Vienna: fancy-pants eating, smarty-pants son, and a surprise noise maker

Coach and Ed (who I cropped out) ordering
at the ruin bars in Budapest.

The Vienna Airbnb guy was frustrated that I hadn't responded to his emails. He wanted to touch base about what time we were arriving, etc. Hey, traveling is a full time job. I hadn't looked at my email much. Plus, Coach and I were sharing one phone with internet access. Mr. Google-maps lover usually had it in his possession. 

When we talked about going to Europe, we knew our current phone provider didn't offer coverage overseas. Can we get by without a phone?

Ed:  CAN'T BE DONE. 

Me:  I MANAGED BACK IN THE DAY WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE. 

My guys walking the
streets of Budapest.

It is a different day though and I get that it makes things so much easier, so . . . we bought a phone for Curly NOT AT WALMART FAMILY MOBILE, or whatever it's called. Her phone plan automatically offers overseas service. It's a more expensive package, but it was monumental in helping us travel. I feel like a grown up. I mean except for the fact that I had to borrow my 14 year old daughter's phone to go to Europe.

Upside for Curly, she didn't have to wait until graduation from 8th grade to get a phone. Less than a week after we were home, Curly was heading to caddy training. It was one of those who's-on-first nights when Coach was working late and I had to drive in different directions. 

Me:  HEY, HERE'S YOUR PHONE. DON'T LOSE IT. TEXT ME WHEN CADDY TRAINING IS DONE. LIFE WILL BE EAESIER IF YOU FINISH EARLY. I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET YOU BEFORE (blah, blah, blah).

Remember the tour
of the parliament
 building in Budapest? This was
the inside. Gorgeous.

How 'bout that for no fanfare?  

Commercial for why NOT to get a phone package from Walmart is over. Back to Europe:  Shortly after we discovered the front side of Gellert Hill and took a photo of the kissy-face people, I responded to Airbnb guy. 

Me:  SO SORRY, WE'RE STILL COMING. ABOUT TO HOP ON A TRAIN TO VIENNA, etc. 

We left Budapest Friday late afternoon, after arriving on Wednesday morning. The weather was freakishly warm and no one told the train that, so the heat was BLASTING. We ended up sharing a train car with a student from California. She and Ed exchanged travel experiences and we all took turns stepping into the hallway to wring out our clothes from sweat thanks to our sauna like experience in our cabin. I wish this was an exaggeration. 

We picked up the key for the next Airbnb from a restaurant across the street with no problem, but we couldn't get the key out of the lock once we were inside the apartment. Ed finally managed. It was very counterintuitive, but Ed still gave us the raised, hairy-eye-ball look of a wise-ass college kid who knows more stuff than his aged parents. 

Meat , veggies and potatoes.
Awesome.

We threw our stuff down and raced out the door to a restaurant that was ridiculously close. It was a pricey place that we'd researched online. We ate well. Really well. I loved my dinner, and announced that I'd cracked the code on how to eat GF and survive in Europe. High-end. Since I insisted that we eat somewhere for fancy-pants people and it worked, I was like THIS IS HOW WE WILL EAT THE REST OF OUR TIME HERE. 

Saturday morning, we took a  free tour of the city. Our tour guide was excellent. Vienna was pretty. Full of artsy stuff and stories of people who came there to study art, enjoy it, etc. Beethoven moved there to study under Mozart. He got word his mom was dying, so he went back to Germany. Then he returned to Vienna five years later, after Mozart had died, and lived there for 35 years. During that time he struggled with hearing loss and eventually completely lost his hearing. Now you feel like you've been there, right? 

Our tour guide asked if anyone knew what the statue represented on top of a building. It was the earth being supported by a person. Or something. 

I think this is the building that corresponds with Ed's answer, with the statues holding up the hold 'earth.'

Ed:  Um, is it Gaea?  

In Greek mythology, she is the personification of the earth. He'd learned about her in Latin class. Shocked that he knew the answer, our tour guide's mouth fell open. She called him brilliant. Ed shrugged, looked a little embarrassed. I waved my hand around and shouted:  THAT'S MY KID! *No, I did not. Coach and I got a little chuckle out of Mr. Smarty Pants. 

THE NOISE:  We stayed in the Airbnb Friday and Saturday nights. Friday night there was a whirring kind of noise, intermittent but more on than off. It was super irritating. Dull and background noise-like, even my trusty sound machine didn't drown it out. It was not as constant Saturday night, but still happening. 

Mr. Annoying.

Saturday morning we left quickly to take a free walking tour of the city. I didn't investigate until Sunday morning when we were moving at a slower pace. 

Coach thought a  neighbor had a dying dog. I thought it was an old washing machine with an agitator. Who does laundry ALL NIGHT LONG? 

I opened the blinds a little and there it was. A PIEGON. Sheesh - go whir somewhere else. 

Did you know pigeons could be so loud? All night long? Do you know your Greek mythology?