Day 13 - Oct. 26 - Quiet Sunday

Another mystery this morning. I was going to prepare "Kathie's" chicken casserole so that we would have it all ready for dinner that evening. Despite searching EVERYWHERE, the cream we bought at Interspar was nowhere to be found! First the onions, now the cream! We clearly remember buying it, because it was difficult to find and in the busiest area of the store where it seemed we were in everyone's way while we looked. I also pulled out the receipt to double-check, and yes, we bought it. Ron says there is a Poltergeist in the apartment. I say we need to be more careful when bagging our groceries. Throughout Europe, you bag your own groceries (generally bringing your own bags), but when the store is busy and people are behind you, it is easy to miss an item. As it was now Sunday, there was nowhere near us open to buy more cream!

We set out about 10 AM, took Tram #1 to Schwedenplatz, transferred to U-Bahn 4, and rode out to Heiliginsstadt to retrieve the car from the Park & Ride.

From there we set the GPS to take us to Greifenstein, north of the city along the Danube. Ron had read about a gasthaus there, Brauner Baer, which offered Sunday morning "fruhschoppen" with music. Fruhschoppen literally means an alcoholic beverage before midday - enjoyed in the company of others. It is a German/Austrian tradition to meet at a local pub, typically on Sundays. Originally it was primarily a men's gathering while the women were in church. With the decline in church attendance, fruhschoppen is becoming less common; and when found today it is generally a family affair.

The Brauner Baer was a large, attractive gasthaus with an extensive, but typically Austrian, menu. The music was provided by the Hans Ecker Trio (bass, guitar, and accordion). The lead singer was a rather sleazy looking character with a mustache, ill-fitting black suit, dark framed glasses, and a large nose. He reminded me somewhat of a young Groucho Marx. His act contained a lot of comedic "patter" in a dialect which we could not understand at all.

Ron had a Wienerschnitzel (veal), which he said was one of the worst he's had. Once again, I had "backhendl" - fried chicken. We started with an order of tasty fried mushrooms, which were served with potatoes, and would have been enough for both of our meals! Won't want any fried food for months!

Pictures I took of the interior and trio didn't turn out. Ron took a short video, but it won't load here. So, I have captured a photo from the web-site.

Of course we were the only non-locals there. Can't say that it was one of the most enjoyable experinces to date!

We then drove in the countryside, which was not at all scenic. The only thing we saw of any interest was the Burg

Kreuzenstein in Leonbendorf. It was rebuilt on the ruins of a medieval castle in the 19th century by a wealthy family who made their money with extensive Silesian coal mines. The family purchased sections of medieval structures all over Europe, and used them to form an authenticate looking castle. It has been used in filming quite a few movies - mostly European - but "Season of the Witch" with Nicolas Cage was filmed there in 2011.

Having no success finding a charming looking spot that might offer Internet access, we returned the car to the P&R, and took U-Bahn 4 to Wien Mitte, and walked to the smaller shopping complex across th street. We discovered that the large bookstore, Thalia, offered free Wi-Fi which was available in several of the cafes in the center. We sat in the area of the Marco Polo Cafe and checked our emails and did other transactions. Marco Polo had a conveyor belt passing by a counter where you could choose sushi and other offerings as they passed by. We opted to order a small snack from the menu - fried wontons and chicken fried rice. Oops - fried food again!

Sushi and other items on conveyor belt

We took Tram #0 to our apartment, and called it an early evening. With only two channels available on the television and no access to internet or my HayDay game, I find the evenings too long. I am not used to just sitting and reading!