VI. Ostern

Is today Easter already? Has it been three weeks since my last entry? Do I have things to write about? Yes, yes and, apparently, yes.

The last three days I've attended services at Christ Church Vienna, a very friendly (English-speaking) Anglican congregation; today I went to both services, and was, for the second, conscripted into the choir. It appears I'll be attending there somewhat regularly for the rest of the term. (They were kind enough to let me practice on their Casavant organ! Oh how I've missed the touch of the keys on my fingers... and, er, feet.) Anglicans seem to be quite an amiable bunch; their theology is so middle-of-the-road that it's hard to disagree with them violently on anything. In any case, the congregation of Christ Church was particularly kind. (Of course, compared to the Viennese, anyone who looks you in the eye and says words to you is the epitome of gregariousness. I thought for several weeks that perhaps I just didn't understand the Viennese; I think now that I do, and that they're simply not pleasant people.)

I've done so many things that it would be silly to write about them all. This past weekend I visited the Lainzer Tiergarten, which used to be the Habsburgs' private hunting grounds. We saw lots of wild boar tracks, but thankfully no wild boars. It was a beautiful day, with a refreshing breeze, and we went up to the overlook and looked over Vienna. It's a beautiful city from any angle. We then proceeded from the Tiergarten to a Biergarten, and had Spätzle and Radlers, which is a delicious combination. (A Radler is half-beer, half-lemonade; even I, who rather dislike beer, enjoy it.) Finally the weather is coöperating, as if to make up for those dreary first few weeks: we've had seventy-degree weather with no rain for more than a week now.