Wednesday 10 June 2009

Tales from the Vienna Hoods


Viennese Melange
The perfect Java marriage
between a shot of espresso
and milk foam.
Just say yes!
Served in a small coffeeshop
in the 23rd District (Liesing),
far from the maddening crowds
.
Don't you just love
how demurely the two sugar sleaves
wait for their turn?

Bla Blah Blah
Yadda Yadda Yadda

Talk is cheap nowadays.
I caught up with this lady
at a traffic stop in front of
Schönbrunn Palace.
She had been going on and on,
She may have missed a turn or two.
Verboten? Sure, but nobody gives a penny.
This encounter was sort of amusing,
but the other day my daughter
noticed 7 (seven) drivers on a narrow stretch
of road, all talking on the cell
and driving towards us partially on
our side of the road. Scary!

Lime Leaves
I would have called them linden leaves,
but the dictionary insists on "lime" -
note: taxonomy and terminology
do not necessarily coincide
! -
so, while I may be right,
lime's the word, regardless!
Found while looking up,
beside a church and around
the corner of the coffeeshop
.

Elevating the Prosaic
Raising the pot if not the lantern,
at the entrance to a Chinese restaurant.

Jede normale Pizza
"All usual pizzas"
When I read "normale Pizza" in German,
my English thinking part of the brain
starts playing funny word games, like:
Does a "nicht normale" Pizza
look "strange" or "not ordinary"?
Is a "double cheese" pizza "2x normal"
or "double standard"?
Oh well, my kids would say
I am so not funny.

Green With Ivy
Closed for good.
And so I end this tale
from the Vienna Hoods,
where tourists seldom tread,
but Merisi wanders about.

*

Photographed in the Hoods
of Atzgersdorf
23rd District (Liesing)
and Schönbrunn
13th District (Hietzing)
June 2009

22 comments:

  1. Yes! Yes! Yes! I'll take the espresso with milk by the linden leaves in the cool of the green with ivy!!!!!! And I applaud your humor!!!! Forget what the kids say...this former English teacher loves it!!!! Word play is my passion! Thank you Merisi for wandering about...and taking me with you! Sigh...I always hate to go home. ~Janine XO

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  2. I know I've said this before, but I so often leave your blog craving a cuppa. I can smell that heavenly espresso from WM! Fabulous shot.

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  3. Thank you for taking me on that little jaunt around the neighbourhood, I loved it, especially the stop for espresso. Where are we going tomorrow?

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  4. Good evening from New York, Merisi.

    I so love what you show us of Vienna's hoods. I would transport myself to any of those locations (even with the graffiti) if a magic wand waved.

    One would have to be in a very upscale NY neighborhood to find those sugar sleeves.

    I met with a friend today in an East Village cafe that has stood the test of time on St Mark's Place. There were no sugar sleeves, and definitely not a silver tray in sight. However, the tables are spaced so that guests can have private conversations, the luncheon menu has enough variety (and enough that echoes breakfast) to suit most visitors.

    The coffee is made to order. The waiters know how to read the signals of their visitors, and not to rush the bill.

    Funky it is, elegant it is not. A great place to catch up with a friend ... yes.

    Please do take us to some more Vienna neighborhoods. xo

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  5. Oh I had such fun on this ramble, seeing the sights through your eyes and listening to your insightful and amusing comments. Fun, too, to get a little glimpse of the private side of Merisi--a mother! I do love traipsing about with you. I leave you with a smile on my face.

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  6. I like these jaunts of yours that end up in a coffee shop with exquisite looking coffee in a cup. Too bad we can't quite get the nice coffee scent via the computer. Often when I visit I have a nice cup of organic coffee at hand, but it's just not the same as the coffee one can get in Vienna.

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  7. Merisi, a cappuccino in a cosy café is always a good thing, isn't it? I always enjoy very much your nice pictures.

