An unexpected found

[wiseheart]

Mum and I went to the Allee Mall today. These malls sell Gutscheine - sorry, I don't know the English word - and I had some as a good-bye gift from my classes, which I had to use till the end of December, so we went to do our Christmas shopping well in advance. It was fun. Not only did we manage to buy all the prezzies in a single morning, I also got the Hungarian version of the DIY book with the paper angels I missed in Vienna.

In the middle of the shopping frenzy we had very good Cappuchino in the bookshop, and afterwards lunch in one of the self-serving restaurants, so that we didn't have to cook today. It was a delightful day.

Comments

[elmey.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine getting Christmas shopping done this early, good for you! We call Gutscheine "Gift Certificates" here.
You know, any time I don't have to cook make my day better :)

[illereyn.livejournal.com]

Yay! :D

[lhun-dweller.livejournal.com]

Congratulations to you and Mum for a successful holiday foraging -- er, shopping -- expedition! How nice to hve the shopping done so early and in such a short time. Enjoy your DIY book!

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Gift vouchers, maybe? So glad you enjoyed yourself.

[red-day-dawning.livejournal.com]

No idea how Gutscheine might be translated, but I see others have figured it out. My German is rather limited.
I've just begun with my Christmas shopping...

[saki101.livejournal.com]

Brava! And thanks for the encouraging thought that present-buying is achievable in a reasonable timeframe!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Well, we actually wanted to see what's available in the shops that accepted the gift certificates (thank you for supplying the word, BTW), so that we get an idea what we might want to buy. We were just lucky - and now we can lean back and watch other people in the pre-Christmas frenzy with a grin.

And yeah, having avoided the necessity of cooking was an added bonus.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Indeed. ;)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do. DIY stuff is my secret vice. I probably have it in my blood - I'm one quarter German, and they are into this thing with a passion, and working with kids gives me very good excuses to spend a lot of my time (and my money) on such hobbies.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

elmey says "gift certificates". Since she's part German, too (I think), I bow before her expertise. But yeah, we did enjoy ourselves.

You'd have loved the bookshop. They've got an amazing café upstairs, with dozens of kinds of coffee, sorted by origins, from simple espresso through Wiener Kapuziner (which resembles cappuccino, only with less water and whipped cream on the top) to Mexican specialities with chili.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

We don't usually start this early, either. But we wanted time to see what's available - it was just good luck that we found all these things so quickly.

I'm glad we did nonetheless. With two concerts within a month, a trip to the Christmas fair to the south of the country in mid-December, the annual winter cleaning & Christmas baking and the charity fair at school I'll be insanely busy in the upcoming weeks, so this is one stress factor our of my head.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I like doing it early, although not this early as a rule. I need all available time for my Christmas baking, after all. *g*

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Bookshops with coffee shops attached are my ultimate heaven.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

You should see the Thalia bookshop in Vienna! CDs, DVDs, audiobooks and an unbelievable amount of DIY stuff in the basement. Books and gift articles on the ground floor. Coffee and chocolate shops and baking articles upstairs. Equipped with escalators and an indoor lift - I could spend a week in there without leaving.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

There used to be a lovely Borders in Inverness -- lots of books & DVDs, a comfortable coffee shop on a little gallery with lots of sofas they didn't mind one sitting and reading on -- we often drove the 150 miles from where we were staying on the opposite coast of Scotland to visit it on rainy days. Sadly, it died some years ago.