Enjoying the Outdoors

There was no way to possibly write about everything from this weekend in one post...so I'm breaking it up into two parts, so consider this part one, and part two will come sometime tomorrow hopefully.

I realize I sound like a broken record about the weather at this point, but I just can't quite get over how beautiful it seems to be most of the time.  Sure we'll get a rainstorm or two every few days, but they seem to not last more than about 45 minutes or so, and it is plenty easy to duck in somewhere and avoid them.  Other than autumn in the northeast, this is definitely my favorite time of year, when everyone seems to remember what it's like to be outside after the winter and with it staying lighter later in the evenings, really being able to enjoy it.

Thursday evening I met a few friends at the MuseumsQuartier downtown.  It's a nice open courtyard type space in what was once the court stables and is now home to various museums.  They have several bars serving food and drinks along the edge of the space, and tables and things to sit on all around.  Definitely a nice place to meet friends after work or class and spend a few hours talking and enjoying a late spring evening.

Friday I was in class from 4-8pm, not exactly ideal for enjoying an evening outside, but Saturday about lunchtime I met up with some friends and we went around to a few outdoor festivals and things that were set up.  We started at Heldenplatz, where they had live music and food and different booths with sports activities.

From Heldenplatz we headed over to the Flohmarkt on Neubaugasse to see what all they had over there, basically a large flea market type setup along this street.

creepy dolls and garden gnomes...yikes

After wandering around here for several hours, we went to this sort of city-worker open house night that Vienna had...and that will all be explained in part 2.  It was rather crazy.

Sunday was another gorgeous day, so I met a friend for breakfast outside before church.

again...not a bad view while you're enjoying an iced coffee and a breakfast sandwich

 After church we headed to lunch per usual, and on our way home stumbled across a beer fest in one of the public squares in the old part of town, so of course we called up some friends to meet us and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon listening to live music, playing cards and sampling a few different types of beer!  We did have a passing thunderstorm yesterday afternoon so we hid under this umbrella to dodge a fairly serious downpour at one point...but the rain stopped in time for us to head home.

No class today, just reading before class tomorrow...and hoping I can find more excuses to enjoy these outdoor spaces soon!