Weinwandertag

We're definitely now getting into Autumn mode here in Vienna, restaurants all over town are now posting signs for various "kürbis woche" dishes and things (my favorite).  For me a treat of the season is always a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and I had been sort of frantically stalking Starbucks to see if they were going to carry them this year (last year was the first year they were introduced in Austria).  I don't usually frequent Starbucks here, as we have excellent coffee served as part of a proper service that is much less expensive elsewhere, but yesterday the magical signs appeared on the street that the Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back, and I walked right into the first Starbucks and got one, so now I feel like fall has officially begun.  

Last weekend was the official Vienna Wine Hiking Days all through the vineyards around town.  Private vineyards that may not always be open to the public are open on these two days, serving both bottled wine from last year, and various fresh grape juices and sturm (mashed grapes with the yeast added, just starting to ferment) from this year's harvest.

And of course a bit of tasting of the grapes fresh off the vines

Dancing through the vineyards

Getting some last rays of warm early fall sun

One of the things I love so much about these activities here is that they really do draw a completely mixed crowd.  You can easily share a table with strangers 30 years your senior, or 20 years your junior and everyone has a wonderful time together. 

Some vineyards even had live music...adds a bit of special ambiance 

Views towards Leopoldsberg

Watching the sky turn beautiful shades of pink over the city.  Still one of my most favorite views, the vineyards and the city of Vienna sprawled out behind them.

A glass of Sturm

And finally it was starting to get dark, so we got directions from our last stand owner of how to cut through their vineyards and make it back to the tram to get home.  A wonderful Saturday of good friends and delicious wine. 

Now it's getting rather cold here, we're expected to hit the freezing mark tonight, but a few of these vineyards said they would be open the next two weekends through the grape harvest, so I'm hoping for another afternoon trip up there before it gets too cold.  Classes start for me on Monday, so I'm trying my best to be disciplined and get back into reading mode.  Still a bit hard to believe it's October, but I'm also ready to get back into my school life a bit.

As I'm writing this though, we had a small earthquake...4.2 apparently...enough for me to feel the floor roll a bit and my blinds to shake...nobody told me there are earthquakes here...