So, we're back...

[wiseheart]

And in one more or less hale piece, each of us. Mum and I made a day trip to Vienna. I usually post a "bye-bye for a day"-entry on the train heading off, but my iPad mini was feeling capricious today and refused to connect with the wlan on the train, telling me, that it isn't secure. In the last five years, it never had any problems with RailJet wlan - perhaps it's getting old, like its owner, and only feels secure at home.

In any case, the trip was nice. Very passable weather: not too hot and not too cold, sunshine basically all day. I didn't find any craft material, because Vienna apparently isn't the right place for that - or I don't know the places where to find what I might need or like. However, Vienna is the right place to find DVDs. I bought two 5th Doctor episodes: Black Orchid and The Visitation, and I'm very happy with my acquisition.

The Germans are bringing out Classic!Who episodes without any logic that I can discover. They've brought out the whole Sixth and Seventh Doctor series as box sets, but bring out First, Second and Fifth Doctor serials as single DVDs. Of course, there's the chance that they're bringing out the rest as well, it just doesn't find its way to Austria's Müller cosmetics chain or the Saturn electric stores. A shame because I never know what I'll find (if I find anything), and always have to carry a list with me when I get to Austria, so that I won't buy the same stuff twice. HUF to Euro relations are at an historic depth (from our POV), so these things are not cheap for me. Not even the ones supposedly on sale.

Other than that, we had a nice, opulent breakfast at one of the Anker bakeries, strolled through the historic inner city, bought some Manner biscuits and had a later lunch at another Anker bakery. That was basically it. We had a grand old time, even though we're deadly exhausted.

Edit: Forgot to mention that we visited a Milka chocolate shop - the only place where I took a few photos. This life-sized plush cow could move its head, mouth, ears and tail and it looked as if it were eating the artificial flower decoration. *g*



Shop window with smaller cows and lots and lots of chocolate. Yum!

Comments

[meathiel]

Good to hear you had a nice day trip.
I've watched hardly any Claasic Who - I should remedy that on day.
But ... tada ... we finally have the 13th Doctor on German free TV.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

We do? Not that I'm all that interested. I stopped watching Dr. Who when Tennant left - I was so disappointed in him, and Matt Smith failed to win me over.

Forgot to add: in my headcanon Alexander Siddig is Twelve and Benedict Cumberbatch is Thirteen. Hence my Consulting Time Lord AU. *g*

[meathiel]

Cumberbatch is Thirteen? Noooooooo ...
He's got to make more Sherlock!!!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

TBH, I totally gave up on Sherlock after Season 3. I loved the first two seasons to pieces, and I still love Martin Freeman's performance in the first episode of Season 3, but I just hated what the PTB did with Mary, and Sherlock was totally OOC in Season 3.

[red-day-dawning.livejournal.com]

A day trip to Vienna! That sounds so wonderful. Here in Australia, things are so far apart that you could only day trip between state capital cities by flying. And other countries are across the seas.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yes, the advantage of our crowded little continent is that we get to one point to another fairly easily. I don't even need three hours by today's fast trains to get to Vienna.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

What language are the Who episodes in?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

You can choose between English and German. I usually watch in original, but use the Englidh subtitles for better understanding.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

I am a native english speaker and sometimes I like the subtitles for better understanding! lol

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That is a relief! *g*
It depends on how clear the actors speak, though. For example, I never had any problems with understanding Patrick Stuart or Marina Sirtis. Or Colin Morgan from Merlin. Jonathan Frakes, though, always made me totally confused. And it isn't just the British vs American thing - I have absolutely no ear for accents, I couldn't tell them from each other for my life. I understood Brent Spiner wonderfully, however - perhaps because as Data he had to pronounce things very clearly.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

It really does depend on their diction. But as an actor, they should be good at that, Or at least try. And don't even start about how some shows up the background music so much it overwhelms the dialogue. :(

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Well, I think not speaking clearly might be considered life-like acting or whatnot. Of course, in RL you can ask your counterpart to repeat what they said if you haven't understood them... or to work on their articulation a bit.

