Tales of the Vienna Woods

Gruss Gott!
There’s a Tour of Austria, too, but I’m not paying any attention. The Team Time Trial is today in the Tour de France, and Lance is up to something. I left my window open last night so I could hear the rain fall as I watched the Tour and had my dinner. But the day dawned with bright sunlight and the likelihood of much heat.
So I decided that what I needed today was a good leg stretch. The Lainzer Tiergarten sounded like the destination for me as it has lots of woodland and some animals on offer as well. I had some errands to do, but then if I wanted my walk in the Wienerwald I’d have to do some heavy-duty public transport. I did get there, but it took me an hour and a half and the journey was hot and uncomfortable.
First I had to figure out the correct U Bahn station and how to reach it. Ok. Once that was done finding the tram was easy. I got on and took a long tram ride. My ability to understand German is improving. I was not sure where to get off the tram to get the bus, but I actually understood the announcement, and then was able to follow the group to the bus stop.
I hate buses. It’s hard to know when to get off, and I‘m always concerned about getting off at the wrong stop, which has happened. Like today. I got fooled by a sign and got off about three stops too soon. After wandering around a bit, I went back to the bus stop and got on the next bus. It should have been simple. My stop was the end of the line.
Tiergarten is the German word for zoo, but this isn’t a zoo. It’s a nature preserve. I saw a few deer and mountain sheep--or maybe goats. I can’t tell the difference. I was there for a walk in the Vienna Woods. As I went further into the park, the traffic noises fell away to be replaced by the hum of insects and the chirping of birds. Wild flowers bloomed in the meadows, and the scent of clover suffused the air. All around me was green and fresh.
To a Southern Californian the sound and sight of naturally flowing water in July feels miraculous. I followed the Lainzerbach for a while enjoying the babble of the brook.
I had a destination. This was not meant to be a Sisi Tour, but it seems to have turned into one. Her husband the Emperor Franz Joseph adored Elisabeth and would do anything to try and make her happy. In order to keep her around Vienna he had a country house built for her in the Wienerwald.
Now compared to the other things the Hapsburgs built the Hermesvilla is a shack--but done up in a romantic Jugendstil. Sisi asked for one of the rooms to be decorated with scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as she fancied herself as Titania. Alas, Sisi’s restless soul was not satisfied with Hermesvilla, and she was hardly ever there. Indeed she seldom stayed any place long. No sooner than she declared herself in love with a place, than she found she was sick of it and moved on.
And it was time for me to move on as well. I walked back into the heat and the noise of the real world.
Auf Wiedersehen!