Out And About.

[Syt]

More pics from the area:

[mongers]

Nice photo Zanza.


Not so good photos from Syt. 

I'm in a similar position, last winter/spring, given the historic amounts of water we got here, I'd have definitely have been flooded if not for the very expensive flood defences* built here to protect just 12-15 houses.

So those scenes of flood water in flood meadows and other fields are very familar, indeed the 2nd lot of photos look almost exactly like what I see week in week out in some winters.




*these include a large pump installation on the river, 10 metres in front of the house, I think it's electric as I never here it, though apparently it was on a lot last year.
Goodness knows what the fuel bill for that was, given it basically is pumping out ground water from under the houses. Not really sustainable it is?

[Syt]

We used to get a bit of flooding every now and then, but it seems to have become an annual thing by now, though it also appears that additionally there were record rainfalls for this time of year up there. What's going to be problematic will be that freezing temperatures are approaching and not all water will be gone by then.

Can't say I miss all that rain here in Vienna.

But here's a fitting song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvwvsXZg-w

Makes me a little bit homesick for the old country. 

[Zanza]

Any flooding in Lübeck? My old home town on the Stör is Land Unter, as almost every year by now (I recall it was only once when I was a kid, and it was the first time since anyone could remember). They're saying it's the worst flood in Holstein in decades.

We had some pretty extreme rainfall in the last few days here. So the paths in the park and along the river were puddle after puddle and rather muddy. No serious flooding in Lübeck that I know of, but there were lots of flooded patches next to the A1 motorway to Hamburg yesterday.

[Syt]

This being the first snow day in Vienna, I decided to go for a digestive walk. I leisurely walked from home to the Votivkirche, past university down to the Hofburg, across to the KHM and its Christmas New Year's Market where I got a punch and people watched for a bit, then past the parliament and town hall back home. Taking it slow, it was about an hour.

It's Sunday, so there'll be plenty tourists in the Inner City. It's main tourist season (Christmas through New Year's), so there's even more tourists (some of the better known cafés had queues in front of them which doesn't happen too often, as there's plenty places to go as tourist). There's grey sludge in the street, it's freezing, and and grey, so there's few locals out and about. In short: it was more like a walk through a theme park with sightseers being underfoot all the time.

[mongers]

1252 .... number of days since I was last in a car. 


The antithesis of getting out and about? 

[CountDeMoney]

How many days since you took a dump in somebody's bird bath?  My over/under is 4.

[mongers]

How many days since you took a dump in somebody's bird bath?  My over/under is 4.

Odd, since you're the only one who seems to be flinging shit today. 

[mongers]

Doing a bit of exploring today in a very dull commercial pine forest I stopped at this tree in the dusk after sunset, unusual roots for a pine tree.

[mongers]

When I got home I looked at the other pictures I'd taken, WTF I'd stopped right next to an Ent and didn't notice. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

Twignose himself if I'm not mistaken.

[Eddie Teach]

What's his name in Entish?

[mongers]

Just beginning to come out of hibernation and stretch my legs a bit, got to view the sea today, first time in like two months. 

[KRonn]

I've been trying to get out of winter hibernation also with some good walks. I was able to get a walk in today as it started snowing, though it was shorter than usual because of the messy roads.

[mongers]

I've been trying to get out of winter hibernation also with some good walks. I was able to get a walk in today as it started snowing, though it was shorter than usual because of the messy roads.

All good, I'm hoping to do a bit of walking this year as well; soon as the campsites reopen in the national park this spring, I'm gonna load up a rucksack with a tent and overnight stuff, hike across the Forest, spend the night and return next day by a different route.

See how far I can do in 24 hours/short weekend, if I still enjoy/endure camping and find out just how badly I've let things go.