Page 5 of 14

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Vienna: Day One, Part One

We slept like kings!  We slept so well that the hassles of the previous night were temporarily forgotten, and we showered and took ourselves down to breakfast.

We went to reception to inquire about breakfast and the internet — not really having been in a fit state to do so the night before. Breakfast starts at a whopping 19 Euros for a continental breakfast and goes up to 28 Euros for the full Monty.  Internet usage is 35 Euros a day.  They could, however, offer us a daily package of 35 Euros per room to cover both. PHEW!  We thought we had better check on car parking while we were talking EXPENSE — 25 Euros a day !

We could take our breakfast outside, which we chose to do.  PANIC — where is my camera?  I want to photograph this. Mr P goes to the car and I check the room — then we do it in reverse to make sure the other has not missed it .  Still no camera!  Mr P suggests it might have been left at reception after the debacle the previous night.

We asked, they checked, and bingo — there was my camera!   I was able to give make and model, identify and name other objects in the camera case and, phew, I had it back.

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First Night: Imperial Hotel Vienna

The sales pitch on booking.com who we use for all our hotel bookings:

This historic Vienna hotel features a health club with gym, indoor pool with sunbathing lawn, sauna and steam room. Guests reside in a 19th century Imperial Riding School in Vienna’s diplomatic district, while enjoying the lush 2,000 m² private garden.

The boutique style Imperial Club offers uniquely designed rooms and suites with elegant furnishings. Standard features include flat — screen TVs, high — speed Internet access, safes and air conditioning.

Organic Austrian cuisine can be enjoyed at the hotel’s Borromäus Restaurant with a winter garden or on the beautiful summer terrace. The Arsenal Beer and Wine Pub proposes typical Austrian dishes and seasonal specialties of highest quality.

Guests may discover hidden gems only a local would know with Renaissance’s In-The-Know recommendations, personally curated weekly by the hotel’s Navigator.

The Ringstrasse and the city center, the opera, concert halls, theaters and museums are within easy walking distance. The Rennweg Train Station is right behind the hotel and provides a fast and direct connection to the airport (22 minutes). Various tram stops are only a few steps away.

We paid in advance last year and got an exceptionally good room rate — around 75 euros a night.

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Road Trip: Venice to Vienna

We were on a mission — not from God like Jake and Elwood in the Blues Brothers — more like hell given the number of twists and turns the week took, but more of that later. Our mission was to see Robbie Williams in concert in Vienna. Tickets for the concert here were about 50% cheaper than in the UK, so we decided we would take a break and incorporate the concert into the itinerary.

Once we had our precious tickets, we then proceeded to work out the most acceptable way for us to travel. Acceptable to us includes the following criteria — cost, opportunity to see new places, have new adventures, explore new and different cultures, make the most of opportunities, tasting new food and wines, hotels with bath and shower, the opportunity to learn, and most importantly for me, a means of travel which allows me to photograph.

We chose to travel using the motorway network — mainly for speed and our lack of geographical knowledge.

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Music as it Should Be: Depeche Mode at Optimus Alive 2013 in Lisbon

I have posted before about one of my reasons for loving Portugal — access to music of all kinds and genres, classical, traditional fado, international superstars, innovative festivals, bands large and small, old and new, intimate venues, outdoor venues — the range is incredible from Rock in Rio every two years in Lisbon to the classy Music of the World every summer in Sines.

In the summer months, the large beer and mobile phone companies ply for our trade, and the kudos of hosting international pop and rock acts over the long weekends in June, July and August.

Continue reading → Music as it Should Be: Depeche Mode at Optimus Alive 2013 in Lisbon

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Going Native: Rejecting the “Expat” Label

Strictly speaking, yes I am an expatriate, but I cringe when I am referred to as an “expat” — the colloquial shortened form of the word.  I am not quite sure why this is.  It could be that I do not like to be associated with some of the negative connotations that have come to be associated with several “ex-pat” communities; or if I know consider myself to be a proper European who can live anywhere in Europe — or something else entirely.

Yes, I was born in the UK, raised in the UK, and still have a UK passport.  My coloring and skin type is most definitely English, as is my language.  However, now I have moved here and have little or no intentions of returning to the UK to live I think I am evolving into something else — something more than an expat!

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…and We Still Ended Up Feeding the Fox!

Most of rural Portuguese households rely on buckets.  Buckets for wood, water, pine cones, clothes pegs/pins – you name it there will be a bucket for it.  We all use similar types of black buckets — ownership is usually interchangeable along with the contents. Occasionally, we  halfheartedly say we will color code them with tape on the handles according to ownership — it lasts about a month before our buckets are everywhere again.

However, we have a special bucket — bright orange with a lid.  This is for our kitchen waste.  We do not compost our food waste here for several reasons.  First, the smell, and the flies amplified by the heat and, second, composting encourages rats, mice and other vermin such as foxes.  We feel most of our food waste to the chickens and they give us eggs in return.

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When Does a Terrorist Become a Freedom Fighter, Politician and Even President?

Let me start this by saying I do not wish ill of the dead or the dying, but more to examine the change in attitudes in our society, media and government over time. I will also add that I abhor violence of any kind, for any cause.

As I was a growing up in the 1960’s there were numerous terrorist groups that dominated the news. The ANC — African National Congress and the Provisional IRA were the two that stood out.  The ANC because of their struggle against apartheid and the Provisional IRA because they were close to home and not only carried out their program of terror bombings in their own country but in ours too.

Nelson Mandela was fundamental in setting up and organising the armed wing of the ANC — it was his suggestion and one that got him arrested and imprisoned for 5 years with hard labour in 1962. The following year when the rest of the group was arrested and tried for plotting to overthrow the government by violence Nelson Mandela was brought forward and included in the charges which resulted in life imprisonment.

Continue reading → When Does a Terrorist Become a Freedom Fighter, Politician and Even President?