Renovations at Loquaiplatz are progressing. Flowerbeds are already covered with white pebblestones. Yesterday those flowers and weeds were not fully planted and like a magic trick today a beautiful flowerbed appeared.
Picture one day earlier. Plants and weeds are newly planted but not yet covered with pebblestones. 1日前の写真。 草花が植えられている途中のようです。Flowerbed nearby. It has gotten much cooler. Soon we have to say goodbye to these flowers. 近くの花壇。 もう随分肌寒くなりました。 このお花ともお別れの時が近くなりました。
The windows do not show reflections. Rather one can actually look inside and see the hollow space behind. 窓は向かい側を反映しているのではありません。 窓から見えているのは向こう側です。
When I recently walked along the shopping street Mariahilferstrasse, I noticed something. I thought I saw light shining through the facade of a building. When I moved closer to take a look, it became obvious that behind the facade was a hollow space and brightness from the other side was visible. Looking up one can even see the blue sky through the windows! This building has only the facade and a shop on the ground floor, otherwise it is completely hollow! Will this building be reconstructed without disturbing the shop activity? Or is it because of “Denkmalschutz”? “Denkmalschutz” means that important cultural heritage monuments, buildings, etc. must not be demolished and are protected by law against this. Maybe this facade is protected by “Denkmalschutz” and therefore only the facade and shop are left and the rest of it was demolished to be rebuilt?
This is called “Topfencreme Vanilla flavour”. It is a cold sweet available at supermarkets in Austria. In this picture black dots of Vanilla are clearly visible. 上の写真は「ヴァニラ味トプフェンクリーム」です。 これは冷たい甘い物で、 オーストリアのスーパーで買えます。 ヴァニラの粒がよく見えます。
When I was a child, my family often visited my father’s birthhouse, located in Aki city, a small town about 80km East of Kochi city. Since my father came from a rather large family, there were often Buddhist memorial services for ancestors or weddings. Therefore many relatives often gathered in that house. A great pleasure was that many relatives’ children about my age also came. Back then we children all lived in Kochi city, which is the principal city of that prefecture and also for us it was quite attractive to enjoy the small town atmosphere. Especially the Pacific Ocean was so appealing, it could be reached from the house in about 10 Minutes and also from the first floor the blue horizon was visible. Kochi city is also located near the ocean but not as close and people without cars feel it to be quite far away. For small children, the coastline was often a destination for school trips by bus. That is why the time in Aki with the ocean in about a 10 Minute walking distance was like a dream.
One day all of us got some pocket money and were told to go for a walk by ourselves and since it was Summer we could get ice cream as well. We were very happy and went towards the ocean. Close to the coast we found a very small shop which had a freezer in front of it. This house was simple, made from wood and very small. We decided to buy ice cream there and each one got one cup of Vanilla ice cream. Walking on, we wanted to eat that ice cream but one of us shouted “Stop! There is mold on it”. Therefore we all looked at our cups of ice cream and all of us found black dots in the white cream. The child who originally alerted us to that fact said “All cups have those black dots. It is mold. We must not eat it!”. And so we discarded our cups in a trash bin on the street. Back then I did not think it was a pity but rather I was shocked and happy that one of us had noticed it.
Much later one day I again found “mold” as black dots on Vanilla ice cream. I had eaten Vanilla ice cream so many times but that day my previous memory was awakened again. I got scared and told my mother about moldy Vanilla ice cream with black dots. She then told me the unexpected words “Yuka, those black dots are real Vanilla”. I was really shocked and could not understand what that was supposed to mean. Until I had finally seen someone on TV extracting the marrow from a Vanilla pod, it took again a long time. Not knowing truly is a pity. That small shop in Aki in fact sold real Vanilla ice cream! Now I find it a pity and I regret throwing my Ice cream cup away that day…
In Buddhism, now are the days of remembering our ancestors and the deceased. This time is called “Obon”. I, too, from Vienna give lots of thought towards my ancestors with my hands folded together saying “Namu Amida Butsu”.
I think of my ancestors as far back as I can remember, like my grandfather and grandmothers and also those ancestors I never got to meet in person. Especially strong is my memory of my mother, she always was such a positive influence on me and she was my idol and aspiration. How much I love her! I think as a child that was very fortunate. There are also those people without contact to their mothers or having a bad relationship with them. Sadly my mother passed away in 2011 but my memories of her are still so clear and present.
It is so interesting, recently I am surprised how similar my talkníng voice is to my mother’s. Not always but sometimes I really think that way. Also when I am at home in Japan picking up the phone, sometimes the callers were surprised saying “Is that really you, Yuka? Your voice is so similar to your mother’s and I thought she might be alive again”. I also noticed that my cough is similar to hers. Genetics is interesting.
