Servus and Enjoy A Day in the Life in Lower Austria and Vienna

Banding together with Lauren from https://diaryofaspanglishgirl.com/ - each of us documents the same a day of their lives for comparison. So sit back and enjoy what a day in the life in Lower Austria looks like:

5th of October, Austria: 

My alarm is meant to ring at 7:15 AM but I am already awake 15 minutes earlier, I can tell because I faintly hear the bells from the church announce the full hour. Ever since I moved here, I constantly use it to keep time. One bong for quarter past, two for half ...

However, what has woken me was a small paw on my inner thigh. Two weeks ago I adopted two almost identical black cats who had been in the shelter for the greater part of their lives. Thus they are extremely shy. I crack my eyes open and notice that it must be La Sarthe because Daytona is sitting on the window sill. This moment lasts for a minute, then my alarm clock starts to ring, I roll onto my shoulder and turn it off.

I sigh and see both cats in the doorway, waiting to be fed. I pad to the kitchen and prepare breakfast for the cats who have followed and are watching closely. After taking care of their needs, I decide to hunt my own breakfast.

Every morning I ask myself the same question: "coffee or tea?" Today I decide to go with black tea. "Muesli or bread?" I had muesli yesterday, so I decide to go with bread instead. I use butter and jam - one with strawberry jam and the other with Armenian plum - which is a rather mainstream choice for an Austrian breakfast.

By now it is 8 AM and people with typical 9 - 5 jobs start their day in the office. Even though, 9 - 5 jobs are actually 8 - 4 jobs here, and because it's Friday everyone has a shorter day. While my working hours are reversed - I work from midday until the night - I also have a short day on Friday.

I return to the living room to enjoy my breakfast while I turn the radio to Ö3 and listen to the news mixed with new and old songs. Afterwards I decide it's time to squeeze in a bit of blog work before work. I check my e-mails to see if there is a blog tour I might want to join, reply to comments, and start to type a new article. In addition to this, I write down the new entries of the book giveaway that I am running at the moment.

In between I visit NetGalley. I am about to finish the book I am reading - Totempole - and I know that I have a book available that I should start to read next: One Too Many Lies. So I download it and copy it onto my eReader. In addition I recently stumbled over a review of "Miracle Creek" by Rums the Reader which sounded like my next perfect read, so I decide to request it.

Then it's time to set off, with my work clothes on I pick up my baggy and cycle to the train station. A lot of people who live in Lower Austria have to commute a long-ish distances to their work place, and if you live near the Viennese area like I do, chances are big that they travel in that direction.

The preferred methods are car and train. Personally, I prefer the train because it's stress free but this depends on a) if the time-table works out, and b) if it's more affordable than going by car.

At 11 AM the train is rather empty and you can take the liberty to spread out. I prefer to take off my shoes and prop my leggies up on the opposite seat while reading a book. Generally, people are very respectful of one another on the train but at the same time keep to themselves.

After a little less than an hour, I arrive at Vienna's central station and make my way towards the tube. Here the mood shifts. While in the country side it's still acceptable to greet your neighbour and shout a quick "Servus" when you see your postman on his route, Vienna is famous for nutritiously not making eye contact and avoiding each other. It's not done in an unfriendly manner - people don't seek eye contact and then make a show of breaking it. Instead, you keep your distance and mind your own business, whether this is duolingo on your phone, finding a spot on the floor to look at, or worshiping a fluffy dog from the distance.

While this may seem like an unfriendly habit at first, it is oddly refreshing to be able to mind your own business. At the same time, if you are in need of assistance or need directions you can ask anybody and they'll reply to the best of their knowledge. It is what I refer to as The Duality of Austrians: they may seem a bit odd and closed off but once you get a bit closer they can be nicest people.

Just like the trains, the tube also uses proof of payment. Sometimes you run into a spot check but as long as you have your ticket, your honour and budget remains in tact. Today, there is no such spot check in the stations I use and after five minutes I am in the first district at my work place.

The first district is where all the stereotypical ideas of Vienna - "it's so classy, oh my god, all the old buildings" - come from. However, the Schwedenplatz is not, there are more modern buildings than old ones, and it forms to a rather delightful mix of old and new. Tourism Vienna is a tube station to your South ...

After only 6 hours of work, I leave the building again and head home with a friend in tow. As I type this, it is the first week of October which means that the Oktoberfeste are in full bloom. The city of Vienna has a "Wiesn" that is open all week long. Even my small village in Lower Austria has decided to get into the fun and hosts one today. I decide that I should check it out.

"Wiesn" means "Wiesen" with a Bavarian accent and literally translates as "meadow." While this would make sense because you pitch a tent on grass - get your drink and mingle. However, the name originated from the town "Theresienwiese" (GER) where the original Oktoberfest is hosted. Over the years, it has become increasingly popular for towns to host their own little "Wiesn".

My 7k population district got right into the spirit. The main drink of the night was bear - obviously. People wore Dirndl and Trachten while dancing to Alpine folk music - a genre of music that I apologize for from the bottom of my heart but in this case I did not mind since it was perfect for the atmosphere. The festivity of the day included a raffle and even a "who wore it best" contest in regards of the Tracht.

After a few hours and close to midnight, we headed back to the flat and almost fell asleep watching The Middle as the clock struck midnight ...

Meanwhile, don't forget to check out what Lauren did in Alicante, Spain on Friday: https://diaryofaspanglishgirl.com/2019/01/13/a-day-in-the-life-in-episode-10/