Vienna
Sunday 9/10/2011
I braved the cold and the wet and made it to a local Pizza restaurant last night. I ordered a simple pasta dish with a Carbonara sauce, good but a bit salty (as were most dishes I have been served in Vienna, even at the Westbahnhof Station). I tried a "Viennese" looking tavern first but got absolutely nowhere with my order so beat a hasty retreat. I think that they prefer to serve at 7.30, but that is too cold and dark for me. At 6.30 they are open and serving beer but not food. The Pizza place serves take-away all the time so, like the Burger King, is actually a better choice given my constraints.
I made it back to the Best Western but I am still amazed I found it on the first day. I have all my landmarks now but I still have to "circle the block" to find it. At night and in the rain it is doubly difficult, thank goodness I arrived on the first day in daylight at least.
Today, Sunday, the weather is even worse than yesterday and because I have a bad cold developing, I have decided not to get soaking wet (again) and to stay indoors. A bit of a waste as I have been going through the "Lonely Planet guide to Vienna" and there is lots to see but it really is miserable out there! Any break and I will try for the Underground to get to the Museums. It will still require a reasonable walk (in the rain) but I need to try. Definitely I will have go tomorrow, simply to establish where to go on Tuesday for my appointment. At the moment I am thinking CODRAL from a local chemist, if I can find one and if the rain lets up just a little.
A small point on logistics: I packed my joggers and and a "decent" pair of walking/hiking suede shoes for the formal appointments/seminars. These are also my only water-proof shoes, as it turns out. The joggers breathe and are really comfortable for walking but are not designed for wet/cold weather; water goes straight through the "breathing" mesh and you get wet feet. Unfortunately the brown suede on the "dress" shoes goes spotty black when wet (but water does not get through to the inside); functional but unsightly for formal appointments. No compromise that works all the time.
I emailed the London Natural History Museum yesterday requesting an appointment to view Bauer's Botanical Paintings. As it turns out I have two weeks in the UK before flying back to Cairns. So I also needed to organise a quick trip to view the painting held at the Military Academy. I emailed the Wing Commander at the college having got the email address from the web. I will only get answers tomorrow, Monday.
Today breakfast was good and may have to sustain me for the rest of the day. I am not hungry and really do not want to get wet again.
[Later] The head-ache and sore throat finally got to me and I went to the desk to ask if there was a Chemist/Pharmacy open on a Sunday near-by. The story went weird from here on!
Yes, they do have a rotation scheme for chemists; on week-ends, public holidays and at night. And yes there was a chemist within a 15-20 minute walking distance that was on week-end rotation. The rain had eased but I did not really care I just needed some paracetamol. Off I went with my map into the back-streets of down-town Vienna, in the dizzeling rain. Just doing something positive actually made me feel better, and the sky started to clear so my spirits improved.
I followed my map and the rough instructions from the Desk Clerk, walking for at least 20 min and finally located the chemist by the long line of patients waiting to be served. There was a little square "porthole" in the shop door and all business was transacted through that. I joined the line and realised that most of these people around me had a drug problem. This was their weekend supply of methadone (or whatever).
It took a while but me and the addicts finally got served; I think the lady chemist was actually relieved when I came along as I was a "normal" illness. I got my paracetamol, vitamin C, and antiseptic throat lozenges (and was charged premium, weekend, chemist prices). Cleaned me out of notes and small change so I looked for a Bank ATM on the way back. I had popped a couple of pills and was sucking on a Lozenge by the time I "found" the hotel again. While I was on a roll I got some take-away for lunch/dinner.
At this point I accepted defeat. I hung up all my rain-soaked clothes to dry over the bath, ate my take-away, popped some more pills and then went back to bed. Tomorrow is another day!
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