Monday, August 6, 2007

Daytrippin' Yeah

She was a daytripper, a Sunday driver, yeah....
Sundays were created for relaxed country drives. I spent my day of rest visiting the Vienna environs, hiking in the Kahlenberg and Leopoldberg mountains, and experiencing a frühstücken (I'll explain what that is. You'll like it.)

I've made friends with a local which means two things, first I now have access to cool parts of Vienna my guidebook(s) barely reference (with really interesting and personal commentary). Second, I am traveling by car as opposed to a combination of my bicycle, public transport, and foot. Life is good!

The Kahlenberg and the Leopoldberg are mountains a little north of the city in the Vienna Environs. Here's the view from the top of the Leopoldberg.

I was pretty impressed with the beautiful scenery and serene hiking. Just when I thought it couldn't get any cooler, my friend and I stumbled upon a frühstücken. (I know this means simply breakfast in German, and I think I have the right word for what I am talking about... I will doublecheck.) Frühstücken in this sense is an all day Sunday party, where the beers start flowing around ten, a traditional Austrian band pumps some tunes, and men generally dance on the tables starting at 2 PM. I liken it to kegs and eggs but without the football match. The Austrians need no such excuse to spend all day Sunday drinking. What a great culture!

2 comments:

Andrea said...

Fruhschoppen? I think....

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it's called Fruehschoppen. I looked up the word "schoppen" which is an old synonym for glass. And that's the reason why it is called "Früschoppen": have a glass (of beer) in the morning.

Xoxo, Woolfie