Absolutely agreed about the stupid background music. It seems to be a trend that is spreading, unfortunately.

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Yes. And like in singing, there're ways to enunciate in different situations and spaces that make it easier or harder to understand what you are saying.
My church has a lot of echo, so we have to crazy enunciate. Big time. bleh.

Yeah. :(

[wanderingmogwai.livejournal.com]

I've visited Vienna only once at the age of 12 but we stayed for a few days and tried to take in all of the cultural highlights. I was enthralled by the Lipizzaner stallions. I loved horses like most girls that age and they were just the top of the top. How often do you visit there?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

A couple of times a year. We regularly visit other Austrian towns as welll - this is about as far as Mum can go in her current state.

[wanderingmogwai.livejournal.com]

I think it's really nice that you can travel together. :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, it is! I love travelling with Mum, even if it's exhausting. My greatest regret is that I couldn't retire earlier, when she was still capable of making longer trips. Originally, women retired at the age of 55 over here, and when I was 55, Mum was still only 79 and more agile than I. But those almost 8 years in-between...

[wanderingmogwai.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I get that. My mom is like 74 but we can't make more than day trips because Paul can't really travel far and can't be left alone. I miss going to the shore the most I think.

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a wonderful outing. I particularly like the sound of an opulent breakfast.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

An opulent breakfast is very important, especially if you've been on your feet for hours without a bit to eat already. *g*

I've belatedly added the only photos I made to this entry, in case you want to laugh.

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

I've never been to Vienna but hope to go someday. It looks lovely.

In the past month or so my iPad mini became so slow that I've stopped using it, my Kindle Fire (which was also old) dropped onto the floor, developed a crack and now doesn't work anymore, and my old Kindle e-reader won't charge up but it's years old. So I hope that your iPad mini is still OK.

Losing my devices makes me feel lost, but I still have my laptops. I was going to buy myself a new tablet for Christmas, but discovered today that Amazon is selling 8-inch Kindle Fires for half price - $75.00 - so I ordered one. That seems like a great price.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I have no idea about the prices abroad, and alas, I'm a hopeless case when it comes to online shopping. Good for you to get a bargain, though.

Entry now has photos, BTW. And should you ever get to Vienna, drop me a line and I'll catch the train and hop over to meet you.

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

The Kindle Fire was very good value! It was half the usual price, but even the usual price was good compared to the iPad. Personally, I had both and much preferred the Kindle Fire, which had a clearer, sharper picture than the iPad and offered much more in book selection and TV shows that I watched via Acorn, Prime and Netflix. Even music, via Spotify. Apple's iTunes used to be good and easy to pore through in order to select music, but was expensive (as is everything about Apple products). Then they changed the way you can access music and for me that made it confusing and annoying to use.

Sorry for going on and on but I would recommend Kindle Fire every time over iPad.

Nice photos! I would love to visit Vienna sometime. If I do, I will most certainly let you know. It would be lovely to meet you.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

And you. :)

[mirasaui.livejournal.com]

Glad you and Mum had a pleasant outing, it is always nice to get away for a day or two. The chocolate shoppe picture makes my mouth water. I was never much of a chocolate fan but these past few years my taste has changed and I believe, now, I am an addict. The best we can get local is Lindt, which makes a 70% cocoa bar. I usually eat a square daily using the antioxidant property as an excuse. Btw, I absolutely adore the little purple cow, so cute! Definitely a unique window display!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm very honest and straightforward about my chocolate addiction. *g* And I hate dark chocolate. I'm absolutely for milk chocolate - Lindt would be preferable, but it's insanely expensive, so we've settled for Milka, which is nice enough and comes in many flavours. Double chocolate is my favourite, but caramel filling is nice, too. And the one where there are M&Ms or little pieces of cookie in the chocolate.