The silence of the dogs

Brian, Sharkdog and I just returned from our first excursion out of Austria. We spent about a day in Prague, Czech Republic and about two and half days in Chemnitz, Germany. It was a lot of fun and I have a lot of photos and stories to share, but I'll just start with a few photos today.

Dogs are allowed on the public transportation in Austria (and other European countries), but they must wear a muzzle and a leash. Sharkdog's old muzzle apparently wasn't the right type and he was able to remove it in under 30 seconds, so we had to get him a new one. Doesn't he look so pathetic wearing his muzzle?


Sharkdog was supposed to wear the muzzle the entire train ride, but we took it off once we were settled on the train. He ended up sleeping most of the ride, but we enjoyed looking out the window for a little while as our journey started.

Who does number two work for

Last week, Brian and I noticed these signs popping up near our apartment.


I was quite excited because this is the same sign that is on the trash cans around the city where you can get free bags to pick up your dog's, um, mess. So I thought perhaps the city was going to place some of these free bag dispensers where the signs are located. (Currently, the closest dispenser is about 1/2 a mile away and the closest sign is right on our corner.) Then we noticed there were a lot of signs and I decided it must just be a campaign to remind everyone to pick up after their dogs.

The day after Brian and I spotted the signs, we saw an old lady spot the sign for the first time. She stopped in her tracks and burst out laughing. Then she looked at us to make sure we were enjoying the sign as well.

In case you can't read it, the sign says "Nim ein Sackerl für mein Gackerl." Brian said that it's more important to keep the rhyme than to provide an accurate translation, so I've been trying to come up with something similar in English. But I'm at a loss. The only thing I can come up with is "Take a scooper for my pooper." Can you come up with something better? The only rule is that it has to rhyme. I haven't been able to find "Sackerl" or "Gackerl" in any dictionary, so I'm pretty sure they are either slang or made-up. (The online dictionary includes slang terms, so that's why I'm throwing out the "made-up" idea.) Feel free to use made-up words, as long as they convey the meaning.

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In other "number two" news, Brian and I finished our first German course and guess who the number one and number two students were? If you guessed me and Brian, you're only half right. It was me and Rodika. Well, Rodika and me, since I was second. But you don't know Rodika, so really it was an unfair question. In any event, Brian and I both passed the class and that's what's important. Here we are with our little certificates (that we had to pay for).

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I'm going to be out of town until next week, so don't expect anything new until Tuesday. But now you have plenty of time to come up with a catchy slogan (in English) to remind us to pick up after our dogs. I'm going to be really disappointed if no one comes up with something.

A day of firsts

I made my first trip to the pharmacy today. You have to get practically everything related to medicine at the pharmacy, even if it doesn't require a prescription. I needed three things -- test strips for my glucometer (for which I had a prescription), something to relieve sinus pressure, and something for Sharkdog to help him calm down when he's nervous. It seems a little strange that you go to the same place to get medicine for yourself and for your dog, but that's the way it works.

I was all prepared to do this in German. Okay, so really I only had two sentences ready -- "Ich habe ein klein hund mit angst. Haben Sie homeopathic Medizin für meinen Hund?" I figured I could get by with gestures for the other two things. But I chickened out. I asked the lady if she spoke English and of course she did, so we did everything in English.

I did not, however, chicken out at the post office and confidently told the clerk, "Ich möchte eine Briefmarke," as I pointed to the place on the envelope where the stamp goes. I'm sure I looked like an idiot. Especially since I've spoken to this same clerk twice -- in English. And a moment later I had to revert to English to ask how long it would take for the delivery.

I also had my first haircut in Austria today. No one at the salon spoke English. When I walked in, a girl asked me to have a seat and I started trying to tell her what I wanted. That's when she explained to me (in German) that she only washes hair. I felt silly, but I've never had a shampoo-girl. I'm familiar with the concept, I've just never seen it in action. So she calls over the girl who is going to cut my hair and again I try to explain what I want. Fortunately, I also had pictures. I'm brave enough to go to a salon where no one speaks English, but only with backup. The rest of the hair-cutting experience was pretty much on par with experiences in the U.S. And when it came time to pay, I understood the girl when she told me the cost! I know it's a little thing, but it's still pretty exciting when you start to understand people.

Oh yeah, and there is one thing that I've found that you typically get in the pharmacy section in the U.S. but can find in grocery stores in Austria -- glucose tablets (for low blood sugar). And where can you find the glucose tablets in the grocery store? Why, in the candy aisle, of course. I always knew that glucose tablets were just candy posing as medical supplies -- probably so the manufacturer can charge more for them!

