Strolling on Sunday

The Russian Breakfast. Photo by Louise, because I am
stupid and forgot to take pictures. 

I don't know how other people spent their Sunday morning, but I was drinking vodka while caring for my daughter. Okay. It was just one shot, and in my defence it came with breakfast at Cafe Ansari. 

On the other hand, my fabulous companions Louise and Nayana and I may or may not have ordered that particular meal (the "Russian Breakfast") because it included the vodka. It doesn't sound like something we'd do, but one never knows. In any case, it was delicious - the food and the vodka - so everyone in Vienna should just get over there immediately. It helps to bring Louise and Nayana if you can. (Thanks for the tip, Nora-San!)

Nava was with us but did not order the vodka-laced brunch combo. After being a dear and allowing us grownups to have a proper conversation about whatever it is grownups talk about, Nava ate a pumpkin-based slurry from a convenience store that was romantically and optimistically named something like "spaghetti in a mild vegetable sauce". 

My pumpkin eats pumpkin (on a different occasion).
Only one of us is *really* enjoying herself.

Like everything else she eats, it was in fact a flavourless homogenous paste, but of course when your main goal is seeing how much of it you can fling across the shiny new world that hardly matters. She smeared it across her face, got some under her chinny-chin-chin and dribbled gobs across her tights, dress and onto the floor, so overall I'd say that was a great success. Heck, she even ate some. 

Nava and I then went to meet Alex's family for a stroll through the Prater, which is an enormous park and fairground in Vienna. The Jesuitenwiese and its accompanying playgrounds are a municipal treasure and I hope they live forever. 

Anywhere along the Hauptallee. I swear, every other part of the park is really quite charming.

Of course, I am a dodo and didn't take a picture of the pretty part, which looks a lot like the place where the Teletubbies live. I forgot to break out the camera until we were on the Hauptallee (main avenue). This is an endless paved road lined with chesnut trees that cuts through the park and that is shared by every unimaginative runner, walker, stroller, in-line skater and biker in Vienna. It's kind of amazing how long and boring it is, but on either side are any number of playgrounds and tree-lined groves and meadows to hang in, so we'll forgive it. 

Taking a break from walking with my handsome
husband and father-in-law.

After walking pretty much all the way down this baby we sat slowly freezing to death and drinking coffee and eating cake in the falling darkness. We came home pooped and the little one slept like a lump of pumpkin all night long.