Michael Wollny Trio - Kings Place Hall 1 - London

My Birthday

Vienna - Day 7

Up early to a beautiful morning, with the street outside quieter than usual, with no workmen about as it was a Saturday:

Finished packing and then out for a final stroll around the streets, before ending up at the Joseph Brot Bakery and Patisserie just along the street from our hotel.

A ham roll for Amanda:

and a cheese and tomato one for me:

washed down with delicious home-made grapefruit juice (a rare treat for me, as anything more than a small glass can render statins less effective):

Returned to the hotel, collected our cases, checked out and waited for the taxi we had ordered for 11.30.

A straightforward run to the airport.  Checked our bags, passed through passport control and security and found the Club Class lounge overlooking the runway, where we took advantage of the complimentary snacks and drinks:

Early boarding, and the view from our seats:

Hot towels, a nice lunch and we were happy:

Take off:

Mid flight:

Returning to a wet and grey UK; the following were taken on maximum zoom.

The London Stadium at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, complete with the ArcelorMittal Orbit to the right:

The Walkie-Talkie:

The Shard:

The London Eye:

Houses of Parliament:

The only splash of colour in an almost entirely grey and murky capital - the big screens at Piccadilly Circus:

Buckingham Palace nestling between Green Park and St James's Park:

Hyde Park and the Serpentine:

The Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall:

The UK headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline:

Coming in to land at Heathrow:

Some time later I played this video to one of our little friends.  I pointed out that at the end, the lady on the loudspeaker had welcomed us back to London.  "And was that lady the Queen?" enquired a serious seven-year-old LBD, as if that would be the most natural thing in the world.  I thought that the idea of Her Maj personally welcoming home each of her subjects was a fine one.

In spite of the miserable weather we were early into Heathrow, resulting in disembarkation at a different stand to that expected.  As a result we had to walk some way to collect our luggage.

Through passport control and customs, and then to the Short Stay Car Park to collect the car.

Torrential rain all the way home, but an otherwise straightforward journey, stopping only at the local Tesco to collect fresh bread and milk.

Bacon sandwiches and tea were consumed while we looked through a few recorded TV programmes and then hauled our luggage upstairs for unpacking - where I found that my relatively new, only used about three times, super duper Hideo Wakamtsu suitcase was, to use the technical term, knackered beyond repair:

(It occurred to me later that using screws/rivets to attach the reinforcement patches to the corners was probably a design flaw, leaving as it would a weakness in the hard shell wherever it was attached; when I came to purchase a replacement it came as little surprise that this model had been discontinued.  It DID come as an unpleasant surprise that the value depreciation rate applied by BA was such that, even with their compensation, it cost me around £40 extra to acquire a broadly equivalent case from Samsonite.)

Eventually to bed, exhausted but happy.

Vienna - Day 6

Out, and in the direction of the Belvedere.

First stop was the Heldendenkmal der Roten Armee (Heroes' Monument of the Red Army):

The entrance to the Lower Belvedere:

The Chambre de Conversation:

I was rather taken by "Toys" by Klemens Brosch:

Out into the gardens:

and a slow walk to the Upper Belvedere:

Amanda seemed quite pleased to be getting there:

The view back the way we had come:

Inside, Amanda approaches Klimt's Judith and the Head of Holofernes:

The Kiss:

"Housewall (Window Wall)" by Schiele:

Amanda checks out "The Bride" by Klimt:

Looking out of the windows, past Lower Belvedere and across the city:

A quick look at the Austrian State Treaty:

A scene we recognised well - the Stephansdom by Rudolf von Alt:

A more modern view of the cathedral spire, complete with Donauturm and the Prater Wheel:

"Harbour of Sanary" by Carl Unger:

"Path in Monet's Garden in Giverny" by Monet:

"A Street in Pontoise" by Pissaro:

A 25-minute walk back to the city centre, in search of Demel, the coffee house we had frequented in 1991.  What a disappointment.  The increased popularity (compare this view with the one below, featuring your correspondent during the earlier visit):

had caused the owners to engage in a complete revamp - the ground floor was now occupied solely by sales counters for the use of those wanting their wares 'to go', while the coffee bar had been moved to the first floor and was now accessed by stairs and a short corridor.

We took our leave, and headed for Cafe Central.  It being lunchtime there was a queue, but the doorman was efficient and we were soon inside and seated at a good table at the rear.  On this occasion it was Amanda who tried the Sacherwürstel, while I enjoyed a large portion of Apfelstrudel:

A slow walk back to the hotel, past this street market:

A monument to the founder of the Red Cross:

and the Park Hyatt Vienna (perhaps next time):

This chemist caught my eye:

more walking:

This handbag (apparently being displayed on a large pair of buttocks) caught Amanda's eye:

The approach to our hotel:

The workmen continuing to work on whatever it was they were working on:

and into the hotel for a short rest.

Out, and our destination for this evening's dinner, the Hungarian Ilona Stüberl:

For Amanda, Beef Goulash with Tarhonya (egg-based pasta):

and for me, "Roast Beef with Onions and Fried Potatoes":

For reasons that would later become clear we declined sweets and headed out for one last walk around the streets.  These entertainers were just getting into the swing of it:

I was taken by this interesting feature on an auctioneer's facade:

The reason for abstaining from sweets at Ilona Stüberl -  a final visit to the Cafe Sacher:

and then back to the hotel to start packing for our departure tomorrow.  While we packed, the TV was showing the concert from in front of City Hall, the preparations for which we had seen earlier in the week:

And so to bed.