I heart public transportation

Culture shock can make it hard to appreciate the good things in a new culture. When you're missing home, it can seem like everything in your new country is backwards and terrible and everything in your home country is wonderful and easy. To help combat these thoughts, I'm going to write about some of the things I like about Vienna. Hopefully, this will give you a little insight into life in Austria and will help me to appreciate my new home. I won't promise a post on this topic every week, but I hope to do at least a couple each month. Click on the "I heart Vienna" label on the sidebar to see all of the "I heart" posts.

In honor of World Carfree Day, I thought I would tell you a little about the public transportation system in Vienna. The city has a great system of trains, u-bahns (subways), strassenbahns (trolleys) and buses. The transportation is reliable, generally clean, safe and easy to use. (My stroller-pushing friends may not completely agree with this last part because the old strassenbahns have several steps and the doors are not so wide. But passengers will usually help if asked.) The lovely pictures below are courtesy of Julius Silver because his pictures are just nicer than mine. Check out the website for fabulous pictures of Vienna -- and a lot of other places.

Honestly, I have a love-hate relationship with the public transportation. I love the fact that it's available and it's a lot cheaper than maintaining a vehicle. But it takes a lot of work -- or really, just a lot of time. A trip that would take about 15 minutes by car can take an hour by public transportation. And sometimes you have to wait a long time and occasionally you have to walk somewhere because of a problem with the u-bahn or strassenbahn or whatever. But overall, I'm glad to have it and glad to use it.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Before we moved to Vienna, Brian and I decided to hold out as long as possible before buying a car. Really, we have no intentions of buying a car, but we're not saying we won't ever need (want) a car. That's not the secret. The secret is that I've become kind of nuts lately about the environment and climate change and all of that. I know that I'm not doing enough to decrease my carbon footprint, but I'm becoming more aware and making small changes. For example, I only run the clothes dryer for about 10 minutes and then hang-dry our clothes. (The 10 minutes help the clothes to dry faster and keeps them softer so I don't have to iron everything.) When I'm shopping for groceries, I try to buy food that is locally grown or produced. These are small steps, but even the small steps help.

I know some of you think this is hokey and/or don't believe that climate change is a real issue. Some are probably paralyzed by the magnitude of the problem and don't know how to respond to it. It's good to start small so you don't become overwhelmed. For example, if there are rooms in your home that you do not use, close the heat/air vents and keep the door closed. Rather than just turning off appliances, unplug them -- at least the ones you don't use often. Carpool to work, church, or where ever. All of the suggestions will not only decrease your carbon output, but will also save you a few bucks. And no one can argue against that, right.

I told you I had become a little nuts about it.

Okay, now for something a little fun. Friday was the last day of the first German course. Rather than having a lesson, the class took a little walk to a nearby cafe. As we walked through part of town, we were greeted by these huge blue thingamabobs. I wish I had my camera out at the time. The 12 of us in the class saw these big blue things and about the same time, they saw us. And they all just descended on us. I think we all laughed out loud. It was the funniest site I have seen in a long time. Unfortunately, I just got a picture of them from behind.

So what are these blue blobs? Why, they're carbon dioxide molecules! They actually have CO2 written on the front, but as I said, I didn't have my camera out soon enough. At first I thought they were protesting something going on because it was pretty obvious that the city was preparing for some kind of event in this area. But then I realized they were advertising a new line of electric scooters that have zero CO2 emissions. Pretty cool. Check out those solar panels.

Cue the music to Star Trek

We've been told that any religious group that is not Catholic or Lutheran is often referred to a cult in Austria. When we were in Vienna a couple of years ago I heard a couple of people refer to us as a cult, but it wasn't in that you're-a-weirdo-who-lives-in-a-commune-and-believes-in-flying-saucers kind of way. It was more like the first definition from Dictionary.com and not intended to be offensive.

Today we found a little slip of paper in our mailbox. I think these people definitely fall into the number six definition.

In English:
We love you and want to help you.
Conversations with instructions from friends from space.

This one is not about food

For all of the German-speakers out there, you'll have to let me know if you've ever heard this word: Vokuhila. I ran across the word on a forum for expats living in Vienna. It's an acronym for "Vorne kurz, hinten lang," or, in English, "short in the front, long in the back." That's right, it's the mullet. I even looked it up in my favorite online dictionary, and sure enough, there it is.

The mullet is alive and well in Vienna. Brian and I often spot young (and not-so-young) guys sporting the 'do around town. Which makes one wonder: Where do these guys come from? Where are they going? Then last week I found these coupons stuck in my mailbox and I just knew, this is where they must be heading...

Addendum

Yes, we went back. This time with a camera.