Desigual

Desigual, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Guess which one I bought??????

Cleaning windows

Cleaning windows, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

I can't merge the two pictures so it'll have to be in two separate posts. Window cleaning! No wonder the view through them is crystal clear. In this picture is a man dressed in overalls ( which if you scroll to the next post appears to be the uniform for cleaning windows. Makes sense...while you're perched like so...you wouldn't want to be worried about your pants falling off. How sensible.

The other thing is, I bought a ladder recently. It's about half the height of this....and lemme just say this man is amazing getting all the way to the top and washing away. I got midway up mine and came right down.

more window cleaning

more window cleaning, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

A closer look at the outfit for cleaning windows. Love the cheerful colours:) If you google, there's quite a number of companies for cleaning windows. Questions they need to know...
1. How do you want them cleaned? Both inside and outside/inside only/outside only
2. Do you have screens to be removed and cleaned also? yes/no
3. How many stories is your home? select one....
4. Would you like to schedule routine window washing? Yes monthly/Yes quarterly/no,just this time/don't know/other

Linking buildings subtly

Linking buildings subtly, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

This is just beside St Stephan's Cathedral, taken on my last morning in Vienna. I wonder why the need to link the two buildings. Did someone buy them both? The lane between is pretty small you won't exert self walking to and fro surely.

Gorgeous stairs

Gorgeous stairs, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Seen at H&M in Vienna. No super escalator for you ...but instead you get to walk up these gorgeous stairs. It's so nice you can almost forget you're actually climbing up a couple of flights....

Chalet school series

Untitled, originally uploaded by DaniLikesTea.

I loved ( and I still love) reading this series. Again, a short break from my Vienna pictures all because of the word breakfast. Frushtuck ...that was used a lot in the Chalet series. The other phrase I've only read and never heard out loud was Gruss Gott.

I was greeted with that each time I entered a shop. Literal translation is " God's greeting". It is used in Southern Germany and in Austria.

Hoher Markt

Hoher Markt, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

It's a pity this is the only picture I have of Hoher Markt. At the time of this picture taking....I didn't know that Hoher Markt is the oldest square in Vienna. And in the middle ages, this was a very important market place.

I took this picture because of the word Fruhstuck which is one of the few German words I know courtesy of reading the "Chalet School" series by Elinor M Brent Dyer.

Grills which open up

Grills which open up, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Have you ever seen anything like this before? WIndow grills which open up during the daytime. Ours are usually non-mobile and sealed safely shut.This picture was taken on the second day in Vienna. Notice the wet roads. It had rained earlier and the temperature had dropped a bit. And at this point, my feet were wet and I was dying to lie down in bed under a thick duvet and sleep. THAT would have been a waste of precious see-vienna-to-the-max time. So I ate a frozen yoghurt ( yes even in Vienna I missed moo cow) to wake self up....and soldiered on to the end of the day.

Pastries in Vienna

Pastries in Vienna, originally uploaded by edina

Please help me understand why pastries in Malaysia cannot taste anything close to these lovely ones in Vienna? This was taken at the u-bahn station Kasiermuhlen just beside the wall where you can buy your ticket for the tube.

Museum Quartier

This area houses a selection of buildings including the famous Leopold Museum. Within this complex are a few cultural buildings with different specialities and wide range of cultural topics. There are cafes ( yum!) and shops ( yay) and wide spaces for push prams and buggies. And I suspect if you're studying art in university or have studied it before ( unlike me ) you would have reaped the full benefit of visiting such a lovely culturally rich area. I absorbed some arty-farty- feeling by paying to visit the Leopold Museum and listening to the commentaries to the end. 

A cold mid-morning

A cold mid-morning, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

The natural history museum is an imposing building. Even if you didnt know what it was ( like me) I'm pretty certain you would have walked towards it. Here's the weird thing about Vienna which I found, the signs leading to any lovely buildings are very subtly placed. So unless you're armed with a map....you may have to walk very close and ( I did this) enter the building to find out what it is.

The line to take would be either U2 or U3 and you'ld want to exit out of Volkstheatre station. Just in front of this building is a bit of garden with some fountains and benches to sit. Nobody sat there when we were there because it was raining. And yes I got to use my rather expensive umbrella purchased on day 1 in Vienna:) I have nothing much to report about the inside of this building. But I believe there are virtual video tours for those of you aching to see what this houses:)

Moo cow!

IMG_3058, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Okay I've done it. Uploaded image from my album to flick and linked it to blogger. Howw smart am I? Not very actually. Cos I still havent figured out how to photo-bucket link. ( And I think I'll leave that for now until next week)

Moo cow! It's a Malaysian company. Would you believe it? How many branches are there? Lemme just count the ones I've been to....Plaza Damas, SOlaris, Gardens Midvalley, KLCC and One Utama.

If you take a closer look at the card, you may be able to see the chops are slightly different from each franchaise. Which is my favourite? The one at Plaza Damas. The least favourite...the one at one utama,,,,the girl who served me was very narky about getting a free scoop. She insisted that I was only elligible for it on the SAME day. Otherwise nada! Zero scoop if I come back another day.

Photobucket

Bucket, originally uploaded by d o l f i.

Thanks Lettie and Fibrate for your comments re where to upload pictures. ( Hosts is a more accurate term) So here is what I have been doing for the last 43 minutes...trying to figure out how exactly to do it.

I've created a photobucket account. And uploaded ( blush) a single picture. And that's about the only successful bit of the story I can share. The tricky bit of uploading a picture to blogger is beyond me. So I've cheated by linking someone else's picture for now.

It's funny how you don't care very much for blogging and uploading pictures until you CAN'T and then you absolutely just want to do it. There must be a syndrome for this:) I call it kiasu-ism!

Out of space no WAY!!!

Here's a weird thing. Apparently I have run out of my quota of 1G in terms of pictures posted on blogspot. ( Swoon) I now have the option of
1. panicking and creating a new blog with another competitor ie wordpress
2. Delete some pictures ( waaah) thus creating more space
3. Ignoring this and hoping it will all solve itself the next time I log on.

Please advice:(
In the meantime I am left with words to describe what's been happening.
1. Mum's birthday which was three days from 4th Grand-auntie's birthday.
2. My right knee swelled up as a direct result of ignoring all warning and jogging an additional 5 km after 13.3 km. ( silly I know but I wanted to collect nike miles)
3.My violin teacher thinks I may ( just may) have improved in the scales and double stops
4.I now cannot imagine living with only ONE handphone.( I have 2)
5.I received news the 6 year old niece has achieved an award in Wu shu..giving her a licence to kick holes in walls ( not at my place hopefully) when she visits.
6.I'm re-reading Angels by Marian Keyes. Part of the promise to self made earlier in the year re no further purchase of fiction paperbags until the shelves are cleared of books never read!

Enough for now. While I wait for some suggestions from you!

Vienna airport

Walking very fast after immigation

Long walkalator

Very few posters

Finally a sign ...am in the right direction

Seeing other people....but mostly it was empty

This is where we collect the luggage

Feel free to take one

WHOA.....this was a nice surprise

Walked closer to get a better look

How cool is this?

Definitely nothing to declare:)

This is what I saw when I first landed. The smell of new-ness. The walls looked rather bare and there were long walkalators for you to cruise through loads of walls before you get to your luggage.