized a group. It passed on plans and production facilities of rockets, tanks and planes to the Allies. They were able to bomb the facilities and protect residential neighborhoods. 

It is also on the edge of the Vienna forest, a 500 square mile forest. Within it are 2 cities, a mountain almost 3,000 feet high, 150 types of birds and 2000 plant species.

Other Vienna fun facts: (har)

1) The snow globe was invented in Vienna. 

2) OPEC headquarters

3) It has 450 balls a year. Big dancers these folks.

4) Vienna boys choir has been around since 1498.

5) German word for Vienna is Wein. So you see the word here, there and everywhere.

6) The end.

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August 28, 2022 at 06:56PM

Ryanair hawks scratch off tickets on their flights

 We flew on Ryanair from Dublin to Vienna. Kind of reluctant to book it but it’s cheaper. Other than leaving a half hour late, it was fine. 

It was one of those get on from the tarmac planes up some stairs. Aisle was reasonably wide. We had good leg room because we sat in the exit row. Interesting story about that…

The flight attendant took one passenger in the exit rows booze away that they bought at the airport. I don’t know if you can’t drink your own booze on the flight or if they don’t want exit row passengers drunk. 

Ryan air is no frills. You pay for carry on luggage. You pay for a coke or water or snack. First thing that happened was the flight attendant tried to sell us the inflight magazine. Then the $3 water, pop came through. Half way into the flight an announcement is made that they will be coming down the aisle with things for sale: perfume, cosmetics, electronics, jewelry, everything but the kitchen sink.

You could buy a $15 scratch off ticket. They came down the aisle twice in case you changed your mind. 

It was an older plane. The seats weren’t really comfortable. Sounds like I hated it. No it was fine. The flight attendants were great.

What is like to travel to 5 countries in 3 months?

In 13 weeks we have been to 5 countries: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland.  Three plane rides. Eight train rides. Five air bnbs. Three hotels. And a partridge in a pear tree.

In London we took the underground which was convenient and easy but sometimes involved walking long distances going up and down stairs. In Cardiff we walked. In Manchester we took the tram. In Scotland we took the tram. In Belfast took the bus. In Dublin took the tram. In Waterford we walked. 

The hardest part of this trip is traveling to the new place . Trains are fiascos half the time. Adjusting to staying in a new place so often is hard.

Figuring out local transportation such as trams is pretty easy because there is always a ticket machine at the stop. Buses are hairier for two reasons: 1) Sometimes you have to go to a specific place to wait, like Parnell stop 6004. The buses that run on the same street might stop every other stop or something. Another thing we learned the hard way is that you have to have exact change when you get on the bus. No cards. No change given. 

Since we have been in Ireland, we deal in Euros which is so much easier and almost equivalent to USD. In the UK it was pounds and it was confusing. 

Some things that are different in the UK and Ireland: No dryers. Clothes are hung to dry on racks. Washing machines are confusing and can take 2 hours or more a load. No air conditioners. One hotel had none but it had a fan. No screens on windows. Naprosyn is a prescription med here. (WTF!) They have “digestive biscuits” (crackers) that you can eat and they have an antacid effect. Black pudding, fish pie, beans at breakfast, sausage rolls, chips(fries), haggis. 

It’s been an interesting trip so far. Cant wait for tomorrow!

those rebellious Irish

those rebellious Irish
those rebellious Irish

 Tomorrow we leave Ireland. I am really sad about that. I cannot believe we have been here for a month. It has been a once in a lifetime experience. I grew up being told I was 100% Irish by my mom. Of course that wasn’t true and if I believe ancestry DNA I am about half Irish. I will always consider myself 100% Irish! What else would I want to be? I reject my other heritage, dammit!

Starting in Belfast was weird because of the continued tension there. The history of the troubles is real there even now. I learned a lot about Northern Ireland history. Although I’m no long a practicing Catholic, I thought about what it would have been like to be Catholic in Northern Ireland. Cant help but admire the Catholic people and their struggle for an equal place in society. I don’t think they’ve achieved it yet.

I was kind of thrown by Dublin at first. I thought so this is all about tourism? The Temple bar? There is so much more to Dublin than that. There is a rich culture and history. Dublin played such a major role in the country’s independence. It feels weird to be staying right in the area where a lot of it took place.I absolutely loved learning about Irish history. It gives you a real understanding of irish people and my background and the people in my family.

My great grandfather John was born a year before the famine hit. He grew up in a tumultuous time in Ireland after the famine. Imagine having 1 million people starve and 1 million people leave and the effect that has on the country, on the Irish psyche. It probably continues to affect people to this day because many more people left after the famine.

Every Irish I have met has had a relative in the United States or they have been to the United States. There’s a close connection.

Finally there’s Waterford, where my Dads family came from. His family is still here. Some left. It has been so interesting to see the area they lived in, to learn the history of Waterford and imagine what life must have been like for them going back to 1790, as far as I can trace them.

People in Waterford are friendly, saying hello to strangers, eager to talk to. 

So as we leave Ireland, if I had to describe it I would say there is a sense of melancholy.  Definition of melancholy: a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause. 

Other words to describe Irish people: resilient, rebellious, joyful. In a way that describes me. God knows I’m resilient. I’m defenitely rebellious(!). I’m happy, haven’t always been.

I think the part of the Irish people I like the best is the rebel in them. They never gave up, fighting til they won.

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August 25, 2022 at 09:36PM


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August 26, 2022 at 03:11AM
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August 26, 2022 at 04:46AM

Homeless in Waterford

 We were sitting by the river this evening and an older guy stops and tells us his story. He lives in his car. We had seen him earlier making a meal on what looked like a barbecue. He had a big sign on his car that said something about homeless.

He lived on a farm but had to sell it due to problems with his neighbors. He never said what the problem was. He says he was harassed, car vandalized. He was beat up. No charges were ever filed against the people who did it. He however was arrested once. I think he said he took it to court and won.

He also said that he was outspoken about local police corruption and the problems he’s had problably had something to do with that.

Anyway, he has now made getting compensated, telling his story his life mission. When he sold the farm, he gave the money to lawyers and his kids, keeping some for himself. He managed to live in hotels for a few years but is now homeless. 

He spends his days telling his story. 

This is what happens in Waterford Ireland on a beautiful evening sitting by the river. A stranger tells you the story of his life.

Irelands number one town

What is interesting about Waterford? After all it’s a town of only 53,000. So let me tell you.

It is Irelands oldest city. In the 900’s Viking pirates starting raiding it. (They came all that way?!) Eventually they started a settlement here at the point where two rivers, the Suir and John’s (yup good ol’ John got his own river) come together as they make their way to the ocean.  

So they set up a tower at that point where the rivers intersected. The town/ settlement was in back of that and was shaped like a triangle. Eventually more Vikings settled there and a wall was built around the triangle. 

So things were going great for the Vikings til the native Irish attacked and took the triangle. Well the Irish were feeling pretty good about themselves when a few years later those pesky Vikings returned and took it over again. 

They kept it for over 200 years until, you guessed it, the English came in and took over in the 1100’s.  As time went on and more and more towns were established, the English nobility owned the land and rented it to the Irish. Eventually the Irish got fed up and took back their country.

Waterford was a big shipping center  and still is somewhat. That shaped the city, brought more people. Waterford crystal set up in the late 1700’s and employed thousands. Cattle farms and crop farms surround Waterford. 

Ireland had a big boom in the late 1980’s to 2008 when the recession hit. Waterford crystal shut down (now reopened), a tech firm and bank headquarters left, leaving the town economically devastated. 

It’s still here, keeping on, surviving just like a million small towns. People here really care about the town. It has a bright future. It has been named best place to live in Ireland.

Would I live in Waterford Ireland?

 I was thinking what would it be like to live in a place like Waterford. It’s a town of 53,000. I live in a city of 424,000. 

Waterford shuts down it’s retail and a lot of restaurants at 5-530 pm. I don’t really go to bars, but they close 12-1230 am.Waterford does have a couple small shopping centers. It has a couple of big grocery stores. You can get pretty much what you need here. Has arts community, small theatres.  People care about the town.

 Lots of beautiful towns on the coast and inland. Big advantage: beach is close. Dublin is 1 1/2 hours away. Bigger sports, retail, concerts.  Airport.

It’s definitely a slower pace. Less crime.  Probably really focused on friends and family. They become your entertainment.

Weather is moderate temp wise. Normally lots of clouds, fair amount of rain. Where I live snow and cold six months out of the year. 

Could I live here? No. I’m just too used to big city life. It’s not even that I take advantage of all big cities offer. I don’t go to museums, plays, even concerts. I live a simple life. It’s just that I am used the feel of a big city. I have lived in it all my life. I like the diversity. The variety. The changes. 

I don’t like all the problems that come with living in an American moderately big city. Crime. Violence. Poverty. Racism.

So it puts you between a rock and a hard place. I don’t have the answer.

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August 22, 2022 at 10:34PM