1977

In 1977 ...

... Rocky wins 3 Oscars

... Star Wars starts

... Austria's first Mc Donald's restaurant opens

... I enjoy a transatlantic passage, hopefully not my last

... this hospital opens in Vienna:
I have a special relation with this hospital, it is where a neurosurgeon clipped to aneurysms in my mum't brain. 4 weeks out of time, out of space, for all of us.

The entrance reminds ma a lot of Cuban architecture: playful shapes made of concrete.

Outside was the beginning of spring with the birds singing and inside it was just the signal of the elevater arriving at the floor and the humming of the air condition. You could not open a window. What was left, was the view:

The view from the 8th floor. Have there always been this many cranes?

Everyone knows the top sign, but the one below ... somehow amuses me.

EDIT:

I forgot to say, 4 weeks later, life is almost back to normal. I guess we were lucky. The neurosurgeon is said to be one of the 3 top-surgeons in Europe. He is 60-something years old. I would love to ask him, if he recommends a young doctor, who I might turn to in 20 years from now. Would this be too weird? I hope he mentors the future top neurosurgeon. Not sure, if doctor-business works like this.

Drugged Lilac Lunch Break

Hi again! Here comes a follow up posting.

My lunch break.

Somehow this postings turns out to justify the #1 rank of Vienna on the mercer list. See for yourself:

The not very busy bicycle lane next to the not very busy car lanes
at the ring road (the road goes around the City Center)

This is the gate to the shopping district in the City Centre, the Kärntner Straße.

Douglas House of Beauty.

This photo does not justify the magnificence of this department store. In the back the ceiling elevates and hundreds (thousands?) of Swarovski crystals lighten up the room. This is how I imagine a department store in Ginza, Tokyo. No. Wrong, this IS how a department store in Ginza is. Quiet, friendly sales women smiling when you walk by.

Do you remember the flower bed that was not at bloom yet a few weeks ago? Now it is in full bloom:

Again I am amazed how few flowers get stolen. Only a few have been picked.

on with the lunch break:
Again, people waiting and looking at the fountain. (fountain has been posted a few weeks ago)

Me taking photos of people who take photos

People taking a rest

... admiring the blooming bushes

Funny moment: a pigeon flies at the center of the photo.

These blossoms smell better than any perfume!

I sat on a bench and admired the bushes, eating my Humus sandwich and very much to my surprise the humus was made with olive oil, no sun flower oil. And sesame paste. And lemon juice. This is rare, in a country where the average pesto is made with sun flower oil. Pesto(!)

In case you ever come and visit Vienna, go to the place where they make the fabulous sandwiches.

Paula
writing this post in a drugged state, drugged from from the captivating scent of lilac

PS: Please don't miss the last posting, only a few hours old: So the cranes are moving on the skyline ...

So the cranes are moving on the skyline ...

Fabulous Florida Mommy and wilhelmm46, thank you for following! I hope this blog offers something to you that you like.

This is the lung of Vienna, the Vienna Woods.

In April the ground is flooded with wild garlic.

It was a good idea to visit the woods last Sunday, simply because this is a usual weekday is like at Maison Paula these days. May I introduce you to the dusty streets of Vienna:

*piiep* *piiiep* *piiiiep* *piiep* makes the truck, backing into the street
*wrrrrrrrrrmmmm wrrrmrmm* makes the motor while lifting the components of the crane
Quiet at night. And some dust in the air.

Thanks/due to the long light exposure, the picture turns out really lit and artificial. There was no spotlight but just the ordinalry streetlight from vis a vis. With the long exposure my camera is able to see a lot more than I can see with my eyes.

Call me Cat.

The small device on the crane boom, the "crab" is called "cat" in German

I took all photos with my small DP1 camera, fixed on a tiny tripod. Exposure time 10 seconds. The star in the photo above (top left, below the left part of the crane boom) mutated into a swoosh, I quasi pictured the rotation of the planet Earth with my small camera. Yes, I was excited!

I almost forgot how much I prefer the nightlight-qualities of this cameraover its daylight-qualities. The sensor works wonders at night.The shades of the night sky in the city alone.

I am not used to seeing anyone vis a vis form my appartment. The moment I saw the two man standing on the roof vis a vis, I waved to them and one of the workers waved back. With a smile. I prefer to make friends with the inevitable, such as noise and dirt.

Hello!

It is hard to leave the window, I could watch the construction sight forever. But wait, there is more to see:

Karlsplatz with the exhibition space "KUNSTHALLE".
plus a pedestrian crossing and bicycle crossing, next to each other.

