[INSIGHT TRAVEL - EUROPEAN GRANDEUR] - Vienna, Day 2, Part 3

DAY 24 - SEPTEMBER 23, 2000
VIENNA, AUSTRIA - HOTEL DE FRANCE
ROOM 212
PART 3

/...continued from previous entry

Before we could let that topic affect the rest of the afternoon, our attention was drawn by a car owner having his car moved. It wasn't a tow-away job -- not when the car was placed on a slanted sort of platform that then straightened out into a mini-flatbed behind the driver's cab. Interesting! Both Maureen and I wondered if the man had had a breakdown or if he was going to get a citation. We preferred to believe in the former explanation -- more charitable to do so!

The next scenario that caught our eye was the young dad and his two boys feeding the small flock of pigeons on the lawn. That led to a comparative study on pigeons and their temperaments, based on their country of origin. The Trafalgar Square pigeons were shy and diffident about asking for food; the St. Mark's pigeons were aggressively and hot-bloodedly Italian. The Viennese birds aren't shy, but neither are they dive-bombers. How best to describe them? I guess "perky" would be a good word. They have a marvelously alert expression as they jostle each other about. Watching them being fed, I remembered the leftover french fries I'd been carting around from my lunch at McDonald's. Wondering aloud if the pidges would like stale fries, I was encouraged by Maureen to try and see what would happen.

Those birds certainly had a sixth sense about food : once they heard the sound of the fries being shaken in their container, they started approaching in the most appealing way. To make the fun last and feed as many birds as possible, I tore each pomme frite into small pieces and scattered them about bit by bit so every bird could get a piece. But this did not satisfy one of the little darlings, and he progressed from taking food from my fingers to actually perching on my thumb and grabbing the big fries -- as if he could swallow it whole, like the shark in Jaws!! Though he severely hampered my efforts, both Maureen and I were too busy enjoying ourselves to seriously think of shooing him away.

By the time the pommes frites were finished, Maureen and I had just enough time to get back to the drop-off point. On the way there, we poked into one last shop that had in its display window a figurine of a Bedouin on a camel that she knew would go well on a table in her New Zealand home; all we had to do was to ask the price. and of course, since it was an exquisite figurine, the price was certainly something to match -- somewhere in the four-figure schilling range.

Made it back to the bus in good time, then started comparing notes with Bob and Marlyn on how our respective days went. I was in the middle of an extremely enthusiastic account of my afternoon with the pigeons, when, at a particularly long stop in traffic, Dmitri pulled a fast one on me and was suddenly booming in my ear, "What's the story about?" I swung round with eyes wide and heart pounding, shaking my head in amused exasperation as people cried out, "Who's driving the bus?" and Dmitri rejoined, "It's driving itself, not to worry," before getting back to where he was meant to be. As someone said, "He must be lonely there without Lisa," I ducked my face behind the backrest of Marlyn's chair, effectively blocking any view from the camera that keeps an eye on us. Another swift prayer sent up to guard against any malicious thoughts by anyone on the bus, and soon I was my irrepressible self all over again. "Good angels be my guard" is something that calms me down when pangs of unease threaten my peace of mind, and the angels have heard, early and often -- for which praise God!

We got to the hotel without further incident, and Dmitri and I went through our usual parting routine as he handed me down from the bus. He and Lisa still have to shepherd the folks on their folklore optional night out; I trust they'll all come back in good time and none the worse for wear.

Ma and Dad were happy to see me back in the room, and Ma was particularly glad to see the Ricola tea that I had found. Once I had updated them on my doings in the city center, we headed off to find ourselves some dinner. Ma wanted to be out of range when the tour group left, so we went down at around 1630H and made our way to - of all places - a Subway fast foods not far from the hotel. It was nice to munch on reasonably priced, familiar food for a change, even if it was fast food. We were the only ones in the place,and after making a good meal of sandwiches and fizzy water, we decided to take a stroll to settle down our tummies for the night.

One thing for sure, Vienna is cold. The pleasant chill of theis morning has turned into something decidedly sharper. So we didn't get very far with our walk down the street. Still, it was fun to take a good long look at the Votivkirsche and think of how pretty it would look once it was completely clean. right now, it's only got one tower and most of the facade all pristine white. One wonders what it must have looked like back in the day, when Viennese were more church-going and remembered that the Votivkirsche was actually a thanksgiving offering by Emperor Maximilian of Mexico for having survived an assassination attempt. The assassin's knife had been deflected from Max's throat because of the stiff military uniform collar!

Avoided most of the chill by taking the pedestrian underpass - clean, neat, and with a mini-fast foods center, like the stalls in Megamall. Ayala probably took their cue for Makati's pedestrian underpasses from Vienna and London, which by far ahs the best pedestrian/public transport interface that i've seen. But then, I adore London in all weathers. Peeped into a couple of store windows beside the hotel, safe in the knowledge that the group had been carted off to thei Schnapps-tasting/folklore evening.

Once back in the warmth of the hotel lobby, Ma decided to check out the little souvenir shop with its display of Swarovski crystal. Of course she wouldn't wait for Innsbruck - so there was nothing for it but to let her have her fun and try not to say anything to dampen her spirits. She was friends with the Pinay saleslady in less than five minutes; I found her just a bit much with the high-pressure sales, myself. but, since Ma came out of the deal with some new toys and was happy, then all turned out well. me, I'm waiting for the factory outlet of Swarovski in Innsbruck - there's bound to be more stuff there.

Our last night in Vienna - so it was back to repacking the suitcases and checking that all was safe and secure. I endyoed the sofa bed here - the arm rests fold down to create the full length of the bed, and then they add pillows and the most marvelously cushy comforter -- one that would smother a person to death back home, but is just perfect for a place like this! I hope Innsbruck is just as nice, though so far, triple-sharing has been quite comfortable indeed!