The Minkus and I had an epic 4-day trip to Krakow, Poland on the weekend, but it’s going to take me a few days to sort out writing and photos and such. So, to tide you over in the meantime, here’s a story of our little day adventure from the weekend before, and one more awesome thing crossed off of my list:

88. Visit Mink’s childhood home in Pötzleinsdorf

Minkus and I were planning to go to museums since some of them have free admission on the first Sunday of the month, and there are so many here that I want to visit. Shockingly, we hadn’t been out until 5:30 a.m. the Saturday night before, so we were actually awake at a decent time. We did our research and picked a few museums out and everything, but it was 13 degrees outside and sunny and we couldn’t justify being inside on such a nice day, even if we were getting into that artsy insideness for free. (That’s right, those of you who are reading in your ice-encrusted homes in Canada. Thirteen degrees above zero in February.) Instead, we decided to go to Pötzleinsdorf and visit Mink’s first house in Vienna, which is out by some vineyards in the eighteenth district and close to the American International School. This photo encompasses some of its beauty, and the great view of downtown Vienna from the hill:

Notably, it was substantially greyer on our trip, since it is only February, after all–but it is very refreshing to get out from the shadow of buildings once in a while. (I guess that’s the Sackville in city-me getting out for some air.) Pötzleinsdorf, a village on a hill, has its own charming cemetery, and little houses with quaint trim and pathways surrounding it.

I took a bunch of photos for the first time in what seems like forever—and it’s been since I’ve moved to Vienna, really, because it’s been so cold and cloudy for the past couple of months. I think my camera was relieved to finally see some action. I took an actual photo of this church, but I am terrible at getting my film developed, so that might not achieve internet status for a while. The church did not, unfortunately, look this trippy in real life:

Now, I am a firm believer that champagne is an everyday drink (otherwise known as sparkling wine, for the sticklers who will note that this particular bottle did not come from the Champagne region of France). It possesses the admirable quality of making every occasion a celebration. And thus–on a sunny Sunday afternoon–we popped the cork of some sparkling wine in the cemetery to celebrate Mink’s return to a house she moved to when she was thirteen. Such nostalgic circumstances deserve apt recognition!

We hung out on a bench facing the sun-drenched vineyards, drinking our bottle of champagne whilst receiving approving smiles from random passersby and discussing how awesome it would be to work on a vineyard. And also about how nice it’s going to be to wander around Vienna when everything is green again and it’s always sunny. It was still a bit chilly, so we promised Pötzleinsdorf that we’d be back when it was warmer, maybe for a walk in the actual vineyards (if that doesn’t count as trespassing, but that remains to be seen).

Screw museums. They are for rainy days. And I don’t think they offer sparkling wine.