You can find drive-through-houses in Vienna

Another rounded building (the drive-through is rounded, too), the Akademietheater.

Mr Paula and I have a subscription that comes with a free booklet for each of us and a free glass of prosecco each. We call the subscription the "Prosecco-Abo".
The audience is always very easy to entertain, no wonder, after the prosecco!
Or it falls asleep, no wonder, after the prosecco!

The subscription costs almost the same as ticket for the cinema. Good to know, where the taxes go.

Empty cable reels are the best! As if a giant had dropped them in the street...

This company left a long ago, only the sign remains:

Olivetti participated in the development of personal computers. It's still a strong brand, no?

I would love to continue my Couch25k programm tomorrow but an ischialgia (=pain in the backside) struck me. This makes me sad, because I want to run.

When I exercise with my Mp3 player, I channel Rocky Balboa.

Massive Attack's Safe from Harm. It is a great beat for walking/running for beginners.

I cut the tune in to 90secs and 120secs pieces, a total or 20 minutes.

I added very tiny pauses after 90 and 120 secs, so I wont need to look at the wristwatch to get the right time for changing from walking mode to running mode.

In theory it works great. IRL it's not that easy. The 90 and 120 secs seem to be above my calculating skills. I messed them up and ended up running 90 secs and walking 60 instead of 120. In the end, which was already after a few mintues, my body told me something was wrong.
Nevertheless, I enjoy the idea of a programmed tune. Suggestions for new tunes are very welcome! There are plenty of weeks to run ahead. Keeping my fingers crossed my backside will be ok, soon.

Usually I prefer breakfast at home but with all the noise going on, I switched to a breakfast at the job and was surprised, how many co-workers have their breakfast at work on a daily basis.

A Semmel with apricot-jam and Tea with milk (Assam tea, 3,6% whole milk)

Have a nice day!

PS: the title is a quote from a song by The The. Whenever I see a crane, the song comes to my mind.

Not so Sunny, but Rewarding

This is yesterday's weather situation 8pm in Vienna (if you click on the photo you can actually see the rain pouring down):

I got home from work at 8pm.

I did not stay at home, but put changed my gear and went running/walking. I had to alter my running/walking gear to a kind of combat-style:

The soaking wet jacket dripping dry in the bath after the 3rd Couch25k workout.
(Not pictured: the water proof hiking pants, also soaking wet)

My glasses show the results better than the drops on the black textile.

Speaking of results, two weeks ago I got these wonderful markers at IKEA. I don't own an Iphone where I could track down the Couch25k results, but I can do it the analogue way.

At the end of the month the sheet will be crowded with flowers, butterflies and hearts.

• flower exercises for the abdomen and the back*
• butterfly Couch25k workout
• heart social life (meeting friends)

This tracking-sheet is helping my mental hygiene. Without the stamps I might feel like I have only lived for the office and the couch. Well, the sheet tells another story! The stamping is also a deep rooted rewarding-method, dating back from ground school days.
SSG, did I promise too much girly, now you see my stamped calender-sheets?

This saturday Friend B invited us to join her birthday-hike. Last year we had a good time, blue skies, no noise or pollution by aircrafts thanks to the volcano. Aready a year. Feels like 5.

*I started those exercises in january. They are crucial when you run.

Call Me In: From Couch 25k

Thanks to TheStylishShoeGirl in Brisbane, whose postings on the topic "From Couch 25k" are ever so motivating, I laced my shoes up and started to run. You don't need an Iphone, the workout goes like this:
5 min warm-up / 60secs running / 120secs walking / 60secs running / 120 secs walking / etc.
For details, visit the the From Couch 25k website.

EDIT:

oops, I just realized, it should be 90 and not 120secs walking. Ok, lets say I also found some online ressources which recommend no more than 5-10 secs running during the first week. Might turn it up a notch next week though. :-D

Last saturday I mastered the first workout. I start the workout right at my door and while running/walking in the evening I see ...

... people matching companies' cooperate designs.

... bins with information overkills (some people commented earlier how clean the streets are. Maybe it is because you can call them? ;-)

... Caran d'Ache fading
(yes, I am cheating, this is not evening light.)

... young men telling me Vienna is a cool city

... the most beautiful light in the early evening

... a close up around the corner

... and again the beautiful light
Information in the Object

And: there are a lot of clocks surrounding me. In Vienna you don't need a wrist-watch, so you would need some other excuse why you need that Rolex, take a look:

evangelic time

rug-time

roman-catholic time

jeweller-time

Have a good time!