I know what Klimt was thinking

Melissa emailing in Wien

Gwenyth is now in Leipzig and on her way home.

Prior to her departure she took us for a sumptuous feast at Indochine 21 which is in Stubenring near Stadtpark and about 10 minutes walk for us.

There we had the most amazing white wine I have ever had – a Gruner Veltliner from the Loibner region in the Wachau Valley. It was golden and smooth and superbly divine. I had not imagined that white wine could taste so good. We liked it so much that we drank three bottles – washed down with a Riesling chaser.

The food (French Vietnamese Cuisine) was also astonishingly good.

This was a night to remember – especially for the staff at Indochine 21. During the evening they decided to teach us German and we responded by teaching them Australian. So if you meet some delightful young people in Wien who ask you ‘How are your mother’s chooks?’ you will know where they got it from.

It took us a lot longer to get home because we got lost in Stadtpark and circled the duck pond twice. This despite being able to see our building from Stadtpark.

The duck pond is almost frozen over and I don’t know if it freezes over completely – and if so what the ducks do. There are some people who feed the ducks so I assume that they won’t starve – but I do worry about them. I have made some enquiries without result so will consult the oracle on Wednesday. One person said that the ducks go south for winter – in which case they have left their departure very late indeed.

They might be waiting for George Bush to go just to be on the safe side. Who would want to be in the air between now and Inauguration Day?

We spent half a day shopping in Mariahilferstrasse and Cate set out with an extensive shopping list but failed to tick off a single item on it. The sales are on at the moment and it is absolute mayhem everywhere.

Tuesday is a holiday (It’s too cold to go to work day?) which made it even more difficult. We have had some small flurries of snow and note that the Kitty Litter fairy has been out and about today so it looks like mores snow is coming.

There are hordes of tourists here at the moment. We went to Belvedere to see the Klimt exhibition and it was absolutely heaving. There are many Italians – which I guess makes sense as they are just next door.

I really like Klimt because I can almost understand his paintings – or thought I did until I started to read a book about his art. I am not sure how people who write about art can know what the painter was thinking but this art expert man – who was born a considerable time after Klimt died – was able to tell us exactly what Klimt was thinking - and trying to say.

Me? I thought is was a picture of a woman sitting on a chair – and a damn fine looking woman she was too – but what would I know.

My guess is that that Klimt was thinking – hold still dear – as soon as I nail this we can open a bottle of really good Gruner Veltliner and get hammered.