VII. Café Prückel

It's the Vienna Marathon today. After church (Anglican; special music included an excellent brass quintet), we walked over to the Ringstraße, where the runners were. There were Strauss waltzes being blasted out by loudspeakers around the course! Only in Vienna, I suppose; I certainly can't imagine any sort of classical music being played at marathons in the states. At an outdoor table at the Café Prückel (which, I've decided, is my favorite Kaffeehaus in the city) we had omelettes and coffee and watched the runners. I finished it off with some exemplary Sachertorte. It's been simply a wonderful day, so far; the trick is to take time to observe, to think, to discuss. That's why the Viennese have cafés: to eat slowly, watch people, and generally enjoy themselves. (The waiters at these establishments are professionals, and act as such. They realize that it's their job to see that customers are content, and accordingly give them all the time they want. Never are we forced to eat quickly and leave, here.) Americans would do well to emulate this way of living: if only we had time to sit back and relax, we'd be happier and more productive.

If there's a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than at a Viennese café with some Sachertorte in the Springtime, I've not experienced it.

I. Willkommen

Friends! Hello! Welcome to my Vienna travel journal (or rather, what I intend to be my Vienna travel journal; I haven't left yet). Here you'll see a few of the thoughts of an American undergraduate student living for ten weeks in Vienna. I hope to experience the real thing, not merely the tourist version.

What's the title of this log supposta mean?, you may well ask. "Katastrophe" is catastrophe; that's simple. But "Gemütlich" is rather more difficult to translate: it's a way of living that they prize highly in Vienna, I hear. To practice Gemütlichkeit is to purposely live well; it is to abandon everyday stresses because we know they are ultimately unnecessary. (At least, that's what I gather.) Now, I think that sounds like an admirable way of life. I hope to try it.

Together, then, the words of this blog's title may bring to mind another word, Schlamperei. It is a stereotypically Viennese characteristic, a way of muddling through things, quite opposed to stern Prussian efficiency. I wish to practice it as well. We'll see how that goes.