the very lazy first morning in Vienna

As yesterday we came home quite late, I sort of knew in advance I'd sleep less today; I'm already quite used to waking up very early, and it's really hard to avoid the sort of routine I've been trying to build up at the farm. I read a few pages of the book, and took advantage of the Wi-fi to fetch some new records to my phone; then, a Tone Glow article rabbithole led me into dj interior semiotics and some other interesting stuff; I now have enough fresh music to last me a couple of weeks. I also tried the first puzzle of the Revival of Code 2023 (alas, it was already quite challenge, which doesn't help my morale, and I'm not even done yet – and it's still the first one!...). I suppose it maybe was not the best choice of morning to try it out.

the Austrian Sundays

There are some beautiful bicycles in Vienna. The city is mostly flat and has good cycling infrastructure; there were lots of road, messenger bikes around.

Very often I'd find myself contemplating these vehicles. Lots of different styles and geometries...and it made me long for my own bicycle even more.

Midway through the morning we made it out of the house. Sundays in Vienna – probably in Austria in general – are quite interesting: most commerce is closed, except for cafés and restaurants and a handful of supermarkets. I did not realise this the first time I was around here, back in November last year, as I had not been there on Sunday. It really puts the city on a different pace. We spent most of the day walking around, visiting the parks, doing some sightseeing, picnicking, watching some cool bikes go by; as generally known, Vienna has beautiful sights, places and parks to hang around in. Lots of families, couples, friends...it is, however, quite incredible that with such a good weather and a beautiful city, they really do seem not to smile so much. If I knew the language, maybe I could try to exchange some pleasantries with them, in any case, it feels like a very tough audience (do they even have stand-up comedy?).

Many were gathered in Vienna's Stadtpark. Back in November, there was nobody using the grass for seating; this time, almost everyone was making use of it.

A very pensive young man mentally wrestled with some pieces of paper near the Stadtpark.

planning for the following day

There's not much to tell, I suppose; I'm quite tired from the long walking and there is still some planning for tomorrow that I'd like to get done. This trip to Vienna was not so much about visiting a big, European landmark of a city, so much as it was just visiting a city – and seeing a good friend of mine – while also getting some things that I need for the farm life: a yoga mat, some new (used) clothes, ink for the pens, potentially a bike lock, if I can find any. Although the farm work is certainly tough and taxing on the body, I definitely do feel that I need the yoga routine to kick in.