The annual timetable change brings new routes, headlines, commuter confusion and for some stations it is inevitably the end of the line. Curmudgeon runs his eyes over the ÖBB. Continue reading The ill wind that blows when the timetable changes
Curmudgeon returns to muse on whether it is good to save when the rewards for doing so are so scant. Continue reading To save, or not to save: that is the question.
without being clichéd Curmudgeon advises to keep calm and carry on. Continue reading Curmudgeon refuses to buy a hamster
Curmudgeon recaps the decade Continue reading That was the decade that wasn’t
Sometimes a friend is only a few minutes walk away – a definite bonus in a day and age where friendships seem to dwindle so easily despite it being easier than ever to travel. Continue reading When friendship is just a short walk away
Austria can be thankful to its President as one of its most famous sons succumbs to illness. Continue reading Three Chancellors and a Funeral
Sometimes, when least expected, someone’s ship comes in. Continue reading An upbeat post for Spring
Perpetually scorned from the pool of survey respondees to parrot Vienna’s high quality of living, the Curmudgeon muses about the superficiality of some expats. Continue reading Only happy when they moan
Death is a favourite topic among the Viennese. 1st November is renowned for being a day of mourning, tending of graves and family contemplation. Continue reading Four Cemeteries and a Martinigansl
Curmudgeon tries his hand at jam-making, albeit with a distinct lack of success, apart from in expediting a thorough cleaning of the kitchen. Continue reading Curmudgeon in a jam
As I rode the 10a bus through the outer districts to see “the nephew”, I overheard two British lads, probably in their early 20s, talking about football and garage sandwiches. The former subject has been pretty wall-to-wall for the last month with the World Cup taking place in Russia, but the latter was a slightly surprising one. One of the two passengers was lamenting his recent purchase from a BP garage, which was very bland and unsatisfying and his companion chipped in with “Austrians just don’t get proper sandwiches”. Continue reading “A crash course in Austrian sandwiches and rolls”
Being married to a teacher, we have just got to the point of the school year where even the most well prepared, conscientious and experienced teacher have started their own mental countdown until the end of the school year. Some years are harder than others, especially if you have been devoting every last ounce of energy towards getting your form through the Matura and out into the big wide world. My saying “we” was deliberate, because the end of the school year seems to have become a joint planning effort in recent years. Continue reading “One week until the summer holidays”
As I remarked yesterday on a tweet after putting my visitors onto the train bound for the airport, it is always good to catch up with old friends. The best thing about such old friendships, where the passing of time does little to dim the memory, tarnish the friendship, or even better allows the friendship to be renewed as though no time had passed is that they also serve as a reminder to think about things have changed.
Continue reading “Tourism with a hermit of the expat scene.”
As Urlaubsgeld lands in the accounts of salaried employees from Bregenz to Burgenland I ponder how many people actually use their Urlaubsgeld for its apparent earmarked purpose. Continue reading Urlaubsgeld and Weihnachtsgeld – collective security?
With temperatures now into the 20s and the evenings getting longer, the terrace is rapidly becoming my place to enjoy life in the Cottageviertel. While I can’t call my terrace a garden, although it is home to a variety of plants – some gifted, some bought (a couple from the Botanischer Garten’s Raritätenbörse), and some even grown from cuttings from friends. The buzz of the Lambretta scooters zipping up and down the road after hibernation has returned, and the plants that had been brought into the landing during the winter are now back outside, now that any fear of a later frost or snow has subsided. Continue reading “May the gardening season begin…”
As manflu-induced cabin fever sets in, a broadside on charity, the smoking ban (or lack thereof) and quality of living surveys. Continue reading Missing the opening of the Schweizerhaus
Curmudgeon tries to explain the intricacies of the Hahnenkammrennen to a non-skiing audience Continue reading A non-skier’s guide to the Hahnenkammrennen
Curmudgeon introduces himself, an Englishman embarking on retirement in Vienna’s Cottageviertel Continue reading Happiness is having something to complain about
The Curmudgeon in the Cottage 