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Published: July 22nd 2013
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I do a fair bit of traveling, so I am accustomed to identifying names in foreign languages. As long as the latin alphabet is used, I am in good shape. But someone needs to explain to me how "Vienna" becomes "Wien" in German.
Its not like we are adding an "x" to Brussels. Here, the only thing these two words have in common are thee consecutive letters sandwiched somewhere in the middle.
Until I actually arrived, I was not 100% sure that I was going to end up in Vienna.
But it turned out to be a very, very good day.
First, Wien does mean Vienna, so I was in the right place.
Second, I traveled to Wien on a Fast Train named the "RailJet," which is maybe the coolest Fast Train name yet.
Finally, and most importantly, I witnessed a blog-worthy moment before I even left the Central Station. A city train was preparing to leave the platform, its red departure light blinking. A young couple raced down the platform. The backpack carrying young man leaped onto the train just as the doors closed, leaving his wheelie-bag pulling girlfriend alone, on the platform, on
the wrong side of the doors. As the train pulled away, the young man was frantically shouting through the glass, pointing with great urgency at the city map, which was in his hand, not hers. The train vanished into the darkness and the young lady turned. Her angry face said it all ... "He is soooooooo not getting laid tonight." (can I say laid?)
So here I am in Vienna.
Vienna is a much bigger city than you think. Oh, and the Blue Danube ... its not blue. Its brown, like every other big river in the world.
There is some big bike festival in town this week. Not sure whats going on, but they seem to be having fun.
The Vienna bike police (you know the cops that patrol on bicycle), wear spandex uniforms. That's weird right?
I thought I would use this blog to bring you up to date on a couple of total random items.
As expensive as Western Europe is, Eastern Europe is that cheap. I think I spent about a buck-fifty during my 4 days in Krakow.
I wish the European Community would get its act together and
get everyone on the same damn currency. As I write this blog, I am in the Czech Republic and on the 6th currency of the trip. My 6 zip-lock baggies of unusable change weight more than the rest of my gear put together.
Last week I beat myself up pretty badly on this blog over the whole lost wallet thing. Those who know me know that I have a pretty healthy ego, so despite whatever shortcomings I may have had last week, they are long forgotten and now its time for me to tell you how brilliant I am.
TRAVEL ADVICE: So I carry my orange daypack everywhere I go. Inside I always have (1) a Swiss Army knife, (2) a flashlight and (3) a first aid kit with a bunch of advil. When I travel, I add an ethernet cord. My niece Allie, and my grape scarfing nephew Tyler mocked me for all my little gadgets, that was until (1) we had lunch in Hyde Park London, and need to cut the bread and cheese (check Swiss Army Knife), (2) we lost a contact lens under the bed (check flashlight), (3) on the middle level of the
Eiffel Tower, a British lady lost the velcro band securing the immobilizing cast on her broken arm (check surgical tape from first aid kit), and (4) no wi-fi in Berlin (check ethernet cord). They mock no more!
Honestly, if you travel, you should take these things with you. Its remarkable how often you use them. Just last night at the hostel in Wien, I loaned my flashlight to some college dude who lost something outside by the fire pit and gave someone else a band-aid.
If you have not read The Stone Family Travel Blog, take a look at www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/The-Stone-Family/
I will finish up today with a discussion of Eastern European elevators. If there are multiple elevators, there is no central "call button." Each elevator has its own call button. I am sure the intent is that patrons call only one elevator, but we all know that NEVER happens. Each and every button is pushed, and when the first arrives, you get on, knowing that the other elevators (that could otherwise be efficiently transporting customers to their destinations) will soon arrive at a now empty floor.
And they wonder whey we won the Cold War? It
wasn't President Reagan's leadership, we just snuck up and tore the Berlin Wall down while everyone in the East was waiting for the elevator.
I am writing this blog during dinner. My Czech is non-existant, and my waiter's English is no better than my Czech. I ordered the soup, which was a terrific tomato and pasta thing, and now I am waiting for my "French Cheese" to arrive. Its supposed to be good, but truth be told, I have no idea what "French Cheese" is. If it arrives before I finish uploading photos, I will let you know ... And ... it turns out that "French Cheese" is a lovely little cheese plate, with dark bread, several soft cheeses, nuts and dried fruit (and Champaign to wash it down). I will upload a photo.
As a preview, in tomorrow's blog, I am going to defend President George W Bush. You know your not going to want to miss that.
Stay tuned.
JJF
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Jed
non-member comment
Wein
Yes, mein herr, but you do have to keep in mind that the German "W" is pronounced as a "V" - so, really, all you're doing is dropping the final "na" from the English word (so, Vienna becomes Vien). This is the source of one of my favorite, totally nerdy music jokes: Q: To what question is the answer "9W"? A: Do you spell your name with a "v", Mr. Wagner? Keep 'em coming!! I love reading about your travels! Jed PS When I saw the title of your blog post, I thought you were going to be riffing on Wein Vienna, as in "we in Vienna". Boy, was I wrong.