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  8. Sniffles and Smiles,
    I shall take you out again! :-)

    willow,
    we are working on sniff n scratch! ;-)

    Shammickite,
    tomorrow, me sweet friend,
    we may just run around the 'hood,
    looking up. Will you join us? ;-)

    Frances,
    "One would have to be in a very upscale NY neighborhood to find those sugar sleeves."
    Frances, one of these days I shall spread my collection of sugar sleeves somewhere and take a picture of all these imaginative sugar packets.

    All of this post's images were taken within earshot of the coffeeshop in the 23rd District, except for the talking lady. All this to start giving you a glimpse of what Vienna has to offer beyond what the average visitor is able to take in on a sojourn in the city.

    Has any of you seen the Cédric Klapisch film, "Chacun cherche son chat" (When the Cat's Away)? It's the story of a woman whose pet gets lost and the ensuing search for the cat, played out in the Bastille neighbourhood of Paris. In my book, it is a wonderful film monument about small neighbourhoods in a European metropolis, at a peril nowadays, but so vital to an alive and living city. What are the big old cities anyway, but a collection of hundreds of small villages. New York too, in my experience and mind, is only one big village woven of many small neighbourhoods. Rome's the same, and so is Vienna, if not more so, due to the unique history of the various districts.

    I transgress ... Happy day to you and all! :-)

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  9. Merisi,

    When you get that scratch n' sniff thing worked out, will you let me know?

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  10. What is a normal pizza in Vienna might have been unheard of int he streets of Naples.
    Make you want to order a abnormal pizza...
    Linden, so sweetly scented.

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  11. That is the coolest picture of coffee I have EVER seen.

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  12. Merisi, do they ever advertise an 'abnormale Pizza' Normale Pizza to me instantly invoked Georg Kreissler line..."ist das legal, ist das normal, ist das erlaubt?"
    Here most people do pull over to answer their mobiles, the fine is too great if you don't.
    Adorable last shot.
    By the way, Here when you buy a Linden tree, you call it just that. It would be too confusing since there are also many varieties of real Limes available.

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  13. Interesting the point you make about taxonomy and terminology. "Lime trees" do not bear limes! I think Linden is a much nicer word, now confined in English to old folk lore, surfacing in Vaughan Williams eponymous song .

    Beautiful evovative pictures, as we have come to expect at this blog.

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  14. As always...a pleasure trip! :D

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  15. Anonymous10 June, 2009

    How can I feel nostalgic for somewhere I have never been?
    Wonderful, as always...even the Hoods are picturesque.

    I pick the flowers of the Lime trees of a neighbour, dry them and use them for Tisanes. The French call that tree Tilleul [sp?]

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  16. I would have made similar jokes about the pizza ...

    Wonderful photos . did the LIME leaves smell like lime?

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  17. .

    louciao,
    thank you! :-)
    Yes, I am the mother of four children who all agree that I am so not funny! ;-)

    Barbara Martin,
    would you believe me when I tell you that more often than not I drink my own homemade cup of coffee? I put my trusty old little Alessi #9090 coffee maker on the stove, froth the milk with one of those little 2 Dollar Ikea electric wands, and eccoloqua, un cappuccino! :-))

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  18. Pietro,
    grazie, and yes, I agree, cento per cento! :-)

    Lynette,
    sure! Now let's see:
    Willow
    Lynette ... anyone I forgot? ;-)

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  19. Merisi, I so enjoyed our little walk around the neighborhood and the tales from the hood too. Now I need a good cup of coffee. Your pictures always make me crave one.
    Don't even get me started on cell phones in cars....its against the law in California to use a handheld phone in the car. Many people seem to ignore the law though.

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  20. I'm still mad about a ticket I got on my motorcycle once. I was riding in a group of cars when I realized that five of the people around me were on cell phones and not paying attention at all to the motorcycle in their midst. I sped up to get ahead of them since dropping down in speed would have taken me into another pack of similar drivers. Immediately a copy hopped on my tail and stopped me and ticketed me.

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  21. I'm still here checking in! Coffee looks good.

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