![]() When you are with your child, you feel bad because work gets left behind. I got a premonition of what working mothers describe as “eternal guilty conscience”: when you work, you feel bad because your child needs you. So I wrote the last few lines with the baby on my breast. Just before that, Emi got hungry and wanted to be fed. Of course, that didn’t work! At 4pm the client called and asked when my work would be ready. Which means Emi should have had a nice long sleep during the day so that I had the time to think and write. Sigmund was teaching today and I had a deadline. The Christmas lights seemed to have a new message this year: Not “buy!” but “take a deep breath”. There are these particular everyday moments that you remember for a long time. But to walk around the Stephansplatz with the stroller in this calm was something special. I’ve lived here for 21 years and have, therefore, been avoiding the tourist spots for a long time. I concentrated on Emi in the stroller and the cold air in my nose and lungs, and for the first time in years I was enchanted by Vienna’s first district: it was a little more magical than usual. At 5pm it looked like the middle of the night. The Christmas lights on Kärnter Straße and Graben were already on, but all of the shops and little boutiques were closed, everything seemed slower and quieter. It was somehow peaceful, idyllic, more Christmassy than usual. We went for a walk in the city centre in the late afternoon. ![]() What he meant was: “Why can’t you come up for a coffee?” They were waiting for me in front of their house with the heater, no hugs or “bussi-bussi” (kisses on the cheek), and after 20 seconds, once everything was packed in the car we parted. Seeing Bella and her son Lux “illegally” felt weird. ![]() There was less traffic than usual, but no comparison with the first lockdown, when you could have walked on the Gürtel (Vienna’s inner ring road) which is infamous for traffic jams and fast drivers. I had to borrow a heater from my friend Bella, so I took our little car to drive from the 20th to the 6th Missed hugs and cookie dilemmas: Our Viennese lockdown diary district. ![]() I miss, miss, miss my friends so much already! And it’s only day two of 20. I was a little confused, though: how do I know she’s got 2G+ status (recovered or vaccinated and PCR tested)? The chief executive of the agency said t I could take off my mask. I showed my vaccination certificate and PCR test to the assistant when I entered the office and disinfected my hands. So what I will miss: sitting at the dining table with friends and relatives, chatting, sharing life.Īt noon, I had a meeting at the agency where I get my freelance assignments. In truth, it felt lonely (at least there were two of us). But I remember Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2020 when my partner Sigmund and I were all alone at home, trying to make it romantic. I won’t miss shopping, sports classes or the theatre too much. ![]() Oh, and also for Covid-19 testing and vaccinations. Yet again, we are only allowed to leave the house for essential errands: for work (if it can’t be done at home) and for physical and psychological recreation. We didn’t think this would be necessary after we endured lockdowns in March, November, December 2020 and one “Easter rest” in 2021. Whether it’s a masquerade ball or any number of other themes, it’s a very magical time.I woke up and can hardly believe it: the fourth lockdown begins today across Austria. Over Christmas, the city hosts a plethora of balls, including the Bonbon Ball and Opera Ball. The seasonal ballsīalls are a huge part of Vienna’s culture and during the holiday season, the capital ramps it up several gears. Here’s why Vienna is often cited as the Christmas capital of Europe. Admittedly, I was only there to see a few concerts in some of Vienna’s world-class music venues, but I stayed longer than I expected because there is so much to see in Austria’s capital city. When I visited Vienna I was stunned by the city’s cleanliness, charm, and the Baroque-styled structural beauty. Vienna is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Austria and Vienna is often referred to as one of the most beautiful country capitals in Europe and even the world, and Christmas is a truly magical time to visit. Here’s how you can easily fall for its elegant seasonal charms… With its handsome palaces, fancy coffee houses, cosy wood-panelled Beisln and labyrinthine of smart cobbled lanes, Vienna – the beautiful Austrian capital steeped in hundreds of years of history and counts Mozart, Strauss and Freud among its residents – is seemingly made for Christmas. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |