I started with a scratchy throat on Monday evening, and was sick by Tuesday. No doubt spending 9 hrs. on a fully packed plane Sunday had something to do with it. Luckily, 3 students did not show up this week, saving me 2 1/2 hrs. of teaching and talking. My head cold peaked on Thursday, and by Friday I was improving. Tonight, exactly 5 days after first symptoms, I am better. Deb is fighting it off better than I. I had to go out for three hours on Thursday, which no doubt caused some backsliding. But all is well. However, it was a bit of a lost week. No piano except Tuesday, and then resuming today. No work on the written journal of our Vienna trip, though I managed to mostly edit the photos, and select a batch for printing.
We are going to take things very easy in 2019, as far as travel goes. Definitely nothing European, and never again with connecting flights in Europe. Frankfurt airport, like the one in Warsaw, is very overcrowded, and most flights have to be accessed by buses. Vienna has a pretty decent airport, and we had booked a direct flight from Toronto. However, that flight was cancelled by the airline two weeks before our departure, and we were forced to go through Frankfurt. Never again. If the plane does not go directly from Toronto or Detroit, we will not be going. In other words, we might go to Frankfurt someday.
Vienna is an amazing city, filled with marvellous architecture. One is always having to look up, for often the buildings seem rather bland at eye level, but become totally amazing the higher one looks. Most churches were often for inspection, but their vast interiors were beyond cold! The week prior to our visit had been seriously chilly, and the churches were retaining the cold air.
Vegan Vienna continues to impress us, with more easily accessible vegan restaurants than London or Detroit. There was always room for us at a table, too, something that can be frustrating in London. The little shops usually had some vegan food, too. The Hotel Azimut is the best hotel one could ever hope to find, close to trains, trams, and subway. It is literally a 60 second walk to the vast indoor transport and shopping complex that is Hauptbahnhof. It is amazing how much of Vienna is underground, including a second vast complex at Karlsplatz.
Of course the journey was all about Bruegel. I am currently reading the catalogue of the exhibit, and wishing I could return a few more times to visit. His paintings are so detailed and involved, that two visits barely scratches the surface of his art. However, there is an incredible on-line resource affiliated with the exhibit, and I will talk about it in a future post.
Kunsthistoriche, Vienna. I can hardly believe I was actually there. Four times now!
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