Hostage in Austria
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:24 pm
I recently received an email with an invitation to a "meeting" in Austria, and including a schedule for a week of activities. I made my plans accordingly. What I failed to note was the last line, which said, "On Friday we will finalize the schedule for Week #2." Sometimes reading 90% of something is insufficient.
So after having my wife FedEx me another week of meds, I've made the best of it. But with essentially no television (nothing in English), no car, no bike, and only a couple of books to read, my spare time has become a burden. I took a train to Vienna on Saturday, trekked around for many hours, took a short bus tour (recorded descriptions in English), and satisfied that itch (for this lifetime). My feet are killing me.
There is a lot of prosperity hereabouts (I'm in Linz, home city of the company we are meeting with). The main drag is 20-30 blocks long and there's nary a single open storefront - other than the ones that are being renovated for the next tenant). It is a shopping nirvanna. They do bakeries very well here, but I can merely tolerate the food. There is no such thing as a "salad," and no green vegetables. Potatoes are there, but not well prepared. They have a lot of "mystery meat" here, but it doesn't seem to kill them.
"Bicycle friendly" doesn't even begin to describe it. Most main streets have dedicated bike lanes on the sidewalks, and people respect them. I imagine they have pretty serious winters here, but weather permitting, you can go anywhere on a bike, in relative safety.
Vienna is a living, breathing architectural museum. On a sunny day, it is one of the most pleasant places I have ever experienced.
Mass transit is one of the many things they do well in Austria. Buses are clean and on time. You could set your watch by the subway trains. Bus stops tell you which bus is coming and when it will arrive. Everything is on the honor" system. You buy your ticket and keep it with you. I have not seen any "transit police" (or whatever they would be) on a dozen or so trips so far.
Many things are what I consider to be grossly overpriced - I'm glad to be on an expense account, although I can't charge the trip to Vienna.
Worst is 4 Euros for a fucking half-liter bottle of water. It drives me crazy, even though I'm not paying for it. If the tap water were contaminated I might be able to see paying for water, but the tap water here is fine and dandy. The other thing (at least here in Austria) is taht they al drink carbonated water, which I think tastes like shit. You can get water without "gas," but they look at you like you are a pervert when you ask for it.
I had lunch yesterday in an "Australian" pub in Vienna. 15 euro for a hamburger & fries. It was good, but it was too much to eat, and too much to pay. With water & tip, it came out to about thirty bucks - real money.
I don't know how they do it, but they do it well. If I had guaranteed access to McDonald's, I could live here. The local unemployment rate is about 3%.
So after having my wife FedEx me another week of meds, I've made the best of it. But with essentially no television (nothing in English), no car, no bike, and only a couple of books to read, my spare time has become a burden. I took a train to Vienna on Saturday, trekked around for many hours, took a short bus tour (recorded descriptions in English), and satisfied that itch (for this lifetime). My feet are killing me.
There is a lot of prosperity hereabouts (I'm in Linz, home city of the company we are meeting with). The main drag is 20-30 blocks long and there's nary a single open storefront - other than the ones that are being renovated for the next tenant). It is a shopping nirvanna. They do bakeries very well here, but I can merely tolerate the food. There is no such thing as a "salad," and no green vegetables. Potatoes are there, but not well prepared. They have a lot of "mystery meat" here, but it doesn't seem to kill them.
"Bicycle friendly" doesn't even begin to describe it. Most main streets have dedicated bike lanes on the sidewalks, and people respect them. I imagine they have pretty serious winters here, but weather permitting, you can go anywhere on a bike, in relative safety.
Vienna is a living, breathing architectural museum. On a sunny day, it is one of the most pleasant places I have ever experienced.
Mass transit is one of the many things they do well in Austria. Buses are clean and on time. You could set your watch by the subway trains. Bus stops tell you which bus is coming and when it will arrive. Everything is on the honor" system. You buy your ticket and keep it with you. I have not seen any "transit police" (or whatever they would be) on a dozen or so trips so far.
Many things are what I consider to be grossly overpriced - I'm glad to be on an expense account, although I can't charge the trip to Vienna.
Worst is 4 Euros for a fucking half-liter bottle of water. It drives me crazy, even though I'm not paying for it. If the tap water were contaminated I might be able to see paying for water, but the tap water here is fine and dandy. The other thing (at least here in Austria) is taht they al drink carbonated water, which I think tastes like shit. You can get water without "gas," but they look at you like you are a pervert when you ask for it.
I had lunch yesterday in an "Australian" pub in Vienna. 15 euro for a hamburger & fries. It was good, but it was too much to eat, and too much to pay. With water & tip, it came out to about thirty bucks - real money.
I don't know how they do it, but they do it well. If I had guaranteed access to McDonald's, I could live here. The local unemployment rate is about 3%.
