November. The Miserable Month.

Cold and miserable is about as diplomatic as I can be when describing November in the "World's Most Livable City" (obviously weather was not a criterion for this designation). But yesterday, the sun was shining brightly and my weather app reported an almost balmy 10°C. By the time Clayton Theodore and I had reached the top of our favorite vineyard my jacket was off and the sunglasses were on. 

November certainly seemed to be on best behavior.

By late morning, though, the sun was gone and the winds were gusting in from Hungary. I'd opened several windows in our house to enjoy the fresh air, and before long my floors were covered with leaves. By the middle of the afternoon the windows were shut tight again and  I was convinced that I would see snowfall before dinner.

 November. The Miserable Month.

Clayton Theodore: Holidays Update

Because we know you're wondering how Cletus is managing his amazing dog life in Vienna.

The aroma of the roasting Butterball on Thanksgiving Day was too much for our boy; he had to bury his head beneath the pillow on the sofa in the den until such time that he could beg for turkey.

Today he joined us for a stroll through the Christmasmarkt at Maria-Theresien Platz, prefaced, but of course, with a rumpus in the Volksgarten Hundezone with his Austrian canine brethren.  A ride on the tram is a Major Sensory Experience for him; entire chapters are written in his Catalog of Urban Smells during these outings, so we indulge his need to get his crazies out in the dog park whenever we can.

Cletus with his "disappointed" expression.  He is wondering why we are enjoying Schinkenknockerl   (ham with tiny noodle dumplings) at the market while all he gets is "HundePunsch" (water), even if it is in a Christmasmarkt mug.

A Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Handpoured candles and handcrafted woodland creatures await holiday shoppers at Adventmarkt Am Hof .

As well as holiday snow globes (Not the authentic Vienna globes. I checked.)

If there is a common feature to the markets, this one probably comes the closest.  Even then, the varieties of Orangenpunsch and Glühwein have different tastes from market to market, making it imperative that we sample the punsch at every market.

Gifts for the bird lovers, and lovers of sour cucumbers.

The market at Schloss Wilheminenberg was very small, but the view from atop the Vienna Woods more than made up for the size.

But not the surprise of the size of the typical Viennese Christmas tree.

Turkenschänzpark's Market was also small, and is the only one to offer "HundePunsch" so far!

The Naschmarkt isn't gussied up for the holidays, per se, but many of the stalls are offering seasonal sweets.

Karlsplatz Adventmarkt was highly rated by the family, not only for the artist's stalls, but also for the savory lambfurters and wood-fired garlic bread.

And for its charming vintage transportation carousel.

Even our favorite Mexican grocer, Casa Mexico, offered traditional small plates for shoppers. (As well as a practical joker who peace-bombed my photo.)

The Spittelberg area, with its cozy alleyways and hidden stores, became even more charming with market stalls offering everything from handcrafted chocolates...

...to handmade hats...

...while our young Katniss Everdeen seemed particularly attracted to the handhewn bows.

For the consummate trend consumer on your holiday list, "Kitty World" is but a few steps from Spittelberg. All the Hello Kitty products you can imagine, and many you can not.  The amount of pink in the store rivals that of the American Girl Store at home.

And speaking of pink, the holiday Manner tram was out and about enjoying the sights on Saturday, too!

Finally. Horse Manure on the Tires.

While I obsess over resetting the odometer with each refill of the gas tank, organize my pre-set radio stations by increasing order of frequency, and generally do not permit food to be eaten in my car, I am remarkably relaxed about hay and horse manure on the floor mats and in the boot.

Academics, sports, and music fell into place for Anna Grace once the school year began. Her classes are appropriately rigorous; she participates in the middle school athletics program; and with the guidance of her violin instructor, successfully auditioned for a chair in the European international middle schools honors orchestra (thus giving us a reason to visit Zurich in April for the concert!)  

