A Happy Weekend In Vienna

Greg perusing the menu in German at Wortners on Friday evening

Where do the weekends go?!

We had plans yesterday to go with friends to the Naschtmarkt (food & flea market) but it rained most of the day. During a brief reprieve from the rain we rode the ubahn to Saturn to look at televisions. I couldn't hold Greg back any longer and we ended up buying a large flat screen TV (after all, have to keep up with the sons-in-law:) We had a rolling luggage carrier that the salesman strapped it on. Since we got a good deal on a floor model that had no box he had to package it in bubble wrap and tape. It was quite a wide load and as we walked out of the store it had begun to rain again. Greg and the TV took a taxi while I rode home on Ubahn and bus.

Saturn is on third floor

Columbus Center houses restaurants, a grocery store, Saturn, and other stores

It is amazing how creative people are here in getting items home. Last week I observed a woman wrapping a large rattan table with small rollers on the legs in rope and then proceeded to pull it down the sidewalk.

So, last night we watched Frost/Nixon movie (quite interesting) and Finding Nemo. We were mesmerized by how vivid the colors were on large screen LCD, especially in Nemo. We get no television reception so will be watching DVDs (maybe we can get caught up on some of the educational ones we've bought over the years.)

This morning we walked and rode public transportation almost an hour to worship with a small group of missionaries in their apartment. We are becoming more confident with singing in German and feel it has been helpful with our pronunciation. After church we got off at the Karlsplatz ubahn stop for lunch at a cute little outdoor cafe. On our way home we did some exploring and found a few larger grocery stores nearby. I would estimate we walk no less than an hour a day and more on most.

Our afternoon has been quiet and peaceful while we listened to a music DVD (Roy Orbison's "The Black & White Night"-thanks Will!) as we read. I can definitely recommend "Same Kind Of Different As Me" by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. It is a moving (true) story about a wealthy man and a street person who became best friends. You will not regret reading this one!

What a difference living in Vienna has already made in our lives. While we dearly miss our family and friends, we were long overdue for just some "us" time and we are making the most of it.