Spring has well and truly sprung here in Vienna and what with another lockdown beginning on Thursday, it couldn't be more welcome. But I'm bored of dwelling on Covid's 1st birthday so instead, here's a very eclectic roundup of the past month or so.
I mentioned in my last post that I was embarking on a Russian course to fill some of the extensive free time I have as a British Council teaching assistant. Although the A1 course is split into three sections, meaning I haven't yet reached even the very first level of the language ranking system, I'm pleased to report it's going well and I've just started a second, slightly longer course. My vocabulary is finally extending beyond хлеб, утка and пицца (no thanks Duolingo) and my Russian flatmate delights in my proud yet horrific attempts at pronouncing new phrases.
(St Nicholas Cathedral, Vienna)
It wouldn't be a Vienna post without some photos of another Stadtwanderweg so here are some from number 4 which I did with another year-abroader. Other than the warning signs about unidentifiable Austrian insects and a wrong turning meaning we nearly did the route twice over, it was a great success!
(Stadtwanderweg 4)
Next up, a final ski day in Hochkar! With the luxury of a friend's car, we were able to venture beyond Stuhleck and drive to this small, yet lovely area near the resort of Göstling an der Ybbs (the name alone was enough to entice me on this rather epic roadtrip)! What should've been a fairly easy 2 hour drive on the Autobahn turned into a 3.5 hour schlepp after first being stuck behind two gritters and travelling at 10kmh instead of 100 and then having to switch to narrow, icy country roads when the motorway was cordoned off. But we eventually made it and, not having Schneeketten for the wheels, loaded ourselves into a shuttle bus with a few other skiers, determined to make the most of fresh snow.
I'm not sure if it was the complete whiteout-weather which put people off or perhaps they knew about the traffic disruptions in advance but either way, we basically had the pistes to ourselves and there wasn't even the faintest hint of a lift queue (a definite perk of pandemic pistes)!
And finally, the last few weeks have been pretty tasty, filled with lots of new favourite finds here in Vienna. ('Supporting local businesses' is how I justify my extensive sampling of Vienna's foodie scene).
There's nothing like enjoying your (GIANT) baklava at the centre of an even giant-er corona protest - a great spectator sport, I must admit.
Other finds have been an insanely delicious Greek deli where I could easily have eaten everything on offer but restrained myself and made two very good choices - a Spanakopita and a half zucchini, stuffed with scented rice.
Next up, a couple of sweet offerings - cannoli from a Sicilian bakery in Josephstadt (where I was luckily accompanied by an Italian friend, for the owner Paulo, doesn't speak a word of German..supposedly!) And then, thought not in the same day, to Tichy Eissalon for 'Vienna's best ice cream'!
And to round off this post, here are a couple of photos from Donauinsel last night - the whole city was out, enjoying the rays and relative freedom before a 24hr curfew hits next week..... I've been coerced into a Donau dip later today so if there are no more blog posts, you can assume I froze.