Not everything was easy-peasy, though. The summer was spent largely without friends (unpacking boxes can only be so much fun); we were unable to form a Girl Scouts troop at the school (but found a great Girl Guides troop right in our neighborhood!); and the question of riding had to be tabled until we had a car.  No surprise, but I did not have to prompt Anna Grace to be ready to leave for the barn yesterday morning.  

Ibi Star gets his pre-workout brush down.

While a couple of his friends wait patiently for their turn in the arena.

Walk! Trot! Canter! No jumping until next week, though.

The lighting is dim. No flash allowed, naturally. But the smile is bright.

A grainy, but too-cute-to-pass-up iPhone photo of Anton, one of the trainer's dogs. Part Jack Russell terrier, part cat.  He amuses himself in the barn by chasing (and eating) mice.

This is Naia, the trainer's other canine companion. Sweet and gentle.

We knew dogs were permitted at the barn, but thought better of bringing Clayton Theodore along on this first outing. He has appropriate respect for horses, but he is not a mouser.

The 7th Most Valuable Trade Secret in the World

Last evening Anna Grace and I, along with a dozen or so friends from AIS, enjoyed a private tour of the Vienna Snow Globe Museum.  The Vienna Snow Globe is the original, invented 112 years ago by Edward Perzy, a surgical instrument repairman. In his failed quest to create a brighter light for operating rooms, using glass balls filled with water and semolina, he instead created the miniature winter wonderlands that delight us all.

Edward Perzy III gave us the tour of the small museum, but did not share the "7th most valuable trade secret" formula for the snow with us.  That he will share with his daughter, who is completing her Masters credentials as a machinist and will carry on the family business. Edward Perzy III is proudly looking forward to the day when he can "retire, and perhaps become the director of the museum."

The original designs were made of pewter; today they are of resin, but are still hand painted by a team of 15 employees. The glass balls of the snow globes are filled only with pure Vienna alpine water, too.  Mr. Perzy had considered moving to a larger factory across the Danube, but changed his mind when the water in the sample snow globes he made turned brown after two days.  So, the little factory remains in the Währing district of Vienna, on an unassuming side street.

The factory receives requests for custom snow globes from around the world. This one, below, was requested by a close friend of the Clinton's, and is filled with confetti from Clinton's inauguration party.

How to tell if you have an original Vienna snow globe tucked away somewhere in your house?  Just look for the tiny "light bulb" logo on the base, of course.

November in the Vineyards

This morning could not have been any more gray, or heavy with the threat of rain. Yet, Clayton Theodore must have a little bit of the Postal Service Hound in him, for he is ready for his morning hike come rain or shine or gray and dreary.  Miss Lilly Lorraine and her owner were also ready to go after we left our darling children at the bus stop, so up into the hills we went.

A far cry from the lush green leaves and dangling bunches of sweet-sour grapes that have filled my camera lens in recent months.  The vines look so cold without their leafy cloaks.

The view over the Danube, from just below Kahlenberg.  

A lone tree with unusual clumps of leaves. 

Hibernating hives of the local apiary.

The fallen leaves reveal the home and surrounds of an eccentric gentleman who lives off the grid up in the hills.

Nearby is the CDG vineyard, the "Club der Grinzinger," founded to preserve the viticulture heritage of the region.  "Friends of Grinzing" receive a 1m2 parcel of vineyard (and their own vine) with their lifetime membership.  It's fun to walk through to see who some of the members are. 

Vlad is a Friend, and so are Romy Schneider and Sophia Loren, among other celebrities.

The headline of a recent district newspaper caught my attention: "Sex Calendar to Save Grinzing." Not knowing quite what that meant, I turned to page 15 of the newspaper and learned that Grinzing is applying for designation of the vineyards as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is, or will be in time for the holidays, selling calendars of lovely Viennese ladies posing au natural among the vineyards as a fundraiser for the UNESCO application fee. 

I would bet that this "Friend of Grinzing" might enjoy the calendar.

While this "Friend" might not.