Every day here in Vienna it is hot. The picture above shows one exit at Westbahnhof Vienna (West station Vienna). Some years ago this square was renovated into some kind of Piazza and people like to rest here. By the way I believe those cats are not stray cats. I presume the owner is the city of Vienna. They used to be in another location on Mariahilferstrasse but because of Subway construction (U2) they were forced to relocate. Besides cats on Mariahilferstrasse there are also rabbit and frog figures. They are cute decorations on the street and people can even sit on them. Especially children enoy them. I think it is a popular and good idea.
Red is sour cherry sorbet, the other is blood orange with cumin and chili. 赤がぐいみのシャーベット。 他はウコンとチリ入りブラッドオレンジシャーベット。
Here in Vienna it is quite hot every day, daytime maximums are above 30 degrees Celsius almost every day. When it is that hot, people like to eat something cold. That is why I decided to go to an ice cream shop near my place. It is a small shop selling interesting selfmade creations. Unfortunately this year I have noticed many prices of ice cream going up and this shop is no exception. However due to the uniqueness of those creations it serves as a delicacy to be enjoyed rarely and that makes it even more precious. At this shop I found a never before seen beautiful red colour type. It was the rare type Weichsel (Sour cherry/Vistula). I instantly decided to get this flavour.
In my house’s garden in Kochi,Japan there is an old sour cherry tree. It is very old and thin now but a long time ago it was gorgeous and during rainy season bore many beautful fruits. Ever since I was a small child, I witnessed this tree’s growth. My sour cherry tree does not grow tall but stays rather low with widespread branches. Every year I crawled under it and picked many fruits. Those fruits were such beautiful red, glittered almost like jewels to my eyes and it was almost a shame to eat them. Those fruits however could not be described fully as “tastes good” because they had a bitter aftertaste. After sweet pleasure one felt the mouth contracting and had to overcome that sensation. My mother also said one should not eat too many because it may not be good for digestion. Nevertheless for us that tree was very special and positive, because my grandfather (mother’s side) had bought it.
My grandfather (mother’s side) died when I was about three years old and so unfortunately I have almost no memories with him. I heard many stories about him from my mother. According to her I understood he was a great romantic, art lover and especially loved his family. Being entirely self-taught he could play piano, violin, flute and Japanese flute! He also wrote many poems (Haiku) in Japanese style. My mother told me about so many memories how much he had loved me. Sadly I cannot remember exactly but vaguely warmly I still feel that love.
I heard the sour cherry tree in my garden in Kochi was originally brought by my grandfather and so “Weichsel” (sour cherry) is special. When I see or eat “Weichsel” I always feel my soul being filled with consolation and I feel my grandfather’s aura. That “Weichsel” sorbet was so delicious with a natural taste. Its sweet and sour cold was a wonderful refreshment to me being out of breath because of the heat. I felt my grandfather happily watching me with a smile on his face.
Since a few days ago it has gotten quite hot again in Vienna. Daytime maximums are constantly above 30 degrees Celsius. I thought that if it is so hot, I should enjoy it and so I dared to go for a walk.
Way to Mariahilfer church. マリアヒルフ教会への道In front of Mariahilfer church. Carrot juice vendor. In the background outdoor covid test station is visible. Up to 5 PCR tests and 5 antigen tests per person and month can be made for free in Austria (some exceptions apply). マリアヒルフ教会の前。 人参ジュースの屋台が出ています。 向こうに見えるのは屋外コロナテスト会場。 オーストリアでは、1ヶ月に一人、 PCRテスト5回、抗原テスト5回まで 無料で受けられます（場合によって例外あり）。Cool down break at a supermarket. Fresh flowers give me vitality. 涼しいスーパーマーケット内で一休み。 新しく入荷したいきいきとした花に 活力をもらいました。
Pictures by Yuka Simeno (except the first one), July 22nd 2022 in Vienna.
Now is cherry season in Austria. Please look at the picture abvove. Are they not gorgeous? Those are cherries from Styria, one of the southern provinces of Austria. At a supermarket in Vienna
, they are sold in a large plastic bag and the customer has to put them on the scales to know the exact weight and price. These have a weight of 1162 grams and cost 6.96 Euro. Fortunately I had a 25% discount coupon and so I could buy them at a much cheaper price. For Japanese people this weight and price is extremely astounding. At home I immediately tasted a few, they are firm, juicy and sweet! I can savour this delicacy for many days in a row.
Here in Vienna, the recent heatwave lasting some days is over now and suddenly it has become a little cool. During daytime as well one needs some sleeved clothes. Flowers and trees in the city that were breathless because of the recent heat now sway in the cool breeze.
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