Hundertwasser, Döner Kebabs & XL Schnitzel
Hey Friends!
I’ve decided to stop writing which day it is as my post title or header, because let’s face it, I don’t really care which day it is, and neither do you! It also puts unnecessary pressure on me to blog here every day, and while that is an ideal goal, it’s not realistic. So, away with the pressure! Be gone!
And because, let’s face it, not every day of our trip is going to be noteworthy and interesting to write about OR read.
Whew. Glad we got that out of the way…
Yesterday was one of those days. We were still kinda tired and over it all, so we opted to go see the grandparents in Mödling, which is about an hour by public transportation. Because our current apartment doesn’t have a washing machine available that we are able to use (even though it said it did in the listing), we decided to bring two loads of laundry with us so we could wash our clothes and let them dry while we hung out with my in-laws.
I’ve had some awesome ideas in my life, but this one, clearly, wasn’t among my best. Not only was it raining and cold yesterday, but asking my kids to schlep bags of dirty clothes around town and on trains and street cars was like asking them to clean their rooms. It was met by much resistance and whining. All of which, I could do without.
Regardless of the frustration and hard work of getting the clothes there, washed, hung, partially dried and back to the apartment and hung up again to dry even more, we now have some clean clothes to wear. And I won’t do that again while we’re on this trip!
Today, we spent the day walking around and going to the Kunst Haus Wien where you can view the art and architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I don’t know what it is about his work, but I am always inspired and fascinated by it. It’s so whimsical, yet so exact. And the vibrant colors and strange, yet refreshing take on design are rare and so much fun! He was truly a pioneer and his work continues to be relevant long after it was created.
Like most museums, I was not able to photograph the works of Hundertwasser during our trip, but here are a couple of examples of it I found on the web:
I don’t know what it is about his work, but I just love it! And my kids did too! So playful. So fun. So whimsical. It invites you to be imperfect and create imperfect things. Our human eye is drawn to imperfection. We relate to it more than we relate to something that feels too thought through or put together.
Before we went to the Kunst Haus, my kids went to their very first Döner Kebab stand in Vienna. They thoroughly enjoyed every second of it and every bite.
My girl wasn’t quite sure what she thought of the Döner Kebab, so she just ordered Pommes Rot Weiss (french fries with ketchup and mayo) and drank a Fanta. Really healthy diet we’ve got going on here, but whatever! You only live once and it’s vacation!
After our trek to the Hundertwasser, we hopped on the 1 and rode to Burgring to meet my sweet friend, Albert, who is a classical pianist in Vienna. He was supposed to be meeting a friend to do some work, but thankfully, took some time out of his day to meet up with us for a bit and begin to catch up. Albert and I met when I was living and working in Vienna as well, and it was so good to see him!
Over all, the day was a really good day. It was cold and rainy, and my daughter had refused to wear something suitable for the weather before we left our apartment, so she was cold all day…but oh well, I think she learned that when Mommy says put something warm on, she had better do it!
When we got back to our apartment, we laid around a while and tried to defrost from being out in the cold rain all day. I was going to cook dinner, but then I realized that the Lokal (restaurant and bar) down the street called Blunzenstricker had a special on Wednesdays with XL Schnitzel. The kids and I all agreed we needed to try it out. So we ventured back out into the cold rain to give it a try.
And we were NOT disappointed. It was an old, rustic place with doors on the ceilings and newspaper and antique pictures of people on the walls. The funny bathroom doors had a man’s shoe attached to the top of the door for the men’s restroom and a woman’s shoe attached to the top of door of the women’s restroom. You could tell it had been around a while, and it had a bit of a creepy, haunting Viennese feel to it as well. Lots of history there! Our waiter was super friendly, and we knew we were in good hands when this Schnitzel came out.
I ordered a Steirisches Backhendlsalat (Styrian Fried Chicken Salad) which was 3 cutlets of chicken over a bed of mixed greens, pumpkin seeds, beans and cooked potatoes and drizzled with pumpkin seed oil, and it was amazing! But I was so full I couldn’t even finish it all.
After dinner, I promised the kids we’d order Eispalatschinken, which is basically vanilla ice cream rolled up into a crepe and smothered in chocolate sauce. It was a big hit with my kids, and the waiter was kind enough to pretend that someone got an order wrong (which rarely happens in Austria, btw) and brought us out a second plate of it. Sneaky guy!
I’m thankful he did that, or I wouldn’t have this picture to show you as the first serving was eaten much too quickly by my little vultures.
Yum, right? I should be full for days after that meal!
The rain continues to be a bit of a downer for us here in Vienna, but everyone keeps saying it will let up soon. And I don’t think we’re missing out on much. Do you?
xo,
Amy
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